Polishing device and substrate processing device

1. A polishing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of polishing sections, each of said polishing sections having at least two polishing units, each of said polishing units including

(i) a polishing table with a polishing surface,

(ii) a top ring for pressing a workpiece against said polishing surface, and

(iii) a moving mechanism for moving said top ring between a polishing position on said polishing surface and a workpiece receiving/delivering position associated with said each of said polishing units;

a linear transferring mechanism arranged linearly, said linear transferring mechanism including a plurality of transfer stages, each of said plurality of transfer stages being configured to transfer the workpiece between a plurality of transferring positions including the workpiece receiving/delivering position associated with said each of said plurality of polishing units, with at least two of said plurality of transfer stages being moved by a common driving mechanism so as to be linearly moved integrally and simultaneously, both of said at least two of said plurality of transfer stages being configured both to load and unload a workpiece, so that said linear transferring mechanism is capable of transferring at least two workpieces simultaneously; and

a receiving/delivering mechanism, at the workpiece receiving/delivering position associated with said each of said polishing units, for receiving and delivering the workpiece between one of said transfer stages and said top ring of said each of said polishing units.

2. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

said plurality of polishing units and the plurality of transferring positions are arranged along a longitudinal direction of the polishing apparatus.

3. The polishing apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein two of said plurality of transfer stages constitute a driving transfer stage and a driven transfer stage, respectively, and the polishing apparatus further comprises:

a shaft to be driven by a driving mechanism, said shaft being inserted into said driving transfer stage and having an end fixed to said driven transfer stage; and

a stopper for positioning said driven transfer stage at one of the plurality of transferring positions.

4. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

all of said plurality of transfer stages include an upper transfer stage and a lower transfer stage, respectively.

5. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein

the plurality of transferring positions include at least one transferring position in addition to the workpiece receiving/delivering position associated with said each of said plurality of polishing units.

6. A polishing apparatus comprising:

a plurality of wafer cassettes arranged along a predetermined direction;

a plurality of polishing tables arranged in a predetermined direction, each of said plurality of polishing tables having a polishing surface;

a plurality of top rings, each of said top rings being for pressing a wafer against one of said polishing surfaces; and

a linear transferring mechanism arranged linearly, said linear transferring mechanism including a plurality of transfer stages, each of said plurality of transfer stages being configured to transfer a wafer between a plurality of transferring positions along a first direction of an array of said plurality of polishing tables, with at least two of said plurality of transfer stages being moved by a common driving mechanism so as to be linearly moved integrally and simultaneously in said first direction, both of said at least two of said plurality of transfer stages being configured both to load and unload a wafer to and from workpiece receiving/delivering positions at which the workpiece is loaded to and unloaded from said top ring, so that said linear transferring mechanism is capable of transferring at least two wafers simultaneously.

7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein

one of said plurality of transfer stages is constructed and arranged to move in a second direction opposite to the first direction.

8. The polishing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein two of said plurality of transfer stages constitute a driving transfer stage and a driven transfer stage, respectively, and the polishing apparatus further comprises:

a shaft to be driven by said driving mechanism, said shaft being inserted into said driving transfer stage and having an end fixed to said driven transfer stage; and

a stopper for positioning said driven transfer stage at one of the transferring positions.

9. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein each of said polishing sections performs at least two-stage polishing of a workpiece, a first of said at least two polishing units performing a first stage polishing of the at least two-stage polishing and a second of said at least two polishing units performing a second stage of the at least two-stage polishing.