Substrate Gas Discharging Head for Watermark-Free Drying
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional substrate drying methods require significant amounts of low humidity air to prevent watermarks, leading to increased processing costs and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A substrate processing apparatus with a gas discharging head that selectively supplies low humidity gas or clean air, positioned to minimize the volume of low humidity gas needed, using a combination of dry organic solvent and nitrogen gas to efficiently dry the substrate while reducing the amount of low humidity gas required.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If dehumidified air is supplied to the surroundings of the wafer during drying processing, then watermarks are suppressed, but wafer processing cost is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The gas discharging head supplies low humidity gas locally and selectively to specific regions of the substrate surface that require drying, rather than filling the entire chamber with low humidity air. This localized approach prevents watermarks where needed while minimizing overall low humidity air consumption.
Solution Approach 2:
A gas discharging head is introduced as an intermediary device between the low humidity air source and the substrate. This head selectively directs low humidity gas to specific areas, acting as a mediator that reduces the total amount of low humidity air required while maintaining effective drying where needed.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If low humidity air fills the chamber during drying, then watermark generation is suppressed, but the amount of low humidity air required is considerable
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly filling the chamber with low humidity air, the gas discharging head delivers low humidity gas locally to specific regions of the substrate. This creates localized low humidity zones exactly where needed for watermark prevention, dramatically reducing the total volume of low humidity air required.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention applies partial action by supplying low humidity gas to only the portions of the substrate surface that require drying, rather than treating the entire chamber. The gas discharging head selectively targets specific areas, using just enough low humidity air to prevent watermarks without excess consumption.
3Quantity of substance
If a gas discharging head is used to supply low humidity gas selectively, then the amount of low humidity gas is reduced, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The gas discharging head is designed to perform multiple functions: it can supply both low humidity gas and clean air, and can be positioned to target different regions of the substrate. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate systems for different drying requirements, actually simplifying the overall device architecture while maintaining low gas consumption.
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
This approach reduces the amount of low humidity gas used, lowers processing costs, and enhances drying efficiency by positioning the gas discharging head to minimize gas volume and utilize nitrogen gas effectively during the drying process.
Implementation Method 1
the evaporation of the cleaning solution can be accelerated
Implementation Method 2
a series of processes is performed to dry the substrate by supplying the dry organic solvent from the dry organic solvent supply nozzle to the substrate
Data Source
AI summary
A substrate processing apparatus includes a chamber configured to dispose a substrate to be processed with a substrate holder, a spin chuck to rotate the substrate, a gas discharging head configured to discharge a dehumidified gas to the substrate, a processing liquid supply nozzle, an IPA supply nozzle, and a driving device configured to move the gas discharging head between a retreat position of an upper part of the chamber and an approach position near the substrate. In particular, the gas discharging head is positioned at the approach position when the IPA is supplied to the substrate so that the dehumidified gas is supplied from the gas discharging head to the substrate when the IPA is supplied to the substrate.