Polishing apparatus and method with belt drive system adapted to extend the ...

(54) POLISHING APPARATUS AND METHOD

WITH BELT DRIVE SYSTEM ADAPTED TO
EXTEND THE LIFETIME OF A
REFRESHING POLISHING BELT PROVIDED
THEREIN

(75) Inventors: Homayoun Talieh, San Jose;

Konstantin Volodarsky, San Francisco;
Jalal Ashjaee, Cupertino; Douglas W.
Young, Sunnyvale, all of CA (US)

(73) Assignee: Nutool, Inc., Milpitas, CA (US)

( * ) Notice: Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this patent is extended or adjusted under 35 U.S.C. 154(b) by 0 days.

(21) Appl. No.: 09/880,730

(22) Filed: Jun. 12, 2001

(65) Prior Publication Data

US 2002/0009959 Al Jan. 24, 2002

Related U.S. Application Data

(63) Continuation-in-part of application No. 09/684,059, filed on Oct. 6, 2000, which is a continuation-in-part of application No. 09/576,064, filed on May 22, 2000, now Pat. No. 6,207,572, which is a continuation of application No. 09/201,928, filed on Dec. 1, 1998, now Pat. No. 6,103,628.

(51) Int. CI.7 B24B 21/00

(52) U.S. CI 451/296; 451/312; 451/11

(58) Field of Search 451/296, 297,

451/298, 302, 303, 304, 334, 312, 340, 6, 11, 41, 57, 59, 168

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Primary Examiner—-Joseph J. Hail, III Assistant Examiner—David B. Thomas (74) Attorney, Agent, or Firm—Pillsbury Winthrop LLP

(57) ABSTRACT

The present invention includes a polishing pad or belt secured to a mechanism that allows the pad or belt to move in a reciprocating manner, i.e. in both forward and reverse directions, at high speeds. The constant bidirectional movement of the polishing pad or belt as it polishes the wafer provides superior planarity and uniformity across the wafer surface. When a fresh portion of the pad is required, the pad is moved through a drive system containing rollers, such that the rollers only touch a back side of the pad, thereby minimizing sources of friction other than the wafer that is being polished from the polishing side of the pad, and maximizing the lifetime of the polishing pad.

51 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets

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