JP2001219360A - Device and method for demounting abrasive pad - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily demount an abrasive pad from a platen and to improve the working efficiency. SOLUTION: This abrasive pad demounting device 1 comprises a gripper 4 for gripping one end of an abrasive pad, and a towing means 5 for applying the towing force toward a side radially opposite to the gripper 4 through the platen 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for removing a polishing pad attached to a platen from a platen used in chemical mechanical polishing (CMP).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A platen used for CMP is a disk-shaped member which is horizontally rotated around a vertical axis, and a polishing pad is attached to an upper surface thereof. Then, by supplying the slurry to the polishing pad on the platen that is being rotated horizontally and pressing the horizontally supported wafer while rotating it horizontally, the surface of the wafer is polished and flattened. .

In this case, during polishing of the wafer,
In order to reliably transmit the rotational force of the platen to the polishing pad and to maintain the integrity of the platen and the polishing pad against the frictional force generated between the wafer and the polishing pad, the polishing pad is pressure sensitive. In general, it is firmly adhered by an adhesive such as an adhesive double-sided tape (usually, an adhesive force of a synthetic rubber-based adhesive: 1800 g / in). Further, since the condition of the polishing pad greatly affects the accuracy of the polished surface of the wafer, the conditioning is performed periodically using a conditioning head or the like.

[0004] However, the polishing pad is a consumable item, and is further worn due to surface adjustment by conditioning. Therefore, it is necessary to periodically replace the polishing pad.
Conventionally, in order to remove a used polishing pad from the platen, an operator has used a general-purpose tool such as a knife or a screwdriver to pull off one end of the polishing pad from the platen surface by hand.

[0005]

However, as described above, since the polishing pad and the platen are firmly adhered to each other by an adhesive so as not to cause relative displacement, it is necessary to peel off both. , A great deal of force had to be applied and the task was difficult. Furthermore, in recent years, the size of the wafer has been increased, and the size of the platen has been increased accordingly. Therefore, the force applied when the polishing pad is peeled off from the platen is further increased, and removal by the operator becomes extremely difficult. Have been. For this reason, for example, a method of cutting the polishing pad into a plurality of pieces and peeling the pieces one by one has been adopted.

Further, when the platen becomes large, the work of peeling off the polishing pad by leaning the body inside the apparatus must be performed in an unreasonable posture, and there is a problem that the working efficiency is reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a polishing pad removal apparatus and method capable of easily removing a polishing pad from a large-sized platen and improving work efficiency. It is intended to provide.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a gripper for gripping one end of a polishing pad, and a traction force applied to the gripper in a direction opposite to a radial direction across a platen. A polishing pad removal device having a traction means is proposed.

In the above-mentioned detaching device, the traction means comprises:
In other words, there is provided a traction force transmitting member having one end fixed to the gripper, a winding member installed outside the platen in the radial direction for winding the traction force transmitting member, and a rotation drive device for applying a rotational force to the winding member. It is effective. Further, it is more effective if the traction force transmitting member is a belt-shaped member and the winding member is rotatable around a horizontal axis.

Further, in the present invention, one end of the polishing pad is gripped by a gripper, and the other end of the traction force transmitting member having one end fixed to the gripper is disposed on the opposite side of the platen from the radial direction with respect to the gripper. A polishing pad removal method of applying a traction force to a gripper by winding up with a winding member has been proposed. In this case, it is effective if the traction force transmitting member is a belt-like member and the winding member is rotatable around a horizontal axis.

[0011]

According to the polishing pad removing apparatus of the present invention,
By driving the traction means and applying a traction force toward the opposite side in the radial direction across the platen to the gripper holding one end of the polishing pad, one end of the polishing pad is folded toward the center of the platen. Then, the polishing pad is completely removed from the platen by continuing from the platen.

In this case, if the traction means is composed of a traction force transmitting member, a winding member and a rotary drive, the rotary drive is driven to rotate the winding member, and the traction force transmitting member is rotated by the winding member. By winding, the polishing pad can be peeled from the platen by applying a traction force to the gripper.

Further, if the traction force transmitting member is used as a belt-like member and is wound by a winding member rotatable about a horizontal axis, the traction force applied to the gripper is reduced in a horizontal direction which is the width direction of the belt-like member. By distributing, it becomes possible to perform a stable peeling operation of the polishing pad.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A polishing pad removing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a polishing pad removal apparatus according to the present embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, a polishing pad removing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment comprises a gripper 4 for gripping one end of a polishing pad 3 stuck on a platen 2 and fixed radially outward of the platen 2. And a traction device (traction means) 5 for applying a traction force along the radial direction of the platen 2 to the gripper 4.
Is provided.

The gripper 4 is a member having a crocodile-shaped gripping portion 4a and a pulling portion 4b pulled by a pulling device 5, and is provided at one end of the polishing pad 3 partially peeled off from the platen 2. It is detachably attached by gripping one end. A traction force transmitting member 6, which will be described later, is fixed to the traction portion 4b.

The traction device 5 includes a device main body 7 fixed radially outward of the platen 2, a winding wheel (winding member) 8 rotatably mounted on the device main body 7 around a horizontal axis 8a. A rotation driving device 9 connected to the winding wheel 8 for rotating the winding wheel 8 around the horizontal axis 8a; and a pulling portion 4b of the gripper 4 having one end attached to the winding wheel 8 and the other end. Traction force transmitting member 6 fixed to the

The apparatus body 7 is disposed on the opposite side of the center of the platen 2 in the radial direction with respect to the gripping position of the polishing pad 3 by the gripper 4, and is fixed to an appropriate structural member (not shown). I have. The traction force transmitting member 6 is made of, for example, a band-shaped cloth material having a constant width. The take-up wheel 8 is a cylindrical member having a height dimension larger than the width dimension of the traction force transmission member 6, and is configured to wind the traction force transmission member 6 around a circumferential portion thereof.

The rotation driving device 9 includes, for example, a reduction gear 10 composed of a large gear 10b fixed to the winding wheel 8 and a small gear 10a meshed with the large gear 10b, and the small gear 10a Handle 11 to rotate
Is composed of

The operation of the polishing pad removing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described below. In order to remove the polishing pad 3 stuck on the platen 2 by the polishing pad removal device 1 of the present embodiment,
First, the polishing pad 3 is partially peeled off from the platen on a part of the circumference of the platen 2 using an appropriate tool.
A grip portion by the gripper 4 is provided.

Next, the grip portion provided as described above is gripped by the gripper 4a of the gripper. After that, by applying a force F to the handle 11 in the direction shown by the arrow in the figure,
The torque is transmitted from the small gear 10a to the large gear 10b. At this time, the rotational speed is reduced and the torque is increased by the ratio of the number of teeth of the gears.
0b is transmitted to the take-up wheel 7 connected.

The winding wheel 7 has a traction force transmitting member 6
Is fixed, so that when the take-up wheel 7 is rotated, the traction force transmitting member 6 is gradually taken up around the take-up wheel. As a result, the tension generated in the traction force transmitting member 6 is transmitted as traction force to the traction portion 4b of the gripper, and the end of the polishing pad 3 gripped by the gripper 4 is pulled in the direction of the apparatus body 7. .

In this case, the apparatus body 7 moves the platen 2 with respect to the gripping position of the polishing pad 3 by the gripper 4.
Is disposed on the opposite side of the platen 2 in the radial direction with the polishing pad 3 held therebetween by the gripper 4.
Is turned up so as to be folded over the remaining polishing pad 3 still attached to the platen 2, while keeping the angle between the portion attached to the platen 2 and the separated portion small. Towed. As a result, the polishing pad 3
The platen 2 is effectively peeled off.

In this embodiment, a belt-shaped cloth material having a constant width is used as the traction force transmitting member 6, and the winding wheel 8 rotates around the horizontal axis 8a to wind the traction force transmitting member 6. Since the configuration is such that the traction force is transmitted, the traction force transmission member 6 can be maintained in the horizontal direction and the traction force can be distributed in the width direction and applied to the gripper 4 and the polishing pad 3. it can. As a result, the posture of the gripper 4 during the peeling operation of the polishing pad 3 can be stabilized in a horizontal state, and the concentration of the traction force on the polishing pad 3 can be avoided, so that the polishing pad 3 is broken or wrinkled. The polishing pad 3 can be peeled off from the platen 2 while preventing the polishing pad 3 from slipping.

Further, according to the detaching device 1 according to the present embodiment, after the gripper 4 grips the polishing pad 3, the operator removes the device main body 7 disposed radially outward of the platen 2. Since it is only necessary to operate the handle 11, the polishing pad 3 can be extremely easily compared with the conventional method in which a large force has to be applied to the polishing pad 3 while taking an unreasonable posture in a narrow space above the platen 2. It can be peeled off from the platen 2.

In the detaching device 1 according to the present embodiment, the rotary drive device 9 for pulling the traction force transmitting member 6 is illustrated as the traction device 5, but instead of this, for example, a linear motion device such as a hydraulic cylinder is used. An apparatus may be adopted. Further, the traction force transmission member 6 is made of a band-shaped cloth material, but is not limited to this, and may have any shape,
It goes without saying that any material can be adopted.

Further, instead of the speed reducer composed of the gears 10a and 10b, for example, an arbitrary speed reducer using a planetary gear, a pulley and a belt may be used. Instead of applying a voltage, a motor may be used.

[0028]

As described above in detail, according to the apparatus and method for removing a polishing pad according to the present invention, in a narrow space above a platen inside a polishing apparatus, a worker can polish a large force with an unreasonable posture. There is an effect that the polishing pad can be very easily removed from the platen by eliminating the need to put the polishing pad on the pad and simply working outside the polishing apparatus. Another advantage is that by applying a traction force in the radial direction by a device arranged on the opposite side of the platen with respect to the gripping position of the polishing pad, the polishing pad can be efficiently peeled off in a folded manner.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing a polishing pad removal apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 polishing pad removal device 2 platen 3 polishing pad 4 gripper 5 traction means 6 traction force transmission member 8 take-up wheel (winding member) 8a horizontal axis 9 rotation drive device

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Megumi Taoka 14-3 Shinsen, Narita-shi, Chiba Nogehira Industrial Park Inside Applied Materials Japan Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Jun Okajima 14-3 Shinizumi, Narita-shi, Chiba Noge Applied Materials Japan Co., Ltd. F-term (reference) in Hira Industrial Park 3C058 AA07 AA15 AC01 BC02 CB04 DA12 DA17

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for removing a polishing pad stuck on a platen from a platen, comprising: a gripper for gripping one end of the polishing pad; and a radially opposite side of the gripper with the platen interposed therebetween. And a traction means for applying a traction force toward the polishing pad. 2. An elongated traction force transmitting member having one end fixed to the gripper, a winding member installed radially outward of the platen for winding the traction force transmitting member, and a winding member for winding the traction force transmitting member. The polishing pad removing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotation driving device that applies a rotation force. 3. The polishing pad removing device according to claim 2, wherein the traction force transmitting member is a belt-shaped member, and the winding member is rotatable around a horizontal axis. 4. A method for removing a polishing pad stuck on a platen from a platen, wherein one end of the polishing pad is gripped by a gripper, and the other end of a traction force transmitting member having one end fixed to the gripper is provided.
A method for removing a polishing pad, comprising: applying a traction force to a gripper by winding up the gripper with a winding member disposed on the opposite side of the platen in the radial direction with the platen interposed therebetween. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the traction force transmitting member is a belt-shaped member, and the winding member is rotatable around a horizontal axis.