SUBSTRATE CLEANING METHOD AND APPARATUS
20220351962 · 2022-11-03
Assignee
Inventors
- Wenjun Wang (Shanghai, CN)
- Ting Yao (Shanghai, CN)
- Xiaoyan Zhang (Shanghai, CN)
- Fuping Chen (Shanghai, CN)
- Hui Wang (Shanghai, CN)
Cpc classification
B08B3/12
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
International classification
H01L21/02
ELECTRICITY
B08B3/02
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B08B3/04
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
B08B3/12
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
H01L21/67
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
A method for cleaning a substrate with pattern structures comprises the following steps: using gas-liquid atomization to clean a substrate surface (601); using TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface (602); and drying the substrate (603). The TEBO megasonic cleaning is used to remove small size particles on the substrate and the gas-liquid atomization cleaning is used to remove large size particles on the substrate. The method enables achieving an effect of cleaning the substrate without or with less device damage. A substrate cleaning apparatus is also provided.
Claims
1. A method for cleaning a substrate with pattern structures, comprising: using gas-liquid atomization to clean a substrate surface; using TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface; and drying the substrate.
2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of using gas-liquid atomization to clean a substrate surface and the step of using TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface are performed alternatively several times.
3. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the step of using TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface, reusing gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface.
4. The method according to claim 1, wherein using gas-liquid atomization to clean a substrate surface is capable of removing large size particles on the substrate, loosening the adhesion between particles and the substrate surface, and breaking up some of cluster polymeric particles, the size of large particles is greater than 0.5um.
5. The method according to claim 1, wherein using TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface is capable of removing the substrate surface contaminants not completely removed in the previous step and small size particles, the size of small particles is 0.5 um or less than 0.5 um.
6. The method according to claim 1, before the step of drying the substrate, further comprising: using deionized water or carbon dioxide deionized water to rinse the substrate surface.
7. A method for cleaning a substrate with pattern structures, comprising: using TEBO megasonic to clean a substrate surface; using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface; and drying the substrate.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the step of using TEBO megasonic to clean a substrate surface and the step of using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface are performed alternatively several times.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein after the step of using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface, reusing TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface.
10. The method according to claim 7, wherein using TEBO megasonic to clean a substrate surface is capable of disengaging small size particles from the inside of the pattern structures and removing small size particles, the size of small particles is 0.5 um or less than 0.5 um.
11. The method according to claim 7, wherein using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface is capable of removing large size particles and small size particles which have been separated out from the pattern structures, the size of large particles is greater than 0.5 um and the size of small particles is 0.5 um or less than 0.5 um.
12. The method according to claim 7, before the step of drying the substrate, further comprising: using deionized water or carbon dioxide deionized water to rinse the substrate surface.
13. An apparatus for cleaning a substrate with pattern structures, comprising: a substrate holding device, configured to hold a substrate; a mega sonic cleaning device, configured to provide TEBO megasonic cleaning; and a gas-liquid atomization cleaning device, configured to provide gas-liquid atomization cleaning.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the mega sonic cleaning device comprises: a shielding cover; a mega sonic device, being fixed at the bottom of the shielding cover; a connecting arm, being connected to a side of the shielding cover; a connecting spindle, being connected to the connecting arm; and a driving mechanism, being connected to the connecting spindle for driving the connecting spindle to rotate and move up and down; and a nozzle device, being connected to the other side of the shielding cover.
15. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the gas-liquid atomization cleaning device comprises: a fixing member; and a gas-liquid atomization device, being fixed with the nozzle device by using the fixing member, the gas-liquid atomization device having a liquid inlet pipe, a gas inlet pipe and a jet-spray nozzle.
16. The apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the gas-liquid atomization cleaning device comprises: a supporting arm; a gas-liquid atomization device, being fixed at an end of the supporting arm, the gas-liquid atomization device having a liquid inlet pipe, a gas inlet pipe and a jet-spray nozzle; a supporting spindle, being connected to the other end of the supporting arm; an actuator, being connected to the supporting spindle, driving the supporting spindle to rotate and move up and down.
17. The apparatus according to claim 16, further comprising: a first cleaning groove, configured for cleaning the mega sonic device; a second cleaning groove, configured for cleaning the gas-liquid atomization device.
18. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a process chamber, wherein the substrate holding device, the mega sonic cleaning device and the gas-liquid atomization cleaning device are located in the process chamber.
19. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the mega sonic cleaning device is capable of removing small size particles, the size of small particles is 0.5 um or less than 0.5 um.
20. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the gas-liquid atomization cleaning device is capable of removing large size particles, the size of large particles is greater than 0.5 um.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0027] In the traditional ultrasonic or megasonic assisted wet cleaning, pattern structures on a substrate are easily damaged by the micro-jet shock wave produced by the explosion of transient cavitation bubbles. In order to solve the problem, a new acoustic wave cleaning technology called Timely Energized Bubble Oscillation (TEBO) is developed to clean a substrate comprising pattern structures without pattern structures damages. The TEBO is a technology that controls the bubble cavitation generated by an ultra or mega sonic device during the cleaning process to achieve a stable or controlled cavitation on the entire semiconductor wafer, which removes particles efficiently without damaging the device structure on the semiconductor wafer. The entire contents of PCT patent application PCT/CN2015/079342, filed on May 20, 2015 are incorporated herein by reference.
[0028] Referring to
[0029] Step 1: pre-rinsing a wafer comprising pattern structures by using carbon dioxide deionized water for 5-60 seconds. The pre-rinsing is performed by delivering the carbon dioxide deionized water at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 300-1000 rpm. The conductivity of carbon dioxide deionized water is 0.05-18 MΩ*cm.
[0030] Step 2: cleaning the wafer by employing a TEBO megasonic and SC1 for 15-300 seconds. The cleaning is performed by delivering the SC1 at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 10-100 rpm. The chemical mix ratio of SC1 (NH.sub.4OH:H.sub.2O.sub.2:H.sub.2O) is 1:4:20-1:1:500. The power of megasonic wave is 10-100 watts. The duty cycle of power on is 1%-5%. The pulse period is 2-10 ms.
[0031] Step 3: post-rinsing the wafer by using carbon dioxide deionized water for 5-60 seconds. The post-rinsing is performed by delivering the carbon dioxide deionized water at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 300-1000 rpm. The conductivity of carbon dioxide deionized water is 0.05-18 MΩ*cm.
[0032] Step 4: drying the wafer. The drying is performed by spraying nitrogen at a flow rate of 5-30 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 2000-2500 rpm for 20-60 seconds.
[0033]
[0034] In the present invention, the TEBO megasonic cleaning technology solves the problem of removing small size particles in the semiconductor manufacturing filed. However, in the manufacturing of semiconductor devices, in addition to small size particles on substrates, there are also large size particles on the substrates. Therefore, not only small size particles need to be removed, but also large size particles need to be removed.
[0035] Referring to
[0036] With reference to
[0037] Step 1: pre-rinsing a wafer comprising pattern structures by using carbon dioxide deionized water for 5-60 seconds. The pre-rinsing is performed by delivering the carbon dioxide deionized water at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 300-1000 rpm. The conductivity of carbon dioxide deionized water is 0.05-18 MΩ*cm.
[0038] Step 2: cleaning the wafer by employing gas-liquid atomization for 15-60 seconds. The gas can be N.sub.2 and the gas flow rate is 10-100 lpm. The liquid is SC1 and the liquid flow rate is 0.1-0.3 lpm. The temperature is 23-65° C. The rotation speed of the wafer is 300-1000 rpm. The chemical mix ratio of SC1 (NH.sub.4OH:H.sub.2O.sub.2:H.sub.2O) is 1:4:20-1:1:500.
[0039] Step 3: post-rinsing the wafer by using carbon dioxide deionized water for 5-60 seconds. The post-rinsing is performed by delivering the carbon dioxide deionized water at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 300-1000 rpm. The conductivity of carbon dioxide deionized water is 0.05-18 MΩ*cm.
[0040] Step 4: drying the wafer. The drying is performed by spraying nitrogen at a flow rate of 5-30 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 2000-2500 rpm for 20-60 seconds.
[0041] Please refer to
[0042] Referring to
[0043] Therefore, referring to
[0044] Step 601: using gas-liquid atomization to clean a substrate surface. The gas can be selected N.sub.2, CO.sub.2, compressed air, etc. The liquid can be selected carbon dioxide deionized water, DIW, SC1 or some other diluted chemicals. In this step, using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface can remove large size particles on the substrate, loosen the adhesion between particles and the substrate surface, and break up some of cluster polymeric particles.
[0045] Step 602: using TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface. TEBO megasonic combing with carbon dioxide deionized water, DIW, SC1 or some other diluted chemicals is used to clean the substrate surface, which can remove the substrate surface contaminants not completely removed in the previous step and small size particles. Since the particles adhesion has been loosened and the cluster polymeric particles have been broken up into small size particles in the previous step, TEBO megasonic is capable of easily removing these particles, improving particle remove efficiency.
[0046] Step 603: drying the substrate. High-speed rotary combining with nitrogen drying or IPA drying or other specially dried chemical solutions can be used to dry the substrate.
[0047] The step 601 and the step 602 can be performed alternatively several times to improve cleaning efficiency.
[0048] After the step 602, reuse gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface.
[0049] Before the step 603, further comprising using deionized water (DIW) or carbon dioxide deionized water to rinse the substrate surface for removing the substrate surface contaminants and the remaining chemical liquid on the surface of the substrate.
[0050] Referring to
[0051] Step 701: using TEBO megasonic to clean a substrate surface. TEBO megasonic combing with carbon dioxide deionized water, DIW, SC1 or some other diluted chemicals is used to clean the substrate surface for disengaging small size particles from the inside of the pattern structures and removing small size particles.
[0052] Step 702: using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface. The gas can be selected N.sub.2, CO.sub.2, compressed air, etc. The liquid can be selected carbon dioxide deionized water, DIW, SC1 or some other diluted chemicals. Using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface can remove large size particles. Besides, the small size particles which have been separated out from the pattern structures by the TEBO megasonic in the previous step are easier affected by the spray velocity. While using gas-liquid atomization to clean the substrate surface, the shear stress of the gas-liquid atomization removes the small size particles above the pattern structures on the substrate, which improves the small size particles cleaning efficiency.
[0053] Step 703: drying the substrate. High-speed rotary combining with nitrogen drying or IPA drying or other specially dried chemical solutions can be used to dry the substrate.
[0054] The step 701 and the step 702 can be performed alternatively several times to improve cleaning efficiency.
[0055] After the step 702, reuse TEBO megasonic to clean the substrate surface.
[0056] Before the step 703, further comprising using deionized water (DIW) or carbon dioxide deionized water to rinse the substrate surface for removing the substrate surface contaminants and the remaining chemical liquid on the surface of the substrate.
[0057] Please refer to
[0058] Step 1: pre-rinsing a wafer comprising pattern structures by using carbon dioxide deionized water for 5-60 seconds. The pre-rinsing is performed by delivering the carbon dioxide deionized water at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 300-1000 rpm. The conductivity of carbon dioxide deionized water is 0.05-18 MΩ*cm.
[0059] Step 2: cleaning the wafer by employing gas-liquid atomization for 15-60 seconds. The gas can be N.sub.2 and the gas flow rate is 10-100 lpm. The liquid is SC1 and the liquid flow rate is 0.1-0.3 lpm. The temperature is 23-65° C. The rotation speed of the wafer is 300-1000 rpm. The chemical mix ratio of SC1 (NH.sub.4OH:H.sub.2O.sub.2:H.sub.2O) is 1:4:20-1:1:500.
[0060] Step 3: rinsing the wafer by using carbon dioxide deionized water for 5-60 seconds. The rinsing is performed by delivering the carbon dioxide deionized water at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 300-1000 rpm. The conductivity of carbon dioxide deionized water is 0.05-18 MΩ*cm.
[0061] Step 4: cleaning the wafer by employing a TEBO megasonic and SC1 for 15-300 seconds. The cleaning is performed by delivering the SC1 at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 10-100 rpm. The chemical mix ratio of SC1 (NH.sub.4OH:H.sub.2O.sub.2:H.sub.2O) is 1:4:20-1:1:500. The power of megasonic wave is 10-100 watts. The duty cycle of power on is 1%-5%. The pulse period is 2-10 ms.
[0062] Step 5: rinsing the wafer by using carbon dioxide deionized water for 5-60 seconds. The rinsing is performed by delivering the carbon dioxide deionized water at a flow rate of 1.2-2.0 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 300-1000 rpm. The conductivity of carbon dioxide deionized water is 0.05-18 MΩ*cm.
[0063] Step 6: drying the wafer. The drying is performed by spraying nitrogen at a flow rate of 5-30 lpm and a temperature of 23-65° C. onto the wafer being rotated at a speed of 2000-2500 rpm for 20-60 seconds.
[0064] The process conditions shown in
[0065]
[0066] Referring to
[0067] The substrate cleaning module includes a mega sonic cleaning device 1020 for providing TEBO megasonic cleaning and a gas-liquid atomization cleaning device 1030 for providing gas-liquid atomization cleaning. The mega sonic cleaning device 1020 includes a shielding cover 1021. A mega sonic device 1022 is fixed at the bottom of the shielding cover 1021. A side of the shielding cover 1021 connects to a connecting arm 1023. The connecting arm 1023 connects to a connecting spindle 1024. The connecting spindle 1024 connects to a driving mechanism 1025. The driving mechanism 1025 is capable of driving the connecting spindle 1024 to rotate and move up and down, thus bringing the mega sonic device 1022 to rotate and move up and down through the connecting arm 1023 and the shielding cover 1021. The other side of the shielding cover 1021 connects to a nozzle device 1026. The nozzle device 1026 is in front of the mega sonic device 1022. The nozzle device 1026 has a first nozzle 1027 and a second nozzle 1028 for spraying carbon dioxide deionized water, DIW, SC1 or some other diluted chemicals on the substrate 1000.
[0068] The gas-liquid atomization cleaning device 1030 has a fixing member 1031 and a gas-liquid atomization device 1032. The gas-liquid atomization device 1032 is fixed with the nozzle device 1026 by using the fixing member 1031. Therefore, the driving mechanism 1025 drives the connecting spindle 1024 to rotate and move up and down, thus bringing the gas-liquid atomization device 1032 to rotate and move up and down through the connecting arm 1023, the shielding cover 1021 and the nozzle device 1026. The gas-liquid atomization device 1032 has a liquid inlet pipe 1033, a gas inlet pipe 1034 and a jet-spray nozzle 1035 to produce atomized liquid droplets which are sprayed on the substrate 1000 through the jet-spray nozzle 1035.
[0069] When cleaning the substrate 1000 by employing the substrate cleaning apparatus, the process steps and the process conditions disclosed in
[0070] Referring to
[0071] The gas-liquid atomization cleaning device 1330 includes a gas-liquid atomization device 1332, a supporting arm 1337, a supporting spindle 1336 and an actuator. The gas-liquid atomization device 1332 is fixed at an end of the supporting arm 1337 and is supported by the supporting arm 1337. The other end of the supporting arm 1337 connects to the supporting spindle 1336. The supporting spindle 1336 connects to the actuator. The actuator is capable of driving the supporting spindle 1336 to rotate and move up and down, thus bringing the gas-liquid atomization device 1332 to rotate and move up and down. The gas-liquid atomization device 1332 has a liquid inlet pipe, a gas inlet pipe and a jet-spray nozzle to produce atomized liquid droplets which are sprayed on the substrate 1300 through the jet-spray nozzle.
[0072] Preferably, the substrate cleaning apparatus further includes a first cleaning groove 1340 and a second cleaning groove 1350. The first cleaning groove 1340 is configured for cleaning the mega sonic device while the mega sonic device is idle. The second cleaning groove 1350 is configured for cleaning the gas-liquid atomization device 1332 while the gas-liquid atomization device 1332 is idle.
[0073] When cleaning the substrate 1300 by employing the substrate cleaning apparatus, the process steps and the process conditions disclosed in
[0074] The foregoing description of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. Such modifications and variations that may be apparent to those skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of this invention as defined by the accompanying claims.