A semiconductor wafer has a base material. The semiconductor wafer may have an edge support ring. A grinding phase of a surface of the semiconductor wafer removes a portion of the base material. The grinder is removed from or lifted off the surface of the semiconductor wafer during a separation phase. The surface of the semiconductor wafer and under the grinder is rinsed during the grinding phase and separation phase to remove particles. A rinsing solution is dispensed from a rinsing solution source to rinse the surface of the semiconductor wafer. The rinsing solution source can move in position while dispensing the rinsing solution to rinse the surface of the semiconductor wafer. The grinding phase and separation phase are repeated during the entire grinding operation, when grinding conductive TSVs, or during the final grinding stages, until the final thickness of the semiconductor wafer is achieved.

A substrate processing apparatus includes a hydrophobizing part configured to perform a hydrophobizing process of forming a hydrophobic film on a front surface of a substrate through vapor deposition of a hydrophobizing gas, an ultraviolet radiation part configured to radiate ultraviolet rays to a removal area on a rear surface of the substrate so as to remove the hydrophobic film formed in the removal area in the hydrophobizing process, and a resin-film forming part configured to form a fluororesin film in the removal area after the hydrophobic film is removed.

In accordance with some embodiments, a wafer processing method is provided. The wafer processing method includes placing a semiconductor wafer on a wafer stage with a backside surface of the semiconductor wafer facing downwardly. The wafer processing method further includes positioning a first brush assembly below the backside surface of the semiconductor wafer. The wafer processing method also includes moving a first brush assembly toward the backside surface of the semiconductor wafer to a first position. At the first position, an inner brush member and an outer brush member of the first brush assembly, made of different materials, are in contact with the backside surface of the semiconductor wafer. In addition, the wafer processing method includes rotating the first brush assembly relative to the semiconductor wafer while the first brush assembly is in the first position.

A substrate processing method includes holding a substrate on which a boron-containing silicon film is formed; supplying an oxidative aqueous solution including hydrofluoric acid and nitric acid to the held substrate; and etching the boron-containing silicon film of the substrate with the oxidative aqueous solution.

A novel bevel etch sequence for embedded metal contamination removal from BEOL wafers is provided. In one aspect, a method of processing a wafer includes: performing a bevel dry etch to break up layers of contaminants with embedded metals which, post back-end-of line metallization, are deposited on a bevel of the wafer, which forms a damaged layer on surfaces of the wafer; and then performing a sequence of wet etches, following the bevel dry etch, to render the bevel of the wafer substantially free of contaminants, wherein the sequence of wet etches includes etching the damaged layer to undercut and lift-off any remaining contaminants. A wafer, processed in this manner, having a bevel that is substantially free of contaminants is also provided.

A method of fabricating a semiconductor device and a semiconductor processing apparatus are provided. The method of fabricating a semiconductor device comprises preparing a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side, opposing each other, and forming a material layer on the semiconductor substrate. The material layer is formed on at least a portion of the back side of the semiconductor substrate while being formed on the front side of the semiconductor substrate. The material layer formed on the at least a portion of the back side of the semiconductor substrate is removed, while the material layer formed on the front side of the semiconductor substrate remains. A semiconductor process is performed to fabricate the semiconductor device using the material layer remaining on the front side of the semiconductor substrate.

A PERC solar cell capable of improving photoelectric conversion efficiency and a preparation method thereof are provided. The solar cell consecutively includes, from the bottom up, a rear silver electrode (1), a rear aluminum field (2), a rear silicon nitride film (3), a rear aluminum oxide film (4), P-type silicon (5), N-type silicon (6), a front silicon nitride film (7), and a front silver electrode (8). The rear aluminum field (2) is connected to the P-type silicon (5) via a rear aluminum strip (10). The P-type silicon (5) is a silicon wafer of the cell. The N-type silicon (6) is an N-type emitter formed by diffusion via the front surface of the silicon wafer. The front silicon nitride film (7) is deposited on the front surface of the silicon wafer. The rear aluminum oxide film (4) is deposited on the rear surface of the silicon wafer. The rear aluminum oxide film (3) is deposited after the front silicon nitride film (7) is deposited on the silicon wafer, and the rear surface of the silicon wafer is washed before depositing the rear aluminum oxide film (3). The cell can significantly improves passivation effect of the rear aluminum oxide film and improve the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of the cell, thereby increasing photoelectric conversion efficiency of the cell.

A photoresist layer is coated over a wafer. The photoresist layer includes a metal-containing material. An extreme ultraviolet (EUV) lithography process is performed to the photoresist layer to form a patterned photoresist. The wafer is cleaned with a cleaning fluid to remove the metal-containing material. The cleaning fluid includes a solvent having Hansen solubility parameters of delta D in a range between 13 and 25, delta P in a range between 3 and 25, and delta H in a range between 4 and 30. The solvent contains an acid with an acid dissociation constant less than 4 or a base with an acid dissociation constant greater than 9.

An outer peripheral end of a 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 semiconductor wafer has a base material. The semiconductor wafer may have an edge support ring. A grinding phase of a surface of the semiconductor wafer removes a portion of the base material. The grinder is removed from or lifted off the surface of the semiconductor wafer during a separation phase. The surface of the semiconductor wafer and under the grinder is rinsed during the grinding phase and separation phase to remove particles. A rinsing solution is dispensed from a rinsing solution source to rinse the surface of the semiconductor wafer. The rinsing solution source can move in position while dispensing the rinsing solution to rinse the surface of the semiconductor wafer. The grinding phase and separation phase are repeated during the entire grinding operation, when grinding conductive TSVs, or during the final grinding stages, until the final thickness of the semiconductor wafer is achieved.