Semiconductor wafer inspection device

Abstract

The semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a cavity having an upper opening and having an accommodating space for accommodating a semiconductor wafer therein; a wafer chuck disposed in the accommodation space and supporting the semiconductor wafer; a chamber cover capable of being coupled to the chamber; and a spray unit provided in the chamber cover and spraying a gas-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer housed in the housing space. According to the present invention, since the spray unit is provided in the chamber cover, there is no need to provide a separate side space for the spray unit, thereby enabling the size of the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus to be reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for inspecting the presence of impurities on a semiconductor wafer. Background Art

[0002] A semiconductor wafer refers to a thin plate used as a substrate in semiconductor manufacturing. Generally, semiconductor wafers are made of silicon, and there is a silicon oxide film or a silicon nitride film on the semiconductor wafer. Such semiconductor wafers should not contain impurities such as metals because when impurities such as metals are present in the semiconductor wafer, the performance and accuracy of the semiconductor manufactured using the semiconductor wafer are significantly reduced.

[0003] In order to inspect the presence of impurities in a semiconductor wafer, it is necessary to spray a vapor phase decomposition (VPD) substance onto the semiconductor wafer to cause the silicon oxide film or silicon nitride film present on the semiconductor wafer to decompose in the gas phase, and in some cases, it is also necessary to cause the silicon itself constituting the semiconductor wafer to decompose in the gas phase. If a vapor phase decomposition (VPD) substance is sprayed onto a semiconductor wafer containing impurities, the silicon oxide film, silicon nitride film, or a part of the silicon is removed, leaving impurities behind. Then, the impurities are captured and transferred to an analysis system, and the semiconductor wafer on which the impurity capture is completed is cleaned, so that it can be used for semiconductor manufacturing.

[0004] In the prior art, the process of spraying a vapor phase decomposition substance onto a semiconductor wafer, the process of capturing impurities present in the semiconductor wafer, and the process of cleaning the semiconductor wafer are performed in respective dedicated chambers. However, if the inspection process of the semiconductor wafer is performed in respective dedicated chambers in this way, there is a risk that the semiconductor wafer is contaminated with impurities during the process of transferring the semiconductor wafer from one dedicated chamber to another, and the time required until the inspection of the semiconductor wafer is completed will inevitably increase.

[0005] Therefore, in the following Patent Document 1 (KR10-2019-0065161A), the inspection process of the semiconductor wafer is performed in one chamber. According to the following Patent Document 1, a sprayer for spraying a vapor phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer is located on the side of the semiconductor wafer, and the vapor phase decomposition substance is sprayed onto the semiconductor wafer in a point spray manner. In addition, according to the following Patent Document 1, the motor system controls the rotation of the wafer support part while controlling the vertical position.

[0006] [Prior Art Documents]

[0007] (Patent Document 1) KR10-2019-0065161A (June 11, 2019) Summary of the Invention

[0008] Technical problems to be solved

[0009] An object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus that can substantially perform an inspection process of a semiconductor wafer in a single chamber, and a further object thereof is to provide a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus that can be miniaturized in size and reduce the time and power consumption required for inspecting a semiconductor wafer as compared with the prior art.

[0010] However, the technical problems to be solved by the present invention are not limited to the above technical problems, and those skilled in the art can clearly understand other technical problems not mentioned through the description of the invention described below.

[0011] Means for solving the problems

[0012] In order to achieve the above object, a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to the present invention may include: a chamber having an upper opening and having a receiving space for receiving a semiconductor wafer therein; a wafer chuck disposed in the receiving space and supporting the semiconductor wafer; a chamber lid capable of being coupled to the chamber; and a spraying unit provided on the chamber lid and spraying a gas-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer received in the receiving space.

[0013] A semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to the present invention may further be provided with an inlet provided on the chamber lid, and the gas-phase decomposition substance flowing in through the inlet may be sprayed through the spraying unit.

[0014] The spraying unit may be provided on the lower side of the chamber lid, and in a state where the chamber lid is coupled to the chamber, the gas-phase decomposition substance may be sprayed onto the semiconductor wafer supported by the wafer chuck in a downward direction.

[0015] The spraying unit may be a spray head type sprayer, and the spray head type sprayer may spray the gas-phase decomposition substance on the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer in a spray head manner.

[0016] A semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to the present invention may further include a chamber height control unit for controlling an increase or decrease in the height of the chamber, and the height of the wafer chuck may be fixed.

[0017] The chamber may include: a first chamber portion disposed in a form surrounding the wafer chuck and forming an outer edge of the chamber; a second chamber portion located inside the outer edge and forming an inner edge of the chamber; and a lifting adjustment unit coupled to the first chamber portion and the second chamber portion, and adjusting the lifting of the second chamber portion based on the first chamber portion under the control of the chamber height control unit.

[0018] When the cavity height control unit increases the height of the cavity, the edge of the semiconductor wafer can be placed on the flat surface of the second cavity part.

[0019] When the semiconductor wafer is transferred into the accommodation space from the outside, the cavity height control unit can decrease the height of the cavity to avoid the presence of the cavity in the transfer path of the semiconductor wafer. Before the vapor decomposition substance is sprayed onto the semiconductor wafer by the spraying unit, the cavity height control unit can increase the height of the cavity to couple the chamber lid to the cavity.

[0020] After spraying the vapor decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer, the spraying unit can further spray a purge gas for removing the vapor decomposition substance.

[0021] After spraying the purge gas for removing the vapor decomposition substance, the cavity height control unit can decrease the height of the cavity to capture the impurities present on the semiconductor wafer.

[0022] The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to the present invention may further include: a collection nozzle disposed around the cavity, which provides a collection solution to the semiconductor wafer to capture the impurities present on the semiconductor wafer.

[0023] After capturing the impurities through the collection nozzle, the cavity height control unit can increase the height of the cavity to clean the semiconductor wafer.

[0024] The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to the present invention may further include a cleaning nozzle disposed around the cavity, which sprays a cleaning substance onto the semiconductor wafer to clean the semiconductor wafer.

[0025] The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to the present invention may further include a wafer chuck rotation control unit that controls the rotation of the wafer chuck. When the semiconductor wafer is cleaned by the cleaning nozzle, the wafer chuck rotation control unit can rotate the wafer chuck.

[0026] After cleaning the semiconductor wafer by the cleaning nozzle, the cavity height control unit can decrease the height of the cavity to retrieve the semiconductor wafer.

[0027] Advantages of the Invention

[0028] In the present invention, since the spraying unit is provided on the chamber lid, there is no need to provide a separate side space for the spraying unit, thereby enabling miniaturization of the size of the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus. Further, in the present invention, since the inlet through which the gas-phase decomposition substance flows in is also provided on the chamber lid, there is no need to provide a separate side space for the inlet, thereby enabling further miniaturization of the size of the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus.

[0029] Further, in the present invention, since the spraying unit provided on the lower side of the chamber lid sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance downward onto the semiconductor wafer, the gas-phase decomposition substance can be uniformly sprayed over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer, thereby enabling inspection of the semiconductor wafer at a relatively high speed.

[0030] In addition, according to the present invention, since the gas-phase decomposition substance can be uniformly sprayed over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer, when the spraying unit sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance, there is no need to rotate the wafer chuck, thereby enabling a significant reduction in the power consumption required for inspection of the semiconductor wafer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0031] Figure 1 is a front view of a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a chamber lid is coupled to a chamber body and a state in which the height of the chamber body is increased (chamber body rising state).

[0032] Figure 2 shows Figure 1 a state in which the height of the chamber body is decreased (chamber body descending state).

[0033] Figure 3 is Figure 2 a perspective view of the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus shown (chamber body descending state).

[0034] Figure 4 shows Figure 3 a state in which the chamber lid is fully opened in

[0035] Figure 5 shows a cross-section along Figure 4 A-A' in

[0036] Figure 6 shows Figure 5 a state in which the height of the chamber body is increased (chamber body rising state) in

[0037] Figure 7 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the gas decomposition substance is sprayed in a shower head manner by the spraying unit.

[0038] Figure 8It is a flowchart of a semiconductor wafer inspection method performed by a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0039] Description of Reference Numerals

[0040] 10: Semiconductor wafer 100: Chamber

[0041] 102: Outer edge (of the chamber) 104: Inner edge (of the chamber)

[0042] 106: Accommodation space (of the chamber) 110: First chamber part

[0043] 120: Second chamber part 130: Lifting adjustment part

[0044] 180: Chamber height control part 200: Wafer chuck

[0045] 300: Chamber cover 310: Inlet

[0046] 320: Chamber cover arm 330: Chamber cover arm support

[0047] 400: Spraying part 500: Collection nozzle

[0048] 520: Collection nozzle arm 580: Nozzle control part

[0049] 600: Cleaning nozzle 620: Cleaning nozzle arm

[0050] 700: Wafer chuck rotation control part 810: Outlet

[0051] 820: Discharge part 900: Plate

[0052] 1000: Semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus Detailed Description of the Embodiment

[0053] Hereinafter, a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The accompanying drawings are provided only by way of example in order to fully convey the technical idea of the present invention to those skilled in the art. The present invention is not limited to the drawings shown below and can be implemented in other forms entirely.

[0054] Figure 1 It is a front view of a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which a chamber cover is coupled to a chamber and a state in which the height of the chamber is increased (chamber rising state), Figure 2 Showing Figure 1 a state in which the height of the chamber is decreased (chamber descending state), Figure 3 Is Figure 2Perspective view of the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus shown (chamber lowered state), Figure 4 shows Figure 3 a view of the state in which the chamber lid is fully opened (chamber lowered state). Figure 5 shows a cross-section along Figure 4 A-A' (chamber lowered state), Figure 6 shows Figure 5 a view of the state in which the height of the chamber increases (chamber raised state).

[0055] As Figures 1 to 6 shown, a semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus 1000 according to an embodiment of the present invention may include a chamber 100, a wafer chuck 200, a chamber lid 300, and a spray unit 400.

[0056] The chamber 100 may be disposed on the plate body 900 and supported by the plate body 900. The upper portion of the chamber 100 is open, and a receiving space 106 for receiving the semiconductor wafer 10 is provided inside the chamber 100. As will be described later, the chamber 100 may include a first chamber portion 110, a second chamber portion 120, and a lifting adjustment unit 130. Among them, the upper portions of the first chamber portion 110 and the second chamber portion 120 are both open. In addition, since the interiors of the first chamber portion 110 and the second chamber portion 120 are both empty, the receiving space 106 for receiving the semiconductor wafer 10 is provided by the first chamber portion 110 and the second chamber portion 120.

[0057] The wafer chuck 200 may be disposed in the receiving space 106 of the chamber 100, preferably at the center of the receiving space 106. The semiconductor wafer 10 is transferred from the outside to the receiving space 106 while being held by a semiconductor wafer transfer arm (not shown). The transfer direction of the semiconductor wafer 10 may be, for example, from Figure 5 the left side to the right side.

[0058] The wafer chuck 200 supports the semiconductor wafer 10 transferred to the receiving space 106. For example, the wafer chuck 200 may adsorb and fix the lower side of the semiconductor wafer 10 using electrostatic force, or adsorb and fix the lower side of the semiconductor wafer 10 through vacuum holes (not shown) provided in the wafer chuck 200.

[0059] The chamber lid 300 can be coupled to the chamber 100. That is, the chamber lid 300 is coupled or not coupled to the chamber 100 as needed during the inspection of the semiconductor wafer 10.

[0060] One side of the chamber lid arm 320 may be fixedly coupled to the upper side of the chamber lid 300, and the other side of the chamber lid arm 320 may be hinge-coupled to the chamber lid arm support 330.

[0061] The chamber cover arm support 330 may be equipped with a pneumatic cylinder (not shown), and one side of the chamber cover arm 320 moves up and down through the flow of compressed air via the pneumatic cylinder. That is, when compressed air flows into the pneumatic cylinder, one side of the chamber cover arm 320 moves upward, and the chamber cover 300 opens (see Figure 6 ), and when the compressed air is discharged from the pneumatic cylinder, one side of the chamber cover arm 320 moves downward, and the chamber cover closes (see Figure 1 ).

[0062] As can be seen from Figure 1 and Figure 6 , the chamber cover 300 can be combined with the cavity 100 only when the height of the cavity 100 increases. At this time, the accommodation space 106 of the cavity 100 is enclosed relative to the outside. In contrast, as can be seen from Figure 2 and Figure 5 , in the state where the height of the cavity 100 decreases, the chamber cover 300 cannot be combined with the cavity 100, so the accommodation space 106 of the cavity 100 is not enclosed relative to the outside. More detailed matters regarding the increase and decrease of the height of the cavity 100 will be described later.

[0063] The spraying unit 400 may be provided on the lower side of the chamber cover 300, and functions to spray a vapor-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in the accommodation space 106 of the cavity 100. Among them, as the vapor-phase decomposition substance, an HF (hydrofluoric acid) solution, an HF + H 2 O 2 solution, or an HF + O 3 solution can be used. When the spraying unit 400 sprays a vapor-phase decomposition substance on the semiconductor wafer 10 with impurities, the silicon oxide film or silicon nitride film present on the semiconductor wafer 10 is vapor-phase decomposed, or the silicon constituting the semiconductor wafer 10 is vapor-phase decomposed. As a result, impurities such as metal are left on the semiconductor wafer 10.

[0064] On the upper side of the chamber cover 300, there may be a flow inlet 310 for the inflow of the vapor-phase decomposition substance from the outside. The vapor-phase decomposition substance flowing into the flow inlet 310 is sprayed through the spraying unit 400 provided on the lower side of the chamber cover 300. In the state where the chamber cover 300 is combined with the cavity 100, the spraying unit 400 sprays a vapor-phase decomposition substance downward onto the semiconductor wafer 10 supported by the wafer chuck 200.

[0065] In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, since the sprayer for spraying the vapor-phase decomposition substance (i.e., decomposition fluid) is located on the side of the semiconductor wafer, a side space is separately required for the sprayer and the antechamber (a chamber for supplying the vapor-phase decomposition substance to the sprayer) (see Figure 2b). In contrast, in the present invention, since both the spraying unit 400 and the inflow port 310 are provided on the chamber lid 300, a separate side space for the spraying unit 400 and the inflow port 310 is not required, thereby enabling miniaturization of the size of the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus.

[0066] In addition, according to Patent Document 1, since the sprayer is located on the side of the semiconductor wafer, the gas-phase decomposition substance is only concentrated and sprayed on one side of the surface of the semiconductor wafer. Thus, in Patent Document 1, in order to uniformly spray the gas-phase decomposition substance over the entire area of the surface of the semiconductor wafer, when the sprayer sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance, the motor system needs to control the rotation of the wafer support part. In contrast, in the present invention, since the spraying unit 400 provided on the lower side of the chamber lid 300 sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance downward onto the semiconductor wafer 10, the gas-phase decomposition substance can be uniformly sprayed over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, thereby enabling inspection of the semiconductor wafer 10 at a relatively fast speed. Moreover, according to the present invention, since the gas-phase decomposition substance can be uniformly sprayed over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, when the spraying unit 400 sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance, it is not necessary to rotate the wafer chuck 200, thereby further reducing the power consumption required for inspection of the semiconductor wafer 10.

[0067] In addition, in Patent Document 1, the sprayer sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance in a point-spray manner. In contrast, as Figures 4 to 6 shown, the spraying unit 400 of the present invention can be a spray head-type sprayer, and the above-mentioned spray head-type sprayer sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance in a spray head manner over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 10.

[0068] Figure 7 is a diagram schematically showing a state in which the gas-phase decomposition substance is sprayed in a spray head manner by the spraying unit. As Figure 7 shown, when the spraying unit 400 is a spray head-type sprayer, the gas-phase decomposition substance can be sprayed more uniformly over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, and the gas-phase decomposition substance can be introduced over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer 10 with a relatively small number of spraying times, so that the semiconductor wafer 10 can be inspected at an even faster speed.

[0069] On the other hand, during the inspection process of the semiconductor wafer 10, in order to perform the process of transferring the semiconductor wafer 10 to the accommodation space 106, the process of capturing impurities present on the semiconductor wafer 10, and the process of recovering the semiconductor wafer 10 accommodated in the accommodation space 106, the height of the cavity 100 should be lower than the height of the wafer chuck 200 (see Figures 2 to 5 ).

[0070] In contrast, during the inspection process of the semiconductor wafer 10, in order to perform the process of spraying the gas-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer 10, the process of spraying the purge gas for removing the gas-phase decomposition substance into the accommodation space 106, and the process of cleaning the semiconductor wafer 10, the height of the chamber 100 should be higher than the height of the wafer chuck 200 (see Figure 1 and Figure 6 ).

[0071] Accordingly, during the inspection process of the semiconductor wafer 10, the height of the chamber 100 needs to be increased or decreased, and the increase or decrease of the height of the chamber 100 is controlled by the chamber height control unit 180. That is, the chamber height control unit 180 can decrease the height of the chamber 100 so that the height of the chamber 100 is lower than the height of the wafer chuck 200 (see Figures 2 to 5 ). In addition, the chamber height control unit 180 can also increase the height of the chamber 100 so that the height of the chamber 100 is higher than the height of the wafer chuck 200 (see Figure 1 and Figure 6 ).

[0072] In this way, the height of the chamber 100 can be increased or decreased by the chamber height control unit 180, while the height of the wafer chuck 200 can be fixed.

[0073] As described below, in order to improve the cleaning efficiency of the semiconductor wafer 10, preferably, the wafer chuck 200 is rotated when the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned. At this time, in order to enable the wafer chuck 200 to not only rotate but also increase or decrease in the vertical direction, the wafer chuck 200 must be implemented to be capable of two-axis motion control (i.e., rotational axis motion control and vertical axis motion control).

[0074] However, in the case where the wafer chuck 200 is implemented to be capable of two-axis motion control, compared with the case where it is implemented to be only capable of single-axis motion control (i.e., rotational axis motion control), the complexity and manufacturing cost of the device 1000 are higher, and the maximum rotational speed of the wafer chuck 200 is necessarily lower. Therefore, considering reducing the complexity and manufacturing cost of the device 1000 and increasing the maximum rotational speed of the wafer chuck 200, preferably, the height of the chamber 100 is implemented to be capable of increasing or decreasing and the height of the wafer chuck 200 is fixed.

[0075] The chamber 100 may include a first chamber portion 110, a second chamber portion 120, and a lifting adjustment portion 130.

[0076] See Figures 4 to 6, the first cavity part 110 is arranged in a form surrounding the wafer chuck 200, while forming the outer edge 102 of the cavity 100. The second cavity part 120 is located inside the outer edge 102 and forms the inner edge 104 of the cavity 100. The lifting and adjusting part 130 is coupled to the first cavity part 110 and the second cavity part 120, and adjusts the lifting of the second cavity part 120 based on the first cavity part 110 under the control of the cavity height control part 180. Herein, adjusting the lifting of the second cavity part 120 based on the first cavity part 110 means that, in a state where the first cavity part 110 stops, only the second cavity part 120 is adjusted to rise upward or descend downward.

[0077] The lifting and adjusting part 130 can be constituted by, for example, a pneumatic cylinder. When compressed air flows into the lifting and adjusting part 130 under the control of the cavity height control part 180, the length of the lifting and adjusting part 130 becomes longer. At this time, in a state where the first cavity part 110 stops, only the second cavity part 120 rises upward (see Figure 6 ). In this way, the cavity height control part 180 can control the lifting and adjusting part 130 to increase the height of the cavity 100.

[0078] The second cavity part 120 can have a flat surface 122. When the height of the cavity 100 increases, as Figure 6 shown, the edge of the semiconductor wafer 10 can be placed on the flat surface 122. When the edge of the semiconductor wafer 10 is placed on the flat surface 122, the semiconductor wafer 10 is supported by the second cavity part 120 in addition to being supported by the wafer chuck 200. Therefore, the processes of spraying the vapor-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer 10, spraying the purge gas for removing the vapor-phase decomposition substance into the accommodation space 106, and cleaning the semiconductor wafer 10 can be performed more stably.

[0079] On the contrary, when the compressed air is discharged from the lifting and adjusting part 130 under the control of the cavity height control part 180, the length of the lifting and adjusting part 130 shrinks. At this time, in a state where the first cavity part 110 stops, only the second cavity part 120 descends downward (see Figure 5 ). In this way, the cavity height control part 180 can control the lifting and adjusting part 130 to decrease the height of the cavity 100.

[0080] Figure 8 is a flowchart of a semiconductor wafer inspection method performed by a semiconductor wafer inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Hereinafter, further referring to Figure 8 , a semiconductor wafer inspection method performed by the semiconductor wafer inspection device 1000 will be described.

[0081] A computing device (not shown) may be provided inside or outside the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus 1000. The computing device may operate the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus 1000 to perform the semiconductor wafer inspection method described below. More specifically, the computing device may include: a communication unit capable of communicating with the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus 1000 through wired or wireless means; and a processor configured to execute computer-readable program commands. After the computing device is communicatively connected to the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus 1000 through the communication unit, it may perform various steps for inspecting the semiconductor wafer 10 according to the computer-readable program commands, such as opening and closing the chamber lid 300, increasing or decreasing the height of the chamber 100, spraying the vapor decomposition substance and the purge gas / capturing impurities / cleaning, etc.

[0082] In order to inspect the semiconductor wafer 10 through the semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus 1000, as Figure 1 shown, it is necessary to open the closed chamber lid 300 (S100). To this end, compressed air may flow into the pneumatic cylinder inside the chamber lid arm support 330. If the chamber lid 300 opens as the compressed air flows into the pneumatic cylinder, its state is as Figure 6 shown.

[0083] As described above, the semiconductor wafer 10 may be conveyed, for example, in a direction from the Figure 5 left side to the right side into the accommodation space 106. However, as Figure 6 shown, when there is a chamber 100 in the conveyance path of the semiconductor wafer 10, the semiconductor wafer 10 cannot be conveyed into the accommodation space 106. Therefore, after the above step S100, the height of the chamber 100 needs to be decreased (S200), and then the semiconductor wafer 10 is conveyed into the accommodation space 106 of the chamber 100 (S300). When the semiconductor wafer 10 is conveyed into the accommodation space 106 from the outside, the chamber height control unit 180 may control the lifting and adjusting unit 130 to decrease the height of the chamber 100 to avoid the presence of the chamber 100 in the conveyance path of the semiconductor wafer 10. The semiconductor wafer 10 conveyed into the accommodation space 106 is supported by the wafer chuck 200, and the state after the end of step S300 is as Figure 5 shown.

[0084] After the above step S300, the chamber height control unit 180 controls the lifting and adjusting unit 130 to increase the height of the chamber 100 (S400). That is, before the spraying unit 400 sprays the vapor decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer 10, the chamber height control unit 180 may increase the height of the chamber 100 to cause the chamber lid 300 to be combined with the chamber 100, and the state after the end of step S400 is as Figure 6 shown.

[0085] After the above step S400, the chamber lid 300 needs to be closed (S500). To this end, compressed air can be discharged from the pneumatic cylinder of the chamber lid arm support 330. The state after the end of step S500 is as Figure 1 shown.

[0086] After the above step S500, a vapor-phase decomposition substance is sprayed onto the semiconductor wafer 10 by the spraying unit 400 (S600). The vapor-phase decomposition substance can flow in through the inflow port 310 provided on the upper side of the chamber lid 300, and the vapor-phase decomposition substance flowing into the inflow port 310 can be sprayed by the spraying unit 400 provided on the lower side of the chamber lid 300. At this time, the spraying unit 400 sprays the vapor-phase decomposition substance downward onto the semiconductor wafer 10 supported by the wafer chuck 200.

[0087] If a vapor-phase decomposition substance is sprayed by the spraying unit 400, impurities such as metal are left on the semiconductor wafer 10, and a part of the vapor-phase decomposition substance exists in the accommodation space 106 enclosed by the cavity 100 and the chamber lid 300. If the chamber lid 300 is opened although there is a vapor-phase decomposition substance in the accommodation space 106, there is a risk that the vapor-phase decomposition substance flows out to the outside and harms the user of the device 1000.

[0088] Therefore, after the above step S600, the spraying unit 400 can spray a purge gas for removing the vapor-phase decomposition substance into the accommodation space 106 (S700). The purge gas for removing the vapor-phase decomposition substance can flow in through the inflow port 310 provided on the upper side of the chamber lid 300, and the purge gas flowing into the inflow port 310 can be sprayed by the spraying unit 400. As the purge gas for removing the vapor-phase decomposition substance, nitrogen can be used.

[0089] The spraying unit 400 sprays the purge gas downward onto the semiconductor wafer 10 supported by the wafer chuck 200. When the spraying unit 400 is a spray head type sprayer, the purge gas can be sufficiently introduced into the accommodation space 106 with a relatively small number of spraying times, so that the vapor-phase decomposition substance can be removed at a relatively fast speed. When the purge gas is sprayed by the spraying unit 400, the vapor-phase decomposition substance existing in the accommodation space 106 is discharged through the outlet 810 together with the purge gas. The discharge port 810 can communicate with the cavity 100 and is arranged on the lower side of the cavity 100, that is, on the lower side of the plate body 900.

[0090] After the above step S700, compressed air is made to flow into the pneumatic cylinder in the chamber lid arm support 330, and the chamber lid 300 is opened again (S800). And in order to capture the impurities present on the semiconductor wafer 10, the height of the chamber 100 is decreased again (S900). That is, after spraying the purge gas for removing the gas-phase decomposition substances, in order to capture the impurities present on the semiconductor wafer 10, the chamber height control unit 180 may control the lifting and adjusting unit 130 to decrease the height of the chamber 100 again. The state after step S900 ends is as Figure 5 shown. The reason for decreasing the height of the chamber 100 in step S900 is to enable the collection nozzle 500 to easily capture the impurities present on the semiconductor wafer 10.

[0091] The collection nozzle 500 may be disposed around the chamber 100 and is connected to the nozzle control unit 580 through the collection nozzle arm 520. After the above step S900, the collection nozzle 500 supplies a collection solution to the semiconductor wafer 10 and captures the impurities that may be present in the semiconductor wafer 10 (S1000).

[0092] Specifically, the nozzle control unit 580 controls the collection nozzle 500 to hold the collection solution at the end of the collection nozzle 500. In addition, the nozzle control unit 580 controls the collection nozzle arm 520 to move the collection nozzle 500 holding the collection solution along the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10. The collection nozzle 500 captures the impurities that may be present on the semiconductor wafer 10 through the collection solution, and after moving along the surface of the semiconductor wafer 10, transfers the collection solution to an analysis system (not shown), so that the analysis system analyzes whether there are impurities, the composition of the impurities, the amount of the impurities, etc.

[0093] After capturing the impurities through the collection nozzle 500, the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned so that the cleaned semiconductor wafer 10 can be used for semiconductor manufacturing. For this purpose, as a previous step, after capturing the impurities through the collection nozzle 500, the chamber height control unit 180 may increase the height of the chamber 100 again by controlling the lifting and adjusting unit 130 (S1100).

[0094] The cleaning of the semiconductor wafer 10 may utilize the cleaning nozzle 600. The cleaning nozzle 600 is disposed around the chamber 100 and is connected to the nozzle control unit 580 through the cleaning nozzle arm 620. Among them, it is illustrated that one nozzle control unit 580 controls both the collection nozzle 500 and the cleaning nozzle 600 at the same time, but a nozzle control unit for only controlling the collection nozzle 500 and a nozzle control unit for only controlling the cleaning nozzle 600 may also be provided separately.

[0095] The nozzle control unit 580 can control the cleaning nozzle arm 620 to move the cleaning nozzle 600 above the semiconductor wafer 10. After the nozzle control unit 580 moves the cleaning nozzle 600 above the semiconductor wafer 10, the chamber lid 300 can be closed (S1200). At this time, due to the presence of the cleaning nozzle 600, the chamber lid 300 cannot be combined with the chamber body 100. However, considering minimizing the phenomenon of splashing the cleaning substance to the outside of the apparatus 1000, preferably, even if the cleaning nozzle 600 exists, the chamber lid 300 is slightly closed.

[0096] After the above step S1200, the cleaning nozzle 600 can spray a cleaning substance onto the semiconductor wafer 10 to clean the semiconductor wafer 10 under the control of the nozzle control unit 580 (S1300). At this time, as the cleaning substance sprayed by the cleaning nozzle 600, deionized water DI, nitrogen, or a combination thereof can be used.

[0097] To improve the cleaning efficiency of the semiconductor wafer 10, preferably, when the cleaning nozzle 600 sprays the cleaning substance, the wafer chuck 200 is rotated at a high speed (for example, 1200 rpm or more). Thus, when the semiconductor wafer 10 is cleaned by the cleaning nozzle 600, the wafer chuck rotation control unit 700 can rotate the wafer chuck 200 by controlling the rotation of the wafer chuck 200. If the cleaning nozzle 600 sprays the cleaning substance onto the semiconductor wafer 10, the impurities remaining on the semiconductor wafer 10 are discharged through the discharge port 810 together with the cleaning substance.

[0098] After cleaning the semiconductor wafer 10 by the cleaning nozzle 600, compressed air can be introduced into the pneumatic cylinder of the chamber lid arm support 330 to open the chamber lid 300 again (S1400). Due to the cleaning of the semiconductor wafer 10, the liquefied cleaning substance may be suspended on the spraying unit 400. If the chamber lid 300 is opened, the cleaning substance suspended on the chamber lid 300 may fall onto the discharge unit 820. The cleaning substance that has fallen onto the discharge unit 820 can be discharged through the discharge port 810.

[0099] After cleaning the semiconductor wafer 10 by the cleaning nozzle 600 and opening the chamber lid 300 again, the chamber height control unit 180 can decrease the height of the chamber body 100 to retrieve the semiconductor wafer 10 (S1500). If the height of the chamber body 100 is decreased, the semiconductor wafer transfer arm can grip the semiconductor wafer 10 located on the wafer chuck 200, and then retrieve the semiconductor wafer 10, for example, along the direction from Figure 5 the right side to the left side (S1600).

[0100] As described above, although the present invention has been described through defined embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those of ordinary skill in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can make various modifications and variations based on these descriptions. For example, although it has been described above that the collection nozzle 500 and the cleaning nozzle 600 are respectively provided around the cavity 100, design changes can also be made so that one nozzle can perform impurity capture on the semiconductor wafer 10 and cleaning of the semiconductor wafer 10. Therefore, the technical idea of the present invention should be grasped only according to the claims, and its equivalent or equivalent variations all fall within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

Claims

1. A semiconductor wafer inspection device, comprising: a chamber having an upper opening and an accommodation space inside for accommodating a semiconductor wafer; a wafer chuck disposed in the accommodation space and supporting the semiconductor wafer; a chamber lid capable of being combined with the chamber; and a spraying unit provided on the chamber lid and spraying a gas-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer accommodated in the accommodation space.

2. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 1, wherein, it further includes an inlet provided on the chamber lid, and the gas-phase decomposition substance flowing in through the inlet is sprayed by the spraying unit.

3. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 1, wherein, the spraying unit is provided on the lower side of the chamber lid, and in a state where the chamber lid is combined with the chamber, sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer supported by the wafer chuck in a downward direction.

4. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 3, wherein, the spraying unit is a sprayer in the form of a shower head, and the shower head-type sprayer sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance in a shower head manner over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer.

5. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 1, wherein, it further includes a chamber height control unit for controlling the increase and decrease of the height of the chamber, and the height of the wafer chuck is fixed.

6. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 5, wherein, the chamber includes: a first chamber part arranged in a form surrounding the wafer chuck and forming the outer edge of the chamber; a second chamber part located inside the outer edge and forming the inner edge of the chamber; and a lifting adjustment unit combined with the first chamber part and the second chamber part, and adjusting the lifting of the second chamber part based on the first chamber part under the control of the chamber height control unit.

7. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 6, wherein, when the chamber height control unit increases the height of the chamber, the edge of the semiconductor wafer is placed on the flat surface of the second chamber part.

8. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 5, wherein, when the semiconductor wafer is transferred into the accommodation space from the outside, the chamber height control unit decreases the height of the chamber to avoid the presence of the chamber in the transfer path of the semiconductor wafer, and before the spraying unit sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer, the chamber height control unit increases the height of the chamber to enable the chamber lid to be combined with the chamber.

9. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 8, wherein, after the spraying unit sprays the gas-phase decomposition substance onto the semiconductor wafer, it also sprays a purge gas for removing the gas-phase decomposition substance.

10. The semiconductor wafer inspection device according to claim 9, wherein, After purging gas for removing the gas-phase decomposition substances is sprayed, the cavity height control unit decreases the height of the cavity to capture impurities present on the semiconductor wafer.

11. The semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to claim 10, wherein, it further includes a collection nozzle disposed around the cavity, which provides a collection solution to the semiconductor wafer to capture impurities present on the semiconductor wafer.

12. The semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to claim 11, wherein, after capturing impurities through the collection nozzle, the cavity height control unit increases the height of the cavity to clean the semiconductor wafer.

13. The semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to claim 12, wherein, it further includes a cleaning nozzle disposed around the cavity, which sprays a cleaning substance onto the semiconductor wafer to clean the semiconductor wafer.

14. The semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to claim 13, wherein, it further includes a wafer chuck rotation control unit for controlling the rotation of the wafer chuck, when cleaning the semiconductor wafer through the cleaning nozzle, the wafer chuck rotation control unit rotates the wafer chuck.

15. The semiconductor wafer inspection apparatus according to claim 14, wherein, after cleaning the semiconductor wafer through the cleaning nozzle, the cavity height control unit decreases the height of the cavity to retrieve the semiconductor wafer.

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