Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus
By continuously spraying water on the surface of the substrate and using the staggered moving nozzle design, the problem of incomplete liquid film coverage of the chemical liquid is solved, and a complete liquid film coverage on the surface of the substrate is achieved, avoiding the occurrence of defects such as water marks.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202311200436.0
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Applications(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-09-15
- Publication Date
- 2025-03-18
AI Technical Summary
The liquid film coverage of the chemical liquid in the prior art is incomplete during the wet cleaning/etching process, resulting in defects such as water marks, such as bare silicon on the surface of the substrate reacts with water vapor and oxygen in the air.
Using a substrate processing method and device, by continuously spraying water on the substrate surface and staggering movement between the center and edge regions of the substrate using two nozzles, the substrate surface is ensured to be always covered by a water film, thereby avoiding the problem of incomplete liquid film coverage.
Through continuous spraying of water and staggered nozzle design, the liquid film coverage integrity on the substrate surface is ensured, defects such as water marks are avoided, and defect control capabilities are improved during the substrate manufacturing process.
Smart Images
Figure CN119650457A_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of semiconductors and relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing device. Background Art
[0002] During the entire substrate manufacturing process, the wet cleaning / etching process is used to remove particles or defects on the wafer by cleaning or etching with high-purity chemicals. The single-wafer wet cleaning process is widely used in substrate manufacturing due to its good repeatability, uniformity and stability. At present, the single-wafer wet cleaning process mainly fixes the substrate on the substrate chuck, and while the substrate chuck rotates, the chemical liquid is sprayed on the substrate surface through a nozzle for wet cleaning / etching.
[0003] The substrate manufacturing process has very strict requirements on the defect control of the substrate surface, which needs to be controlled to tens or even tens of nanometers. The defect control in the single-wafer wet cleaning / etching process is closely related to the liquid film coverage integrity of the chemical solution. The complete liquid film coverage can ensure that the substrate surface will not absorb particles in the cavity environment, and at the same time avoid the bare silicon on the substrate surface reacting with water vapor and oxygen in the air to produce defects such as water marks.
[0004] The wet cleaning process uses a small flow of chemical liquids such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or nitrogen atomized water (Nano Spray CO 2 DIW) etc., because its flow rate is much smaller than that of chemical liquids such as hydrogen fluoride (HF) and standard cleaning liquid (SC1 / SC2, a mixture of hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide and water), it is more likely to produce incomplete liquid film coverage when used in wet cleaning processes. Therefore, hydrogen fluoride is mixed with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or nitrogen atomized water (Nano Spray CO 2 When used with DIW, after the substrate is treated with hydrogen fluoride, the surface silicon oxide is etched, and the bare silicon is easily etched in isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or nitrogen atomized water (Nano Spray CO 2 During the DIW step, water marks are generated due to the incomplete coverage of the liquid film and the reaction with the water vapor and oxygen in the cavity.
[0005] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a substrate processing method and a substrate processing device. Summary of the invention
[0006] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing method and a substrate processing device, which are used to solve the problem of incomplete liquid film coverage of chemical liquid in the prior art.
[0007] To achieve the above object and other related objects, a substrate processing method comprises the following steps:
[0008] The substrate keeps rotating continuously; the first nozzle continuously sprays water above the central area of the substrate;
[0009] During the substrate cleaning process, the first nozzle starts to move from a first center position of the substrate center area to a first edge position of the edge area, and the second nozzle starts to spray chemical liquid toward the rotating substrate and moves from a second edge position of the substrate edge area to a second center position of the center area;
[0010] The first nozzle and the second nozzle are moved back and forth alternately between the central area and the edge area of the substrate until the substrate is cleaned;
[0011] After the substrate is cleaned, the second nozzle stops spraying the chemical liquid, and the first nozzle continues to spray water and returns to the center area of the substrate.
[0012] Optionally, before the second nozzle starts to spray the chemical liquid, the first nozzle sprays water at the center of the substrate until the surface of the substrate is completely covered by the water. Optionally, after the substrate is cleaned, the second nozzle leaves the substrate.
[0013] Optionally, the second nozzle stops spraying the chemical liquid and moves away from the substrate.
[0014] Optionally, the second nozzle has a larger moving range above the substrate than the first nozzle.
[0015] Optionally, the second center position is the rotation center of the substrate, and the first center position is different from the second center position.
[0016] Optionally, the first center position and the second center position are both rotation centers of the substrate.
[0017] Optionally, the flow rate of water sprayed by the first nozzle is greater than the flow rate of the chemical liquid sprayed by the second nozzle.
[0018] Optionally, the chemical liquid sprayed by the second nozzle is nitrogen atomized water.
[0019] Optionally, during the substrate cleaning process, the time taken for the first nozzle and the second nozzle to complete a single-pass movement between the central area and the edge area of the substrate is the same.
[0020] Optionally, during the substrate cleaning process, the second nozzle starts to move after the first nozzle moves for a time t, and the time t is less than the time it takes for the first nozzle to complete a single-path movement.
[0021] Optionally, during the substrate cleaning process, the first nozzle and the second nozzle start to move synchronously along their respective paths.
[0022] Optionally, the surface of the substrate is hydrophobic.
[0023] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object and other related objects, the present invention also provides a substrate processing device, comprising:
[0024] A carrying device, used for placing a substrate;
[0025] A driving unit, used for driving the carrying device to rotate;
[0026] A first swing arm and a second swing arm;
[0027] A first nozzle and a second nozzle are respectively arranged at the ends of the first swing arm and the second swing arm;
[0028] an arm driving mechanism, used for driving the first swing arm and the second swing arm to perform rotational motion, thereby driving the first nozzle and the second nozzle to perform rotational motion;
[0029] A first pipeline and a second pipeline are respectively connected to the first nozzle and the second nozzle, wherein the first pipeline and the second pipeline are respectively provided with a switch valve;
[0030] A processor connected to the driving unit, the arm driving mechanism and the switch valve;
[0031] A memory is coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores processor-executable instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor executes the method as described above.
[0032] As described above, in the substrate processing method and device of the present invention, water is continuously sprayed during the substrate processing process, thereby ensuring the integrity of the liquid film covering the substrate surface and avoiding the risk of water marks formed due to bare silicon being exposed in the cavity. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0033] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure inside the chamber for substrate processing in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0034] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the idle state in the cavity in an embodiment of the present invention, that is, both swing arms are in the original position.
[0035] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of a water swing arm preferentially moving to the center of a substrate in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0036] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the water swing arm moving to the center of the substrate and the chemical liquid swing arm moving to the starting position in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0037] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the motion trajectories of two swing arms in an embodiment of the present invention.
[0038] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the operation of two nozzles in an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0039] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention through specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.
[0040] For example, when describing the embodiments of the present invention in detail, for the sake of convenience, the cross-sectional view showing the device structure will not be partially enlarged according to the general scale, and the schematic view is only an example, which should not limit the scope of protection of the present invention. In addition, in actual production, the three-dimensional space dimensions of length, width and depth should be included.
[0041] For ease of description, spatial relational terms such as "under", "below", "below", "below", "above", "on", etc. may be used herein to describe the relationship of one element or feature shown in the drawings to other elements or features. It will be understood that these spatial relational terms are intended to include other directions of the device in use or operation in addition to the directions depicted in the drawings. In addition, when a layer is referred to as being "between" two layers, it can be the only layer between the two layers, or there can be one or more intervening layers. As used herein, "between..." means including the end point values.
[0042] In the context of the present application, a structure in which a first feature is described as being "above" a second feature may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include embodiments in which additional features are formed between the first and second features, such that the first and second features may not be in direct contact.
[0043] It should be noted that the illustrations provided in this embodiment are only used to illustrate the basic concept of the present invention in a schematic manner, and therefore the illustrations only show components related to the present invention rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.
[0044] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides a substrate processing device, including a chamber 1, a substrate supporting device 2 located inside the chamber 1, a liquid recovery device 4 and a liquid supply device 5.
[0045] The substrate carrying device 2 includes a driving part 21 and a carrying part 22 for horizontally placing the substrate W. The carrying part 22 can rotate under the driving force of the driving part 21. Thus, the carrying part 22 can carry the substrate W to rotate.
[0046] The liquid supply device 5 includes a first swing arm 51 and a second swing arm 52 and a first nozzle 501 and a second nozzle 502 respectively located at the ends of the first swing arm 51 and the second swing arm 52. The first nozzle 501 is used to spray water to cover the surface of the substrate, and the second nozzle 502 is used to spray chemical liquid to clean particles on the substrate. The first swing arm 501 and the second swing arm 502 both have an arm driving mechanism (not shown) for driving the swing arm to rotate, so that the swing arm drives the nozzles 501 and 502 to rotate. Figure 5 The figure shows the motion trajectory R1 of the first nozzle 501 and the motion trajectory R2 of the second nozzle 502. The chemical liquid and water supply sources provide chemical liquid and water to the nozzles 501 and 502 respectively. The supply source and the nozzle are flow-controlled and regulated through the first pipeline and the second pipeline connected to the first nozzle 501 and the second nozzle 502 respectively and the switch valve B and the flow valve C provided on the pipeline. Here, the movement of the two nozzles is controlled by two swing arms respectively, and different movement speeds can be set for the two nozzles, so that the nozzle movement speed adjustment space is larger and the application range is wider.
[0047] The liquid recovery device 4 surrounds the carrier device 2 and can recover the liquid that is thrown out by the substrate W after the liquid is supplied to the rotating substrate W from the nozzles 501 and 502 .
[0048] exist Figure 2 In the cavity 1 (reference Figure 1 ) is in an idle state, and the swing arms 51 and 52 are both in their original positions. Before substrate processing, the substrate W is first kept in a rotating state, and the substrate continues to rotate until the cleaning process of the substrate is completed.
[0049] When substrate processing begins, first, Figure 3 In the embodiment, the first swing arm 51 moves from the original position to the upper part of the central area of the substrate W, and the second swing arm 52 waits at the original position. The central area refers to an area on the substrate W that includes the rotation center of the substrate W and extends outwards a certain distance from the rotation center point as the center, and the certain distance does not exceed one third of the distance between the rotation center point of the substrate W and the edge area of the substrate W.
[0050] Next, if Figure 4 , Figure 6As shown in (a), after the first swing arm 51 reaches above the central area of the substrate W, the first nozzle 501 starts to spray water at a certain flow rate (for example, 0.6L / min) to cover the surface of the substrate W, and then the second swing arm 52 moves to above the edge area of the substrate W. The edge area refers to an area located on the substrate W and extending a certain distance inward from the outer edge of the substrate W, and the certain distance does not exceed one-third of the distance between the rotation center point of the substrate W and the edge area of the substrate W. In order to have a better liquid film coverage effect, the flow rate of the water sprayed by the first nozzle 501 is relatively large, which is greater than the flow rate of the chemical liquid sprayed by the second nozzle 502, to ensure that the surface of the substrate is always covered with a water film during the process of cleaning the particles on the substrate surface. Preferably, in order to have a better liquid film coverage effect on the substrate, the first nozzle 501 sprays above the rotation center of the substrate W.
[0051] Next, if Figure 6 As shown in (b), after the first nozzle 501 completely covers the surface of the substrate W with water (the spraying time is generally set to 20s, and the spraying time can be adjusted according to actual conditions), the second nozzle 502 starts to spray chemical liquid at a small flow rate without stopping the first nozzle 501 from spraying water. Exemplarily, the chemical liquid is nitrogen atomized water with a flow rate of 0.1L / min of water and 40L / min of nitrogen, which is connected to the second nozzle 502 through two pipes for spraying.
[0052] Next, if Figure 6As shown in (c), during the substrate cleaning process, the first nozzle 501 and the second nozzle 502 move back and forth alternately between the central area and the edge area of the substrate W while spraying. Here, the spraying positions of the first nozzle 501 in the central area and the edge area of the substrate W are respectively the first central position and the first edge position, and the spraying positions of the second nozzle 502 in the central area and the edge area of the substrate W are respectively the second central position and the second edge position. Specifically, the second nozzle 502 moves from the edge area of the substrate W to the center area of the substrate W while spraying chemical liquid, and at the same time, the first nozzle 501 moves from the center area of the substrate W to the edge area of the substrate W without stopping spraying water; then, while the first nozzle 501 keeps spraying and reaches above the edge area of the substrate W, or at approximately the same time, the second nozzle 502 keeps spraying and also reaches the center area of the substrate W; then, the first nozzle 501 moves from above the edge area of the substrate W to above the center area of the substrate W, and at the same time, or at approximately the same time, the second nozzle 502 moves from above the center area of the substrate W to above the edge area of the substrate W; in this way, the first nozzle 501 and the second nozzle 502 move cyclically between the center area of the substrate W and the edge area of the substrate W. Here, the time of approximately the same time can be understood as that when the first nozzle starts to move back and forth between the central area and the edge area of the substrate, the second nozzle starts to move from the edge area to the central area after moving for time t, and the time t is less than the movement time of the first nozzle from the central area to the edge area, that is, when the first nozzle has not reached the edge area, the second nozzle starts to move back and forth, and the first swing arm and the second swing arm do not interfere with each other. In addition, when the two nozzles move alternately in the central area and the edge area, the time for the two nozzles to complete the one-way path is the same. Such a design can better control the chemical liquid and water to spray in the edge area and the central area of the substrate respectively without affecting their respective effects, and avoid water and chemical liquid spraying in the same area on the surface of the substrate, resulting in the formation of too thick a water film that affects the effect of the chemical liquid treating the substrate, that is, when the chemical liquid sprays in the middle area, the water sprays in the edge area, and when the water sprays in the middle area, the chemical liquid sprays in the edge area. In the process of cleaning the substrate, the first nozzle 501 and the second nozzle 502 continue to spray without stopping. In one embodiment, the first nozzle and the second nozzle have the same moving range, both starting from the rotation center of the substrate to the edge area of the substrate, that is, the first center position and the second center position are both the rotation center of the substrate. Preferably, in another embodiment, in order to prevent liquid splashing, the first nozzle has a smaller moving range than the second nozzle, that is, the moving range of the second nozzle is larger than the first nozzle. Since the flow rate of the first nozzle is larger than the flow rate of the second nozzle, it is easy to cause liquid splashing. When reaching the edge area of the substrate, the position of the first nozzle spraying in the edge area is closer to the rotation center of the substrate than the second nozzle, that is, the first edge position is closer to the rotation center of the substrate than the second edge position.In addition, in order to ensure a better substrate cleaning effect, the spraying range of the second nozzle expands outward from the rotation center of the substrate, so that the surface of the entire substrate is fully cleaned, wherein the spraying range of the second nozzle is the area between the rotation center of the substrate and the edge area of the substrate, and the spraying range of the first nozzle is the area between a position at a distance from the rotation center of the substrate and not interfering with the second nozzle to the edge area, that is, the first center position is different from the second center position; illustratively, the first nozzle 501 moves back and forth and sprays within a range of 10 mm and 100 mm from the rotation center of the substrate W, and the second nozzle 502 moves back and forth and sprays within a range of 137 mm from the rotation center of the substrate W to the rotation center of the substrate W; preferably, the spraying ranges of the first nozzle and the second nozzle are both from the rotation center of the substrate to the edge area of the substrate, that is, the spraying ranges of the two nozzles both include the rotation center of the substrate, specifically, the second nozzle sprays chemical liquid from the rotation center of the substrate to the edge area of the substrate to ensure that the entire surface of the substrate is processed, and the first nozzle sprays water from the rotation center of the substrate to the edge area of the substrate to further ensure that the surface of the substrate is completely covered by a water film. In addition, the time for the first nozzle and the second nozzle to complete a one-way path is 3s, that is, the time for the first nozzle 501 to start from the central area of the substrate W to reach the edge area of the substrate W is 3s, and the time for the second nozzle to start from the edge area of the substrate W to reach the central area of the substrate W is also 3s. The one-way path time of the two nozzles is the same, and while one nozzle moves from the edge area to the middle area, the other nozzle moves from the middle area to the edge area. The two nozzles move back and forth in an alternating manner, which can better ensure that the liquid sprayed by one nozzle will not be squeezed back by the liquid sprayed by another nozzle to cause splashing.
[0053] Finally, if Figure 6 As shown in (d), after the substrate cleaning is completed, the second nozzle 502 stops spraying the chemical liquid. Then, the first nozzle 501 starts to move above the central area of the substrate W without stopping spraying water, and the second nozzle 502 returns to the original position, as shown in 6 (e). The completion of substrate cleaning can be set based on different methods. For example, the completion of substrate cleaning can be set according to time. For example, if the nozzle completes the one-way path movement time of 3s, then 15s is set as the completion of substrate cleaning. It can also be set in other ways, such as the number of times the nozzle completes the one-way path.
[0054] in addition, Figure 1A schematic block diagram of a system for implementing a system according to one or more embodiments of the present specification or executing a method according to one or more embodiments of the present specification, wherein the substrate processing device comprises a processor 3 and a memory 6. The memory 6 stores a program for controlling various processes performed in the substrate processing device. The processor 3 is coupled to the memory 6, and is connected to the drive unit 21, the arm drive mechanism, and the switch valve B, the flow valve C and other components on the pipeline where the nozzle is located, and controls the operation of these components by reading and executing the program stored in the memory 6, thereby controlling the action of the substrate processing device.
[0055] In the present invention, before processing the substrate using the above method, it is necessary to remove the oxide layer on the surface of the substrate, use hydrogen fluoride to remove the silicon oxide on the surface of the substrate, and then further process the substrate using the above method. After the silicon oxide on the surface of the substrate is removed, the silicon on the surface of the substrate is exposed, making the surface of the substrate hydrophobic, so that when using the substrate processing method, water is involved in the whole process and no water marks are formed.
[0056] In the present invention, during the substrate processing process, water is continuously sprayed, thereby ensuring the integrity of the liquid film covering the substrate surface and avoiding the risk of water marks formed due to bare silicon being exposed in the cavity.
[0057] The above embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and effects of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the present invention. Anyone familiar with the art may modify or alter the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or alterations made by a person of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and technical concept disclosed by the present invention shall still be covered by the claims of the present invention.
Claims
1. A substrate processing method, characterized in that: The following steps are involved: The substrate keeps rotating continuously, and the first nozzle continuously sprays water above the central area of the substrate; During the substrate cleaning process, the first nozzle starts to move from a first center position of the substrate center area to a first edge position of the substrate edge area, and the second nozzle starts to spray chemical liquid toward the rotating substrate and moves from a second edge position of the substrate edge area to a second center position of the substrate center area; The first nozzle and the second nozzle move back and forth alternately between the central area and the edge area of the substrate until the substrate is cleaned; After the substrate is cleaned, the second nozzle stops spraying the chemical liquid, and the first nozzle continues to spray water and returns to the center area of the substrate.
2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Before the second nozzle starts to spray the chemical liquid, the first nozzle sprays water at the center of the substrate until the surface of the substrate is completely covered by the water.
3. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: After the substrate is cleaned, the second nozzle leaves the substrate.
4. The substrate processing method according to claim 3, characterized in that: The second nozzle stops spraying the chemical liquid and moves away from the substrate.
5. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second nozzle has a larger moving range above the substrate than the first nozzle.
6. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first edge position is closer to the rotation center of the substrate than the second edge position is to the rotation center of the substrate.
7. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second center position is the rotation center of the substrate, and the first center position is different from the second center position.
8. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first center position and the second center position are both rotation centers of the substrate.
9. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flow rate of water sprayed by the first nozzle is greater than the flow rate of chemical liquid sprayed by the second nozzle.
10. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The chemical liquid sprayed by the second nozzle is nitrogen atomized water.
11. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the substrate cleaning process, the first nozzle and the second nozzle take the same time to complete a single-pass movement between the center area and the edge area of the substrate.
12. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the substrate cleaning process, the second nozzle starts to move after the first nozzle moves for a time t, and the time t is less than the time it takes for the first nozzle to complete a single-path movement.
13. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: During the substrate cleaning process, the first nozzle and the second nozzle start to move synchronously along their respective paths.
14. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The surface of the substrate is hydrophobic.
15. A substrate processing device, characterized in that: include: A carrying device, used for placing a substrate; A driving unit, used for driving the carrying device to rotate; A first swing arm and a second swing arm; A first nozzle and a second nozzle are respectively arranged at the ends of the first swing arm and the second swing arm; an arm driving mechanism, used for driving the first swing arm and the second swing arm to perform rotational motion, thereby driving the first nozzle and the second nozzle to perform rotational motion; A first pipeline and a second pipeline are respectively connected to the first nozzle and the second nozzle, wherein the first pipeline and the second pipeline are respectively provided with a switch valve; A processor connected to the driving unit, the arm driving mechanism and the switch valve; A memory is coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores processor-executable instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the processor, the processor executes the method according to any one of claims 1 to 14.