Upside-Down Substrate Cleaning for Particle Removal Without Damage
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The semiconductor industry faces challenges in effectively removing contaminants and defects from photomasks and substrates during manufacturing, which can lead to yield and reliability issues due to contamination from residues, impurities, and damage during cleaning processes.
Innovation Solution
A cleaning method involving an upside-down approach with a cleaning apparatus that sprays a cleaning liquid against gravity to remove particles from substrates, utilizing various techniques such as mega-sonic, UV-exposed liquid, and chemical cleaning, while minimizing damage to fragile features like pellicles and reducing processing time.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cleaning methods are used to remove contaminants from substrates, then cleaning effectiveness is achieved, but substrate damage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The substrate is inverted (upside-down) during cleaning, with the back surface facing upward. This allows cleaning liquid to be sprayed onto the back surface, enabling contaminants on the front surface to be removed through capillary action and surface tension without direct mechanical contact or high-pressure impact that would damage fragile features like pellicles.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical cleaning methods (such as scrubbing, high-pressure spraying from the front) with chemical and physical-chemical mechanisms. Cleaning liquid containing chemicals is sprayed onto the back surface, and contamination removal is achieved through chemical reactions, capillary action, and surface tension rather than mechanical force.
2Productivity
If cleaning liquid is sprayed at high pressure to remove particles, then cleaning speed increases, but damage to fragile features increases
Solution Approach 1:
By inverting the substrate and spraying cleaning liquid onto the back surface, the patent achieves effective contamination removal without requiring high-pressure direct impact on the front surface. The cleaning liquid penetrates through the substrate thickness, removing particles from the front surface indirectly, thus maintaining cleaning speed while protecting fragile features.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes hydraulic principles by spraying cleaning liquid onto the back surface of the substrate. The liquid flows through the substrate thickness utilizing capillary action and pressure differential, effectively removing contaminants from the front surface without requiring high-pressure mechanical impact that would damage fragile features.
3Reliability
If multiple cleaning techniques are applied to ensure thorough cleaning, then contamination removal improves, but processing time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple cleaning mechanisms into a single integrated process: chemical cleaning, capillary action, and surface tension all work simultaneously when cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the back surface. This merging of mechanisms achieves thorough contamination removal in one step rather than requiring sequential application of multiple separate cleaning techniques.
Solution Approach 2:
The cleaning liquid continuously acts on the substrate from the back surface, maintaining constant cleaning pressure and chemical exposure throughout the substrate thickness. This continuous action ensures thorough contamination removal without requiring intermittent pauses or multiple discrete cleaning steps, thereby reducing total processing time.
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 method efficiently removes contaminants with reduced damage to substrates, improving processing efficiency and preventing defects in semiconductor devices by ensuring thorough cleaning and minimizing substrate damage.
Implementation Method 1
spraying a cleaning liquid from the cleaning apparatus flowing against gravity and toward the surface of the substrate
Implementation Method 2
spraying a cleaning liquid... toward the surface of the substrate
Implementation Method 3
mega-sonic... cleaning
Implementation Method 4
UV-exposed liquid... cleaning
Data Source
AI summary
A cleaning method applied in semiconductor manufacturing is provided. The method includes: receiving a substrate having a surface; identifying a location of a particle on the surface of the substrate; moving a cleaning apparatus toward the location of the particle; performing a cleaning operation, thereby removing the particle by spraying a cleaning liquid from the cleaning apparatus flowing against gravity and toward the surface of the substrate; detecting the surface of the substrate; and performing a second cleaning operation when a cleaning result of the detection is not acceptable. A semiconductor manufacturing method and a system for cleaning a substrate are also provided.