Patent ID: 6969297

Claim:
An apparatus for monitoring conditioning of a planarizing medium used for planarizing a microelectronic substrate, comprising: a conditioning body having a conditioning surface configured to engage a planarizing surface of the planarizing medium, at least one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium being movable relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarazing medium to condition the planarizing surface; a first support member having first and second ends and being rotatably coupled toward the first end to the conditioning body, the second end of the first support member extending away from the conditioning body; a sensor coupled to the conditioning body to detect a frictional force in a plane of the planarizing surface, the frictional force being imparted to the conditioning body by the planarizing medium when the one of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium is moved relative to the other of the conditioning body and the planarizing medium; a second support member coupled at a pivotable coupling to the first support member toward the second end of the first support member, the sensor being positioned between the first and second support members, the first support member being pivotable relative to the second support member to transmit a force to the sensor corresponding to the frictional force; a piston; and a cylinder having an open end and a closed end, the cylinder slidably receiving the piston, at least one of the piston and the cylinder being coupled to the conditioning body to slide relative to the other of the piston and the cylinder under the influence of the frictional force on the conditioning body, the piston and the cylinder defining a gap between an end of the piston and the closed end of the cylinder, the sensor including a gauge positioned to measure movement of the one of the piston and the cylinder relative to the other of the piston and the cylinder.