Integrated Dry Wet Cleaning Semiconductor Tool
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Solution Overview
Problem
Despite stringent cleanroom conditions, integrated chip failure due to internal contaminants from dry etching procedures, such as surface haloid polymer residues, remains a challenge, as moisture within closed systems exacerbates contamination and reduces particle removal efficiency, leading to defects and corrosion.
Innovation Solution
A semiconductor processing tool integrating a dry process stage with a wet cleaning stage to perform a dry plasma procedure followed by a wet cleaning procedure, utilizing a wafer transfer system to transport substrates from the dry stage to the wet cleaning stage, where contaminants are removed, thereby preventing internal contamination and improving manufacturing quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If dry etching procedures are performed in cleanrooms with stringent contamination control, then manufacturing precision is improved, but internal contaminants such as surface haloid polymer residues remain and moisture within closed systems exacerbates contamination
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines a dry etching tool and a wet cleaning tool into a single integrated semiconductor processing tool. The dry etching chamber and wet cleaning chamber are connected through a vacuum transfer chamber, allowing wafers to be transferred without exposure to ambient air. This merging eliminates the need for separate tools and ambient air exposure, directly addressing the contamination problem by maintaining vacuum conditions throughout the process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses a vacuum environment as an inert atmosphere to prevent contamination during wafer transfer. The vacuum transfer chamber maintains low pressure conditions, preventing moisture and airborne contaminants from entering the system. This inert environment protects the wafer surface from the harmful effects of moisture and ambient air that would otherwise exacerbate contamination from dry etching residues.
2Reliability
If wafers are transferred between tools in closed carriers to minimize contamination, then reliability is improved, but moisture within the closed system accelerates reactions of wafer surface residues and causes corrosion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the closed carrier system with a vacuum transfer chamber that maintains an inert vacuum environment. This eliminates moisture accumulation that occurs in sealed carriers, preventing the acceleration of chemical reactions on wafer surfaces and avoiding corrosion of copper metal lines. The vacuum environment inherently excludes moisture while maintaining tool integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the wafer transfer function from the ambient environment and implements it within a vacuum system. By taking out the transfer process from the contaminated ambient air environment and placing it within the controlled vacuum environment of the integrated tool, the system eliminates moisture exposure while maintaining continuous processing.
3Device complexity
If multiple separate tools are used for dry etching and wet cleaning, then device complexity is reduced, but productivity decreases due to additional exposure to ambient air between processes
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple separate processing tools (dry etching tool, wet cleaning tool, transfer systems) into a single integrated semiconductor processing tool. This consolidation eliminates the need for multiple separate tools and intermediate transfer operations, directly improving productivity by reducing cycle time while maintaining simplified operational control through integration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent enables continuous processing by maintaining vacuum conditions throughout the entire workflow from dry etching through wet cleaning. The continuous vacuum environment eliminates interruptions for ambient air exposure and re-pumping cycles, allowing uninterrupted processing and maximizing productivity while the integrated design simplifies the overall system architecture.
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 integration of dry and wet cleaning processes within a single tool effectively removes internal contaminants, reducing the likelihood of integrated chip failure by maintaining a contamination-free surface, thus enhancing the yield and reliability of semiconductor substrates.
Implementation Method 1
a dry process element configured to perform a dry plasma procedure on a received semiconductor substrate
Implementation Method 2
a wet cleaning element configured to perform a wet cleaning procedure that removes contaminants from the semiconductor substrate
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure relates to a method and apparatus for performing a dry plasma procedure, while mitigating internal contamination of a semiconductor substrate. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a semiconductor processing tool having a dry process stage with one or more dry process elements that perform a dry plasma procedure on a semiconductor substrate received from an input port. A wafer transport system transports the semiconductor substrates from the dry process stage to a wet cleaning stage located downstream of the dry process stage. The wet cleaning stage has one or more wet cleaning elements that perform a wet cleaning procedure to remove contaminants from a surface of the semiconductor substrates before the semiconductor substrate is provided to an output port, thereby improving wafer manufacturing quality.