Apparatus for cleaning semiconductor substrates

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11498100-B2
Application number	US-201716491802-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 6, 2017
Priority date	Mar 6, 2017
Publication date	Nov 15, 2022
Grant date	Nov 15, 2022

Abstract

An apparatus for cleaning semiconductor substrates including a chamber, a chuck, a liquid collector, an enclosing wall, at least one driving mechanism, at least one internal dispenser, and at least one external dispenser. The chamber has a top wall, a side wall and a bottom wall. The chuck is disposed in the chamber. The liquid collector surrounds the chuck. The enclosing wall surrounds the liquid collector. The driving mechanism drives the enclosing wall to move up and down, wherein when the enclosing wall is driven to move up, a seal room is formed by the liquid collector, the enclosing wall, the top wall and bottom wall of the chamber. The internal dispenser is disposed inside the seal room. The external dispenser is disposed outside the seal room and capable of getting in and out of the seal room after the enclosing wall is driven to move down.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cleaning semiconductor substrates, comprising:
a chamber, having a top wall, a side wall and a bottom wall;
a chuck, disposed in the chamber for holding a semiconductor substrate;
a liquid collector, surrounding the chuck;
an enclosing wall, surrounding the liquid collector;
at least one driving mechanism, driving the enclosing wall to move up and down, wherein when the at least one driving mechanism drives the enclosing wall to move up, a seal room is formed by the liquid collector, the enclosing wall, the top wall of the chamber, and the bottom wall of the chamber;
at least one internal dispenser, disposed inside the seal room; and
at least one external dispenser, disposed outside the seal room, wherein the at least one external dispenser is capable of getting in and out of the seal room after the enclosing wall is driven to move down.

2. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an ultra or mega sonic device disposed outside the seal room, wherein the ultra or mega sonic device is capable of getting in and out of the seal room after the enclosing wall is driven to move down.

3. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the chuck has a heating apparatus for heating the semiconductor substrate non-uniformly, the heating apparatus heats the edge of the semiconductor substrate more than the heating apparatus heats the center of the semiconductor substrate.

4. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the heating apparatus is fixed between the chuck and the semiconductor substrate and is not able to rotate along with the chuck and the semiconductor substrate.

5. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the heating apparatus includes a plurality of electric heating panels, the area of the electric heating panel which is positioned corresponding to the edge of the semiconductor substrate is larger than the area of the electric heating panel which is positioned corresponding to the center or closer to the center of the semiconductor substrate.

6. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the heating apparatus is a lamp, the length of the lamp which is corresponding to the edge of the semiconductor substrate is longer than the length of the lamp which is corresponding to the center or closer to the center of the semiconductor substrate.

7. The apparatus as claimed in claim 3 , wherein the heating apparatus includes a plurality of lamps, the surface density of the lamps per unit area which are corresponding to the edge of the semiconductor substrate is larger than the surface density of the lamps per unit area which are corresponding to the center or closer to the center of the semiconductor substrate.

8. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the internal dispenser is combined with an exhaust pipe which connects to an air extractor.

9. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , wherein the cross profile of the exhaust pipe is circular, and the internal dispenser is positioned against the outer wall of the exhaust pipe, or the cross profile of the exhaust pipe is semi-circular, and the internal dispenser is positioned at the center of the exhaust pipe, or the cross profile of the exhaust pipe is circular, and the internal dispenser is positioned inside the exhaust pipe.

10. The apparatus as claimed in claim 8 , further comprising a rotating actuator for driving the internal dispenser and the exhaust pipe to rotate.

11. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a pair of nozzles disposed in the seal room for cleaning the seal room.

12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising an exhaust hole defined on the bottom wall of the chamber and in the seal room.

13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a drain hole defined on the bottom wall of the chamber and in the seal room.

14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a fan filter unit (FFU) disposed on the top wall of the chamber for supplying clean air into the seal room.

15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one internal dispenser delivers hot SPM on the semiconductor substrate.

16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising a hollow shroud fixed on the top wall of the chamber, when the enclosing wall is driven to move up, an upper end of the enclosing wall contacts a bottom end of the shroud, and a bottom end of the enclosing wall contacts an upper end of the liquid collector, the seal room is enclosed by the liquid collector, the enclosing wall, the shroud, the top wall of the chamber, and the bottom wall of the chamber.

17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 , further comprising a first seal ring disposed between the upper end of the enclosing wall and the bottom end of the shroud, and a second seal ring disposed between the bottom end of the enclosing wall and the upper end of the liquid collector.

18. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the bottom wall of the chamber defines an exhaust hole and a drain hole outside the seal room.

19. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the liquid collector and the chuck move relative to one another.

20. The apparatus as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the at least one external dispenser delivers IPA on the semiconductor substrate.

Assignees

• Acm Research Shanghai Inc

Inventors

• Wang Hui
• Tao Xiaofeng
• Chen Fuping
• Jia Shena
• Wang Xi
• Zhang Xiaoyan
• Li Xuejun

Classifications

• H10P72/0414 Primary

  using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles · CPC title

• H10P70/00

  Cleaning of wafers, substrates or parts of devices · CPC title

• H10W10/01

  Manufacture or treatment · CPC title

• H10W10/00

  Isolation regions in semiconductor bodies between components of integrated devices · CPC title

• B08B3/12 Primary

  by sonic or ultrasonic vibrations · CPC title