JUDGMENT OF REPLACEMENT TIMING OF RETAINING RING USED IN SUBSTRATE POLISHING WORK

摘要

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To judge the replacement timing of a retainer ring used in a substrate polishing work by providing a wear marker exposed so as to come into contact with an abrasive surface during the polishing of a substrate to show a preliminarily selected quantity of the wear of the bottom surface.;SOLUTION: A retaining ring 22 comprises a bottom (or wear) layer 34 and an upper (or support) layer 36. A wear marker 38 has a visual indicator arranged on the outside surface of the retaining ring 22. This visual indicator is subjected to a visual inspection while a substrate is polished. The wear marker 38 is formed of the color change between the bottom layer 34 and the upper layer 36. These layers are formed of different material compositions. The bottom layer 34 is formed of a material such as 'TEFLON(R)' base material contactable with the abrasive pad of an abrasive pad without having a bad influence (for example, 'ZYMAXX(R)' forming material available form DuPont).;COPYRIGHT: (C)2001,JPO