Onsite Tool Cleaning With Air-Wall Containment
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge in semiconductor manufacturing is the contamination of ambient chambers during cleaning operations, which affects the quality and yield of semiconductor devices, particularly in advanced lithography processes like EUV lithography, due to the need to frequently stop and open the vacuum chamber for cleaning, introducing external contaminants.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning device with a nozzle structure, cleaning pad, and support system that allows for on-site cleaning of tools within the chamber, using a combination of chemical and mechanical methods, along with an air wall generated by pressurized gas and vacuum openings to prevent contamination spread.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cleaning operations are performed on tools within the chamber, then cleaning effectiveness is improved, but contamination risk to the chamber increases
Solution Approach 1:
A localized containment structure with HEPA filters and negative pressure is introduced as an intermediary between the cleaning operation and the chamber environment. This containment enclosure captures contaminants at the source during cleaning operations and prevents their diffusion into the broader chamber space, allowing effective cleaning while protecting chamber cleanliness
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning operation is extracted from the open chamber environment and confined within a dedicated containment enclosure. By separating the cleaning function into its own isolated space with controlled atmosphere and filtration, the harmful effects are contained and removed from the main chamber environment
2Reliability
If the vacuum chamber is opened frequently for cleaning, then tool cleanliness is improved, but external contaminants are introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cleaning operation is extracted from the vacuum chamber environment entirely and performed within a sealed containment enclosure that maintains its own controlled atmosphere. This allows cleaning to proceed without breaking the vacuum seal of the main chamber, eliminating the pathway for external contaminants to enter
Solution Approach 2:
The containment enclosure maintains a controlled, filtered atmosphere during cleaning operations. HEPA filters and negative pressure create an inert-protected environment that prevents external contaminants from entering during the cleaning process, allowing tool cleaning without compromising chamber cleanliness
3Ease of operation
If cleaning operations are stopped to open the chamber, then cleaning access is improved, but production downtime increases
Solution Approach 1:
The containment enclosure enables cleaning operations to proceed continuously within the sealed chamber environment without requiring chamber opening or vacuum breaking. The useful action of cleaning can be performed at any time during production without interrupting the vacuum state, eliminating downtime associated with chamber opening and closing
Solution Approach 2:
The containment enclosure serves as an intermediary workspace that provides full cleaning access and tool manipulation capabilities while remaining sealed within the vacuum chamber. This intermediate environment allows operators to perform cleaning tasks without breaking the vacuum seal, maintaining continuous production
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
Reduces downtime and contamination by enabling effective cleaning of tools like wafer stages within the chamber, maintaining cleanliness and improving yield without exposing the chamber to external contaminants.
Implementation Method 1
multiple pressurized gas openings configured to blow gas to the tool and multiple vacuum openings configured to suck residual gas, liquid or particles from around the tool
Implementation Method 2
multiple vacuum openings configured to suck residual gas, liquid or particles from around the tool
Implementation Method 3
a spray opening in a nozzle structure configured to spray a cleaning liquid to the tool
Implementation Method 4
a cleaning pad around the nozzle structure and having a first surface facing in the first direction to clean the tool
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning device for cleaning particles from a tool includes a nozzle structure having a spray opening to spray a cleaning liquid in a first direction to the tool, a cleaning pad disposed around the nozzle structure, and a support disposed around the cleaning pad. The cleaning pad exposes the spray opening and includes a front surface facing in the first direction to clean the tool. The support includes multiple gas openings to blow a pressurized gas in the first direction to the tool, and multiple vacuum openings to suck residual gas, liquid and particles around the tool. An air wall around the tool is thus generated by a combination of operations performed by the multiple gas openings and the multiple vacuum openings to reduce or prevent contamination that might be caused by the cleaning device in the chamber.