Polishing aparatus and method

A polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of a workpiece, said polishing apparatus comprising:

• a housing unit;
• a partition wall partitioning an interior of said housing unit into a first chamber and a second chamber, said partition wall having a first opening for allowing a workpiece to pass therethrough;
• a polishing section for polishing the workpiece, said polishing section being disposed in said first chamber;
• a cleaning section for cleaning the workpiece which has been polished, said cleaning section being disposed in said second chamber;
• a loading and unloading section disposed in said second chamber for receiving a workpiece cassette;
• and
• a transferring device in said second chamber for transferring the workpiece from the cassette at said loading and unloading section to said polishing section and for transferring the workpiece after cleaning thereof at said cleaning section back to the cassette at said loading and unloading section.

A unitary, composite apparatus for use within a clean room for polishing and then cleaning a workpiece, said apparatus comprising:

• a housing unit;
• a partition wall partitioning an interior of said housing unit into a first chamber and a second chamber, said partition wall having a first opening for allowing the workpiece to pass therethrough;
• a polishing section for polishing the workpiece, said polishing section being disposed in said first chamber;
• a cleaning section for cleaning the workpiece which has been polished and then drying the thus cleaned workpiece, said cleaning section being disposed in said second chamber;
• and
• a transferring device for transferring the workpiece which has been polished from said first chamber to said second chamber through said first opening.

A method of polishing a surface of a workpiece, said method comprising:

• transferring a workpiece from a loading section to a polishing section disposed in a first chamber of a housing unit having an interior partitioned into said first chamber and a second chamber by a partition wall having therethrough an opening, said housing unit being located within a clean room;
• polishing a surface of said workpiece at said polishing section;
• transferring the thus polished said workpiece from said polishing section through said opening to a cleaning section disposed in said second chamber;
• cleaning and drying said polished workpiece at said cleaning section to thus form a clean and dry polished workpiece;
• transferring said clean and dry polished workpiece from said cleaning section to an unloading section;
• and
• exhausting ambient air from said interior of said housing unit.

A method of polishing a surface of a workpiece, said method comprising:

• transferring a workpiece from a cassette at a loading and unloading section in a second chamber to a polishing section disposed in a first chamber of a housing unit having an interior partitioned into said first chamber and said second chamber by a partition wall having therethrough an opening;
• polishing a surface of said workpiece at said polishing section;
• transferring the thus polished said workpiece from said polishing section through said opening to a cleaning section disposed in said second chamber;
• cleaning said polished workpiece at said cleaning section to thus form a clean polished workpiece;
• and
• transferring said clean polished workpiece from said cleaning section back to said cassette at said loading and unloading section.

A method of polishing a surface of a workpiece, said method comprising:

• transferring a workpiece from a loading section to a polishing section disposed in a first chamber of a housing unit having an interior partitioned into said first chamber and a second chamber by a partition wall having therethrough an opening, said housing unit being located within a clean room;
• polishing a surface of said workpiece at said polishing section;
• transferring the thus polished said workpiece from said polishing section through said opening to a cleaning section disposed in said second chamber;
• cleaning said polished workpiece and then drying the thus cleaned workpiece at said cleaning section to thus form a cleaned and dried workpiece;
• and
• transferring said cleaned and dried workpiece from said cleaning section to an unloading section.