Spraying assembly and semiconductor manufacturing equipment

Abstract

The utility model provides a spraying assembly and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The spraying assembly comprises a spraying piece, a driving unit and a communication unit, the spraying piece is provided with a circulation cavity and a liquid outlet, and the treatment liquid flows in the circulation cavity and is sprayed out from the liquid outlet; a valve is arranged in the spraying piece and used for opening or closing the circulation cavity. The driving unit is connected with the spraying piece; and the communication unit is in communication connection with the driving unit, the communication unit sends a driving signal to the driving unit while sending the valve closing signal, and the driving unit drives the spraying piece to move in the direction close to the wafer based on the driving signal. According to the configuration, when the valve is closed, the spraying piece is driven to move in the direction close to the wafer, so that the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer is reduced, the time from a photoresist to the surface of the wafer is shortened, a liquid column drips on the surface of the wafer without completely collapsing, jumping drops cannot be formed, coating abnormity can be avoided, and the service life of the coating is prolonged. And the product yield is further improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, in particular to a spraying component and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Background Art

[0002] Photoresist spin coating is a key step in the photolithography process. It mainly places the wafer on a rotating shaft with a vacuum suction cup and uses the centrifugal force generated by rotation to evenly spread the photoresist dripped on the wafer surface from the center of the wafer to the outside to coat the entire wafer surface.

[0003] During the photoresist spraying process, in order to avoid the photoresist nozzle being too close to the wafer, causing the photoresist liquid column to impact the wafer and cause defects, it is usually necessary to define the distance between the photoresist nozzle and the wafer surface within a certain range and keep it unchanged during the entire spraying process.

[0004] However, at the end of photoresist spraying, the valve closes. As the valve closes, the photoresist column gradually thins out until it is completely shut off. During this process, the surface tension of the photoresist causes the column to thin out, making it prone to collapse and forming droplets. These droplets then bounce onto the wafer surface due to surface tension, eventually landing on the photoresist film and causing coating anomalies.

[0005] To address the photoresist droplet phenomenon, the rotational speed of the rotating shaft is typically reduced suddenly during valve closing, causing the photoresist to contract inward. The resulting droplets then land on the shrinking photoresist and fuse with it, preventing coating anomalies. However, this approach limits debugging flexibility. Furthermore, if the droplets fail to land on the shrinking photoresist, coating anomalies can still occur, posing a high management risk.

[0006] Based on this, how to reduce the probability of the photoresist liquid column collapsing to form droplets and dripping onto the wafer surface during the valve closing process, thereby causing coating abnormalities, has become a technical problem that technicians in this field need to solve. Utility Model Content

[0007] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a spraying component and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to reduce the probability of a photoresist liquid column collapsing into droplets and dripping onto the wafer surface during the process of closing a valve, thereby causing coating abnormalities.

[0008] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the utility model provides a spraying assembly, comprising: a spraying part, a driving unit and a communication unit;

[0009] The spraying element has a flow cavity and a liquid outlet. The treatment liquid flows through the flow cavity and is sprayed out at the liquid outlet. The liquid outlet is arranged close to the surface of the wafer. A valve is provided inside the spraying element. The valve is used to open or close the flow cavity.

[0010] The driving unit is connected to the spraying part and is used to drive the spraying part to move;

[0011] The communication unit is communicatively connected to the driving unit. When sending a valve closing signal, the communication unit sends a driving signal to the driving unit. Based on the driving signal, the driving unit drives the spraying part to move toward the wafer to reduce the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer.

[0012] Optionally, the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer before the movement is L1, and the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer after the movement is L2, then 0.4L1≤L2≤0.5L1 is satisfied.

[0013] Optional, 4.5mm≤L1≤5.5mm.

[0014] Optionally, after receiving the valve closing signal, the valve completely closes the flow chamber within a preset time.

[0015] Optionally, after receiving the driving signal, the driving unit drives the spraying member to move in a direction close to the wafer within the preset time, so that the liquid outlet is located at a preset position.

[0016] Optionally, the spray assembly further includes a liquid supply device, the circulation cavity is connected to a liquid supply port of the liquid supply device, and the treatment liquid flows out of the liquid supply device from the liquid supply port and flows into the circulation cavity.

[0017] Optionally, the spray assembly further includes a carrier, the wafer is placed on the carrier, the carrier can rotate around an axis, and while the spraying component sprays the processing liquid onto the surface of the wafer, the carrier drives the wafer to rotate around an axis.

[0018] Optionally, the spraying member has a narrowing section, which gradually narrows toward the direction approaching the wafer, and the liquid outlet is located at one end of the narrowing section close to the wafer.

[0019] Optionally, the liquid outlet is located above the wafer and corresponds to the center of the wafer.

[0020] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention also provides a semiconductor manufacturing device, comprising the spraying assembly as described above.

[0021] Compared with existing spraying devices, the spraying assembly and semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided by this application have the following advantages:

[0022] The spraying assembly provided by the application drives the spraying member to move towards the wafer when the valve is closed, so that the distance between the liquid outlet and the wafer is reduced. In this way, because the liquid column of the processing liquid (photoresist in the embodiment) is thinned during the process of closing the valve, even if the distance between the liquid outlet and the wafer is reduced, the liquid column will not impact the wafer surface to cause defects; at the same time, because the time of the photoresist to the wafer surface is shortened, the liquid column has already dropped on the wafer surface before it is completely broken, so that the skip drop phenomenon is avoided, and coating abnormalities are avoided, and the product yield is further improved.

[0023] The semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided by the application uses the spraying assembly to reduce the distance between the liquid outlet and the wafer when the valve is closed, so that the photoresist liquid column drops on the wafer surface before it is completely broken, the skip drop phenomenon is avoided, coating abnormalities are avoided, and the product yield is improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of the liquid drop falling process in the prior art;

[0025] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the principle of the liquid drop skip drop phenomenon in the prior art;

[0026] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the solution of the photoresist skip drop phenomenon in the prior art;

[0027] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the spraying assembly provided by the embodiment of the application;

[0028] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the position relationship of the spraying assembly provided by the embodiment of the application when the valve is closed;

[0029] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the working principle of the spraying assembly provided by the embodiment of the application;

[0030] Among them, the explanation of each reference sign is as follows:

[0031] 1-liquid drop; 2-photoresist; 3-wafer; 4-carrier disc;

[0032] 5-spraying member; 50-liquid outlet; 51-narrowing section;

[0033] 6-carrier table; 7-fixing device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] To further clarify the objectives, advantages, and features of the present invention, the present invention is further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the drawings are highly simplified and not drawn to scale, and are intended solely to facilitate and clearly illustrate the objectives of the embodiments of the present invention. Furthermore, the structures shown in the drawings are often portions of the actual structures. In particular, different drawings may require different emphases and may use different scales.

[0035] As used in this specification, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" include plural referents, the term "or" is generally used to include "and / or", the term "several" is generally used to include "at least one", and the term "at least two" is generally used to include "two or more". In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the technical features indicated. Therefore, the features specified as "first", "second", and "third" may explicitly or implicitly include one or at least two of the features, "one end" and "the other end" and "proximal end" and "distal end" generally refer to two corresponding parts, which include not only endpoints, and the terms "mounted", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the internal communication between two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. In addition, as used in this specification, an element disposed on another element generally only indicates that there is a connection, coupling, cooperation or transmission relationship between the two elements, and the connection, coupling, cooperation or transmission between the two elements may be direct or indirect through an intermediate element, and it cannot be understood as indicating or implying a spatial positional relationship between the two elements, that is, one element may be in any orientation such as inside, outside, above, below or to one side of another element, unless otherwise clearly indicated in the content. The terms "upper", "lower", "top" and "bottom" are generally relative positional relationships arranged in the direction of gravity; the terms "vertical" and "vertical direction" generally refer to the direction of gravity, which is generally perpendicular to the ground, and "horizontal" and "horizontal plane direction" generally refer to the direction parallel to the ground; for ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in this specification can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0036] The purpose of the utility model is to provide a spraying component and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to reduce the probability of a photoresist liquid column collapsing into droplets and dripping onto the wafer surface during the process of closing a valve, thereby causing coating abnormalities.

[0037] Please refer to Figures 1 to 3As can be understood by those skilled in the art, the liquid column of the photoresist 2 is disturbed by the environment, the curvature changes, the disturbance causes the internal pressure of the liquid column to rise, the liquid flows from the place with high pressure to the place with low pressure, the internal pressure is further increased, the liquid column is broken and disintegrated at the place with high pressure, and the liquid drop 1 is formed. Please refer to Figure 1 The liquid drop 1 falls down, and the surface tension of the liquid photoresist 2 on the wafer 3 spreads along the surface from the center to the edge; please refer to Figure 2 The liquid drop 1 falls on the surface of the wafer 3, and the liquid photoresist 2 on the wafer 3 is dented. The surface tension of the liquid photoresist 2 forms an upward force on the liquid drop 1, the liquid drop 1 is bounced up, and then repeats several times until the kinetic energy of the liquid drop 1 is consumed, falls on the surface of the wafer 3, and forms an abnormal coating. Please refer to Figure 3 The existing method for spraying the photoresist 2 mainly includes: placing the wafer 3 on the carrier disc 4, the carrier disc 4 vacuum-sucks the wafer 3, and starts to rotate around the shaft (as shown in Figure 3 a); the mechanical arm moves above the wafer 3 and sprays RRC (Reduced Resist Consumption) (as shown in Figure 3 b); the mechanical arm moves the photoresist 2 nozzle to the center of the wafer 3 and sprays the photoresist 2 (as shown in Figure 3 c); suddenly reducing the rotation speed of the carrier disc 4, the photoresist 2 is contracted inward due to the change of centrifugal force, and a backflow process is formed (as shown in Figure 3 d); increasing the rotation speed and maintaining for a period of time, the photoresist 2 is spun dry, and the film is formed (as shown in Figure 3 e); performing an EBR (Edge Bead Removal) process to remove the photoresist 2 on the edge of the wafer 3. The existing method for solving the photoresist 2 jumping drop phenomenon mainly is to make the liquid drop 1 fall on the backflowing photoresist 2, so that the liquid drop 1 is fused with the backflowing photoresist 2, and then the abnormal coating is avoided. However, the above processing measure limits the debugging freedom, and if the liquid drop 1 does not fall on the backflowing photoresist 2, the abnormal coating will still occur, causing high management risk. Based on this, the present embodiment provides a spraying assembly and a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, by moving the spraying part 5 towards the wafer 3 when the valve closes the flow cavity, the photoresist 2 liquid column falls on the surface of the wafer 3 before it breaks down, avoiding the jumping drop phenomenon, and then affecting the product yield.

[0038] Please refer to Figures 4 to 6The utility model provides a kind of spraying assembly, comprising: spraying piece 5, drive unit and communication unit;Spraying piece 5 has flow-through cavity (not shown in the figure) and liquid outlet 50, processing liquid flows from flow-through cavity, and is sprayed at liquid outlet 50, liquid outlet 50 is close to the surface of wafer 3 arrangement;Spraying piece 5 is equipped with a valve in its inside, and the valve is used to open or shut flow-through cavity;Drive unit is connected with spraying piece 5, for driving spraying piece 5 to move;Communication unit is connected with drive unit, and communication unit sends drive signal to drive unit while sending closing valve signal, and drive unit drives spraying piece 5 to move to the direction close to wafer 3 based on drive signal, to reduce the distance from liquid outlet 50 to wafer 3.It needs to be explained, spraying piece 5 can be a nozzle with flow-through pipeline, and flow-through cavity and liquid outlet 50 are arranged on nozzle, and flow-through cavity is connected with flow-through pipeline to supply processing liquid flow, and nozzle is connected with flow-through pipeline by fixing device 7.The valve can be solenoid valve with AMC coil, which can open or shut flow-through cavity based on control signal to provide processing liquid to wafer 3 surface or stop supplying processing liquid to wafer 3 surface.The drive unit can be a mechanical arm with motor, and the motor drives mechanical arm to move spraying piece 5 after receiving drive signal.The communication unit can be a hardware device with built-in chip, and the chip can be TJA1028 chip, and the hardware device can be computer, mobile phone and other mobile terminal devices, which can send corresponding signal instruction under the condition of meeting preset condition, for example, after spraying piece 5 moves to position and receives confirmation information, opening valve signal is sent, or after processing liquid reaches spraying amount, closing valve signal is sent, and drive signal is sent at the same time as closing valve signal.In the embodiment, processing liquid is photoresist 2, and semiconductor manufacturing equipment is photoresist 2 coating machine, which does not mean that the spraying assembly provided by the application can only be used in coating machine, as long as it is possible to produce drop jumping phenomenon and affect product yield, the spraying assembly provided by the embodiment can be used, and the embodiment does not limit this.

[0039] In this way, by driving spraying piece 5 to move to the direction close to wafer 3 while closing the valve, the distance from liquid outlet 50 to wafer 3 is reduced.As the liquid column of photoresist 2 becomes thin during the process of closing the valve, even if the distance from liquid outlet 50 to wafer 3 is reduced, the liquid column will not impact the surface of wafer 3 to cause defects;At the same time, as the time of photoresist 2 to wafer 3 surface is shortened, the liquid column has not completely broken down before dropping on the surface of wafer 3, so that drop jumping phenomenon does not occur, and coating abnormality can be avoided, further improving product yield.

[0040] Please refer to Figure 5, the distance between the liquid outlet 50 and the wafer 3 before the movement is L1, and the distance between the liquid outlet 50 and the wafer 3 after the movement is L2, then it satisfies, 0.4L1≤L2≤0.5L1. As an optional embodiment, 4.5mm≤L1≤5.5mm. It should be noted that during the spraying of the photoresist 2, in order to avoid the spraying part 5 being too close to the wafer 3, causing the sprayed photoresist 2 to impact the wafer 3 and cause defects, the distance between the spraying part 5 and the wafer 3 when spraying the photoresist 2 is usually defined within the range of 5±0.5mm, and the spraying part 5 is maintained at this height during the entire spraying process. As the valve gradually closes the flow cavity, the liquid column of the photoresist 2 gradually becomes thinner, and the impact of the liquid column on the wafer 3 gradually decreases. At this time, the spraying part 5 is driven close to the wafer 3, and the liquid column will neither impact the wafer 3 and cause defects, nor can it drip on the surface of the wafer 3 before the liquid column collapses, thereby avoiding the phenomenon of dripping. In this embodiment, when spraying the photoresist 2, the distance L1 from the liquid outlet 50 to the wafer 3 is 5 mm; after the valve is closed, the distance L2 from the liquid outlet 50 to the wafer 3 is 2 mm, satisfying L2=0.4L1. In other embodiments, L1 and L2 may also be other reasonable values, but it should be noted that the spraying part 5 needs to be lowered to a certain height to ensure that the liquid column drips onto the wafer 3 before it collapses. Therefore, L2 usually needs to be less than half of L1.

[0041] In an optional embodiment, the valve completely closes the flow chamber within a preset time after receiving the valve closing signal. Further, the driving unit drives the spraying member 5 to move closer to the wafer 3 within a preset time after receiving the driving signal, so that the liquid outlet 50 is located at a preset position. It should be noted that after receiving the valve closing signal, the valve usually takes 0.3s to completely close the flow chamber. Figure 5 Taking the illustrated embodiment as an example, the preset position of the liquid outlet 50 is a position where the distance from the liquid outlet 50 to the wafer 3 is 2 mm. Therefore, in this embodiment, the movement speed of the spray part 5 is 10 mm / s, and the driving unit can drive the spray part 5 to run at a constant speed of 10 mm / s for 0.3 seconds, or it can drive the spray part 5 to move at a variable speed, as long as it is ensured that the spray part 5 can move the spray part 5 to the preset position within 0.3 seconds. Of course, in other embodiments, the closing time of the valve and the preset position of the liquid outlet 50 can be other reasonable values, and the corresponding movement speed of the driving unit should also be adjusted according to actual conditions. Those skilled in the art can configure this according to actual conditions, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0042] In another alternative embodiment, the spraying assembly further comprises a liquid supply device (not shown in the figure), the flow-through cavity is connected to a liquid supply opening (not shown in the figure) of the liquid supply device, and the treatment liquid flows out of the liquid supply device from the liquid supply opening and into the flow-through cavity. The liquid supply device can be a liquid storage tank or a liquid storage tank. In this embodiment, the liquid supply device contains the photoresist 2 configured in advance. Meanwhile, the liquid supply device can be configured with a pump body (not shown in the figure), and the pump body can drive the photoresist 2 to flow in the liquid supply pipeline and the flow-through cavity and finally be sprayed out of the liquid outlet 50. The operator can control the flow rate of the photoresist 2 and the spraying amount of the photoresist 2 by adjusting the driving efficiency of the pump body.

[0043] Please refer to Figure 4 , the spraying assembly further comprises a carrier 6, the wafer 3 is placed on the carrier 6, and the carrier 6 can rotate around an axis. While the spraying member 5 sprays the treatment liquid to the surface of the wafer 3, the carrier 6 drives the wafer 3 to rotate around the axis. It should be noted that the carrier 6 can be a chuck, which can vacuum adsorb the wafer 3 to realize the bearing of the wafer 3. Meanwhile, the carrier 6 is connected with a rotating shaft, and the rotating shaft can rotate around the axis to drive the chuck and the wafer 3 adsorbed on the chuck to rotate, so as to provide a centrifugal force to the photoresist 2 sprayed on the surface of the wafer 3 to push the photoresist 2 to be uniformly coated on the surface of the wafer 3.

[0044] Further, the spraying member 5 has a narrowing section 51, the narrowing section 51 gradually narrows towards the wafer 3, and the liquid outlet 50 is located at one end of the narrowing section 51 close to the wafer 3. Further, the liquid outlet 50 is located above the wafer 3 and corresponds to the center of the wafer 3. Please continue to refer to Figure 4 , the liquid outlet 50 is arranged at one end of the narrowing section 51 close to the wafer 3, that is, the distance from the liquid outlet 50 to the wafer 3 is the minimum distance from the spraying member 5 to the wafer 3. In other embodiments, the liquid outlet 50 can also be arranged on the side wall of the spraying member 5. Meanwhile, the liquid outlet 50 is arranged above the center of the wafer 3, and the spraying direction of the photoresist 2 is perpendicular to the plane in which the wafer 3 is arranged. In other embodiments, the spraying direction of the photoresist 2 can also be arranged at other angles with the plane in which the wafer 3 is arranged, and this embodiment does not limit this.

[0045] In another embodiment, the utility model further provides a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, including the spraying assembly as mentioned above. By using the above spraying assembly, the distance from the liquid outlet 50 to the wafer 3 is reduced while the valve is closed, so that the photoresist 2 liquid column drops on the surface of the wafer 3 before it is completely broken, avoiding the situation that the abnormal coating is caused by jumping drops, and thus the product yield is improved.

[0046] In summary, in the spraying assembly and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided by the embodiment of the present application, the spraying assembly comprises a spraying member, a driving unit and a communication unit; the spraying member has a flow cavity and a liquid outlet, the treatment liquid flows from the flow cavity and is sprayed at the liquid outlet, and the liquid outlet is arranged close to the surface of the wafer; the spraying member is internally provided with a valve, and the valve is used for opening or closing the flow cavity; the driving unit is connected with the spraying member and is used for driving the spraying member to move; the communication unit is in communication connection with the driving unit, the communication unit sends a driving signal to the driving unit while sending a valve closing signal, and the driving unit drives the spraying member to move towards the wafer based on the driving signal, so as to reduce the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer.

[0047] In this way, by driving the spraying member to move towards the wafer while closing the valve, the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer is reduced. Since the liquid column of the photoresist becomes thin during the process of closing the valve, even if the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer is reduced, the liquid column will not impact the wafer surface and cause defects; at the same time, since the time of the photoresist to the wafer surface is shortened, the liquid column has already dropped on the wafer surface before it is completely broken, and will not form a jumping drop, thereby avoiding the occurrence of coating abnormalities and further improving the product yield.

[0048] The above description is only a description of the preferred embodiment of the present application, and is not any limitation on the scope of the present application. Any modification or modification of the above disclosure by a person skilled in the art belongs to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A spraying assembly, characterized in that: include: Spraying parts, drive units and communication units; The spraying element has a flow cavity and a liquid outlet. The treatment liquid flows through the flow cavity and is sprayed out at the liquid outlet. The liquid outlet is arranged close to the surface of the wafer. A valve is provided inside the spraying element. The valve is used to open or close the flow cavity. The driving unit is connected to the spraying part and is used to drive the spraying part to move; The communication unit is communicatively connected to the driving unit. When sending a valve closing signal, the communication unit sends a driving signal to the driving unit. Based on the driving signal, the driving unit drives the spraying part to move toward the wafer to reduce the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer.

2. The spray assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer before the movement is L1, and the distance from the liquid outlet to the wafer after the movement is L2, and then 0.4L1≤L2≤0.5L1 is satisfied.

3. The spray assembly according to claim 2, wherein: 4.5mm≤L1≤5.5mm.

4. The spray assembly according to claim 1, wherein: After receiving the valve closing signal, the valve completely closes the flow chamber within a preset time.

5. The spray assembly according to claim 4, wherein: After receiving the driving signal, the driving unit drives the spraying member to move toward the wafer within the preset time, so that the liquid outlet is located at a preset position.

6. The spray assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The spraying assembly further includes a liquid supply device, the circulation cavity is connected to the liquid supply port of the liquid supply device, and the treatment liquid flows out of the liquid supply device from the liquid supply port and flows into the circulation cavity.

7. The spray assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The spray assembly further includes a carrier, the wafer is placed on the carrier, and the carrier can rotate around an axis. While the spraying member sprays the processing liquid onto the surface of the wafer, the carrier drives the wafer to rotate around an axis.

8. The spray assembly according to claim 1, wherein: The spraying member has a narrowing section, which gradually narrows toward the direction close to the wafer, and the liquid outlet is located at one end of the narrowing section close to the wafer.

9. The spray assembly according to claim 8, wherein: The liquid outlet is located above the wafer and corresponds to the center of the wafer.

10. A semiconductor manufacturing equipment, characterized in that: The invention comprises the spraying assembly according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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