Patent ID: 9533395
Date: 2017-01-03
CPC Classifications: B24B

Claim:
1. A method of conditioning a polishing pad on a polishing table for polishing a thin film formed on a surface of a substrate, the polishing pad to be brought into contact with the thin film to perform the polishing, said method comprising: bringing a dresser into contact with the polishing pad, the dresser being capable of wearing down an entire surface of the polishing pad uniformly when the dresser is moved at an identified standard moving speed, the standard moving speed being defined as a moving speed of the dresser preset at each of a plurality of areas identified in a radial direction of the polishing pad to obtain the identical wear rate over the entire surface of the polishing pad; and conditioning the polishing pad by moving the dresser between a central part of the polishing pad and an outer circumferential part of the polishing pad; wherein a moving speed of the dresser at a predetermined area of the polishing pad is lower than the standard moving speed of the dresser preset for the predetermined area of the polishing pad; and wherein the predetermined area of the polishing pad is defined as the area of the polishing pad to be brought into contact with a portion of the surface of the substrate whereat a polishing rate will be higher than a polishing rate of any other portion of the surface of the substrate if the predetermined area of the polishing pad was conditioned by moving the dresser at the standard moving speed.