Apparatus and method of treating surface of semiconductor substrate

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9991111-B2
Application number	US-201715827427-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 30, 2017
Priority date	Dec 11, 2009
Publication date	Jun 5, 2018
Grant date	Jun 5, 2018

Abstract

In one embodiment, an apparatus of treating a surface of a semiconductor substrate comprises a substrate holding and rotating unit, first to fourth supplying units, and a removing unit. A substrate holding and rotating unit holds a semiconductor substrate, having a convex pattern formed on its surface, and rotates the semiconductor substrate. A first supplying unit supplies a chemical onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to clean the semiconductor substrate. A second supplying unit supplies pure water to the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate. A third supplying unit supplies a water repellent agent to the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to form a water repellent protective film onto the surface of the convex pattern. A fourth supplying unit supplies alcohol, which is diluted with pure water, or acid water to the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate. A removing unit removes the water repellent protective film with the convex pattern being left.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus of treating a surface of a semiconductor substrate, comprising:
a substrate holding and rotating unit configured to hold a semiconductor substrate, having a convex pattern formed on its surface, and to rotate the semiconductor substrate;
a first supplying unit configured to supply a chemical onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to clean the semiconductor substrate;
a second supplying unit configured to supply pure water to the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate;
a third supplying unit configured to supply a water repellent agent to the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to form a water repellent protective film onto the surface of the convex pattern;
a fourth supplying unit configured to supply a rinsing agent containing alcohol to the surface of the semiconductor substrate having the water repellent protective film in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate;
a fifth supplying unit configured to supply non-diluted alcohol to the surface of the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate, wherein
the fifth, second, third and first supplying units are arranged in this order from a position corresponding to a rotation center of the semiconductor substrate to a position corresponding to an outer edge thereof, and
the fourth supplying unit is arranged at an opposing side of the rotation center to the fifth supplying unit.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a sixth supplying unit configured to supply a chemical, containing an oxidant for oxidizing the surface of the convex pattern having silicon, to the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the third supplying unit supplies the water repellent agent diluted with cyclohexanone or alcohol.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the fourth supplying unit includes:
a buffer tank storing the alcohol diluted with pure water;
a first supplying line supplying alcohol to the buffer tank;
a first flowmeter provided to the first supplying line;
a first valve provided to the first supplying line;
a second supplying line supplying pure water to the buffer tank;
a second flowmeter provided to the second supplying line;
a second valve provided to the second supplying line;
a concentration sensor provided to the buffer tank to detect a concentration of the alcohol diluted with pure water,
a third supplying line supplying the alcohol diluted with pure water to the semiconductor substrate;
a pump provided to the third supplying line;
a filter provided to the third supplying line;
a third valve provided to the third supplying line; and
a nozzle provided to the third supplying line.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a removing unit configured to remove the water repellent protective film with the convex pattern being left.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the third supplying unit supplies a silane coupling agent as the water repellent agent.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the rotating unit is configured to rotate the semiconductor substrate at a first rotating speed during the fourth supplying unit supplying the rinsing agent containing alcohol to the surface of the semiconductor substrate and rotate the semiconductor substrate at a second rotating speed after rotating the semiconductor substrate at the first rotating speed, wherein the second rotating speed is faster than the first rotating speed.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the rinsing agent is blown away from the surface of the semiconductor substrate by rotating the semiconductor substrate after the fourth supplying unit supplies the rinsing agent containing alcohol to the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

9. The apparatus according to claim 5 , wherein
the removing unit is an ultraviolet ray irradiating unit that irradiates ultraviolet rays to the semiconductor substrate to remove the water repellent protective film.

10. An apparatus of treating a surface of a semiconductor substrate, comprising:
a substrate holding and rotating unit configured to hold a semiconductor substrate, having a convex pattern formed on its surface, and to rotate the semiconductor substrate;
a first supplying unit configured to supply a chemical onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to clean the semiconductor substrate;
a second supplying unit configured to supply pure water to the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate;
a third supplying unit configured to supply a water repellent agent to the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to form a water repellent protective film onto the surface of the convex pattern;
a fourth supplying unit configured to supply acid water to the surface of the semiconductor substrate having the water repellent protective film in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate; and
a fifth supplying unit configured to supply non-diluted alcohol to the surface of the surface of the semiconductor substrate in order to rinse the semiconductor substrate, wherein
the fifth, second, third and first supplying units are arranged in this order from a position corresponding to a rotation center of the semiconductor substrate to a position corresponding to an outer edge thereof, and
the fourth supplying unit is arranged at an opposing side of the rotation center to the fifth supplying unit.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the fourth supplying unit includes:
a first supplying line that supplies pure water;
a second supplying line that supplies carbon dioxide gas;
a carbon dioxide dissolving film to which the pure water is supplied from the first supplying line and the carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the second supplying line, and that discharges carbonated water; and
a nozzle that ejects the carbonated water onto the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising a sixth supplying unit configured to supply a chemical, containing an oxidant for oxidizing the surface of the convex pattern having silicon, to the surface of the semiconductor substrate.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the third supplying unit supplies the water repellent agent diluted with cyclohexanone or alcohol.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the fourth supplying unit includes:
a carbon dioxide dissolving film;
a first supplying line supplying pure water to the carbon dioxide dissolving film;
a first flowmeter provided to the first supplying line;
a second supplying line supplying carbon dioxide gas to the carbon dioxide dissolving film;
a second flowmeter provided to the second supplying line;
a third supplying line supplying carbonated water as the acid water to the semiconductor substrate;
a filter provided to the third supplying line;
a valve provided to the third supplying line; and
a nozzle provided to the third supplying line.

15. The apparatus according to claim 10 , further comprising:
a removing unit configured to remove the water repellent protective film with the convex pattern being left.

16. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the third supplying unit supplies a silane coupling agent as the water repellent agent.

17. The apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
the rotating unit is configured to rotate the semiconductor su

Assignees

• Toshiba Memory Corp

Inventors

• Ogawa Yoshihiro
• Koide Tatsuhiko
• Kimura Shinsuke
• Okuchi Hisashi
• Tomita Hiroshi

Classifications

• H10P72/0406

  for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like · CPC title

• H10P70/10

  Cleaning before device manufacture, i.e. Begin-Of-Line process · CPC title

• H10P50/283

  by chemical means · CPC title

• H10P50/266

  by vapour etching only · CPC title

• H10P14/6682

  the compound being a silane, e.g. disilane, methylsilane or chlorosilane · CPC title