A frequency measuring device capable of accurately detecting an end point of
polishing
a semiconductor wafer by obtaining a frequency measurement result highly accurately
in a short period of time. A device FC, which measures the frequency of a measured
signal comprises a counting section including a plurality of n-nary counters, a
time reference circuit which outputs a time reference signal for every predetermined
time interval, and a plurality of gate circuits whose outputs are connected to
the inputs of the n-nary counters. The gate circuits receive the measured signal
at a first input and receive the time reference signal at the predetermined time
intervals at a second input. With this structure, the counting section supplies
the frequency measured result of the measured signal every predetermined time interval.