JP-7855583-B2 - Apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles

JP7855583B2JP 7855583 B2JP7855583 B2JP 7855583B2JP-7855583-B2

Inventors

ホーエンヴァルター・カール－ハインツ
バンダラプ・バスカー
プッツィ・クリスティアン

Assignees

ラム・リサーチ・アーゲー

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20211014
Priority Date: 20201022

Claims (15)

An apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles, A support for supporting the wafer-shaped article, The system comprises a liquid dispenser for dispensing a processing solution onto the surface of the wafer-shaped article supported by the support, The liquid dispenser comprises a nozzle assembly, The nozzle assembly is The entrance area, Dispensing nozzle and A static throttle between the inlet portion and the dispensing nozzle, comprising a static throttle having a plurality of flow paths through which the processing liquid can flow from the inlet portion to the dispensing nozzle, The apparatus wherein the length of the dispensing nozzle is at least four times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle, or at least five times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle, or at least six times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle, or at least seven times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle.
The apparatus according to claim 1, The apparatus comprises multiple flow channels with multiple bore holes.
The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, An apparatus wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the dispensing nozzle is hydrophilic.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, An apparatus wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the dispensing nozzle contains a material having a water static contact angle of 90° or less, or 80° or less, or 45° or less.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, An apparatus wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the dispensing nozzle contains PCTFE or PFA.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, The apparatus wherein the inner diameter of the inlet portion is larger than the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, A device in which the diameter of the liquid flow passing through the nozzle assembly decreases as it passes through the static throttle.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, An apparatus wherein, for at least some of the plurality of flow paths, the outlet of the flow path is closer to the central axis of the nozzle assembly than the inlet of the flow path.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, The nozzle assembly is a device that processes from a single piece of material.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, The apparatus wherein at least a portion of the inner surface of the dispensing nozzle has a surface roughness Ra of 0.5 μm or less, or 0.4 μm or less, or 0.3 μm or less, or 0.2 μm or less.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 10, The apparatus wherein each of the plurality of flow channels has a diameter d in the range of 0.8 mm ≤ d ≤ 1.6 mm.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further, An apparatus comprising a control valve for turning on and off the supply of processing liquid to the liquid dispenser, the control valve located upstream of the nozzle assembly.
A nozzle assembly for use in a apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles, The entrance area, Dispensing nozzle and A static throttle between the inlet portion and the dispensing nozzle, comprising a plurality of flow paths through which the processing liquid can flow from the inlet portion to the dispensing nozzle, Equipped with, A nozzle assembly in which the length of the dispensing nozzle is at least four times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle, or at least five times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle, or at least six times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle, or at least seven times the inner diameter of the dispensing nozzle.
The apparatus according to claim 1, The static throttle further comprises a concave, conical, tapered, or funnel-shaped portion on the inlet side of the static throttle, The opening of the concave, conical, tapered, or funnel-shaped portion faces the inlet portion. The apparatus wherein the inlet of the flow path is located at the bottom surface of the concave, conical, tapered, or funnel-shaped portion.
A nozzle assembly according to claim 13, The static throttle further comprises a concave, conical, tapered, or funnel-shaped portion on the inlet side of the static throttle, The opening of the concave, conical, tapered, or funnel-shaped portion faces the inlet portion. A nozzle assembly in which the inlet of the flow path is located at the bottom surface of the concave, conical, tapered, or funnel-shaped portion.

Description

This invention relates to an apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles, and also to a nozzle assembly for use in such an apparatus. Semiconductor wafers may be subjected to various surface treatment processes such as etching, cleaning, polishing, and material deposition. At least some of these surface treatment processes involve applying a liquid to the wafer surface. For example, the wafer surface may be etched by applying a treatment solution, such as hydrofluoric acid, to selected areas of the wafer surface. Alternatively, the wafer surface may be cleaned by applying a cleaning or rinsing solution, such as isopropyl alcohol or deionized water, to the wafer surface. When a liquid is applied to the wafer surface, the wafer may be rotated, for example, using a rotating chuck to hold the wafer, to promote the dispersion of the liquid across the wafer surface. If the liquid is a cleaning or rinsing solution, this process may be called a spin cleaning process. Furthermore, the wafer surface may be dried by heating the wafer to induce evaporation of the liquid on the wafer surface. Examples of apparatus that may be used for liquid processing of semiconductor wafers are described in US2017/0345681A1, which is incorporated herein by reference. Further examples of apparatus that may be used for liquid processing of semiconductor wafers are described in US 9,799,539B2, which is also incorporated herein by reference. As described in US 9,799,539B2, spilled droplets from a liquid dispenser used to dispense liquid onto a wafer surface can damage the wafer. This means the wafer may become defective and need to be discarded. For example, if the liquid is a processing solution used to etch the wafer surface, spilled droplets will cause inaccurate etching on the wafer. US 9,799,539B2 discloses a liquid handling apparatus for wafer-shaped articles, aimed at preventing the formation of such spillage droplets. As shown in Figure 1 (corresponding to Figure 1 of US9,799,539B2), US9,799,539B2 discloses an apparatus comprising a spin chuck 1 for holding a wafer W. For example, the spin chuck 1 may comprise a series of gripping pins supporting the wafer W. The spin chuck 1 is located inside a chamber 2 and is typically within a processing module for wet processing of a single semiconductor wafer. A liquid dispenser assembly comprises a liquid dispenser arm 4 located above the chuck 1 and connected to a processing liquid supply source 5 via a control valve 6. The liquid dispenser arm 4 comprises a nozzle assembly 3 at its distal end. The liquid dispenser arm 4 is preferably rotatable or linearly movable to a standby position not over the wafer W in order to facilitate loading and unloading of the wafer W into and out of the spin chuck 1. The spin chuck 1 then rotates via a lower shaft, which is subsequently driven by a motor 7. The controller 8 controls the entire operation of the spin chuck 1, including regulating the operation of the motor 7 for rotating the spin chuck 1 and the operation of the valve 6 for opening and closing the flow of processing fluid from the supply source 5. As shown in Figure 2 (corresponding to Figure 2 of US9,799,539B2), the nozzle assembly 3 of US9,799,539B2 includes a check valve 9 located inside the nozzle assembly 3. The check valve 9 includes a valve body 10 biased toward the closed position relative to the valve seat 11 by a threaded spring 12. In the use of the apparatus disclosed in US 9,799,539B2, the wafer W is placed in the spin chuck 1, and the controller 8 signals the motor 7 to rotate the wafer at a selected rpm. The controller 8 then signals the control valve 6 to open the supply source 5 for the processing liquid to the dispenser arm 4. Since the processing liquid enters the nozzle assembly 3 from the inlet/upstream side (the top of the nozzle assembly in Figure 2), the supply pressure of the processing liquid is sufficient to move the valve body 10 downwards away from the valve seat 11. As a result, the processing liquid can continue to flow through the nozzle assembly 3 from the outlet/downstream side (the bottom of the nozzle assembly in Figure 2). The processing liquid is dispensed onto the wafer W from the outlet/downstream side of the nozzle assembly 3. At the end of the desired processing of the wafer W with the processing liquid, the controller 8 signals the control valve 6 to close. As the pressure of the processing liquid in the nozzle assembly 3 decreases, the valve body 10 is prompted by the spring 12 to return to the closed position relative to the valve seat 11. Therefore, the check valve in nozzle assembly 3 closes almost immediately after the desired flow stops, preventing the processing fluid from dripping after the desired flow (for example, during the operation of the dispenser arm following the desired flow). While the deployment disclosed in US 9,799,539B2 has been shown to be effective in preventing unwanted dripping of the processing fluid and is suitable for