Patent ID: 7795865

Claim:
A polishing endpoint forecasting and detecting method to forecast and detect a polishing endpoint when a conductive film is polished and a predetermined conductive film is appropriately removed, wherein the inductor in the high frequency inductor type sensor is brought close to the predetermined conductive film, and at least a part of the flux from among the fluxes formed by the inductor in the initial stage of the polishing allows an inductor shape generating the magnetic field having no directivity to the extent of not penetrating the predetermined conductive film by the skin effect of the predetermined conductive film and a frequency to the extent of not penetrating the conductive film by the skin effect to oscillate from the high frequency inductor type sensor, and has a process at least once, in which the flux penetrating the predetermined conductive film increases according to the progress of the polishing, and from among the fluxes formed by the inductor, the change of the leakage flux penetrating the predetermined conductive film during the progress of the polishing is monitored as the change of the eddy current created by the leakage flux, and based on the change of the eddy current when the film thickness during the polishing becomes equivalent to the skin depth accompanied with the skin effect or its vicinity, a film thickness reference point is detected, and from the film thickness reference point, a method of forecasting and detecting the polishing endpoint to forecast the polishing endpoint is provided.