JP2003236744A - Polishing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a polishing device for equalizing polishing profiles of polishing object after polishing, even when there is a different between polishing performances of a top ring. <P>SOLUTION: The polishing device has three or more polishing tables having a polishing surface and top rings for pressing a wafer W on the polishing surfaces of the polishing tables. The same number of top rings 120, 220 and 320 as the number of polishing tables 110, 210 and 310 are disposed corresponding to the polishing tables 110, 210, and 310. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus, and more particularly to a polishing apparatus for polishing an object to be polished such as a semiconductor wafer into a flat and mirror surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as the degree of integration of semiconductor devices has increased, circuit wiring has become finer and the distance between wirings has become smaller. In particular, in the case of optical lithography with a line width of 0.5 μm or less, the depth of focus becomes shallow, so that the flatness of the image plane of the stepper is required. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is one of means for flattening the surface of such a semiconductor wafer.
There is known a polishing apparatus for performing the above.

A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) device of this type is
A polishing table having a polishing pad on its upper surface and a top ring are provided. Then, the polishing object is interposed between the polishing table and the top ring, and while supplying the polishing liquid (slurry) to the surface of the polishing pad, the polishing object is pressed against the polishing table by the top ring to polish the polishing object. The surface of the object is polished flat and mirror-like.

[0004]

Recently, a polishing apparatus having three or more polishing tables has been known. However, in a polishing apparatus having three or more polishing tables, each polishing table has a polishing table. Correspondingly, the top ring is not installed. For example, in a polishing apparatus having three polishing tables and three top rings, each top ring has a structure in which wafers are sequentially polished on all the polishing tables. For example, the first wafer is held by the first top ring, the primary polishing table, the secondary polishing table,
The third polishing table sequentially polishes, the second wafer is held by the second top ring, and the primary polishing table, the secondary polishing table, and the tertiary polishing table sequentially polish.

However, since the polishing performance of the top ring varies depending on each top ring, in the conventional polishing apparatus, the polishing profile after polishing varies depending on the top ring used, and the same polishing profile as the top ring is produced. Will result in a wafer having. That is, in the above-described example, the first wafer has a polishing profile according to the polishing characteristics of the first top ring, and the second wafer has a polishing profile according to the polishing characteristics of the second top ring. Will have. The wafers after polishing are stored in the respective cassettes, but it is a big problem that wafers having such different polishing profiles are stored in the same cassette.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art. Even if there is a difference in the polishing performance of the top ring, the polishing profile of the object to be polished is the same. It is an object of the present invention to provide a polishing device that can be used.

[0007]

In order to solve the problems in the prior art, one aspect of the present invention is to provide three or more polishing tables having polishing surfaces, and polishing the polishing surfaces of the polishing tables. A polishing apparatus having a top ring for pressing an object, wherein the same number of top rings as the polishing tables are provided for each polishing table.

As described above, since the same number of top rings as the polishing tables are provided for each polishing table, each top ring can perform polishing on the corresponding polishing table. Therefore, even if there is a difference in the polishing performance of each top ring, the polishing profile of the object to be polished can be made the same.

Another aspect of the present invention is a device having a polishing surface.
In a polishing apparatus having one or more polishing tables and a plurality of top rings that press the polishing object against the polishing surface of the polishing table, the polishing object can be transported to the polishing object receiving position of the top ring. The present invention is a polishing apparatus, characterized in that various transport mechanisms are provided, and the transport mechanism is provided with a larger number of stages for mounting an object to be polished than the number of top rings.

With such a configuration, the polishing object can be delivered (to the robot, the reversing machine, etc.) on the remaining mounting stage, so that the polishing object can be transported smoothly.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, a moving mechanism for moving the top ring is provided for each top ring, and the moving mechanism causes each top ring to receive a polishing object and a corresponding polishing position on the polishing table. It is characterized by being able to move to.

In a preferred aspect of the present invention, a processing table for processing the polishing object held on the top ring is provided for each top ring, and the top ring is moved to the processing position on the processing table by the moving mechanism. It is characterized in that the above-mentioned object to be polished is processed by moving it to.
In such a processing table, cleaning of an object to be polished, buffing, film thickness measurement, etc. can be performed. For example, if the polishing target is cleaned on the processing table, the polishing target can be cleaned before being polished on the next polishing table.

The moving mechanism may directly move the top ring, or may swing the top ring.

A preferred aspect of the present invention is characterized in that a transport mechanism capable of transporting the object to be polished is provided at the receiving position of the object to be polished on each top ring. With such a configuration, it becomes possible to convey the object to be polished to each top ring by one conveying mechanism.

A preferred aspect of the present invention is characterized in that the transport mechanism transports the polishing object to a position where the top ring receives the polishing object by rotation.
A rotary transporter can be used as such a transport mechanism. By arranging the receiving position (delivery position) of each top ring on a concentric circle and arranging the rotary transporter on the concentric circle, the object to be polished can be conveyed to all the delivery positions by this rotary transporter. It will be possible.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of a polishing apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of a polishing device according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Figure 1,
The polishing apparatus according to this embodiment includes a rectangular housing 1, and the inside of the housing 1 is divided into a region A and a region B by a partition wall 10. This area A
An opening for carrying a semiconductor wafer is provided in the partition wall 10 that separates the area B from the area B, and a shutter (not shown) is provided in this opening.

The housing 1 has three loads / loaders for mounting a wafer cassette for stocking a large number of semiconductor wafers.
The unload stage 2 is attached. This loading / unloading stage 2 has an open cassette, SM
An IF (Standard Manufacturing Interface) pod or a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) can be mounted. Here, the SMIF and FOUP are hermetically sealed containers in which a wafer cassette is housed inside and covered with a partition wall to maintain an environment independent of the external space.

In the area A, a traveling mechanism 11 is laid along the line of the load / unload stage 2, and the first transfer robot 3 is installed on the traveling mechanism 11. The first transfer robot 3 can access the wafer cassette on the load / unload stage 2 by moving on the traveling mechanism 11. The first transfer robot 3 is provided with two upper and lower hands. For example, the upper hand is used when returning a semiconductor wafer to a wafer cassette, and the lower hand is used when transferring a semiconductor wafer before polishing. The upper and lower hands can be used properly by using them.

Inside the area A, a reversing machine 4 for reversing a semiconductor wafer before polishing and a dummy wafer station are provided on the side opposite to the load / unload stage 2 with the traveling mechanism 11 of the first transfer robot 3 interposed therebetween. 5 and a film thickness measuring device for measuring the film thickness of the wafer (In-line Thickness Monito
r: ITM) 6 is arranged. The first transfer robot 3 moves on the traveling mechanism 11 so that the reversing device 4, the dummy wafer station 5, and the film thickness measuring device 6 are provided.
Is accessible to.

The dummy wafer station 5 is capable of holding a maximum of 25 wafers. The dummy wafer station 5 is used to confirm the state of the dummy wafers and equipment used to stabilize the state of the polishing surface before processing product wafers. A QC wafer or the like to be transported for the purpose is introduced and held inside this dummy wafer station 5.

The film thickness measuring device 6 receives a wafer before or after polishing from the first transfer robot 3 and measures the film thickness of this wafer. The polishing accuracy can be improved by appropriately adjusting the polishing conditions and the like based on the measurement result obtained by the film thickness measuring instrument 6.

In the area B, the second transfer robot 7 is arranged adjacent to the reversing machine 4 in the area A. The second transfer robot 7 is provided with two upper and lower hands. For example, when the upper hand is used to transfer a semiconductor wafer after polishing, the lower hand is used to transfer a semiconductor wafer before polishing. It can be used for different purposes such as upper and lower hands.

Inside the area B, the second transfer robot 7
The primary washing machine 8a is arranged at a position where the hand can reach. A secondary cleaning machine 8b is arranged in the area A adjacent to the primary cleaning machine 8a, and a third cleaning machine 8c is further arranged adjacent to the secondary cleaning machine 8b. Above the primary cleaning machine 8a, the secondary cleaning machine 8b, and the tertiary cleaning machine 8c, a transfer unit 9 for transferring a wafer between the cleaning machines is installed.

The transport unit 9 installed above the washing machines 8a, 8b and 8c includes the primary washing machine 8a to the secondary washing machine 8
a hand for carrying to the b and a hand for carrying from the secondary cleaning machine 8b to the tertiary cleaning machine 8c are separately provided,
Each hand is provided with three or more chuck pieces. These chuck pieces sandwich the peripheral edge of the wafer and hold it, so that the wafer can be transported to the next cleaning machine.

As the primary cleaning machine 8a, for example, a roll type cleaning machine is used which cleans the front and back surfaces of the wafer by rotating the roll-shaped sponges arranged above and below and pressing them against the front and back surfaces of the wafer. You can Also, 2
As the next cleaning machine 8b, for example, a pencil-type cleaning machine that presses the wafer while rotating a hemispherical sponge to clean it can be used. As the third cleaning machine 8c, for example, a back surface of the wafer can be rinse-cleaned, and a cleaning of the front surface of the wafer can be performed by a pencil-type cleaning machine that presses the hemispherical sponge while rotating it. The tertiary cleaning machine 8c includes a stage for rotating the chucked wafer at a high speed, and has a function of drying the cleaned wafer by rotating the wafer at a high speed (spin dry function). In addition, each washing machine 8
In a, 8b, and 8c, in addition to the roll type washing machine and the pencil type washing machine described above, a megasonic type washing machine that applies ultrasonic waves to the washing liquid may be additionally provided.

Further, inside the area B, a reversing machine 12 for reversing the semiconductor wafer after polishing is arranged at a position where the hand of the second transfer robot 7 can reach. The inversion machine 4 for the area A and the inversion machine 12 for the area B described above respectively chuck the semiconductor wafer, the inversion mechanism that inverts the front and back surfaces of the semiconductor wafer, and the semiconductor wafer by the chuck mechanism. And a detection sensor for confirming whether or not it is present. Reversing machine 4
Further, the reversing machine 12 is designed to sandwich and hold the peripheral edge of the wafer by the chuck mechanism, and to turn the wafer upside down.

Below the reversing machine 12, a rotary transporter (conveying mechanism) 13 rotatable about a shaft 13a is arranged. The rotary transporter 13 is provided with wafer mounting stages on which wafers are mounted at four equal positions so that a plurality of wafers can be mounted at the same time.

Inside the region B, three polishing parts are provided so as to surround the rotary transporter 13, that is, a first polishing part 100 for performing the primary polishing of the wafer and a second polishing part for performing the secondary polishing.
A polishing unit 200 and a third polishing unit 300 that performs third polishing are arranged. As shown in FIG. 1, the first polishing unit 100
Is a polishing table 110 having a polishing surface, and a top ring 120 for holding a semiconductor wafer and polishing while pressing the semiconductor wafer against the polishing table 110.
And a polishing liquid supply nozzle 130 for supplying a polishing liquid or a dressing liquid (for example, water) to the polishing table 110.
A dresser 140 for dressing the polishing table 110, a processing table 150, and a dresser cleaning tank 160 are provided. Similarly, the second polishing section 2
00 is a polishing table 210 and a top ring 220.
And a polishing liquid supply nozzle 230, a dresser 240, a processing table 250, and a dresser cleaning tank 260. The third polishing section 300 includes a polishing table 310, a top ring 320, and a polishing liquid supply nozzle 330. A dresser 340, a processing table 350, and a dresser cleaning tank 360. Thus, in this embodiment,
The same number of top rings as the polishing tables are provided for each polishing table.

FIG. 2 is a view showing the relationship between the top ring 120 of the first polishing section 100 and the polishing table 110.
Although only the first polishing section 100 will be described below, the second polishing section 200 and the third polishing section 300 can be considered in the same manner as the first polishing section 100. Figure 2
As shown in FIG. 1, the top ring 120 is rotated by a rotatable top ring drive shaft 121.
Is hung from. The top ring head 122 is supported by a swingable shaft (moving mechanism) 123 that can be positioned, and the top ring 120 is mounted on the rotary transporter 13 (wafer receiving position), the polishing position on the polishing table 110, and the processing table 150. It is possible to move to the processing position. Further, the dresser 140 is mounted on the dresser head 1 by a rotatable dresser drive shaft 141.
It is suspended from 42. The dresser head 142 is supported by a positionable swing shaft 143, which allows the dresser 140 to move between the dresser cleaning tank 160 and the dresser position on the polishing table 110.

A polishing cloth, a grindstone, or the like is attached to the upper surface of the polishing table 110, and the polishing cloth, the grindstone, or the like forms a polishing surface for polishing a semiconductor wafer. At the time of polishing, from the polishing liquid supply nozzle 130 to the polishing table 1
A polishing liquid is supplied to the polishing surface on 10, and the semiconductor wafer to be polished is pressed against the polishing surface by the top ring 120 to perform polishing.

As shown in FIG. 2, below the rotary transporter 13, a lifter 14 for lifting the wafer on the stage of the rotary transporter 13 to the reversing machine 12.
Is installed. In addition, the rotary transporter 13
The pusher 1 corresponding to the top rings 120, 220, 320 of the polishing parts 100, 200, 300 is provided below
5 are installed.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the first transfer robot 3. As shown in FIG. 3, the first transfer robot 3 has a θ axis 30 for turning and an R1 axis 31 for extending and retracting the upper hand.
-1, R2 axis 31-2 for expanding and contracting the lower hand, Z axis 32 for vertical movement, and X axis 33 for traveling in the direction in which the cassettes are arranged. The Z-axis 32 of the robot is
It may be incorporated in the robot body 34.

Both the upper and lower hands have a vacuum line and can be used as a vacuum suction hand. This suction-type hand can accurately convey a wafer regardless of the deviation of the wafer in the cassette. Further, as these hands, drop-type hands that hold the peripheral portion of the wafer can be used. Since the drop-type hand does not collect dust unlike the suction-type hand, the wafer can be transferred while maintaining the cleanness of the back surface of the wafer. Therefore, this drop-type hand
It is effective to use the transfer process until the wafer is taken out from the next cleaning machine 8c and stored in the wafer cassette on the loading / unloading stage 2, that is, the wafer is transferred after cleaning. Further, if the upper hand is a drop-type hand, it is possible to prevent the clean wafer after cleaning from being further contaminated. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the drop hand 35 is used as the upper hand and the suction hand 36 is used as the lower hand.

When used as a vacuum suction hand, the presence or absence of a wafer on the hand can be detected by using a vacuum switch. When used as a drop-type hand, the presence or absence of a wafer on the hand can be detected by using a proximity sensor such as a reflection type or capacitance type.

In the present embodiment, the upper hand 35 is accessible to the tertiary cleaning machine 8c, the load / unload stage 2, the dummy wafer station 5, and the film thickness measuring device 6, and the lower hand 36. Can access the load / unload stage 2, the reversing machine 4, and the film thickness measuring device 6.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the second transfer robot 7. As shown in FIG. 4, the second transfer robot 7 has a θ axis 70 for turning and an R1 axis 71 for extending and retracting the upper hand.
-1, R2 axis 71-2 for lower hand extension and contraction, and Z axis 72 for vertical movement. As the upper and lower hands, the above-mentioned drop-type hand can be used. When used as a drop-type hand, the presence or absence of the wafer W on the hand can be detected by using a proximity sensor such as a reflection type or a capacitance type. FIG. 4 shows an example in which drop hands 75 and 76 are used as the upper and lower hands. In the present embodiment, the upper hand 75 can access the reversing machine 12 and the primary cleaning machine 8 a, and the lower hand 76 can access the reversing machine 4 and the lifter 14.

FIG. 5A is a plan view showing the reversing machine 4, FIG.
FIG. 5B is a side view in which a part of FIG. Since the reversing machine 4 and the reversing machine 12 have the same structure, only the reversing machine 4 will be described below. 5 (a) and 5
As shown in (b), the reversing machine 4 includes two arc-shaped arms 40, and a plurality of pieces (for example, six pieces) 41 having grooves for clamping the wafer W are fixed to the arms 40. There is. This arm 40 includes a cylinder 42 and a compression spring 4.
The force of 3 is used to open and close in accordance with the movement of the shaft 44 pushed and pulled. Arm 40
Is opened when the cylinder 42 extends and closed by the force of the compression spring 43 when the cylinder 42 contracts. A gap is provided between the shaft 44 and the tip of the cylinder 42, and the shaft 44 is pulled back by the force of the compression spring 43 until the stopper 46 hits the end block 45.

When the wafer W is chucked, the distance between the stopper 46 and the end block 45 is 1 mm.
The end block 45 is adjusted so that the clearance can be obtained. A slit is cut in the stopper 46, and a transmissive optical sensor 47 is arranged so as to pass through the slit at the position where the wafer is clamped. Therefore, when the wafer W is not clamped or when the wafer W cannot be clamped normally, the light from the sensor 47 is not transmitted, and thus the sensor 47 can recognize the presence or absence of the wafer W.

The slide mechanism of the shaft 44 and the pulley 48 are connected to each other. The pulley 48 is connected to the pulley 50 at the shaft end of the stepping motor 49 by the belt 51. When the stepping motor 49 rotates, the arm 40 is rotated. Has a structure that rotates.

Next, a process of polishing a wafer by using the polishing apparatus having such a structure will be described. First, the first transfer robot 3 takes out a wafer from the wafer cassette on the load / unload stage 2 and transfers the wafer to the reversing machine 4. The reversing machine 4 reverses the wafer W by 180 ° after chucking the wafer. The inverted wafer W is transferred to the second transfer robot 7 and placed on the lifter 14 by the second transfer robot 7. Lifter 14
When is lowered as it is, the wafer W is mounted on the wafer mounting stage of the rotary transporter 13.

After the wafer W is placed on the wafer mounting stage of the rotary transporter 13, the lifter 14 continues to descend to a position where the rotary transporters 13 do not interfere with each other even if the rotary transporters 13 rotate. When the lifter 14 completes the lowering, the rotary transporter 13 rotates counterclockwise by 90 ° to position the wafer W on the pusher 15 below the top ring 120. When the positioning of the rotary transporter 13 is completed, the pusher 15 moves up and carries the wafer W to the top ring 120 above it.

The wafer transferred to the top ring 120 is sucked by the vacuum suction mechanism of the top ring 120, and the wafer is conveyed to the polishing table 110 while being sucked. Then, the wafer is primarily polished by a polishing surface made of a polishing cloth, a grindstone, or the like mounted on the polishing table 110. The wafer that has been polished is the top ring 120.
Is moved to above the pusher 15 and transferred to the pusher 15. This wafer has pusher 1
By lowering 5 the wafer is mounted on the wafer mounting stage 110 of the rotary transporter 13.

After the pusher 15 descends to a position where it does not interfere with the rotary transporter 13, the rotary transporter 13 rotates 90 ° counterclockwise to position the wafer W on the pusher 15 below the top ring 220. When the positioning of the rotary transporter 13 is completed, the pusher 15 moves up and carries the wafer W to the top ring 220 above it.

The wafer transferred to the top ring 220 is sucked by the vacuum suction mechanism of the top ring 220, and the wafer is conveyed to the polishing table 210 while being sucked. Then, the wafer is secondly polished by a polishing surface made of a polishing cloth, a grindstone, or the like mounted on the polishing table 210. The wafer that has been polished is the top ring 220.
Is moved to above the pusher 15 and transferred to the pusher 15. This wafer has pusher 1
By lowering 5 the wafer is mounted on the wafer mounting stage 110 of the rotary transporter 13.

After the pusher 15 descends to a position where it does not interfere with the rotary transporter 13, the rotary transporter 13 rotates 90 ° counterclockwise to position the wafer W on the pusher 15 below the top ring 320. When the positioning of the rotary transporter 13 is completed, the pusher 15 moves up and carries the wafer W to the top ring 320 above it.

The wafer transferred to the top ring 320 is sucked by the vacuum suction mechanism of the top ring 320, and the wafer is conveyed to the polishing table 310 while being sucked. Then, the wafer is tertiary-polished with a polishing surface made of a polishing cloth, a grindstone, or the like mounted on the polishing table 310. The wafer that has been polished is the top ring 320.
Is moved to above the pusher 15 and transferred to the pusher 15. This wafer has pusher 1
By lowering 5 the wafer is mounted on the wafer mounting stage 110 of the rotary transporter 13.

After the pusher 15 descends to a position where it does not interfere with the rotary transporter 13, the rotary transporter 13 rotates 90 ° counterclockwise and the lifter 14
Position the wafer W on top. Rotary transporter 1
When the positioning of 3 is completed, the lifter 14 moves up and carries the wafer W to the reversing machine 12 above it.

The reversing machine 12 chucks the wafer and then reverses the wafer W by 180 °. The inverted wafer W is delivered to the second transfer robot 7 and introduced into the primary cleaning machine 8 a by the second transfer robot 7. The wafer is primarily cleaned by the primary cleaning machine 8a, and then introduced into the secondary cleaning machine 8b by the transfer unit 9. In the secondary cleaning machine 8b, the wafer 2
Subsequent cleaning is performed, and the cleaned wafer is further introduced into the third cleaning device 8c by the transfer unit 9. The tertiary cleaning machine 8c performs tertiary cleaning of the wafer, and the cleaned wafer is spin-dried in the tertiary cleaning machine 8c. The wafer after the spin dry is delivered to the first transfer robot 3. The first transfer robot 3 that has received the wafer travels on the traveling mechanism 11 and stores the wafer in the wafer cassette on the loading / unloading stage 2.

When the shape of the polishing surface of each polishing table is to be corrected or to be sharpened, each dresser 140, 240,
340 swings from the dresser cleaning tanks 160, 260, 360 and moves above the dressing position on the polishing table. Then, the dressers 140, 240, 340 are pressed against the polishing surface of the polishing table while rotating at a predetermined number of rotations, and the polishing surface is dressed. After the dressing is completed, the dressers 140, 240 and 340 are swung and moved to the dresser cleaning tanks 160, 260 and 360, where they are cleaned.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the same number of top rings as the polishing tables are provided for each polishing table. Therefore, each top ring 1
20, 220 and 320 can perform polishing on the corresponding polishing tables 110, 210 and 310, respectively. Therefore, even if there is a difference in the polishing performance of each top ring, the polishing profile of the wafer after polishing can be made the same.

For example, a cleaning mechanism is provided on the processing tables 150, 250, 350 provided for the respective top rings 120, 220, 320, and the wafer is moved to the processing tables 150, 250, 350 after completion of polishing on each polishing table. Then, the wafer may be cleaned. In addition to the cleaning mechanism, the processing tables 150, 250, 35
0 may be provided with a buff polishing mechanism to perform buff polishing after polishing on each polishing table, or a film thickness measuring device may be provided to measure the film thickness before or after polishing on each polishing table. Good. Further, other maintenance can be performed on the processing tables 150, 250, 350.

For example, the processing tables 150, 250, 3
Each buffing mechanism is provided in
At 0, 200, and 300, one polishing unit may perform the rough polishing to the final polishing of the wafer. In this case, it is preferable that the wafer after being polished in each polishing section is separately stored in the loading / unloading stage 2 corresponding to each polishing section.

Further, for example, the processing tables 150 and 25
In the process of providing a film thickness measuring device on each of 0 and 350 and performing stepwise polishing on the polishing tables 110, 210 and 310, the wafer is moved to the processing tables 150, 250 and 350 after the polishing on each polishing table is completed. Then, the film thickness of the wafer can be measured here. It is possible to adjust the polishing conditions in the polishing table or the polishing conditions in the next polishing table based on the measurement result of the film thickness measuring device.

Further, the processing tables 150, 250, 35
It is not always necessary to provide a film thickness measuring device for all 0,
For example, it is possible to reduce the cost by providing a film thickness measuring device only on any one of the processing tables. In this case, in order to grasp the final finish, it is preferable to provide a film thickness measuring device on the processing table of the last polishing section (the third polishing section 300 in this embodiment).

In this embodiment, an example in which the top ring is moved by swinging by the swing shaft has been described, but a (linear motion) moving mechanism using a ball screw, a linear motor or the like may be used. When such a linear movement mechanism is used, it is necessary to have a layout in which a processing table is provided on an extension line between the rotary transporter and the polishing table, which leads to an increase in the footprint, but it does not work as in the present embodiment. When the dynamic movement mechanism is used, a compact structure can be obtained.

In the present embodiment, the wafer can be transferred to the receiving position of the polishing object of each top ring by one rotary transporter 13. Further, in the present embodiment, the number of wafer mounting stages of the rotary transporter 13 is one more (4) than the number of top rings (3).
One) is provided. Therefore, since the wafer can be delivered to and from the reversing machine 12 or the second transfer robot 7 in the remaining one wafer mounting stage, the wafer transfer process becomes smooth.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described so far, it is needless to say that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and may be implemented in various different forms within the scope of the technical idea thereof.

[0058]

As described above, according to the present invention, since the same number of top rings as the polishing tables are provided for each polishing table, each top ring polishes on the corresponding polishing table. be able to. Therefore, even if there is a difference in the polishing performance of each top ring, the polishing profile of the object to be polished can be made the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an overall configuration of a polishing device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a first polishing section of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a first transfer robot of the polishing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a second transfer robot of the polishing apparatus of FIG.

5 (a) is a plan view showing a reversing machine of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 (b) is a side view showing a partial cross section of FIG. 5 (a).

[Explanation of symbols]

1 housing 2 load / unload stage 3 First transfer robot 4,12 Reversing machine 5 Dummy wafer station 6 Film thickness measuring device 7 Second transfer robot 8a Primary washing machine 8b Secondary washing machine 8c 3rd washing machine 9 Transport unit 10 partitions 11 traveling mechanism 13 Rotary Transporter 14 Lifters 15 pushers 100 First polishing section 110, 210, 310 polishing table 120, 220, 320 Top ring 121 Top ring drive shaft 122 Top ring head 123 swing axis 130,230,330 Polishing liquid supply nozzle 140,240,340 Dresser 141 Dresser drive shaft 142 Dresser head 143 swing axis 150,250,350 Processing table 160, 260, 360 Dresser cleaning tank 200 Second polishing section 300 Third polishing unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01L 21/304 621 H01L 21/304 621A 21/68 21/68 A (72) Inventor Daisuke Koga Ota, Tokyo 11-1 Haneda-cho, Asahi-machi, Ebara Corporation (reference) 3C007 AS24 BS15 CS04 CT04 CT05 CU02 DS05 ES17 FS01 FU04 NS13 3C058 AA07 AB03 CB01 CB03 DA13 DA17 5F031 CA02 DA01 DA08 EA14 FA01 FA07 FA11 FA12 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 FA14 GA08 GA13 GA24 GA43 GA47 GA48 GA49 HA13 JA05 JA09 JA10 JA22 JA40 JA47 LA08 LA09 LA12 LA13 LA15 MA22 NA09

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A polishing apparatus comprising three or more polishing tables having polishing surfaces and a top ring for pressing an object to be polished against the polishing surfaces of the polishing tables, wherein each top ring has the same number as that of the polishing tables. A polishing device provided corresponding to a polishing table. 2. A polishing apparatus comprising three or more polishing tables having polishing surfaces and a plurality of top rings for pressing the polishing objects against the polishing surfaces of the polishing table, wherein the polishing objects of the top rings are A polishing apparatus comprising: a transport mechanism capable of transporting the polishing target object at a receiving position, and the transport mechanism having a larger number of mounting stages of the polishing target object than the number of the top rings. 3. A moving mechanism for moving the top ring is provided for each top ring, and the moving mechanism can move each top ring to a receiving position of an object to be polished and a corresponding polishing position on a polishing table. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the polishing apparatus is a polishing apparatus. 4. A processing table for processing a polishing object held on the top ring is provided for each top ring, and the top ring is moved to a processing position on the processing table by the moving mechanism to perform the polishing. The polishing apparatus according to claim 3, which processes an object. 5. The polishing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the processing of the object to be polished is cleaning of the object to be polished. 6. The polishing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the moving mechanism linearly moves the top ring. 7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the moving mechanism swings the top ring. 8. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a transport mechanism capable of transporting the polishing object is provided at a position where each polishing object receives the polishing object. 9. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the transport mechanism transports the polishing target to a position where the top ring receives the polishing target by rotation.