Cleaning assembly and semiconductor manufacturing equipment
By adding a suction device to the scanning arm and setting multiple suction holes facing different directions, the problem of ineffective cleaning of reactant residues in the prior art has been solved, achieving a more efficient cleaning effect and lower wafer surface residue, thereby improving product yield and production efficiency.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202422617152.8
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2024-10-29
- Publication Date
- 2025-11-07
- Estimated Expiration
- 2034-10-29
AI Technical Summary
Existing cleaning methods are inefficient at removing reactant residues, causing them to fall back onto the wafer surface and affecting product yield.
A suction device is added to the scanning arm, which is combined with the first nozzle and the second nozzle. The suction device is set close to the center of the scanning arm and has multiple suction holes facing different directions on its bottom surface and side wall to suck away the residue that has not been washed away by the cleaning fluid.
It improves cleaning efficiency, reduces reactant residue on wafer surfaces, increases product yield, and reduces production costs.
Smart Images
Figure CN223518089U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The utility model relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, especially a kind of cleaning assembly and semiconductor manufacturing equipment. BACKGROUND
[0002] In semiconductor process, the purpose of developing process is to copy the pattern on mask on wafer, its essence is to copy pattern by dissolving photoresist.
[0003] After developing machine completes development, it needs to use cleaning nozzle, and resist reaction is washed away by developing solution, generally, most of the reaction in photoresist groove is washed out by spraying DIW (Deionized Water, deionized water), and then N2 is sprayed to form air wall, and photoresist reaction and DIW are blown out of wafer surface, so as to reduce the reaction residue formed by development.
[0004] In the above process, a small part of photoresist reaction not washed out by DIW will be swept up by N2 and spread around, and these reaction substances will fall back on wafer surface subsequently, form residue, and then affect product yield.
[0005] Therefore, how to improve the cleaning efficiency of reaction residue and reduce the probability of reaction falling back on wafer surface has become a technical problem to be solved by those skilled in the art. UTILITY MODEL CONTENT
[0006] The utility model aims at providing a kind of cleaning assembly and semiconductor manufacturing equipment to solve the problem that the existing cleaning method cannot clean reaction residue efficiently, so that the reaction swept up falls back on wafer surface again, affecting product yield.
[0007] In order to achieve the above purpose, the utility model provides a kind of cleaning assembly, comprising: scanning arm movable along the radial direction of wafer;
[0008] The first nozzle, the second nozzle and the suction device are sequentially arranged on the scanning arm, and the suction device is arranged closer to the center of the scanning arm than the first nozzle and the second nozzle.
[0009] The first nozzle is used for spraying cleaning liquid to flush the surface residue of the wafer, the second nozzle is used for spraying sweeping gas to sweep the surface residue of the wafer, and the suction device is used for sucking the residue not flushed by the cleaning liquid blown up by the sweeping gas.
[0010] Among them, the bottom surface and / or side wall of the suction device is provided with a plurality of suction holes facing different directions.
[0011] Optionally, the first nozzle, the second nozzle and the suction device are protruded towards the wafer on the scanning arm.
[0012] Optionally, the side wall of the suction device is arc-shaped, and the plurality of suction holes are uniformly distributed on the side wall of the suction device in the circumferential direction.
[0013] Optionally, the suction device further comprises a guide block, one end of the guide block is connected with the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device, and the other end of the guide block extends outward, and the extending direction of the guide block is arranged at an angle between the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device.
[0014] Optionally, the suction holes are arranged on the surface of the guide block away from the suction device, and / or on the side wall of the guide block.
[0015] Optionally, the guide blocks are uniformly arranged on the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device.
[0016] Optionally, the protruding length of the first nozzle is greater than the protruding lengths of the second nozzle and the suction device.
[0017] Optionally, the protruding length of the second nozzle is equal to the protruding length of the suction device.
[0018] Optionally, the suction pressure of the suction device is less than -97 Pa.
[0019] In order to achieve the above purpose, the utility model also provides a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, include: stage and as above-mentioned cleaning assembly;
[0020] The stage can rotate around the axis, the wafer is placed on the stage, the scanning arm moves along the radial direction of the wafer to scan and clean the surface of the wafer, and the stage drives the wafer to rotate around the axis.
[0021] Compared with the existing cleaning method, the cleaning assembly and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided by the application have the following advantages:
[0022] The cleaning assembly provided by the application improves the cleaning efficiency by additionally arranging a suction device near the center of the scanning arm to suck away the residues that are blown up by the blowing gas but not washed away by the cleaning liquid, reduces the residues of the reactants on the wafer surface, and improves the product yield; meanwhile, a plurality of suction holes are arranged on the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device in different directions, which increases the suction area of the suction device and further improves the removal efficiency of the residues of the reactants.
[0023] The semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided by the application can suck away the residues which are blown up by the blowing gas and not washed away by the cleaning liquid, improve the cleaning efficiency, reduce the residues of the reactants on the wafer surface, and further improve the product yield, improve the production efficiency of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment, and reduce the production cost. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0024] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the cleaning device in the prior art.
[0025] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the cleaning assembly provided in the embodiment of the application.
[0026] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the first suction device provided in the embodiment of the application.
[0027] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of the second suction device provided in the embodiment of the application.
[0028] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the relative position relationship of the first nozzle, the second nozzle and the suction device provided in the embodiment of the application.
[0029] Among them, the explanation of each reference sign is as follows:
[0030] 1-moving arm; 10-DIW nozzle; 11-N2 nozzle;
[0031] 2-wafer; 3-groove; 4-residue;
[0032] 5-scan arm; 50-first nozzle; 51-second nozzle; 52-suction device; 520-suction hole; 521-guide block. DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0033] In order to make the purpose, advantages and characteristics of the application more clear, the application will be further described in detail below in combination with the drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the drawings are very simplified and not drawn according to the scale, and are only used to facilitate and clearly assist the purpose of explaining the embodiments of the application. In addition, the structure shown in the drawings is often a part of the actual structure. In particular, the emphasis of each drawing is different, and sometimes different scales are used.
[0034] As used in this specification, the singular forms "a," "an" and "the" include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "or" is generally employed in its sense including "and / or" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "and / or" means "and", "or" or both. The term "at least two" generally means "two or more" unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The terms "first," "second," "third," etc. are used only to describe one member of a group and do not, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, indicate or imply a relative importance or an order of magnitude of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first," "second," "third," etc. can explicitly or implicitly include one or at least two of the features. The terms "one end" and "the other end" and "proximal" and "distal" generally refer to two parts corresponding to each other, which not only includes the end points, and the terms "mounting", "connecting", "connecting" should be understood broadly, for example, it can be fixedly connected, or detachably connected, or integrated; it can be directly connected, or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or the internal communication of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. In addition, as used in this specification, a component disposed in another component generally only indicates a connection, coupling, cooperation or transmission relationship between the two components, and the two components can be directly or indirectly connected, coupled, cooperated or transmitted through an intermediate component, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying the spatial positional relationship between the two components, i.e. one component can be in any position inside, outside, above, below or one side of another component, unless the content is otherwise clearly indicated. The terms "up", "down", "top", "bottom" are generally relative positional relationships arranged according to the direction of gravity; the terms "vertical direction", "vertical direction" generally refer to the direction along the gravity, which is generally perpendicular to the ground, and the terms "horizontal direction", "horizontal plane direction" are generally along the direction parallel to the ground; the above terms can be understood according to the specific meaning in the specification by those skilled in the art.
[0035] The utility model discloses a kind of cleaning assembly and semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to solve the problem that current cleaning mode cannot clean reactant residue efficiently, so that the reactant swept up falls back to wafer surface again, affect product yield.
[0036] Please refer to Figure 1The ADR (Automated Defect Review) function can be used to observe, classify and analyze the shape and composition of the defects and particles detected by the wafer 2 detection system in more detail, as understood by those skilled in the art. The ADR function uses the defect information (coordinates, etc.) obtained in the defect inspection to automatically acquire the images of the required defects, stores and organizes the data into a database. In the process of scanning the surface of the wafer 2 using the SEM (Scanning Electron Microscope), the ADR function can be used to automatically acquire and store the defect images. In actual use, the detection instrument with the ADR function is usually installed on a moving arm 1, and the moving arm 1 drives the detection instrument to scan the surface of the wafer 2. At the same time, the DIW nozzle 10 and the N2 nozzle 11 are arranged on the moving arm 1, wherein the DIW nozzle 10 is used to spray DIW (Deionized Water) to the surface of the wafer 2, and the DIW can flush most of the reactant residues in the trench 3. At the same time, the N2 nozzle 11 is used to blow gas to the surface of the wafer 2 to form a gas wall. The reactant residues swept up by the N2 gas are flushed away by the DIW, and a part of them diffuses to the surrounding, and finally falls back to the surface of the wafer 2, which affects the product yield. Based on this, the embodiment provides a cleaning assembly and a semiconductor manufacturing equipment. By adding the suction device, the reactant residues that are swept up by the N2 gas but not flushed away by the DIW are sucked away, thereby improving the cleaning efficiency, reducing the reactant residues, and further improving the product yield. It should be noted that the embodiment takes the development process as an example, and the wafer surface is cleaned by the cleaning assembly after the development is completed. This does not mean that the cleaning assembly provided by the embodiment can only be used on the development machine. For example, the etching process, the deposition process and the polishing process can also use the above cleaning assembly to clean the wafer surface, so as to reduce the reactant residues and improve the product yield. The embodiment does not limit this.
[0037] Please refer to Figures 2 to 4This invention provides a cleaning assembly, comprising: a scanning arm 5 movable radially along a wafer 2; a first nozzle 50, a second nozzle 51, and a suction device 52 sequentially disposed on the scanning arm 5, the suction device 52 being positioned closer to the center of the scanning arm 5 than the first nozzle 50 and the second nozzle 51; the first nozzle 50 is used to spray cleaning fluid to rinse away surface residue 4 on the wafer 2; the second nozzle 51 is used to spray purge gas to purge surface residue 4 on the wafer 2; the suction device 52 is used to suction away residue 4 blown up by the purge gas but not rinsed by the cleaning fluid; wherein, the bottom surface and / or sidewall of the suction device 52 are provided with multiple suction holes 520 facing different directions. Those skilled in the art will understand that after development, pattern inspection is usually required, and etching and other processes are performed after passing the inspection. Simultaneously, appropriate reagents should be used to rinse the surface of the wafer 2 to prevent residual developer from continuing to corrode the photoresist, thereby affecting product yield. In addition, after the development process is completed, the reaction residue 4 usually falls into the gaps of the photoresist trench 3. Therefore, it is difficult to completely wash away the residue 4 by relying solely on the DIW ejected from the first nozzle 50. Figure 2 In the illustrated example, a second nozzle 51 for jetting purge gas is also provided. The purge gas blows up the residue 4, which is then flushed by the DIW (Digital Washer). However, some residue 4, after being blown up by the purge gas, is not flushed away by the DIW and subsequently falls back onto the surface of wafer 2, thus failing to guarantee the cleanliness of the wafer 2 surface. Therefore, in Figures 2 to 4 In the illustrated example, the scanning arm 5 is sequentially equipped with a first nozzle 50, a second nozzle 51, a suction device 52, and an ADR (Adaptive Draw) instrument from the edge to the center. During the pattern inspection of the wafer 2 surface using the instrument, the first nozzle 50, the second nozzle 51, and the suction device 52 are used to clean the residue 4 on the wafer 2 surface, thereby improving cleaning efficiency and reducing the impact of the residue 4 on the product yield. As an optional embodiment, the cleaning fluid sprayed by the first nozzle 50 can be DIW (Distilled Water), which can remove water-soluble alkaline developer. For photoresist using organic solvents as developer, the cleaning fluid can also be a corresponding fixer. The purge gas sprayed by the second nozzle 51 can be N2. Due to the inertness of N2, it can effectively replace delay gases and other oxidation-promoting gases in the production process without chemically reacting with the underlying material. Of course, in some other embodiments, the purge gas can also be other inert gases. The suction device 52 can be a suction pipeline with a pump body, which creates a pressure difference in the chamber to form a negative pressure environment for suctioning the residue 4 outward.
[0038] In this way, by adding the suction device 52 near the center of the scanning arm 5, the residual material 4 that is blown up by the blowing gas but not washed away by the cleaning liquid can be sucked away, thus improving the cleaning efficiency, reducing the residual material on the surface of the wafer 2, and improving the product yield. Meanwhile, by arranging a plurality of suction holes 520 on the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device 52 and facing different directions, the suction area of the suction device 52 is increased, and the removal efficiency of the residual material is further improved.
[0039] In an alternative embodiment, as shown in Figure 2 , the first nozzle 50, the second nozzle 51, and the suction device 52 are protrudingly arranged on the scanning arm 5 and facing the wafer 2. Further, the protruding length of the first nozzle 50 is greater than that of the second nozzle 51 and the suction device 52. Further, the protruding length of the second nozzle 51 is equal to that of the suction device 52. As can be understood by those skilled in the art, during the movement of the scanning arm 5 along the crystal direction of the wafer 2, the wafer 2 also rotates around the axis. When the cleaning liquid is sprayed, it is also affected by the centrifugal force and moves to the edge of the wafer 2, and drives the residual material 4 to move outside the wafer 2. In Figure 2 the exemplary embodiment, the protruding length of the first nozzle 50 is greater than that of the second nozzle 51 and the suction device 52, and the protruding length of the second nozzle 51 is consistent with that of the suction device 52. In this way, the first nozzle 50 is closer to the surface of the wafer 2 to reduce the impact of the cleaning liquid on the surface of the wafer 2. The second nozzle 51 and the suction device 52 are equal in distance from the surface of the wafer 2, so that the gas wall formed by the blowing gas sprayed by the second nozzle 51 and the suction flow formed by the suction device 52 are independent of each other and do not affect each other. The suction device 52 is farther away from the wafer 2, and can suck the residual material 4 in a larger range. As for the size of the first nozzle 50 and the second nozzle 51, the height from the surface of the wafer 2, the flow of the cleaning liquid and the blowing gas, those skilled in the art can configure them according to the actual situation, and this embodiment does not limit them.
[0040] In an alternative embodiment, as shown in Figure 3 , the side wall of the suction device 52 is arc-shaped, and a plurality of suction holes 520 are uniformly distributed on the side wall of the suction device 52 along the circumferential direction of the suction device 52. It should be noted that Figure 3In the shown example, the suction end of the suction device 52 is provided with a suction nozzle in the form of a cylindrical member, and the plurality of suction holes 520 are uniformly distributed on the side wall of the suction nozzle in the circumferential direction, so that the suction direction of each suction hole 520 is different, and the suction device 52 can simultaneously suck the surrounding environment, thereby improving the removal efficiency of the residual substances 4. In other embodiments, the suction holes 520 can also be irregularly distributed on the side wall, or the suction holes 520 can be densely arranged in the area where the residual substances 4 are prone to be generated, and the present embodiment is not limited in this regard.
[0041] In another alternative embodiment, please refer to Figure 4 , the suction device 52 further comprises a guide block 521, one end of the guide block 521 is connected with the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device 52, and the other end extends outward, and the extending direction of the guide block 521 is arranged at an angle between the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device 52. Further, the suction holes 520 are arranged on the surface of the guide block 521 away from the suction device 52, and / or on the side wall of the guide block 521. Further, the guide blocks 521 are uniformly arranged on the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device 52. It should be noted that Figure 4 In the shown example, once the suction nozzle is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped or other non-cylindrical member, only the uniform distribution of the suction holes 520 on the side wall cannot meet the requirement of the different directions of the suction holes 520, and the suction efficiency of the suction device 52 cannot be improved. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the inclined guide block 521 can be arranged on the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device 52, and the suction holes 520 are arranged on the guide block 521, so as to realize the coverage of the surrounding environment by the suction holes 520, and further improve the removal efficiency of the residual substances 4 blown up by the swept gas. The guide block 521 can be a cylindrical member, a prismatic member, or other irregularly shaped member.
[0042] Please refer to Figure 5, the suction pressure of the suction device 52 is less than -97 Pa. It should be noted that in order to ensure that the residue 4 can be removed completely, the suction device 52 needs to at least exhaust the air below it within the time when the scanning arm 5 drives the detection instrument to scan the surface of the wafer 2, but because the actual air suction of the suction device 52 will not only suck the air below, therefore, the air suction amount is assumed to be twice the gas amount in the area above the wafer 2 (that is, the area of the wafer 2 multiplied by the distance H from the wafer 2 to the suction device 52), then the air suction amount above the wafer 2 can be met. Those skilled in the art can understand that the air suction rate is proportional to the square of the pipe diameter r, and is proportional to the square root of the air suction pressure, therefore, referring to the blowing rate of the purge gas of the second nozzle 51, the suction pressure of the suction device 52 can be obtained to be less than -97 Pa to meet the requirements, and those skilled in the art can calculate other suction pressures according to the air suction time, air suction amount, air suction rate and pipe diameter, etc. Data, this embodiment does not limit it.
[0043] In another embodiment, the utility model also provides a semiconductor manufacturing equipment, include: stage (not shown in the figure) and the cleaning assembly as described above;The stage can rotate around the axis, the wafer 2 is placed on the stage, the scanning arm 5 moves along the radial direction of the wafer 2, to scan and clean the surface of the wafer 2, while the stage drives the wafer 2 to rotate around the axis. It should be noted that in the process of driving the above-mentioned cleaning assembly and the detection instrument to move along the radial direction of the wafer 2 from the center of the wafer 2, the stage drives the wafer 2 to rotate around the axis at the same time, the cleaning liquid sprayed by the first nozzle 50 forms a liquid flow flowing from the center of the wafer 2 to the edge after falling on the surface of the wafer 2, to flush the reactant residue on the surface of the wafer 2 to the outside of the wafer 2. By configuring the above-mentioned cleaning assembly, the residue 4 that is blown up by the purge gas and is not flushed away by the cleaning liquid can be sucked away, the cleaning efficiency is improved, the reactant residue on the surface of the wafer 2 is reduced, the product yield is improved, the production efficiency of the semiconductor manufacturing equipment is improved, and the production cost is reduced.
[0044] In summary, in the cleaning assembly and the semiconductor manufacturing equipment provided in the embodiments of the utility model, the cleaning assembly comprises: a scanning arm movable along the radial direction of the wafer;The scanning arm is sequentially provided with a first nozzle, a second nozzle and a suction device, and the suction device is arranged closer to the center of the scanning arm than the first nozzle and the second nozzle;The first nozzle is used for spraying cleaning liquid to flush the surface residue of the wafer;The second nozzle is used for spraying purge gas to blow the surface residue of the wafer;The suction device is used for sucking the residue that is blown up by the purge gas and is not flushed away by the cleaning liquid;Wherein, the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device are provided with a plurality of suction holes facing different directions.
[0045] Thus, by adding the suction device near the center of the scanning arm, the residues that are blown up by the blowing gas but not washed away by the cleaning liquid are sucked, the cleaning efficiency is improved, the residues of the reactants on the wafer surface are reduced, and the product yield is improved.
[0046] The above description is only a description of the preferred embodiments 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 cleaning assembly characterized by, The application relates to a cleaning assembly for cleaning a wafer, comprising: a scanning arm movable along a radial direction of the wafer; a first nozzle, a second nozzle and a suction device arranged in sequence on the scanning arm, the suction device being arranged closer to a center of the scanning arm than the first nozzle and the second nozzle; the first nozzle being used for spraying cleaning liquid to flush surface residues of the wafer; the second nozzle being used for spraying purge gas to purge the surface residues of the wafer; the suction device being used for sucking the residues which are not flushed by the cleaning liquid and are blown up by the purge gas; wherein a bottom surface and / or a side wall of the suction device is / are provided with a plurality of suction holes facing different directions.
2. The cleaning assembly of claim 1, wherein, The first nozzle, the second nozzle and the suction device are arranged in a protruding manner on the scanning arm towards a direction close to the wafer.
3. The cleaning assembly of claim 2, wherein, The side wall of the suction device is arc-shaped, and a plurality of the suction holes are uniformly distributed on the side wall of the suction device along a circumferential direction of the suction device.
4. The cleaning assembly of claim 2, wherein, The suction device further comprises a guide block, one end of the guide block being connected to the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device, and the other end of the guide block extending outward, the extending direction of the guide block being arranged at an angle with respect to the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device.
5. The cleaning assembly of claim 4, wherein, The suction holes are arranged on a surface of the guide block away from the suction device, and / or on a side wall of the guide block.
6. The cleaning assembly of claim 4, wherein, The guide blocks are uniformly arranged on the bottom surface and / or the side wall of the suction device.
7. The cleaning assembly of claim 2, wherein, The protruding length of the first nozzle is greater than the protruding lengths of the second nozzle and the suction device.
8. The cleaning assembly of claim 7, wherein, The protruding length of the second nozzle is equal to the protruding length of the suction device.
9. The cleaning assembly of claim 1, wherein, The suction pressure of the suction device is less than -97 Pa.
10. A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, characterized by comprising: The application further relates to a cleaning system, comprising: a carrier and the cleaning assembly according to any one of claims 1-9; the carrier being capable of rotating around an axis, the wafer being placed on the carrier, the scanning arm being movable along a radial direction of the wafer to scan and clean a surface of the wafer, and the carrier driving the wafer to rotate around the axis.