Wafer cleaning device
By designing a wafer cleaning device that uses annular nozzles and gas flow to remove particles, the problem of wafer surface contamination has been solved, wafer quality and yield have been improved, economic costs have been reduced, and the cleaning needs of wafers of different sizes have been met.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-01-14
- Publication Date
- 2026-03-24
AI Technical Summary
In existing technologies, wafer surfaces are easily contaminated, leading to particulate contamination and cross-contamination of equipment, which affects product yield. Furthermore, traditional water washing methods may cause surface damage, increasing economic costs.
Design a wafer cleaning device, including a cleaning chamber and a transfer chamber, equipped with a stage, first and second nozzles, and utilizes gas flow to remove particles. The nozzles are arranged in a ring and the angle is adjustable. Combined with horizontal and raised stages or clips for fixation, the chamber is kept in a vacuum state and can adapt to wafers of different sizes.
It effectively removes particles from the wafer surface, improves wafer quality, reduces economic costs, reduces particles generated by mechanical movement, adapts to the cleaning needs of wafers of different sizes, and avoids surface damage.
Smart Images
Figure CN224037768U_ABST
Abstract
Description
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The utility model belongs to the field of wafer processing equipment relates to a wafer cleaning device. BACKGROUND
[0002] In the semiconductor process, the wafer is an important raw material of semiconductor products, its main component is silicon, the outer contour is thin piece structure, usually also called silicon wafer; A variety of circuit element structures can be processed on the wafer, and finally a chip is formed to realize the function control of the circuit, which has indispensable significance in high-end manufacturing industry.
[0003] In the existing semiconductor process, the wafer needs to go through multiple process procedures, and is inevitably contaminated. For example, some wafers are placed in clamps, in a semi-exposed state without shielding, and environmental dust can cause more particles on the surface of the upper wafer. Long-term placement will make the surface particles of each wafer more, and the pollution more serious. In addition, in the process of semiconductor preparation, some particles are generated in the relative motion of semiconductor equipment, that is, particle pollution is formed, which affects the yield of wafers. In addition, when the wafers are moved, the particles attached to the wafers can also cause cross-contamination of the equipment, which pollutes the equipment. These problems often lead to product appearance defects and reduce product yield in actual application. Currently, if the thinned wafer is washed by the traditional water washing method, there are usually problems such as surface damage and broken pieces, which affect the yield.
[0004] At present, it is necessary to provide a wafer cleaning device to effectively reduce the particles on the surface of the wafer, improve the quality of the wafer, and reduce the economic cost.
[0005] It should be noted that the above introduction to the technical background is only to facilitate the clear and complete description of the technical scheme of the present application, and to facilitate the understanding of those skilled in the art. The above technical scheme cannot be considered as known to those skilled in the art only because it is described in the background section of the present application. Utility model content
[0006] In view of the above-mentioned shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of the utility model is to provide a wafer cleaning device to solve the problems of effectively removing the particles on the surface of the wafer and reducing the economic cost.
[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the utility model provides a wafer cleaning device, which comprises:
[0008] A chamber, the chamber comprises a cleaning chamber and a conveying chamber, and the cleaning chamber is connected with the conveying chamber through a chamber door;
[0009] A stage, the stage is located in the cleaning chamber;
[0010] A nozzle assembly, comprising a first nozzle and a second nozzle, the first nozzle is arranged in the conveying chamber; the second nozzle is arranged in the cleaning chamber and above the stage, and the projection of the second nozzle in the vertical direction is located in the stage.
[0011] Optionally, the wafer cleaning device comprises a first air inlet pipe and a first air outlet pipe, the first air inlet pipe is located at the bottom of the conveying chamber and communicates with the first nozzle, and the first air outlet pipe is located at the top of the conveying chamber.
[0012] Optionally, the first air inlet pipe is provided with an electrostatic removal structure at the opening position.
[0013] Optionally, the wafer cleaning device comprises a second air inlet pipe and a second air outlet pipe, the second air inlet pipe communicates with the second nozzle, the second air outlet pipe is horn-shaped in the opening cross-sectional shape and surrounds the stage in a ring shape, and is fixed to the side wall of the cleaning chamber.
[0014] Optionally, the second nozzle comprises a substrate and a nozzle arranged on the substrate.
[0015] Optionally, the nozzles are distributed in a ring shape, and the spray angle α of the nozzles ranges from 0 to 90 degrees.
[0016] Optionally, the nozzles are distributed in a ring shape and have N rings, N≥2.
[0017] Optionally, each ring is independently provided with a corresponding switch.
[0018] Optionally, the stage comprises a horizontal stage or a convex stage.
[0019] Optionally, buckles are arranged around the stage.
[0020] The wafer cleaning device provided by the utility model sets a stage, a substrate and a second nozzle in a cleaning chamber, a plurality of nozzles on the second nozzle are distributed in a ring shape on the substrate and the spray angle of the nozzles can be adjusted, the projection of the second nozzle in the vertical direction is located in the stage, so that the second nozzle can clean the whole surface of the wafer, avoid the particles generated by mechanical movement and realize the flow output of the particles on the wafer surface from inside to outside, the second nozzle at different ring positions can be controlled and applied to wafers of different sizes. In addition, the stage comprises a horizontal stage or a convex stage, or buckles are arranged around the stage, so that the particles on the wafer surface in different states can be cleaned; the utility model also sets a conveying chamber, a first air inlet pipe and a first air outlet pipe in the conveying chamber, so that the vacuum state and the cleanliness of the conveying chamber and the cleaning chamber can be maintained, and the particles on the wafer surface can be effectively removed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0021] Figure 1 A structure schematic diagram of a wafer cleaning device is shown.
[0022] Figure 2 A top view structure schematic diagram of a wafer cleaning device is shown.
[0023] Figure 3 A structure schematic diagram of a cleaning chamber is shown.
[0024] Figure 4 A top view structure schematic diagram of a second nozzle is shown.
[0025] Figure 5 A side view structure schematic diagram of a second nozzle is shown.
[0026] Figures 6a to 6c A structure schematic diagram of a convex carrier receiving a wafer is shown.
[0027] Figures 7a to 7c A structure schematic diagram of a carrier with buckles receiving a wafer is shown.
[0028] Figures 8a to 8c A structure schematic diagram of a horizontal carrier receiving a wafer is shown.
[0029] REFERENCE SIGNS
[0030] 100 chamber
[0031] 110 cleaning chamber
[0032] 120 carrier
[0033] 1201 central boss
[0034] 1202 bottom plate
[0035] 121 wafer
[0036] 122 buckle
[0037] 123 wafer ring
[0038] 124 support film
[0039] 131 second air inlet pipeline
[0040] 132 second air outlet pipeline
[0041] 140 second nozzle
[0042] 141 nozzle
[0043] 142 substrate
[0044] 210 transfer chamber
[0045] 220 transfer arm
[0046] 231 first gas inlet pipe
[0047] 232 first gas outlet pipe
[0048] 240 first showerhead
[0049] 250 electrostatic removal structure
[0050] 310 chamber door DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0051] The present application will be described in detail with specific embodiments hereinafter, and persons skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the content disclosed in the specification. The present application can also be implemented or applied in other different embodiments, and each detail in the specification can be modified or changed based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application.
[0052] It should be noted that the diagrams provided in the embodiments only schematically illustrate the basic concept of the present application, and only the components related to the present application are shown in the diagrams, not the number, shape and size of the components when actually implemented. The shape, number and proportion of each component when actually implemented can be randomly changed, and the layout pattern of the components can be more complicated.
[0053] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described clearly and completely below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are some of the embodiments of the present application, not all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by persons skilled in the art without creative labor fall within the protection scope of the present application.
[0054] Referring to Figure 1 FIG. 8, the wafer cleaning device provided in the embodiments includes a chamber 100, a carrier 120 and a showerhead assembly (not labeled).
[0055] The chamber 100 includes a cleaning chamber 110 and a transfer chamber 210, and the cleaning chamber 110 is connected with the transfer chamber 210 through a chamber door 310 to realize the transfer of a wafer 121.
[0056] The carrier 120 is located in the cleaning chamber 110, and the carrier 120 is used for carrying the wafer 121.
[0057] A shower head assembly includes a first shower head 240 and a second shower head 140, the first shower head 240 is arranged in the transfer chamber 210 to maintain a vacuum environment of the transfer chamber 210; the second shower head 140 is arranged in the cleaning chamber 210 above the stage 120, and the projection of the second shower head 140 in the vertical direction is located in the stage 120.
[0058] As an example, the transfer chamber 210 is a closed structure, and the cleaning chamber 110 is connected with the transfer chamber 210 through the chamber door 310. In order to improve the cleaning efficiency, in the embodiment, the transfer chamber 210 corresponds to three cleaning chambers 110, and after the transfer chamber 210 obtains the wafer 121 from the outside, the transfer arm 220 is used to transport the wafer 121 from the transfer chamber 210 to the cleaning chamber 110. Three cleaning chambers 110 work separately to realize synchronous work and improve productivity. The placement of the transfer chamber 210 and the cleaning chamber 110 is not limited to the installation mode of the embodiment.
[0059] Further, as an example, the transfer chamber 210 is further provided with a first air inlet pipe 231 and a first air outlet pipe 232. The first air inlet pipe 231 is located at the bottom of the transfer chamber 210 and communicates with the first shower head 240. The opening position of the first air inlet pipe 231 is further provided with an electrostatic removal structure 250, such as an ion fan structure, for removing static charges formed in the purge gas. The first air outlet pipe 232 is located at the top of the transfer chamber 210 to realize the flow of gas from bottom to top, so as to drive the particles to be transported out of the transfer chamber 210.
[0060] Further, the gas delivered by the first air inlet pipe 231 includes compressed air, nitrogen and inert gas; in order to improve the quality of the wafer 121, a certain cleanliness needs to be maintained in the transfer chamber 210. In the embodiment, the purity of the gas of the first air inlet pipe 231 is greater than 99.9%; usually, the first air inlet pipe 231 is provided with a control valve to control the gas pressure in the transfer chamber 210, prevent cross contamination between the transfer chamber 210 and other external environment or the cleaning chamber 110, and improve the cleanliness of the transfer chamber 210.
[0061] As an example, in order to ensure that the wafer 121 cleaning process, the gas can be more efficient effect on the wafer 121, the cleaning chamber 110 is also provided with the second nozzle 140, the second nozzle 140 is arranged above the stage 120, the second nozzle 140 also includes the substrate 142 and the nozzle 141 on the substrate 142, and the vertical projection of the second nozzle 140 is located in the stage 120.
[0062] Specifically, refer to Figures 3 to 5 In order to ensure the uniformity of the cleaning process, avoid the particles blown by the nozzle 141 splashing to the side wall of the cleaning chamber 110, reduce the adverse effects on the wafer 121 surface cleanliness, the vertical projection of the second nozzle 140 is located in the stage 120, and the nozzle 141 is uniformly distributed on the substrate 142 in the form of a ring and is directed to the peripheral position of the substrate 142, so that the nozzle 141 can be uniformly aligned with the wafer 121 surface, so that the particles carried by the gas can flow out. The nozzle 141 is distributed in the form of a ring, and the nozzle 141 is an adjustable angle nozzle. In actual application, the angle of the nozzle 141 is adjusted according to the size of the wafer 121 and the distance between the substrate 142 and the wafer 121, so as to achieve the maximum cleaning of the particles on the surface of the wafer 121. As an example, the spray angle of the nozzle 141 is in the range of 0<α<90°, such as 10°, 30°, 50°, 60°, 80°, etc. Any value in this range.
[0063] Further, in order to adapt to different sizes of the wafer 121, refer to Figure 4 The nozzle 141 is distributed in the form of a ring and has N rings, N≥2, such as 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc. Each ring is independently provided with a corresponding switch device (not labeled), and the switch device can control the independent opening and closing of the nozzle 141 on different rings, so as to achieve the closing of the nozzle 141 at the peripheral ring number position of the substrate 142 when cleaning small size wafers 121, and the opening of the nozzle 141 at the peripheral ring number position of the substrate 142 when cleaning large size wafers 121.
[0064] Further, the nozzle 141 is connected with a second gas inlet pipe 131 to realize the supply of gas to the cleaning chamber 110. At the same time, the cleaning chamber 110 is provided with a second gas outlet pipe 132, the opening cross section shape of the second gas outlet pipe 132 is in the form of a horn towards the cleaning chamber 110, and is in the form of a ring surrounding the stage 120 and is fixed to the side wall of the cleaning chamber 110, so as to facilitate the collection and output of particles.
[0065] Further, the gas delivered by the second gas inlet pipe 131 includes compressed air, nitrogen and inert gas; in order to improve the quality of the wafer 121, the conveying chamber 210 needs to maintain a certain degree of cleanliness and vacuum degree, the vacuum degree inside the conveying chamber 210 is subject to the deformation damage of the wafer 121, and is usually set by comprehensively matching the pressure of the opening of the second gas inlet pipe 131, the pressure of the opening of the second gas outlet pipe 132 and the volume size of the conveying chamber 210. In the embodiment, the purity of the gas of the second gas inlet pipe 131 is greater than 99.99%, the second gas inlet pipe 131 and the second gas outlet pipe 132 are both provided with control valves, and by cooperatively controlling the gas flow and pressure in the conveying chamber 210, cross contamination between the cleaning chamber 110 and other external environment or the conveying chamber 210 is prevented, and the cleanliness of the cleaning chamber 110 is improved. In the embodiment, the opening cross-sectional shape of the second gas outlet pipe 132 is horn-shaped towards the cleaning chamber 110 and fixed to the side wall of the cleaning chamber 110, and is annularly surrounded around the carrier 120.
[0066] As an example, as shown in Figures 6a to 6c In order to reduce the warping of the wafer 121, the edge portion of about 3mm of the Taiko wafer is not thinned, which means that the Taiko wafer is easy to be damaged in the cleaning process. In order to solve the problem of edge damage of the Taiko wafer in the cleaning process, the carrier 120 is provided with a convex carrier with a central boss 1201 and a bottom plate 1202 to accommodate the placement of the Taiko wafer. In some other embodiments, in order to meet the cleaning needs of Taiko wafers of different sizes, the central boss 1201 is also provided with different annular structures which can be raised to the height of the central boss 1201 or lowered to the height of the bottom plate 1202 to increase or decrease the area of the central boss 1201, so as to meet the needs of Taiko wafers of different sizes.
[0067] As an example, as shown in Figures 7a to 7cAs shown, in order to protect the thinned wafer 121, a wafer ring 123 and a support film 124 are often used to support and protect the thinned wafer 121 in semiconductor processes to avoid damage to the thinned wafer 121 during movement or processing. In the present embodiment, in order to achieve cleaning of the wafer 121 with the wafer ring 123, a buckle 122 is placed around the stage 120 to fix the wafer ring 123 to achieve fixation of the wafer 121. Specifically, when the wafer 121 with the wafer ring 123 is placed on the stage 120, the buckle 122 will be clamped onto the wafer ring 123 to achieve fixation; when cleaning is complete, the buckle 122 will automatically open to achieve the wafer 121 to be taken. As shown in FIG. 1B, the wafer cleaning device 100 is used to clean the back surface of the wafer 121. As shown in FIG. 1C, the wafer cleaning device 100 is used to clean the front surface of the wafer 121. Figures 8a to 8c As shown, in some other embodiments, the stage 120 is not provided with any additional structure, i.e., a horizontal stage, for cleaning the surface of a conventional thicker wafer 121. The wafer cleaning device is not limited to cleaning the front and back surfaces of the wafer 121. Typically, the front surface of the wafer 121 will be protected by a protective film, and then the wafer 121 with the protective film on one side will be placed on the stage 120, and then the back surface of the wafer 121 will be blown to reduce the source of contamination on the back surface.
[0068] In the present embodiment, the wafer 121 is placed in a clamp in a clean room, and after 4 days, the wafer 121 is placed in the wafer cleaning device for cleaning. The cleaned wafer 121 is placed in a full-automatic defect scanning machine (SCAN) for detection. Under the condition that the detected particle diameter is greater than 0.2 μm, the number of particles after cleaning by the wafer cleaning device is reduced by 15% to 20%. Of course, the improvement range is related to the environment in which the wafer 121 itself is located and the setting of the detection equipment, so the improvement effect here is only presented as an example.
[0069] As an example, the types of stages 120 cleaned by the wafer cleaning device include 3 inch stages, 5 inch stages, 6 inch stages, 8 inch stages, 12 inch stages, etc.
[0070] In summary, the wafer cleaning device provided by the utility model sets the carrier, the substrate and the second spray head in the cleaning chamber, multiple spray heads on the second spray head are distributed in a ring shape on the substrate and the spray angle of the spray head can be adjusted; the projection of the second spray head in the vertical direction is located in the carrier to realize the whole-surface cleaning of the wafer by the second spray head, avoid the particles generated by mechanical movement and realize the flow output of the particles on the wafer surface from inside to outside; the second spray head located at different ring positions can be controlled to be applied to wafers of different sizes. In addition, the carrier includes a horizontal carrier or a convex carrier or buckles are arranged around the carrier to realize the particle cleaning of the wafer surface in different states; the utility model also sets a conveying chamber, and sets a first air inlet pipeline and a first air outlet pipeline in the conveying chamber to maintain the vacuum state and the cleanliness of the conveying chamber and the cleaning chamber and effectively remove the particles on the wafer surface. The utility model effectively overcomes the shortcomings in the prior art and has high industrial utilization value.
[0071] The above embodiments only exemplarily illustrate the principles and effects of the utility model, and are not used to limit the utility model. Any person skilled in the art can modify or change the above embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the utility model. Therefore, all equivalent modifications or changes completed by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and technical thought disclosed by the utility model should be covered by the claims of the utility model.
Claims
1. A wafer cleaning apparatus characterized by comprising: The wafer cleaning device comprises: a chamber, which comprises a cleaning chamber and a conveying chamber, and the cleaning chamber is connected with the conveying chamber through a chamber door; a carrier, which is located in the cleaning chamber; a shower head assembly, which comprises a first shower head and a second shower head, the first shower head is arranged in the conveying chamber, the second shower head is arranged above the carrier in the cleaning chamber, and the projection of the second shower head along the vertical direction is located in the carrier.
2. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by: The wafer cleaning device comprises a first air inlet pipe and a first air outlet pipe, the first air inlet pipe is located at the bottom of the conveying chamber and communicates with the first shower head, and the first air outlet pipe is located at the top of the conveying chamber.
3. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein: The first air inlet pipe is provided with an electrostatic removal structure at the opening position.
4. The wafer cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The wafer cleaning device comprises a second air inlet pipe and a second air outlet pipe, the second air inlet pipe communicates with the second shower head, the second air outlet pipe is in the shape of a horn towards the cleaning chamber and surrounds the carrier in a ring shape, and is fixed to the side wall of the cleaning chamber.
5. The wafer cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The second shower head comprises a substrate and a shower head arranged on the substrate.
6. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: The shower head is distributed in a ring shape, and the spray angle of the shower head ranges from 0 to 90 degrees.
7. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 5, wherein: The shower head is distributed in a ring shape, and has N rings, N≥2。 8. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 7, wherein: Each ring is independently provided with a corresponding switch.
9. The wafer cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The carrier comprises a horizontal carrier or a convex carrier.
10. The wafer cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The carrier is provided with a corresponding buckle.