A cleaner composition consisting essentially of (A) 92.0 wt % to less than 99.9 wt % of an organic solvent, (B) 0.1 wt % to less than 8.0 wt % of a C.sub.3-C.sub.6 alcohol, and (C) 0.001-3.0 wt % of a quaternary ammonium salt is effective for removing any silicone adhesive residues on a silicon semiconductor substrate. A satisfactory degree of cleanness is achieved within a short time and at a high efficiency without causing corrosion to the substrate.

A wafer processing apparatus includes a particle charger for charging particles adsorbed onto a wafer with photoelectrons emitted from an emitter metal layer and a particle remover for applying an electric field to the wafer, which removes the charged particles from the wafer.

Provided herein is a method for cleaning a wafer having a fine uneven surface pattern that at least partially contains a silicon element using a wafer cleaning device that includes a vinyl chloride resin as a liquid contacting member, the method including retaining a water-repellent protective film-forming chemical in at least a recessed portion of the uneven pattern to form a water-repellent protective film on a surface of the recessed portion, the water-repellent protective film-forming chemical containing: a monoalkoxysilane represented by the following general formula [1],

(R.sup.1).sub.aSi(H).sub.3-a(OR.sup.2)  [1]; a sulfonic acid represented by the following general formula [2],

R.sup.3—S(═O).sub.2OH  [2]; and a diluting solvent, wherein the diluting solvent contains 80 to 100 mass % of alcohol with respect to the total 100 mass % of the diluting solvent.

The present disclosure provides a semiconductor fabrication apparatus in accordance with one embodiment. The apparatus includes a wafer stage that is operable to secure and rotate a wafer; a polish head configured to polish a backside surface of the wafer; an air bearing module configured to apply an air pressure to a front surface of the wafer; and an edge sealing unit configured to seal edges of the wafer.

Provided are an apparatus and a method for treating substrates. The apparatus includes a process chamber, a support plate to support a substrate inside the process chamber, a gas supply unit to supply a gas into the process chamber, a first plasma generation unit provided to generate plasma inside the process chamber, and a second plasma generation unit provided to generate plasma outside the process chamber. An etching process, an ashing process, an edge cleaning process, and a back-surface cleaning process are sequentially performed on the substrate inside the process chamber.

An outer peripheral end of the substrate is held with a plurality of chuck pins provided at a spin plate abutting against a plurality of portions of the outer peripheral end of the substrate, and the spin plate is rotated about a rotation axis. A cleaning head is moved by a head moving mechanism while being pressed against a back surface of the substrate held by the plurality of chuck pins by the head moving mechanism, and foreign matter on the back surface of the substrate is removed by polishing with the cleaning head. A reaction force against a load applied to the back surface of the substrate by the cleaning head is generated in the substrate by auxiliary pins. Alternatively, the back surface of the substrate, which has been cleaned or is being cleaned by the cleaning head, is further cleaned by a cleaning brush.

A wafer cleaning apparatus includes: a brush, configured to wash a surface to be cleaned of a wafer; a base for carrying the brush, the base having at least one conductive disk, a disk surface of the conductive disk being parallel to the surface to be cleaned, and the base being able to rotate around an axis of the base; and a magnetic field generation structure configured to emit, to the conductive disk, a magnetic field perpendicular to the disk surface of the conductive disk, so that an induced electric field is generated in the conductive disk during the rotation of the base. The quality of wafer cleaning and the yield of wafer products can be improved.

A cleaning solution includes a first solvent having Hansen solubility parameters 25>δ.sub.d>13, 25>δ.sub.p>3, and 30>δ.sub.h>4; an acid having an acid dissociation constant, pKa, of −11<pKa<4, or a base having a pKa of 40 > pKa>9.5; and a surfactant. The surfactant is one or more of an ionic surfactant, a polyethylene oxide and a polypropylene oxide, a non-ionic surfactant, and combinations thereof.

Methods for removing particles from a wafer for photolithography. A method is provided including providing a semiconductor wafer; attaching a polyimide layer to a backside of the semiconductor wafer; and performing an etch on an active surface of the semiconductor wafer; wherein particles that impinge on the backside during the etch are captured by the polyimide layer. In another method, includes attaching a layer of polyimide film to a backside of a semiconductor wafer; dry etching a material on an active surface of the semiconductor wafer; depositing of an additional layer of material on the active surface of the semiconductor wafer; removing the layer of polyimide film from the backside of the semiconductor wafer; patterning the layer of material using an immersion photolithography process to expose a photoresist on the active surface of the wafer; and repeating the attaching, dry etching, depositing, removing and patterning steps.

A method includes rendering a cleaning nozzle of a spin coating device below a base plate and out of optimal exposure to a bottom surface and edges of a substrate material placed on a spin chuck in a state of engagement of the base plate with the spin chuck, and rendering the base plate completely under the spin chuck even in the aforementioned state of engagement. In response to disengagement of a lid from the base plate, the method also includes disengaging the base plate from the spin chuck to lower the base plate to a locking point whereupon a portion of the cleaning nozzle below the base plate passes through a hole in the base plate and emerges completely out of and above the base plate, and cleaning the bottom surface and/or the edges of the substrate material utilizing the cleaning nozzle based on an optimal exposure thereof.