US-12622208-B2 - Droplet jet nozzle design

US12622208B2US 12622208 B2US12622208 B2US 12622208B2US-12622208-B2

Abstract

In one embodiment, a nozzle assembly includes a body with an internal surface forming an internal cavity within the body. The assembly also includes a gas inlet disposed within the body, a fluid inlet disposed within the body and a mixing chamber disposed within the internal cavity of the body, such that an annular gap is formed between the internal surface and an exterior surface of the mixing chamber, the mixing chamber may include: a mixing body region within the mixing chamber; one or more gas ports fluidly connecting the gas inlet to the mixing chamber, the gas ports tangentially aligned with an interior surface of the mixing chamber; a fluid port in fluid communication with the fluid inlet of the body and the mixing body region of the mixing chamber; and an outlet in fluid communication with the mixing body region configured to deliver a fluid mixture.

Inventors

Manikandan Jayaraman
Jagadeesh Kumar SUKUMARAN
Jagan Rangarajan
Ekaterina A. Mikhaylichenko
Yunshuang Ding
Yuwen Huang
Timothy THAO

Assignees

APPLIED MATERIALS, INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240318

Claims (20)

1 . A nozzle assembly for semiconductor manufacturing, comprising: a body comprising: an internal surface that defines an internal cavity disposed within the body; a first inlet disposed within the body, the first inlet in fluid communication with the internal cavity; a second inlet disposed within the body, the second inlet in fluid communication with the internal cavity; an insert partially disposed within the internal cavity, the insert being a monolithic body, the insert comprising: a mixing chamber comprising: a first port fluidly connecting the first inlet of the body to the mixing chamber, the first port disposed through a sidewall of the insert; and a second port fluidly connecting the second inlet of the body to the mixing chamber; and an outlet in fluid communication with the mixing chamber that is positioned outside of the body.
2 . The nozzle assembly of claim 1 wherein the second port is parallel to the outlet of the insert.
3 . The nozzle assembly of claim 1 , wherein the first port comprises a cross section that is two or more times greater than a cross section of the second port.
4 . The nozzle assembly of claim 1 , further comprising an accelerator disposed within the insert and opposite the outlet, the accelerator comprising: an accelerator port disposed on an end of a stem.
5 . The nozzle assembly of claim 4 , wherein a stem of the accelerator extends into the mixing chamber.
6 . The nozzle assembly of claim 1 , wherein the insert further comprises an outlet, the outlet formed by an acceleration tube, the acceleration tube disposed between the outlet and the mixing chamber.
7 . The nozzle assembly of claim 6 , wherein the acceleration tube comprises: a first expansion chamber; and a second expansion chamber concentric with the first expansion chamber, the second expansion chamber disposed between the first expansion chamber and the outlet, a diameter of the second expansion chamber being greater than a diameter of the first expansion chamber.
8 . The nozzle assembly of claim 1 , further comprising a seal disposed between the body and the insert, the body comprising a shoulder having a chamfered face disposed between the internal surface and an exterior face of the body.
9 . The nozzle assembly of claim 8 , wherein the shoulder is configured to provide an axial force and radial force.
10 . A nozzle assembly for semiconductor manufacturing, comprising: a body comprising: an internal surface that defines an internal cavity disposed within the body; a first inlet disposed within the body, the first inlet in fluid communication with the internal cavity; a first shoulder disposed between the internal surface and an exterior face of the body; a second inlet disposed within the body, the second inlet in fluid communication with the internal cavity; an insert partially disposed within the internal cavity, the insert being a monolithic body, the insert comprising: a mixing chamber formed within the insert, the mixing chamber having a longitudinal chamber axis and comprising: a first port fluidly connecting the first inlet of the body to the mixing chamber, the first port tangentially aligned with an interior chamber surface of the mixing chamber relative to a cross-section taken radially across the longitudinal chamber axis; and a second port fluidly connecting the second inlet of the body to the mixing chamber; an outlet in fluid communication with the mixing chamber; and a seal disposed in contact with a second shoulder of the body, the second shoulder disposed between the mixing chamber and the second inlet, the second shoulder configured to apply radial and axial force to the seal.
11 . The nozzle assembly of claim 10 , wherein the outlet is disposed outside of the body.
12 . The nozzle assembly of claim 10 , further comprising a seal disposed between the body and the insert, the body comprising the first shoulder having a chamfered face disposed between the internal surface and the exterior face of the body.
13 . The nozzle assembly of claim 12 , wherein the first shoulder is configured to provide an axial force and radial force as the insert is threaded into the body.
14 . The nozzle assembly of claim 10 , further comprising a seal disposed within the internal cavity of the body and between the second shoulder and the insert, the second shoulder having a chamfered face disposed between the internal surface and the second inlet.
15 . A nozzle assembly for semiconductor manufacturing, comprising: a body comprising: an internal surface that defines an internal cavity disposed within the body; a first inlet disposed within the body, the first inlet in fluid communication with the internal cavity; a first shoulder disposed between the internal surface and an exterior face of the body; a second inlet disposed within the body, the second inlet in fluid communication with the internal cavity; an insert partially disposed within the internal cavity, the insert being a monolithic body, the insert comprising: a mixing chamber comprising: a first port fluidly connecting the first inlet of the body to the mixing chamber, the first port perpendicular to an axis of the mixing chamber; and an outlet in fluid communication with the mixing chamber, the outlet defining an acceleration tube; an accelerator disposed within the insert and opposite the outlet, the first port disposed between the outlet and the accelerator, the accelerator comprising: a stem extending into the mixing chamber; a second port fluidly connecting the second inlet of the body to the mixing chamber, the second port disposed opposite the stem; a fluid cavity extending from the second port to the stem, wherein the fluid cavity decreases in diameter extending toward the stem; and an accelerator port disposed opposite the second port.
16 . The nozzle assembly of claim 15 , wherein the stem comprises an outer diameter three or more times larger than an inner diameter of the stem.
17 . The nozzle assembly of claim 15 , wherein the outlet comprises a diameter of four or more times an inner diameter of the stem.
18 . The nozzle assembly of claim 15 , wherein the acceleration tube fluidly couples the mixing chamber to the outlet.
19 . The nozzle assembly of claim 15 , wherein a diameter of the acceleration tube increases along a length of the acceleration tube.
20 . The nozzle assembly of claim 15 , wherein a distance between the accelerator port and the acceleration tube is less than half a length of the acceleration tube.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a Continuation-in-Part application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 18/322,484, filed May 23, 2023, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety herein. BACKGROUND Field Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatus for cleaning substrates, and, more particularly, to nozzle assemblies which may be used to clean the surface of a substrate. Description of the Related Art Substrate processing units may perform chemical mechanical polishing (CMP), which is commonly used in the manufacturing of high-density integrated circuits to planarize or polish a layer of material deposited on a substrate. In a typical CMP process, a substrate is retained in a carrier head that presses the backside of the substrate towards a rotating polishing pad in the presence of a polishing fluid. Material is removed across the material layer surface of the substrate in contact with the polishing pad through a combination of chemical and mechanical activity which is provided by the polishing fluid and a relative motion of the substrate and the polishing pad. Typically, after one or more CMP processes are completed, a polished substrate is further processed by use of one or more post-CMP substrate processing operations in a CMP processing system. For example, the polished substrate may be further processed using one or more cleaning operations in a cleaning unit. Various cleaning operations may be performed in a cleaning unit having multiple cleaning stations, i.e., cleaning modules. Once the post-CMP operations are complete, the substrate can be removed from a CMP processing system and then delivered to the next device manufacturing system, such as a lithography, etch, or deposition system. Typically, a substrate enters a cleaning unit of a CMP tool from a polisher and is inserted into and acted upon by one or more cleaning modules. A nozzle will typically flow a fluid, such as deionized (DI) water, a cleaning chemical, a gas, or combination thereof onto the substrate in a cleaning or a rinse operation. The water flowing onto the substrate can splash and create a spray that then splashes back onto the surface of the substrate. The splash back of the spray onto the substrate can bead up, especially on hydrophobic surfaces. During a later drying phase, the water can evaporate to leave a watermark. Watermarks can be the result of an outline of the water bead that can contain a redeposit of the particles that were intended to be removed by the rinse operation. Alternatively, these watermarks can be the result of hydrolysis of the DI water, producing small amounts of hydroxide ion, which, in the presence of oxygen, allow the silicon substrate to oxidize, creating an oxide deposit upon final drying. Additionally, the nozzles can have leaks within the various components, causing inconsistencies in the sprayed cleaning mixtures. Accordingly, an improved nozzle is needed for use in the cleaning module. SUMMARY Embodiments herein include nozzles for cleaning substrates in semi-conductor manufacturing operations. In one embodiment, a nozzle assembly is provided. The nozzle assembly includes a body having an internal surface forming an internal cavity within the body. The assembly also includes a gas inlet disposed within the body. The assembly also includes a fluid inlet disposed within the body. The assembly also includes a mixing chamber disposed within the internal cavity of the body, such that an annular gap is formed between the internal surface of the internal cavity and an exterior surface of the mixing chamber, the mixing chamber may include: a mixing body region disposed within the mixing chamber; one or more gas ports fluidly connecting the gas inlet to the mixing chamber, the gas ports tangentially aligned with an interior surface of the mixing chamber; a fluid port in fluid communication with the fluid inlet of the body and the mixing body region of the mixing chamber; and an outlet in fluid communication with the mixing body region configured to deliver a fluid mixture to a region outside of the nozzle assembly. In another embodiment, a nozzle assembly is provided. The nozzle assembly includes a body having an internal surface forming an internal cavity within the body. The assembly also includes a gas inlet disposed within the body. The assembly also includes a fluid inlet disposed within the body. The assembly also includes a nozzle shroud disposed within an internal cavity of the body, such that an annular gap is formed between the nozzle shroud and an internal surface of the internal cavity, the nozzle shroud may include: an outlet channel may include an outlet; one or more radial gas ports disposed at an angle to a central axis, through a shroud body, the one or more radial gas ports in fluid communication with a mixing region and the outlet; and an internal nozzle shroud face adjacent the mixing region. The assembly also includes a fluid a