CN1381868A - Semiconductor manufacturing device with heating element - Google Patents

Abstract

A semiconductor manufacturing apparatus including a heating element for evaporating a solvent contained in a liquefied spin-on-glass (SOG) layer to solidify the SOG layer includes a hot plate and a carrier robot for transferring a semiconductor wafer to a surface of the hot plate, a plurality of through holes formed in the hot plate, a plurality of movable supports passing through the through holes to support the semiconductor wafer and allow the semiconductor wafer to be lowered in a controlled manner, and a controller for controlling a lowering speed of the plurality of movable supports. By carefully controlling the descent speed of the liquefied SOG-containing wafer, the formation of microcracks can be eliminated, thus improving yield.

Description

Semiconductor manufacturing device with heating element

The present invention relates to a device for manufacturing semiconductor components, in particular, relates to a semiconductor manufacturing device with heating components.

In ultra-large-scale integration (ULSI) circuit fabrication, the vertical stacking or integration of metal wiring circuits to form multilayer interconnections has recently become a common method for increasing circuit performance and increasing circuit functional complexity. A disadvantage of multilayer interconnections is because The lack of layout plane caused by different photolithography and etching processes. To reduce these problems, the wafer is planarized at different stages in the manufacturing process to minimize the non-planar layout and thus minimize its negative effects. The planarization process is the first One of the steps is to apply a liquefied dielectric material such as silicon dioxide on the surface of the wafer using the spin-on-glass (SOG) process. When the liquefied silicon dioxide is added to the wafer, the coating machine is used to spin this wafer. After the SOG process, the wafer is placed over a hot plate to evaporate the solvent contained in the SOG layer to solidify the SOG layer. Other non-glass materials (typically polymer materials) can also be used to form the SOG layer.

1A and FIG. 1B respectively show a top view and a side view of a conventional hot plate used in conjunction with a SOG coating machine. After a wafer 1 is coated with SOG, it is placed on top of a carrier robot 2, which moves along the As the track 3 formed on the hot plate 4 moves, when the carrying robot 2 moves the wafer 1 coated with SOG to a predetermined position, it lowers the wafer 1 onto the surface of the hot plate 4, and the solvent contained in the liquefied SOG layer is evaporated to form a solidified SOG layer.

Because consumer demand and expectations for better and cheaper IC products continue to increase, semiconductor manufacturers must seek every possible method to increase product yield and reduce overall product cost. After carefully checking a large number of product failures, The inventors of the present invention have discovered that one of the common forms of failure is related to microcracks arising in the cured SOG layer, which can be seen with a scanning electron microscope, because each vertical integration generally requires one SOG layer, so because Damaged SOG layers are exponentially more likely to cause failures in today's high-density IC chips. So far, this problem has not been recognized by the semiconductor industry, nor has any solution been proposed.

It has now been found that the formation of microcracks in the solidified SOG layer is attributable to the thermal transition of the unstable state that occurs when this liquefied SOG layer is baked to evaporate the solvent it contains. In particular, conventional wafer-carrying robots are primarily designed Movement in one direction, therefore, the wafer is quickly placed on a hot plate, causing the outer portion of the liquefied SOG layer to solidify before the inner portion has had a chance to experience a suitable temperature rise, trapped in this solidified SOG "shell The solvent in " can prolong this heating process, therefore increases and can tend to cause this SOG layer to form the thermal stress scope of microcrack, and, and the state change (solidification) relevant of the liquefied SOG in this solidified SOG shell A large volume change will cause large thermal and mechanical stresses in the cured SOG layer, thus generating microcracks.

After the cause of the microcracking problem was identified, an obvious solution was to modify the bake (i.e., cure) step to gradually lower the wafer onto a hot plate so as not to subject the liquefied SOG layer to sudden heating However, traditional carrying robots are relatively bulky, and it is quite difficult and expensive to provide a mechanical device that can accurately control the movement of the carrying robot in the second direction (ie, the vertical direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carrying robot).

The object of the present invention is to provide a kind of improved semiconductor fabrication device, it reduces product production failure rate, and can eliminate or at least minimize the formation of the micro-crack in the SOG layer of solidification, therefore eliminates in VLSI semiconductor A possible production failure factor in component manufacturing.

In order to achieve the above object, the semiconductor manufacturing device including the heating assembly of the present invention is characterized in that the heating assembly includes: a heating plate and a carrying robot that transfers a semiconductor wafer to the surface of the heating plate; a plurality of through-holes on the plate; a plurality of movable supports passing through the through-holes to support the semiconductor wafer and allow the semiconductor wafer to descend in a controlled manner; and a control to control the descending speed of the plurality of movable supports device.

In the present invention, the SOG coater hot plate is modified such that several steerable struts are provided below and through the hot plate, which will take over after the carrier robot transfers the wafer to a predetermined location. And allow this wafer to be lowered gradually on the hot plate surface, by not making this wafer enter in sudden heating as traditional process, this liquefied SOG layer solidifies under a kind of controllable and more consistent mode, improved SOG The coater hot plate eliminates the factor of microcrack formation in the cured SOG layer. Therefore, the semiconductor manufacturing device of the present invention can reduce the product production failure rate; and can eliminate or at least minimize the formation of microcracks in the solidified SOG layer, thus eliminating product production failures in the manufacture of VLSI semiconductor components A possible factor in achieving these benefits while achieving these benefits without increasing major capital expenditures or substantially affecting the manufacturing process.

The present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of the following preferred embodiments of the present invention, to more clearly understand the purpose, features and advantages of the present invention, wherein:

FIG. 1A is a schematic top view showing a conventional SOG coater hot plate;

Figure 1B is a schematic side view showing a conventional SOG coater hot plate and a carrying robot;

2A is a schematic top view showing an improved SOG coater hot plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2B is a schematic side view showing a modified SOG coater hot plate with a carrying robot and four ascending legs according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

1A and 1B respectively show a top view and a side view of a conventional hot plate used in conjunction with an SOG coating machine. After the wafer 1 is coated with SOG, it is placed on the carrier robot 2. The carrier robot Moving along the track 3 formed on the hot plate 4, after the carrying robot 2 transports the wafer 1 coated with SOG to a predetermined position, the wafer 1 is put down on the surface of the hot plate 4, and the solvent contained in the liquefied SOG layer Vaporized to form a solidified SOG layer, the carrier robot is built relatively large to provide sufficient rigidity. It is impractical and expensive to provide a mechanical device that can precisely control the movement of the carrier robot in the second direction (ie, the vertical direction perpendicular to the movement of the carrier robot).

In the present invention, this SOG coater hot plate is modified to include several perforations and corresponding several controllable struts placed under the hot plate, these controllable struts can move up and down through these perforations, where the After the robot has moved the wafer to the desired location, the steerable struts take over and gradually lower the wafer onto the surface of the hot plate in a precisely controlled manner. By not subjecting the wafer to sudden heating as in conventional processes, the liquefaction The SOG layer was cured in a better controlled and more consistent manner, and it was found that the unexpected excellent results were that this modification of the SOG coater hot plate seemed to have eliminated the factor of microcrack formation in the cured SOG layer.

The present invention will be described more clearly with the following preferred embodiments. It must be noted that the description of the embodiments is listed here for the purpose of illustration, and it is not expected that it is exhaustive or only limited to the present invention. within the specific form revealed.

Fig. 2 A is the schematic top view showing a kind of improved SOG coater hot plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2B is a schematic top view showing an improved SOG coater hot plate according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention and a carrying robot and a schematic side view of the four rising struts. Similar to a conventional coater hot plate, the SOG-coated wafer 1 is placed on top of a carrier robot 2 comprising a pair of vertically placed plates 13 to support the wafer 1 and along the surface formed on the hot plate 4. However, in the present invention, after the carrying robot 2 moves the SOG-coated wafer to a predetermined position, several controllable pillars 11 under the hot plate and passing through the perforations 12 will take over the support, The controller 14 is used to control the ascending and descending speed of the controllable support 11. The controllable support is controlled by a computer, so the wafer can be gradually lowered onto the surface of the hot plate 4, and the solvent contained in the liquefied SOG layer is evaporated to form Solidified SOG layer, by not exposing the SOG-coated wafer to heat suddenly as in conventional processes, the liquefied SOG layer solidifies in a better controlled and more consistent manner, with no microcracks here are found in the cured SOG layer.

Optionally, a temperature sensor can be attached to the hot plate, and the measured temperature data can be sent to the controller to adjust the rising speed of the strut.

The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention is for illustrative purposes, and obvious modifications or variations are possible in light of the foregoing teachings. This embodiment was chosen and described to provide the best illustration of the principles and practical application of the present invention. , to facilitate the use of the invention in the art in its various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to particular intended uses, all modifications and variations being construed in accordance with the breadth of nomenclature that is fair, legal, and equitable. within the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (14)

1. A semiconductor manufacturing device comprising a heating assembly, characterized in that the heating assembly comprises: a hot plate and a carrier robot for transferring a semiconductor wafer to the surface of said hot plate; a plurality of perforations formed on the hot plate; a plurality of moveable struts across the through-holes to support the semiconductor wafer and lower the semiconductor wafer in a controlled manner; and A controller for controlling the descending speed of the plurality of movable pillars. 2. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the carrier robot comprises a plurality of vertically placed plates to support the wafer and moves along corresponding plurality of rails formed on the hot plate. 3. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carrying robot is designed to move only horizontally. 4. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the heating element is designed to evaporate liquefied SOG contained on the semiconductor wafer. 5. The semiconductor manufacturing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the controller comprises a temperature sensing component to monitor the temperature of the hot plate to adjust the descending speed of the movable support. 6. A heating assembly used in a semiconductor manufacturing process, characterized in that it comprises: a hot plate and a carrier robot for transferring a semiconductor wafer to the surface of said hot plate; a plurality of perforations formed on the hot plate; a plurality of moveable struts across the through-holes to support the semiconductor wafer and lower the semiconductor wafer in a controlled manner; and A controller for controlling the descending speed of the plurality of movable pillars. 7. The heating assembly used in a semiconductor manufacturing process as claimed in claim 6, wherein said carrier robot includes several vertically exposed plates to support wafers and along associated plates formed on said thermal plate. The number of tracks to move. 8. The heating assembly according to claim 6, wherein the carrier robot is designed to move only horizontally. 9. The heating element for use in a semiconductor manufacturing process according to claim 6, wherein said heating element is designed to evaporate liquefied spin-on-glass contained on a semiconductor wafer. 10. The heating assembly used in the semiconductor manufacturing process according to claim 6, wherein the controller includes a temperature detection assembly to monitor the temperature of the hot plate to adjust the descending speed of the movable support . 11. A method for evaporating a solvent contained in a liquefied spin-on-glass layer on a semiconductor wafer to solidify said spin-on-glass layer, characterized in that said method comprises the steps of: A heating assembly is provided comprising the following components: (i) a hot plate and a carrying robot; (ii) a number of perforations formed on the hot plate; (iii) a plurality of movable control pillars passing through the through-holes to support the semiconductor wafer and allow the semiconductor wafer to descend in a controlled manner; (iv) a controller for controlling the rate of descent of said plurality of movable struts; using the carrier robot to transfer at least one semiconductor wafer to the surface of the hot plate; raising the plurality of legs until they can support the semiconductor wafer; and The semiconductor wafer is lowered using the plurality of posts. 12. The method for evaporating the solvent contained in the liquefied spin-on-glass layer as claimed in claim 11, wherein the carrier robot comprises several vertically placed plates to support the wafer and along the The corresponding several tracks on the hot plate move. 13. The method for evaporating the solvent contained in the liquefied spin-on-glass layer according to claim 11, characterized in that the carrying robot is designed to move only horizontally. 14. The method for evaporating solvent contained in a liquefied spin-on-glass layer as claimed in claim 11 , wherein said controller includes a temperature detection component to monitor said hot plate temperature to adjust said adjustable The falling speed of the mobile strut.

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