Substrate polisher and polishing method

Abstract

A polisher for locally polishing a substrate is provided. The polisher includes a polishing member having a processing surface that comes into contact with the substrate and is smaller than the substrate, a pressing mechanism for pressing the polishing member against the substrate, a first drive mechanism for imparting motion to the polishing member in a first motion direction parallel to a surface of the substrate, a second drive mechanism for imparting motion to the polishing member in a second motion direction perpendicular to the first motion direction and having a component parallel to the surface of the substrate, and a controller for controlling the action of the polisher.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A polisher for locally polishing a substrate, the polisher comprising:
 a polishing member having a processing surface that comes into contact with the substrate and is smaller than the substrate;   a pressing mechanism for pressing the polishing member against the substrate;   a first drive mechanism for imparting motion to the polishing member in a first motion direction parallel to a surface of the substrate;   a second drive mechanism for imparting motion to the polishing member in a second motion direction perpendicular to the first motion direction and having a component parallel to the surface of the substrate; and   a controller for controlling an action of the polisher,   wherein the polishing member is configured such that during polishing of the substrate, arbitrary points in a region that is in contact with the substrate make motion in the same first motion direction, and   the controller is configured to control actions of the first and second drive mechanisms in such a way that the polishing member locally polishes the substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to change a motion speed in the first motion direction during the polishing of the substrate.   
     
     
         3 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein an amount of movement in the second motion direction is smaller than or equal to a length of a second-motion-direction component of a region where the polishing member is in contact with the substrate.   
     
     
         4 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 further comprising a third drive mechanism for moving the polishing member in a radial direction of the substrate.   
     
     
         5 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 further comprising a stage for holding the substrate; and   a fourth drive mechanism for imparting the motion to the stage.   
     
     
         6 . The polisher according to  claim 5 ,
 further comprising a third drive mechanism for moving the polishing member in a radial direction of the substrate,   wherein a speed of the polishing member motion produced by the second drive mechanism and directed in the second motion direction is greater than a speed of the polishing member motion produced by the third drive mechanism and a speed of the stage motion produced by the fourth drive mechanism relative to the polishing member.   
     
     
         7 . The polisher according to  claim 6 ,
 wherein the stage motion is any one of rotary motion, angularly pivotal motion, and linear motion.   
     
     
         8 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the controller is configured to include a computation section that calculates a target polishing amount in a polished region of the substrate and control the polisher in accordance with the target polishing amount calculated by the computation section.   
     
     
         9 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 further comprising a conditioning member for conditioning the polishing member.   
     
     
         10 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 further comprising a liquid supply nozzle for supplying a liquid onto the substrate, wherein the liquid contains at least one of a polishing slurry, water, and a cleaning chemical liquid.   
     
     
         11 . The polisher according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the first drive mechanism is configured to rotate the polishing member.   
     
     
         12 . The polisher according to  claim 11 ,
 wherein the polishing member has a disc-like shape.   
     
     
         13 . The polisher according to  claim 12 ,
 wherein the disc-shaped polishing member is disposed such that a center axis thereof is parallel to the surface of the substrate.   
     
     
         14 . The polisher according to  claim 11 ,
 wherein the polishing member has a columnar shape.   
     
     
         15 . The polisher according to  claim 14 ,
 wherein the column-shaped polishing member is disposed such that a center axis thereof is parallel to the surface of the substrate.   
     
     
         16 . The polisher according to  claim 11 ,
 wherein the second drive mechanism is configured to cause the polishing member to make linear motion or rotary motion on the substrate.   
     
     
         17 . A substrate processing system comprising:
 the polisher according to  claim 11 ;   a cleaner for cleaning the substrate polished by the polisher;   a dryer for drying the substrate cleaned by the cleaner; and   a transporter for transporting the substrate among the polisher, the cleaner, and the dryer.   
     
     
         18 . The substrate processing system according to  claim 17 ,
 further comprising a large-diameter polisher for polishing the substrate by using a polishing member having a processing surface that comes into contact with the substrate and is larger than the substrate.   
     
     
         19 . The substrate processing system according to  claim 17 ,
 further comprising a state detecting section for detecting a state of the surface of the substrate before and/or after processing of the substrate.   
     
     
         20 . The substrate processing system according to  claim 19 ,
 wherein the state detecting section is configured to detect an across-substrate-surface distribution of at least one of a thickness of a film formed on the surface of the substrate, a step on the surface of the substrate, and signals corresponding to the thickness and the step.