US 11,858,088 B2
Polishing apparatus
Toshiyuki Moriya, Tokyo (JP); Takamasa Suzuki, Tokyo (JP); Yuki Inoue, Tokyo (JP); and Jai Kwang Han, Tokyo (JP)
Assigned to DISCO CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed by DISCO CORPORATION, Tokyo (JP)
Filed on Mar. 22, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/655,811.
Claims priority of application No. 2021-054661 (JP), filed on Mar. 29, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0305612 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. B24B 37/10 (2012.01); B24B 53/017 (2012.01); B24B 57/02 (2006.01); B24B 37/30 (2012.01)
CPC B24B 37/107 (2013.01) [B24B 37/30 (2013.01); B24B 53/017 (2013.01); B24B 57/02 (2013.01)] 8 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A polishing apparatus comprising:
a chuck table having a holding surface capable of sucking and holding a wafer;
a rotation mechanism that rotates the chuck table around a predetermined rotation axis;
a polishing unit that has a spindle and in which a polishing pad for polishing the wafer sucked and held by the holding surface is mounted on a lower end part of the spindle;
a slurry supply unit that supplies slurry to at least one of the wafer sucked and held by the holding surface and the polishing pad; and
a cleaning unit that cleans the holding surface, wherein:
the cleaning unit has:
a cleaning abrasive stone configured to contact the holding surface and remove slurry that has adhered to the holding surface,
a positioning unit that positions the cleaning abrasive stone to a cleaning position at which the cleaning abrasive stone contacts the holding surface and an evacuation position at which the cleaning abrasive stone is separate from the holding surface, wherein the positioning unit includes an elastic component, and
a cleaning abrasive stone holder secured to the positioning unit, when the cleaning abrasive stone is held in place within the cleaning abrasive stone holder by at least one fastener which secures first and second plates disposed on opposite sides of the cleaning abrasive stone,
hardness of the cleaning abrasive stone is lower than hardness of the holding surface,
the elastic component comprises a compression spring,
the cleaning abrasive stone remains stationary in a X-Y plane when the cleaning unit is removing the slurry that has adhered to the holding surface, and
the X-Y plane is vertical to a Z-axis direction where the spindle is disposed along the Z-axis direction.