Patent ID: 8579679

Claim:
A method of conditioning polishing pads in a double-side polishing device having a carrier for holding a work, a pair of upper and lower rotating surface plates disposed to face each other to sandwich the carrier therebetween, and a polishing pad provided on each of the facing surfaces of the rotating surface plates for polishing the work, the method comprising the steps of: separating the upper and the lower rotating surface plates away from each other when the polishing pads on the upper and the lower rotating surface plates are to be conditioned; inserting, between the separated upper and lower rotating surface plates, an arm that is rotatable about its longitudinal axis, the arm having at a front end portion thereof a conditioning plate rotatably fixed to the arm and having a diameter smaller than those of the rotating surface plates and a rotational axis parallel to that of the upper and lower surface plates; positioning the arm such that the conditioning plate presses against the polishing pad of one of the rotating surface plates; rotating the conditioning plate, thereby conditioning the polishing pad of one of the rotating surface plates; rotating the arm about its longitudinal axis and positioning the arm such the conditioning plate presses against the polishing pad of the other rotating surface plate; and again rotating the conditioning plate, thereby conditioning the other polishing pad.