Gas Cluster Substrate Cleaning with Particle Re-Adhesion Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In substrate cleaning using gas clusters, particles removed from the substrate often re-adhere to the substrate or chamber walls, posing challenges in maintaining cleanliness, especially with the miniaturization of semiconductor devices.
Innovation Solution
A substrate cleaning apparatus is designed with a rotary stage, blasting unit, and control mechanism to rotate and scan the substrate, controlling the scattering direction of particles to guide them towards an exhaust port, while maintaining a curved inner chamber wall and optimizing gas stream collision speeds to prevent re-adhesion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If gas clusters are blasted to the substrate for cleaning, then particle removal capability is improved, but particle re-adhesion to substrate and chamber walls occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is rotated during gas cluster blasting to dynamically change the relative positions between particles, substrate, and chamber walls. This rotation prevents particles from settling back onto the substrate surface or chamber walls by continuously altering the gravitational and aerodynamic forces acting on them, thereby resolving the re-adhesion problem while maintaining effective particle removal
Solution Approach 2:
A controlled gas flow field is introduced as an intermediary medium to transport removed particles away from the substrate and chamber walls toward the exhaust port. This gas flow acts as a mediator that prevents direct contact between particles and surfaces, eliminating the re-adhesion issue while preserving the cleaning effectiveness of gas cluster blasting
2Ease of operation
If substrate rotation and scanning are controlled to guide particles to exhaust port, then particle scattering control is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate rotation function and the gas cluster blasting function are merged into a coordinated system where the rotary stage and blasting unit work together. The control mechanism synchronizes substrate rotation with blasting timing and positioning, achieving effective particle scattering control through integrated operation rather than separate complex control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The system controls particle scattering by adjusting parameters such as substrate rotation speed, gas cluster blasting pressure, and scanning patterns. By optimizing these parameters, the control mechanism achieves effective particle guidance to the exhaust port without requiring overly complex control architecture, as parameter optimization simplifies the control demands
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 apparatus effectively suppresses re-adhesion of particles to the substrate, enhancing cleaning efficiency and preventing particle interference between multiple substrates, thus improving the yield of semiconductor products.
Implementation Method 1
blasting gas clusters to the processing target substrate
Implementation Method 2
controlling a rotation direction of the processing target substrate by the rotary stage
Implementation Method 3
an exhaust port configured to evacuate the chamber
Implementation Method 4
The gas clusters are formed by ejecting a high pressure gas into a vacuum and cooling the gas to a condensation temperature by adiabatic expansion
Implementation Method 5
cooling the gas to a condensation temperature by adiabatic expansion, so that some of the atoms or molecules of the gas are aggregated by van der Waals force
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate cleaning apparatus that cleans a processing target substrate by blasting the gas clusters to the processing target substrate. The apparatus includes: a chamber configured to accommodate the processing target substrate; a rotary stage configured to rotatably support the processing target substrate in the chamber; an blasting unit configured to blast the gas clusters to the processing target substrate supported by the rotary stage; a driving unit configured to scan a gas cluster-blasted position on the processing target substrate; an exhaust port configured to evacuate the chamber; and a control mechanism configured to control a scattering direction of particles by controlling a rotation direction of the processing target substrate by the rotary stage and a scanning direction of the gas cluster-blasted position, thereby suppressing re-adhesion of the particles to the processing target substrate.