Vertical scrubbing device, wafer processing equipment, wafer scrubbing method and storage medium

Abstract

The present application relates to the field of semiconductor wafer processing technology, and provides a vertical scrubbing device, wafer processing equipment, wafer scrubbing method, and storage medium. The vertical scrubbing device includes a housing, a clamping assembly, a scrubbing assembly, and a rotating retaining ring. The clamping assembly vertically clamps the wafer and drives it to rotate, and a cleaning liquid is applied to the front surface of the wafer under the action of gravity and the rotation of the wafer. The scrubbing assembly scrubs the front surface of the wafer. The circumferential wall of the rotating retaining ring surrounds the clamping assembly and gradually shrinks away from the back plate. The clamping assembly can be axially extended and retracted between the loading and unloading position and the scrubbing position. The clamping assembly includes a fixed clamping jaw and a movable clamping jaw, which are respectively used to clamp the lower half edge and the upper half edge of the wafer. When the clamping assembly moves to the loading and unloading position, the radial outer portion of the movable clamping jaw is stopped by the rotating retaining ring so that the movable clamping jaw rotates away from the wafer and opens. When the clamping assembly shrinks to the scrubbing position, the movable clamping jaw automatically rotates toward the wafer and retracts to clamp the wafer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of semiconductor wafer processing technology, and in particular to a vertical scrubbing device, wafer processing equipment, a wafer scrubbing method and a storage medium. Background Art

[0002] After chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), wafers need to be cleaned to remove polishing debris and other contaminants from the surface. During the cleaning process, the wafer passes through two vertical scrubbers before entering a horizontal scrubber to further remove surface contaminants. However, during horizontal scrubbing, the cleaning fluid does not spread easily along the wafer surface, resulting in poor cleaning results. Furthermore, liquid splashed onto the scrubbing arm can easily fall back onto the wafer, causing secondary contamination. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The present application provides a vertical scrubbing device, wafer processing equipment, wafer scrubbing method and storage medium to solve or alleviate at least some of the problems mentioned above.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present application, a vertical scrubbing device is provided, comprising a housing, a clamping assembly and a scrubbing assembly mounted on a back plate of the housing, and a rotating retaining ring coaxially arranged with the clamping assembly; the clamping assembly is used to vertically clamp a wafer and drive the wafer to rotate, and a cleaning liquid provided to the front side of the wafer is coated on the front side of the wafer under the action of gravity and the rotation of the wafer; the scrubbing assembly is configured to scrub the front side of the wafer; the circumferential wall of the rotating retaining ring surrounds the clamping assembly and gradually shrinks away from the back plate, and the clamping assembly is axially retractable between a loading and unloading position extending from the rotating retaining ring and a scrubbing position retracted into the rotating retaining ring;

[0005] The clamping assembly includes a fixed clamping jaw provided at its lower half and a movable clamping jaw provided at its upper half, which are respectively used to clamp the lower half edge and the upper half edge of the wafer; when the clamping assembly moves to the loading and unloading position, the radial outer portion of the movable clamping jaw is stopped by the rotating retaining ring so that the movable clamping jaw rotates away from the wafer and opens, so that the wafer can move up and down over the movable clamping jaw; when the clamping assembly shrinks to the scrubbing position, the movable clamping jaw automatically rotates toward the wafer and retracts to clamp the wafer.

[0006] Optionally, the movable clamp includes a mounting seat and a clamp body, and the clamp body is constructed with a clamping portion on the side of the clamp body facing away from the mounting seat. The clamp body can rotate around the rotating axis on the mounting seat to open or retract. When the clamping assembly moves to the loading and unloading position, the radial outer end of the clamp body is stopped by the rotating retaining ring to enable the clamp body to rotate away from the wafer and open.

[0007] Optionally, the movable jaw includes a resetter, which is configured to abut against the back of the jaw body between the radial outer end of the jaw body and the rotating shaft. The resetter is configured to be compressed by the jaw body when the movable jaw is opened, and to push the jaw body to rotate and retract when the movable jaw is separated from the rotating retaining ring.

[0008] Optionally, a detector is provided on the circumferential wall surface of the rotating retaining ring, and the detector is configured to detect the vertical state of the wafer clamped by the clamping assembly; the detector is communicatively connected to the resetter, and the resetter is configured to reduce the pushing force on the clamping claw body when the detector detects that the vertical state of the wafer is non-vertical.

[0009] Optionally, the detector is a visual detector, which is configured to photograph the wafer from the side and identify the maximum distance of the wafer in its thickness direction. When the maximum distance exceeds a preset wafer thickness value, the vertical state of the wafer is determined to be non-vertical.

[0010] Optionally, the detector is a visual detector, which is configured to photograph the wafer from the side, and then identify and draw the side profile of the wafer. When the side profile of the wafer drawn is a non-vertical line segment, the visual detector determines that the vertical state of the wafer is non-vertical.

[0011] Optionally, the resetter is an elastic support member arranged on the mounting seat and extending toward the jaw body, the elastic support member supports the part between the radial outer end of the jaw body and the rotating shaft, the elastic support member is compressed when the radial outer end of the jaw body is stopped by the rotating retaining ring, and pushes the jaw body to be retracted when the clamping assembly moves axially from the loading and unloading position to the scrubbing position.

[0012] Optionally, the clamping assembly includes a circular base plate, the fixed clamping jaw is arranged at the periphery of the lower half of the circular base plate, and the movable clamping jaw is arranged at the periphery of the upper half of the circular base plate; the distance between the radial outer end of the clamping jaw body and the axis of the circular base plate is greater than the opening radius of the circumferential wall of the rotating retaining ring.

[0013] Optionally, the rotating retaining ring is configured to rotate together with the clamping assembly when wafer scrubbing is performed to collect liquid thrown off the surface of the wafer.

[0014] Optionally, the rotating retaining ring includes a vertical wall surface of the rotating retaining ring connected to its circumferential wall surface, the vertical wall surface of the rotating retaining ring and the circumferential wall surface of the rotating retaining ring form a accommodating space for accommodating the clamping assembly, and the circumferential edge portion of the vertical wall surface of the rotating retaining ring is constructed with one or more first through holes for discharging the liquid collected by the rotating retaining ring from the accommodating space.

[0015] Optionally, the vertical scrubbing device also includes a fixed retaining ring fixed to the box body and coaxially arranged with the clamping assembly, the circumferential wall of the fixed retaining ring surrounds at least a portion of the circumferential wall of the rotating retaining ring, and the fixed retaining ring is used to collect liquid discharged from the first through hole; the vertical bottom of the circumferential wall of the fixed retaining ring is configured with a second through hole for discharging the liquid collected by the fixed retaining ring downward.

[0016] Optionally, the scrubbing assembly includes: a swinging member, including a swinging shaft and a swinging arm, the swinging shaft rotates to drive the swinging arm to swing parallel to the front of the wafer; a scrubbing member, arranged at the end of the swinging arm; a droplet guide assembly, including a collecting shield and a guide shield, the collecting shield wraps around the outer periphery of the scrubbing member, the guide shield engages the end of the collecting shield close to the swinging arm and extends along the swinging arm toward the swinging shaft; the scrubbing assembly is configured to drive the swinging arm to swing to the front of the wafer and make the scrubbing member contact the front of the wafer for scrubbing, the collecting shield is used to collect liquid dripping from the scrubbing member, and the guide shield is used to guide the collected liquid to the outside of the wafer.

[0017] Optionally, the scrubbing member includes a rigid wiping head base and a compressible wiping head, the wiping head being configured to absorb liquid on the surface of the wafer when scrubbing the wafer, the connection between the base and the wiping head being enclosed in the collecting shield, and the length of the wiping head extending from the collecting shield being greater than the amount of compression caused by the wiping head pressing against the wafer when scrubbing the wafer.

[0018] Optionally, a cross-sectional dimension of the collecting shield gradually increases toward the swing arm, so that the liquid in the collecting shield flows along the inclined inner wall of the collecting shield to the guide shield.

[0019] Optionally, the flow guide shield is arranged on the side of the swing arm facing the back plate, the cross section of the flow guide shield is configured to be U-shaped, and the surface of the flow guide shield and the swing arm form a flow channel that guides the liquid to outside the wafer.

[0020] Optionally, the droplet guiding assembly further includes a splash shield, which is sleeved on the outer periphery of the swing shaft and is used to guide the liquid flowing out of the guide shield to slide down along its outer surface.

[0021] Optionally, the splash shield is configured with a circumferentially extending and inwardly recessed splash groove at a position corresponding to the outlet of the deflector shield, and the splash groove provides a speed buffer space for liquid droplets dripping onto the splash shield and guides them to slide down.

[0022] Optionally, the swing shaft is configured to be axially retractable, and the swing shaft is configured to: axially contract during the swing arm swinging from the center of the wafer to the outer edge of the wafer, so that the scrubbing member presses against the front side of the wafer to scrub and push the scrubbed contaminants out of the wafer; and axially extend during the swing arm swinging from the outer edge of the wafer to the center of the wafer, so that there is a gap between the scrubbing member and the front side of the wafer, and the gap is greater than the thickness of the liquid film formed by the cleaning liquid on the surface of the wafer.

[0023] Optionally, a droplet aspirator opening toward the wiping head is provided at the end of the wiping head base, and the droplet aspirator is used to aspirate liquid accumulated at the wiping head, and the suction force of the droplet aspirator is less than the surface tension of the liquid film formed by the cleaning liquid on the wafer surface.

[0024] Optionally, the swing shaft is installed on the lower side of the clamping assembly, and the scrubbing assembly also includes a self-cleaning assembly, which includes: a cleaning table installed on the back plate, the cleaning table is located vertically above the swing shaft, and is opposite to the scrubbing member when the swing arm swings to a vertical position, the cleaning table is configured to spray a self-cleaning agent to clean the scrubbing member; a liquid receiving tank is arranged below the cleaning table for collecting the self-cleaning agent.

[0025] According to another aspect of the present application, a wafer processing equipment is provided, which includes a wafer processing unit and the vertical scrubbing device as described in the above aspects.

[0026] According to another aspect of the present application, a wafer scrubbing method is provided, which is used for the vertical scrubbing device as described in the above aspect, and the wafer scrubbing method includes:

[0027] Move the clamping assembly from the scrubbing position to the loading and unloading position;

[0028] Move the wafer vertically downward from the inlet and outlet at the top of the box to the fixed clamping jaws of the clamping assembly;

[0029] moving the clamping assembly from the loading and unloading position to the scrubbing position;

[0030] Swinging the swing arm of the scrubbing assembly to the front of the wafer and making the scrubbing member at the end of the swing arm contact the front side of the wafer;

[0031] The clamping assembly is driven to rotate and the swing arm is simultaneously swung to scrub the wafer.

[0032] According to another aspect of the present application, a computer storage medium is provided, on which a computer program is stored. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the wafer scrubbing method as described in the above aspects is implemented.

[0033] According to the technical solution of the present application, by changing horizontal scrubbing to vertical scrubbing, under the action of gravity, the cleaning liquid in the upper half of the wafer can flow to the center of the wafer, and under the action of the rotating centrifugal force, the cleaning liquid provided to the surface of the wafer can spread radially outward, so that the cleaning liquid can be easily and quickly spread along the surface of the wafer. Compared with horizontal scrubbing, vertical scrubbing requires a lower rotation speed, which reduces energy consumption. Moreover, since the coating effect of the cleaning liquid is good, a large amount of cleaning liquid is not required to make up for the shortage of cleaning liquid in the center or radial outer part of the wafer, thereby saving cleaning liquid. The present application also achieves accurate vertical placement and stable clamping of the wafer through the design of the fixed clamping jaw and the movable clamping jaw of the clamping assembly. The cooperation between the movable clamping jaw and the rotating retaining ring fully utilizes the rotating retaining ring to open the movable clamping jaw, increases the functionality of the rotating retaining ring, and greatly simplifies the structure and control complexity of the wafer vertical scrubbing device. Through the mechanical cooperation between the movable clamping jaw and the rotating retaining ring, the timing and accuracy of the opening of the movable clamping jaw are guaranteed, which is conducive to the efficient and accurate placement and clamping process of the wafer, and further facilitates the efficient and stable vertical scrubbing process, thereby improving the wafer scrubbing efficiency and cleanliness. In addition, due to the vertical setting of the clamping assembly, during the rotation of the clamping assembly, the fixed clamping jaw and the movable clamping jaw can be periodically in a high position and the part in contact with the wafer is facing downward, so that the contaminants in the contact part of the fixed clamping jaw and the movable clamping jaw with the wafer can fall under the action of gravity, and will not continue to accumulate and contaminate or crystallize to scratch the edge of the wafer, thereby further improving the cleanliness and yield of the wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present application or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments recorded in the embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0035] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a horizontal scrubbing module;

[0036] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a vertical scrubbing device according to one embodiment of the present application;

[0037] Figure 3 for Figure 2A schematic diagram of another state of the vertical scrubbing device in FIG.

[0038] Figure 4 for Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the vertical scrubbing device at another angle;

[0039] Figure 5 for Figure 2 A schematic cross-sectional view of a vertical scrubbing device in FIG.

[0040] Figure 6 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a swinging member according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 7 Shown Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the vertical scrubbing device in operation;

[0042] Figure 8 for Figure 2 A schematic diagram of a swing member according to another embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 9 Shown Figure 8 A cross-sectional view of the swing member in FIG;

[0044] Figure 10 Shown Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the collection shield in;

[0045] Figure 11 Shown Figure 8 A partial schematic diagram of the swing member in FIG;

[0046] Figure 12 Shown Figure 8 A schematic side view of the splash guard in FIG.

[0047] Figure 13 Shown Figure 8 an enlarged view of the scrubbing member in FIG, wherein the collecting shield is omitted;

[0048] Figure 14 Shown Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the clamping assembly in FIG.

[0049] Figure 15 Shown Figure 14 A cross-sectional view of the movable jaws of the clamping assembly;

[0050] Figure 16 Shown Figure 15 A cross-sectional view of another state of the movable clamping jaw;

[0051] Figure 17 Shown Figure 14 Schematic diagram of a wafer being bent when the clamping assembly clamps the wafer;

[0052] Figure 18 Shown Figure 14 A schematic diagram of tilting the wafer when the clamping assembly clamps the wafer;

[0053] Figure 19 Shown Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the vertical scrubbing device at another angle;

[0054] Figure 20 Shown Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the top of the box body of the vertical scrubbing device;

[0055] Figure 21 A flow chart of a wafer scrubbing method according to an embodiment of the present application is shown;

[0056] Figure 22 A schematic diagram of a wafer processing device according to an embodiment of the present application is shown.

[0057] Reference numerals:

[0058] W, wafer; 120, horizontal clamping assembly; 1, vertical scrubbing device; 10, housing; 12, back plate; 13, side plate; 14, top plate; 140, inlet and outlet; 141, cover plate; 15, bottom plate; 151, drainage hole; 20, clamping assembly; 21, circular substrate; 210, injection hole; 22, fixed clamping jaw; 23, movable clamping jaw; 231, mounting seat; 2310, lug; 2311, stopper; 232, clamping jaw body; 233, clamping 234, rotating shaft; 235, elastic support member; 2351, receiving hole; 2352, support head; 2353, guide shaft; 24, rotating shaft of clamping assembly; 30, scrubbing assembly; 32, scrubbing member; 31, swinging member; 311, swinging shaft; 312, swing arm; 321, scrubbing head base; 322, scrubbing head; 331, cleaning table; 332, receiving tank; 333, jet pipe; 301, scrubbing member driver; 302, regulator; 40, supply Liquid container; 50, rotating retaining ring; 51, circumferential wall of rotating retaining ring; 52, vertical wall of rotating retaining ring; 511, first through-hole; 60, fixed retaining ring; 61, circumferential wall of fixed retaining ring; 62, second through-hole; 71, collecting shield; 72, flow guide shield; 73, splash shield; 731, splash groove; 711, mounting flange; 712, joint; 81, first rotating motor; 82, first telescopic motor; 83, second rotating motor; 84 , second telescopic motor; 91, first synchronous belt; 92, second synchronous belt; 93, third synchronous belt; 94, fourth synchronous belt; 100, front-end module; 200, transmission unit; 201, front-end manipulator; 202, transmission manipulator; 300, wafer processing unit; 310, wafer chemical mechanical polishing device; 400, cleaning and drying unit; 410, first-level scrubbing device; 420, second-level scrubbing device; 430, drying device; 440, cache device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0059] In order to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the embodiments of the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field should fall within the scope of protection of the embodiments of the present application.

[0060] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "transverse", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", etc., indicating the orientation or position relationship, are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation on this application.

[0061] In addition, in the description of this application, unless otherwise specified and limited, it should be noted that the terms "install", "connect" and "connect" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection, or it can be the internal connection between two components. It can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms can be understood according to the specific circumstances.

[0062] After wafer W is processed, it is usually necessary to clean it to remove contaminants such as debris generated by grinding or polishing. The wafer cleaning unit may include a brushing module and a scrubbing module. The existing wafer scrubbing module is usually a horizontal scrubbing module, such as Figure 1 As shown, it includes a horizontal clamping assembly 120 for horizontally clamping the wafer W and a scrubbing assembly 30, wherein the swing arm 312 of the scrubbing assembly 30 swings in the horizontal plane so that the scrubbing member 32 scrubs the surface to be cleaned of the wafer W, that is, Figure 1 The upper surface of the wafer W. The horizontal scrubbing module also includes a liquid supply device 40 to supply cleaning liquid to the upper surface of the wafer W. However, the cleaning liquid supplied to the horizontal upper surface of the wafer W can only be spread on the surface of the wafer W by relying on the centrifugal force of rotation. In order to enable the cleaning liquid to be applied to the radially outer part of the wafer W, the clamping device needs to have a larger rotation speed to drive the wafer W and the cleaning liquid thereon to rotate, which requires more driving energy, and high-speed rotation will increase the risk of unstable clamping of the wafer W and fragmentation. In addition, the cleaning liquid may splash off the surface of the wafer W and contaminate other components such as the scrubbing assembly 30. On the other hand, it is difficult for the cleaning liquid to reach the center area of the wafer, resulting in insufficient cleaning liquid in the center area of the wafer and poor cleaning effect. In addition, when performing horizontal scrubbing, the swing arm 312 swings above the wafer W, and the liquid splashed onto the swing arm 312 is very easy to drip onto the surface of the wafer W again, causing secondary contamination.

[0063] In order to solve at least one of the above problems, the present application provides a vertical scrubbing device 1, such as Figure 2 The embodiment shown in FIG. 1 shows a vertical scrubbing device 1, which may include a housing 10 having a back plate 12 and a front plate (not shown) extending vertically, two side plates 13, and a top plate 14 extending horizontally and facing each other (see FIG. Figure 5) and a base plate 15. The vertical scrubbing apparatus 1 further includes a clamping assembly 20 and a scrubbing assembly 30 mounted to the back plate 12 of the housing 10, and a liquid supply device 40 mounted to one of the two side panels 13 of the housing 10, for example, on the side panel 13 away from the scrubbing assembly 30 to prevent interference. The clamping assembly 20 is used to vertically clamp the wafer W and drive the wafer W to rotate. The liquid supply device 40 is used to supply cleaning liquid to the front surface of the wafer W. Driven by gravity and the rotation of the wafer W, the cleaning liquid is applied to the front surface of the wafer W as a liquid film. Thus, by changing horizontal scrubbing to vertical scrubbing, under the action of gravity, the cleaning liquid in the upper half of the wafer W can flow to the center of the wafer W, and under the action of the rotating centrifugal force, the cleaning liquid provided to the surface of the wafer W can spread radially outward, so that the cleaning liquid can be easily and quickly spread along the surface of the wafer W. Compared with horizontal scrubbing, the rotation speed required for vertical scrubbing is lower, which reduces energy consumption, and because the coating effect of the cleaning liquid is good, there is no need for a large amount of cleaning liquid to accumulate to make up for the shortcomings of insufficient cleaning liquid in the center or radially outside of the wafer W, thereby saving cleaning liquid. The liquid feeder 40 can have two nozzles, one for spraying chemical liquid and the other for spraying deionized water. In addition, it should be understood that the front of the wafer W mentioned herein refers to the front plate of the wafer W facing the box 10, that is, the surface of the back plate 12 facing away from the box 10, and the back of the wafer W refers to the surface of the back plate 12 facing the box 10.

[0064] The scrubbing assembly 30 mainly includes an oscillating member 31 and a scrubbing member 32 . Figure 2 The main structure of the swing member 31 is shown, which includes a swing shaft 311 and a swing arm 312 provided at the lower side of the clamping assembly 20. The swing shaft 311 can rotate to drive the swing arm 312 to swing parallel to the front surface of the wafer W. The scrubbing member 32 is provided at the end of the swing arm 312, that is, the end opposite to the end of the swing arm 312 connected to the swing shaft 311. Figure 6 The scrubbing member 32 mainly includes a rigid scrubbing head base 321 and a compressible scrubbing head 322. The scrubbing head 322 is preferably a sponge with good hydrophilicity, such as PU (polyurethane) or PVA (polyvinyl alcohol). Figure 2 , the swing member 31 has a working state, in which the swing member 31 swings parallel to the front surface of the wafer W to scrub the wafer W. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The swing member 31 has a rest state. In the rest state, the swing arm 312 is in a vertical position, avoiding the clamping assembly 20 and the wafer W. The swing arm 312 can perform self-cleaning at the cleaning table 331, or wait for the wafer W to be scrubbed to be placed in the vertical scrubbing device 1.

[0065] In a preferred embodiment, the swing shaft 311 is configured to be axially retractable, specifically, it is configured to: axially contract during the swing arm 312 swinging from the center of the wafer W to the outer edge of the wafer W, so that the scrubbing member 32 presses against the front of the wafer W for scrubbing and pushes the scrubbed contaminants to the outside of the wafer W along with the cleaning liquid; and axially extend during the swing arm 312 swinging from the outer edge of the wafer W to the center of the wafer W, so that there is a gap between the scrubbing member 32 and the front of the wafer W, and the gap is greater than the thickness of the liquid film on the surface of the wafer W. By controlling the extension and retraction of the swing shaft 311, in the process of the swing arm 312 swinging from the center of the wafer W to the outer edge of the wafer W, the scrubbing member 32 scrubs the wafer W from the inside to the outside in the radial direction of the wafer W, and at the same time pushes the liquid film on the surface of the wafer W outward, so that the scrubbed contaminants can flow to the outside of the wafer W with the liquid film, thereby improving the contaminant removal effect; in the process of the swing arm 312 swinging from the outer edge of the wafer W to the center of the wafer W, by ensuring that there is a gap between the scrubbing member 32 and the front of the wafer W that is greater than the thickness of the liquid film, the liquid film will not be pushed from the outside to the inside in the radial direction of the wafer W, effectively preventing the contaminants in the liquid film from being pushed back to the center part of the wafer W.

[0066] Also like Figure 2-Figure 5 The vertical scrubbing device 1 further includes a rotating retaining ring 50 coaxially arranged with the clamping assembly 20, and a circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring surrounds the outer circumference of the clamping assembly 20. To facilitate the wafer W to enter the box 10 from the top of the box 10 for clamping, the clamping assembly 20 is constructed to be axially retractable. It has a loading and unloading position axially extending from the rotating retaining ring 50 for loading or unloading the wafer W, and a scrubbing position axially retracted into the rotating retaining ring 50 for scrubbing the wafer W. When scrubbing the wafer W, the rotating retaining ring 50 rotates together with the clamping assembly 20 to collect liquid ejected from the surface of the wafer W. The synchronous rotation of the rotating retaining ring 50 and the clamping assembly 20 makes the two relatively stationary, thereby making the relative speed between the liquid ejected from the surface of the wafer W and the rotating retaining ring 50 significantly lower than the relative speed between the two when the rotating retaining ring 50 is fixed. This significantly reduces the backsplash of the liquid ejected from the surface of the wafer W after hitting the rotating retaining ring 50, thereby avoiding secondary contamination of the wafer W.

[0067] In a preferred embodiment, the rotating retaining ring 50 includes a vertical wall surface 52 connected to the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring. The vertical wall surface 52 of the rotating retaining ring and the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring enclose a storage space for accommodating the clamping assembly 20. The circumferential edge portion of the vertical wall surface 52 of the rotating retaining ring is configured with one or more first through-holes 511, for example, six first through-holes 511 evenly distributed around the circumference, for draining liquid collected by the rotating retaining ring 50 from the storage space. The vertical scrubbing device 1 may further include a fixed retaining ring 60 fixed to the housing 10 and coaxially arranged with the clamping assembly 20. The circumferential wall surface 61 of the fixed retaining ring surrounds at least a portion of the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring. The fixed retaining ring 60 is configured to collect liquid ejected from the first through-holes 511. The vertical bottom portion of the circumferential wall surface 61 of the fixed retaining ring is configured with a second through-hole 62 for draining liquid collected by the fixed retaining ring 60 downward.

[0068] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of a swing member 31 according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. Figure 7 The schematic diagram of the vertical scrubbing device 1 when scrubbing the wafer W is shown. It can be seen that the scrubbing member 32 collides with the liquid film on the surface of the wafer W when scrubbing the wafer W, and liquid accumulation is easily formed at the scrubbing member 32, and the accumulated liquid drips onto the rotating retaining ring 50 and the bottom of the box body 10, and the mutual pressure between the scrubbing member 32 and the surface of the wafer W also causes the wiping head 322 and the wiping head base 321 to squeeze each other, so that the cleaning liquid absorbed by the wiping head 322 is partially squeezed out and drips, and the dripping droplets may splash back onto the wafer W, secondary contamination of the wafer W, and reduce the scrubbing effect and cleanliness of the wafer W. For this reason, in a further embodiment of the present application, as Figure 8 、 Figure 9As shown, a droplet guide assembly is provided to guide these dripping droplets to flow smoothly to the bottom of the housing 10, thereby reducing backsplash. The droplet guide assembly primarily comprises a collection shield 71, a flow guide shield 72, and a splash shield 73. The collection shield 71 surrounds the outer periphery of the scrubbing element 32. The connection between the wiper head base 321 and the wiper head 322 is enclosed within the collection shield 71. This allows the collection shield 71 to collect liquid dripping from the scrubbing element 32, as well as liquid dripping from the wiper head 322 due to compression between the wiper head 322 and the wiper head base 321. The length of the wiper head 322 extending from the collection shield 71 is greater than the amount of compression caused by the wiper head 322 pressing against the wafer W during scrubbing, ensuring that the collection shield 71 does not contact the wafer W, thereby scratching it or interfering with the scrubbing of the wafer W by the wiper head 322. The splash shield 73 is sleeved around the outer periphery of the swing shaft 311. The deflector shield 72 is coupled to the end of the collection shield 71 near the swing arm 312 and extends along the swing arm 312 toward the splash shield 73. The deflector shield 72 is disposed on the side of the swing arm 312 facing the wafer W. The deflector shield 72 is not directly connected to the splash shield 73, but rather has a gap therebetween to avoid interfering with the swing of the swing arm 312 about the swing axis 311. During scrubbing, the scrubbing assembly 30 drives the swing arm 312 to swing in front of the wafer W and causes the scrubbing member 32 to contact the front surface of the wafer W for scrubbing. The collection shield 71 collects liquid dripping from the scrubbing member 32, while the deflector shield 72 directs the collected liquid outside the wafer W, that is, outside the space directly facing the front surface of the wafer W. The splash shield 73 directs liquid flowing from the deflector shield 72 to slide down its outer surface. By providing a liquid droplet guiding assembly, it is possible to prevent liquid from directly dripping from a high place and causing splashing to contaminate the wafer W, thereby improving the cleaning effect and yield rate of the wafer W.

[0069] In a preferred embodiment, Figures 8-10 As shown, the cross-section of the collecting shield 71 (i.e., the cross-section perpendicular to its axial direction) gradually increases toward the swing arm 312, so that the liquid in the collecting shield 71 flows along the inclined inner wall of the collecting shield 71 to the guide shield 72. The rate of increase of the cross-section of the collecting shield 71 can be uniform, or as shown in FIG. Figure 9 As shown, the increasing rates are inconsistent and two sections with different slopes are formed. The end of the collecting shield 71 facing the swing arm 312 is constructed with a mounting flange 711, and the mounting flange 711 is fitted to the outer shell of the swing arm 312. The joint 712 where the mounting flange 711 is joined to the guide shield 72 is constructed to have a shape that matches the guide shield 72. For example, in an embodiment where the guide shield 72 has a U-shaped cross section, the cross section of the joint 712 is also constructed to have a matching U-shape. The joint 712 is joined to the inside of the guide shield 72 to prevent droplets from flowing out of the guide shield 72. The guide shield 72 with a U-shaped cross section referred to herein includes both Figure 11The three plates forming the rectangular grooves shown in the figure have obvious folded edges, the folded edges are rounded, and the folded edges are curved. Figure 12 As shown, in an optional embodiment, the splash shield 73 is constructed with an inwardly recessed splash groove 731 at a position corresponding to the outlet of the guide shield 72. The edge or the entire contour of the splash groove 731 can be rounded so that the droplets dripping onto the splash shield 73 can have a larger speed buffer space and can be guided by the splash groove 731 to slide along the splash shield 73, thereby reducing backsplash contamination.

[0070] In a preferred embodiment, Figure 13 A partial schematic diagram of the scrubbing member 32 is shown, wherein the collecting shield 71 is omitted, and the end of the wiping head base 321 is provided with a droplet aspirator opening toward the wiping head 322, as shown in FIG. Figure 13 The opening of the droplet aspirator is schematically shown by a black dot in the figure, and is provided at the periphery of the end of the wiping head base 321 not covered by the wiping head 322. In an optional embodiment, the opening of the droplet aspirator can be provided at the entire end surface of the wiping head base 321 that is connected to the wiping head 322. The droplet aspirator is used to aspirate the liquid accumulated at the wiping head 322. Figure 13 The arrows in the figure indicate the possible directions in which liquid accumulated around the wiper head 322 may be drawn. The suction force of the droplet aspirator is set to be less than the surface tension of the liquid film formed by the cleaning liquid on the wafer surface. This allows the aspirator to only draw droplets that have accumulated around the wiper head 322 and covered the opening of the droplet aspirator. If there are not too many droplets accumulated around the wiper head 322, the suction force will not affect the normal liquid film on the wafer surface, ensuring the normal progress of the scrubbing process.

[0071] In a preferred embodiment, return to Figure 2 、 Figure 3The scrubbing assembly 30 also includes a self-cleaning assembly, which includes a cleaning table 331 and a liquid collecting tank 332. The cleaning table 331 is mounted on the back plate 12. The cleaning table 331 is located vertically above the swing shaft 311 and is opposite to the scrubbing member 32 when the swing arm 312 swings to a vertical position. The cleaning table 331 is configured to contact the wiping head 322 and spray a self-cleaning agent to clean the scrubbing member 32. A jet pipe 333 can also be provided above the cleaning table 331 to spray a self-cleaning agent downward to rinse the wiping head 322. The liquid collecting tank 332 is provided below the cleaning table 331 to collect the self-cleaning agent. By providing the self-cleaning assembly, the scrubbing member can be self-cleaned when the swing member 31 is in a resting state or intermittently during the scrubbing process, thereby ensuring the cleanliness of the scrubbing member 32 itself, preventing the scrubbing member 32 from absorbing pollutants or debris and contaminating or scratching the wafer, and effectively ensuring the wafer scrubbing effect. The bottom plate 15 of the housing 10 is configured with a drain hole 151 to drain liquid from the housing 10 , and the upper surface of the bottom plate 15 of the housing 10 is configured to be inclined toward the drain hole 151 to facilitate liquid flow to the drain hole 151 .

[0072] like Figure 14 A schematic diagram of the clamping assembly 20 is shown. The clamping assembly 20 includes a circular substrate 21. At least two fixed clamps 22 are arranged on the periphery of the lower half of the circular substrate 21. The at least two fixed clamps 22 are respectively arranged on both sides of the center of the circular substrate 21. The fixed clamps 22 are used to clamp the lower half of the wafer W. The setting of the fixed clamps 22 can provide a limiting function for the downward movement of the wafer W, thereby ensuring the accuracy of the wafer W being clamped on the clamping assembly 20. At least one movable clamp 23 is provided on the periphery of the upper half of the circular substrate 21, which can be away from the wafer W, that is, opened toward the back plate 12 of the box body 10 when loading and unloading the wafer W (that is, when the clamping assembly 20 is extended to the loading and unloading position). Specifically, when loading the wafer W, the movable clamp 23 rotates away from the wafer W and opens to avoid space allowing the wafer W to move vertically downward, and after the wafer W moves vertically downward to the fixed clamp 22, it rotates and retracts toward the wafer W to clamp the wafer W. When unloading the wafer W, the movable clamp 23 opens away from the wafer W to allow the wafer W to move vertically upward. Figure 14 The figure shows four fixed jaws 22 and two movable jaws 23 symmetrically arranged on either side of the circular base plate 21. In other embodiments, other numbers may be provided. By opening and retracting the fixed jaws 22 at the bottom and the movable jaws 23 at the top, the wafer W can be loaded from top to bottom into the clamping assembly 20 through the top access opening of the housing 10, achieving vertical positioning and clamping of the wafer W, ensuring the accuracy and stability of the clamping. This also avoids the need to increase the size of the housing 10 when the side opening is opened to avoid interference with the swing member 31 or the liquid feeder 40, and also avoids the large opening area when the front panel of the housing 10 is opened, which would introduce more external contamination.

[0073] In such Figure 15 、 Figure 16 In the embodiment shown, the movable clamping jaw 23 includes a mounting base 231 fixed to the circular substrate 21 and a clamping jaw body 232. The clamping jaw body 232 is configured with a clamping portion 233 on a side thereof facing away from the circular substrate 21. The clamping jaw body 232 can rotate around a rotation axis 234 on the mounting base 231 to open away from the wafer W or retract toward the wafer W, as shown in FIG. Figure 14 As shown, the rotating shaft 234 is rotatably mounted to two opposite lugs 2310 of the mounting seat 231 and passes through the clamping claw body 232 arranged between the two lugs 2310. The projection of the rotating shaft 234 to the circular substrate 21 is perpendicular to the radial direction of the circular substrate 21. The clamping claw body 232 extends perpendicular to the rotating shaft 234. The clamping portion 233 is used to clamp the wafer W.

[0074] In one embodiment of the present application, the mobility of the movable jaw 23 is achieved by cooperating with the rotating retaining ring 50. Figure 5 It can be seen that the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring gradually shrinks (i.e., tapers) in the direction away from the back plate 12, that is, gradually shrinks toward the clamping assembly 20. Gradually shrinking means that the diameter of the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring gradually decreases. Figure 15 、 Figure 16 , which shows the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring. The radial outer portion of the movable clamping jaw 23, specifically the radial outer end (upper end in the figure) of the clamping jaw body 232, can be stopped by the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring, so that the movable clamping jaw 23 rotates away from the wafer W and opens. The distance between the radial outer end of the clamping jaw body 232 and the axis of the circular substrate 21 is greater than the opening radius of the circumferential wall surface 51 of the rotating retaining ring, so that the radial outer end of the clamping jaw body 232 is always located within the rotating retaining ring 50. Figure 15 It is shown that when the clamping assembly 20 moves axially from the scrubbing position to the loading and unloading position, the radial outer end of the clamping jaw body 232 is stopped by the rotating retaining ring 50, so that the clamping jaw body 232 rotates around the rotating shaft 234 to open.

[0075] The movable jaw 23 also includes a resetter, which is configured to rest against the back of the jaw body 232 between the radial outer end of the jaw body 232 and the rotating shaft. The resetter is contracted by the pressure of the jaw body 232 when the movable jaw 23 is opened, and pushes the jaw body 232 to rotate and retract when the movable jaw 23 is separated from the rotating retaining ring 50.

[0076] exist Figure 15 、 Figure 16In the embodiment shown, the resetter is an elastic support member 235 provided on the mounting seat 231 and extending toward the clamp body 232. The elastic support member 235 supports the portion between the radial outer end of the clamp body 232 and the rotating shaft 234. When the radial outer end of the clamp body 232 is stopped by the rotating retaining ring 50, the elastic support member 235 is compressed. Figure 16 It is shown that when the clamping assembly 20 moves axially from the loading and unloading position to the scrubbing position, the elastic support member 235 extends to push the clamping claw body 232 to reset, and enables the clamping portion 233 on the clamping claw body 232 to clamp the wafer W. A stop portion 2311 can be provided on the mounting seat 231 to limit the maximum pushing distance of the elastic support member 235 on the clamping claw body 232, thereby preventing the clamping claw body 232 from excessively retracting and causing the wafer to tilt excessively, bend, or crush the wafer. In a specific embodiment, the elastic support member 235 includes a receiving hole 2351 and a support head 2352 provided on the mounting seat 231, the support head 2352 being at least partially provided in the receiving hole 2351, a spring being provided between the support head 2352 and the bottom of the receiving hole 2351, and the support head 2352 being able to move axially along the receiving hole 2351 under the action of the spring. More preferably, one end of the support head 2352 disposed in the receiving hole 2351 is configured with an inner recessed hole, and the spring partially abuts against the inner recessed hole. The spring can also be sleeved on a guide shaft 2353 extending from the bottom of the receiving hole 2351 toward the inner recessed hole to ensure that the spring can expand and contract axially along the guide shaft 2353, thereby preventing the support head 2352 from being stuck due to spring deflection. One end of the support head 2352 disposed in the receiving hole 2351 is configured with a radially outwardly extending anti-slip flange, which can abut against the radially inwardly contracted orifice of the receiving hole 2351 to prevent the support head 2352 from falling out of the receiving hole 2351.

[0077] The movable jaw 23 of the present invention and its coordinated design with the rotating retaining ring 50 enable convenient opening and retraction of the movable jaw 23, increasing the functionality of the rotating retaining ring 50 and eliminating the need for an additional actuator for the movable jaw 23, significantly simplifying the structure and control complexity of the vertical scrubbing device 1. Furthermore, the resetter design enhances the flexibility of the movable jaw 23, providing a buffer during clamping, preventing rigid impacts with the wafer W edge that could cause fragmentation. Furthermore, adaptive clamping of the wafer W is achieved, fully accommodating dimensional errors in wafer W manufacturing. This avoids wafer W instability caused by insufficient clamping due to dimensional errors between wafers W, or wafer W edge damage or fragmentation caused by excessive clamping. In addition, due to the vertical setting of the clamping assembly 20, during the rotation of the clamping assembly 20, the fixed jaws and the movable jaws can be periodically in a high position with the parts in contact with the wafer facing downward, so that the contaminants in the parts of the fixed jaws 22 and the movable jaws 23 that contact the wafer (for example, the recess of the clamping portion 233) can fall under the action of gravity, and will not continue to accumulate and contaminate, crystallize, and scratch the edge of the wafer, thereby further improving the cleanliness and yield of the wafer.

[0078] In another optional embodiment, the resetter can be constructed in the form of an electrically driven telescopic device, which does not apply a driving force when the movable jaw 23 is opened, but is automatically retracted by the pressure of the jaw body 232, and applies a driving force to push the jaw body 232 to rotate and retract when the movable jaw 23 is separated from the rotating retaining ring 50. In a preferred embodiment, a detector is provided on the circumferential wall 51 of the rotating retaining ring facing the wafer W, and its position in the front and rear directions of the box 10 can be consistent with the wafer W, and the detector is configured to detect the vertical state of the wafer W clamped by the clamping assembly 20. The detector is communicatively connected to the resetter, and the resetter is configured to reduce the pushing force on the jaw body 232 when the detector detects that the vertical state of the wafer W is non-vertical. The vertical state includes vertical and non-vertical. When it is "vertical", the wafer W is clamped completely vertically, and when it is "non-vertical", the wafer W is clamped to be tilted or bent. As Figure 17 The wafer W is shown to be clamped in a curved state. Figure 18 It shows that the wafer W is clamped in a tilted state. These two situations may be caused by the movable clamp 23 rotating and retracting too much toward the wafer W. At this time, the resetter adjusts, specifically reduces the pushing force on the clamp body 232, to alleviate or eliminate the non-vertical situation of the wafer W, so that the wafer W is clamped in a vertical state, so that the scrubbing member 32 forms a uniform and good contact with the entire front surface of the wafer W to improve the scrubbing effect, and avoid the wafer W from rotating unsteadily due to bending or tilting, resulting in vibration of the clamped part or even fragmentation.

[0079] In an optional embodiment, the detector is a visual detector configured to photograph the wafer W from the side and identify the maximum distance T of the wafer W in its thickness direction (e.g., Figure 17 、 Figure 18 As shown), when the maximum distance T exceeds a preset wafer thickness value, the vertical state of the wafer W is determined to be non-vertical. In another embodiment, the visual detector is configured to photograph the wafer W from the side, and then identify and draw the side profile of the wafer. When the side profile of the drawn wafer is a non-vertical straight line segment, the visual detector determines that the vertical state of the wafer W is non-vertical. In a further embodiment, the visual detector is surrounded by a movable detector cover, and the movable detector cover is configured to open before the scrubbing process is performed so that the visual detector is exposed toward the wafer W for detection, and to close during the scrubbing process to surround the visual detector to prevent liquids such as cleaning liquid during the scrubbing process from splashing onto the visual detector and affecting the detection effect.

[0080] In a preferred embodiment, Figure 15 、 Figure 16 As shown, the clamping portion 233 is constructed to be roughly V-shaped and recessed on the side facing away from the wafer W, so that when the resetter has an appropriate pushing force on the clamping claw body 232, the clamping force of the clamping portion 233 on the wafer W is appropriate, that is, the clamping force is neither too large to cause the wafer W to be stuck in an inclined or bent shape, nor too small to hold the wafer W, so that the wafer W can automatically slide along the inclined surface of the V-shaped notch to the deepest part of the V-shaped notch, thereby automatically adjusting to be vertically clamped in place.

[0081] In an optional embodiment, if Figure 14 A spray hole 210 is configured at the center of the circular substrate 21 . The spray hole 210 is configured to spray a rinse liquid to rinse the surface of the wafer W facing the circular substrate 21 .

[0082] like Figure 19A schematic diagram of the vertical scrubbing device 1 from another angle is shown, in which a drive mechanism is provided on the side of the back plate 12 facing the outside of the housing 10. The drive mechanism mainly includes a first rotary motor 81 for driving the synchronous rotation of the clamping assembly 20 and the rotating retaining ring 50 and a first telescopic motor 82 for driving the axial extension and contraction of the clamping assembly 20. The first rotary motor 81 is connected to the rotating shaft 24 of the clamping assembly via a first synchronous belt 91, and the first telescopic motor 82 is connected to the rotating shaft 24 of the clamping assembly via a second synchronous belt 92. Specifically, the rotating shaft 24 of the clamping assembly can be configured as a spline screw. The first telescopic motor 82 is configured to drive the rotation of the first nut on the spline screw via the second synchronous belt 92. The first nut is spirally engaged with the spiral groove of the spline screw to convert the rotation of the first nut into linear motion of the spline screw through the spiral groove of the spline screw, thereby achieving precise axial movement of the spline screw. When the first telescopic motor 82 rotates alone, it controls the axial extension and contraction of the clamping assembly 20. The first rotating motor 81 is configured to drive the second nut on the spline screw to rotate via the first synchronous belt 91. The second nut is spline-connected to the spline groove on the spline screw to drive the spline screw to rotate through the spline groove. The first rotating motor 81 and the first telescopic motor 82 rotate synchronously so that the movement of the first nut is offset by the second nut, thereby controlling the synchronous rotation of the clamping assembly 20 and the rotating retaining ring 50 when the first rotating motor 81 and the first telescopic motor 82 rotate synchronously. The spline screw motion formed between the first telescopic motor 82, the first rotary motor 81 and the rotating shaft 24 of the clamping assembly ensures the accuracy of the axial telescopic extension and the stability of the rotation of the clamping assembly 20, and realizes the integrated design and coordinated control of the telescopic drive and the rotary drive. Compared with respectively setting independent telescopic mechanisms and rotary mechanisms at the end parts of the clamping assembly 20, the structural complexity and control difficulty can be greatly simplified. Moreover, the first telescopic motor 82 and the first rotary motor 81 are set on the side of the rotating shaft 24 of the clamping assembly, which can make full use of the space on the back of the back plate 12, significantly reduce the front-to-back dimensions of the vertical scrubbing device 1, and provide more layout space for the wafer processing equipment where the vertical scrubbing device 1 is located.

[0083] The drive mechanism also includes a second rotary motor 83 for driving the swing member 31 to oscillate, and a second telescopic motor 84 for driving the swing shaft 311 of the swing member 31 to axially extend and retract. The second rotary motor 83 is connected to the swing shaft 311 via a third synchronous belt 93, while the second telescopic motor 84 is connected to the swing shaft 311 via a fourth synchronous belt 94. In a specific embodiment, the swing shaft 311 can also be designed as a spline screw. The second rotary motor 83, the second telescopic motor 84, and the swing shaft 311 are also driven by a third nut and a fourth nut, similar to the first and second nuts, forming a similar spline screw drive mechanism. This allows the second telescopic motor 84 to rotate independently, controlling the axial extension and retraction of the swing shaft 311 and, in turn, the swing arm 312. When the second rotary motor 83 and the second telescopic motor 84 rotate synchronously, they control the rotation of the swing shaft 311, thereby controlling the swing arm 312. The specific drive mechanism is similar to that of the first telescopic motor 82 and the first rotary motor 81, achieving the same integrated design and coordinated control, and will not be repeated here.

[0084] In a preferred embodiment, Figure 9 As shown, the swing arm 312 is provided with a scrubbing member driver 301 juxtaposed with the scrubbing member 32 along the length of the swing arm 312. The scrubbing member driver 301 drives the scrubbing member 32 to rotate via a synchronous belt. The non-coaxial and offset arrangement of the scrubbing member driver 301 and the scrubbing member 32 reduces the thickness of the swing arm 312, thereby reducing the size of the vertical scrubbing device 1. In addition, an adjuster 302 can be provided at the end of the scrubbing member 32 opposite the scrubbing head 322 to fine-tune the axial extension and contraction distance of the scrubbing member 32, thereby fine-tuning the contact force between the scrubbing member 32 and the wafer W.

[0085] Combine Figure 5 and Figure 20 It can be seen that the top plate 14 of the box body 10 is provided with an inlet and outlet 140 for the wafer W to enter and exit, and the position of the inlet and outlet 140 is adapted to the loading and unloading position of the clamping assembly 20; the box body 10 also includes a cover plate 141 covering the inlet and outlet 140, and the cover plate 141 is slidably mounted to the top plate 14 via a guide rail assembly, so as to slide away from the inlet and outlet 140 when the wafer W enters and exits, and slide to cover the inlet and outlet 140 when the wafer W is scrubbed.

[0086] Figure 21 A wafer W scrubbing method of the present application is shown, which is used in the aforementioned vertical scrubbing device 1, and the method includes:

[0087] S1: moving the clamping assembly 20 from the scrubbing position to the loading and unloading position;

[0088] S2: Move the wafer W vertically downward from the inlet and outlet 140 at the top of the box 10 to the fixed clamping claw 22 of the clamping assembly 20;

[0089] S3: moving the clamping assembly 20 from the loading and unloading position to the scrubbing position;

[0090] S4: Swing the swing arm 312 to the front of the wafer W and make the scrubbing member 32 contact the front surface of the wafer W;

[0091] S5: Drive the clamping assembly 20 to rotate and simultaneously swing the swing arm 312 to scrub the wafer W.

[0092] The above execution order is only an example and can be adjusted according to actual operation requirements. For example, S1 and S2 can be swapped or executed simultaneously.

[0093] The present application also provides a computer storage medium having a computer program stored thereon. When the computer program is executed by a processor, the aforementioned wafer W scrubbing method is implemented.

[0094] Figure 22A schematic diagram of a wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present application is shown. The wafer processing apparatus primarily includes a front-end module 100, a transfer unit 200, a wafer processing unit 300, and a cleaning and drying unit 400. The front-end module 100 is used to provide wafers W to be processed or receive processed wafers W. The wafer processing unit 300, for example, includes a wafer chemical mechanical polishing apparatus 310, which utilizes a chemical mechanical polishing process to achieve atomic-level surface flatness on the wafers W. The cleaning and drying unit 400 may include a primary scrubbing apparatus 410, a secondary scrubbing apparatus 420, the aforementioned vertical scrubbing apparatus 1, and a drying apparatus 430. The primary scrubbing apparatus 410 and the secondary scrubbing apparatus 420 each utilize a cleaning roller brush of the same or different material, hardness, or brush texture to scrub the surface of the wafer W. The vertical scrubbing apparatus 1 scrubs the wafer W after scrubbing it twice, further improving the cleanliness of the wafer W surface. After scrubbing, the wafer W can be dried in the drying apparatus 430, achieving dry entry and exit of the wafer processing apparatus overall. Optionally, a buffer device 440 can be added between any two of the primary scrubbing device 410, the secondary scrubbing device 420, the vertical scrubbing device 1, and the drying device 430 to temporarily buffer the wafer W, thereby adjusting the processing rhythm and improving the overall processing efficiency. The transfer unit 200 is used to transfer wafers W between the front-end module 100, the wafer processing unit 300, and the cleaning and drying unit 400. It mainly includes a front-end robot 201 and a transfer robot 202. The wafer processing equipment shown in the figure includes four wafer chemical mechanical polishing devices 310 in a square array, two sets of cleaning and drying units 400 parallel and juxtaposed between the front-end module 100 and the wafer processing unit 300, the transfer robot 202 can move along the track between the two sets of cleaning and drying units 400, and the front-end robot 201 can slide transversely to the two sets of cleaning and drying units 400 to realize the interaction of wafers W between the transfer unit 200 and each unit. The layout of the wafer processing equipment shown in the figure can realize at least two parallel wafer W processing routes, thereby improving the processing efficiency of the wafer W. In alternative embodiments, the wafer processing equipment may also have other numbers of subunits or layouts.

[0095] The above implementation methods are only used to illustrate the embodiments of the present application, and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application. Ordinary technicians in the relevant technical field can make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application. Therefore, all equivalent technical solutions also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present application, and the scope of patent protection of the embodiments of the present application should be defined by the claims.

Claims

1. A vertical scrubbing device, characterized in that: The vertical scrubbing device comprises a housing, a clamping assembly and a scrubbing assembly mounted on a back plate of the housing, and a rotating retaining ring coaxially arranged with the clamping assembly; the clamping assembly is used to vertically clamp a wafer and drive the wafer to rotate, and a cleaning liquid provided to the front side of the wafer is coated on the front side of the wafer under the action of gravity and the rotation of the wafer; the scrubbing assembly is configured to scrub the front side of the wafer; the circumferential wall of the rotating retaining ring surrounds the clamping assembly and gradually shrinks away from the back plate, and the clamping assembly is axially retractable between a loading and unloading position extending from the rotating retaining ring and a scrubbing position retracted into the rotating retaining ring; The clamping assembly includes a fixed clamping jaw provided on its lower half and a movable clamping jaw provided on its upper half, respectively used to clamp the lower half edge and the upper half edge of the wafer; when the clamping assembly moves toward the loading and unloading position, the radial outer portion of the movable clamping jaw is stopped by the rotating retaining ring so that the movable clamping jaw rotates away from the wafer and opens; when the clamping assembly retracts toward the scrubbing position, the movable clamping jaw automatically rotates toward the wafer and retracts to clamp the wafer; The movable jaw includes a mounting seat, a jaw body and a resetter. The jaw body can rotate around the rotating shaft on the mounting seat and is constructed with a clamping portion on the side facing away from the mounting seat. The resetter is configured to rest against the back of the jaw body between the radial outer end of the jaw body and the rotating shaft. The resetter is contracted by the pressure of the jaw body when the movable jaw is opened, and pushes the jaw body to rotate and retract when the movable jaw is separated from the rotating retaining ring.

2. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 1, wherein The clamp body can rotate around the rotation axis on the mounting seat to open or retract. When the clamping assembly moves to the loading and unloading position, the radial outer end of the clamp body is stopped by the rotating retaining ring to enable the clamp body to rotate away from the wafer and open.

3. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 2, wherein: A detector is provided on the circumferential wall surface of the rotating retaining ring, and the detector is configured to detect the vertical state of the wafer clamped by the clamping assembly; the detector is communicatively connected to the resetter, and the resetter is configured to reduce the pushing force on the clamping claw body when the detector detects that the vertical state of the wafer is non-vertical.

4. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 3, wherein: The detector is a visual detector, which is configured to photograph the wafer from the side and identify the maximum distance of the wafer in its thickness direction. When the maximum distance exceeds a preset wafer thickness value, the vertical state of the wafer is determined to be non-vertical.

5. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 3, wherein: The detector is a visual detector, which is configured to photograph the wafer from the side, and then identify and draw the side profile of the wafer. When the side profile of the wafer drawn is a non-vertical line segment, the visual detector determines that the vertical state of the wafer is non-vertical.

6. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 2, wherein: The restorer is an elastic support member arranged on the mounting seat and extending toward the jaw body. The elastic support member supports the part between the radial outer end of the jaw body and the rotating shaft. The elastic support member is compressed when the radial outer end of the jaw body is stopped by the rotating retaining ring, and pushes the jaw body to be retracted when the clamping assembly moves axially from the loading and unloading position to the scrubbing position.

7. The vertical scrubbing device according to any one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that: The clamping assembly includes a circular base plate, the fixed clamping jaw is arranged at the periphery of the lower half of the circular base plate, and the movable clamping jaw is arranged at the periphery of the upper half of the circular base plate; the distance between the radial outer end of the clamping jaw body and the axis of the circular base plate is greater than the opening radius of the circumferential wall of the rotating retaining ring.

8. The vertical scrubbing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The rotating retaining ring is configured to rotate together with the clamping assembly when wafer scrubbing is performed to collect liquid thrown off the surface of the wafer.

9. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 8, wherein The rotating retaining ring includes a vertical wall surface of the rotating retaining ring connected to its circumferential wall surface, the vertical wall surface of the rotating retaining ring and the circumferential wall surface of the rotating retaining ring form a accommodating space for accommodating the clamping assembly, and the circumferential edge portion of the vertical wall surface of the rotating retaining ring is constructed with one or more first through holes for discharging the liquid collected by the rotating retaining ring from the accommodating space.

10. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 9, wherein The vertical scrubbing device also includes a fixed retaining ring fixed to the box body and coaxially arranged with the clamping assembly, the circumferential wall of the fixed retaining ring surrounds at least a portion of the circumferential wall of the rotating retaining ring, and the fixed retaining ring is used to collect liquid discharged from the first through hole; the vertical bottom of the circumferential wall of the fixed retaining ring is configured with a second through hole for discharging the liquid collected by the fixed retaining ring downward.

11. The vertical scrubbing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The scrubbing assembly comprises: A swing member, comprising a swing shaft and a swing arm, wherein the swing shaft rotates to drive the swing arm to swing parallel to the front surface of the wafer; a scrubbing member, disposed at the end of the swing arm; a droplet guide assembly comprising a collection shield and a flow guide shield, wherein the collection shield surrounds the outer periphery of the scrubbing member, and the flow guide shield engages an end of the collection shield adjacent to the swing arm and extends along the swing arm toward the swing axis; The scrubbing assembly is configured to drive the swing arm to swing in front of the wafer and make the scrubbing piece contact the front side of the wafer for scrubbing, the collecting shield is used to collect liquid dripping from the scrubbing piece, and the guide shield is used to guide the collected liquid out of the wafer.

12. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 11, wherein The scrubbing member includes a rigid scrubbing head base and a compressible scrubbing head, wherein the scrubbing head is configured to absorb liquid on the surface of the wafer when scrubbing the wafer, and the connection between the base and the scrubbing head is enclosed in the collecting shield, and the length of the scrubbing head extending from the collecting shield is greater than the compression caused by the scrubbing head pressing against the wafer when scrubbing the wafer.

13. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 11, wherein The cross-sectional dimension of the collection shield gradually increases toward the swing arm, so that the liquid in the collection shield flows along the inclined inner wall of the collection shield to the guide shield.

14. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 11, wherein The flow guide shield is arranged on the side of the swing arm facing the back plate. The cross section of the flow guide shield is configured to be U-shaped. The flow guide shield and the surface of the swing arm form a flow channel that guides the liquid to outside the wafer.

15. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 11, wherein The droplet guiding assembly further comprises a splash shield, which is sleeved on the outer periphery of the swing shaft and is used to guide the liquid flowing out of the guide shield to slide down along its outer surface.

16. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 15, wherein The splash shield is configured with a circumferentially extending and inwardly recessed splash groove at a position corresponding to the outlet of the deflector shield. The splash groove provides a speed buffer space for liquid droplets dripping onto the splash shield and guides them to slide down.

17. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 11, wherein The swing shaft is configured to be axially retractable, and the swing shaft is configured to axially retract during the swing arm swinging from the center of the wafer to the outer edge of the wafer, so that the scrubbing member presses against the front surface of the wafer to scrub and push the scrubbed contaminants out of the wafer; And when the swing arm swings from the outer edge of the wafer to the center of the wafer, it extends axially so that there is a gap between the scrubbing member and the front of the wafer, and the gap is greater than the thickness of the liquid film formed by the cleaning liquid on the surface of the wafer.

18. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 12, wherein: The end of the wiping head base is provided with a droplet aspirator opening toward the wiping head, and the droplet aspirator is used to aspirate the liquid accumulated at the wiping head. The suction force of the droplet aspirator is less than the surface tension of the liquid film formed by the cleaning liquid on the wafer surface.

19. The vertical scrubbing device according to claim 11, wherein The swing shaft is installed on the lower side of the clamping assembly. The scrubbing assembly also includes a self-cleaning assembly, which includes: a cleaning station mounted on the back plate, the cleaning station being located vertically above the swing shaft and opposite to the scrubbing member when the swing arm swings to a vertical position, the cleaning station being configured to spray a self-cleaning agent to clean the scrubbing member; A liquid receiving tank is arranged below the cleaning table and is used to collect the self-cleaning agent.

20. A wafer processing device, characterized in that: The wafer processing equipment includes a wafer processing unit and the vertical scrubbing device according to any one of claims 1 to 19.

21. A wafer scrubbing method, used in the vertical scrubbing device according to any one of claims 1 to 19, characterized in that: The wafer scrubbing method comprises: Move the clamping assembly from the scrubbing position to the loading and unloading position; Move the wafer vertically downward from the inlet and outlet at the top of the box to the fixed clamping jaws of the clamping assembly; moving the clamping assembly from the loading and unloading position to the scrubbing position; Swinging the swing arm of the scrubbing assembly to the front of the wafer and making the scrubbing member at the end of the swing arm contact the front side of the wafer; The clamping assembly is driven to rotate and the swing arm is simultaneously swung to scrub the wafer.

22. A computer storage medium, characterized in that The computer storage medium stores a computer program, which, when executed by a processor, implements the wafer scrubbing method according to claim 21.

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