Gas Cluster Substrate Cleaning for Pattern Collapse Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current substrate cleaning techniques in semiconductor manufacturing face challenges in effectively removing particles without damaging the substrate, particularly in preventing pattern collapse and scaling down the cleaning apparatus footprint.
Innovation Solution
A substrate cleaning apparatus that uses a gas cluster generated by adiabatic expansion, irradiated perpendicular to the substrate surface, with a moving unit to position the nozzle relative to the substrate and a control unit to ensure thorough coverage, reducing pattern collapse and enabling module scaling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If aerosol is slantingly sprayed to clean the substrate, then particle removal is achieved, but pattern collapse occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional slanting spray approach by irradiating the gas cluster in a direction substantially perpendicular to the substrate surface. This reversal of the cleaning approach allows particle removal while preventing pattern collapse, as the perpendicular incidence avoids the lateral forces that cause pattern deformation
2Reliability
If aerosol spray area covers entire substrate surface, then complete cleaning is achieved, but large space requirement increases footprint
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs dynamic positioning where the nozzle unit and substrate are moved relative to each other during the cleaning process. This allows a smaller nozzle to cover a larger substrate area over time through coordinated movement, reducing the static footprint requirement while maintaining complete cleaning coverage
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces temporal dimension to the cleaning process by using relative movement between the nozzle and substrate. Instead of requiring all spray positions to exist simultaneously in space, the system achieves complete coverage by moving the nozzle through different positions over time, effectively trading spatial extent for temporal sequence
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The technique efficiently removes particles from the substrate surface while preventing pattern collapse and allowing for the miniaturization of the cleaning apparatus, enhancing the semiconductor manufacturing process yield.
Implementation Method 1
generate a gas cluster as an aggregate of atoms or molecules of the cleaning gas by adiabatic expansion
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate cleaning apparatus for removing particles adhered to a substrate includes a cleaning chamber for cleaning a substrate under a vacuum atmosphere, a mounting unit, provided in the cleaning chamber, for mounting the substrate thereon. The substrate cleaning apparatus further includes a nozzle unit for injecting a cleaning gas from an area of a higher pressure than an atmosphere in which the substrate is mounted toward the substrate in the cleaning chamber, generating a gas cluster as an aggregate of atoms or molecules of the cleaning gas by adiabatic expansion and irradiating the gas cluster to the substrate in a direction perpendicular thereto, a gas exhaust port for evacuating the cleaning chamber, and a moving unit for relatively moving the mounting unit and the nozzle unit.