US 6,783,427 B2Granted

Polishing system with air exhaust system

AssigneeEbara Corporation

InventorsSoichi Isobe, Tadakazu Sone, Takuji Hayama, Manabu Tsujimura

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Abstract

A polishing apparatus comprises: a housing defining a chamber wherein articles to be polished are subject to polishing and cleaning operations; partition walls for dividing the chamber of the housing into a plurality of sections; and, an air exhaust device. The exhaust device comprises: air exhaust conduits which are fluidly connected to the sections in the housing to exhaust air from the sections; valves for closing and opening the air exhaust conduits, respectively; and, a controller for independently controlling the valves to regulate air flows exhausted through the conduits. The conduits have inlet openings located in a vicinity of spaces where any air pollutant is generated in the sections in the housing.

Claims20

Dependent claims

A polishing apparatus comprising:

a housing defining a chamber wherein articles are to be subjected to polishing and cleaning operations;
at least one partition wall for dividing said chamber into sections;
pressure sensors provided at predetermined positions in said housing;
and
an air exhaust device including
(i) air exhaust conduits fluidly connected to said sections to exhaust air from said sections;
said air exhaust conduits having inlet openings located in a vicinity of spaces where an air pollutant can be generated in said sections,
(ii) valves for closing and opening said air exhaust conduits, respectively and
(iii) a controller for independently controlling said valves on a basis of comparison of pressures sensed by said pressure sensors with predetermined pressure values so as to regulate air flows exhausted through said air exhaust conduits, such that different pressures can be generated in different ones of said sections.

6 more elements

A polishing apparatus comprising:

a housing defining a chamber wherein articles are to be subjected to polishing and cleaning operations;
at least one partition wall for dividing said chamber into sections;
pressure sensors provided at predetermined positions in said housing;
and
an air exhaust device including
(i) air exhaust conduits fluidly connected to said sections to exhaust air from said sections, said air exhaust conduits respectively having inlet openings at least one of which is located in a vicinity of a space where an air pollutant can be generated in at least one of said sections,
(ii) valves for closing and opening said air exhaust conduits, respectively, and
(iii) a controller for controlling at least one of said valves on a basis of comparison of pressures sensed by said pressure sensors with predetermined pressure values so as to regulate an air flow exhausted through said at least one of said air exhaust conduits, such that different pressures can be generated in different ones of said sections.

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 10/277,131Filed 22 Oct 2002
Priority: JP 2001/32386022 Oct 2001
Published: US 2003/0077989 A124 Apr 2003
Granted: 31 Aug 2004
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification5 codes

B24B 37/005
Lapping machines or devices; Accessories: control means for lapping machines or devices
B24B 55/06
Safety devices for grinding or polishing machines; Accessories fitted to grinding or polishing machines for keeping tools or parts of the…
Y10S 134/902
Cleaning and liquid contact with solids: semiconductor wafer
B24B
Machines, devices, or processes for grinding or polishing