Polishing machine
OwnerHitoshi Suwabeinventor
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In the polishing machine, bad influence caused by a surface condition of a retainer ring can be reduced with a simple structure. The polishing machine comprises: a rotatable polishing plate; a top ring including a holding plate for holding and pressing a wafer onto polishing cloth of the polishing plate; a retainer ring in which the holding plate is freely inserted, the retainer ring independently rotating, the retainer ring including a pressing member, which presses the polishing cloth along an outer edge of the wafer so as to make level of the polishing cloth pressed by the pressing member substantially equal to that of the polishing cloth pressed by the wafer; and a positioning member for correctly positioning the retainer ring on the polishing cloth while the retainer ring is rotated.
Claims15
A polishing machine, comprising:
- a rotatable polishing plate on which polishing cloth is adhered;
- a top ring being connected to a rotary shaft, said
- a top ring including a holding plate for holding and pressing a wafer onto the polishing cloth of said polishing plate so as to polish a surface of the wafer;
- a retainer ring independently rotating with respect to said top ring, said retainer ring including a pressing member which encloses an outer edge of the wafer when the surface of the wafer held by the holding plate of said top ring freely inserted in said retainer ring is pressed onto the polishing cloth, said retainer ring pressing the polishing cloth so as to locate a surface of the polishing cloth pressed by the pressing member and another surface of the polishing cloth pressed by the wafer in the same plane;
- and
- a positioning member for correctly positioning said retainer ring on the polishing cloth of said polishing plate while the retainer ring is rotated with rotation of said polishing plate.
A polishing machine,
- comprising:
- a rotatable polishing plate on which polishing cloth is adhered;
- a top ring being connected to a rotary shaft, said top ring including a holding plate for holding and pressing a wafer onto the polishing cloth of said polishing plate so as to polish a surface of the wafer;
- a retainer including a pressing member which encloses an outer edge of the wafer when the surface of the wafer held by the holding plate of said top ring freely inserted in said retainer ring is pressed onto the polishing cloth, said retainer ring pressing the polishing cloth so as to locate a surface of the polishing cloth pressed by the pressing member and another surface of the polishing cloth pressed by the wafer in the same plane, and a cylindrical member, to which the pressing member is provided in which the top ring is inserted with a gap, and which is rotated on the polishing cloth of the polishing plate with rotation of the polishing plate;
- and
- a plurality of spherical bodies being provided in the gap between an outer circumferential face of said top ring and an inner circumferential face of the cylindrical member, said spherical bodies point-contacting the both circumferential faces so as to independently rotate said top ring and the cylindrical member without contacting each other.
A polishing machine,
- comprising:
- a rotatable polishing plate on which polishing cloth is adhered;
- a top ring being connected to a rotary shaft, said top ring holding and pressing a wafer onto the polishing cloth of said polishing plate so as to polish a surface of the wafer;
- a retainer ring independently rotating with respect to said top ring, said retainer ring including a pressing member which encloses an outer edge of the wafer when the surface of the wafer held by the holding plate of said top ring freely inserted in said retainer ring is pressed onto the polishing cloth, said retainer ring pressing the polishing cloth so as to locate a surface of the polishing cloth pressed by the pressing member and another surface of the polishing cloth pressed by the wafer in the same plane;
- and
- means for moving the pressing member of said retainer ring to and away from the polishing cloth while the surface of the wafer is pressed on the polishing cloth by said top ring;
- and
- a spacer maintaining a gap between said top ring and said retainer ring so as to rotate said top ring and said retainer ring without contacting each other.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.