JP2010058196A - Method and apparatus for polishing - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and apparatus for polishing, polishing a workpiece to have a desired surface shape with a polishing pad unaffected by a surface shape of the polishing target. <P>SOLUTION: This polishing method includes: a covering process of covering a surface to be polished of a workpiece and forming a covering layer having the same surface shape as the surface shape required as a shape of the workpiece after polished; and a polishing process of polishing the surface to be polished by relatively moving the polishing pad and the workpiece with the polishing pad abutted on the surface of the covering layer formed in the covering process. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a polishing method and a polishing apparatus for polishing a surface of an object to be polished.

A CMP apparatus is known as a typical example of a polishing apparatus for polishing the surface of an object to be polished. A CMP apparatus is widely used for polishing a substrate such as a glass substrate, a silicon substrate, or a semiconductor wafer as a technique for precisely polishing the surface of an object to be polished by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP). Yes. In such a polishing apparatus, the substrate held by the chuck and the polishing pad mounted on the polishing head are rotated relative to each other and pressed against each other, and a slurry (polishing liquid) corresponding to the polishing content is brought into contact with the substrate and the polishing pad. ) To cause a chemical and mechanical polishing action, and the substrate surface is polished flat. Various proposals have been made for such polishing apparatuses and polishing methods (see, for example, Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2 and the like).
JP 2004-265950 A JP 2007-152498 A

  By the way, in such surface polishing using a polishing pad or the like, the polishing pad is soft and deforms according to the surface shape of the object to be polished during polishing (there is followability). In some cases, it was difficult to polish the surface shape. In particular, when the surface of the object to be polished has minute waviness (unevenness) over a wide range, it has been difficult to improve the flatness of the surface by polishing (removing) only the protruding portion of this waviness.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and a polishing method capable of polishing a polishing object into a desired surface shape without being affected by the surface shape of the polishing object, and a polishing pad. An object is to provide a polishing apparatus.

  In order to achieve such an object, the polishing method according to the present invention polishes the polishing object by relatively moving both of the polishing object and the polishing pad in contact with each other, A covering process is performed in which the surface to be polished of the object to be polished is coated and a covering layer having the same surface shape as the shape after polishing of the object to be polished is formed. Further, a polishing step is performed in which the polishing pad and the object to be polished are relatively moved while the polishing pad is in contact with the surface of the coating layer to polish the surface to be polished.

  The polishing apparatus according to the present invention covers a holding mechanism for holding the object to be polished, a surface to be polished of the object to be polished, and has the same surface shape as the shape after polishing of the object to be polished. A coating layer forming mechanism for forming a coating layer having a surface shape, and the polishing pad and the polishing object in a state where the polishing pad is in contact with the surface of the coating layer formed by the coating layer forming mechanism. And a polishing mechanism that polishes the surface to be polished by relative movement.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the timing which a polishing pad and a to-be-polished surface contact | abut can be adjusted for every position in a to-be-polished surface with the coating layer formed in the to-be-polished surface of the grinding | polishing target object. For example, when flat polishing of a surface to be polished having a wide range of fine waviness (irregularities) in the object to be polished, the contact between the polishing pad and the portion other than the wavy convex portion on the surface to be polished is delayed by the coating layer Thus, the flatness of the surface to be polished can be improved. In this manner, the polishing object can be polished to a desired surface shape without being affected by the surface shape of the polishing object.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A schematic configuration of a polishing apparatus 1 to which the present invention is applied is shown in FIGS. In the following, an example will be described in which a surface to be polished that has minute waviness (unevenness) over a wide range is flatly polished on the substrate 5 that is an object to be polished.

  The polishing apparatus 1 includes a polishing station ST1 that performs chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) on a surface to be polished of a substrate 5 that is a square plate-like glass substrate, and a coating station that forms a coating layer on the surface to be polished of the substrate 5. ST2, a measurement station ST3 that measures the state of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5, a substrate transfer device 10 that holds the substrate 5 and transfers the substrate 5 to each of the stations, and a control that controls the operation of the polishing device 1. The apparatus 70 is mainly configured.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the substrate transport apparatus 10 is mainly configured by a chuck 20 that can hold the substrate 5 and a chuck moving mechanism 30 that moves the chuck 20 (the substrate 5 held by the chuck 20) to each station. The chuck 20 is provided at the tip of the transfer arm 32 constituting the chuck moving mechanism 30 via the chuck rotating mechanism 25.

  The chuck 20 is formed in a square plate shape (a shape corresponding to the square plate-like substrate 5) having a substantially flat holding surface with high flatness on the lower surface, using a highly rigid material such as ceramic. 5 is held. Inside the chuck 20, a vacuum chuck structure for vacuum-sucking the back surface of the substrate 5 is provided so that the substrate 5 can be attached and detached, and the surface to be polished (ie, the surface to be polished) of the substrate 5 held by suction on the chuck 20. Is held in a downward horizontal posture.

  The chuck rotating mechanism 25 is connected to the chuck 20 to be rotatable, a spindle 27 extending vertically upward from the upper portion of the housing 26, and a rotational driving force transmitted to the spindle 27 to rotate the chuck 20 in a horizontal plane. It has a chuck drive motor 28 and the like. The chuck 20 is rotatable about a rotation axis O1 orthogonal to the lower surface (holding surface) of the chuck 20 together with the housing 26 by using the spindle 27 and the chuck drive motor 28.

  A pressurizing chamber formed inside the housing 26 is provided with a so-called airbag-type pad pressurizing mechanism (not shown) that receives the supply of air and pressurizes the chuck 20 downward. When the chuck 20 is moved to the polishing station ST1 by 30, the pressure in the pressure chamber is controlled in a state where the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 held by the chuck 20 is in contact with the polishing surface of a polishing pad 44 described later. By doing so, the contact pressure between the substrate 5 and the polishing pad 44, that is, the polishing pressure by the polishing pad 44 can be controlled.

  The chuck moving mechanism 30 horizontally swings the transport arm 32 around a base 31 protruding upward from the processing table T, a transport arm 32 extending horizontally from the base 31, and a swinging shaft extending vertically through the base 31. An arm swinging mechanism 35 for moving, an arm lifting / lowering mechanism (not shown) for vertically moving the entire transport arm 32, and the like are configured. The chuck rotating mechanism 25 described above is provided at the tip of the transport arm 32. Yes. The chuck moving mechanism 30 moves the chuck 20 (the substrate 5 held by the chuck 20) to the polishing station ST1, the coating station ST2, and the measurement station ST3 by horizontally swinging the transport arm 32 by the arm swing mechanism 35. Is possible.

  The arm swinging mechanism 35 is configured so that the chuck 20 faces the polishing pad 44 when the transport arm 32 is horizontally swinged and the chuck 20 is moved to the polishing station ST1, and the chuck 20 is fixed to the polishing pad 44. The entire surface of the transfer arm 32 is lowered by the arm elevating mechanism in a state of being opposed to 44, and the polishing surface of the substrate 5 held and rotated by the chuck 20 is in contact with the polishing surface of the polishing pad 44. The substrate 5 (chuck 20) can be horizontally swung with respect to 44 along the contact surface with the polishing pad 44.

  The polishing station ST1 is a work station that flatly polishes the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 using the polishing pad 44, and includes a pad rotating mechanism 40 that rotates the base member 41 on which the polishing pad 44 is mounted, and an upper surface of the polishing pad 44. A slurry supply mechanism 48 for supplying slurry (polishing liquid) to the side is mainly constituted.

  The pad rotation mechanism 40 includes a disk-shaped base member 41, a polishing pad 44 mounted on a support surface 42 that is the upper surface of the base member 41, a spindle 46 that extends vertically downward from the lower portion of the base member 41, and a spindle 46 A rotational drive device 47 that transmits the rotational drive force and rotates the base member 41 in a horizontal plane is provided. The base member 41 is formed in a disk shape having a substantially flat support surface 42 with high flatness on the upper surface, using a high-rigidity material in the same manner as the chuck 20 described above, and using the spindle 46 and the rotary drive device 47, It is configured to be rotatable about a rotation axis O2 orthogonal to the support surface 42.

  The polishing pad 44 is formed in a disk shape having a slurry supply hole 45 in the center (near the rotation axis O2), and is configured by using, for example, a hard polyurethane sheet having an independent foam structure, and the base member 41. The polishing surface is affixed to the support surface 42 and is supported in an upward horizontal posture. Further, in the vicinity of the center portion of the base member 41, a supply hole 43 for discharging and supplying the slurry supplied from the slurry supply mechanism 48 to the upper surface side of the polishing pad 44 through the slurry supply hole 45 of the polishing pad 44 penetrates vertically. Is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the coating station ST2 is a work station for forming a coating layer on the surface to be polished of the substrate 5. The coating station ST2 is an ultraviolet curable resin 52 (hereinafter referred to as a UV resin 52) that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays. ) Is stored, and an ultraviolet irradiation device 55 that irradiates ultraviolet rays is mainly configured. The container member 50 that has been treated with a release agent on the inside has a substantially flat reference surface 51 with a high flatness at the inner bottom using an optically transparent material (transparent material) such as glass, and is open upward. It is formed in a rectangular box shape (a shape corresponding to the square plate-like substrate 5), and the UV resin 52 is stored.

  The UV resin 52 is not particularly limited as long as it is an ultraviolet curable resin. For example, an acrylic resin, an unsaturated polyethylene resin, a saturated polyethylene resin, a urethane resin, an ester resin, or the like is used, and a photopolymerization initiator or the like. In addition, a colorant having a color different from that of the substrate 5 (surface to be polished) is contained to such an extent that the absorbance is not impaired. Various UV curable resins can be used as the UV resin 52 as described above. When the UV resin 52 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to form a coating layer that covers the surface to be polished of the substrate 5, the UV resin 52 in the polishing station ST1 is used. The resin must not be easily dissolved into the slurry supplied from the slurry supply mechanism 48 during polishing, and the polishing rate of the coating layer is the same as the polishing rate of the substrate 5 (or the substrate 5 It is desirable that it is very close to the polishing rate.

  The ultraviolet irradiation device 55 is a device that irradiates ultraviolet rays to the UV resin 52 stored in the container member 50 from below (bottom side) of the container member 50. For example, a light source capable of emitting ultraviolet rays such as a high-pressure mercury lamp. 56, an elliptical mirror 57 that collects the illumination light beam from the light source 56, a collimator lens 58 that collimates the illumination light collected by the elliptical mirror 57, and the like. Illumination light including ultraviolet rays emitted from the light source 56 passes through the collimator lens 58 to become a substantially parallel light beam, and passes through the bottom of the container (reference surface 51) from below the container member 50 and is irradiated onto the UV resin 52. . The ultraviolet irradiation device 55 can adjust the irradiation width of the illumination light beam irradiated to the UV resin 52 and irradiates the entire range corresponding to the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 with illumination light (ultraviolet light). be able to.

  When the chuck 20 is moved to the coating station ST2 by the chuck moving mechanism 30 (arm swinging mechanism 35), the upper opening of the container member 50 and the chuck 20 face vertically, and the chuck 20 is lowered by the arm lifting mechanism. Thus, the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 held by the chuck 20 is immersed in the UV resin 52 in the container member 50. Thus, in a state where the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 is immersed in the UV resin 52, illumination light containing ultraviolet rays is emitted from the ultraviolet irradiation device 55, and this illumination light passes through the reference surface 51 of the container member 50 and passes through the substrate 5. The UV resin 52 in a range corresponding to the surface to be polished is irradiated. In this way, the coating layer 8 that covers the entire surface to be polished of the substrate 5 and has a substantially flat surface (lower surface) corresponding to the reference surface 51 of the container member 50 is formed.

  After the coating layer 8 is formed at the coating station ST2, the chuck 20 is moved to the polishing station ST1, and the surface of the substrate 5 on which the coating layer 8 is formed is polished. When the polishing is completed, the chuck 20 is moved to the measurement station ST3, and the shape of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5, the distribution of the coating layer 8 remaining on the surface to be polished, the thickness thereof, and the like are measured. Therefore, the measurement station ST3 is provided with a surface measuring device 60, and the surface measuring device 60 measures the state of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5. Further, the measurement station ST3 is provided with a coating layer removing unit (not shown). After the polishing is completed by this coating layer removing unit, the coating layer 8 remaining on the surface to be polished is removed using a solvent or the like. Is called.

  The surface measuring apparatus 60 includes a sensor holding unit 61 that is vertically opposed to the chuck 20 moved to the measurement station ST3, a measurement sensor 62 held by the sensor holding unit 61, and a movement provided in the sensor holding unit 61. A measurement control unit 63 that controls a mechanism (not shown) to move the measurement sensor 62 in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) with respect to the sensor holding unit 61 is mainly configured. The measurement sensor 62 receives a light emitting element (not shown) that emits measurement light toward the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 and light reflected by the measurement light on the surface of the coating layer 8 and the surface to be polished of the substrate 5. An image sensor obtained by the image sensor is transmitted to the measurement control unit 63. The measurement control unit 63 processes the image pickup signal to measure the distribution and thickness of the coating layer 8 remaining on the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 from the color information of the coating layer 8. The shape of the surface is calculated, and the measurement (calculation) results are output to the control device 70.

  The control device 70 is based on a control program set and stored in advance in the polishing apparatus 1 and a processing program read in accordance with the object to be polished, and the substrate transfer apparatus 10 (chuck 20 and chuck moving mechanism 30), pad rotation mechanism. 40, operations of the slurry supply mechanism 48, the ultraviolet irradiation device 55, the surface measuring device 60, and the like are controlled. Note that the rotation (rotation direction and rotation speed) of the base member 41 of the pad rotation mechanism 40 and the chuck 20 of the chuck rotation mechanism 25 can be arbitrarily and independently controlled based on the machining program and the like. Further, the polishing apparatus 1 is provided with a dressing mechanism (not shown) for dressing the polishing pad 44 at a position that does not interfere with the chuck moving mechanism 30 in the vicinity of the pad rotating mechanism 40.

  Next, a polishing method for polishing the substrate 5 in the polishing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 1 and FIG. In the following, when the polishing rate of the coating layer 8 formed on the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 is somewhat higher than the polishing rate of the substrate 5 (the polishing rate of the coating layer 8 is slightly higher than the polishing rate of the substrate 5). Case).

  First, as shown in step S1, the transfer arm 32 is swung by the chuck moving mechanism 30 (arm swinging mechanism 35) to move the substrate 5 held by the chuck 20 to the coating station ST2, and the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 is polished. A covering layer 8 covering the whole is formed. At this time, in the coating station ST2, the entire polished surface of the substrate 5 is immersed in the UV resin 52 stored in the container member 50. In this state, ultraviolet rays (illumination light) are emitted from the container member 50 by the ultraviolet irradiation device 55. The UV resin 52 in a range corresponding to the polished surface of the substrate 5 is transmitted through the reference surface 51 from below, and the coating layer 8 covering the entire polished surface is formed. The coating layer 8 formed in this way is formed so as to completely cover the top of the waviness (convex surface) of the polished surface of the substrate 5 (see FIG. 4A). The surface 8a (lower surface) of the layer 8 becomes a substantially flat surface according to the reference surface 51 of the container member 50 (see FIG. 4B).

  When the formation of the coating layer 8 is completed, in step S2, the chuck 20 (substrate 5) is moved to the polishing station ST1 by the chuck moving mechanism 30 to polish the surface to be polished on the substrate 5 on which the coating layer 8 is formed. . At this time, in the polishing station ST1, the substrate 5 held by the chuck 20 is in a state of facing the polishing pad 44. In this state, the chuck 20 is lowered to the polishing position while rotating the chuck 20 and the base member 41. Then, the rotating substrate 5 held by the chuck 20 is brought into contact with the rotating polishing pad 44 mounted on the base member 41, and the substrate 5 is pressed at a predetermined polishing pressure by a pad pressurizing mechanism provided in the housing 26. The polishing pad 44 is pressed.

  Further, the coating layer 8 is formed on the rotating substrate 5 held by the chuck 20 while supplying the slurry from the slurry supply hole 45 of the polishing pad 44 to the contact portion between the substrate 5 and the polishing pad 44 by the slurry supply mechanism 48. The substrate 5 (chuck 20) is horizontally swung by the arm rocking mechanism 35 in a state where the polished surface is in contact with the polishing surface of the polishing pad 44 that rotates together with the base member 41 to polish the substrate 5. Processing is performed.

  At this time, since the surface 8a of the coating layer 8 is first brought into contact with the polishing surface of the polishing pad 44, the surface of the coating layer 8 made of the same material until the surface to be polished (top T) of the substrate 5 is reached. Polish evenly (see FIG. 4C). When the polishing surface of the polishing pad 44 reaches the top T of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5, the vicinity of the top T is directly polished by the polishing pad 44, and the other portion of the surface to be polished is the covering layer 8. The surface is polished (see FIG. 4 (d)). In this embodiment, since the polishing rate of the coating layer 8 is slightly higher than the polishing rate of the substrate 5, there is a difference in the polishing rate between the coating layer 8 and the substrate 5. In the vicinity of the portion T, although the polishing rate is smaller than that of the coating layer 8, the polishing is reliably performed, the unevenness (undulation) of the surface to be polished is reduced, and the flatness of the surface to be polished is improved (see FIG. 4E). ).

  When the surface to be polished on which the coating layer 8 of the substrate 5 is thus formed is polished for a predetermined time, the chuck 20 (substrate 5) is moved to the measurement station ST3 by the chuck moving mechanism 30 in step S3, and the substrate is moved. The state of the surface to be polished 5 is measured. At this time, in the measurement station ST3, the substrate 5 held by the chuck 20 is in a state of facing the surface measuring device 60, and in this state, the measurement sensor 62 is moved in the horizontal direction (left-right direction) with respect to the sensor holding unit 61. At the same time, the chuck 20 (substrate 5) is rotated, and the measurement sensor 62 acquires an imaging signal on the entire polished surface of the substrate 5, and transmits the imaging signal to the measurement control unit 63.

  Then, the measurement control unit 63 processes the imaging signal to measure the distribution and thickness of the coating layer 8 remaining on the polished surface of the substrate 5 from the color information of the coating layer 8, and The shape of the polished surface is calculated, and these results are output to the control device 70. The control device 70 determines whether or not to end the polishing based on the measurement (calculation) result (step S4). Specifically, for example, the distribution of the coating layer 8 remaining on the polished surface of the substrate 5 is equal to or less than a predetermined value (or the remaining coating layer 8 disappears), and the flatness of the polished surface of the substrate 5 is, for example. Is equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

  When the measurement result satisfies the polishing end condition and polishing is completed, in step S5, the coating layer 8 remaining on the substrate 5 is removed using a solvent or the like by the coating layer removing unit (not shown) provided in the measurement station ST3. Removal is completed. On the other hand, when the measurement result does not satisfy the polishing completion condition, for example, when the coating layer 8 having a predetermined value or more remains on the surface to be polished of the substrate 5, the chuck 20 (substrate 5) is moved to the polishing station ST1 by the chuck moving mechanism 30. The surface to be polished of the substrate 5 is polished again. Note that by repeating the steps S1 to S5 a plurality of times, the unevenness (undulation) of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 is further reduced, and the flatness of the surface to be polished is improved.

  As described above, in the polishing apparatus 1, the coating layer 8 having a flat surface required as the surface shape after polishing of the substrate 5 is formed so as to cover the entire surface to be polished of the substrate 5. When the polishing process is performed by rotating and relatively swinging the polishing pad 44 and the substrate 5 with the polishing pad 44 in contact with the surface, the top T (convex portion) of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 is obtained. Can be directly polished by the polishing pad 44, and the other portion of the surface to be polished can create a state in which the surface of the coating layer 8 is polished, thereby improving the flatness of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5. be able to. As described above, the timing at which the polishing pad 44 and the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 come into contact with each other by the coating layer 8 can be adjusted for each position on the surface to be polished, and the polishing pad 44 affects the surface shape of the substrate 5. Without being done, the substrate 5 can be polished to a desired surface shape. Further, the portion covered with the coating layer 8 during polishing is masked, and can be protected from scratches, cracks, and the like.

  At this time, the coating layer 8 is preferably formed using an ultraviolet curable resin, and in this way, the coating layer can be formed faster than the case where a room temperature curable resin is used, and polishing processing is performed. Throughput can be improved. In addition, when a thermosetting resin is used, there is a case where it is not preferable that a defect occurs in the substrate 5 that is an object to be polished by this heating.

  At this time, the covering layer 8 is preferably formed in a different color from the surface to be polished of the substrate 5, and in this way, the polishing state (whether polishing is finished or not) is determined by the color information of the covering layer 8. Etc.) can be easily determined. For example, after the surface after the surface other than the resin layer 8 (surface to be polished) appears on the surface to be polished, the colored portion (coating layer 8) starts to disappear, and then the polishing is performed until the colored portion entirely disappears. Since the polishing state is determined based on the colored state of the surface as described above, it is easy to determine the polishing state for polishing a transparent member such as a glass substrate.

  Further, at this time, the covering layer 8 is preferably formed using a resin having a polishing rate substantially the same as the surface to be polished of the substrate 5, and in this way, the covering layer 8 and the substrate 5 have substantially the same polishing rate. Therefore, the entire surface to be polished can be uniformly polished according to the flat surface of the covering layer 8, and the flatness of the surface to be polished of the substrate 5 can be further improved. In addition, it is preferable that the polishing rate in the coating layer 8 is 80 to 120% of the polishing rate on the surface to be polished of the substrate 5.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the surface to be polished of the object to be polished is polished flat has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the same surface shape as the required surface shape is used, for example, when a lens surface (curved surface) is polished. By forming the coating layer having a shape, it is possible to reduce the influence (deformation of the polishing pad) due to the surface shape of the surface to be polished and polish the object to be polished to a desired surface shape.

  Further, the polishing apparatus 1 in the above-described embodiment is configured to include the measurement station ST3 (measurement control unit 63) that determines the polishing state (whether the polishing is finished) based on the color information of the coating layer. For example, the polishing state may be determined by visual observation or the like by an operator.

  In the above-described embodiment, an ultraviolet curable resin is used to form a coating layer on the polished surface of the substrate. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a room temperature curable epoxy resin or a polyurethane resin is used. Further, when the substrate has heat resistance, a thermosetting resin may be used.

  In the above-described embodiment, the coating layer having a flat surface is formed on the surface to be polished of the substrate using the substantially flat reference surface formed on the container member. For example, a coating layer having a flat surface may be formed on the surface to be polished of the substrate using means such as a spin coater, dip, or printing.

It is a flowchart which shows the process of the grinding | polishing method which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic explanatory drawing which shows the grinding | polishing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the board | substrate conveyance apparatus and pad rotation mechanism which comprise the said grinding | polishing apparatus. (A)-(e) is explanatory drawing explaining the advancing state of grinding | polishing in a board | substrate and a coating layer.

Explanation of symbols

1 Polishing device 5 Substrate (polishing object)
8 Coating layer 20 Chuck (holding mechanism)
30 Chuck moving mechanism (holding mechanism)
40 Pad rotation mechanism (polishing mechanism)
44 Polishing pad 51 Container member (coating layer forming mechanism)
52 UV resin (ultraviolet curable resin)
55 UV irradiation device (coating layer formation mechanism)
60 Surface measuring device (polishing controller)

Claims (14)

A polishing method for polishing the polishing object by relatively moving both in a state where the polishing object and the polishing pad are in contact with each other,
Covering the surface to be polished of the object to be polished, and performing a coating step of forming a coating layer having the same surface shape as the surface shape obtained after polishing of the object to be polished,
Performing a polishing step of polishing the surface to be polished by relatively moving the polishing pad and the object to be polished while the polishing pad is in contact with the surface of the coating layer formed in the coating step. A characteristic polishing method.   2. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein in the coating step, the surface of the coating layer is formed to be a substantially flat surface with respect to a polishing surface of the polishing pad.   3. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the coating step, the coating layer is formed using an ultraviolet curable resin that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays. 4.   The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein in the coating step, the coating layer is formed in a color different from that of the surface to be polished.   The polishing method according to claim 4, wherein a determination step of determining a polishing state of the surface to be polished is performed based on a colored state of the surface to be polished polished in the polishing step.   6. The polishing method according to claim 1, wherein, in the covering step, the covering layer is formed using a material having a polishing rate substantially the same as the surface to be polished.   The speed at which the material constituting the coating layer is polished by the polishing pad is 80 to 120% of the speed at which the surface to be polished is polished by the polishing pad. Polishing method. A holding mechanism for holding an object to be polished;
A coating layer forming mechanism that coats the surface to be polished of the polishing object and forms a coating layer having the same surface shape as the surface shape obtained after polishing of the polishing object;
A polishing mechanism for polishing the surface to be polished by relatively moving the polishing pad and the object to be polished in a state where the polishing pad is in contact with the surface of the coating layer formed by the coating layer forming mechanism; A polishing apparatus comprising: The coating layer forming mechanism includes a container member storing an ultraviolet curable resin that is cured by being irradiated with ultraviolet rays, and an ultraviolet irradiation device capable of emitting ultraviolet rays.
At least the bottom of the container member is configured to transmit ultraviolet rays,
In a state where the surface to be polished is immersed in the ultraviolet curable resin in the container member, the ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet irradiation device are transmitted through the bottom portion of the container member and the range in accordance with the surface to be polished. The polishing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the coating layer is formed by irradiating an ultraviolet curable resin.   The container member according to claim 9, wherein the container member is configured to have a substantially flat reference surface on an inner bottom portion, and the surface of the covering layer is formed in a substantially flat surface corresponding to the reference surface. Polishing equipment.   11. The polishing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the ultraviolet curable resin contains a dye having a color different from that of the surface to be polished.   A polishing control unit that measures the distribution of the coating layer remaining on the surface to be polished based on the color information of the coating layer and determines whether or not to finish the polishing process on the surface to be polished based on the measurement result; The polishing apparatus according to claim 11.   The polishing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the ultraviolet curable resin is a resin having a polishing rate substantially the same as the surface to be polished when the coating layer is formed. The polishing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a speed at which the ultraviolet curable resin is polished by the polishing pad is 80 to 120% of a speed at which the polishing target surface is polished by the polishing pad.

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