The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus for polishing a
workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish, and more
particularly to a polishing apparatus having a workpiece transfer robot
for transferring a workpiece from one operation to the next.
The polishing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a
polishing section including a top ring for holding a workpiece to be
polished and a turntable having a polishing surface for polishing a
surface of the workpiece held by the top ring; a cleaning section
including a cleaning device for cleaning the workpiece that has been
polished in the polishing section; and a workpiece transfer robot for
transferring the workpiece to be polished to the polishing section or for
transferring the workpiece that has been polished to the cleaning
section. In this case, the workpiece transfer robot comprises a robot
body; at least one arm operatively coupled to the robot body by at least
one joint; a holder mechanism mounted on the arm for holding the
workpiece; and a seal mechanism at the joint for preventing liquid from
entering an interior of the joint, the seal mechanism
