Wafer processing apparatus and wafer processing method

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of wafer processing device and wafer processing method.The wafer processing device includes: wafer fixing mechanism, including the vacuum chuck of being arranged at its top, the vacuum chuck is used to absorb fixed wafer;Sealing cover plate, it is arranged in the lower of the vacuum chuck around wafer fixing mechanism, for sealing wafer fixing mechanism;Multiple nitrogen gas nozzles, are arranged on the sealing cover plate, at least part of the nitrogen gas nozzle is used to spray nitrogen towards the back of wafer;Wherein, the multiple nitrogen gas nozzles are configured to spray nitrogen from inside to outside in the radial direction of wafer;And control unit, configured to control the multiple nitrogen gas nozzles to spray nitrogen in real time when processing wafer.The wafer processing device of the present application can well reduce the dirt formed on the back of wafer, and the nitrogen and cleaning water consumed are less, and cost is low.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of semiconductor, in particular to a wafer processing device and a wafer processing method. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the processing of the wafer, the wafer often needs to use a large amount of developing solution or chemicals for developing, cleaning and other process actions, and a large amount of liquid is easy to splash to the back of the wafer, thereby causing the back to be dirty.

[0003] At present, after the wafer processing is completed, a water spray nozzle and an air spray nozzle are usually used to clean the front and back of the wafer. However, since the dirt on the back of the wafer has been condensed and dried at this time, it is difficult to clean, a large amount of cleaning water and nitrogen is consumed, the cost is high, and if a larger water flow or air flow speed is used for cleaning, the wafer may be blown away.

[0004] In the patent with the publication number CN106711059B, a protective ring is used to shield the splashed liquid. However, in order to achieve the shielding effect, the gap between the protective ring and the wafer is designed to be very small, so that the installation precision requirement is very high, and the installation is not convenient. At the same time, since the gap is very small, there is a risk of scratching the back of the wafer and affecting the normal processing of the wafer. In addition, the setting of the protective ring makes it very difficult to clean the back of the wafer. SUMMARY

[0005] Based on the above defects in the prior art, the purpose of the present application is to provide a wafer processing device and a wafer processing method which can well reduce the dirt formed on the back of the wafer, and consume less nitrogen and cleaning water, and have low cost.

[0006] To this end, the present application provides the following technical solutions.

[0007] The present application provides a wafer processing device, which comprises:

[0008] A wafer fixing mechanism comprising a vacuum chuck provided at the top thereof, the vacuum chuck being used for adsorbing and fixing the wafer;

[0009] A sealing cover plate provided below the vacuum chuck around the wafer fixing mechanism, used for sealing the wafer fixing mechanism;

[0010] A plurality of nitrogen gas nozzles provided on the sealing cover plate, at least part of the nitrogen gas nozzles being used for spraying nitrogen gas towards the back of the wafer; wherein the plurality of nitrogen gas nozzles are configured to spray nitrogen gas from inside to outside in the radial direction of the wafer; and

[0011] A control unit configured to control the plurality of nitrogen gas nozzles to spray nitrogen gas in real time when processing the wafer.

[0012] In at least one embodiment, at least two nitrogen gas nozzles are arranged in a radial direction of the sealing cover plate.

[0013] In at least one embodiment, the height of the spray port of the nitrogen gas nozzle located at the inner side in the radial direction is higher than the height of the spray port of the nitrogen gas nozzle located at the outer side in the radial direction.

[0014] In at least one embodiment, the control unit is configured to control the nitrogen gas spraying speed of the nitrogen gas nozzle located at the inner side in the radial direction to be greater than the nitrogen gas spraying speed of the nitrogen gas nozzle located at the outer side in the radial direction among the nitrogen gas nozzles in the same radial direction.

[0015] In at least one embodiment, the nitrogen gas nozzle comprises a vertical flow channel and an inclined flow channel which are in communication with each other, one end of the inclined flow channel is connected with the vertical flow channel, and the other end of the inclined flow channel extends upwardly to form a spray port.

[0016] In at least one embodiment, the inclined flow channel is configured to be tapered, and the cross-sectional area of the inclined flow channel becomes larger and larger in the direction from the one end of the inclined flow channel to the other end.

[0017] In at least one embodiment, when the wafer is fixed to the vacuum chuck, the nitrogen gas nozzle located at the outermost side in the radial direction among the nitrogen gas nozzles in the same radial direction is not covered by the wafer.

[0018] In at least one embodiment, the spray port of the nitrogen gas nozzle located at the outermost side in the radial direction is larger than the spray port of the other nitrogen gas nozzles among the nitrogen gas nozzles in the same radial direction.

[0019] In at least one embodiment, the nitrogen gas nozzles in the same radial direction of the sealing cover plate are configured as a group of nitrogen gas nozzles, and a plurality of groups of nitrogen gas nozzles are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the sealing cover plate.

[0020] In at least one embodiment, a cleaning water nozzle is further included, which is arranged on the sealing cover plate and used to spray cleaning water towards the back surface of the wafer.

[0021] The present application also provides a wafer processing method for processing a wafer by using the wafer processing device according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

[0022] In at least one embodiment, when the wafer starts to be processed, the control unit controls the plurality of nitrogen gas nozzles to spray nitrogen gas in real time together.

[0023] Advantages

[0024] The present application provides a wafer processing device, which can effectively avoid the deposition of dirt on the back of the wafer in time by spraying nitrogen through a nitrogen nozzle in real time during the wafer processing process, and since the wafer back can be swept in time when the dirt is just sputtered on the wafer back, only a small flow impact force is needed to remove the dirt, so that the amount of nitrogen consumed is relatively small, and the cost can be reduced. In addition, the nitrogen nozzle is directly arranged on the sealing cover plate without the need for additional protective ring, which is simple and convenient to install, and will not scratch the back of the wafer, and will not affect the normal processing of the wafer, and the cleaning of the back of the wafer is very convenient. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 Part of the structure of the wafer processing device according to the present application is shown.

[0026] Figure 2 A cross-sectional view of Figure 1 is shown.

[0027] Figure 3 An enlarged view of part A in Figure 2 is shown.

[0028] Figure 4 A cross-sectional view of the nitrogen nozzle according to the present application is shown.

[0029] REFERENCE SIGNS

[0030] 1, housing; 11, processing chamber;

[0031] 2, wafer fixing mechanism; 21, vacuum chuck;

[0032] 3, sealing cover plate;

[0033] 4, nitrogen nozzle; 41, vertical flow channel; 42, inclined flow channel; 43, spray port; 44, first nozzle; 45, second nozzle;

[0034] 5, cleaning water nozzle; 100, wafer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to make the technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application more obvious and easy to understand, the following will be described in detail by enumerating specific embodiments. Unless otherwise defined, the technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as the technical and scientific terms in the technical field to which the present application belongs.

[0036] In the description of the present application, unless specifically defined otherwise, the terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "height", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", "clockwise", "counterclockwise" and the like indicate the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, which are only for the convenience of the simplified description of the present application, and do not indicate that the indicated device or element must have a particular orientation, be constructed and operated in a particular orientation, and cannot be understood as limiting the present application.

[0037] In the present application, the terms "first", "second" are only for the purpose of clear description, and cannot be understood as the relative importance of the indicated features or the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second" can explicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "multiple" is at least two; the meaning of "several" is at least one; except for explicit definition.

[0038] In the present application, unless specifically defined otherwise, the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connecting", "fixing", "setting" and the like should be broadly understood. For example, "connecting" can be fixed connection, detachable connection or integral molding; can be mechanical connection, can also be electrical connection; can be directly connected, can also be indirectly connected through intermediate medium, can also be the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship of two elements. For those skilled in the art, the specific meaning of the above terms in the present application can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0039] In the present application, unless specifically defined otherwise, the first feature "on", "over", "above" and "on", "below", "under", "below" or "below" the second feature can be direct contact between the first feature and the second feature, or indirect contact between the first feature and the second feature through intermediate medium. Moreover, the first feature "over", "above" and "above" the second feature can be directly above or obliquely above the first feature, or only indicate that the horizontal height of the first feature is higher than the horizontal height of the second feature. The first feature "under", "below" and "below" the second feature can be directly below or obliquely below the first feature, or only indicate that the horizontal height of the first feature is less than the horizontal height of the second feature.

[0040] The specific embodiments of the wafer processing device according to the present application will be described below. Figures 1 to 4 The specific embodiments of the wafer processing device according to the present application will be described below.

[0041] In the present embodiment, as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a housing 1, a wafer fixing mechanism 2, a sealing cover 3, a nitrogen nozzle 4 and a control unit. The housing 1 forms a processing chamber 11, and the wafer fixing mechanism 2 is partially disposed in the processing chamber 11.

[0042] like Figure 2 As shown, the wafer fixing mechanism 2 includes a vacuum chuck 21, which is disposed on the top of the wafer fixing mechanism 2 and is used to absorb and fix the wafer 100. The wafer fixing mechanism 2 can rotate with the wafer 100 at high speed.

[0043] The sealing cover plate 3 is disposed around the wafer fixing mechanism 2 and is located below the vacuum chuck 21 for sealing the wafer fixing mechanism 2 .

[0044] The nitrogen nozzles 4 are fixedly mounted on the sealing cover plate 3. There are multiple nitrogen nozzles 4, at least some of which are located below the wafer 100 and are used to spray nitrogen toward the backside of the wafer 100. Preferably, to facilitate clearing dirt from the backside of the wafer 100, the nitrogen nozzles 4 are configured to spray nitrogen from the inside outward in the radial direction of the wafer 100.

[0045] When wafer processing begins, the wafer 100 rotates at high speed driven by the wafer fixing mechanism 2 , and the control unit can control the nitrogen nozzle 4 to spray nitrogen to purge the back side of the wafer 100 in real time.

[0046] By adopting the above technical solution, the nitrogen nozzle 4 is turned on in real time to spray nitrogen during the processing of the wafer 100, which can timely and effectively blow away the dirt on the back side of the wafer 100 to avoid the deposition of dirt on the back side of the wafer. Moreover, since the dirt can be blown away in time when it has just been splashed onto the back side of the wafer, only a small airflow impact force is needed to remove the dirt, so that the amount of nitrogen consumed is relatively small, which can reduce costs.

[0047] In this embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, there are two nitrogen nozzles 4, spaced apart along a radial direction of the sealing cover plate 3. Providing two nitrogen nozzles 4 along a radial direction allows for processing of wafers of varying sizes. It should be understood that the number of nitrogen nozzles 4 along the same radial direction can also be three, four, or more. Those skilled in the art can adjust the number of nitrogen nozzles 4 based on practical needs, and the present invention is not limited thereto.

[0048] In this embodiment, if Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 comprises a vertical flow channel 41 and an inclined flow channel 42 which are in communication with each other. The vertical flow channel 41 is in communication with the nitrogen gas source, and one end of the inclined flow channel 42 is connected to the vertical flow channel 41, and the other end extends upwardly to form a jet port 43. Preferably, the inclined flow channel 42 is tapered, and in particular, the cross-sectional area of the inclined flow channel 42 increases in the direction from the end of the inclined flow channel 42 connected to the vertical flow channel 41 to the jet port 43. In this way, the purging range of the jetted nitrogen gas can be increased, and the purging effect can be improved.

[0049] In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 comprises a first nozzle 44 and a second nozzle 45 which are arranged on the same radial direction. The first nozzle 44 is located radially inward of the second nozzle 45. In one embodiment, the height of the jet port of the first nozzle 44 is higher than the height of the jet port of the second nozzle 45. In this way, when the jetting speed of the nitrogen gas is the same, the first nozzle 44 located radially inward has a relatively greater purging impact on the back surface of the wafer 100, and can more effectively blow the dirt on the wafer 100 close to the center of the wafer 100 to the outside of the edge of the wafer 100. Figure 2

[0050] Optionally, in another embodiment, the control unit is configured to control the nitrogen gas jetting speed of the first nozzle 44 to be greater than the nitrogen gas jetting speed of the second nozzle 45. In this way, when the height of the jet port of the first nozzle 44 is the same as the height of the jet port of the second nozzle 45, the first nozzle 44 located radially inward has a relatively greater purging impact on the back surface of the wafer 100, and can more effectively blow the dirt on the wafer 100 close to the center of the wafer 100 to the outside of the edge of the wafer 100. It should be understood that the technical means of the above two embodiments can be combined, i.e., the height of the jet port of the first nozzle 44 is higher than the height of the jet port of the second nozzle 45, and at the same time, the control unit is configured to control the nitrogen gas jetting speed of the first nozzle 44 to be greater than the nitrogen gas jetting speed of the second nozzle 45. In this way, the purging effect of the nitrogen gas nozzle can be further improved.

[0051] It should be understood that when the number of the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 arranged on the same radial direction is 3, 4 or more, in any two adjacent nitrogen gas nozzles 4, the height of the jet port of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located radially inward can be greater than the height of the jet port of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located radially outward, and / or the nitrogen gas jetting speed of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located radially inward can be greater than the nitrogen gas jetting speed of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located radially outward.

[0052] As mentioned above, the purpose of arranging at least two nitrogen gas nozzles 4 on the same radial direction is to adapt to different sizes of wafers 100, but the purpose is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 1, the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 is arranged on the same radial direction of the wafer 100, and the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 is arranged on the same radial direction of the wafer 100. Figure 2 ​As shown, the second nozzle 45 is not covered by the wafer 100, although the second nozzle 45 is not covered by the wafer 100, the control unit will still control the second nozzle 45 to spray nitrogen when the wafer is being processed. In this way, when the first nozzle 44 blows the dirt on the back of the wafer 100 substantially in the radial direction to the upper side of the second nozzle 45, the nitrogen sprayed by the second nozzle 45 promotes the dirt to continue to move obliquely upward, thereby effectively preventing the dirt from falling on the sealing cover plate 3 and possibly splashing back to the back of the wafer 100, improving the cleaning effect of the back of the wafer 100.

[0053] It should be understood that, Figure 2 The structure shown in the figure is only exemplary, in order to improve the cleaning effect of the back of the wafer when wafers of different sizes are processed, in an embodiment, the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 in the same radial direction are configured such that when the largest size wafer 100 is fixed on the vacuum chuck 21, the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outermost side in the radial direction is not covered by the wafer 100. It can be understood that the size of the existing wafer is generally 6 inches, 8 inches and 12 inches, and the position and number of nitrogen gas nozzles 4 can be set according to the size of the wafer to be processed in actual need. Alternatively, the number of nitrogen gas nozzles 4 can be set to 3 or 4.

[0054] Further, in an embodiment, among the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 in the same radial direction, the spray port of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outermost side in the radial direction is larger than that of the other nitrogen gas nozzles 4. In this way, the sweeping range of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outermost side in the radial direction can be improved, and the dirt can be better blown towards the obliquely upward.

[0055] Considering that the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outermost side in the radial direction is used to prevent the dirt from falling on the sealing cover plate 3 again, it does not need to have a large blowing force, so further optionally, the height of the spray port of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outermost side in the radial direction can be lower than that of the other nitrogen gas nozzles 4, and the nitrogen gas injection speed of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outermost side in the radial direction can be lower than that of the other nitrogen gas nozzles 4. In this way, it is beneficial to save energy and reduce cost.

[0056] In an embodiment, the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 in the same radial direction are a group of nitrogen gas nozzles 4, and a plurality of groups of nitrogen gas nozzles 4 are arranged at intervals in the circumferential direction of the sealing cover plate 3. In this way, the back of the wafer 100 can be better blown and the dirt cleaning effect can be improved.

[0057] In an embodiment, as Figure 2As shown, the wafer processing device further comprises cleaning water nozzles 5 arranged on the sealing cover plate 3. The cleaning water nozzles 5 can be two, and the two cleaning water nozzles 5 are arranged at a radial interval along the sealing cover plate 3 to be able to adapt to the cleaning of wafers of different specifications. Of course, the present application is not limited to this, and the cleaning water nozzles 5 can also be 3, 4 or more. It should be understood that the cleaning water nozzles 5 start to spray pure water towards the back surface of the wafer to clean the back surface of the wafer 100 only after the wafer processing is completed. Since the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 are purged during wafer processing, the back surface of the wafer 100 is relatively clean at this time, and only a small amount of cleaning water is needed to completely clean the back surface of the wafer 100, thereby saving energy.

[0058] The present application also provides a wafer processing method for processing a wafer by using the wafer processing device of any one of the above embodiments. When starting to process the wafer, the control unit controls the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 to purge the back surface of the wafer 100 in real time.

[0059] In an embodiment, when the wafer 100 is fixed on the vacuum chuck 21, at least the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outermost radial position in the same radial direction is not covered by the wafer 100. When starting to process the wafer, the control unit controls all the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 to spray nitrogen gas in real time. In this way, the cleaning effect is better.

[0060] In an embodiment, among the nitrogen gas nozzles 4 in the same radial direction, the nitrogen gas spraying speed of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the outer radial position is lower than that of the nitrogen gas nozzle 4 located at the inner radial position. In this way, the arrangement is more reasonable, which is conducive to energy saving and cost reduction.

[0061] In an embodiment, after the wafer 100 is processed, the back surface of the wafer 100 is cleaned by using the cleaning water nozzles 5. In this way, it is conducive to further improving the cleanliness of the back surface of the wafer 100.

[0062] It should be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and are not intended to include all possible embodiments included in the claims. Various modifications and changes can also be made to the above embodiments without departing from the scope of the present application. Similarly, any combination of the technical features of the above embodiments can also be made to form another embodiment of the present application which can not be explicitly described. Therefore, the above embodiments only express several embodiments of the present application, and do not limit the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A wafer processing device, characterized in that: The wafer processing device comprises: The wafer fixing mechanism includes a vacuum suction cup provided on the top thereof, and the vacuum suction cup is used to absorb and fix the wafer; A sealing cover plate is disposed below the vacuum chuck and surrounds the wafer fixing mechanism, and is used to seal the wafer fixing mechanism; the top of the sealing cover plate is tilted downward from the center to the outside; a plurality of nitrogen nozzles disposed on the sealing cover plate, at least some of the nitrogen nozzles being used to spray nitrogen toward the back side of the wafer; wherein the plurality of nitrogen nozzles are configured to spray nitrogen from inside to outside in a radial direction of the wafer; and a control unit configured to control the plurality of nitrogen nozzles to spray nitrogen in real time when processing the wafer; At least two spaced-apart nitrogen nozzles are provided in a radial direction of the sealing cover plate; The nitrogen nozzle includes a vertical flow channel and an inclined flow channel that are interconnected, one end of the inclined flow channel is connected to the vertical flow channel, and the other end extends obliquely upward to form an injection port; The inclined flow channel is configured as a cone, and the cross-sectional area of ​​the inclined flow channel increases in a direction from one end of the inclined flow channel toward the other end. When the wafer is fixed on the vacuum chuck, among the nitrogen nozzles in the same radial direction, the nitrogen nozzles located on the outermost side in the radial direction are not covered by the wafer.

2. The wafer processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The height of the injection port of the nitrogen gas nozzle located on the inner side in the radial direction is higher than the height of the injection port of the nitrogen gas nozzle located on the outer side in the radial direction.

3. The wafer processing device according to claim 2 or 1, characterized in that: Among the nitrogen nozzles in the same radial direction, the control unit is configured to control the nitrogen injection speed of the nitrogen nozzle on the radial inner side to be greater than the nitrogen injection speed of the nitrogen nozzle on the radial outer side.

4. The wafer processing device according to claim 3, wherein: Among the nitrogen nozzles in the same radial direction, the injection port of the nitrogen nozzle located on the outermost side in the radial direction is larger than the injection ports of the other nitrogen nozzles.

5. The wafer processing device according to claim 1, wherein: The nitrogen nozzles in the same radial direction of the sealing cover plate constitute a group of nitrogen nozzles, and a plurality of groups of nitrogen nozzles are spaced apart and arranged in a circumferential direction of the sealing cover plate.

6. The wafer processing device according to claim 1, wherein: It also includes a cleaning water nozzle, which is arranged on the sealing cover plate and is used to spray cleaning water toward the back side of the wafer.

7. A wafer processing method, characterized in that: Processing a wafer using the wafer processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, When the wafer starts to be processed, the plurality of nitrogen nozzles are controlled to spray nitrogen together in real time.

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