Substrate Posture Turning Under DI Water to Prevent Pattern Collapse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current substrate treating apparatuses face challenges in ensuring substrates remain constantly wet during posture changes, leading to insufficient wetting and increased pattern collapse, especially when transitioning from batch-type to single-wafer-type processing.
Innovation Solution
A substrate treating apparatus is designed with a batch-type processing unit, a single-wafer-type processing unit, a posture turning unit, and immersion tanks to keep substrates wet during posture changes, utilizing a lifting mechanism and rotating mechanism to maintain substrates under deionized water until horizontal posture is achieved, preventing drying and pattern collapse.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If substrates are turned from vertical to horizontal posture using a rotating mechanism, then the substrate can be transported from batch-type to single-wafer-type processing unit, but the substrate may dry out during posture change causing pattern collapse
Solution Approach 1:
An immersion tank filled with deionized water is introduced as an intermediary environment where the substrate rotates from vertical to horizontal posture. The water acts as a medium that prevents drying during the posture change process, allowing the substrate to remain wet throughout the entire rotation and transport operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The substrate is pre-immersed in deionized water before posture change begins. This preliminary wetting ensures that the substrate surface is already saturated with water, creating a buffer that prevents drying during the subsequent rotation and transport operations.
2Reliability
If spray tubes are used to wet substrates during posture change, then some wetting can be achieved, but insufficient coverage occurs due to positional relationship and rotating mechanism members
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from gas-phase spray wetting to liquid-phase immersion wetting. By submerging the substrate in deionized water within the immersion tank, complete and uniform wetting is achieved without the positioning complexities of spray tubes. The hydraulic environment ensures all substrate surfaces are evenly saturated.
3Reliability
If substrates are kept wet during posture change, then pattern collapse is suppressed, but additional immersion tank and water management systems are required
Solution Approach 1:
The immersion tank serves multiple functions: it provides the wet environment needed for pattern collapse prevention, acts as a transport medium for moving substrates between processing units, and facilitates the posture change operation itself. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate dedicated systems.
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 prevents pattern collapse by ensuring substrates remain wet during posture changes, enhancing the reliability of dry treatments and reducing the need for subsequent pattern removal processes, thus optimizing chemical and water usage while minimizing power consumption.
Implementation Method 1
an immersion tank configured to accommodate the substrates whose posture is to be turned by the posture turning unit, and in which the substrates are immersed in deionized water before the posture is turned
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is a substrate treating apparatus that performs treatment on a substrate. The apparatus includes a batch-type processing unit configured to perform treatment on a plurality of substrates, a single-wafer-type processing unit configured to perform treatment on one substrate of the substrates, a posture turning unit configured to turn a posture of the substrates on which the treatment is performed by the batch-type processing unit to horizontal, a first transport unit configured to transport the substrates from the batch-type processing unit to the posture turning unit, a second transport unit configured to transport the substrates, turned to horizontal by the posture turning unit, to the single-wafer-type processing unit, and an immersion tank in which the substrates are immersed in deionized water before the posture is turned by the posture turning unit.