Patent ID: 6976902
Filing Date: 2005-12-20
Classification: B24B

Abstract:
1. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus comprising: a rotatable polishing table; a polishing pad located on the polishing table; a rotatable carrier head located above the polishing table which is rotatably driven by a carrier head driving device; a wafer located under, and rotatably driven by, the carrier head; a slurry supplier for supplying a polishing slurry to the upper portion of the polishing table; at least one temperature sensor for detecting the polishing process temperature of at least one of the wafer, the pad, and the slurry; a first polishing end point detector for determining a polishing end point based on temperature changes measured by the temperature sensor; and a second polishing end point detector for determining a polishing end point based on changes in load current, voltage, and resistance of the carrier head driving device.