Measurement equipment

By introducing branched optical fibers and light collectors into the measurement equipment, controlling the light irradiation time of each head, and using spectral units to distinguish reflected light from different heads, the problem of band width reduction in the prior art during multi-point measurement is solved, and efficient multi-point measurement is achieved.

JP7650585B2Active Publication Date: 2025-03-25DISCO CORP
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Patent Information

Application Number
JP2021008496
Authority / Receiving Office
JP · JP
Patent Type
Patents
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2021-01-22
Publication Date
2025-03-25
Estimated Expiration
2041-01-22

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

During multi-point measurement, existing measuring equipment cannot maintain the measurement band width of each head at the same time, resulting in inefficient measurement.

Method used

By introducing branched optical fibers and light collectors into the measurement device, the light irradiation time of each head is controlled, and the reflected light of different heads is distinguished using spectral units, and the distance of each head is calculated.

Benefits of technology

It is realized that multi-point measurement of the upper surface height of the target object can be performed without reducing the width of the measurement band of each head, thereby improving the measurement efficiency.

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Abstract

To perform measurement at two or more multiple points using two or more head units without narrowing a measurement wavelength band per head unit.SOLUTION: A measurement device is provided, comprising a holding unit and a measurement unit, the measurement unit includes: a light source unit; a first optical fiber transmitting light emitted by the light source unit; a branch unit branching the light transmitted by the first optical fiber to at least two optical fibers for measurement; a plurality of head units each of which includes a flux collector collecting the light branched by the branch unit to a measurement object; a shutter unit delaying timing at which the measurement object is irradiated with light from each head unit; a second optical fiber which is branched off by the branch unit and through which return light having been reflected by the measurement object is transmitted; a spectroscopic unit having a light receiving unit receiving return light; and a control unit controlling the operation of the shutter unit, thereby controlling the timing at which the measurement object is irradiated with light from each head unit, consequently causing the light receiving unit to individually receive the return light.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1
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Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a measuring device having a holding unit that holds an object to be measured, and a measuring unit that measures the height of the upper surface of the object to be measured held by the holding unit or the thickness of the object to be measured. [Background technology]

[0002] A semiconductor wafer having devices formed on its front surface has its back surface ground by a grinding device to thin it to a predetermined thickness, and then is divided into individual device chips by a processing device such as a cutting device or a laser processing device.

[0003] When processing a workpiece with a laser processing device, for example, it is necessary to position the focal point of a pulsed laser beam having a wavelength that transmits the workpiece at a predetermined depth from the upper surface of the workpiece. For this reason, the height of the upper surface of the workpiece is measured using a measuring device (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0004] The measurement device has, for example, a light source unit that generates light in a predetermined wavelength band. The light from the light source unit is guided via an optical fiber to a head unit in which a lens having axial chromatic aberration is disposed. The light in the predetermined wavelength band is focused at different positions on the optical axis depending on the wavelength due to the axial chromatic aberration.

[0005] Of the light irradiated from the head to the object to be measured, the light of a specific wavelength that is collected on the top surface of the object to be measured is mainly taken into the optical fiber via this lens. The wavelength of the reflected light taken into the optical fiber is identified using a spectroscope or the like.

[0006] Since the focal length for each wavelength of the above-mentioned lens is predetermined, the distance from the head unit to the top surface of the object can be determined according to the wavelength of the specified reflected light, and therefore the height of the top surface of the object and the thickness of the object can be measured (see, for example, Patent Document 3).

[0007] The measuring device described in Patent Document 3 has a light source unit, a spectrometer, a head unit, and a 1x2 type optical fiber coupler, and the light source unit is connected to a first port located on one side of the branching part of the coupler, and the spectrometer is connected to a second port located on the same side.

[0008] Furthermore, a head unit is connected to a third port located on the other side of the branching unit of the coupler. In this case, the head unit can measure only one point on the object to be measured per measurement, which makes the measurement inefficient.

[0009] Therefore, a technology has been proposed in which a light source, a spectrometer, and two heads are connected with an optical fiber composed of a 2x2 type optical fiber coupler to perform two-point measurement. However, the reflected light received by each head is simultaneously received by a light receiving element via a spectrometer, which causes a problem that the light receiving element cannot identify which head corresponds to which reflected light.

[0010] To solve this problem, for example, a measurement device has been proposed in which a filter that transmits light of a different wavelength band is provided for each head unit, thereby measuring a different wavelength band for each head unit (see, for example, Patent Document 4). However, as the number of head units increases, the number of divisions of the wavelength band also increases, and the measurement wavelength band (i.e., the measurement range) per head unit becomes narrower. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0011] [Patent Document 1] JP 2008-170366 A [Patent Document 2] JP 2011-122894 A [Patent Document 3] International Publication No. 2015 / 199054 [Patent Document 4] JP 2014-178287 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0012] The present invention has been made in consideration of these problems, and aims to measure the height of the top surface of an object to be measured at two or more points using two or more heads without narrowing the measurement wavelength band per head. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] According to one aspect of the present invention, a measuring device includes a holding unit for holding an object to be measured, and a measurement unit for measuring the height of an upper surface of the object to be measured held by the holding unit or the thickness of the object to be measured, the measurement unit includes a light source unit for emitting light in a predetermined wavelength band, a first optical fiber for transmitting the light emitted by the light source unit, a branching unit for branching the light transmitted by the first optical fiber into at least two measurement optical fibers, a head unit having a plurality of head units each including a condenser for focusing the light branched at the branching unit on the object to be measured, a shutter unit for shifting the timing at which light is irradiated from each head unit to the object to be measured, a second optical fiber branched at the branching unit and through which return light reflected by the object to be measured is transmitted via each measurement optical fiber, and a spectroscopic unit having a light receiving unit for receiving the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber, and a shutter unit for controlling the operation of the shutter unit to control the timing at which light is irradiated from each head unit to the object to be measured, and the return light from each head unit is individually received by the light receiving unit. Let and a control unit, the control unit determining a distance from each head unit to the upper surface of the object to be measured based only on the peak wavelength of the return light from each head unit. Plan A measuring device is provided.

[0014] Preferably, the light receiving portion includes a two-dimensional sensor.

[0015] Preferably, the measurement device further includes an additional branching section provided between the first optical fiber and the branching section, a second branching section that further branches light from the additional branching section into at least two different measurement optical fibers, a second head unit having a plurality of second head sections each including a light collector that collects the light branched by the second branching section onto the object to be measured, a second shutter section that shifts the timing at which light is irradiated from each second head section onto the object to be measured, a fourth optical fiber that is branched at the second branching section separately from a third optical fiber connecting the additional branching section and the second branching section, and transmits the return light from each measurement optical fiber reflected by the object to be measured, and a second spectroscopic unit having a second light receiving section that receives the return light transmitted by the fourth optical fiber, and the control section controls the operation of the second shutter section to irradiate the light from each second head section onto the object to be measured. Light The timing of irradiation is controlled, and the second light receiving section receives the return light from each second head section individually.

[0016] Also, preferably, the measurement device further includes an additional branching section provided between the first optical fiber and the branching section, a second branching section that further branches light from the additional branching section into at least two different measurement optical fibers, a second head unit having a plurality of second head sections each including a condenser that condenses the light branched by the second branching section onto the object to be measured, a second shutter section whose operation is controlled by the control section and that shifts the timing at which light is irradiated from each second head section onto the object to be measured, and a third optical fiber that connects the additional branching section and the second branching section to the second head section. and a fourth optical fiber which is branched at a second optical fiber section and transmits the return light from each measurement optical fiber reflected by the object to be measured, the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber and the fourth optical fiber being received by the light receiving section, the light receiving section having a two-dimensional sensor, and the two-dimensional sensor receives the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber and the return light transmitted by the fourth optical fiber at different positions, thereby separating the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber from the return light transmitted by the fourth optical fiber. Also, preferably, the shutter portion is a polishing unit having a spindle and a polishing tool connected to a lower portion of the spindle. Effect of the Invention

[0018] A measurement device according to one aspect of the present invention includes a shutter unit that shifts the timing at which light is irradiated from each head unit to an object to be measured, and a control unit that controls the operation of the shutter unit.

[0019] By operating the shutter unit, the light irradiated from each head to the object to be measured is received individually by the light receiving unit. Therefore, the height of the top surface of the object to be measured can be measured at multiple points (two or more points) using two or more heads without narrowing the measurement wavelength band per head. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a spectroscopic unit. [Diagram 3] FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a received light signal. [Figure 4] 13A and 13B are diagrams illustrating modified examples of the shutter section. [Diagram 5] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device according to a third embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device according to a fourth embodiment. [Figure 8] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device according to a fifth embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] An embodiment according to one aspect of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device 2 according to a first embodiment. In Fig. 1, some of the components of the measurement device 2 are shown in functional blocks. Note that the Z-axis direction shown in Fig. 1 is a vertical direction, and the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction (not shown), which are perpendicular to the Z-axis direction, constitute horizontal directions.

[0022] The measuring device 2 is mounted on, for example, a processing device (such as a grinding device or a polishing device) that needs to measure the height of the upper surface 11a of the object 11 and the thickness 11c of the object 11. However, the measuring device 2 does not necessarily need to be an accessory to the processing device, and may be a separate, independent device.

[0023] The measuring device 2 of this embodiment has a chuck table (holding unit) 4. A rotation drive source (not shown), such as a motor, that rotates the chuck table 4 in a predetermined direction is connected to the lower part of the chuck table 4.

[0024] The chuck table 4 has a disk-shaped frame body. A flow path (not shown) is formed in the lower part of the frame body to apply negative pressure generated by a suction source (not shown) such as an ejector to the porous plate.

[0025] A disk-shaped recess is formed in the upper part of the frame, and a disk-shaped porous plate (not shown) is fixed in this recess. The upper surface of the porous plate and the upper surface of the frame are substantially flush with each other, forming a substantially flat holding surface 4a.

[0026] The holding surface 4a suction-holds a measured object (workpiece) 11. The measured object 11 is, for example, a silicon wafer, and its lower surface 11b side is suction-held by the holding surface 4a via a resin dicing tape (not shown).

[0027] At this time, the upper surface 11a located opposite to the lower surface 11b is exposed upward. The upper surface 11a is irradiated with the measurement light 13 from each of the heads 18a and 18b (described in detail later) of the measurement unit 6.

[0028] The measurement unit 6 has a light source section 8. The light source section 8 in this embodiment includes an excitation light source (not shown). The excitation light source is, for example, a laser diode (LD) that emits blue light (for example, wavelength λ=450 nm).

[0029] The excitation light is irradiated onto the phosphor through a predetermined optical system such as a lens and a prism. The phosphor is, for example, a YAG:Ce phosphor (in one example, ((Y,Gd) 3 Al 5 O 12 :Ce), which absorbs excitation light and emits light in a predetermined wavelength band (for example, 500 nm to 700 nm) including light of green, yellow, red, etc.

[0030] The light generated by the phosphor passes through a focusing lens (not shown) of the light source unit 8, is focused onto one end of a first optical fiber 12 corresponding to the first port of a 2x2 type optical fiber coupler 10, and is transmitted by the first optical fiber 12 to a branching unit 14.

[0031] The optical fiber coupler 10 is formed, for example, by fusing and extending parts of two optical fibers. Two measurement optical fibers 16a and 16b that constitute a third port and a fourth port of the optical fiber coupler 10 are provided on the opposite side of the first optical fiber 12 with respect to the branching portion 14.

[0032] Light in a predetermined wavelength band from the light source unit 8 is branched into two measurement optical fibers 16a and 16b at a ratio of, for example, 50:50 from the branch unit 14. The measurement optical fiber 16a is connected to the head unit 18a.

[0033] The head unit 18a has a condenser 20a therein. The condenser 20a of the present embodiment includes a diffractive optical element and a condensing lens. Due to the axial chromatic aberration of the condenser 20a, the height position of the condensing point of the light that has passed through the condenser 20a changes depending on the wavelength.

[0034] Specifically, the longer the wavelength component, the closer it is to the collector 20a, and the shorter the wavelength component, the farther it is from the collector 20a. The collector 20a may have a chromatic aberration lens instead of the diffractive optical element and the collector lens. In this case, the longer the wavelength component, the farther it is from the collector 20a, and the shorter the wavelength component, the closer it is to the collector 20a.

[0035] A part of the measurement light 13 irradiated from the condenser 20a to the object 11 is reflected by the upper surface 11a, and then returns as return light 15 to the measurement optical fiber 16a via the condenser 20a again.

[0036] However, the wavelength components focused on the upper surface 11a mainly pass through the measurement optical fiber 16a, and the wavelength components not focused on the upper surface 11a are almost entirely blocked by the measurement optical fiber 16a. In this way, a confocal optical system is formed in the head unit 18a.

[0037] As long as a confocal optical system is configured, the configuration of the head unit 18a is not limited to the form shown in Fig. 1. For example, an additional condenser lens may be provided between the condenser 20a and the measurement optical fiber 16a.

[0038] The measurement optical fiber 16b is connected to the head unit 18b. In this specification, the head unit 18a and the head unit 18b are collectively referred to as the first head unit 18. The head unit 18b also has a condenser 20b, and constitutes a confocal optical system together with the measurement optical fiber 16b.

[0039] Similarly, a portion of the measurement light 13 irradiated from the condenser 20b to the object 11 is reflected by the upper surface 11a and then returns as return light 15 to the measurement optical fiber 16b via the condenser 20b again.

[0040] The return light 15 reflected by the upper surface 11a and passing through the measurement optical fiber 16a or 16b passes through the branching section 14 and is transmitted to the second optical fiber 22 that constitutes the second port of the optical fiber coupler 10. A spectroscopic unit 24 is connected to one end of the second optical fiber 22.

[0041] The spectroscopic unit 24 has a collimating lens 26 that converts the return light 15 into approximately parallel light (see FIG. 2). FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the spectroscopic unit 24. The return light 15 that passes through the collimating lens 26 is reflected by a diffraction grating 28, passes through a condenser lens 30, and is received by a light receiving unit 32.

[0042] The light receiving unit 32 includes, for example, a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) or charge-coupled device (CCD) imaging element (i.e., a two-dimensional sensor) having a plurality of light receiving elements arranged two-dimensionally.

[0043] The light receiving area 32a of the light receiving unit 32 is rectangular and extends in the first direction A. 1 and two sides approximately parallel to the first direction A 1 A second direction perpendicular to 2The return light 15 is incident on the light receiving region 32a in the second direction A in accordance with its wavelength. 2 The light is received at different positions.

[0044] The light receiving signal generated in the light receiving region 32a is input to a control unit 34 that controls the measurement device 2. The control unit 34 controls the second direction A 2 By identifying the position of the light receiving element where the emission intensity in the second direction A is maximized, the peak wavelength of the return light 15 is identified. 2 Since the wavelength (λ) corresponds to the wavelength, in FIG. 2, the second direction A 2 A 2 (λ).

[0045] The control unit 34 is configured by a computer including, for example, a processing device such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit), a main storage device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory), and an auxiliary storage device such as a flash memory, a hard disk drive, etc. The functions of the control unit 34 are realized by operating the processing device and the like in accordance with software stored in the auxiliary storage device.

[0046] The control unit 34 controls the operation of the light source unit 8 and the spectroscopic unit 24, as well as the shutter unit 36. The shutter unit 36 ​​has a shutter 36a disposed between the head unit 18a and the holding surface 4a, and a shutter 36b disposed between the head unit 18b and the holding surface 4a.

[0047] In this embodiment, each of the shutters 36a, 36b is a focal plane shutter that slides in the X-axis direction, but each of the shutters 36a, 36b may slide in a predetermined direction other than the X-axis direction on the XY plane.

[0048] Each of the shutters 36a, 36b may be a lens shutter or other mechanical shutter, or instead of a mechanical shutter, may be a transmissive liquid crystal shutter that controls the transmission and blocking of light by electrically driving liquid crystal.

[0049] The control unit 34 closes one of the shutters 36a, 36b when the other is open, thereby shifting the timing at which the measurement light 13 is irradiated onto the upper surface 11a of the object 11 from each of the heads 18a, 18b.

[0050] As a result, the return light 15 from each head portion 18a, 18b is received individually (i.e., at different timings) by the light receiving portion 32. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a received light signal. In Fig. 3, the horizontal axis indicates the wavelength λ (nm) and the vertical axis indicates the intensity of the received light signal.

[0051] The dashed line graph shows the time t 1 In the case where the light receiving unit 32 receives the return light 15 from the head unit 18a, the received light signal (peak wavelength λ A ), and the solid line graph shows the time t 1 Different from time t 2 In the case where the light receiving unit 32 receives the return light 15 from the head unit 18b, the received light signal (peak wavelength λ B ) is shown.

[0052] The correspondence between the peak wavelength of the return light 15 and the distance from each head portion 18a, 18b to the focusing point is registered in advance in the control unit 34, so the distance from each head portion 18a, 18b to the upper surface 11a is determined according to the peak wavelength of the return light 15.

[0053] In this embodiment, the return light 15 is received at different times depending on the heads 18a and 18b. Therefore, the height of the upper surface 11a and the like can be measured at two points using the two heads 18a and 18b without narrowing the measurement wavelength band for each of the heads 18a and 18b.

[0054] The height of the upper surface 11a means a height relative to a predetermined reference height. The predetermined reference height is, for example, the height of the holding surface 4a. If the control unit 34 calculates the difference between the height of the holding surface 4a and the height of the upper surface 11a, the thickness 11c (see FIG. 1) of the object 11 can be measured.

[0055] Meanwhile, the control unit 34 stores the peak wavelength of the return light 15 corresponding to each measurement timing. For example, the control unit 34 stores the peak wavelength of the return light 15 corresponding to the timing of the open state while alternately opening and closing the shutters 36a, 36b. Then, the height of the upper surface 11a is measured based on the stored peak wavelength.

[0056] In one example, with the heads 18a, 18b arranged side by side on one radius of the top surface 11a of the object 11 held by the holding surface 4a, the chuck table 4 is rotated around a predetermined rotation axis by the rotary drive source while the shutters 36a, 36b are alternately opened and closed. This makes it possible to measure the height of the top surface 11a in a concentric region of the top surface 11a.

[0057] A monitor (not shown) may be connected to the control unit 34. For example, the monitor displays an outline of the upper surface 11a and information indicating the height of each measurement point on the upper surface 11a. If the information indicating the height of each measurement point is displayed in a different color, the unevenness of the upper surface 11a can be visually grasped.

[0058] (First Modification) For the purpose of multipoint measurement, three or more measurement optical fibers may be branched from the branching unit 14. For example, a head unit is provided for each of the three measurement optical fibers. In this case, the shutter unit 36 ​​is controlled to selectively irradiate the measurement light 13 from one of the three head units in sequence.

[0059] (Second Modification) Next, a second modification will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a modification of the shutter section 36. In the second modification, the shutter section 36 is composed of one polishing unit 40.

[0060] The polishing unit 40 has a substantially cylindrical spindle housing 42 disposed along the Z-axis direction. An X-axis movement mechanism (not shown) that moves the polishing unit 40 in the X-axis direction is connected to the spindle housing 42.

[0061] A part of a cylindrical spindle 44 is rotatably accommodated in the spindle housing 42, and a rotation drive source (not shown) such as a motor is provided on the upper part of the spindle 44. A disk-shaped polishing tool 46 is connected to the lower part of the spindle 44.

[0062] The polishing tool 46 has a diameter smaller than that of the holding surface 4a (for example, about 1 / 10 to 1 / 2 of the diameter of the holding surface 4a). The polishing tool 46 has a disk-shaped mount 46a made of metal. A polishing pad 46b having approximately the same diameter as the mount 46a is fixed to the lower surface side of the mount 46a.

[0063] The measuring light 13 is blocked by selectively moving the polishing unit 40 along the X-axis direction between a first position between the upper surface 11a and the head portion 18a and a second position between the upper surface 11a and the head portion 18b. Therefore, the light receiving portion 32 can receive the returning light 15 at different timings depending on the head portions 18a and 18b, similar to the first embodiment.

[0064] In addition, with the head portions 18a, 18b arranged side by side on one radius of the upper surface 11a, the measuring light 13 is selectively blocked by the polishing unit 40 while the chuck table 4 is rotated around a predetermined rotation axis, whereby the height of the upper surface 11a can be measured in a concentric region of the upper surface 11a.

[0065] (Third Variant) As a third variant, the light source unit 8, the head unit 18a, and the spectroscopic unit 24 may be connected by a three-port first optical circulator (not shown), and further, the light source unit 8, the head unit 18b, and the spectroscopic unit 24 may be connected by a three-port second optical circulator (not shown).

[0066] In this case, the first and second optical circulators correspond to the branching unit 14. In addition, the optical fiber connecting the first port of the first optical circulator and the light source unit 8, and the optical fiber connecting the first port of the second optical circulator and the light source unit 8 correspond to the first optical fiber 12.

[0067] Furthermore, the optical fiber connecting the third port of the first optical circulator and the spectroscopic unit 24 and the optical fiber connecting the third port of the second optical circulator and the spectroscopic unit 24 correspond to the second optical fiber 22 .

[0068] (Fourth Variant) As a fourth variant, a first port of a 1x2 type optical fiber coupler (not shown) may be connected to the light source unit 8, a first port of a three-port type first optical circulator (not shown) may be connected to the second port of the optical fiber coupler, and a first port of a three-port type second optical circulator (not shown) may be connected to the third port of the optical fiber coupler.

[0069] The head unit 18a is connected to the second port of the first optical circulator, and the spectroscopic unit 24 is connected to the third port of the first optical circulator. The head unit 18b is connected to the second port of the second optical circulator, and the spectroscopic unit 24 is connected to the third port of the second optical circulator.

[0070] In this case, the first port of the optical fiber coupler corresponds to one end of the first optical fiber 12, and the third port of the first optical circulator and the third port of the second optical circulator correspond to one end of the second optical fiber 22.

[0071] In the third and fourth modified examples, too, by using the shutter section 36 and the polishing unit 40 to shift the timing at which the measurement light 13 is irradiated onto the upper surface 11a from each head section 18a, 18b, the return light 15 can be received at different timings depending on the head section 18a, 18b.

[0072] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device 50 according to a second embodiment. The measurement device 50 differs from the first embodiment mainly in that it has a plurality of spectroscopic units 24 (i.e., a first spectroscopic unit 24a and a second spectroscopic unit 24b).

[0073] A 1×2 type optical fiber coupler having an additional branch 52a is provided between the light source unit 8 and the branch unit 14. A first port of this 1×2 type optical fiber coupler corresponds to one end of the first optical fiber 12 that transmits light from the light source unit 8.

[0074] A second and a third port are provided on the opposite side of the additional branch 52a from the first optical fiber 12. The second port is connected to the branch 14, and the third port is connected to the second branch 52b.

[0075] Therefore, the light emitted by the light source unit 8 is branched from the additional branch unit 52a to the branch unit 14, and is also branched from the additional branch unit 52a to the second branch unit 52b via the third optical fiber 54.

[0076] As in the first embodiment, two measurement optical fibers 16a and 16b are connected to the branching portion 14. A head portion 18a is connected to the measurement optical fiber 16a, and a head portion 18b is connected to the measurement optical fiber 16b.

[0077] A shutter unit 36 ​​is disposed between the head units 18a, 18b and the holding surface 4a. The return light 15 from the head units 18a, 18b passes through the branching unit 14 and is received by a light receiving unit 32 of a first spectroscopic unit 24a having the same configuration as the spectroscopic unit 24.

[0078] Similarly, two measurement optical fibers 56a, 56b are connected to the second branch 52b. A head (second head) 58a having a light collector 60a similar to the light collector 20a is connected to the measurement optical fiber 56a.

[0079] Further, a head unit (second head unit) 58b having a condenser 60b similar to the condenser 20b is connected to the measurement optical fiber 56b. In this specification, the head units 58a and 58b are collectively referred to as the second head unit 58.

[0080] The heads 58a and 58b have the same functions as the heads 18a and 18b. In addition, a shutter 62a is disposed between the head 58a and the holding surface 4a, and a shutter 62b is disposed between the head 58b and the holding surface 4a.

[0081] The shutters 62a, 62b (collectively referred to as the second shutter section 62) are controlled by the control section 34, similar to the shutter section 36. Each of the shutters 36a, 36b, 62a, 62b slides in the Y-axis direction, but may also slide in a predetermined direction other than the Y-axis direction on the XY plane.

[0082] The timing at which the measurement light 13 is irradiated onto the upper surface 11a from each of the heads 58a and 58b is shifted by the second shutter unit 62. The return light 15 reflected by the upper surface 11a is transmitted to the fourth optical fiber 64 via the heads 58a and 58b, the measurement optical fibers 56a and 56b, and the second branch unit 52b in this order.

[0083] The fourth optical fiber 64 is branched at the second branching portion 52b separately from the third optical fiber 54. The fourth optical fiber 64 transmits the return light 15 to the second spectroscopic unit 24b.

[0084] The second spectroscopic unit 24b also has a collimator lens 26, a diffraction grating 28, a condenser lens 30, and a light receiving section (second light receiving section) 32, similar to the first spectroscopic unit 24a (see FIG. 2).

[0085] In the second embodiment, the return light 15 is received individually by the first spectroscopic unit 24a at different timings for each of the head portions 18a and 18b, and further, the return light 15 can be received individually by the second spectroscopic unit 24b at different timings for each of the head portions 58a and 58b.

[0086] Therefore, the height of the upper surface 11a and the like can be measured at four points using the four heads 18a, 18b, 58a, and 58b without narrowing the measurement wavelength band per head.

[0087] In the second embodiment, the four head portions 18a, 18b, 58a, and 58b may be arranged side by side on one radius of the upper surface 11a. Also, the first to fourth modified examples described above may be applied.

[0088] (Third embodiment) Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device 70 according to a third embodiment. The measurement device 70 differs from the second embodiment in that it has one spectroscopic unit 24.

[0089] The return light 15 from the first head unit 18 is transmitted to the spectroscopic unit 24 via the second optical fiber 22, and the return light 15 from the second head unit 58 is transmitted to the spectroscopic unit 24 via the fourth optical fiber 64.

[0090] However, due to the difference in the incident positions of the second optical fiber 22 and the fourth optical fiber 64 on the collimator lens 26, the return light 15 from the first head unit 18 and the return light 15 from the second head unit 58 are incident in the first direction A of the light receiving area 32a. 1 The light is received at different positions.

[0091] In addition, the return light 15 is reflected in the second direction A of the light receiving region 32a according to its wavelength. 2 In the example shown in FIG. 6, the return light 15 from the first head unit 18 is received at different positions in the area B. 1 The return light 15 from the second head unit 58 is received in the area B 1 Different area B 2 The light is received by

[0092] In this way, the return light 15 is received by the light receiving area 32a in a state where it is separated for each head unit. In the third embodiment, the number of spectroscopic units can be reduced compared to the second embodiment. Of course, the height of the upper surface 11a can be measured at four points using the four heads 18a, 18b, 58a, and 58b without narrowing the measurement wavelength band per head.

[0093] In the third embodiment, the four head portions 18a, 18b, 58a, and 58b may be arranged side by side on one radius of the upper surface 11a. The first to fourth modified examples described above may also be applied.

[0094] (Fourth embodiment) Next, a fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a schematic diagram of a measurement device 72 according to the fourth embodiment. The measurement device 72 does not have a shutter unit 36. This is mainly the point that differs from the second embodiment shown in Fig. 5.

[0095] The light emitted by the light source unit 8 is transmitted to the light source side branching unit 74 via the first optical fiber 12, and branched in the light source side branching unit 74 to at least two head side branches (coupling units) 76a, 76b.

[0096] The light source side branching portion 74 and the head side branching portions 76a and 76b are each a 1 x 2 type optical fiber coupler. The head side branching portion 76a is connected to the head portion 18a via the measurement optical fiber 16a.

[0097] Similarly, the head unit 18b is connected to the head-side branching unit 76b via the measurement optical fiber 16b. Each of the head-side branching units 76a, 76b transmits the light branched by the light source-side branching unit 74 to a corresponding one of the measurement optical fibers 16a, 16b.

[0098] In this embodiment, the shutter section 36 is not disposed between the head sections 18a, 18b (head units) and the holding surface 4a. Therefore, the light transmitted through each of the measurement optical fibers 16a, 16b is irradiated onto the object to be measured 11 held on the holding surface 4a without being blocked by the shutters 36a, 36b.

[0099] The return light 15 reflected by the upper surface 11a of the object to be measured 11 passes through the measurement optical fiber 16a, and is transmitted to the first spectroscopic unit 24a via the spectroscopic side optical fiber 78a branched at the head side branching portion 76a.

[0100] Similarly, the return light 15 reflected by the upper surface 11a passes through the measurement optical fiber 16b, and is transmitted to the second spectroscopic unit 24b via the spectroscopic-side optical fiber 78b branched at the head-side branching portion 76b.

[0101] In this way, the light irradiated from each of the heads 18a, 18b to the object 11 is received individually by each of the light receiving units 32 of the first and second spectroscopic units 24a, 24b. Therefore, the height of the upper surface 11a and the like can be measured at two points using the two heads 18a, 18b without narrowing the measurement wavelength band per head 18a, 18b.

[0102] In addition, by arranging three or more sets of a head-side branching section, measurement optical fiber, head section, spectroscopic-side optical fiber, and spectroscopic unit, the height of the upper surface 11a, etc. can also be measured at three or more points.

[0103] Fifth embodiment Next, a fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a measuring device 80 according to a fifth embodiment. In the measuring device 80, head-side branches 76a and 76b of the measuring device 72 shown in FIG. b are replaced with three-port optical circulators (coupling units) 86a and 86b.

[0104] A first port of the optical circulator 86a is connected to the light source unit 8 via the light source side branching unit 74 and the first optical fiber 12. A second port of the optical circulator 86a is connected to the measurement optical fiber 16a, and a third port of the optical circulator 86a is connected to the spectroscopic side optical fiber 78a.

[0105] Similarly, a first port of the optical circulator 86b is connected to the light source unit 8 via the light source side branching unit 74 and the first optical fiber 12. A second port of the optical circulator 86b is connected to the measurement optical fiber 16b, and a third port of the optical circulator 86b is connected to the spectroscopic side optical fiber 78b.

[0106] In this embodiment, the loss in the amount of return light 15 received by the first spectroscopic unit 24a and the second spectroscopic unit 24b can be reduced compared to when the head-side branching units 76a, 76b are used, so that the light from the light source unit 8 can be used more efficiently.

[0107] In addition, the structures, methods, and the like according to the above-described embodiments can be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the above-described embodiments and modifications can function even if the head unit 18a is an interference optical system.

[0108] Specifically, a focusing lens without axial chromatic aberration is placed in the head section, and a first optical path in which the measurement light 13 passes through the focusing lens and a second optical path in which the measurement light 13 is reflected by a mirror without passing through the focusing lens are set in the head section (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0109] Then, by receiving the interference light between the return light 15 that has passed through the focusing lens via the first path and the measurement light 13 that has passed through the second path at the light receiving unit 32, the distance from the head unit to the upper surface 11a can be measured based on the peak wavelength of the interference light and the difference in optical path length between the first and second optical paths.

[0110] As another modification, instead of the optical fiber coupler (e.g., optical fiber coupler 10 having a branching portion 14 and multiple optical fibers (see FIG. 1)), a fiber combiner (not shown) having a beam splitter and multiple sets of lenses and optical fibers may be used. [Explanation of symbols]

[0111] 2,50,70,72,80:Measuring equipment 4: chuck table, 4a: holding surface, 6: measurement unit 8: Light source unit, 10: Optical fiber coupler 11: Object to be measured, 11a: Top surface, 11b: Bottom surface, 11c: Thickness 12: first optical fiber, 14: branching section 13: Measurement light, 15: Return light 16a, 16b: Optical fiber for measurement 18: first head unit, 18a, 18b: head section 20a, 20b: Concentrator 22: Second optical fiber 24: spectroscopic unit, 24a: first spectroscopic unit, 24b: second spectroscopic unit 26: collimating lens, 28: diffraction grating, 30: focusing lens 32: light receiving unit, 32a: light receiving area, 34: control unit 36: shutter section, 36a, 36b: shutters 40: polishing unit, 42: spindle housing, 44: spindle 46: polishing tool, 46a: mount, 46b: polishing pad 52a: additional branch, 52b: second branch 54: The third optical fiber 56a, 56b: Optical fiber for measurement 58: second head unit, 58a, 58b: head section (second head section) 60a, 60b: Concentrator 62: second shutter section, 62a, 62b: shutters, 64: fourth optical fiber 74: Light source side branch 76a, 76b: Head side branching section (joint section) 78a, 78b: Spectroscopic optical fiber 86a, 86b: Optical circulator (coupling section) A 1 :1st direction, A 2 :Second direction, B 1 , B 2 :Area, λ:Wavelength, λ A , λ B : Peak wavelength

Claims

1. A holding unit for holding the object to be measured; a measurement unit that measures the height of the upper surface of the object held by the holding unit or the thickness of the object, The measurement unit includes: A light source unit that emits light in a predetermined wavelength band; a first optical fiber that transmits light emitted by the light source unit; a branching unit that branches the light transmitted by the first optical fiber into at least two measurement optical fibers; a head unit having a plurality of head parts each including a condenser for condensing the light branched by the branching part onto the object to be measured; a shutter unit that shifts the timing at which light is irradiated from each head unit to the object to be measured; a second optical fiber branched at the branching portion, through which return light reflected by the object to be measured is transmitted via each measurement optical fiber; a spectroscopic unit having a light receiving portion that receives the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber; a control unit that controls the operation of the shutter unit to control the timing at which light is irradiated from each head unit to the object to be measured, and causes the light receiving unit to individually receive the return light from each head unit; The control unit determines the distance from each head to the top surface of the object based only on the peak wavelength of the return light from each head.

2. 2. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving section comprises a two-dimensional sensor.

3. The measuring device comprises: an additional branch portion provided between the first optical fiber and the branch portion; a second branching section for branching the light from the additional branching section into at least two different measurement optical fibers; a second head unit having a plurality of second head portions each including a condenser that condenses the light branched by the second branching portion onto the object to be measured; a second shutter unit that shifts the timing at which light is irradiated from each second head unit onto the object to be measured; a fourth optical fiber that is branched at the second branching portion separately from a third optical fiber that connects the additional branching portion and the second branching portion, and transmits the return light from each measurement optical fiber reflected by the object to be measured; a second spectroscopic unit having a second light receiving portion that receives the return light transmitted by the fourth optical fiber; Further comprising: The measurement device described in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the control unit controls the timing at which light is irradiated from each second head unit to the object to be measured by controlling the operation of the second shutter unit, and causes the second light receiving unit to individually receive the return light from each second head unit.

4. The measuring device comprises: an additional branch portion provided between the first optical fiber and the branch portion; a second branching section for branching the light from the additional branching section into at least two different measurement optical fibers; a second head unit having a plurality of second head portions each including a condenser that condenses the light branched by the second branching portion onto the object to be measured; a second shutter unit whose operation is controlled by the control unit and which shifts the timing at which light is irradiated from each second head unit onto the object to be measured; a fourth optical fiber that is branched at the second branching portion with respect to a third optical fiber that connects the additional branching portion and the second branching portion, and transmits the return light from each measurement optical fiber reflected by the object to be measured; and the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber and the fourth optical fiber is received by the light receiving unit; The light receiving unit has a two-dimensional sensor, The measuring device according to claim 1, characterized in that in the two-dimensional sensor, the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber and the return light transmitted by the fourth optical fiber are received at different positions, thereby separating the return light transmitted by the second optical fiber and the return light transmitted by the fourth optical fiber.

5. 5. The measuring device according to claim 1, wherein the shutter portion is a polishing unit having a spindle and a polishing tool connected to a lower portion of the spindle.

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