Abstract: A buried film and a barrier film are polished together using a slurry in which the polishing rate on a substrate material (in particular, silicon oxide), that on a buried-film material (in particular, tungsten) and that on a barrier-film material (in particular, titanium oxide) are substantially equal to one another. This can materialize a buried structure free from any step or steps, at a high polishing rate.

Abstract: Laser sources output laser lights L1 and L2 having different wavelengths so as to increase an accuracy of an endpoint detection of polishing processing by enabling an accurate detection of a film thickness of a layer insulating film on a surface of a wafer to be polished by the CMP processing, the lights are emitted from a detection window via a beam splitter to the layer insulating film formed on the surface of the wafer to be polished by a pad, different optical detectors detect interference lights corresponding to the laser lights L1 and L2 reflected and generated from a surface of the layer insulating film and a pattern under the surface via the detection window, the beam splitter, and a dichroic mirror, the detection results are supplied to a film thickness evaluation unit 7, a film thickness of the layer insulation film is detected on the basis of a relationship between intensities of the reflected interference lights to the laser lights L1 and L2 or the intensity ratio, and an endpoint of polishing pro

Abstract: A method of polishing a film formed on a wafer includes steps of polishing a film formed on a surface of a wafer which is chucked by a wafer chuck and set on a polishing disk so that the film faces the polishing disk, irradiating a plurality of portions of the film under polishing process with lights having different wavelengths from one another through a plurality of holes formed in the polishing disk, detecting lights reflected from the plurality of portions of the film caused by the irradiation, evaluating a thickness distribution of the film from information of an intensity ratio of the detected reflected lights, and controlling a pushing pressure of the wafer chuck according to the evaluated thickness distribution under polishing process.

Abstract: The present invention aims at make automatic real-time measurement of the removal rate in during polishing. For achieving the aim, a polishing system is provided with a sensor 1 for measuring a friction generated between a polishing pad and a workpiece during the polishing. The information processor of the polishing system evaluates the polishing efficiency of the polishing pad 5 on the basis of a fluctuation in the removal rate which is successively obtained from a friction successively detected by the sensor and a predetermined function. The result of the evaluation is used for the determination of the execution timing of a dressing process for the polishing pad, the calculation of the removal from the workpiece, and the like.

Abstract: To provide a method having stable high polishing efficiency in the CMP of an LSI wafer and means for reducing the amount of use of consumable items such as a polishing liquid and a pad, an electric field is applied to the abrasive grains on a pad to attract the abrasive grains into a diffusion layer in the polishing liquid solvent near the surface of the pad, thereby holding the abrasive grains in the diffusion layer.

Abstract: The present invention aims at make automatic real-time measurement of the removal rate in during polishing. For achieving the aim, a polishing system is provided with a sensor 1 for measuring a friction generated between a polishing pad and a workpiece during the polishing. The information processor of the polishing system evaluates the polishing efficiency of the polishing pad 5 on the basis of a fluctuation in the removal rate which is successively obtained from a friction successively detected by the sensor and a predetermined function. The result of the evaluation is used for the determination of the execution timing of a dressing process for the polishing pad, the calculation of the removal from the workpiece, and the like.

Abstract: A buried film and a barrier film are polished together using a slurry in which the polishing rate on a substrate material (in particular, silicon oxide), that on a buried-film material (in particular, tungsten) and that on a barrier-film material (in particular, titanium oxide) are substantially equal to one another. This can materialize a buried structure free from any step or steps, at a high polishing rate.

Abstract: A method of polishing a film formed on a wafer includes steps of polishing a film formed on a surface of a wafer which is chucked by a wafer chuck and set on a polishing disk, irradiating a plurality of portions of the film under polishing process with light, detecting lights reflected from the plurality of portions of the film caused by the irradiation and providing a detected signal indicative thereof, evaluating a thickness distribution of the film by processing the detected signal, and controlling a pushing pressure of the wafer chuck according to the evaluated thickness distribution under polishing process.

Abstract: To provide a method having stable high polishing efficiency in the CMP of an LSI wafer and means for reducing the amount of use of consumable items such as a polishing liquid and a pad, an electric field is applied to the abrasive grains on a pad to attract the abrasive grains into a diffusion layer in the polishing liquid solvent near the surface of the pad, thereby holding the abrasive grains in the diffusion layer.

Abstract: Laser sources output laser lights L1 and L2 having different wavelengths so as to increase an accuracy of an endpoint detection of polishing processing by enabling an accurate detection of a film thickness of a layer insulating film on a surface of a wafer to be polished by the CMP processing, the lights are emitted from a detection window via a beam splitter to the layer insulating film formed on the surface of the wafer to be polished by a pad, different optical detectors detect interference lights corresponding to the laser lights L1 and L2 reflected and generated from a surface of the layer insulating film and a pattern under the surface via the detection window, the beam splitter, and a dichroic mirror, the detection results are supplied to a film thickness evaluation unit 7, a film thickness of the layer insulation film is detected on the basis of a relationship between intensities of the reflected interference lights to the laser lights L1 and L2 or the intensity ratio, and an endpoint of polishing pro

Abstract: To provide a method having stable high polishing efficiency in the CMP of an LSI wafer and means for reducing the amount of use of consumable items such as a polishing liquid and a pad, an electric field is applied to the abrasive grains on a pad to attract the abrasive grains into a diffusion layer in the polishing liquid solvent near the surface of the pad, thereby holding the abrasive grains in the diffusion layer.

Abstract: To provide a method having stable high polishing efficiency in the CMP of an LSI wafer and means for reducing the amount of use of consumable items such as a polishing liquid and a pad, an electric field is applied to the abrasive grains on a pad to attract the abrasive grains into a diffusion layer in the polishing liquid solvent near the surface of the pad, thereby holding the abrasive grains in the diffusion layer.

Abstract: To provide a method having stable high polishing efficiency in the CMP of an LSI wafer and means for reducing the amount of use of consumable items such as a polishing liquid and a pad, an electric field is applied to the abrasive grains on a pad to attract the abrasive grains into a diffusion layer in the polishing liquid solvent near the surface of the pad, thereby holding the abrasive grains in the diffusion layer.

Abstract: The present invention aims at make automatic real-time measurement of the removal rate in during polishing. For achieving the aim, a polishing system is provided with a sensor 1 for measuring a friction generated between a polishing pad and a workpiece during the polishing. The information processor of the polishing system evaluates the polishing efficiency of the polishing pad 5 on the basis of a fluctuation in the removal rate which is successively obtained from a friction successively detected by the sensor and a predetermined function. The result of the evaluation is used for the determination of the execution timing of a dressing process for the polishing pad, the calculation of the removal from the workpiece, and the like.

Abstract: The present invention aims at make automatic real-time measurement of the removal rate in during polishing. For achieving the aim, a polishing system is provided with a sensor 1 for measuring a friction generated between a polishing pad and a workpiece during the polishing. The information processor of the polishing system evaluates the polishing efficiency of the polishing pad 5 on the basis of a fluctuation in the removal rate which is successively obtained from a friction successively detected by the sensor and a predetermined function. The result of the evaluation is used for the determination of the execution timing of a dressing process for the polishing pad, the calculation of the removal from the workpiece, and the like.

Abstract: A laser-machining optical apparatus designed to efficiently work an object through a large area thereof by projecting an image of a mask to the object through a laser beam having a small sectional area and a high energy density. The apparatus has a laser head for oscillating laser light for working the specimen, a mask provided in the optical path of the laser light beam between the specimen and the laser head and having a working pattern formed on its surface, an objective provided in the optical path of the laser-light beam between the mask and the specimen, a mechanism on which the mask and the specimen are placed so that an optical imaging relationship is maintained therebetween with the objective interposed therebetween, and a two-dimensional scanning device provided in the optical path of the laser light beam between the laser head and the mask to two-dimensionally scan the surface of the mask with the laser light beam from the laser head.

Abstract: A second harmonic generator having a wide acceptance of bandwidth of temperature and/or a high conversion efficiency and a method of fabrication thereof are disclosed. An equidistant arrangement of pole-inverted grating having a rectangular sectional profile and the direction of spontaneous polarization opposite to that of a substrate within an optical waveguide has been known to produce a high conversion efficiency of the second harmonic generator A second harmonic generator having such a structure, which has so far been impossible to fabricate, is formed utilizing the liquid-phase epitaxial method and the ion-implanting method. Further, the substrate and the optical waveguide are formed of the same type of material.

Abstract: Using an optical pickup, recording/reproducing of information is performed by irradiating light beams to an optical recording medium to form light spots. The optical pickup includes means for generating plural light beams, an optical waveguide for guiding the plural light beams in a row into a flat space, and a light deflecting element for deflecting the light beams, which run in the optical waveguide, within a plane formed by a vector perpendicular to a plane of the optical waveguide and a directional vector of the light beams. The light deflecting element deflects the plural light spots, which are to be arranged in a row, in a direction perpendicular to the light spot row to perform micro seek.

Abstract: An optical waveguide is comprised of an optical substrate and an optical thin-film optical waveguide layer and formed such that ##EQU1## where .theta. is an output angle, n.sub.o1 is an ordinary refractive index of the optical substrate for an ordinary beam, n.sub.e1 is an extraordinary refractive index of the optical substrate for an extraordinary beam, n.sub.o2 is an ordinary refractive index of the optical thin-film optical waveguide layer for the ordinary beam and n.sub.e2 is an extraordinary refractive index of the optical thin-film optical waveguide layer for the extraordinary beam, and an electrode for generating a surface acoustic wave for diffracting light is formed on the optical waveguide to construct a collinear optical deflector.

Abstract: A sample is located so as to be close to a prism and a light beam coming from a light source is projected to the prism while varying the incident angle to the prism as a parameter. The incident light beam to the prism is propagated therein and light emerging from the bottom surface of the prism, which is in contact with the sample, is projected to the sample. At the same time the intensity of light reflected by the bottom surface of the prism is measured. Optical constants such as the refractive index, the film thickness, the distribution of the refractive index, etc. are obtained by calculation, starting from measured values thus obtained.