1. A system for assisting the regeneration of depollution means associated with oxidation catalyst-forming means implementing an OSC function, constituting a supply of oxygen and integrated in an exhaust line of a motor vehicle diesel engine, in which the engine is associated with common rail means for feeding its cylinders with fuel, the system comprising means for analyzing the running conditions of the vehicle and for comparing them with predetermined threshold values, to control the engine in a first regeneration mode of operation with a lean mixture when running conditions are above the threshold values, or in a second regeneration operating mode implementing sequences in which engine operation alternates between stages of rich mixture operation and of lean mixture operation when conditions are below the threshold values.
2. A system according to claim 1, wherein the depollution means comprise a particle filter.
3. A system according to claim 2, wherein the particle filter includes a catalyst.
4. A system according to claim 1, wherein the depollution means comprise a NOx trap.
5. A system according to claim 1, wherein the fuel includes an additive that is to be deposited together with the particles with which it is mixed on the depollution means in order to facilitate regeneration thereof.
6. A system according to claim 1, wherein the depollution means are impregnated with an SCR formulation, performing a function of oxidizing COHC.
7. A system according to claim 1, wherein the engine is associated with a turbocharger.
8. A system according to claim 1, wherein the running conditions are determined from:
the load on the engine;
its running speed;
the speed of the vehicle; andor
the temperature level in the vehicle exhaust line.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. An apparatus to monitor a frictional coefficient of a substrate undergoing polishing, comprising:
a movable member having a top surface to contact an exposed surface of a substrate, the member laterally displaceable in response to a frictional force from the substrate, the top surface having a surface area less than a surface area of the exposed surface the substrate; and
a sensor to generate a signal based on a lateral displacement of the movable member.
2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a restorative material coupled to the movable member.
3. The apparatus claim 2, wherein the restorative material includes a leaf spring.
4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the restorative material includes a plurality of springs.
5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the movable member includes a polishing pad segment.
6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the polishing pad segment includes two layers.
7. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the movable member further comprises a support piece coupled between the restorative material and the polishing pad segment.
8. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the sensor to generate a signal based on a lateral displacement of the movable member is a strain gauge.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a plurality of strain gauges are attached to the leaf spring at the point of maximum strain.
10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor to generate a signal based on a lateral displacement of the movable member is an optical sensor.
11. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the optical sensor is a laser interferometer.
12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the sensor to generate a signal based on a lateral displacement of the movable member is a piezoelectric sensor.
13. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the top surface is substantially coplanar with a polishing surface of a polishing pad.
14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the movable member is connected to a platen.
15. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the movable member is separated by a gap from the platen.
16. The apparatus of claim 15, further comprising a flexible sealing membrane coupled to the movable member for preventing the transmission of a slurry through the gap.
17. The apparatus of claim 16, further comprising a restorative material coupled to the movable member, and wherein the flexible sealing membrane is interposed between the restorative material and the movable member.
18. The apparatus of claim 14, wherein the platen is rotatable.
19. An apparatus to monitor a frictional coefficient of a substrate undergoing polishing, comprising:
a member having a top surface to contact an exposed surface of the substrate, the top surface having a surface area less than a surface area of the exposed surface of the substrate;
a restorative material connecting the member to a structure; and
a sensor to generate a signal based on a strain of the restorative material.
20. A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus, comprising:
a support for a polishing article;
a carrier to hold a substrate against a polishing surface of the polishing article;
a motor coupled to at least one of the polishing article and carrier for generating relative motion there between; and
a sensor for measuring strain, the sensor including a movable member having a top surface to contact an exposed surface of the substrate, the member laterally displaceable in response to a frictional force from the substrate, the top surface having a surface area less than a surface area of the exposed surface the substrate, and a sensor to generate a signal based on a lateral displacement of the movable member.
21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the top surface is substantially coplanar with the polishing surface when the polishing article is held by the support.
22. A platen for use in a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus comprising:
a base plate having a recess for housing a strain sensor, the recess having a cross sectional area greater than the cross sectional area of the strain sensor to allow for displacement of the strain sensor; and
the strain sensor placed within the recess, the strain sensor including a restorative material having a cross sectional area less than that of the polishing surface that sometimes contacts the substrate either directly or through another material having a cross sectional area less than that of the polishing surface coupled to the restorative material and at least one device for measuring the strain of the restorative material in the direction of relative motion between the substrate and the sensor for measuring strain.
23. A article for use in a polishing system, comprising:
a flexible, fluid-impermeable membrane; and
a polishing pad piece secured to a first surface of the membrane with edges of the membrane extending beyond edges of the polishing pad piece.
24. The article of claim 23, further comprising an adhesive on second surface of the membrane opposite the first surface.
25. The article of claim 24, further comprising a removable liner covering the adhesive.
26. The article of claim 22, further comprising an adhesive on the first surface of the membrane surrounding the polishing pad piece.
27. The article of claim 26, further comprising a removable liner covering the adhesive.
28. The article of claim 22, wherein the polishing pad piece comprises a cover layer and a backing layer.
29. The article of claim 28, wherein the backing layer is more compressible than the cover layer.
30. The article of claim 22, wherein the membrane is silicone or latex.
31. A system to monitor a frictional coefficient of a substrate undergoing polishing, comprising:
a polishing pad assembly including:
a polishing layer including a polishing surface; and
a substrate contacting member flexibly coupled to the polishing layer having a top surface to contact an exposed surface of a substrate, wherein at least a portion of the top surface is substantially coplanar with the polishing surface; and
a sensor to measure a lateral displacement of the substrate contacting member.
32. The system of claim 31, wherein the polishing pad assembly has an aperture therethrough.
33. The system of claim 32, wherein the substrate contacting member is positioned within the aperture.
34. The system of claim 31, wherein the sensor includes a strain gauge.
35. The system of claim 31, wherein the sensor includes a pressure gauge.
36. The system of claim 31, further comprising an alignment device coupled between the substrate contacting member arid the sensor.
37. The system of claim 31, wherein the polishing pad surrounds but does not contact the substrate contacting member.
38. The system of claim 37, further comprising a seal extending between the substrate contacting member and the polishing pad, wherein the seal includes a flexible, fluid-impermeable material.
39. The system of claim 38, wherein the seal is made of silicone, latex, or polyurethane.
40. The system of claim 38, wherein the seal is an O-ring.
41. The system of claim 40, wherein the O-ring is secured to the substrate contacting member and the polishing pad with an adhesive material.
42. The system of claim 48, wherein the seal extends through the substrate contacting member.
43. The system of claim 31, wherein the substrate contacting member and polishing layer are connected by a flexure that mechanically decouples the substrate contacting member from the polishing pad.
44. The system of claim 43, wherein the flexure is formed by recesses in opposite surfaces of the polishing pad.
45. A polishing system, comprising:
a movable platen;
a polishing pad connected to the movable platen having a polishing surface and having an aperture therein;
a substrate contacting member contained within the aperture having a top surface to contact an exposed surface of a substrate, wherein the top surface is substantially coplanar with the polishing surface;
a sensor to measure a lateral displacement of the substrate contacting member and generate a signal based on the lateral displacement of the substrate; and
a controller to receive the signal from the sensor.
46. The system of claim 45, wherein the sensor is a strain gauge.
47. The system of claim 45, wherein the sensor is a pressure gauge.
48. The system of claim 45, further comprising an alignment device coupled between the substrate contacting member and the sensor.
49. The system of claim 45, further comprising the polishing pad having a top surface to contact the exposed surface of the substrate, wherein the polishing pad surrounds, but does not contact, the substrate contacting member.
50. The system of claim 49, further comprising a sealing piece extending between the substrate contacting member and the polishing pad, wherein the sealing piece is made of a flexible, fluid-impermeable material.
51. The system of claim 50, wherein the sealing piece is made of silicone, latex, or polyurethane.
52. The system of claim 50, wherein the sealing piece is an O-ring.
53. The system of claim 52, wherein the O-ring is secured to the substrate contacting member and the polishing pad with an adhesive material.
54. The system of claim 50, wherein the sealing piece extends through the substrate contacting member.
55. The system of claim 45, further comprising:
the polishing pad having a top surface to contact the exposed surface of the substrate, wherein the polishing pad is made from the same piece of material as the substrate contacting member; and
a flexure, such that the flexure mechanically isolates the substrate contacting member from the polishing pad.
56. An article for use in a polishing system, comprising:
a polishing pad having a polishing surface;
a substrate contacting member having a top surface to contact an exposed section of substrate, wherein the top surface is substantially coplanar with the polishing surface; and
a seal formed of a flexible and fluid-impermeable material securing the substrate contacting member to the polishing pad and permitting the substrate contacting member to move laterally relative to the polishing pad.
57. The article of claim 56, wherein the polishing pad has two or more layers.
58. The article of claim 57, wherein the seal is secured between two layers of the polishing pad piece.
59. The article of claim 58, wherein the seal extends through the entire polishing pad piece.
60. The article of claim 58, wherein the seal extends only partially into the polishing pad piece.
61. The article of claim 56, further comprising an alignment device, wherein a first surface of the alignment device is attached to the substrate contacting member.
62. The article of claim 61, wherein the sealing material is also in contact with the alignment device.
63. The article of claim 61, wherein an alignment rod extends from a second surface of the alignment device.
64. The article of claim 56, wherein the top surface of the substrate contacting member is composed of the same material as the polishing pad.
65. The article of claim 56, wherein the top surface of the substrate contacting member includes grooves that channel liquid away from the substrate contacting member.
66. The article of claim 56, wherein the seal is an O-ring.
67. The article of claim 56, wherein the seal is comprised of latex, silicone, or polyurethane.
68. The article of claim 56, wherein the polishing pad and the substrate contacting member are manufactured from one continuous piece of material.
69. An apparatus to monitor a frictional coefficient of a substrate undergoing polishing, comprising:
a movable member having a top surface to contact an exposed surface of a substrate, the top surface having a surface area less than a surface area of the exposed surface of the substrate;
a connecting member coupled to the movable member, the connecting member laterally displaceable along a channel in response to a frictional force from the substrate; and
a sensor to generate a signal based on a lateral displacement of the connecting member along the channel.
70. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the movable member includes a polishing pad segment.
71. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the sensor to generate a signal based on a lateral displacement of the connecting member is a strain gauge.
72. The apparatus of claim 69, wherein the top surface of the movable member is substantially coplanar with a polishing surface of a polishing pad.
73. The apparatus of claim 70, further comprising an anchoring device coupled between the polishing pad segment and the connecting member.
74. The apparatus of claim 73, wherein the anchoring device is coupled to the connecting member by means of an alignment rod.
75. The apparatus of claim 73, further comprising a flexible, fluid-impermeable membrane, wherein the membrane is located between the anchoring device and the connecting member, so that polishing slurry does not enter the channel or the sensor.
76. The apparatus of claim 75, wherein the membrane is silicone, latex, or polyurethane.
77. A method of assembling a polishing pad, comprising the steps of:
aligning a substrate contacting member in a mold, wherein the mold has a raised rim, such that the substrate contacting member is aligned with an inside surface of the raised rim;
aligning a polishing pad having an opening with an outside surface of the raised rim, such that the opening is aligned with the outside surface of the raised rim; and
placing a sealing material inside a recess formed by the substrate contacting member, the polishing pad, and the raised rim.
78. The method of claim 77, further comprising the step of aligning an alignment device with the substrate contacting member, such that a first surface of the alignment device is attached to the substrate contacting member and the sealing material is also in contact with the alignment device.
79. The method of claim 78, wherein an alignment rod extends from a second surface of the alignment device.
80. The method of claim 77, wherein a top surface of the substrate contacting member is composed of the same material as the polishing pad.
81. The method of claim 77, wherein the top surface of the substrate contacting member includes grooves that channel liquids away from the substrate contacting member.
82. The method of claim 77, wherein the sealing material is an O-ring.
83. The method of claim 77, wherein the sealing material is latex, silicone, or polyurethane.
84. An apparatus to monitor a frictional coefficient of a substrate during a polishing operation, comprising:
a member to engage a region of a surface of a substrate undergoing polishing, the region having a surface area less than a surface area of the surface of the substrate, the member being laterally movable relative to a polishing surface.
85. The apparatus of claim 84, further comprising means for generating a signal indicating a lateral frictional force of the substrate on the member.
86. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein the member comprises a portion of a polishing pad.
87. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein the member comprises a body that is movably connected to a platen.
88. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein the member is laterally movable in substantially a single direction.
89. The apparatus of claim 84, wherein the member is laterally movable in two perpendicular directions.
90. A method of monitoring a frictional coefficient of a substrate during a polishing operation, comprising:
positioning a surface of a substrate in contact with a polishing surface and simultaneously in contact with a top surface of a member that is laterally movable relative to the polishing surface; and
generating a signal indicating a lateral frictional force of the substrate on the member.