Chemical mechanical polishing cleaning system with temperature control for defect reduction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11694889-B2
Application number	US-202016807086-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 2, 2020
Priority date	Mar 2, 2020
Publication date	Jul 4, 2023
Grant date	Jul 4, 2023

Abstract

A cleaning system includes at least one cleaning module configured to receive a substrate after a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process and to remove contaminants on the substrate using a cleaning solution. The cleaning system further includes a cleaning solution supply system configured to supply the cleaning solution to the at least one cleaning module. The cleaning solution supply system includes at least one temperature control system. The at least one temperature control system includes a heating device configured to heat the cleaning solution, a cooling device configured to cool the cleaning solution, a temperature sensor configured to monitor a temperature of the cleaning solution, and a temperature controller configured to control the heating device and the cooling device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A cleaning system, comprising:
at least one cleaning module configured to remove contaminants on a substrate after a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process, the at least one cleaning module comprising:
a first cleaning module configured to perform a first cleaning process on the substrate which has been polished by a polishing system, the first cleaning module comprising a tank to hold a first cleaning solution therein, a holder disposed at a bottom of the tank and configured to vertically support the substrate during the first cleaning process, and a transducer configured to transmit an acoustic energy having a frequency in the range from about 500 kHz to about 2.5 MHz to the first cleaning solution to agitate the first cleaning solution;
a second cleaning module configured to perform a second cleaning process on the substrate which has been polished by the polishing system, the second cleaning module comprising a platen configured to support the substrate, a cleaning pad configured to scrub a front side surface of the substrate, and a pair of first spray bars configured to spray a second cleaning solution to the front side surface and a backside surface of the substrate, respectively; and
a third cleaning module configured to perform a third cleaning process on the substrate which has been polished by the polishing system, the third cleaning module comprising a pair of brushes configured to scrub the front side and backside surfaces of the substrate, and a pair of second spray bars configured to spay a third cleaning solution to the front side and backside surfaces of the substrate, respectively; and
a cleaning solution supply system fluidically coupled to the first, second and third cleaning modules and configured to supply the first, second and third cleaning solutions to the first, second and third cleaning modules, respectively, wherein the cleaning solution supply system comprises at least one temperature control system, the at least one temperature control system comprising:
a heating device configured to heat the first, second or third cleaning solution to a temperature between 30° C. to 100° C.;
a cooling device configured to cool the first, second or third cleaning solution to a temperature between −10° C. to 10° C.;
a temperature sensor configured to monitor the temperature of the first, second or third cleaning solution; and
a temperature controller configured to control the temperature of the first, second or third cleaning solution by at least:
comparing the temperature of the first, second or third cleaning solution with a target temperature that is determined based on types of the contaminants to be removed; and
instructing the heating device or the cooling device to heat or cool the first, second or third cleaning solution until the target temperature has been reached.

2. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the temperature sensor comprises a thermocouple, a resistance temperature detector, or a thermistor.

3. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and third cleaning solutions independently comprise an acidic solution or a base solution.

4. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and third cleaning solutions independently comprise hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, or a mixture thereof.

5. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and third cleaning solutions independently comprise deionized water.

6. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the first, second and third cleaning solutions independently comprise chloroform, dichloromethane, benzene, acetone, or mixtures thereof.

7. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the heating device comprises a resistance heater.

8. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the cooling device comprises a refrigeration compressor.

9. The cleaning system of claim 1 , wherein the cleaning solution supply system further comprises a plurality of cleaning fluid source tanks, each of which configured to hold a cleaning fluid for preparing the first, second and third cleaning solutions.

10. The cleaning system of claim 9 , wherein the cleaning solution supply system further comprises a chemical mixer placed between the plurality of cleaning fluid source tanks and the at least one temperature control system and configured to mix the cleaning fluid from each of the plurality of cleaning fluid source tanks.

11. The cleaning system of claim 1 , further comprising a substrate handler configured to transfer the substrate through the first cleaning module, the second cleaning module and the third cleaning module.

12. The cleaning system of claim 1 , further comprising a drying module configured to dry the substrate prior to transferring the substrate out of the cleaning system.

13. A chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system, comprising:
a polishing system configured to polish a substrate; and
a cleaning system comprising:
a first cleaning module configured to clean the substrate which has been polished by the polishing system, the first cleaning module comprising a tank to hold a first cleaning solution therein, a holder configured to vertically support the substrate during cleaning, and a transducer configured to transmit a megasonic acoustic energy to the first cleaning solution to agitate the first cleaning solution;
a second cleaning module configured to clean the substrate which has been cleaned by the first cleaning module, the second cleaning module comprising a platen configured to support the substrate, a cleaning pad configured to scrub a front side surface of the substrate, and a pair of first spray bars configured to spray a second cleaning solution to the front side surface and a backside surface of the substrate, respectively;
a third cleaning module configured to clean the substrate which has been cleaned by the second cleaning module, the third cleaning module comprising a pair of brushes configured to scrub the front side and backside surfaces of the substrate, and a pair of second spray bars configured to spay a third cleaning solution to the front side and backside surfaces of the substrate, respectively; and
a cleaning solution supply system fluidically coupled to the first, second and third cleaning modules and configured to supply the first, second and third cleaning solutions to the first, second and third cleaning modules, respectively, the cleaning solution supply system comprising a temperature control system configured to control a temperature of each of the first cleaning solution, the second cleaning solution and the third cleaning solution, wherein the temperature control system comprises:
a heating device configured to heat a corresponding cleaning solution to a temperature between 30° C. to 100° C.;
a cooling device configured to cool a corresponding cleaning solution to a temperature between −10° C. to 10° C.;
a temperature sensor configured to monitor the temperature of the corresponding cleaning solution; and
a temperature controller configured to:
compare the temperature of the corresponding cleaning solution with a target temperature that is determined based on types of contaminants to be removed; and
in response to the target temperature not being reached, control the heating device or the cooling device to heat or cool the corresponding cleaning solution until the target temperature has been reached.

14. The CMP system of claim 13 , wherein further comprising a loading robot configured to transfer the substrate from the polishing system to the cleaning system.

15. The CMP system of claim

Assignees

• Taiwan Semiconductor Mfg Co Ltd

Inventors

• Chen Ssutzu
• Huang Gin-Chen
• Tsai Ya-Ting
• Chen Ying-Tsung
• Chen Kei-Wei

Classifications

• H10P74/238

  comprising acting in response to an ongoing measurement without interruption of processing, e.g. endpoint detection or in-situ thickness measurement · CPC title

• H10P72/0602 Primary

  Temperature monitoring · CPC title

• H10P72/0414 Primary

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

• H10P72/0412

  using mainly scrubbing means, e.g. brushes · CPC title

• H10P70/237 Primary

  the processing being a planarisation of insulating layers · CPC title