KR101206911B1 - Device for Conditioning the surface of Polishing Pad - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A device for conditioning the surface of a polishing pad is provided to reduce the deviation of pressure delivered to the polishing pad by dispersing an electric protrusion and an electric groove combined with mutual unevenness. CONSTITUTION: A support arm(11) is installed on a supporter(201). A conditioning head(20) is combined with the support arm. A conditioning driving shaft is installed on the conditioning head. A conditioning driven shaft is installed on the conditioning head. A disk holder is arranged on the lower side of the conditioning driven shaft.

Description

Conditioning Device for Polishing Pads {Device for Conditioning the surface of Polishing Pad}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a polishing pad conditioning apparatus, and more particularly, to an apparatus for improving a surface condition of a polishing pad exacerbated by polishing by-products generated during polishing operations when polishing a surface of a wafer using the polishing pad. will be.

Wafers used in the manufacture of integrated circuits and other electronic devices are subjected to the process of depositing or removing a plurality of layers of conductive, semiconductive and dielectric materials on the surface of the substrate. Is produced.

Since the surface of the wafer thus manufactured is not flat during the deposition or removal operation, the surface of the wafer is planarized through a polishing process.

As a device for polishing a wafer, a chemical mechanical wafer polishing apparatus for mechanically and chemically polishing the surface of a wafer by a method of rubbing the surface protrusions of the abrasive and the polishing pad contained in the slurry with the surface of the wafer is used.

When the surface of the wafer is polished using the polishing pad, the polishing byproducts generated during the polishing operation deteriorate the surface state of the polishing pad (such as a phenomenon in which pores or grooves formed on the surface of the polishing pad are blocked by the polishing byproducts). This occurs) The surface condition of the polishing pad is improved by using a polishing pad conditioning apparatus.

The polishing pad conditioning apparatus improves the surface state of the polishing pad by directly contacting the surface of the polishing pad to the surface of the polishing pad, and the pressure variation of the conditioning disk with respect to the polishing pad 202 (the surface of the polishing pad) for efficient surface improvement. In order to reduce the position-by-position), a polishing pad conditioning apparatus having a gimbal part is devised and used.

15 and 16 are respectively a state diagram of a conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus, Figure 17 is a perspective view of the main portion of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus, Figure 18 is a cross-sectional view of the main portion of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus, Figures 19 and 20 Fig. 21 is a perspective view showing the deformation operation of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus, and Fig. 21 is a view showing the spacer of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus.

Conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus, as shown in these figures, the support arm 111 installed on the support 201, the conditioning head 120 coupled to the support arm 111, and the conditioning head 120 On the installed conditioning driving shaft 112, the conditioning driven shaft 113 installed on the conditioning head 120, the disk holder 170 disposed below the conditioning driven shaft 113, and the bottom surface of the disk holder 170. The combined conditioning disk 114, the gimbal portion 130 for connecting the disk holder 170 to the conditioning driven shaft 113, and the support arm 111 is rotated to drive the rotating drive shaft 112 It has a conditioning drive part which raises and lowers the conditioning driven shaft 113. As shown in FIG.

The support arm 111 is installed on the support 201 through the support arm pivot shaft 111a in the peripheral region of the polishing pad 202 installed on the support 201. Accordingly, the support arm 111 can be rotated along the plate surface direction of the polishing pad 202 with one end as a support point.

The support arm 111 is formed to have a length section reaching the upper side of the polishing pad 202 during the rotation operation.

In addition, the support arm 111 is provided with an air inlet fitting (161, Air inlet fitting).

Since the structure of the support arm 111 having such a configuration is widely known in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The conditioning head 120 includes a conditioning head body 121 fixed to the support arm 111, a rotating block 122 and a bearing 123 installed inside the conditioning head body 121, and a rotating block 122. Fixed shoulder portion 124 coupled to the upper end of the), the movable shoulder portion 125 installed inside the rotating block 122 to be disposed below the fixed shoulder portion 124, the movable shoulder portion 125 and the rotation It has a diaphragm 126 installed to connect the block 122.

The bearing 123 is installed to be interposed between the conditioning head body 121 and the rotation block 122.

The fixed shoulder portion 124 has a flow passage communicating with the air injection fitting 161 is formed.

The movable shoulder 125 is formed in a ring shape and is coupled to the upper end of the conditioning driven shaft 113.

A sealed space 126a is formed between the fixed shoulder portion 124 and the movable shoulder portion 125 by the diaphragm 126.

Since the structure of the conditioning head 120 having such a configuration is well known in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The conditioning drive shaft 112 is formed in the fixed shoulder portion 124 to be disposed perpendicular to the polishing pad 202.

In addition, a conditioning shaft air passage 112a is formed in the conditioning driving shaft 112 to connect the air injection fitting 161 and the inner space of the driven shaft body 113a to be described later along the longitudinal direction.

The conditioning driven shaft 113 is a fixed ring seating flange 113b formed to be disposed horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the driven shaft body 113a at the lower end of the driven shaft body 113a in a straight line and the driven shaft body 113a. ) And a gimbal support flange 113c which extends outward from the fixed ring seating flange 113b.

The driven shaft body 113a is formed in a tubular shape in which the lower end is closed.

The gimbal support flange 113c is formed to have a space seating groove 113d at the lower side of the fixed ring seating flange 113b.

Conditioning driven shaft 113 having this configuration is the driven shaft body 113a surrounds the conditioning drive shaft 112, the fixed ring seating flange 113b and gimbal support flange 113c of the conditioning head body 121 It is coupled to the conditioning drive shaft 112 to be disposed below. Accordingly, the conditioning driven shaft 113 can be moved up and down along the longitudinal direction of the conditioning drive shaft 112 in a state where the fixed ring seating flange 113b and the gimbal support flange 113c are exposed.

And the conditioning driven shaft 113 is coupled to the conditioning drive shaft 112 so as to rotate together with the conditioning drive shaft 112 through a key structure.

The disc holder 170 is cut off to form a concave shape of the gimbal accommodation groove 171 on the upper surface.

The gimbal accommodation groove 171 is composed of a gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 171a and a gimbal accommodation groove side surface portion 171b cooperating with the gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 171a to form a concave shape.

The spacer support hill portion 171f is formed in the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion 171a.

The disc holder 170 may be manufactured using a stainless steel (SUS) material or the like.

The gimbal portion 130 has a deformable operation portion 140 having a deformable plate 141 installed to be supported on the top surface of the gimbal support flange 113c, and a spacer 131 provided in the space seating groove 113d. .

The deformation operation part 140 has a driven shaft fixing ring 142 and a holder fixing ring 143 integrally formed with the deformation plate 141 in addition to the deformation plate 141.

The deformation plate 141 is formed in a thin plate form (0.1 mm or less).

The holder fixing ring 143 has a plurality of foreign matter discharge ports 143a starting from the inner circumferential surface and reaching the outer circumferential surface.

The deformable operation unit 140 having such a configuration is made of a metal material, coupled to the gimbal support flange 113c through the driven shaft fixing ring 142, and coupled to the disk holder 170 through the holder fixing ring 143. do.

The spacer 131 is formed in a ring shape having a cross section of the tracer. Hereinafter, the inner surface of the spacer 131 is called a holder contact surface 131a.

The spacer 131 is provided in the spacer seating groove 113d such that the holder contact surface 131a contacts the spacer support hill portion 171f.

The conditioning driving unit pivotally drives the support arm 111, rotates the conditioning drive shaft 112, and elevates the conditioning driven shaft 113.

Rotating driving of the support arm 111 may be implemented by rotating the support arm pivot shaft 111a using a driving device such as a motor as is widely known in the art.

Rotational driving of the conditioning drive shaft 112 is a method of rotating the conditioning drive shaft 112 through a pulley (not shown, connected to the fixed shoulder portion) using a drive such as a motor as is widely known in the art Can be implemented.

As is well known in the art, lifting and lowering of the conditioning driven shaft 113 is performed by using the air injection through the air injection fitting 161 and the elastic force of the coil spring 163 (installed to support both ends of the rotating block and the movable shoulder). It can be implemented by the method of lifting the driven shaft 113.

The operation of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23.

First, when the timing for improving the surface condition of the predetermined polishing pad 202 is reached, the conditioning driving unit drives the support arm pivot shaft 111a to move the conditioning disk 114 to the upper side of the polishing pad 202.

Next, the conditioning driving unit injects air through the air injection fitting 161 to lower the conditioning driven shaft 113 (see FIG. 22). Here, the lowering of the conditioning driven shaft 113 is such that the conditioning disk 114 is in pressure contact with the surface of the polishing pad 202.

If the inclination of the conditioning driven shaft 113 with respect to the disc holder 170 changes when the conditioning driven shaft 113 is lowered (the inclination of the conditioning driven shaft with respect to the disc holder in the initial installation state is aimed at a right angle). As the deformation plate 141 is deformed, it is possible to prevent an increase in the pressing force deviation (by polishing pad surface position) of the conditioning disk with respect to the polishing pad 202 (see Fig. 23). Here, the deformation operation of the deformation plate 141 is performed with the help of the spacer 131 (the holder contact surface moves while maintaining the contact state with the spacer support hill).

Meanwhile, the elastic force is accumulated in the coil spring 163 while the conditioning driven shaft 113 is lowered.

The conditioning driver then rotates the conditioning drive shaft 112. The conditioning driven shaft 113 rotates when the conditioning drive shaft 112 rotates.

When the conditioning driven shaft 113 rotates, the polishing pad 202 surface is improved by the conditioning disk 114 (the polishing pad also rotates in the same direction as the conditioning driven shaft while the polishing pad surface is being improved). .

When the surface of the polishing pad 202 has been improved, the rotation of the conditioning drive shaft 112 is stopped, the conditioning driven shaft 113 is raised (by the elastic force accumulated in the coil spring), and the rotation of the support arm 111 is performed. To the original position.

By the way, according to the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus, when the inclination of the conditioning driven shaft 113 with respect to the disk holder 170 changes, the bending deformation of the deformation plate 141 is based on the outer peripheral surface of the driven shaft fixing ring 142 ( The area in contact with the driven shaft fixing ring and the area away from the driven shaft fixing ring) may be broken in the adjacent area of the outer circumferential surface of the driven shaft fixing ring 142 of the deformable plate 141, and accordingly, the gimbal function There was a problem that it is difficult to maintain stable.

The inclination change of the conditioning driven shaft 113 with respect to the disk holder 170 is made while the holder contact surface 131a maintains a surface contact state with respect to the disk holder 170, and the disk holder 170 has a conditioning driven shaft 113 with the disk holder 170. Since the gimbal 130 is fixedly coupled to the disk holder 170, it is difficult to perform the gimbal function by adapting to the change in the tilt of the conditioning driven shaft 113 with respect to the disk holder 170 (it is difficult to adapt sensitively to the tilt change). Less adaptable gradient changes).

In addition, since the conditioning driven shaft 113 is lowered and the conditioning disk 114 is in close contact with the polishing pad 202, a relatively large pressing force is transmitted to the conditioning disk 114 through the spacer 131. There is a problem that the deviation of the pressing force transmitted to the polishing pad 202 becomes large, and thus, the surface state of the polishing pad 202 is not improved by the conditioning disk 114 efficiently.

Therefore, an object of the present invention, the gimbal function can be stably maintained, the gimbal function can be performed by adapting to the change in the tilt of the conditioning driven shaft relative to the disc holder, the deviation of the pressing force transmitted to the polishing pad through the conditioning disk It is to provide a polishing pad conditioning apparatus that can be reduced.

The object is, according to the present invention, is installed on the support to rotate along the plate surface direction of the polishing pad with one end as a support point in the peripheral region of the polishing pad provided on the support and the other end of the polishing pad during the rotation operation A support arm formed to have a length section reaching the upper side, a conditioning head coupled to the other end of the support arm, a conditioning driving shaft installed in the conditioning head so as to be perpendicular to the polishing pad, and a length of the conditioning driving shaft A conditioning driven shaft installed in the conditioning head so as to move up and down along the direction and rotate with the conditioning driving shaft, a disk holder disposed below the conditioning driven shaft, and a conditioning disk coupled to a bottom surface of the disk holder. And connecting the disk holder to the conditioning driven shaft and the conditioning disk. A gimbal portion deformed to maintain a connection state between the disk holder and the conditioning driven shaft by adapting to a change in inclination of the conditioning driven shaft with respect to the disk holder generated when contacting the polishing pad; And a polishing pad conditioning device that rotates the conditioning drive shaft and lifts and drives the conditioning driven shaft, wherein the conditioning driven shaft includes a linear driven shaft body in a straight line and a lower end of the driven shaft body. A connecting flange formed to be disposed transversely in the longitudinal direction of the coaxial body portion; The disc holder has a gimbal accommodating groove having a gimbal accommodating groove bottom surface portion and a gimbal accommodating groove bottom surface portion formed in cooperation with the gimbal accommodating groove bottom surface portion at an upper surface thereof to be cut off; The gimbal portion has a plurality of connecting arms formed between the shaft fixing plate having a contact hole in the center and the shaft interlocking ring disposed to surround the shaft fixing plate, and the connecting members are respectively connected to the shaft fixing plate. An elastic member installed between the shaft interlocking ring and the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion to elastically support the shaft interlocking portion coupled to the connection flange through the shaft fixing plate, and the shaft interlocking portion with respect to the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion; An interlocking portion constraining portion for constraining the shaft interlocking portion with respect to the disk holder to maintain the elastic support state of the shaft interlocking portion by the elastic member; The outer circumferential surface of the shaft interlocking ring and the gimbal receiving groove side surface portion may be mutually unevenly coupled by an operation of approaching the shaft interlocking portion toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion such that the conditioning driven shaft may be inclined with respect to the disk holder. It is achieved by a polishing pad conditioning apparatus, characterized in that the driving protrusion and the electric groove are formed to be distributed apart from each other.

Wherein the gimbal portion of the bottom surface of the gimbal accommodating groove so that the gimbal portion forms a curved surface in the upper direction so that the pressing force of the conditioning disk against the surface of the polishing pad even when the elastic force of the elastic member is weakened. Further comprising an auxiliary gimbal motion protrusion protruding in an area opposite the ball; The conditioning driven shaft has a distance that is the minimum distance from the highest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion when the elastic member is pressed toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface to be the minimum thickness of the elastic member. It is formed to have a bottom surface in point contact with the highest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion before the thickness is smaller than the thickness, or the gimbal portion facing the contact hole of the bottom surface of the driven shaft body portion so that the bottom surface is convex in the downward direction And an auxiliary gimbal motion protrusion protruding from the region; When the elastic member is pressed toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface part and the thickness of the elastic member minimum thickness is the elastic member minimum thickness, the space between the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface part and the lowest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion is elastic. It is preferably formed to make point contact with the lowest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion before becoming smaller than the minimum member thickness.

And it is preferable to further include a sealing portion provided in the disk holder to seal the space between the upper end of the gimbal receiving groove side portion and the connection flange to prevent foreign matter from entering the gimbal portion installation area.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the axial interlocking portion and the axial interlocking portion having a plurality of connecting arms formed to connect the axial interlocking ring and the axial interlocking ring arranged to surround the axial fastening plate and the axial fastening plate with respect to the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion. The gimbal portion is formed to include an elastic member for supporting the elastic member and an interlocking portion restraining portion for restraining the shaft interlocking portion with respect to the disc holder, and the shaft interlocking portion approaches the outer surface of the shaft interlocking ring and the side of the gimbal receiving groove toward the bottom of the gimbal receiving groove. By decentralizing the electric projection and the electric groove that can be combined with each other by operation, the gimbal function can be stably maintained, and the gimbal function can be performed by adapting to the change of the tilt of the conditioning driven shaft for the disc holder. The variation in the pressing force transmitted to the polishing pad through the disk can be reduced.

1 and 2 are each an installation state of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the main coupling portion of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of the main portion of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
5 is a partially exploded perspective view of a polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are views showing a gimbal portion region assembly state of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively.
12 and 13 are operation state diagrams of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively;
14 is a sectional view of an essential part of a polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention;
15 and 16 are each an installation state of a conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus,
17 is a perspective view illustrating a main portion of a conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus;
18 is a sectional view of the main parts of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus;
19 and 20 are perspective views showing a deformation operation of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus, respectively;
21 shows a spacer of a conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus;
22 and 23 are views showing the operating state of the conventional polishing pad conditioning apparatus.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2 are installed state of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, respectively, Figure 3 is a perspective view of the main coupling portion of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a present invention A main portion of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the combined cross-sectional view, Figure 5 is a partial perspective view of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figures 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11 are views showing a gimbal portion region assembly state of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, respectively.

Polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in these figures, the support arm 11 installed on the support 201, the conditioning head 20 coupled to the support arm 11, A conditioning drive shaft 12 provided in the conditioning head 20, a conditioning driven shaft 13 provided in the conditioning head 20, a disk holder 70 disposed below the conditioning driven shaft 13, and a disk holder. Conditioning disk 14 coupled to the bottom of the 70, the gimbal portion 30 for connecting the disk holder 70 to the conditioning driven shaft 13, coupled to the disk holder 70 and the gimbal portion 30 And a conditioning driving section for rotating the driving arm 12, rotating the conditioning driving shaft 12, and elevating the conditioning driven shaft 13 by rotating the supporting arm 11.

The support arm 11 is installed on the support 201 through the support arm pivot 11a in the peripheral region of the polishing pad 202 provided on the support 201. Accordingly, the support arm 11 can be rotated along the plate surface direction of the polishing pad 202 with one end as a support point.

The support arm 11 is formed to have a length section in which the other end reaches the upper side of the polishing pad 202 during the rotation operation.

The support arm 11 is provided with an air inlet fitting 61.

Since the structure of the support arm 11 having such a configuration is widely known in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The conditioning head 20 includes a conditioning head body 21 fixed to the support arm 11, a rotation block 22 and a bearing 23 installed inside the conditioning head body 21, and a rotation block 22. Fixed shoulder 24 coupled to the upper end of the), movable shoulders 25 installed inside the rotating block 22 to be disposed below the fixed shoulders 24, and the movable shoulders 25 and rotation It has a diaphragm 26 installed to connect the block 22.

The bearing 23 is installed to be interposed between the conditioning head body 21 and the rotation block 22.

The fixed shoulder part 24 is formed with a flow path communicating with the air injection fitting 61.

The movable shoulder 25 is formed in a ring shape and is coupled to the upper end of the conditioning driven shaft 13.

A sealed space 26a is formed between the fixed shoulder portion 24 and the movable shoulder portion 25 by the diaphragm 26.

Since the structure of the conditioning head 20 having such a configuration is widely known in the art, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The conditioning drive shaft 12 is formed in the fixed shoulder portion 24 to be disposed perpendicular to the polishing pad 202.

In addition, a conditioning shaft air passage 12a is formed along the longitudinal direction in the conditioning driving shaft 12 to connect the air injection fitting 61 and the inner space of the driven shaft body 13a to be described later.

The conditioning driven shaft 13 has a straight driven shaft body 13a and a connecting flange 13b formed horizontally in the longitudinal direction of the driven shaft body 13a at the lower end of the driven shaft body 13a. Have

The driven shaft body portion 13a is formed in a tubular shape in which the lower end is closed.

And the driven shaft body 13a is the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 to be described later when the elastic member 31 is the minimum thickness of the elastic member 31 is pressed toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion 71a to the maximum thickness It is formed to have a bottom face in point contact with the highest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 (highest point of the protrusion head) before the separation distance from the highest point of the < RTI ID = 0.0 >

The conditioning driven shaft 13 having such a configuration has the conditioning driven shaft 12 such that the driven shaft body 13a surrounds the conditioning drive shaft 12 and the connecting flange 13b is disposed below the conditioning head body 21. ) Are combined. Accordingly, the conditioning driven shaft 13 can be moved up and down along the longitudinal direction of the conditioning drive shaft 12 in a state where the connection flange 13b is exposed.

And the conditioning driven shaft 13 is coupled to the conditioning drive shaft 12 so as to rotate together with the conditioning drive shaft 12 through a key structure.

In addition, the conditioning driven shaft 13 is coupled between the inner surface of the driven shaft body 13a and the outer surface of the conditioning drive shaft 12 and the inner space of the driven shaft body 13a and the fixed shoulder 24. It is made to have an air passage connecting the sealed space (26a) formed between the movable shoulder portion (25). Accordingly, the air injected through the air injection fitting 61 may enter the sealed space 26a formed between the fixed shoulder 24 and the movable shoulder 25.

The disc holder 70 is cut off so that the gimbal accommodating groove 71 may form a concavity in the upper surface.

The gimbal accommodation groove 71 is composed of a gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 71a and a gimbal accommodation groove side surface portion 71b that forms a concave shape in cooperation with the gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 71a.

As for the gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface part 71a, the convex protrusion seating groove 71c is formed in the area | region which opposes the communication hole 41a mentioned later.

Three rolling projections 71e are formed in the gimbal receiving groove side surface portion 71b to have a phase difference of 120 degrees.

Each rolling protrusion 71e is formed to have a substantially semicircular cross-sectional shape.

The disc holder 70 is formed such that the holder sealing groove 71d surrounds the gimbal accommodation groove 71 on its upper surface.

The disc holder 70 may be manufactured using a PEEK (Polyetherethereketone) material or the like.

The gimbal portion 30 is an interlocking portion coupled to the shaft interlocking portion 40, the elastic member 31 provided between the shaft interlocking portion 40 and the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion 71a, and the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion 71a. The restraint part 32 and the auxiliary gimbal operation | movement protrusion part 33 couple | bonded with the gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface part 71a through the protrusion part recessed groove 71c are provided.

The shaft interlocking portion 40 comprises a shaft fixing plate 41 in which a contact hole 41a is formed in the center, a shaft interlocking ring 42 disposed to surround the shaft fixing plate 41, and a shaft interlocking ring 42. It has three connection arms 43 formed so that it may be connected to the stationary plate 41. As shown in FIG.

The shaft fixing plate 41 is formed such that two shaft fixing plate sealing grooves 41b on the upper surface form a concentric circle with the contact hole 41a.

The shaft interlocking ring 42 has three transmission grooves 42a formed on the outer circumferential surface thereof.

Here, the formation of the electric groove 42a may be unevenly coupled with the electric protrusion 71e by an operation of bringing the shaft interlocking portion 40 toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface 71a, and the disc holder 70. The conditioning driven shaft 13 is spaced apart from the driving protrusion 71e so that the conditioning driven shaft 13 can be inclined with respect to.

Each connecting arm 43 is formed with a restraint seating groove 43a, and is formed to have the same distance from other connecting arms (each connecting arm is formed to have a phase difference of 120 degrees).

The shaft interlocking portion 40 having such a configuration is coupled to the connecting flange 13b through the shaft fixing plate 41.

The elastic member 31 is composed of an inner elastic ring 31a, an intermediate elastic ring 31b and an outer elastic ring 31c arranged to form concentric circles.

The inner elastic ring 31a is arranged side by side on the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion 71a.

The inner elastic ring 31a is connected to the intermediate elastic ring 31b through three intermediate legs 31d.

The intermediate elastic ring 31b is arranged to be inclined upward and is connected to the outer elastic ring 31c through three inner leg portions 31e.

The outer elastic ring 31c is arranged side by side with the inner elastic ring 31a with a height difference.

The elastic member 31 having such a configuration is coupled to the bottom of the shaft interlocking ring 42 by welding or the like through an inner elastic ring 31a, and the outer elastic ring 31c is a gimbal receiving groove bottom portion 71a. It is installed to contact. Accordingly, the elastic member 31 elastically supports the shaft interlocking portion 40 with respect to the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion 71a.

The interlocking portion constraining portion 32 is formed in a ring shape, and three holder fixing protrusions 32a are formed on the bottom thereof with a phase difference of 120 degrees.

The interlocking portion constraining portion 32 is fixed to the gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 71a through the holder fixing protrusion 32a in the state of entering the restraint portion mounting groove 43a.

By the interlocking portion constraining portion 32 having such a configuration, the shaft interlocking portion 40 is restrained with respect to the disc holder 70 while maintaining the elastic support state.

The auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 has a protrusion head 33a and a protrusion leg 33b extending from the protrusion head 33a.

The protrusion head 33a is formed so that the upper surface may form the curved surface which convex upward.

The auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 having such a configuration is coupled to the protrusion seating groove 71c by an interference fit method through the protrusion leg part 33b.

The sealing portion 50 has a sealing plate 51 coupled to the shaft fixing plate 41, and a holder fixing ring 52 coupled to the disk holder 70.

The sealing plate 51 is formed with a shaft seating hole 51a in the center region, and three sealing protrusions 51b are formed at the bottom thereof so as to form concentric circles.

The sealing plate 51 may be made of a shrinkable material such as silicone rubber.

In the sealing plate 51 having such a configuration, the lower outer surface of the conditioning driven shaft 13 is in close contact with the inner circumferential surface of the shaft seating hole 51a, and the three sealing protrusions 51b have the shaft fixing plate sealing groove 41b and the holder sealing. It is coupled to the shaft fixing plate 41 to enter the groove (71d).

The holder fixing ring 52 has a plurality of foreign matter discharge ports 52a starting from the inner circumferential surface and reaching the outer circumferential surface.

The holder fixing ring 52 may be made of a rigid material such as stainless steel.

The holder fixing ring 52 having this configuration is coupled to the disc holder 70 on the outside of the gimbal receiving groove side surface portion 71b.

The conditioning driving unit pivotally drives the support arm 11, rotates the conditioning drive shaft 12, and lifts and drives the conditioning driven shaft 13.

Rotating driving of the support arm 11 may be implemented by rotating the support arm pivot shaft 11a using a driving device such as a motor as is widely known in the art.

Rotational driving of the conditioning drive shaft 12 is a method of rotating the conditioning drive shaft 12 through a pulley (not shown, connected to the fixed shoulder portion) using a driving device such as a motor as is widely known in the art. Can be implemented.

As is well known in the art, the lifting and lowering driving of the conditioning driven shaft 13 uses air injection through the air injection fitting 61 and the elastic force of the coil spring 63 (installed to support both ends of the rotating block and the movable shoulder). It can be implemented by the method of elevating the driven shaft (13).

The operation of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 and 13.

First, when the timing for improving the surface condition of the predetermined polishing pad 202 is reached, the conditioning driving unit rotates the support arm pivot shaft 11a to move the conditioning disk 14 above the polishing pad 202.

The conditioning driving unit then injects air through the air injection fitting 61 to lower the conditioning driven shaft 13 (see Fig. 12). The lowering of the conditioning driven shaft 13 here is such that the conditioning disk 14 is in pressure contact with the surface of the polishing pad 202.

If the inclination of the conditioning driven shaft 13 with respect to the disk holder 70 changes when the conditioning driven shaft 13 is lowered (normally, the inclination of the conditioning driven shaft with respect to the disk holder in the initial installation state is aimed at a right angle. As the elastic member 31 is deformed, it is possible to prevent the pressing force deviation (by polishing pad surface position) of the conditioning disk 13 against the polishing pad 202 from increasing (see Fig. 13).

When the conditioning driven shaft 13 descends while the elastic force of the elastic member 31 is weakened due to repeated use or the like, the bottom of the conditioning driven shaft 13 is the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33, that is, the protrusion head 33a. ) And thus the pressing force of the conditioning disk 14 against the surface of the polishing pad 202 can be maintained.

On the other hand, the elastic force is accumulated in the coil spring 63 while the conditioning driven shaft 13 is lowered.

The conditioning driver then rotates the conditioning drive shaft 12. When the conditioning drive shaft 12 rotates, the conditioning driven shaft 13 rotates.

When the conditioning driven shaft 13 is rotated, the polishing pad 202 surface is improved by the conditioning disk 14 (the polishing pad also rotates in the same direction as the conditioning driven shaft while the polishing pad surface is being improved). .

When the surface of the polishing pad 202 has been improved, the rotation of the conditioning drive shaft 12 is stopped, the conditioning driven shaft 13 is raised (by the elastic force accumulated in the coil spring), and the rotation of the support arm 11 is performed. To the original position.

On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 is formed on the gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 71a, but as shown in FIG. 14, the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion ( 33 ') can be formed to practice the invention.

Figure 14 is a cross-sectional view of the main portion of the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention has the same structure as the polishing pad conditioning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention except for the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 ′ and the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion 71a. Function

The auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 ′ according to another embodiment of the present invention is formed to protrude in an area of the bottom surface of the driven shaft body portion 13a opposite the contact hole 41a such that the bottom face has a convex curved shape in a downward direction. .

The gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 71a according to another embodiment of the present invention is the elastic member 31 is pressed toward the gimbal accommodation groove bottom surface portion 71a to be the maximum thickness of the elastic member minimum thickness. It is formed to make point contact with the lowest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 'before the separation distance from the lowest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33 is smaller than the minimum thickness of the elastic member.

In the above-described embodiment, although the electric groove 42a is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft interlocking ring 42 and the electric protrusion 71e is formed on the gimbal receiving groove side surface portion 71b, the present invention implements the shaft interlocking ring ( The present invention can be implemented by forming a motorized protrusion on the outer circumferential surface of 42 and an electric groove on the gimbal receiving groove side surface portion 71b.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment is configured to have three connecting arms 43, of course, the present invention can be implemented by varying the number of connecting arms, such as two, four.

According to the embodiment of the present invention as described above, the shaft interlocking ring 42 and the shaft interlocking ring 42 arranged to surround the shaft fixing plate 41 and the shaft fixing plate 41 are connected to the shaft fixing plate 41. The disc holder includes the elastic member 31 and the shaft interlocking portion 40 which elastically support the shaft interlocking portion 40 and the shaft interlocking portion 40 having the plurality of connection arms 43 formed with respect to the gimbal receiving groove bottom portion 71a. The gimbal linkage part 40 is formed on the outer circumferential surface of the shaft interlocking ring 42 and the gimbal receiving groove side surface part 71b while the gimbal part 30 is formed to include the linkage restraint part 32 that restrains against the 70. By distributing the driving protrusions 71e and the driving grooves 42a which can be unevenly coupled to each other by an operation toward the receiving groove bottom portion 71a, the gimbal function can be stably maintained, and the disc holder 70 The gimbal function can be performed by adapting to the change of the inclination of the conditioning driven shaft 13 with respect to the It is possible to reduce the deviation of the pressing force transmitted to the polishing pad 202.

And by adding the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion 33, even if the elastic force of the elastic member 31 is weakened, it is possible to stably maintain the pressing force of the conditioning disk 14 against the surface of the polishing pad 202.

In addition, by adding a sealing part 50 to seal the space between the top of the gimbal receiving groove side portion 71b and the connection flange 13b, it is possible to prevent foreign matter from entering the gimbal portion 30 installation area.

11, 111: support arm 12, 112: conditioning coaxial
13: Conditioning driven shaft 14, 114: Conditioning disc
20, 120: conditioning head 21, 121: conditioning head body portion
22, 122: rotation block 24, 124: fixed shoulder
25, 125: movable shoulder portion 26, 126: diaphragm
30, 130: gimbal portion 31: elastic member
32: linkage restraint 33: auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion
40: shaft interlocking portion 41: shaft fixing plate
42: shaft interlocking ring 43: connection arm
50: sealing part 51: sealing plate
52, 143: holder fixing ring 131: spacer
140: deformation operation portion 141: deformation plate
142: driven shaft fixing ring

Claims (4)

It is installed on the support to rotate along the plate surface direction of the polishing pad with one end as a support point in the peripheral region of the polishing pad installed on the support, and formed to have a length section in which the other end reaches the upper side of the polishing pad during the rotation operation. A support arm, a conditioning head coupled to the other end of the support arm, a conditioning drive shaft installed in the conditioning head so as to be disposed perpendicularly to the polishing pad, and being able to move up and down along the longitudinal direction of the conditioning drive shaft. A conditioning driven shaft installed in the conditioning head so as to rotate together with a circular shaft, a disk holder disposed below the conditioning driven shaft, a conditioning disk coupled to a bottom surface of the disk holder, and the disk holder When connected coaxially and the conditioning disc contacts the polishing pad A gimbal portion that is adapted to maintain a connection state between the disk holder and the conditioning driven shaft by adapting to a change in inclination of the conditioning driven shaft relative to the disk holder to be generated, and rotationally drives the support arm and rotates the conditioning drive shaft. A polishing pad conditioning apparatus having a conditioning driving section for driving and lifting and driving the conditioning driven shaft,
The conditioning driven shaft includes a linear driven shaft body in a straight line and a connecting flange formed horizontally in a longitudinal direction of the driven shaft body at a lower end of the driven shaft body;
The disc holder has a gimbal accommodating groove having a gimbal accommodating groove bottom surface portion and a gimbal accommodating groove bottom surface portion formed in cooperation with the gimbal accommodating groove bottom surface portion at an upper surface thereof to be cut off;
The gimbal portion has a plurality of connecting arms formed between the shaft fixing plate having a contact hole in the center and the shaft interlocking ring disposed to surround the shaft fixing plate, and the connecting members are respectively connected to the shaft fixing plate. An elastic member installed between the shaft interlocking ring and the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion to elastically support the shaft interlocking portion coupled to the connection flange through the shaft fixing plate, and the shaft interlocking portion with respect to the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion; An interlocking portion constraining portion for constraining the shaft interlocking portion with respect to the disk holder to maintain the elastic support state of the shaft interlocking portion by the elastic member;
The outer circumferential surface of the shaft interlocking ring and the gimbal receiving groove side surface portion may be mutually unevenly coupled by an operation of approaching the shaft interlocking portion toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion such that the conditioning driven shaft may be inclined with respect to the disk holder. Polishing pad conditioning apparatus characterized in that the driving protrusion and the electric groove are formed to be separated from each other. The method of claim 1,
The gimbal portion further includes an auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion formed to protrude in a region of the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface portion facing the contact hole so that an upper surface thereof is convex upwardly;
The conditioning driven shaft has a distance that is the minimum distance from the highest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion when the elastic member is pressed toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface to be the minimum thickness of the elastic member. And a bottom surface contacting the highest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion before the thickness becomes smaller than the thickness. The method of claim 1,
The gimbal portion further includes an auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion formed to protrude in a region of the bottom surface of the driven shaft body facing the contact hole so that a bottom surface thereof has a convex curved shape in a downward direction;
When the elastic member is pressed toward the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface part and the thickness of the elastic member minimum thickness is the elastic member minimum thickness, the space between the gimbal receiving groove bottom surface part and the lowest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion is elastic. And a point of contact with the lowest point of the auxiliary gimbal operation protrusion before the member becomes smaller than the minimum thickness. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
And a sealing part provided in the disc holder to seal a space between an upper end of the gimbal receiving groove side surface part and the connection flange.

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