Abstract: The present invention is a polishing head provided with an annular rigid ring, a rubber film bonded to the rigid ring with a uniform tension, a mid plate joined to the rigid ring and forming a space portion together with the rubber film and the rigid ring, and an annular template provided concentrically with the rigid ring in a peripheral portion on a lower face part of the rubber film and having an outer diameter larger than an inner diameter of the rigid ring, in which a pressure of the space portion can be changed by a pressure adjustment mechanism, a back face of a work is held on the lower face part of the rubber film, and a surface of the work is brought into sliding contact with the polishing pad attached onto a turn table for performing polishing, and an inner diameter of the template is smaller than an inner diameter of the rigid ring, and a ratio between an inner diameter difference between the rigid ring and the template and a difference between the inner diameter and an outer diameter of the templ

Abstract: In the method of precisely polishing a work, torque of a sun gear and an internal gear are kept constant and a load applied to a carrier is reduced and maintained. The method comprises the steps of: changing a rotational speed of at least one of the sun gear, the internal gear, an upper polishing plate and a lower polishing plate; measuring rotation torque of a driving motor of at least one of the sun gear and the internal gear; detecting the minimum rotation torque measured in the measuring step; and adjusting the rotational speed of at least one of the sun gear, the internal gear, the upper polishing plate and the lower polishing plate so as to make the rotation torque thereof equal to the minimum rotation torque or running rotation torque, the running rotation torque being greater by a prescribed value than the minimum rotation torque.

Abstract: The present invention is a polishing head in which a rubber film is formed in a boot shape in such a manner that a position where the rubber film is held by a mid plate is distantly positioned from a work holding portion; an end portion of the boot shaped rubber film is formed in O-ring shape so that the rubber film is held by the mid plate with decreasing an area of contact between the mid plate and the rubber film as much as possible. As a result, there is provided a polishing head with rubber chuck method in which an occurrence of a surface defect, such as a scratch, on a surface of the work is suppressed as much as possible and the work can be uniformly and stably polished to the outer periphery.

Abstract: A polishing head for holding a workpiece when a surface of the workpiece is polished and a polishing apparatus provided with the polishing head, and more particularly a polishing head for holding the workpiece on a rubber film and a polishing apparatus provided with the polishing head. The polishing head and the polishing apparatus provided with the polishing head that can adjust the polishing profile on the basis of the shape of the workpiece before polishing and can stably obtain good flatness.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing a polishing head having an annular rigid ring; a rubber film bonded to the rigid ring with uniform tension; a mid plate joined to the rigid ring, forming a space together with the rubber film and the rigid ring; and a mechanism for changing pressure of the space, the method including performing a tensile test on the rubber film according to JIS K6251 before bonding the rubber film to the rigid ring, and selecting the rubber film having a value of 10 MPa or less of an inclination obtained by a linear approximation of a stress-strain curve within a strain value of 5%; and bonding the selected rubber film having a value of 10 MPa or less of the inclination to the rigid ring to manufacture the polishing head.

Abstract: The present invention is a polishing head in which a rubber film is formed in a boot shape in such a manner that a position where the rubber film is held by a mid plate is distantly positioned from a work holding portion; an end portion of the boot shaped rubber film is formed in O-ring shape so that the rubber film is held by the mid plate with decreasing an area of contact between the mid plate and the rubber film as much as possible. As a result, there is provided a polishing head with rubber chuck method in which an occurrence of a surface defect, such as a scratch, on a surface of the work is suppressed as much as possible and the work can be uniformly and stably polished to the outer periphery.

Abstract: A polishing head having a disklike carrier in which an annular projecting portion and a carrier-engagement portion are formed in a peripheral portion, a disklike head body in which a head-body-engagement portion is formed outside, a diaphragm for connecting the head body with the carrier, a spacer located between the carrier-engagement portion and the head-body-engagement portion in a part of the carrier-engagement portion and/or the head-body-engagement portion, in which the spacer abuts on the carrier-engagement portion and/or the head-body-engagement portion at the time of lifting the head body so that the workpiece is demounted from the polishing pad by lifting the carrier with it inclined. As a result, there is provided a polishing head in which the workpiece can be easily, safely and surely demounted from the polishing pad by lifting the polishing head holding the workpiece without overhanging the polishing head from the turn table and the like.

Abstract: The present invention is a polishing head having at least: an approximately discoid mid plate; a rubber film covering at least a lower face portion and a side face portion of the mid plate; and a space portion surrounded by the mid plate and the rubber film; in which pressure of the space portion can be changed by a pressure adjustment mechanism, a back surface of a workpiece is held on a lower face portion of the rubber film and a front surface of the workpiece is brought into sliding contact with a polishing pad attached onto a turn table for performing polishing; wherein the mid plate and the rubber film do not contact one another to have a gap at least throughout a whole of the lower face portion of the mid plate. As a result, there is provided a polishing head etc by a rubber chuck method in which a uniform polishing load is applied over the workpiece without influence of stiffness or flatness of the mid plate.

Abstract: The present invention is a polishing head provided with an annular rigid ring, a rubber film bonded to the rigid ring with a uniform tension, a mid plate joined to the rigid ring and forming a space portion together with the rubber film and the rigid ring, and an annular template provided concentrically with the rigid ring in a peripheral portion on a lower face part of the rubber film and having an outer diameter larger than an inner diameter of the rigid ring, in which a pressure of the space portion can be changed by a pressure adjustment mechanism, a back face of a work is held on the lower face part of the rubber film, and a surface of the work is brought into sliding contact with the polishing pad attached onto a turn table for performing polishing, and an inner diameter of the template is smaller than an inner diameter of the rigid ring, and a ratio between an inner diameter difference between the rigid ring and the template and a difference between the inner diameter and an outer diameter of the templ

Abstract: The double-side polishing apparatus for polishing both faces of a wafer is capable of reliably measuring not only a thickness of an outer part of the wafer but also a thickness of a center part thereof. The double-side polishing apparatus comprises: a lower polishing plate; an upper polishing plate held by a frame; and a carrier having a through-hole for holding the wafer. A window section, through which a laser beam passes, is formed in a part of the upper polishing plate, under which the wafer held by the carrier passes. An optical thickness measuring equipment is provided to a part of the frame, under which the window section passes while the upper polishing plate is rotated. The thickness measuring equipment emits the laser beam through the window section, receives reflected beams reflected from an upper face and a lower face of the wafer, and calculates the thickness of the wafer on the basis of peak values of the reflected beams.

Abstract: The workpiece centering apparatus is capable of highly reducing damage of a workpiece. The workpiece centering apparatus comprises: a guide plate being provided in a tray and covering a water inlet so as to horizontally introduce water into the tray; and at least three overflow outlets for overflowing the water from the tray, the overflow outlets being formed in a peripheral wall of the tray and arranged in the circumferential direction at regular intervals. The workpiece, which is horizontally fed on a surface of the water stored in the tray, is received and floated by surface tension of the water. Then, the workpiece is centered in the tray by water flows radially overflowing from the tray via the overflow outlets.

Abstract: The double face polishing apparatus is capable of controlling an amount of supplying slurry to a lower polishing plate. The double face polishing apparatus comprises: a lower polishing plate and an upper polishing plate; a carrier provided between the polishing plates, the carrier having a through-hole for holding a workpiece; a plate driving unit for rotating the polishing plates; a carrier driving unit for rotating the carrier; ring-shaped ducts coaxially provided to the upper polishing plate; a slurry supply source supplying slurry to the ring-shaped ducts; and supply pipes for supplying the slurry to the lower polishing plate. The slurry is supplied to each of coaxial polishing zones of the lower polishing plate via the corresponding ring-shaped ducts and the supply pipes.

Abstract: The method of adhering polishing pads is capable of easily exchanging polishing pads in a comfortable posture. The method comprises the steps of: setting a pad adhering carrier, which has a through-hole in which a roller unit for pressing polishing pads is fixed, in a holder with arranging a roller unit in a radial direction of a lower polishing plate and an upper polishing plate; relatively moving the upper polishing plate toward the lower polishing plate so as to clamp the roller unit between the lower polishing plate and the upper polishing plate with a prescribed force; rotating the lower polishing plate and the upper polishing plate, which clamp the roller unit, in the opposite directions at the same speed; and pressing the polishing pads onto polishing faces of the lower polishing plate and the upper polishing plate by the roller unit.

Abstract: The method of adhering polishing pads is capable of easily adhering the polishing pads without damages. The method comprises the steps of: tentatively adhering the polishing pads to polishing plates; attaching a roller unit having a shaft and a roller member, which is capable of rotating about the shaft and which has a projected section having a prescribed width and spirally formed in an outer circumferential face, on the lower polishing plate in the radial direction; moving the upper polishing plate downward, by the holding unit, until the upper polishing plate contacts the roller member; and simultaneously adhering the polishing pads onto the upper and lower polishing plate by rotating the upper and polishing plates in the opposite directions at the same speed with pressing the roller member by the upper polishing plate.

Abstract: In polishing apparatus of the present invention, collars can be easily exchange. The polishing apparatus comprises: an outer pin gear having an inner gear section; an inner pin gear having an outer gear section; and a carrier having outer gear teeth, which are engaged with the inner gear section of the outer pin gear and the outer gear section of the inner pin gear so as to rotate and move the carrier around the inner pin gear. At least one of the inner gear section and the outer gear section includes gear teeth, each of which comprises: a pin proper being fixed to a pin ring and extended upward therefrom; a cylindrical collar rotatably covering and fitting the pin proper at a fitting section.

Abstract: The polishing apparatus is capable of precisely controlling polishing pressure, correctly positioning a press plate and uniformly polishing a workpiece. In the polishing apparatus, a holding head comprises: first pressing means for introducing a pressurized fluid into a first fluid chamber and pressing a main head section downward; second pressing means for introducing a pressurized fluid into a second fluid chamber and pressing a press plate downward; and third pressing means for introducing a pressurized fluid into a third fluid chamber and pressing the workpiece downward. With this structure, the workpiece is held on the lower side of an elastic sheet member, and the lower face of the workpiece can be polished by a polishing plate.

Abstract: The polishing apparatus is capable of transferring a work piece to a top ring without moving the work piece from the center and capable of precisely polishing the work piece. The polishing apparatus has a transfer unit for transferring the work piece to the top ring. The transfer unit comprises: a guide member having a receiving section, which centers the work piece; a mounting table vertically moving with respect to the guide member, the mounting table having a mounting section, which receives the centered work piece; and a supporting mechanism supporting the mounting table and allowing the mounting table to move downward. The mounting table is relatively moved close to the top ring and presses the work piece onto the top ring so as to transfer the work piece to the top ring.

Abstract: The method of sucking water is capable of easily removing excess water included in a backing member adhered on a plate of a polishing apparatus. In the method, the excess water is removed from the backing member by the steps of: pressing a water absorbing member onto a holding surface of the backing member, on which the work piece is adhered and held, so as to absorb the excess water from the backing member; and sucking the excess water absorbed by the water absorbing member.

Abstract: The polishing apparatus is capable of changing a pH value of slurry to adjust polishing rate and polishing a work piece with high flatness. The polishing apparatus comprises: a pressure vessel; a polishing plate provided in the pressure vessel; a pressing plate pressing a work piece onto the polishing plate; a driving unit relatively moving the polishing plate with respect to the pressing plate so as to polish the work piece; a gas supplying source supplying an alkaline gas or an acid gas into the pressure vessel; a gas discharging section discharging the supplied gas from the pressure vessel; and a slurry supplying unit supplying slurry onto the polishing plate. A pH value of the slurry is adjusted by dissolving the alkaline gas or the acid gas in the slurry.

Abstract: A method for adjusting temperature of a machining liquid, e.g., slurry, etching liquid, by passing the machining liquid through a heat exchanger. The heat exchanger, which adjusts the temperature of the machining liquid, includes a ceramic heat exchanging tube which is made by baking silicon carbide (SiC).