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CN-122029996-A - Apparatus for processing wafer

CN122029996ACN 122029996 ACN122029996 ACN 122029996ACN-122029996-A

Abstract

The wafer processing apparatus includes a support for supporting a wafer, a first dispensing nozzle connected to a liquid source via a first flow path, a second dispensing nozzle connected to the liquid source via a second flow path, a first valve in the first flow path, and a second valve in the second flow path, wherein the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle are configured to be positioned on a surface of the wafer supported by the support for dispensing liquid onto the surface of the wafer, and a distance between the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle is 65mm or greater.

Inventors

  • Lajosh Gantz
  • Thank you Edward Gavi
  • Karl-Heinz Hornwater
  • Reinhold Xipu

Assignees

  • 朗姆研究公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20241008
Priority Date
20231017

Claims (20)

  1. 1. An apparatus for processing a wafer, comprising: a support for supporting a wafer; A first dispensing nozzle connected to a source of liquid via a first flow path; a second dispensing nozzle connected to the source of the liquid via a second flow path; A first valve in the first flow path, and A second valve in the second flow path; Wherein the first and second dispensing nozzles are configured to be positioned above a surface of a wafer supported by the support for dispensing the liquid onto the surface of the wafer, wherein a distance between the first and second dispensing nozzles is 65 mm or greater.
  2. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein: The first valve being operable to prevent the flow of the liquid through the first flow path, and/or The second valve is operable to block the flow of the liquid through the second flow path.
  3. 3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein: The first valve is configured to control a flow rate of the liquid in the first flow path, and/or The second valve is configured to control a flow rate of the liquid in the second flow path.
  4. 4. The device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first valve and/or the second valve is: manual valve or An electronic valve.
  5. 5. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the flow rate in the first flow path is different from the flow rate in the second flow path.
  6. 6. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, further comprising: a first flowmeter in the first flow path, and/or A second flow meter in the second flow path.
  7. 7. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising a controller configured to: Controlling the first valve based on the output of the first flow meter, and/or The second valve is controlled based on an output of the second flowmeter.
  8. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the controller is configured to: controlling the first valve based on the output of the first flow meter and/or a first target flow rate The second valve is controlled based on the output of the second flowmeter and a second target flow rate.
  9. 9. The device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein there is a fixed distance between the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle.
  10. 10. The device of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the distance between the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle is adjustable.
  11. 11. The device according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the distance between the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle is greater than or equal to 65mm and less than or equal to 120mm, such as greater than or equal to 80mm and less than or equal to 120mm.
  12. 12. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle are both configured to dispense a jet or stream of the liquid.
  13. 13. The apparatus of any of the preceding claims, wherein the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle are movable relative to the surface of the wafer supported by the support.
  14. 14. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first dispensing nozzle and the second dispensing nozzle are both positioned on a dispensing arm.
  15. 15. The device of claim 14, wherein the dispense arm is pivotable or rotatable.
  16. 16. The device of claim 14 or 15, wherein the first dispensing nozzle is located at or adjacent to the top end of the dispensing arm.
  17. 17. The device of any one of claims 14 to 16, wherein the second dispensing nozzle is located on an auxiliary arm or auxiliary nozzle mount connected to the dispensing arm.
  18. 18. The device of claim 17, wherein the angle of the auxiliary arm or auxiliary nozzle support to the dispensing arm is greater than 0 degrees and less than 180 degrees, such as greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 90 degrees, such as greater than 0 degrees and less than or equal to 60 degrees.
  19. 19. The device of claim 18, wherein the angle is adjustable.
  20. 20. The apparatus of any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The first dispensing nozzle being adjustable in height above the surface of the wafer supported by the support, and/or The second dispensing nozzle is adjustable in height above the surface of the wafer supported by the support.

Description

Apparatus for processing wafer Technical Field The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing wafers, such as semiconductor wafers. Background Semiconductor wafers are subjected to various surface treatment processes such as etching, cleaning, polishing, and material deposition. Some of these surface treatments involve the application of a liquid to the surface of the wafer. For example, the surface of the wafer may be etched by applying an etching solution, such as hydrofluoric acid, to some or all of the surface of the wafer. Or the surface of the wafer may be cleaned by applying a cleaning or rinsing fluid, such as isopropyl alcohol or deionized water, to some or all of the surface of the wafer. Etching and cleaning are examples of processing of semiconductor wafers, but other types of processing are possible. As the liquid is applied to the surface of the wafer, the wafer may be rotated, for example using a rotatable chuck (chuck) that holds or supports the wafer, to assist in distributing the liquid over the surface of the wafer. In addition, the surface of the wafer may then be dried by heating the wafer to evaporate the liquid on the surface of the wafer. For example, a surface of the wafer opposite the surface on which the liquid is deposited may be heated in order to heat the wafer and evaporate the liquid. Examples of devices that may be used for liquid processing of semiconductor wafers are described in US2017/0345681A1, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. US9,799,539B2, the contents of which are also incorporated herein by reference, describes further examples of apparatus that may be used to liquid process semiconductor wafers. Fig. 1 is a simplified schematic diagram of a liquid processing apparatus 1 for a wafer W (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) previously used by the present inventors. As shown in fig. 1, the apparatus 1 includes a chuck 2 for holding or supporting a wafer W. For example, the chuck 2 may include a series of clamping pins (GRIPPING PIN) that clamp the outer edge of the wafer W to secure the wafer to the chuck 2. The wafer W may be supported by the chuck 2 at a distance from the surface of the chuck 2. For example, the chuck 2 may be a Bernoulli chuck (Bernoulli chuck) in which the wafer W is supported at a distance from the surface of the chuck 2 according to the Bernoulli effect by an air flow from the surface of the chuck 2. The chuck 2 is mounted on a rotatable shaft 3 which is rotatable by a motor drive. Therefore, the chuck 2 and the wafer W to which the chuck 2 is fixed can be driven to rotate. Thus, for example, chuck 2 may be referred to as a spin chuck. In practice, the chuck 2 will be positioned within the processing chamber to isolate the processing environment surrounding the wafer W from the external environment. As shown in fig. 1, a liquid dispenser 4 is positioned above the chuck 2 for selectively dispensing liquid to the upper surface of the wafer W. The liquid dispenser 4 comprises a liquid dispenser arm 5 connected to a liquid supply. In fig. 1, the liquid supply is generally indicated by element 6. At the distal end of the liquid distributor arm 5a nozzle 7 is included. Liquid is dispensed from the liquid dispenser 4 via the nozzle 7 onto the surface of the wafer W supported by the chuck 2. The liquid distributor arm 5 comprises a flow channel, such as a pipe or tube (tube), for supplying liquid from the liquid supply device 6 to the nozzle 7. The liquid dispenser arm 5 is pivotable to a standby position in which it does not cover the wafer W, to facilitate loading and unloading of the wafer W on the chuck 2. The liquid dispenser arm 5 may also be pivoted on the surface of the wafer W supported by the chuck 2, if desired, to dispense liquid at different portions of the surface of the wafer W. Typically, the nozzle 7 is positioned at or near the center of the wafer W when dispensing liquid on the surface of the wafer W, and the liquid is dispensed at or near the center of the wafer W when the wafer W is rotated by the chuck 2. Typically, the apparatus includes a controller that controls the overall operation of the chuck 2, including coordinating the action of the motor to rotate the chuck 2 and the action of the liquid dispenser 4 to dispense liquid from the liquid supply 6 so that liquid is controllably dispensed onto the surface of the wafer W as the wafer W rotates. For example, rotation of the wafer facilitates distribution of liquid across the surface of the wafer, and may also facilitate drainage of liquid from the edge of the wafer. Typically, the apparatus includes a heating device for selectively heating the wafer W to evaporate the liquid after processing of the wafer W. For example, an array of LED heating elements may be located within the chuck 2 and used to heat the bottom surface of the wafer W held by the chuck 2. The array of LED heating elements may be isolated from the liquid by a protective plate that