Semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and method for manufacturing semiconductor device

Abstract

To provide a semiconductor manufacturing system capable of suppressing wafer damages, and a manufacturing method of semiconductor devices.SOLUTION: A disclosed semiconductor manufacturing system includes: a housing formed with a cylindrical space; arms extending from the sidewall of the housing forming the space to the interior of the space; a wafer mounting unit that is fixed to the arm and holds the wafer so that the surface to be processed of the wafer in the space faces the axial direction of the space; a rotating unit that is provided on the side wall and rotates the wafer by rotating the arm with the axial direction as the axis of rotation; and a nozzle that ejects chemicals onto the surface to be processed.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a developing device. In this developing device, rollers hold the outer periphery of a semiconductor substrate so that the front surface is exposed, and rotate the semiconductor substrate. A developer dripping nozzle and a photoresist spraying nozzle are disposed on both sides of the semiconductor substrate. This allows the photoresist to be developed and the photoresist to be applied to the back surface. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 5-102027 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] The developing device of Patent Document 1 holds the outer periphery of a semiconductor substrate in order to apply a photoresist to the back surface of the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate is directly held by a roller that rotates the semiconductor substrate and a roller that rotates while applying a preload to the semiconductor substrate. Here, a straight notch indicating the direction of the crystal axis, generally called an orientation flat, or a V-shaped notch called a notch is formed in the semiconductor substrate, which is a wafer. For this reason, rotation while applying a preload may apply a load to the corner of the orientation flat or notch, which may cause chipping of the wafer.

[0005] In addition, SiC substrates generally have a larger initial wafer warp than Si substrates. As the manufacturing process progresses, the wafer warp tends to increase. For this reason, depending on the initial thickness of the wafer and its thinning during the manufacturing process, the wafer may crack when clamped with a roller while applying a preload.

[0006] The present disclosure has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device that can suppress damage to a wafer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present disclosure comprises a housing in which a cylindrical space is formed, an arm extending from a side wall of the housing which defines the space into the interior of the space, a wafer mounting section fixed to the arm and which holds the wafer within the space so that the processing surface of the wafer faces the axial direction of the space, a rotating section provided on the side wall and which rotates the arm about the axial direction as an axis of rotation to rotate the wafer, and a nozzle which ejects a chemical solution onto the processing surface.

[0008] A manufacturing method for a semiconductor device according to the present disclosure includes a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a housing having a cylindrical space formed therein, an arm extending from a side wall of the housing that forms the space into the interior of the space, and a wafer mounting part fixed to the arm, in which the wafer is held in the wafer mounting part so that the processing surface of the wafer faces the axial direction of the space within the space, and the arm is rotated about an axis of rotation to rotate the wafer, and a chemical solution is ejected onto the processing surface while rotating the wafer. Effect of the Invention

[0009] In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and the semiconductor device manufacturing method according to the present disclosure, the rotating part rotates the wafer via the wafer mounting part and the arm, thereby making it possible to suppress damage to the wafer. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Diagram 2] 2 is a plan view of an arm and a wafer mounting portion according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Diagram 3] 3 is a cross-sectional view of a wafer support part according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 4] 5A to 5C are diagrams illustrating the function of a rotating section according to the first embodiment. [Diagram 5] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of a shower unit according to the first embodiment. [Figure 6] 4 is a flowchart illustrating a method for manufacturing the semiconductor device according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding components are designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description may be omitted.

[0012] Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 according to a first embodiment. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a housing 10 in which a cylindrical space 11 is formed. An arm 12 extends from a side wall 10a of the housing 10 that forms the space 11 into the space 11. A wafer mounting unit 14 is fixed to the arm 12. The wafer mounting unit 14 holds a wafer such that a processing surface of the wafer, which is a semiconductor substrate, faces an axial direction A1 of the space 11 in the space 11. The arm 12 is extendable and retractable, and is capable of changing the position of the wafer mounted on the wafer mounting unit 14 as viewed from the axial direction A1. A plurality of wafer mounting units 14 are provided at positions shifted in the axial direction A1. In the present embodiment, five wafer mounting units 14 are provided, but the number of wafer mounting units 14 is not limited.

[0013] The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a nozzle 30 that discharges a chemical solution onto the processing surface of the wafer. This chemical solution is a developer for the development process. A plurality of nozzles 30 are provided corresponding to a plurality of wafer mounting portions 14. Furthermore, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a shower unit 32 that discharges pure water. The shower unit 32 is provided in the ceiling portion of the space 11. The shower unit 32 discharges pure water onto the wafer when cleaning is performed after development.

[0014] A rotating unit 20 is provided on the side wall 10a, which rotates the wafer mounting unit 14 and the wafer by rotating the arm 12 about the axial direction A1 as a rotation axis. The rotating unit 20 has a drive motor 22 and rotors 24 that are provided above and below the drive motor 22 and are rotated by the drive motor 22. The rotors 24 are formed, for example, from a rust-resistant alloy.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the arm 12 and the wafer mounting part 14 according to the first embodiment. The arm 12 has a first arm 12a extending from the side wall 10a and a second arm 12b extending from the side wall 10a. The wafer mounting part 14 has a first mounting part 14a fixed to the first arm 12a and a second mounting part 14b fixed to the second arm 12b. The first mounting part 14a and the second mounting part 14b sandwich the wafer from both sides as viewed from the axial direction A1. The first mounting part 14a and the second mounting part 14b are combined to form a ring shape. The wafer is supported by the wafer mounting part 14 in a hollow state in the space 11.

[0016] Wafer support parts 16 for placing a wafer are provided on the inner periphery of the doughnut-shaped wafer mounting part 14. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer support part 16 according to the first embodiment. The wafer support part 16 is L-shaped in cross-section, with a pedestal part supporting the back surface of the wafer. To stably support the outer periphery of the back surface of the wafer, it is preferable that at least eight wafer support parts 16 are evenly arranged on the inner periphery of the wafer mounting part 14. The number of wafer support parts 16 is not limited as long as they can stably support the wafer.

[0017] The wafer support 16 is exposed to liquid such as a developer during the development process. For this reason, for example, a rust-resistant alloy may be used for a part of the wafer support 16. Furthermore, the part of the wafer mounting part 14 that comes into contact with the wafer, such as the wafer support 16, may be formed of a rubber or resin material that has a high friction coefficient and is rust-resistant. This makes it possible to suppress the inertia when the wafer rotates. Furthermore, it is possible to suppress chipping of the outer periphery of the wafer due to vibration during rotation. Furthermore, the wafer support 16 may be U-shaped in cross section, opening toward the center of the wafer.

[0018] The first arm 12a and the second arm 12b are extendable in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction A1. This allows the horizontal position of the wafer mounting part 14 to be adjusted as desired while the wafer is sandwiched between them. The arm 12 may be driven by a motor or a hydraulic cylinder. The arm 12 may also have a nested structure.

[0019] FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the function of the rotating unit 20 according to the first embodiment. For convenience, only one side of the arm 12 and the wafer mounting unit 14 is shown in FIG. 4. The rotating bodies 24 attached above and below the drive motor 22 are formed inside the side wall 10a and fitted into the recesses 10c. The rotating bodies 24 support the drive motor 22. The space 11 is cylindrical so that the rotating unit 20 can rotate. The recesses 10c are annular. The rotating body 24 moves within the recesses 10c as the rotating body 24 is rotated in the direction indicated by D1 by the drive motor 22. The arm 12 is fixed to the drive motor 22. The movement of the rotating body 24 rotates the arm 12 and the wafer mounting unit 14 in the direction indicated by D2.

[0020] A program for rotating the rotating unit 20 is prepared in advance at the start of processing. The rotating unit 20 performs a predetermined rotation during wafer processing based on the program. Here, the movement of one side of the arm 12 and the wafer mounting unit 14 has been described, but the other side of the arm 12 and the wafer mounting unit 14 also performs a similar movement. This allows the wafer to rotate when the wafer mounting unit 14 rotates.

[0021] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the arrangement of the shower unit 32 according to the first embodiment. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of shower units 32. The plurality of wafer mounting units 14 can be moved to positions corresponding to the plurality of shower units 32 by extension and contraction of the arm 12. This makes it possible to increase the number of wafers that can be processed at one time. For example, by arranging the plurality of wafer mounting units 14 respectively under the corresponding shower units 32, the wafers can be processed efficiently. Also, missed cleaning of wafers can be suppressed.

[0022] As shown in Fig. 1, the housing 10 is provided with a drain port 40 that is connected to the bottom of the space 11. The bottom 10b of the space 11 is inclined toward the drain port 40. This allows the developer and pure water to be efficiently collected and flowed into a waste liquid tank (not shown) via the drain port 40. The bottom 10b may be provided by inclining the bottom surface of the housing 10. Also, an inclined portion that provides a slope may be attached as a separate part to the bottom surface of the housing 10.

[0023] Next, a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device will be described. FIG. 6 is a flow chart for explaining a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to the first embodiment. First, in a preparation step S1, arm 12 is moved to place a wafer. At this time, wafer mounting unit 14 holds the wafer in space 11 so that the processing surface of the wafer faces axial direction A1 of space 11. Next, in a development processing step S2, arm 12 is rotated around axial direction A1 as a rotation axis to rotate the wafer, and a chemical solution is discharged onto the processing surface while rotating the wafer. Next, in a cleaning step S3, after the chemical solution is discharged, pure water is discharged onto the wafer to clean the wafer.

[0024] In the preparation step S1, the diameter of the wafer mounting part 14 may be changed in accordance with the diameter of the wafer. In this case, the wafer mounting part 14 does not have to be a perfect circle. In other words, a gap may be provided between the first mounting part 14a and the second mounting part 14b. Also, the wafer may be moved from a wafer cassette for moving the wafer between processes to a temporary storage location such as a waiting room by a transfer arm, and after the adjustment of the arm 12 is completed, the wafer may be placed on the wafer mounting part 14 from the temporary storage location by the transfer arm. Also, the wafer may be placed on the wafer mounting part 14 directly from the wafer cassette. In this embodiment, the arm 12 is extendable and retractable, so that the transferred wafer can be received by the wafer mounting part 14 with high accuracy.

[0025] Next, in the development process S2, the developer is discharged from the nozzle 30 onto the wafer. At this time, the development process is performed while rotating the wafer by the rotating unit 20. This allows the developer to be uniformly supplied to the wafer, and development unevenness can be suppressed. This enables fine processing of the wafer. The nozzle 30 may also be extendable. This allows development unevenness of a wafer that requires fine processing to be suppressed by the horizontal movement of the nozzle 30.

[0026] Next, in the cleaning process S3, pure water is sprayed onto the wafer from the shower unit 32. At this time, while cleaning the wafer, the developer that has splashed inside the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 100 due to the rotation during the development process can be washed away. Note that the semiconductor manufacturing equipment 100 does not have a stage for adsorbing the wafer, and holds the wafer in a hollow state. Therefore, the stage is not contaminated by the developer leaking from the wafer, and contamination of the next wafer by the stage can be prevented.

[0027] Next, the effects of this embodiment will be described. In this embodiment, the rotating unit 20 does not rotate the wafer directly, but rotates it via the wafer mounting unit 14 and the arm 12. Therefore, damage to the wafer can be suppressed compared to, for example, a case where the wafer is directly rotated while a preload is applied to the wafer. In particular, cracks and chips originating from the orientation flat or notch can be suppressed.

[0028] The wafer may be made of a wide band gap semiconductor. The wide band gap semiconductor may be, for example, silicon carbide, a gallium nitride material, or diamond. In particular, when the wafer is made of silicon carbide, the warpage is likely to be large compared to a Si substrate. In this embodiment, the wafer having a large warpage is not directly rotated, so that the stress applied to the wafer can be suppressed. Therefore, damage to the wafer can be suppressed.

[0029] Furthermore, in a developing device using a vacuum stage, there is a risk that the developer will leak from through holes that occur in the SiC substrate, contaminating the stage and the wafer to be processed next. In this embodiment, the wafer is processed in a hollow state, so that contamination of the stage and the wafer to be processed next can be prevented. Thus, this embodiment is particularly effective when the wafer is a SiC substrate.

[0030] Also, after performing sputtering or ion implantation on the front or back surface of the wafer, the wafer may be held by the wafer mount 14 and rotated. In particular, when the wafer is made of silicon carbide, warping often becomes significant after ion implantation. Thus, if the wafer has been subjected to an ion implantation process, this embodiment is even more effective.

[0031] As a modification of this embodiment, the wafer mounting portion 14 does not have to be divided into the first mounting portion 14a and the second mounting portion 14b. In other words, the wafer mounting portion 14 may be annular as a single component. The wafer mounting portion 14 may also be divided into three or more portions.

[0032] The technical features described in this embodiment may be used in appropriate combination. [Explanation of symbols]

[0033] 10 housing, 10a side wall, 10b bottom, 10c recess, 11 space, 12 arm, 12a first arm, 12b second arm, 14 wafer mounting portion, 14a first mounting portion, 14b second mounting portion, 16 wafer support portion, 20 rotating portion, 22 drive motor, 24 rotating body, 30 nozzle, 32 shower portion, 40 drain port, 100 semiconductor manufacturing apparatus

Claims

1. A housing having a cylindrical space formed therein; an arm extending from a side wall of the housing that defines the space into the space; a wafer loading section fixed to the arm and holding the wafer within the space such that a processing surface of the wafer faces an axial direction of the space; a rotating unit provided on the side wall and configured to rotate the arm about a rotation axis in the axial direction to rotate the wafer; A nozzle that ejects a chemical solution onto the treatment surface; A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus comprising:

2. 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the arm is extendable and retractable, so that the position of the wafer as viewed in the axial direction can be changed.

3. 3. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wafer mounting portion is annular.

4. The arm includes a first arm extending from the side wall and a second arm extending from the side wall, the wafer mounting portion has a first mounting portion fixed to the first arm and a second mounting portion fixed to the second arm, 4. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion sandwich the wafer from both sides when viewed in the axial direction.

5. 5. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the first mounting portion and the second mounting portion are combined to form a ring shape.

6. 6. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wafer mounting portion is provided in a plurality of positions shifted in the axial direction.

7. 7. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a plurality of the nozzles are provided so as to correspond to the plurality of wafer mounting portions.

8. 8. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising a shower unit for discharging pure water.

9. A plurality of the shower units are provided, 9. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the plurality of wafer mounting parts are movable to positions corresponding to the plurality of shower parts.

10. 10. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a portion of said wafer mounting portion that comes into contact with said wafer is made of rubber.

11. The housing is provided with a drain port connected to a bottom of the space, 11. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a bottom of the space is inclined toward the drain outlet.

12. 12. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wafer is made of a wide band gap semiconductor.

13. 13. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the wide band gap semiconductor is silicon carbide, a gallium nitride-based material or diamond.

14. a wafer mounting portion of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a housing having a cylindrical space formed therein, an arm extending from a side wall of the housing that defines the space into the interior of the space, and a wafer mounting portion fixed to the arm, the wafer mounting portion holding the wafer within the space such that a processing surface of the wafer faces an axial direction of the space; Rotating the arm about the axial direction as a rotation axis to rotate the wafer; A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising the steps of: discharging a chemical solution onto the processing surface while rotating the wafer.

15. 15. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 14, further comprising the step of discharging pure water onto the wafer after discharging the chemical liquid.

16. 16. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 14, wherein the wafer is held by the wafer carrier after ion implantation into the wafer.

17. 17. The method for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to claim 16, wherein the wafer is made of silicon carbide.

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