JPH11254300A - Carrier cleaning equipment in flat surface polishing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus capable of easily and surely washing off an adhered substance such as an abrasive slurry adhered to a work holding carrier in a plane polishing apparatus. An air nozzle for bubbling is provided inside a cleaning tank for accommodating a carrier in a state of being immersed in a cleaning liquid so as to face a retainer ring on a lower surface of the carrier, and a retainer on a lower surface of the carrier is provided. Lower surface brush 1 with different heights of bristles so as to contact ring 6
8a and 18b are provided upward, and a side brush 25 is provided laterally so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the carrier 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a carrier for holding a work in a plane polishing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A planar polishing apparatus for polishing one surface of a disk-shaped work such as a semiconductor wafer generally has a rotatable surface plate 2 on a base portion 1a of a body 1 as shown in FIGS. And a carrier 3 supported on a movable portion 1b movable between the base 2 and the loading / unloading portion 4 by a cylinder 5 so as to be movable up and down. A retainer ring 6 provided on the lower surface of the carrier 3 The work W is held therein by a method such as adhesion or suction, and the work is pressed against a rotating surface plate to be polished.

For example, when a semiconductor wafer is subjected to CMP polishing (chemical mechanical polishing) by such a polishing apparatus,
The polishing is performed while the abrasive slurry to which the free abrasive grains are added is supplied from the nozzle 7. Work W after polishing
Is transported to the carry-in / carry-out section 4 by the movement of the movable portion 1b and is taken out of the carrier 3 by a robot (not shown). Oxidation, adhesion of abrasive grains, and the like are likely to occur, and therefore, it is necessary to promptly remove those deposits.

For this reason, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, a washing unit 8 is provided between the surface plate 2 and the carry-in / out unit 4, and in this washing unit 8, a cleaning liquid is applied to each carrier 3 from a spray nozzle. Deposits are washed off by spraying, but it is difficult to completely wash off the adhered deposits.Moreover, since the cleaning liquid scatters around and wets around the device, it is necessary to provide drip-proof means. No.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-283486 also discloses a method in which a carrier is immersed in a cleaning solution to perform ultrasonic cleaning, but has the disadvantage that the equipment becomes complicated and the cost increases.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a simple cleaning device which can easily and surely wash off the deposits on the carrier.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a cleaning tank for containing a carrier in a state of being immersed in a cleaning liquid, and a retainer ring on a lower surface of the carrier inside the cleaning tank. An air nozzle disposed so as to face, and at least one lower surface brush provided upward to contact a retainer ring on the lower surface of the carrier;
A cleaning device is provided having at least one side brush provided laterally so as to contact an outer peripheral surface of a carrier.

[0008] The cleaning apparatus having the above-mentioned structure is installed in a part of the polishing apparatus, and is used for cleaning the carrier in a standby state while holding the work in the retainer ring on the lower surface. That is, when the carrier is accommodated in the cleaning tank and slowly rotated in a state of being immersed in the cleaning liquid, the retainer ring slides on the lower brush to remove deposits, and the outer peripheral surface of the carrier slides on the outer brush. To remove deposits,
At the same time, air is injected from the air nozzle to perform bubbling. This bubbling enhances the effect of removing adhering substances by the impact of air bubbles popping out. When used in combination with the above-mentioned brushes, not only can the cleaning effect be further enhanced, but also dirt attached to each brush is peeled off and washed away. You can also.

According to a specific embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of the lower surface brushes are provided, and the lower surface brushes are divided into a plurality of groups having different bristle heights. More specifically, the lower brush includes a high bristle lower brush with a high bristle tip and a lower bristle lower brush with a low bristle, and these brushes are alternately arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. ing.

By dividing the lower brush into a plurality of groups having different bristle heights, the lower bristle lower brush having a lower bristle can be operated after the lower bristle brush having a higher bristle wears. Therefore, the cleaning effect can be maintained for a long time.

It is desirable that the plurality of lower brushes be attached to one annular substrate at equal intervals, and that the substrate be detachably attached to the inside of the cleaning tank. Thereby, the replacement of the lower surface brush can be easily and quickly performed collectively.

Further, the liquid supply nozzle in the apparatus of the present invention is provided at the center of the bottom of the cleaning tank and has a plurality of liquid supply ports which are opened in the radial direction.

[0013]

1 and 2 show a typical embodiment of a carrier cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. This cleaning apparatus 10 is, for example, a planar polishing apparatus as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. It is installed at the position of the cleaning unit 8 in the apparatus, and is used for cleaning the carrier 3 and the work W after polishing is completed.

The cleaning apparatus 10 has a bottomed cylindrical cleaning tank 11 for filling with a cleaning liquid. The cleaning tank 11 has a size such that the carrier 3 can be accommodated in a state of being immersed in the cleaning liquid, and a supply nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid such as pure water is provided at the center of the bottom. The liquid supply nozzle 12 is provided with a plurality of liquid supply ports 12a that open in the radial direction. In the figure, reference numeral 13 denotes a port for connecting the liquid supply nozzle 12 to a cleaning liquid source.

An air nozzle 15 for jetting air into the cleaning liquid is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 11.
The air nozzle 15 has an elongated plate shape, and a plurality of blast ports 15 a are arranged on the upper surface thereof in the radial direction of the cleaning tank 11 so that at least a part of the blast ports 15 a is located directly below the retainer ring 6. Has become. 16 in the figure
Is a port for connecting the air nozzle 15 to a compressed air source.

Inside the washing tank 11, a lower surface of the accommodated carrier 3 is located at a position facing the retainer ring 6.
A plurality of lower surface brushes 18a, 1 having different heights of hair tips
8b is installed upward. These lower brushes 1
Numerals 8a and 18b are obtained by implanting brushes 20 on a rectangular brush stand 19. On one annular substrate 21, a high bristle lower surface brush 18a and a bristle low bristle are provided. The lower surface brushes 18b are alternately attached at equal intervals, and the substrate 21 is detachably attached to an attachment portion 22 inside the cleaning tank 11 with bolts. By mounting the plurality of lower surface brushes 18a and 18b on one substrate 21 in this manner, when replacing all of the lower surface brushes 18a and 18b with a new one, the substrate 21 is replaced by attaching and detaching the substrate 21. Can be performed simply and quickly in a lump.

The lower brush 18 having a different bristle height.
a, 18b are high brush lower surface brushes 18a having a high tip first.
The brush 3 is used to brush the carrier 3, and the brush 20 is worn or deformed to reduce the rubbing effect. After that, the low brush lower brush 18b having a low bristle tip is used. By using a brush that is easily deformed, an effective cleaning effect can be maintained for a long time. When switching from the use state of the high bristle lower brush 18a to the use state of the low bristle lower brush 18b, the washing position of the carrier 3 may be slightly lowered, or conversely, the height of the substrate 21 may be slightly increased. If worn, brush 1
8a may be left as it is or removed.

Further, as described above, the lower surface brushes 18a,
As a method of changing the height of the bristle tip of 18b, it is easy to use a brush having a different length of the brush 20, but a brush having the same length of the brush 20 is mounted on the substrate 21 by changing the height. May be attached.

The substrate 21 has an air nozzle 15
In order to prevent the air ejected from the air nozzle from obstructing the ascending, a notch 2 is provided just above the air nozzle 15.
1a is formed.

The cleaning tank 11 is provided with a side brush 25 at a position in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the carrier 3. The side brush 25 has a rectangular brush base 26.
The brush base 26 is fixed to a mounting portion 28 formed on a part of the outer surface of the cleaning tank 11, and the brush 27 is attached to the cleaning tank 11 through an opening 29 formed in the cleaning tank 11. By projecting into the inside 11, it is configured to contact the side surface of the carrier 3. Although only one side brush 25 is provided in the illustrated example, a plurality of side brushes 25 may be provided.

A notch 31 having a required depth is formed in a part of the tank wall of the washing tank 11 from an upper end thereof.
The cleaning liquid overflows from 1
The cleaning of the carrier 3 is performed while the cleaning liquid is continuously supplied from the liquid supply nozzle 12.

In the cleaning apparatus 10 having the above configuration,
As shown in FIG. 1, the carrier 3 after polishing of the workpiece W is accommodated in the cleaning tank 11 with the lower surface immersed in the cleaning liquid, and is slowly rotated around the axis. 18a, the attached matter is removed, and the outer peripheral surface of the carrier 3 is brought into sliding contact with the side brush 25 to remove the attached matter.
Air is injected from 5 to perform bubbling.

The above bubbling has the effect of increasing the effect of removing adhering substances due to the impact of air bubbles popping. When used in combination with the cleaning by the brushes 18a and 25, the cleaning effect can be further enhanced. Brush 18
The dirt adhering to a and 25 can be removed and washed away. In addition, it is possible to reliably remove the deposits attached to the workpiece W that cannot be slid by the lower surface brush 18a by the action of the bubbling.

When the brush 20 of the high bristle lower brush 18a is worn or deformed to reduce the rubbing effect, the lower bristle lower brush 18b having a low bristle tip is used instead, and the carrier 3 is similarly cleaned. You.

In the above embodiment, the lower brushes 18a, 18
Although b is divided into a plurality of groups having different heights of the tips, the heights of the tips of these lower surface brushes 18a and 18b may all be the same. Further, it is not always necessary to provide a plurality of the lower surface brushes, and the object of the present invention can be achieved even with one.

[0026]

As described above, according to the present invention, by using both the rubbing cleaning using a brush and the bubbling cleaning using air, it is possible to easily and surely remove all the deposits adhering to the outer peripheral surface of the carrier, the retainer ring and the work. Can be washed away.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing one embodiment of a cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional plan view in a state where a carrier in FIG. 2 is omitted.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing an example of a planar polishing apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of FIG. 3;

[Explanation of symbols]

2 surface plate 3 surface plate 6 retainer ring 10 cleaning device 11 cleaning tank 12 liquid supply nozzle 12a liquid supply port 15 air nozzle 18a high bristle lower surface brush 18b low bristle lower surface brush 21 substrate 25 side surface brush W work

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning apparatus for cleaning a carrier in a planar polishing apparatus for holding a disc-shaped work in a retainer ring attached to a lower surface of a carrier and pressing the work against a rotating platen to polish the work. A cleaning tank for containing the carrier in a state of being immersed in the cleaning liquid; a liquid supply nozzle for filling the cleaning tank with the cleaning liquid; and a cleaning tank having at least a lower surface of the carrier. An air nozzle for ejecting air, which is disposed so as to face the retainer ring; and at least one air nozzle which is disposed inside the cleaning tank and is upwardly disposed so as to be in sliding contact with a retainer ring on a lower surface of the carrier.
A cleaning device for a carrier in a planar polishing device, comprising: a lower surface brush; and at least one side brush disposed laterally in the cleaning tank so as to contact an outer peripheral surface of the carrier. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the lower surface brushes are provided, and the lower surface brushes are divided into a plurality of groups having different hair tip heights. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the high bristle lower brush having a high bristle and the low bristle lower brush having a low bristle are alternately arranged at equal intervals in a circumferential direction. What is characterized by. 4. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a plurality of lower surface brushes are attached to one annular substrate at equal intervals, and the substrates are detachably attached to the inside of the cleaning tank. Characterized by that. 5. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply nozzle is provided at a center of a bottom of the cleaning tank, and has a plurality of liquid supply ports that are opened in a radial direction. Characterized by that. 6. A plane polishing apparatus comprising the cleaning apparatus according to claim 1.