TWM664520U - Single wafer processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present application provides a single wafer processing equipment. The single wafer processing equipment includes a wafer holding portion, a two-fluid nozzle, a pressure correction device and a moving device. The wafer holding portion is configured to carry a wafer. The two-fluid nozzle is configured to provide a mixed fluid composed of a gas and a process liquid to the wafer. The pressure correction device is configured to measure the pressure value of the mixed fluid provided by the two-fluid nozzle. The moving device is connected to the two-fluid nozzle and is configured to control the two-fluid nozzle to move between the pressure correction device and the wafer holding portion.

Description

Single wafer processing equipment

This application relates to the field of semiconductor equipment, and more particularly to a single wafer processing equipment.

Currently, in semiconductor manufacturing processes, single-fluid and two-fluid nozzles are widely used to clean wafer surfaces. Single-fluid nozzles can only spray a single medium, such as deionized water (DI water) or a specific cleaning agent, and their cleaning effect is relatively limited. In contrast, two-fluid nozzles can mix and gasify two media, such as DI water and nitrogen, to produce high-pressure water mist particles. These particles have a strong impact force and can clean the wafer surface more efficiently, especially in precision semiconductor processes.

However, the use of two-fluid nozzles in conventional technology still faces certain challenges. First, the pressure regulation system is relatively complex, and it is difficult to accurately control the pressure and flow rate. Second, the pressure calibration is not sensitive enough, which can easily lead to unstable or insufficient cleaning effects, which may affect the removal of minor defects in the semiconductor process.

In view of this, it is necessary to provide a single wafer processing equipment to solve the above technical problems.

In order to solve the above problems of the prior art, the purpose of this application is to provide a single wafer processing equipment, which can realize the precise control of the pressure of the two-fluid nozzle, thereby improving the efficiency of the wafer wet processing and stabilizing the etching or cleaning effect.

In a first aspect, the present application provides a single wafer processing equipment, comprising: a wafer holding portion, which can rotate around an axis and is configured to carry a wafer; a two-fluid nozzle, which is configured to provide a mixed fluid composed of a gas and a process liquid to the wafer; a pressure correction device, which is arranged on one side of the wafer holding portion and is configured to measure the pressure value of the mixed fluid provided by the two-fluid nozzle; and a moving device, which is connected to the two-fluid nozzle and is configured to control the movement of the two-fluid nozzle between the pressure correction device and the wafer holding portion.

In some embodiments, the single wafer processing equipment further includes: a liquid supply device connected to the two-fluid nozzle for providing the process liquid; and a gas supply device connected to the two-fluid nozzle for providing the gas.

In some embodiments, the single wafer processing equipment further includes: a host computer electrically connected to the pressure calibration device, the liquid supply device and the gas supply device, wherein the host computer receives the measured pressure value and adjusts the flow rate of the process liquid and/or the gas according to the pressure value.

In some embodiments, the pressure calibration device includes a membrane pressure sensor.

In some embodiments, the single wafer processing equipment further includes: a storage device configured to store the corresponding relationship between the flow rate of the gas and the process liquid and the pressure value.

Compared to the prior art, this application provides a single wafer processing equipment that uses a pressure calibration device to measure and record the pressure value of the mixed fluid output by the two-fluid nozzle before officially starting the wafer cleaning process, and feeds back these measurement results to the host in real time. After receiving these pressure data, the host automatically adjusts the flow rate of the process liquid and/or gas according to the actual measured pressure value to ensure that the pressure of the mixed fluid sprayed by the two-fluid nozzle onto the wafer surface can meet the preset cleaning process requirements. This design not only solves the complexity of the pressure adjustment process, but also significantly improves the consistency and stability of the overall cleaning process through a precise pressure calibration mechanism. This precise control mechanism is particularly important in situations where semiconductor manufacturing processes require extremely high precision, ensuring that each cleaning operation achieves optimal results.

In order to make the above and other purposes, features, and advantages of this application more clearly understood, the following will specifically cite the preferred embodiments of this application and provide a detailed description in conjunction with the attached drawings as follows.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 3, wherein Figure 1 is a top view of a single wafer processing device of an embodiment of the present application, and Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the single wafer processing device of Figure 1 in an operating position. The single wafer processing device 10 is used to perform various processes on wafers, such as wet etching or removing particles from the surface of the wafer. The single wafer processing device 10 includes a wafer holding portion 11, a pressure correction device 12, a two-fluid nozzle 13 and a moving device 14. It should be understood that in Figure 1, the single wafer processing device 10 includes 3 nozzles, however, other numbers of two-fluid nozzles 13 may be included in other embodiments, without being limited thereto.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 3 , the wafer holding portion 11 is used to carry the wafer 2 thereon, and its design can be selected to be rotatable around an axis, and the wafer 2 can be kept stable by vacuum suction or clamping, but is not limited thereto. The pressure correction device 12 is arranged on one side of the wafer holding portion 11, and the two-fluid nozzle 13 is arranged to be movable above the wafer holding portion 11, and is used to provide a mixed fluid composed of gas and process liquid. The moving device 14 is connected to the two-fluid nozzle 13, and is mainly used to control the two-fluid nozzle 13 to move between the correction position P1 and the operating position (i.e., the position above the wafer holding portion 11).

Please refer to FIG. 2, which shows a schematic diagram of the single wafer processing equipment of FIG. 1 in a calibration position. The single wafer processing equipment 10 also includes a liquid supply device 15, a gas supply device 16, a first pipeline 151, a second pipeline 161 and a host 17. The liquid supply device 15 and the gas supply device 16 are connected to the two-fluid nozzle 13 through the first pipeline 151 and the second pipeline 161 respectively. The liquid supply device 15 can be used to provide various process liquids, such as etching liquid, deionized water (DI water), etc., while the gas supply device 16 is used to supply gas, such as clean and dry air or nitrogen (N2). In addition, the pressure calibration device 12 is provided with a pressure sensor 121 for accurately measuring the pressure value of the mixed fluid output by the two-fluid nozzle. The host computer 17 is communicatively connected to each component of the single wafer processing equipment 10 (for example, electrically connected to the pressure sensor 121 of the pressure calibration device 12, the liquid supply device 15 and the gas supply device 16), and includes an electrically connected processor 171 and a memory 172.

In some embodiments, when performing a wafer cleaning process, the two-fluid nozzle 13 will mix DI water with nitrogen and vaporize it to form water mist particles (i.e., mixed fluid) with strong impact to clean the wafer surface. In the conventional technology, since the pressure adjustment of the two-fluid nozzle is relatively complex and difficult to accurately control, this will have a negative impact on the cleaning effect. Specifically, traditional single-wafer processing equipment usually calculates the mixed fluid pressure that may be output by the two-fluid nozzle 13 based on the flow rate of the process liquid and gas. However, since changes in the internal environmental conditions of the equipment (such as temperature, pressure fluctuations, etc.) are difficult to accurately predict, there is often an error between the calculated pressure value and the actual output pressure value. This error will lead to unstable pressure during the cleaning process, thus affecting the cleaning effect of the wafer. In addition, in order to verify whether the pressure value based on the calculation can achieve the expected cleaning effect, it is usually necessary to perform routine tests on the wafer after cleaning, such as measuring the line width or checking the surface residue. Such a testing process not only consumes a lot of time and manpower, but also fails to provide real-time pressure correction information during the cleaning process, resulting in reduced process efficiency.

In order to solve the problem of the difficulty in adjusting the pressure of the two-fluid nozzle mentioned above, the present application proposes an effective solution: a pressure correction device 12 is set in the single wafer processing equipment. And, as shown in FIG2 , before the wafer cleaning process is officially carried out, the two-fluid nozzle 13 is first moved to the position of the pressure correction device 12. The pressure value of the water mist particles output by the two-fluid nozzle 13 is measured and recorded by the pressure correction device 12. Specifically, the pressure sensor 121 equipped with the pressure correction device 12 can accurately measure the pressure of the nozzle and feed back the measurement result to the host 17 in real time. The host 17 receives the measured pressure value and adjusts the flow rate of the process liquid and/or gas (such as DI water and/or nitrogen) according to the pressure value to ensure that the pressure of the mixed fluid sprayed by the two-fluid nozzle 13 onto the wafer surface reaches the set value required by the cleaning process. This calibration and adjustment process significantly improves the efficiency of the cleaning process and ensures that the pressure adjustment process is more stable and accurate, thereby achieving the best cleaning effect. This design not only solves the complexity of pressure adjustment, but also improves the consistency of the overall cleaning process through an accurate pressure calibration mechanism, which is particularly important in semiconductor processes that require extremely high precision.

In some embodiments, when adjusting the pressure value, it is better to keep the flow rate of the process liquid fixed and adjust the gas flow rate to achieve precise pressure adjustment. Such a setting can ensure that the supply of process liquid is sufficient, thereby ensuring that the chemical reaction can proceed smoothly. Fixed process liquid flow helps maintain the consistency and stability of the chemical reaction, while adjusting the gas flow rate can flexibly control the pressure level to meet the needs of different cleaning requirements.

It should be understood that the set value can be a fixed value or a range value. A fixed value refers to a fixed value that is used to require the pressure to reach a specific standard. A range value refers to a range of values between an upper and lower limit, which allows a certain range of variation to adapt to actual changes or uncertainties in the process. According to different needs and application scenarios, choosing the appropriate set value form can better meet the requirements of pressure control and ensure the operation stability and cleaning effect of the equipment.

In some embodiments, the set values are stored in the memory 172 of the host 17. The host 17 can not only record the measured two-fluid pressure values, but also store the correspondence between the gas flow rate and the process liquid flow rate and the pressure value. In this way, the host 17 can automatically call the best set values according to the types of different wafers or substrates in the subsequent process. Based on these set values, the host 17 will adjust the flow of gas and process liquid accordingly to achieve the best cleaning effect and process control. This automatic adjustment function can improve the flexibility and accuracy of the process and adapt to different cleaning requirements.

Preferably, the pressure sensor 121 equipped with the pressure calibration device 12 is a thin film pressure sensor, and its material includes, for example, a plastic film. This sensor has a high-precision measurement capability, can measure the pressure value of the gram level, and provide extremely accurate data. The high resolution and stability of the thin film pressure sensor enable it to achieve accurate measurement and control during the pressure calibration process, thereby greatly improving the effect and consistency of the cleaning process.

Please refer to Figures 1 and 3, wherein Figure 3 shows a schematic diagram of the single wafer processing equipment of Figure 1 in the operating position. After the pressure value of the mixed fluid output by the two-fluid nozzle 13 is calibrated, the wafer cleaning process is officially carried out. Specifically, the two-fluid nozzle 13 is controlled by the moving device 14 to move from the calibration position P1 to the operating position (i.e., the position above the wafer holding part 11). The moving device 14 is composed of a rotating lifting column 141 and a long arm 142, wherein the two-fluid nozzle 13 is fixed to one end of the long arm 142, and the other end of the long arm 142 is connected to the rotating lifting column 141. The rotating lifting column 141 is arranged on the periphery of the wafer holding part 11 and maintains a certain distance therefrom. When the rotating lifting column 141 rotates, the long arm 142 will drive the two-fluid nozzle 13 to move together. For example, the moving device 14 can control the second fluid nozzle 13 to move from the calibration position P1 to above the wafer holding portion 11, so that the first nozzle 121 can spray the mixed fluid above the wafer 2 along a predetermined path R. The path R includes: moving from point A on the edge of the wafer 2 toward the center point O of the wafer 2, and then moving from the center point O toward point B on the other edge of the wafer 2.

In some embodiments, the rotary lifting column 141 is connected to a rotary drive unit and a lifting drive unit at the same time. The two driving units can control the rotation and lifting movement respectively through two independent driving devices (such as motors), or integrate the two into one driving device and connect to the rotary lifting column 141. Through the movement of the rotary driving unit, the rotary lifting column 141 rotates around its axis, thereby causing the long arm 142 to drive the two-fluid nozzle 13 to move along the path R on the horizontal plane. Through the movement of the lifting drive unit, the rotary lifting column 141 can perform lifting movement in a direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane, thereby changing the height of the two-fluid nozzle 13. This design allows the two-fluid nozzle 13 to move flexibly in both horizontal and vertical directions, thereby achieving accurate cleaning of different areas and effectively adjusting the nozzle height to meet different cleaning requirements.

The present application also provides a control method for a single wafer processing device, which is executed by the above-mentioned single wafer processing device 10, wherein the structure of the single wafer processing device 10 is as described above and will not be elaborated here. The processor 171 and the memory 172 of the host 17 of the single wafer processing device 10 are arranged on a circuit board. The memory 172 is configured to store executable program codes. The processor 171 reads the executable program codes stored in the memory and runs the programs corresponding to these executable program codes to execute the control method of the present application. In addition, the host 17 of the single wafer processing device 10 may also include one or more of the following components: a circuit board, a power supply circuit, etc.

In the present embodiment, the processor 171 is generally configured to control the overall operation of the host 17. The processor 171 may include one or more processors to execute instructions to perform actions in all or part of the steps in the operation of the above-mentioned single wafer processing equipment 10. In addition, the processor 171 may include one or more modules to facilitate the interaction between the processor and other components. For example, the processor 171 may include a communication module to facilitate the interaction between the communication component and the processor. The memory 172 is configured to store various types of data to support the operation of the host. Examples of such data include instructions for any application or method operating on the host. The memory 172 can be implemented using any type of volatile or non-volatile memory device or a combination thereof. The power circuit supplies power to the various components of the host 17. The power circuit may include a power management system, one or more power supplies, and any other components associated with the generation, management, and distribution of power to the host. In an exemplary embodiment, the host may be implemented by an independent terminal device or an electronic component such as a controller, a microcontroller, etc. integrated in the single wafer processing equipment 10.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which shows a flow chart of a control method of a single wafer processing device of an embodiment of the present application. The control method of the present application includes: first, providing a single wafer processing device 10 as described above. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the single wafer processing device 10 includes a wafer holding portion 11, a pressure correction device 12, a two-fluid nozzle 13, a moving device 14, a liquid supply device 15, an air supply device 16, a first pipeline 151, a second pipeline 161 and a host 17. The structures of these components are as described above and will not be elaborated here.

In step 41, a wafer 2 is placed on the wafer holding portion 11. The wafer holding portion 11 can be rotatable around an axis, and can use vacuum suction or clamping to keep the wafer 2 stable.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , in step 42 , the two-fluid nozzle 13 is controlled by the moving device 14 to move to above the pressure sensor 121 of the pressure calibration device 12 and a mixed fluid consisting of gas and process liquid is applied to the pressure calibration device 12 .

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , in step 43 , the pressure calibration device 12 is controlled to measure the pressure value of the mixed fluid provided by the two-fluid nozzle 13 .

In step 44, the host 17 determines whether the pressure value meets the set value. That is, in this embodiment, before the wafer cleaning process is officially carried out, the pressure value of the water mist particles output by the two-fluid nozzle 13 is measured and recorded by the pressure calibration device 12, and the measurement result is fed back to the host 17 in real time. The host 17 receives the measured pressure value and adjusts the flow rate of the process liquid and/or gas according to the pressure value to ensure that the pressure of the mixed fluid sprayed by the two-fluid nozzle 13 to the wafer surface reaches the set value required by the cleaning process. The specific pressure adjustment mechanism and method are as described above and will not be elaborated here.

In step 45, if so, the moving device 14 controls the two-fluid nozzle 13 to spray the mixed fluid along a path above the wafer 2. For example, as shown in FIG1 , the moving device 14 can control the two-fluid nozzle 13 to move from the calibration position P1 to above the wafer holding portion 11, so that the first nozzle 121 can spray the mixed fluid above the wafer 2 along a predetermined path R. The path R includes: moving from point A on the edge of the wafer 2 toward the center point O of the wafer 2, and then moving from the center point O toward point B on the other edge of the wafer 2.

It should be understood that, in some embodiments, the wafer 2 may be placed on the wafer holding portion 11 only after it is determined that the pressure value meets the set value (ie, step 41 is performed before step 45).

In summary, this application uses a pressure calibration device to measure and record the pressure value of the mixed fluid output by the two-fluid nozzle before the wafer cleaning process officially starts, and feeds back these measurement results to the host in real time. After receiving these pressure data, the host automatically adjusts the flow rate of the process liquid and/or gas according to the actual measured pressure value to ensure that the pressure of the mixed fluid sprayed by the two-fluid nozzle onto the wafer surface can meet the preset cleaning process requirements. This design not only solves the complexity of the pressure adjustment process, but also significantly improves the consistency and stability of the overall cleaning process through a precise pressure calibration mechanism. This precise control mechanism is particularly important in situations where semiconductor manufacturing processes require extremely high precision, ensuring that each cleaning operation achieves optimal results.

The above is only the best implementation method of this application. It should be pointed out that technical personnel in the relevant field can make several improvements and embellishments without departing from the principles of this application. These improvements and embellishments should also be regarded as the scope of protection of this application.

10: Single wafer processing equipment 11: Wafer holding unit 12: Pressure calibration device 121: Pressure sensor 13: Two-fluid nozzle 14: Moving device 141: Rotating lifting column 142: Long arm 15: Liquid supply device 151: First pipeline 16: Air supply device 161: Second pipeline 17: Main unit 171: Processor 172: Storage 2: Wafer P1: Calibration position A, B: Points O: Center point R: Path 41~45: Steps

FIG. 1 shows a top view of a single wafer processing device of an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of the single wafer processing device of FIG. 1 in a calibration position; FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of the single wafer processing device of FIG. 1 in an operating position; FIG. 4 shows a flow chart of a control method of a single wafer processing device of an embodiment of the present application.

10: Single wafer processing equipment

12: Pressure correction device

13: Two-fluid nozzle

14: Mobile device

141: Rotating lifting column

142: Long arms

2: Wafer

P1: Correction position

A, B: points

O: Center point

R: Path

Claims (5)

A single wafer processing device comprises: a wafer holding portion, rotatable about an axis, configured to carry a wafer; a two-fluid nozzle, configured to provide a mixed fluid composed of a gas and a process liquid to the wafer; a pressure correction device, disposed on one side of the wafer holding portion, configured to measure the pressure value of the mixed fluid provided by the two-fluid nozzle; and a moving device, connected to the two-fluid nozzle, configured to control the two-fluid nozzle to move between the pressure correction device and the wafer holding portion. The single wafer processing equipment of claim 1, wherein the single wafer processing equipment further comprises: a liquid supply device connected to the two-fluid nozzle for providing the process liquid; and a gas supply device connected to the two-fluid nozzle for providing the gas. A single wafer processing device as claimed in claim 2, wherein the single wafer processing device further comprises: a host computer electrically connected to the pressure calibration device, the liquid supply device and the gas supply device, wherein the host computer receives the measured pressure value and adjusts the flow rate of the process liquid and/or the gas according to the pressure value. A single wafer processing apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein the pressure correction device comprises a thin film pressure sensor. A single wafer processing device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the single wafer processing device further comprises: a storage device configured to store the corresponding relationship between the flow rate of the gas and the process liquid and the pressure value.

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