Photoresist coating equipment and glue cup structure thereof

Abstract

The utility model relates to photoresist coating equipment and a photoresist cup structure thereof. The glue cup structure comprises an upper glue cup piece and a lower glue cup piece, the upper glue cup piece is used for being arranged on the periphery of a carrying table for carrying a wafer in a sleeving mode, part of the upper glue cup piece is located above the wafer, the lower glue cup piece is located below the wafer, a locking structure is arranged at the joint of the upper glue cup piece and the lower glue cup piece, and the locking structure comprises a clamping piece and a matching piece; one of the clamping piece and the matching piece is located on the outer wall of the upper rubber cup piece, the other one is located on the outer side face of the lower rubber cup piece, and the upper rubber cup piece and the lower rubber cup piece are clamped and fixed through the clamping piece and the matching piece. Thus, through clamping and fixing of the clamping piece and the matching piece in the locking structure, the upper glue cup piece and the lower glue cup piece are connected more stably, shaking of the upper glue cup piece caused by infirm connection of the upper glue cup piece and the lower glue cup piece is avoided, the risk that photoresist is splashed back to a wafer is reduced, and the yield of wafer coating is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of photoresist coating equipment technology, specifically to a photoresist coating equipment and its cup structure. Background Technology

[0002] In related technologies, photoresist is applied to the surface of a wafer, and the high-speed rotation of the wafer will throw excess photoresist into a cup structure used to prevent droplet splashing.

[0003] During the photoresist coating process, the connection between the upper and lower photoresist cups is unstable, causing the upper photoresist cup to shake after installation. This results in photoresist splashing onto the wafer surface, leading to defects in the photoresist coating and affecting the yield. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a photoresist coating apparatus and a photoresist cup structure thereof, wherein the upper and lower photoresist cup components in the photoresist cup structure are stably connected, so as to at least partially solve the problems in the related art.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this disclosure provides a photoresist coating apparatus cup structure, comprising: an upper photoresist cup and a lower photoresist cup. The upper photoresist cup is used to be sleeved on the outer periphery of a wafer-carrying stage, with a portion of the upper photoresist cup located above the wafer and the lower photoresist cup located below the wafer. A locking structure is provided at the joint between the upper and lower photoresist cups. The locking structure includes a snap-fit ​​component and a mating component. One of the snap-fit ​​component and the mating component is located on the outer wall of the upper photoresist cup, and the other is located on the outer side of the lower photoresist cup. The upper and lower photoresist cups are snapped and fixed by the snap-fit ​​component and the mating component.

[0006] Optionally, the mating component is constructed as an elastic element.

[0007] Optionally, the elastic element is configured such that the maximum tilt angle with respect to the vertical direction after being subjected to force does not exceed 30°.

[0008] Optionally, the snap-fit ​​component is disposed on the upper adhesive cup component, and the mating component is disposed on the lower adhesive cup component, with the snap-fit ​​component and the mating component being disposed in a one-to-one correspondence.

[0009] Optionally, the number of the snap-fit ​​components is multiple and they are arranged circumferentially at intervals along the central axis of the glued cup component.

[0010] Optionally, there are four snap-fit ​​components, which are arranged at equal intervals along the circumference of the glued cup component.

[0011] Optionally, the outer periphery of the glued cup is provided with a plurality of first mounting slots, and the snap-fit ​​member is fixedly connected to the first mounting slots by fasteners;

[0012] The upper end face of the lower glue cup is provided with a second mounting groove, and the mating part is fixedly connected to the second mounting groove by fasteners.

[0013] Optionally, the mating component is constructed as a clamping plate with an inverted L-shaped cross-section. The clamping plate is fixedly disposed on the upper end face of the lower glue cup component, and the clamping plate and the upper end face of the lower glue cup component form a groove for engaging the clamping component.

[0014] Optionally, the coating cup further includes a first coating cup and a second coating cup, the snap-fit ​​member is disposed on the outer side wall of the second coating cup, the second coating cup is disposed on the outer periphery of the stage, the first coating cup is located below the stage, and a guide channel for photoresist to pass through is formed between the first coating cup and the second coating cup.

[0015] In a second aspect, this disclosure provides a photoresist coating apparatus, including a stage, a spraying assembly, a rinsing assembly, and the aforementioned photoresist cup structure. The stage is used to rotatably support a wafer. The spraying assembly is disposed above the stage and is used to spray photoresist onto the wafer. The rinsing assembly includes a first rinsing member and a second rinsing member, the first rinsing member being located above the wafer and the second rinsing member being located below the wafer. The first rinsing member is used to rinse the side edge of the front side of the wafer, and the second rinsing member is used to rinse the side edge of the back side of the wafer. The photoresist cup structure is disposed on the outer periphery of the stage.

[0016] The above technical solution incorporates a locking structure at the junction of the upper and lower adhesive cups. This locking structure includes a snap-fit ​​component and a mating component. One snap-fit ​​component is located on the outer wall of the upper adhesive cup, and the other on the outer surface of the lower adhesive cup. The upper and lower adhesive cups are secured together by the snap-fit ​​component and the mating component. This secure connection between the upper and lower adhesive cups, achieved through the snap-fit ​​mechanism, ensures a more stable connection, preventing the upper adhesive cup from shifting due to a weak connection, reducing the risk of photoresist splashing onto the wafer, and improving wafer coating yield.

[0017] Other features and advantages of this disclosure will be described in detail in the following detailed description section. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the present disclosure and form part of the specification. They are used together with the following detailed description to explain the present disclosure, but do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the photoresist coating apparatus provided in an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure.

[0020] Figure 2 This is an exploded view of the photoresist coating apparatus provided in an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a top view of the cup structure provided in an exemplary embodiment of this disclosure.

[0022] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0023] 1-Glue cup; 11-First glue cup; 12-Second glue cup; 13-Guide channel; 2-Lower glue cup; 3-Locking structure; 31-Snap-fit ​​component; 32-Matching component; 33-Card plate; 34-Card slot; 4-Stage; 5-Wafer; 6-Spraying assembly; 7-First rinsing component; 8-Second rinsing component. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The specific embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit this disclosure.

[0025] In this disclosure, unless otherwise stated, directional terms such as "upper," "lower," "left," and "right" generally refer to the upper, lower, left, and right of the corresponding figures, while "inner" and "outer" refer to the outline of the component itself. Furthermore, it should be noted that terms such as "first" and "second" are used to distinguish one element from another and do not have sequential or importance implications. Additionally, in the description with reference to the figures, the same reference numerals in different figures denote the same element.

[0026] The inventors discovered that the upper and lower glue cups in the photoresist coating equipment are not securely connected by a sliding fastener. This causes the upper glue cup to wobble, resulting in the photoresist coated on the wafer being thrown onto the upper glue cup and splashed back onto the wafer as the wafer rotates. This causes wafer coating defects and affects the yield.

[0027] like Figures 1-3 As shown, this disclosure provides a photoresist coating equipment cup structure, including: an upper photoresist cup 1, a lower photoresist cup 2, and a locking structure 3 disposed at the joint of the upper photoresist cup 1 and the lower photoresist cup 2. The upper photoresist cup 1 is used to be sleeved on the outer periphery of the stage 4 that carries the wafer 5, and part of the upper photoresist cup 1 is located above the wafer 5 and the lower photoresist cup 2 is located below the wafer 5. The locking structure 3 includes a snap-fit ​​member 31 and a mating member 32. One of the snap-fit ​​member 31 and the mating member 32 is located on the outer wall of the upper photoresist cup 1, and the other is located on the outer side of the lower photoresist cup 2. The upper photoresist cup 1 and the lower photoresist cup 2 are snapped and fixed by the snap-fit ​​member 31 and the mating member 32.

[0028] Through the above technical solution, a locking structure 3 is provided at the joint of the upper adhesive cup 1 and the lower adhesive cup 2. The locking structure 3 includes a snap-fit ​​component 31 and a mating component 32. One of the snap-fit ​​component 31 and the mating component 32 is located on the outer wall of the upper adhesive cup 1, and the other is located on the outer side of the lower adhesive cup 2. The upper adhesive cup 1 and the lower adhesive cup 2 are snapped and fixed by the snap-fit ​​component 31 and the mating component 32. In this way, the snap-fit ​​and fixing by the snap-fit ​​component 31 and the mating component 32 in the locking structure 3 makes the connection between the upper adhesive cup 1 and the lower adhesive cup 2 more stable, avoids the shaking of the upper adhesive cup 1 caused by the loose connection between the upper adhesive cup 1 and the lower adhesive cup 2, reduces the risk of photoresist splashing back onto the wafer 5, and improves the coating yield of the wafer 5.

[0029] In some feasible embodiments, the snap-fit ​​31 can be a metal block and fixedly connected to the outer wall of the upper cup 1, and the mating part 32 can be an elastic part. For example, the mating part 32 can be a thermoplastic polyester material and fixedly connected to the outer side of the lower cup 2. The outer side can be the upper end face of the lower cup 2 or the outer side wall. The mating part 32 is provided with a slot for mating with the snap-fit ​​31.

[0030] To facilitate the locking mechanism 3 for securing the upper and lower glue cup parts 1 and 2 together, the maximum tilt angle of the mating part 32 relative to the vertical direction shall not exceed 30°. In this case, the vertical direction can be referenced... Figure 2 In the vertical direction, the lower cup 2 in the cup structure is usually first fitted onto the outer periphery of the platform 4. After the upper cup 1 and the lower cup 2 are aligned, they move vertically downwards. For example, the upper cup 1 can be provided with a snap-fit ​​part 31, and the lower cup 2 can be provided with a mating part 32 corresponding to the snap-fit ​​part 31 in the upper cup 1. After the upper cup 1 and the lower cup 2 are positioned and aligned, the upper cup 1 can move vertically downwards. Since the mating part 32 is an elastic part, a pushing or pulling force can be applied to the mating part 32 from left to right manually to tilt the mating part 32. At this time, after the upper cup 1 moves downwards to the preset position, the pushing or pulling force applied by the mating part 32 is removed, so that the upper cup 1 and the lower cup 2 are fixedly connected by snap-fitting part 31 and mating part 32.

[0031] Of course, after the upper glue cup 1 and the lower glue cup 2 are positioned and aligned, the upper glue cup 1 can also be pressed down by the robotic arm to move from top to bottom in the vertical direction. Since the mating part 32 is an elastic part, during the pressing process, the snap-fit ​​part 31 abuts against the mating part 32 and pushes the mating part 32 to tilt until the upper glue cup 1 moves down to the preset position. At this time, the upper surface of the snap-fit ​​part 31 passes over the mating part 32, and the mating part 32 rebounds to snap the snap-fit ​​part 31, thereby fixing the upper glue cup 1 and the lower glue cup 2 together.

[0032] Of course, in some feasible methods, in order to facilitate the downward pressing of the snap-fit ​​31 to compress the tilting of the mating part 32, a wedge-shaped surface can be provided on the bottom of the snap-fit ​​31 facing the side of the mating part 32. Of course, a mating wedge-shaped surface can also be provided on the surface of the mating part 32 opposite to the snap-fit ​​31, so that after the snap-fit ​​31 contacts the mating part 32, it compresses the mating part 32 to tilt until the upper surface of the snap-fit ​​31 passes over the mating part 32, and then the mating part 32 springs back to snap the snap-fit ​​31.

[0033] In some feasible methods, to ensure a secure connection between the upper glue cup 1 and the lower glue cup 2, a snap-fit ​​member 31 is provided on the upper glue cup 1, and a mating member 32 is provided on the lower glue cup 2. Multiple snap-fit ​​members 31 can be used, with each snap-fit ​​member 31 and mating member 32 corresponding to the other. Thus, the upper glue cup 1 and the lower glue cup 2 are securely connected through the snap-fit ​​engagement of multiple snap-fit ​​members 31 and mating members 32.

[0034] In some feasible embodiments, both the upper adhesive cup 1 and the lower adhesive cup 2 are annular, and there are multiple snap-fit ​​pieces 31 arranged circumferentially along the central axis of the upper adhesive cup 1. Thus, by arranging multiple snap-fit ​​pieces 31 circumferentially on the upper adhesive cup 1, and with mating pieces 32 corresponding to each snap-fit ​​piece 31 arranged one-to-one on the lower adhesive cup 2, the upper adhesive cup 1 and the lower adhesive cup 2 can be fixedly connected through the snap-fit ​​engagement of the multiple snap-fit ​​pieces 31 and the multiple mating pieces 32.

[0035] like Figures 1 to 3 As shown, there are four snap-fit ​​pieces 31. The four snap-fit ​​pieces 31 are arranged at equal intervals along the circumference of the upper glue cup piece 1, that is, the angle between two adjacent snap-fit ​​pieces 31 is 90°. This makes the upper glue cup piece 1 and the lower glue cup piece 2 more evenly stressed in the circumference, and the upper glue cup piece 1 and the lower glue cup piece 2 more firmly fixed.

[0036] Of course, to facilitate the installation of the snap-fit ​​component 31 on the upper adhesive cup component, in some feasible embodiments, the outer periphery of the upper adhesive cup component 1 is provided with multiple first mounting grooves (not shown in the figure). The snap-fit ​​component 31 is fixedly connected to the first mounting grooves by fasteners (not shown in the figure), wherein the fasteners can be fastening screws, and the first mounting grooves are provided with threaded holes that mate with the fastening screws. The corresponding number of mating components 32 is also four, and they are arranged one-to-one with the snap-fit ​​components 31. Multiple second mounting grooves (not shown in the figure) are provided on the upper end face of the lower adhesive cup component 2. The mating components 32 are fixedly connected to the second mounting grooves by fasteners (not shown in the figure), wherein the fasteners can also be fastening screws, and the second mounting grooves are provided with threaded holes that mate with the fastening screws.

[0037] In some feasible embodiments, in order to facilitate the snap-fit ​​fixing of the snap-fit ​​part 31 and the mating part 32, the mating part 32 is constructed as a snap-fit ​​plate 33 with an inverted L-shaped cross-section. The snap-fit ​​plate 33 is fixedly disposed on the upper end face of the lower glue cup part 2, and the snap-fit ​​plate 33 and the upper end face of the lower glue cup part 2 form a snap-fit ​​groove 34 for connecting the snap-fit ​​part 31.

[0038] Furthermore, to facilitate photoresist recycling, in some feasible embodiments, the photoresist cup 1 further includes a first photoresist cup 11 and a second photoresist cup 12. A snap-fit ​​member 31 is disposed on the outer side wall of the second photoresist cup 12, which is located on the outer periphery of the stage 4. The first photoresist cup 11 is located below the stage 4, and a guide channel 13 for photoresist to pass through is formed between the first photoresist cup 11 and the second photoresist cup 12. Thus, after photoresist is coated on the wafer 5, the photoresist will gradually be ejected from the edge of the wafer 5 as the wafer 5 rotates and collected in a pre-set collection box through the guide channel 13.

[0039] In some feasible implementations, the first coating cup 11 and the second coating cup 12 are integrally formed. When the coating cup 1 and the lower coating cup 2 are not securely fixed, the second coating cup 12 may bounce and bump against the back of the wafer 5. In this application, the coating cup 1 and the lower coating cup 2 are secured by multiple snap-fit ​​pieces 31 and mating pieces 32, which securely fixes the coating cup 1 and the lower coating cup 2. This secure fixation not only fixes the positions of the first coating cup 1 and the second coating cup 2, but also allows the photoresist to be collected from the guide channel 13, preventing photoresist from splashing onto the front of the wafer 5 and contaminating the wafer 5. It also reduces the defect of the second coating cup 2 bumping against the back of the wafer 5 due to the bounce of the coating cup 1, thereby improving the yield of wafer 5 coating.

[0040] In a second aspect, this disclosure provides a photoresist coating apparatus, including a stage 4, a spraying assembly 6, a rinsing assembly, and the aforementioned photoresist cup structure. The stage 4 is used to rotatably support a wafer 5. The photoresist cup structure is disposed on the outer periphery of the stage 4. For example, a support column is provided on the stage 4 for disengaging from the back side of the wafer 5. A drive motor is disposed below the stage 4. The drive motor rotates to drive the stage 4 to rotate synchronously, so that the photoresist on the wafer 5 can be coated from the center to the edge, and the ejected photoresist is collected through the guide channel 13 of the photoresist cup structure. The spraying assembly 6 is disposed above the stage 4 and is used to spray photoresist onto the wafer 5. The photoresist can be coated from the center to the edge as the stage 4 rotates. The rinsing assembly includes a first rinsing member 7 and a second rinsing member 8. The first rinsing member 7 is located above the wafer 5, and the second rinsing member 8 is located below the wafer 5. The first rinsing member 7 is used to rinse the side of the front side of the wafer 5, and the second rinsing member 8 is used to rinse the side of the back side of the wafer 5. It is understandable that the above-mentioned photoresist coating equipment includes all the beneficial effects of the photoresist cup structure, which will not be elaborated here.

[0041] The preferred embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, this disclosure is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of this disclosure, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solutions of this disclosure, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of this disclosure.

[0042] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above specific embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. In order to avoid unnecessary repetition, this disclosure will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0043] Furthermore, various different embodiments of this disclosure can be combined in any way, as long as they do not violate the spirit of this disclosure, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed in this disclosure.

Claims

1. A photoresist coating cup structure, characterized in that, include: The upper and lower adhesive cups are provided. The upper adhesive cup is used to be sleeved on the outer periphery of the stage that carries the wafer, with part of the upper adhesive cup located above the wafer and part of the lower adhesive cup located below the wafer. A locking structure is provided at the joint of the upper and lower adhesive cups. The locking structure includes a snap-fit ​​component and a mating component. One of the snap-fit ​​component and the mating component is located on the outer wall of the upper adhesive cup, and the other is located on the outer side of the lower adhesive cup. The upper and lower adhesive cups are snapped and fixed by the snap-fit ​​component and the mating component.

2. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The mating component is constructed as an elastic element.

3. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 2, characterized in that, The elastic element is configured such that, after being subjected to force, the maximum tilt angle with the vertical direction does not exceed 30°.

4. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The snap-fit ​​component is located on the upper adhesive cup, and the mating component is located on the lower adhesive cup. The snap-fit ​​component and the mating component are provided in a one-to-one correspondence.

5. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The number of snap-fit ​​components is multiple and they are arranged circumferentially at intervals along the central axis of the glued cup component.

6. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 5, characterized in that, There are four snap-fit ​​components, which are arranged at equal intervals along the circumference of the glued cup component.

7. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The outer periphery of the glued cup is provided with a plurality of first mounting slots, and the snap-fit ​​component is fixedly connected to the first mounting slots by fasteners; The upper end face of the lower glue cup is provided with a second mounting groove, and the mating part is fixedly connected to the second mounting groove by fasteners.

8. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The mating component is a clamping plate with an inverted L-shaped cross-section. The clamping plate is fixedly disposed on the upper end face of the lower glue cup component. The clamping plate and the upper end face of the lower glue cup component form a groove for clamping the clamping component.

9. The photoresist coating equipment cup structure according to claim 1, characterized in that, The photoresist cup also includes a first photoresist cup and a second photoresist cup. The snap-fit ​​component is disposed on the outer side wall of the second photoresist cup. The second photoresist cup is disposed on the outer periphery of the stage. The first photoresist cup is located below the stage. A guide channel for photoresist to pass through is formed between the first photoresist cup and the second photoresist cup.

10. A photoresist coating device, characterized in that, The device includes a stage, a coating assembly, a rinsing assembly, and a photoresist cup structure as described in any one of claims 1-9. The stage is used to rotatably support a wafer. The coating assembly is disposed above the stage and is used to coat the wafer with photoresist. The rinsing assembly includes a first rinsing member and a second rinsing member, the first rinsing member being located above the wafer and the second rinsing member being located below the wafer. The first rinsing member is used to rinse the side edge of the front side of the wafer, and the second rinsing member is used to rinse the side edge of the back side of the wafer. The cup structure is disposed on the outer periphery of the stage.

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