Radial Heating Plate Control for Uniform Substrate Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
The drying process in semiconductor manufacturing poses a risk to fine pattern structures on substrates due to uneven liquid flow and evaporation rates, leading to stress, damage, and device failure, as existing methods lack precise control over surface tension and evaporation rates.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus and method featuring a heating mechanism with radially distributed cavities and a control mechanism to dynamically adjust thermal energy, ensuring precise temperature control and evaporation rate management during drying, preventing damage to fine pattern structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If traditional nitrogen purging or isopropanol cleaning with high-speed rotation is used for drying, then the drying process can be completed, but uneven liquid flow and evaporation rates cause stress and damage to fine pattern structures
Solution Approach 1:
The heating plate is divided into multiple heating zones with different heating powers corresponding to different radial positions on the substrate. Each heating zone independently controls the temperature of the liquid at its corresponding substrate region, ensuring uniform evaporation rate across the entire substrate surface despite variations in liquid flow caused by rotation speed and pattern structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically adjusts the heating power parameters of different heating zones based on real-time detection of liquid level heights in various pattern structures. By changing the thermal energy input parameters locally, the system compensates for uneven liquid flow and evaporation rates, maintaining consistent drying conditions across the substrate.
2Productivity
If high-speed rotation is used to enhance drying efficiency, then productivity improves, but liquid flow differences between pattern structures increase, leading to uneven evaporation and substrate damage
Solution Approach 1:
Different heating zones are assigned different heating powers to compensate for the varying liquid flow conditions caused by high-speed rotation. Regions with lower liquid flow receive higher heating power, while regions with higher liquid flow receive lower heating power, achieving uniform evaporation rate and liquid level across all pattern structures despite the high rotation speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates detection mechanisms to monitor liquid level heights in different pattern structures in real-time. Based on this feedback information, the control system dynamically adjusts the heating power of each heating zone to maintain uniform evaporation rates, enabling high-speed rotation without compromising liquid level uniformity.
3Device complexity
If uniform heating is applied across the entire substrate, then the heating mechanism is simple, but it cannot compensate for the uneven liquid flow and evaporation rates in different pattern structures
Solution Approach 1:
The heating plate is segmented into multiple independent heating zones, each capable of independent temperature control. This segmentation allows the system to apply different heating powers to different regions of the substrate, compensating for uneven liquid flow and evaporation rates in various pattern structures while maintaining a relatively simple overall heating mechanism design.
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 solution effectively controls the surface tension and evaporation rate across the substrate, preventing damage and improving chip yield by ensuring uniform drying, thus enhancing the reliability of semiconductor manufacturing.
Implementation Method 1
the control mechanism controls the thermal energy of the fluid in a cavity on the radius corresponding to said certain area, thereby increasing the local temperature of the substrate under the liquid nozzle
Implementation Method 2
a heating mechanism, includes a heating plate, wherein the heating plate is arranged under the substrate, the heating plate has at least two cavities along the radial direction
Implementation Method 3
improve the precise control of the surface tension and evaporation rate of isopropanol or other dry formula liquid on the substrate surface during the drying process
Implementation Method 4
a rotary drive mechanism, configured to drive the clamp mechanism to rotate
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes a clamp mechanism, a spray head mechanism, a rotary drive mechanism, a heating mechanism, and a control mechanism. The heating mechanism includes a heating plate arranged below a substrate, wherein the heating plate is provided with at least two cavities in a radial direction, and the cavities are distributed at different radii. During the process of the liquid nozzle moving from the center of the substrate to the edge of the substrate along the radial direction of the substrate, when the liquid nozzle moves to a certain area above the substrate, the control mechanism controls the thermal energy of fluid in the cavity located at the corresponding radius of the area.