Claims
- 1. A carrier head, comprising:a base; a flexible membrane that extends beneath the base to define a first chamber between the base and the flexible membrane and has a lower surface that provides a substrate receiving surface; and a valve in the carrier head that forms part of a substrate detection system, wherein the valve and flexible membrane are configured so that if a substrate is not attached to the lower surface of the flexible membrane when the first chamber is evacuated, the valve is actuated to create a pressure sensed by the substrate detection system different than a pressure that would result if the valve was not actuated.
- 2. The carrier head of claim 1, wherein the valve is positioned in a passage that fluidly couples the first chamber to a second chamber in the carrier head.
- 3. The carrier head of claim 2, wherein the valve is biased in a closed position, and actuation of the valve opens the valve.
- 4. The carrier head of claim 1, wherein the valve is positioned in a passage that fluidly couples the first chamber to atmosphere.
- 5. The carrier head of claim 4, wherein the valve is biased in a closed position, and actuation of the valve opens the valve.
- 6. The carrier head of claim 1, wherein the valve includes a valve stem that extends through an aperture in a support structure positioned between the base and the flexible membrane.
- 7. The carrier head of claim 6, wherein the valve stem is connected to a valve plate that is recessed above a lower surface of the support structure.
- 8. The carrier head of claim 6, wherein the support structure is movable relative to the base.
- 9. A carrier head, comprising:a base; a flexible membrane that extends beneath the base to define a first chamber between the base and the flexible membrane and has a lower surface that provides a substrate receiving surface; and a first movable structure that forms part of a substrate detection system, wherein the first movable structure and the flexible membrane are configured so that if a substrate is not attached to the lower surface of the flexible membrane when the first chamber is evacuated, the first movable structure is actuated.
- 10. The carrier head of claim 9, wherein the first movable structure comprise a valve that regulates fluid flow through a passage in the carrier head.
- 11. An apparatus for a chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising:a carrier head including a base, a flexible membrane that extends beneath the base to define a first chamber between the base and the flexible membrane and has a lower surface that provides a substrate receiving surface, and a valve in the carrier head that forms part of a substrate detection system, wherein the valve and flexible membrane are configured so that the valve is actuated if a substrate is not attached to the lower surface of the flexible membrane when the first chamber is evacuated; a vacuum source fluidly coupled to the first chamber to evacuate the first chamber; a pressure sensor to measure a pressure in carrier head and generate an output signal representative of the pressure, wherein the pressure depends on whether the valve is actuated; and a processor configured to indicate whether the substrate is chucked to the carrier head in response to the output signal.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the valve is positioned in a passage that fluidly couples the first chamber to a second chamber in the carrier head.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the pressure sensor measures the pressure in the second chamber.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 13, wherein the pressure sensor measures a first pressure at a first time and a second pressure at a second time and generate output signals representative of the first and second pressures.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the valve is biased in a closed position, and actuation of the valve opens the valve.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the processor is configured to indicate that the substrate is chucked to the carrier head if the second pressure is greater than the first pressure.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the valve is positioned in a passage that fluidly couples the first chamber to atmosphere.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the pressure sensor measures the pressure in the first chamber.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the valve is biased in a closed position, and actuation of the valve opens the valve.
- 20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to indicate that the substrate is chucked to the carrier head if the pressure is less than a threshold pressure.
Parent Case Info
This application is a continuation of pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/595,500, filed Jun. 16, 2000, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 09/314,462, filed May 18, 1999, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,093,082, which is a divisional of U.S. application Ser. No. 08/862,350, filed May 23, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,957,751.
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Continuations (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09/595500 |
Jun 2000 |
US |
Child |
09/989498 |
|
US |
Parent |
09/314462 |
May 1999 |
US |
Child |
09/595500 |
|
US |