Wafer drying device and wafer drying method

Abstract

Disclosed in the present application are a wafer drying device and a wafer drying method. The wafer drying device comprises a cavity; and a supercritical drying fluid inlet provided in the top wall of the cavity, and a bearing member and a first flow uniformizing assembly which are provided in the cavity. The supercritical drying fluid inlet is used for providing a supercritical drying fluid into the cavity; the bearing member is used for bearing a plurality of vertically-placed wafers, and the plurality of wafers are arranged in the bearing member at intervals in a horizontal direction; the first flow uniformizing assembly is arranged between the supercritical drying fluid inlet and the wafers, and comprises a first blocking plate arranged opposite to the supercritical drying fluid inlet and a first flow uniformizing plate located between the edge of the first blocking plate and the side wall of the cavity. When the supercritical drying fluid enters the cavity, the supercritical drying fluid is diffused to the first flow uniformizing plate by means of the first blocking plate, and then flows to plate surfaces of the wafers from the side edges of the wafers so as to dry the wafers. The present application can achieve simultaneous and uniform drying of a plurality of wafers in the same cavity, thereby greatly improving drying efficiency and production capacity.

Description

Wafer drying device and wafer drying method Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of semiconductor technology, and in particular to a wafer drying device and a wafer drying method. Background Art

[0002] The integrated circuit chip manufacturing process involves transferring a pre-designed circuit diagram onto a silicon wafer through various processes, followed by packaging and testing to form a complete circuit chip. This process requires wet etching and cleaning the semiconductor wafer using liquids such as wet electronic chemicals and deionized water, and ultimately removing the liquid from the wafer surface for drying. During the wafer drying process, the wafer is typically rotated at high speed and a drying liquid, such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA), is used to displace the liquid from the wafer surface.

[0003] However, with the advancement of semiconductor processing technology, the critical dimension (CD) of chip devices on the wafer surface continues to shrink, circuit patterns are evolving towards miniaturization and high aspect ratios, and device structures are also evolving from two-dimensional planar structures to three-dimensional structures and multi-layer structures. When drying these fine, high-aspect-ratio three-dimensional structures, existing drying technologies, during the process of removing the liquid from the wafer, can form an uneven, half-moon-shaped air-liquid interface within the pattern due to the surface tension of the liquid. This in turn applies unbalanced pulling or pushing forces to the pattern, causing defects such as bending, deformation, adhesion, damage, and collapse, leading to device failure.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to provide a wafer drying device and method to solve the above problems.

[0005] Summary of the Invention

[0006] Purpose of the invention: The present application relates to a wafer drying device and a wafer drying method, which can, to a certain extent, avoid defects such as bending, deformation, adhesion, damage, and collapse of the surface structure of the object to be dried during the drying process, thereby causing device failure, and can achieve uniform drying of multiple wafers at the same time in the same processing chamber.

[0007] On the one hand, the present application provides a wafer drying device, comprising: a cavity; a supercritical drying fluid inlet, arranged on the top wall of the cavity, for providing supercritical drying fluid into the cavity; a carrier, for carrying multiple vertically placed wafers, the multiple wafers being arranged at intervals in the horizontal direction in the carrier; a first uniform flow component, arranged between the supercritical drying fluid inlet and the wafer, comprising a first baffle plate arranged opposite to the supercritical drying fluid inlet, and a first uniform flow plate located between the first baffle plate and the side wall of the cavity, a first uniform flow hole being opened on the first uniform flow plate; wherein, when the supercritical drying fluid enters the cavity, the supercritical drying fluid diffuses to the first uniform flow plate through the first baffle plate, and then flows from the side of the wafer to the wafer plate surface through the first uniform flow hole to dry the wafer.

[0008] Specifically, the first flow uniforming plate and the first blocking plate are arranged on the same plane.

[0009] Specifically, the first flow uniforming plate connects the first blocking plate and the side wall of the cavity.

[0010] Specifically, the height of the first flow uniforming plate is lower than that of the first blocking plate.

[0011] Specifically, the first flow uniforming plate is extended and arranged below the first blocking plate.

[0012] Specifically, the first baffle plate is provided with a baffle plate flow-uniform hole whose size is smaller than that of the supercritical drying fluid inlet.

[0013] Specifically, the wafer is placed on the carrier at a position opposite to the first flow-uniform hole.

[0014] Specifically, the first flow uniformizing assembly further includes a second flow uniformizing plate having a height lower than that of the first flow uniformizing plate. The second flow uniformizing plate is provided with second flow uniformizing holes, and the second flow uniformizing holes are staggered with the first flow uniformizing holes.

[0015] Specifically, the second flow uniforming plate is connected to the side wall of the cavity.

[0016] Specifically, the first uniform flow assembly further includes a diverter plate disposed between the first baffle plate and the supercritical dry fluid inlet, the diverter plate being provided with a diverter hole and an air flow groove communicating with the diverter hole, the air flow groove being disposed on a surface opposite to the first baffle plate.

[0017] Specifically, the edge of the diverter plate extends toward the side wall of the cavity; the airflow groove includes a main groove and a diverter groove, the diverter flow hole is arranged in the main groove, the diverter groove is connected to the main groove, and extends from the main groove to the edge of the diverter plate.

[0018] Specifically, the edge of the diverter plate is connected to the side wall of the cavity.

[0019] Specifically, the distance between two adjacent wafers is 5-20 mm.

[0020] Specifically, the wafer drying device further includes a supercritical drying fluid outlet provided on the bottom wall of the chamber, and the device further includes: a second flow uniforming component provided between the carrier and the supercritical drying fluid outlet.

[0021] Specifically, the second flow uniformizing assembly includes: a second baffle plate arranged opposite to the supercritical dry fluid outlet, and a third flow uniformizing plate arranged between the edge of the second baffle plate and the side wall of the cavity. When the supercritical dry fluid is discharged from the cavity, the supercritical dry fluid corresponding to the supercritical dry fluid outlet is blocked by the second baffle plate, diffuses to the third flow uniformizing plate, and then flows out from the supercritical dry fluid outlet.

[0022] Specifically, the wafer drying device further includes: a pressure relief port, which is provided on the top wall of the cavity or the upper part of the side wall of the cavity, connected to the cavity, and is used to discharge the supercritical drying fluid that has become a gaseous fluid.

[0023] Specifically, the cavity is a cylindrical cavity adapted to the shape of the wafer.

[0024] Specifically, the carrier is provided with a plurality of carrying grooves for carrying a plurality of wafers, and the bottoms of the carrying grooves are provided with fluid through holes.

[0025] On the other hand, the present application provides a wafer drying method, including: vertically inserting multiple wafers into a carrier in a cavity of a wafer drying device, and arranging the multiple wafers in the carrier at intervals in a horizontal direction; introducing a supercritical drying fluid into the cavity through a supercritical drying fluid inlet of the wafer drying device, so that the supercritical drying fluid diffuses through a first blocking plate to a first uniform flow plate and then flows from the side of the wafer to the wafer plate surface; and discharging the supercritical drying fluid.

[0026] Specifically, the temperature of the supercritical drying fluid introduced into the supercritical drying fluid inlet is 15 to 150° C., and the introduction pressure is 0.1 to 25 MPa.

[0027] Specifically, before the step of introducing the supercritical drying fluid into the cavity through the supercritical drying fluid inlet, a pre-process liquid is introduced into the cavity through the pre-process liquid inlet of the wafer drying device, and the surface tension of the pre-process liquid is greater than the surface tension of the supercritical drying fluid.

[0028] Specifically, before the step of vertically inserting multiple wafers into a carrier in the cavity of a wafer drying device, a pre-process liquid is introduced into the cavity through a pre-process liquid inlet of the wafer drying device until the pre-process liquid reaches a set height, which is determined according to the size of the wafers, and the surface tension of the pre-process liquid is greater than the surface tension of the supercritical drying fluid.

[0029] Specifically, supercritical drying fluid is introduced into the cavity through the supercritical drying fluid inlet until the supercritical drying fluid in the cavity reaches a supercritical state; the previous process liquid in the cavity is discharged through the previous process liquid outlet of the wafer drying device, and the supercritical drying fluid continues to be introduced into the cavity. The supercritical drying fluid maintains the supercritical state in the cavity until the wafer drying is completed.

[0030] Specifically, the discharge flow rate of the preceding process liquid is 5 to 100 Lpm, and the direction is vertically downward.

[0031] Specifically, the supercritical drying fluid is discharged from the supercritical drying fluid outlet of the wafer drying device, and the temperature in the cavity is adjusted by a heating element of the wafer drying device to maintain the supercritical state of the supercritical drying fluid.

[0032] Specifically, the pressure relief port provided on the top wall of the cavity is opened to reduce the pressure of the cavity, so that the supercritical drying fluid is converted into gaseous supercritical drying fluid, and the gaseous supercritical drying fluid is discharged through the pressure relief port.

[0033] Specifically, the supercritical drying fluid is discharged from the supercritical drying fluid outlet of the wafer drying device, and a purge fluid is introduced into the cavity from the purge fluid inlet of the wafer drying device to maintain the pressure of the cavity, so that the supercritical drying fluid remains in a supercritical state until the supercritical drying fluid is completely discharged.

[0034] Compared with the prior art, this application has the following beneficial effects:

[0035] The supporting plate provided in the present application can hold multiple wafers. The supercritical drying fluid from the supercritical drying fluid inlet can be evenly distributed in the supporting member through the first flow uniformity component, thereby enabling uniform drying of multiple wafers. Moreover, since the surface tension of the supercritical drying fluid is close to zero, the supercritical drying fluid can effectively prevent the surface structure of the object to be dried from defects such as bending, deformation, adhesion, damage, and collapse during the drying process, thereby causing device failure.

[0036] Summary of the Figures

[0037] The features and properties of the present invention are further described by the following examples and accompanying drawings.

[0038] FIG1 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0039] FIG2 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a first flow-uniform component according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0040] FIG3 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0041] FIG4 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0042] FIG5 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a diverter plate according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0043] FIG6 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0044] FIG7 schematically shows a structural diagram of a carrier entering a cavity according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0045] FIG8 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of an interlocking mechanism opening a cavity according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0046] FIG9 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of an interlocking mechanism opening a cavity according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0047] FIG10 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of an interlocking mechanism closing a cavity according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0048] FIG11 schematically shows a structural diagram of a bearing member according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0049] FIG12 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0050] FIG13 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0051] FIG14 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0052] FIG15 schematically shows a schematic structural diagram of a wafer drying device according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0053] FIG16 schematically shows a schematic diagram of the steps of a wafer drying method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0054] FIG17 schematically shows a schematic diagram of a wafer drying process according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0055] FIG18 schematically shows a schematic diagram of the steps of a wafer drying method according to an embodiment of the present application;

[0056] FIG19 schematically shows a schematic diagram of a wafer drying process according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0057] Where, Q is cavity, W is wafer;

[0058] 1. Cavity cover, 11. Second accommodating space, 2. Cavity body, 21. First accommodating space, 3. Interlocking mechanism, 31. Locking bolt, 32. Locking pin, 33. Driving device, 4. Sealing ring, 5. Heating element, 6. Carrying element, 61. Carrying groove, 62. Fluid through hole, 63. Adjusting element, 7. First flow-distributing assembly, 71. First blocking plate, 72. First flow-distributing plate, 721. First flow-distributing hole, 73. Second flow-distributing plate, 74. Diverter plate , 741. Diversion hole, 742. Diversion groove, 8. Second uniform flow component, 81. Second blocking plate, 82. Third uniform flow plate, 9. Supercritical drying fluid inlet, 10. Previous process liquid, 11. Previous process liquid inlet, 12. Supercritical drying fluid, 13. Liquid to be dried, 14. Sweeping fluid inlet, 15. Sweeping fluid, 16. Supercritical drying fluid outlet, 17. Previous process liquid outlet, 18. Pressure relief port, 19. Second sliding part.

[0059] Preferred embodiments of the present invention

[0060] The following describes the embodiments of the present application through specific examples. Those skilled in the art will readily understand the other advantages and benefits of the present application from the disclosure herein. The present application may also be implemented or applied through various other specific embodiments, and the details in this specification may be modified or altered based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application.

[0061] Example 1

[0062] 1 to 12 , this embodiment provides a wafer drying device for drying a wafer W.

[0063] Referring to Figure 1 , the wafer drying device provided in the present application includes a chamber Q. A supercritical drying fluid inlet 9 is provided on the top wall of the chamber Q, communicating with the chamber Q. This inlet is used to admit a supercritical drying fluid 12, thereby causing the chamber Q to reach a supercritical state. A carrier 6 is provided within the chamber Q for supporting a plurality of vertically positioned wafers W, which are arranged horizontally and spaced apart on the carrier 6. A first flow-leveling assembly 7 is also provided within the chamber Q, disposed between the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9 and the carrier 6. The assembly includes a first baffle 71 disposed opposite the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9, and a first flow-leveling plate 72 located between the edge of the first baffle 71 and the sidewall of the chamber Q. When the supercritical drying fluid 12 enters chamber Q, the flow direction of the supercritical drying fluid 12 is indicated by the arrow in Figure 1. At this time, other inlets or outlets on the top wall of chamber Q are closed. The supercritical drying fluid 12 entering through the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9 is blocked by the first blocking plate 71 and diffuses to the first flow distribution plate 72. The first flow distribution plate 72 has multiple first flow distribution holes 721 uniformly formed therein. The supercritical drying fluid 12 flows out of the first flow distribution holes 721 and flows from the side of the wafer to the wafer surface to dry the wafer W. This prevents the supercritical drying fluid 12 from flowing directly onto the wafer W, resulting in uneven drying. In this embodiment, the temperature of the supercritical drying fluid 12 introduced into the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9 can be set to 15-150°C, and the pressure can be set to 0.1-25 MPa. The inventors have found that under these temperature and pressure conditions, the supercritical drying fluid 12 has a high solubility and replacement capacity and high drying efficiency.

[0064] Before using the supercritical drying fluid 12 to dry the wafer W, the wafer W is covered with a pre-process liquid 10. The pre-process of drying the wafer W with the supercritical drying fluid 12 can be a liquid drying process or a cleaning process, and the pre-process liquid 10 can be a processing liquid used in the liquid drying process or the cleaning process. Compared to placing the wafer W horizontally with the wafer plate facing the first flow-uniform component 7, in which case the supercritical drying fluid 12 accumulates to a certain height before drying the wafer W, placing the wafer W vertically allows the pre-process liquid 10 on the wafer W to flow along the direction of the supercritical drying fluid 12 from the first flow-uniform component 7. The wafer W can be dried during the flow of the supercritical drying fluid 12, which can improve the drying efficiency of the wafer W. Compared to arranging multiple wafers W vertically, with some wafers W located below other wafers W, arranging multiple wafers W horizontally and spaced apart in the carrier can also allow the replaced pre-process liquid 10 to leave the wafer W under the action of gravity, preventing the pre-process liquid 10 from flowing to the wafer W located below and causing contamination. Moreover, when there are multiple wafers W, the supercritical drying fluid 12 can contact the sides of multiple wafers at the same time even if the area of ​​the first flow plate 72 is very small, so that multiple wafers W can be dried synchronously while saving the volume of the cavity Q.

[0065] The supercritical drying fluid 12 has a surface tension less than that of the previous process liquid 10 and is miscible with the previous process liquid 10, capable of displacing the previous process liquid 10. In this embodiment, the supercritical drying fluid 12 may be supercritical carbon dioxide, or a hydrofluoroether such as 1,1,2,2-tetrafluoroethyl-2,2,2-trifluoroethyl ether. Alternatively, supercritical water, ammonia, nitrous oxide, ethanol, methanol, cyclohexane, n-pentane, ethane, propane, ethylene, or the like may be used. The supercritical drying fluid 12 has a state intermediate between that of a gas and a liquid, exhibiting physical properties of high density, low viscosity, and high expansion capacity. Furthermore, the surface tension of the supercritical drying fluid 12 is near zero, which can prevent unbalanced tension and pressure within the graphic structure due to surface tension, thereby preventing defects such as bending, deformation, adhesion, damage, and collapse of the graphic structure that could cause device failure.

[0066] The number of first baffles 71 can be the same as the number of supercritical dry fluid inlets 9. For example, when there is one supercritical dry fluid inlet 9, the number of first baffles 71 is also one. The size of the first baffle 71 can be slightly larger than the size of the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9. For example, it can be the same as the cross-sectional area of ​​the flow path of the supercritical dry fluid 12 at the first baffle 71, so that the supercritical dry fluid 12 can be well blocked even after diffusion. In other embodiments of the present application, one first baffle 71 can be provided for multiple supercritical dry fluid inlets 9. When there are other inlets on the top wall of the cavity Q, the first baffle 71 can also block the other inlets to uniformly distribute the fluid entering from the other inlets. In other embodiments of the present application, the size of the first baffle 71 can be equal to the size of the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9.

[0067] The first flow equalizer 72 can be arranged on the extension surface of the first baffle 71, that is, the first flow equalizer 72 and the first baffle 71 are arranged in the same plane, and the edge of the first flow equalizer 72 is connected to the side wall of the cavity Q, so that the fluid blocked by the first baffle 71 can flow through the first flow equalizer 72 to the wafer W. In this embodiment, the first flow equalizer 72 and the first set of baffles 71 can be integrally formed. At this time, the wafer W is vertically arranged below the first flow equalizer assembly 7, preferably below the first flow equalizer 72, especially opposite to the first flow equalizer hole 721, and avoiding the position corresponding to the first baffle 71 on the carrier 6, so as to achieve a better drying effect.

[0068] In other embodiments of the present application, when there are multiple first baffles 71, the first flow distributor 72 may be disposed between adjacent first baffles 71 to connect the edges of adjacent first baffles 71. In other implementations of the present application, a gap may be left between the first flow distributor 72 and the first baffles 71 and / or the sidewalls of the cavity Q.

[0069] A plate hole adjustment member (not shown) can be provided at the first flow-uniform hole 721 of the first flow-uniform plate 72. The plate hole adjustment member can be an adjustment plate provided at the first flow-uniform hole 721, which can adjust the opening degree of the first flow-uniform hole 721. In other embodiments of the embodiments of the present application, the plate hole adjustment member can be a guide plate provided on the inner wall of the first flow-uniform hole 721, and the guide plate can be movably adjusted in direction to adjust the direction of the fluid flowing out of the first flow-uniform hole 721. In other embodiments of the embodiments of the present application, the first flow-uniform hole 721 can be externally connected to a nozzle, and the nozzle can be adjustable in opening and direction. In other embodiments of the embodiments of the present application, the plate hole adjustment member may not be provided.

[0070] 3 , in a specific implementation of the embodiment of the present application, the first flow equalizer assembly 7 may further include a second flow equalizer plate 73, which is disposed between the first flow equalizer plate 72 and the wafer W. The height of the second flow equalizer plate 73 is lower than that of the first flow equalizer plate 72. The edge of the second flow equalizer plate 73 extends toward the side wall of the cavity Q, connecting the opposite side wall of the cavity Q. Second flow equalizer holes are evenly arranged on the second flow equalizer plate 73. The second flow equalizer holes can avoid the first flow equalizer holes 721 and are staggered with the first flow equalizer holes 721, so that the surface of the second flow equalizer plate 73 between the second flow equalizer holes blocks the fluid from the first flow equalizer holes 721 and further equalizes the fluid from the first flow equalizer holes 721. Part of the fluid blocked by the surface of the second flow equalizer plate 73 will flow between the first blocking plate 71 and the second flow equalizer plate 73 and then flow out from the second flow equalizer holes on the second flow equalizer plate 73 opposite to the surface of the first blocking plate 71. In this case, a wafer can also be placed at a position on the carrier 6 corresponding to the blocking plate 71, so that the wafer W placed corresponding to the first blocking plate 71 can also be dried evenly. The size of the second flow-uniform holes on the second flow-uniform plate 73 can be smaller than the size of the first flow-uniform holes 721, and the hole pitch of the second flow-uniform holes can be smaller than the hole pitch of the first flow-uniform holes 721, so that the number of the second flow-uniform holes is greater than the number of the first flow-uniform holes 721, so that the supercritical drying fluid 12 flows more evenly to the wafers.

[0071] Referring to Figure 4, in a specific embodiment of the present application, the first flow-uniform component 7 may further include a diverter plate 74. The diverter plate 74 may be a flat plate disposed between the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9 and the first baffle 71. The edge of the diverter plate 74 extends toward the sidewall of the cavity and may connect to the sidewall of the cavity to distribute the fluid from the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9. As shown in Figure 5, the diverter plate 74 has a diverter hole 741 disposed at the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9. The surface of the diverter plate 74 facing the first baffle 71 is provided with an airflow groove connected to the diverter hole 741. The airflow groove includes a main flow groove 742 and a plurality of diverter grooves 743. The plurality of diverter grooves 743 are all connected to the main flow groove 742. The diverter hole 741 is disposed within the main flow groove 742, and the diverter grooves 743 extend from the main flow groove 742 toward the sidewall of the cavity Q. The main flow groove 742 and the diverter groove 743 guide the supercritical dry fluid 12 from the diverter hole 741 to the top of the first uniform flow plate 72, which is conducive to the uniform flow of the supercritical dry fluid 12. The size of the diverter hole 741 is smaller than the size of the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9 to slow down the flow rate of the supercritical dry fluid 12, thereby increasing the diversion time of the supercritical dry fluid 12 at the main flow groove 742 and the diverter groove 743, further facilitating uniform flow. The diverter groove 743 can be arranged symmetrically with the diverter hole 741 as the center so that the fluid is evenly distributed in all directions. The diverter groove 743 can extend along the arrangement direction of the first uniform flow hole 721 and can include multiple straight grooves so that the notch of the diverter groove 743 faces the first uniform flow hole 721, which can better divide the fluid into the first uniform flow hole 721. In other embodiments of the present application, the diverter groove 743 can be a combination of straight grooves and arc grooves so that one diverter groove 743 corresponds to the first uniform flow hole 721 in different rows or columns to achieve a better diversion effect. In other implementations of the embodiment of the present application, the diverter plate 74 may be a convex plate that is higher in the middle and lower around the edges, and the diverter hole 741 is provided at the highest point of the diverter plate 74 .

[0072] Continuing with reference to Figure 1, the cavity Q may include a cavity cover 1 and a cavity body 2 that cooperate with each other to form a sealed structure. The cavity body 2 includes a first accommodating space 21 and an opening connected to the first accommodating space 21. The first accommodating space 21 is used to accommodate the carrier 6. The cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2 flexibly cooperate to achieve the closing and opening of the opening. The opening can be set at the top of the cavity body 2, the cavity cover 1 is set at the opening of the cavity body 2, a second accommodating space 11 can be set in the cavity cover 1, and the first uniform flow component 7 can be set in the second accommodating space 11. In other embodiments of the present application, the first uniform flow component 7 can be set in the first accommodating space 21. In other embodiments of the present application, the opening can be set on the side wall or bottom wall of the cavity body 2.

[0073] The shape of the cavity Q can be a cube or other shapes. In other embodiments of the present application, referring to FIG6 , the shape of the cavity Q is adapted to the shape of the wafer W to reduce the size of the cavity Q. For example, it can be a cylindrical cavity adapted to the shape of the wafer W, and the axial direction of the cylindrical cavity is the arrangement direction of the wafer W. The top wall of the cavity Q is the side wall of the cylindrical cavity at the top of the first uniform flow component 7, and the bottom wall of the cavity Q is the side wall of the cylindrical cavity at the bottom of the carrier 6. The side wall of the cavity Q includes the side wall of the cylindrical cavity in addition to the top wall and the bottom wall of the cavity Q, and also includes the end face of the cylindrical cavity.

[0074] Referring to Figure 7, a first sliding member (not shown) extending from the first accommodating space 21 to the opening and a second sliding member 19 connected to the supporting member 6 can be provided in the cavity body 2. The first sliding member and the second sliding member 19 cooperate with each other to enable the supporting member 6 to slide into or out of the first accommodating space 21 in the cavity body 2. The first sliding member can be a slide rail, pulley or slide groove, etc. arranged on the inner wall of the cavity body 2, and the second sliding member 19 can be a structure such as a slide groove or slide rail that is adapted to the first sliding member.

[0075] Referring to Figure 1 again, the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2 are closed and opened by an interlocking mechanism 3 to achieve the closing and opening of the opening. The interlocking mechanism 3 can be provided at the connection between the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2. It can be a snap-fit ​​structure or other structure that can stably connect the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2 in a high temperature and high pressure environment. There is no limitation here. At the contact position between the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2, a sealing ring 4 that can be elastically deformed and compressed can be provided for sealing, wherein the sealing ring 4 can be made of polytetrafluoroethylene material or other materials. Furthermore, a groove adapted to the sealing ring 4 can be provided between the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2 to accommodate the sealing ring 4. The cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2 can be made of pressure-resistant and temperature-resistant materials such as high-strength stainless steel or Hastelloy alloy to ensure that the environment inside the cavity Q can be high temperature and high pressure.

[0076] In other embodiments of the present invention, the interlocking mechanism 3 can be positioned above the cavity cover 1, as shown in Figure 8 , and can be a hydraulic array, capable of sealing a high-temperature, high-pressure cavity. The hydraulic array draws in the cavity cover 1, compressing it or driving it away from the cavity body 2 to achieve locking and opening between the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2. The cavity Q can be a cube. In other embodiments of the present invention, the cavity Q can also be cylindrical or have other shapes.

[0077] In other embodiments of the present application, referring to Figures 9 and 10, the interlocking mechanism 3 can be provided on the cavity cover 1 and connected to the cavity body 2 through the cavity cover 1, thereby realizing the separation and closure between the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2, so as to achieve the sealing of the high-temperature and high-pressure cavity. The interlocking mechanism 3 may include a locking bolt 31 and a locking pin 32, wherein the upper end of the locking bolt 31 is a head and the lower end is a screw, the screw is provided through the cavity cover 1, and the lower end of the screw is fixedly connected to the corresponding position of the cavity body 2 inside the cavity body 2, so that the cavity cover 1 can move up and down along the screw of the locking bolt 31 without being separated, thereby realizing the separation and closure between the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2. The locking pin 32 is provided above the cavity cover 1 on the side of the locking bolt 31, and can be close to or away from the locking bolt 31. When the cavity cover 1 and cavity body 2 are closed, the head and part of the screw of the locking bolt 31 are exposed on the cavity cover 1, and the locking pin 32 is close to the screw of the locking bolt 31 exposed above the cavity cover 1. The locking pin 32 abuts the head of the locking bolt 31, and the length of the locking pin 32 in the vertical direction is consistent with the length of the screw of the locking bolt 31 exposed above the cavity cover 1. That is, it is locked between the head of the locking bolt 31 and the upper end surface of the cavity cover 1, thereby limiting the movement of the locking bolt 31 in the cavity cover 1 and completing the closed locking of the cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2. When the locking pin 32 is away from the screw of the locking bolt 31, the cavity cover 1 can move upward to contact the head of the locking bolt 31, thereby achieving the cavity cover 1 opening the cavity body 2. The locking pin 32 can be driven by a drive device 33, which can be a motor, a cylinder or other drive. There may be multiple locking pins 32 corresponding to each locking bolt 31 , and the locking pins 32 may be controlled by the same driving device 33 to make corresponding reciprocating motions, or may be controlled by the driving devices 33 separately to make corresponding reciprocating motions.

[0078] After the interlocking mechanism 3 is opened, the cavity cover 1 can move and move to the outside of the cavity Q, and hold the wafer W that needs to be dried on the carrier 6. At this time, the wafer W is covered with a liquid film formed by the previous process liquid 10 to prevent the liquid on the wafer W from evaporating and causing damage before supercritical fluid treatment. The conveying mechanism not shown in the figure transports the wafer W or the carrier 6 carrying the wafer W to the cavity body 2. After completing the conveying, the conveying mechanism exits the cavity body 2 and moves to the outside of the cavity Q. The cavity cover 1 moves to the opening of the cavity body 2, and then moves to the locking position. The cavity cover 1 and the cavity body 2 are locked by the interlocking mechanism 3, and the cavity Q is closed to form a closed environment.

[0079] As shown in FIG11 , the carrier 6 can be a carrier plate having multiple carrier slots 61 formed thereon. The shape of the carrier slots 61 is adapted to the side of the wafer and is used to carry multiple vertically placed wafers W. The bottom of the carrier slots 61 is provided with fluid through-holes 62. The fluid through-holes 62 can be evenly arranged on the carrier plate, allowing the supercritical drying fluid 12 to flow in from the notch of the carrier slots 61 and out from the bottom of the slots, so that the flow path of the supercritical drying fluid 12 is straight on the wafer plate surface, allowing the supercritical drying fluid 12 to flow evenly across the wafer plate surface. Furthermore, multiple carrier slots 61 can be arranged in parallel, with multiple wafers W placed in parallel in the multiple carrier slots 61. The carrier plate can hold 1 to 100 wafers W. The inventors have found that the distance between two adjacent wafers W can be 5-20 mm, for example, 10 mm, 11 mm, or 12 mm, etc., which can make the flow path between the two adjacent wafers W uniform and stable. The cross-section of the supporting groove 61 can be designed to be U-shaped or Y-shaped, and the opening of the supporting groove 61 can gradually decrease from the groove mouth to the groove bottom. When the wafer W is placed in the supporting groove 61, it does not need to be completely aligned with the groove bottom of the supporting groove 61. In other embodiments of the present application, the supporting member 6 can also be a supporting bar, a supporting block, or other structures.

[0080] Continuing with FIG1 , the wafer drying apparatus may further include an adjustment member 63 , which may be a rotating shaft that can be inserted into the carrier 6 and disposed perpendicularly to the arrangement direction of the wafers W. The rotating shaft rotates to drive the carrier 6 to rotate along with the sidewalls of the rotating shaft, thereby driving the wafers W to be tilted and disposed in the cavity Q. As shown in FIG12 , before the drying process begins, the wafer W with the device mounted on the plate facing upward can be tilted to allow liquid to remain on the surface of the wafer W with the device mounted thereon. This prevents evaporation and drying of the wafer W before replacement, and prevents defects such as bending, deformation, adhesion, damage, and collapse of the surface structure of the wafer W during the evaporation and drying process, which could cause device failure. In other embodiments of the present application, the groove wall of the supporting groove 61 can swing along the arrangement direction of the wafer W, the side wall of the rotating shaft is connected to the groove wall, and the rotating shaft is arranged perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the wafer W. The rotating shaft rotates to drive the groove wall to swing and thus drive the wafer W to swing, wherein the rotating shaft can be directly connected to the groove wall, and the rotating shaft and the groove wall correspond one to one, or the rotating shaft can be connected to the groove wall through a connecting rod, and one rotating shaft can correspond to multiple groove walls. In other embodiments of the present application, the adjusting member 63 can be a telescopic rod arranged in the supporting groove 61, and the telescopic rod is arranged on the groove wall corresponding to the plate surface of the wafer W without the device, and the telescopic rod extends or retracts the groove wall to push the wafer W to be placed at an angle.

[0081] A supercritical drying fluid outlet 16 may also be provided on the bottom wall of the chamber Q. Under the action of gravity, the supercritical drying fluid 12 may follow a straight path from top to bottom, ensuring a uniform flow of the supercritical drying fluid 12 across all areas of the wafer surface, thereby achieving uniform drying of the wafers W. In other implementations of the present application, multiple supercritical drying fluid outlets 16 may be evenly disposed on the bottom wall of the chamber Q to discharge the supercritical drying fluid 12 within the chamber Q.

[0082] A second flow equalizer 8 may also be provided between the carrier 6 and the supercritical dry fluid outlet 16. The second flow equalizer 8 equalizes the supercritical dry fluid 12 flowing out of the carrier 6 and then discharges it through the supercritical dry fluid outlet 16, so that the supercritical dry fluid 12 remains uniform at the carrier 6 between the first flow equalizer 7 and the second flow equalizer 8. The structure of the second flow equalizer 8 may refer to the first flow equalizer 7. The second flow equalizer 8 may include a second baffle 81 and a third flow equalizer 82 located between the edge of the second baffle 81 and the side wall of the cavity Q. The second baffle 81 is provided corresponding to the supercritical dry fluid outlet 16 to prevent the pressure difference inside and outside the cavity Q from causing the supercritical dry fluid 12 to flow directly to the supercritical dry fluid outlet 16, thereby avoiding affecting the flow path of the supercritical dry fluid 12. In other implementations of the embodiments of the present application, the structure of the second flow equalizer 8 may also adopt other structures different from the first flow equalizer 7, which is not limited here.

[0083] The supercritical drying fluid outlet 16 can also be used to discharge the previous-process liquid 10 displaced by the supercritical drying fluid 12. The second flow-uniform component 8 can control the flow direction of the previous-process liquid 10, reducing liquid level fluctuations during discharge of the previous-process liquid 10. This prevents contamination of the dried areas on the wafer W due to liquid level fluctuations, thereby ensuring uniform drying across the wafer W and across each wafer W. A previous-process liquid outlet 17 for discharging the previous-process liquid 10 can also be provided on the bottom wall of the chamber Q.

[0084] When the preceding process of drying wafer W with supercritical drying fluid 12 is a liquid drying process, the liquid drying process can also be performed within chamber Q. A preceding-process liquid inlet 11 for admitting preceding-process liquid 10 can be provided on the wall of chamber Q. Prior to being dried with preceding-process liquid 10, wafer W can be treated with liquid to be dried 13, for example, by a cleaning process. Liquid to be dried 13 can be deionized water. During the drying process of wafer W with preceding-process liquid 10, a film of liquid to be dried 13 can be formed on the surface of wafer W. The surface tension of preceding-process liquid 10 is lower than that of liquid to be dried 13, and the preceding-process liquid 10 is miscible with the preceding-process liquid 13, displacing the preceding-process liquid 13.

[0085] Exemplarily, the front-process liquid inlet 11 can be set on the side wall of the cavity Q, above the wafer W, or the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9 can also serve as the front-process liquid inlet 11, which is used to enter the front-process liquid 10 before entering the supercritical drying fluid 12. In other embodiments of the present application, the front-process liquid inlet 11 can be set on the top wall or bottom wall of the cavity Q, and it is only necessary to ensure that the entering front-process liquid 10 can supply the fluid covering the wafer W. When the front-process liquid inlet 11 is set on the top wall of the cavity Q. One or more front-process liquid outlets 17 for discharging the front-process liquid 10 are also provided on the bottom wall of the cavity Q, so that the front-process liquid 10 can be discharged under the action of gravity. The supercritical drying fluid outlet 16 can also serve as the front-process liquid outlet 17.

[0086] The wafer drying device may further include a controller, and control valves connected to the controller may be provided at the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9, the supercritical drying fluid outlet 16, the previous process liquid inlet 11, and the previous process liquid outlet 17, respectively, to control the entry and discharge of the supercritical drying fluid 12 and the previous process liquid 10, so as to control the pressure of the cavity Q, thereby maintaining the supercritical state of the supercritical drying fluid 12 in the cavity Q. The wafer drying device may further include a pressure detection component (not shown) connected to the controller, and the controller may adjust the control valve according to the detected pressure data in the cavity Q. The pressure detection component may be a pressure sensor or a pressure measuring instrument, etc.

[0087] Still referring to Figure 1, a pressure relief vent 18 may also be provided on the top wall of the chamber Q. This vent is opened after the wafer W is dried to reduce the pressure within the chamber Q, thereby converting the supercritical drying fluid 12 into a gaseous supercritical drying fluid, which is then discharged from the pressure relief vent 18. In other embodiments of the present application, the pressure relief vent 18 may also be provided at other locations, such as on the upper sidewall of the chamber Q. In other embodiments of the present application, the supercritical drying fluid inlet 16 may also serve as the pressure relief vent 18.

[0088] A purge fluid inlet 14 may also be provided on the top wall of the cavity Q, for allowing the purge fluid 15 to enter and purge the dried cavity Q after the wafer W is dried. The first uniform flow component 7 may also be provided between the purge fluid inlet 14 and the wafer W, and the first baffle 71 may also be provided opposite to the purge fluid inlet 14 so that the purge fluid 15 can evenly purge the cavity body 2. In other embodiments of the present application, after the supercritical drying fluid 12 dries the wafer W, the pressure relief port 18 may not be opened, but the purge fluid 15 may be introduced while the supercritical drying fluid 12 is discharged to maintain the pressure in the cavity Q so that the supercritical drying fluid 12 is discharged in a supercritical state. The purge fluid 15 may be one or more of nitrogen, carbon dioxide or ultrapure compressed air, or other fluids. Correspondingly, a purge fluid outlet may also be provided on the bottom wall of the cavity Q, or the supercritical drying fluid outlet 16 and / or the previous process liquid outlet 17 may be used as a purge fluid outlet. Control valves connected to a controller may also be provided at the purge fluid inlet 14 and the purge fluid outlet to adjust the speed at which the purge fluid 15 is introduced or discharged.

[0089] A heating element 5 may also be provided on the outer wall of the cavity Q. There may be multiple heating elements 5 evenly surrounding the outer wall of the cavity Q. The heating effect of the multiple heating elements 5 can insulate the internal environment of the cavity Q to assist in maintaining the supercritical state of the supercritical drying fluid 12 entering the cavity Q. In other embodiments of the present application, the pressure relief port 18 may not be opened after the supercritical drying fluid 12 dries the wafer W. When the supercritical drying fluid 12 is discharged, the heating effect of the heating element 5 can also be used. The supercritical drying fluid 12 is discharged in a supercritical state under high temperature and low pressure conditions.

[0090] The heating element 5 can be connected to the controller to adjust the operation of the heating element 5 as needed. Furthermore, it can also include a temperature detection element (not shown) connected to the controller. The controller adjusts the operation of the heating element 5 according to the temperature data in the cavity Q sent by the temperature detection element. The connection between the temperature detection element and the controller can be a wired or wireless connection, and the temperature detection element can be a temperature sensor or a thermometer. The output power of multiple heating elements 5 can be controlled in different areas or independently to achieve dynamic control of the temperature at various locations in the cavity Q, thereby obtaining a uniform temperature field distribution. The heating element 5 can be heated electrically, or by heat conduction heating or infrared heating.

[0091] Example 2

[0092] The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that:

[0093] As shown in FIG13 , the first flow equalizer 72 is disposed in the space between the edge of the first baffle 71 and the side wall of the cavity Q, and is lower in height than the first baffle 71 , which can also achieve a flow equalization effect.

[0094] The rest of the structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0095] Example 3

[0096] The difference between this embodiment and the first embodiment is that:

[0097] As shown in Figure 14, the height of the first flow equalizer 72 is lower than the first baffle 71 and is connected to the opposite side wall of the cavity. That is, the first flow equalizer 72 is not only arranged between the edge of the first baffle 71 and the side wall of the cavity, but also extends to the bottom of the first baffle 71. At this time, the wafer W is not only placed opposite to the first flow equalizer 72, but also placed opposite to the first baffle 71, so that in the process of the supercritical drying fluid 12 diffusing from the edge of the first baffle 71 to the wafer W, the fluid below the first baffle 71 can also be uniformly flowed and then dried to obtain higher drying efficiency.

[0098] The rest of the structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

[0099] Example 4

[0100] The difference between this embodiment and the third embodiment is that:

[0101] As shown in FIG15 , one or more baffle plate flow-uniformity holes having a size smaller than that of the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9 may be provided on the first baffle plate 71 to increase the flow rate of the supercritical dry fluid 12 below the first baffle plate 71 , so as to make the supercritical dry fluid 12 flowing toward the first flow-uniformity plate 72 more uniform, thereby achieving a better flow-uniformity effect.

[0102] Furthermore, the structure of the first baffle plate 71 is set with reference to the structure of the diverter plate 74, and the baffle plate uniform flow hole is used as the diverter flow hole 741. While blocking the supercritical dry fluid 12 from the supercritical dry fluid inlet 9, the first baffle plate 71 can also distribute the supercritical dry fluid 12 to achieve a better uniform flow effect.

[0103] The rest of the structure is the same as that of the third embodiment.

[0104] Example 5

[0105] This embodiment provides a wafer drying method, which is implemented using the wafer drying device described in any of the above embodiments, as shown in FIG16 , and includes at least steps S1 to S3, which are specifically described as follows:

[0106] S1: vertically inserting multiple wafers W into the carrier 6 in the cavity Q of the wafer drying device. The multiple wafers W are arranged horizontally in the carrier 6.

[0107] The plurality of wafers W are arranged in parallel in the carrier 6 , and two adjacent wafer surfaces are arranged opposite to each other, which can save space.

[0108] When the cavity Q is open, the wafer W is transported by the conveying part (not shown) to the first accommodating space 21 of the cavity body 2. After completing the transport, the conveying part exits the cavity body 2 to the outside of the cavity Q. The interlocking mechanism 3 locks and closes the cavity Q, and the cavity Q forms a closed environment.

[0109] The wafer W can be transported from outside the cavity Q to the carrier 6 in the first accommodation space 21 , or the wafer W can be transported into the carrier 6 and then the carrier 6 is transported from outside the cavity Q to the first accommodation space 21 .

[0110] The surface of the wafer W in the carrier 6 can be covered with a pre-process liquid 10 to prevent the device-mounted surface of the wafer W from drying out prematurely, which could cause the device to collapse or tilt. The wafer W in the carrier 6 can be adjusted to a certain angle using an adjustment member 64, as shown in FIG12 , so that the device-mounted surface of the wafer W is tilted upward to maintain the pre-process liquid 10 on the device-mounted surface of the wafer W.

[0111] S2: The supercritical drying fluid 12 is introduced into the cavity Q through the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9 provided on the top wall of the cavity Q.

[0112] The supercritical drying fluid 12 is blocked by the first blocking plate 71 in the first flow uniformity component 7, diffuses to the first flow uniformity plate 72 in the first flow uniformity component 7, and then flows from the first flow uniformity plate 72 into the carrier 6, and flows from the side of the wafer to the wafer plate surface to dry the wafer W, wherein the first blocking plate 71 is arranged opposite to the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9, and the first flow uniformity plate 72 is located between the edge of the first blocking plate 71 and the side wall of the cavity Q.

[0113] The supercritical drying fluid 12 has a lower surface tension than the previous process liquid 10 and has extremely strong diffusivity and solubility. Therefore, after a set time, the previous process liquid 10 can be mutually dissolved and replaced from the wafer plate surface, and the previous process liquid 10 forms a triangle under the action of gravity. The chamber Q can be filled with the supercritical drying fluid 12 and then maintained for a first set time; or the supercritical drying fluid 12 can be introduced into the chamber Q for a second set time; or the chamber Q can be filled with the supercritical drying fluid 12 and then introduced into the chamber Q for a third set time. The first set time, the second set time, and the third set time can be determined based on the degree of drying of the wafer W, and the first set time, the second set time, and the third set time can be the same or different.

[0114] During the process of filling the cavity Q with the supercritical drying fluid 12, the preceding-process liquid 10 can be discharged through the supercritical drying fluid outlet 16, the preceding-process liquid outlet 17, or other outlets. By controlling the discharge of the supercritical preceding-process liquid 10 and the entry of the supercritical drying fluid 12, the swaying and contamination of the wafer W caused by the fluctuation of the preceding-process liquid 10 within the cavity Q can be reduced. At the same time, the uniform flow of the supercritical drying fluid 12 can be adjusted to prevent uneven drying of the wafer W. The preceding-process liquid 10 is preferably discharged at a flow rate of 5 to 100 Lpm in a vertically downward direction to prevent excessively fast or uneven discharge, which could cause uneven tension on both sides of the wafer W and contaminate the wafer W.

[0115] During the process of drying the wafer W by the supercritical drying fluid 12, the cavity Q can be heated by the heating element 5 uniformly surrounding the outer wall of the cavity Q to control the temperature of the cavity sidewall and various internal locations to ensure a uniform temperature field distribution and maintain the supercritical state of the supercritical drying fluid 12.

[0116] Continuing to refer to FIG. 16 , S3 : discharging the supercritical drying fluid.

[0117] After the supercritical drying fluid 12 fills the cavity Q or has filled the cavity Q for a certain period of time, the cavity Q can be depressurized through a pressure relief port 18 provided on the top wall or upper portion of the side wall of the cavity Q, converting the supercritical drying fluid 12 into a gaseous supercritical drying fluid, which is then discharged from the pressure relief port 18. In other implementations of the present application, whether to discharge the supercritical drying fluid 12 can also be determined based on the degree of dryness of the wafer W.

[0118] As shown in FIG17 , after the wafer W is dried, the purge fluid inlet 14 can be opened to supply a purge fluid 15 into the chamber Q to purge the wafer W and the interior of the chamber Q, thereby further removing the residual supercritical drying fluid 12 from the wafer W and the chamber Q and controlling and reducing the residual concentration. A concentration or component detection device (not shown) can be used to detect the gas concentration and composition in the chamber Q. After it reaches a set range, the purge fluid inlet 14 is closed. In other embodiments of the present application, when discharging the supercritical drying fluid 12, the pressure relief port 18 may not be opened. Instead, the pressure in the chamber Q may be increased by supplying the purge fluid 15, and the supercritical drying fluid 12 is discharged through the supercritical drying fluid outlet 16 provided on the bottom wall of the chamber Q, thereby maintaining the supercritical state when the supercritical drying fluid 12 is discharged.

[0119] In other embodiments of the present application, when discharging the supercritical drying fluid 12, the pressure relief port 18 may not be opened. Instead, the supercritical drying fluid 12 is discharged through the supercritical drying fluid outlet 16 provided on the bottom wall of the chamber Q. During this process, the pressure in the chamber Q decreases, and the heating element 5 can be used to heat the chamber Q to adjust the temperature in the chamber Q, thereby maintaining the chamber Q in a high-temperature, low-pressure state, thereby maintaining the supercritical drying fluid 12 in a supercritical state when discharged. After the wafer W is dried, the interlocking mechanism 3 is opened, the closed lock of the chamber Q is released, the chamber cover 1 is moved to the outside of the chamber Q, and the conveying mechanism (not shown) moves to the first receiving space 21 of the chamber body 2 to remove the processed wafer W from the first receiving space 21 of the chamber body 2.

[0120] Example 6

[0121] The difference between this embodiment and the fifth embodiment is that:

[0122] 18 , before step S2 : introducing the supercritical drying fluid 12 into the cavity Q through the supercritical drying fluid inlet 9 provided on the top wall of the cavity, step S4 may also be included: introducing the pre-process liquid 10 into the cavity Q through the pre-process liquid inlet 11 .

[0123] Before step S4 is executed, the surface of wafer W is covered with liquid 13 to be dried. Wafer W can be tilted to prevent premature drying of the device surface of wafer W, which could cause the device to collapse or tilt. The surface tension of the previous-process liquid 10 is lower than that of the liquid 13 to be dried, and the surface tension of the previous-process liquid 10 is higher than that of the supercritical drying fluid 12. Therefore, the previous-process liquid 10 can displace the liquid 13 to be dried. After step S2 is executed, the supercritical drying fluid 12 can displace the previous-process liquid 10, thereby drying wafer W.

[0124] The previous process liquid 10 can be introduced into the chamber Q through the previous process liquid inlet 11, and the liquid to be dried 13 can be discharged at the same time until the previous process liquid 10 reaches a set height or the previous process liquid 10 fills the chamber Q or the previous process liquid 10 is introduced for the drying time, so that the previous process liquid 10 completely replaces the liquid to be dried 13 on the wafer W. Then, the previous process liquid 10 is discharged and the supercritical drying fluid 12 is introduced into the chamber Q at the same time. This can quickly replace the previous process liquid 10 from the wafer W, preventing the previous process liquid 10 from evaporating on the wafer W and causing the device on the wafer W to tilt or collapse. The discharge amount of the previous process liquid 10 can be synchronized with the intake amount of the supercritical drying fluid 12, and the drying time can be determined according to the amount of the liquid to be dried 13 on the wafer W. In other embodiments of the present application, the previous process liquid 10 can be discharged at the same time as it is introduced into the chamber Q, and the wafer is dried only through the flow path.

[0125] The liquid level fluctuation in the cavity Q can be reduced by adjusting the discharge speed and flow direction of the liquid to be dried 13 and the previous process liquid 10 , and adjusting the entry speed and flow direction of the previous process liquid 10 and the liquid to be dried 13 .

[0126] During this process, when the liquid level of the previous process liquid 10 drops to the point where the wafer W contacts the supercritical drying fluid 12, as shown in FIG19 , the previous process liquid 10 covering the upper surface of the wafer W will be replaced by the supercritical drying fluid 12 having a lower surface tension. At this time, a dried portion W1 is formed on the upper surface of the wafer W in the chamber Q, a drying portion W2 covered by the previous process liquid 10 that has not been replaced and dried by the supercritical drying fluid 12, and an undried portion W3 soaked by the liquid to be dried 13. The previous process liquid 10 covering the upper portion of the drying portion W2 forms a triangle under the action of gravity.

[0127] In other embodiments of the embodiments of the present application, step S2 can be performed after step S4, that is, the previous process liquid 10 is first introduced into the cavity Q through the previous process liquid inlet 11 until the previous process liquid 10 reaches a set height or fills the cavity Q, and the set height is a height that can cover the wafer W, and then the wafer W is placed in the cavity Q.

[0128] The remaining steps are the same as those in Example 5.

[0129] The present application adopts a supercritical fluid drying device and method, adopts a drying method from the side of the wafer to the wafer plate surface, and realizes uniform distribution and uniform discharge of the fluid through the designed first uniform flow component 7 and second uniform flow component 8, ensuring the liquid level stability and uniformity of the replacement during the liquid replacement, drying process and subsequent purge process, and realizing uniform drying of multiple wafers W in the same cavity Q at the same time, greatly improving the drying efficiency and production capacity, and ensuring the uniform drop of the pressure in the cavity Q during the liquid discharge process, eliminating the problem of uneven surface tension of the wafer W, ensuring the stability of the wafer W, and solving the problems of drying bending deformation, adhesion, damage, collapse, etc. of fine and high aspect ratio three-dimensional structural graphics, providing a feasible, efficient, low-cost and highly safe drying method.

[0130] The preferred embodiments of the present application are described in detail above, but the present application is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present application, various equivalent transformations (such as quantity, shape, position, etc.) can be made to the technical solutions of the present application, and these equivalent transformations all fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A wafer drying device, characterized in that: include: Cavity; A supercritical dry fluid inlet is arranged on the top wall of the cavity and is used to provide supercritical dry fluid into the cavity; A carrier, used for carrying a plurality of vertically placed wafers, wherein the plurality of wafers are arranged at intervals in the horizontal direction in the carrier; A first flow-uniform component is disposed between the supercritical dry fluid inlet and the wafer, comprising a first baffle plate disposed opposite to the supercritical dry fluid inlet, and a first flow-uniform plate located between the first baffle plate and the side wall of the chamber, wherein the first flow-uniform plate is provided with a first flow-uniform hole; When the supercritical drying fluid enters the cavity, the supercritical drying fluid diffuses to the first flow equalizing plate through the first blocking plate and then flows from the side of the wafer to the wafer plate surface through the first flow equalizing hole to dry the wafer.

2. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first flow homogenizing plate and the first blocking plate are arranged on the same plane.

3. The wafer drying device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first flow uniforming plate connects the first blocking plate and the side wall of the cavity.

4. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The height of the first flow equalizer plate is lower than that of the first blocking plate.

5. The wafer drying device according to claim 4, characterized in that: The first flow distribution plate is extended and arranged below the first blocking plate.

6. The wafer drying device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The first baffle plate is provided with a baffle plate flow-uniform hole whose size is smaller than the inlet size of the supercritical drying fluid.

7. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The wafer is placed on the carrier at a position opposite to the first flow-distributing hole.

8. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first flow equalizing assembly further includes a second flow equalizing plate whose height is lower than that of the first flow equalizing plate. The second flow equalizing plate is provided with second flow equalizing holes, and the second flow equalizing holes are staggered with the first flow equalizing holes.

9. The wafer drying device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The second flow equalizer is connected to the side wall of the cavity.

10. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first flow-uniform component further includes a flow divider plate disposed between the first baffle plate and the supercritical dry fluid inlet, the flow divider plate being provided with a flow divider hole and an air flow groove connected to the flow divider hole, and the air flow groove being disposed on a surface opposite to the first baffle plate.

11. The wafer drying device according to claim 10, characterized in that: The edge of the diverter plate extends toward the side wall of the cavity; the airflow groove includes a main groove and a diverter groove, the diverter flow hole is arranged in the main groove, the diverter groove is connected to the main groove, and extends from the main groove to the edge of the diverter plate.

12. The wafer drying device according to claim 11, characterized in that: The edge of the diverter plate is connected to the side wall of the cavity.

13. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The distance between two adjacent wafers is 5-20 mm.

14. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a supercritical dry fluid outlet arranged on the bottom wall of the cavity, and the device also includes: a second flow uniforming component arranged between the carrier and the supercritical dry fluid outlet.

15. The wafer drying device according to claim 14, characterized in that: The second flow-uniform component comprises: a second baffle plate arranged opposite to the supercritical dry fluid outlet, and a third flow-uniform plate arranged between the edge of the second baffle plate and the side wall of the cavity. When the supercritical dry fluid is discharged from the cavity, the supercritical dry fluid corresponding to the supercritical dry fluid outlet is blocked by the second baffle plate, diffuses to the third flow-uniform plate, and then flows out from the supercritical dry fluid outlet.

16. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: Also includes: The pressure relief port is arranged on the top wall of the cavity or the upper part of the side wall of the cavity, connected to the cavity, and used for discharging the supercritical drying fluid that has become a gas phase fluid.

17. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The cavity is a cylindrical cavity adapted to the shape of the wafer.

18. The wafer drying device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The carrier is provided with a plurality of carrying grooves for carrying a plurality of wafers, and the bottom of the carrying grooves is provided with fluid through holes.

19. A wafer drying method, characterized in that: include: Inserting a plurality of wafers vertically into a carrier in a cavity of a wafer drying device, wherein the plurality of wafers are arranged at intervals in a horizontal direction in the carrier; A supercritical drying fluid is introduced into the cavity through a supercritical drying fluid inlet of the wafer drying device, so that the supercritical drying fluid diffuses through the first blocking plate to the first flow-distributing plate and then flows from the side of the wafer to the wafer surface; The supercritical drying fluid is discharged.

20. The wafer drying method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The temperature of the supercritical drying fluid introduced into the supercritical drying fluid inlet is 15-150° C., and the introduction pressure is 0.1-25 MPa.

21. The wafer drying method according to claim 19, characterized in that: Before the step of introducing the supercritical drying fluid into the cavity through the supercritical drying fluid inlet, the method further includes: introducing a pre-process liquid into the cavity through the pre-process liquid inlet of the wafer drying device, wherein the surface tension of the pre-process liquid is greater than the surface tension of the supercritical drying fluid.

22. The wafer drying method according to claim 19, characterized in that: Before the step of vertically inserting multiple wafers into a carrier in the cavity of a wafer drying device, the method also includes: introducing a pre-process liquid into the cavity through a pre-process liquid inlet of the wafer drying device until the pre-process liquid reaches a set height, wherein the set height is determined according to the size of the wafers, and the surface tension of the pre-process liquid is greater than the surface tension of the supercritical drying fluid.

23. The wafer drying method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The step of introducing the supercritical drying fluid into the cavity through the supercritical drying fluid inlet of the wafer drying device includes: introducing the supercritical drying fluid into the cavity through the supercritical drying fluid inlet until the supercritical drying fluid in the cavity reaches a supercritical state; discharging the previous process liquid in the cavity through the previous process liquid outlet of the wafer drying device, while continuing to introduce the supercritical drying fluid into the cavity, and the supercritical drying fluid maintains the supercritical state in the cavity until the wafer drying is completed.

24. The wafer drying method according to claim 23, characterized in that: The step of discharging the pre-process liquid in the chamber through the pre-process liquid outlet of the wafer drying device includes: the discharge flow rate of the pre-process liquid is 5 to 100 Lpm, and the direction is vertically downward.

25. The wafer drying method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The step of discharging the supercritical dry fluid includes: discharging the supercritical dry fluid from the supercritical dry fluid outlet of the wafer drying device, and adjusting the temperature in the chamber by a heating element of the wafer drying device to maintain the supercritical state of the supercritical dry fluid.

26. The wafer drying method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The step of discharging the supercritical dry fluid includes: opening a pressure relief port disposed on the top wall of the cavity to reduce the pressure of the cavity so that the supercritical dry fluid becomes a gas-phase supercritical dry fluid, and discharging the gas-phase supercritical dry fluid through the pressure relief port.

27. The wafer drying method according to claim 19, characterized in that: The step of discharging the supercritical drying fluid includes: discharging the supercritical drying fluid from the supercritical drying fluid outlet of the wafer drying device, and introducing a purge fluid into the cavity from the purge fluid inlet of the wafer drying device to maintain the pressure of the cavity so that the supercritical drying fluid remains in a supercritical state until the supercritical drying fluid is completely discharged.

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