Supercritical drying method for semiconductor substrate and supercritical drying apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9583330-B2
Application number	US-201414283874-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 21, 2014
Priority date	Jul 19, 2011
Publication date	Feb 28, 2017
Grant date	Feb 28, 2017

Abstract

A supercritical drying method for a semiconductor substrate is disclosed. The method may include introducing the semiconductor substrate into a chamber in a state, a surface of the semiconductor substrate being wet with alcohol, substituting the alcohol on the semiconductor substrate with a supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide by impregnating the semiconductor substrate to the supercritical fluid in the chamber, and discharging the supercritical fluid and the alcohol from the chamber and reducing a pressure inside the chamber. The method may also include performing a baking treatment by supplying an oxygen gas or an ozone gas to the chamber after the reduction of the pressure inside the chamber.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A supercritical drying apparatus comprising:
a chamber housing a semiconductor substrate and being hermetically sealable;
a heater heating an inside of the chamber;
a first pipe supplying carbon dioxide to the chamber;
a second pipe discharging the carbon dioxide from the chamber;
a third pipe supplying an oxygen gas or an ozone gas to the chamber;
a controller that:
controls the heater to reach a first predefined temperature inside the chamber;
supplies oxygen to the chamber responsive to the chamber reaching a predetermined pressure; and
controls the heater so that a temperature inside the chamber is increased to a temperature equal to or more than a thermodecomposition temperature or a boiling point of an organic component contained in the carbon dioxide remaining inside the chamber after the semiconductor substrate is impregnated to a supercritical fluid of the carbon dioxide and then the supercritical fluid is discharged.

2. The supercritical drying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a UV lamp provided in the third pipe.

3. The supercritical drying apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a fourth pipe discharging the oxygen gas or the ozone gas from the chamber.

4. The supercritical drying apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the chamber is formed of a stainless steel.

Assignees

• Tokyo Electron Ltd

Inventors

• Ji Linan
• Hayashi Hidekazu
• Tomita Hiroshi
• Okuchi Hisashi
• Sato Yohei
• Toshima Takayuki
• Iwashita Mitsuaki
• Mitsuoka Kazuyuki
• You Gen
• Ohno Hiroki
• Orii Takehiko

Classifications

• H10P72/0408

  for drying · CPC title

• H10P70/80

  Cleaning only by supercritical fluids · CPC title

• H10P70/20

  Cleaning during device manufacture · CPC title

• H10P70/15

  by wet cleaning only (H10P70/52 takes precedence) · CPC title

• F26B21/40

  using gases other than air · CPC title