JP3110406B2 - Polishing apparatus and polishing method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus and a polishing method for polishing a sample such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In some semiconductor device manufacturing processes such as a process of flattening an insulating film and a process of forming metal wiring, a process of polishing the surface of a wafer is performed.

FIG. 5 shows an example of a polishing apparatus for polishing the surface of such a wafer. That is, a carrier containing a wafer is set from the wafer inlet 1. The loaded wafer is loaded at load station 2,
The wafer 3 is transferred to a polishing table 4 and subjected to polishing.
The wafer after the polishing process is rinsed by the pure water rinse from the pure water rinse outlets 7 and 8 while waiting at the HTP stations 5 and 6. The wafer after the rinsing process is transferred to the polishing scrubber 11 via the in-line transfer unit 9. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes an exhaust port, and reference
Indicates a hygrometer.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional polishing apparatus, the wafer is transferred to the HTP station 5,
If the transfer operation by the inline transfer unit 9 or the operation of injecting the pure water rinse from the pure water rinse injection ports 7 and 8 occurs during the period from the step 6 to the transfer to the polishing scrubber 11, the humidity in the polishing apparatus is reduced. If the temperature is low, the slurry attached to the wafer dries and cannot be removed on the polishing scrubber 11 side.

Further, although clean air is taken into the polishing apparatus by the exhaust air from the exhaust port 10, slurry contamination in the clean room is prevented. ,
Drying of the slurry on the wafer surface is accelerated.

Incidentally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 10-50641 discloses a polishing apparatus in which a steam generator for generating pure steam is provided in a polishing chamber to keep the polishing chamber at a high humidity. However, in this prior art, the polishing chamber is kept at a high humidity by pure steam from the steam generator, but since there is no means for maintaining the humidity properly, humidity control is sufficiently performed. May not be.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by keeping the humidity in a wafer transfer path constant by feedback control, it is possible to prevent drying of a wafer and to easily control humidity. An object of the present invention is to provide a polishing apparatus and a polishing method that can be performed.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a polishing apparatus for transferring a wafer loaded from a wafer loading port to a polishing table by a load station and polishing the wafer, and subjecting the polished wafer to HTP. A polishing apparatus that carries out a rinsing process during a standby at a station, and then conveys the wafer to a polishing scrubber via an in-line conveying unit. An exhaust port with an exhaust damper is provided. Further, the humidifier may be provided near the wafer input port and near the HTP station.
The humidifier is connected to the load station and the HTP.
It can be provided at a position occupied by the station. The load station and the HT
A hygrometer is provided at a position occupied by the P station, and the exhaust port can be automatically opened and closed by feedback control so that the detection value of the hygrometer becomes constant. The polishing method according to claim 5, wherein a first step of transferring the wafer input from the wafer input port to a polishing table by a load station and performing a polishing process;
While the polished wafer is waiting in the HTP station, the wafer is rinsed , and the wafer is placed in the HTP station.
Humidification and feedback
Control automatically adjusts exhaust to maintain a constant humidifying atmosphere.
And a third step of transporting the wafer to the polishing scrubber after the rinsing process. Further, the first step may include a step of performing humidification. Further, the second step may include a step of performing a rinsing process by humidification. Further, the fourth step may include a step of automatically evacuating by feedback control so that the detection value of the hygrometer becomes constant. In the polishing apparatus and the polishing method according to the present invention, while waiting for the wafer before and after the polishing process,
Humidification is performed, and exhaust air is automatically adjusted by feedback control to maintain a constant humidification atmosphere.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the drawings described below, the same parts as those in FIG. 5 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a front view showing a polishing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the polishing apparatus of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, humidifiers 13 and 14 are provided above and below the wafer inlet 1 of the polishing apparatus. Humidifiers 15 and 16 are also provided above and below the HTP stations 5 and 6. An exhaust port 1 with an automatic opening / closing exhaust damper is located near the load station 3.
0 is provided. The exhaust port 10 is automatically opened and closed by feedback control in order to keep the humidity detected by the hygrometer 12 constant so as not to be saturated.

Next, the operation of the polishing apparatus having such a configuration will be described. First, a carrier containing a wafer is set from the wafer inlet 1. At this time, the vicinity of the wafer inlet 1 is a steam humidifier 1 supplied in the direction of the arrow.
Due to the humidification by the pure steam from 3 and 14, the wafer is given a moderate degree of humidity.

The set wafer is transferred to the polishing table 4 by the load stations 2 and 3 and polished. The wafers after the polishing process are humidified by pure steam from the humidifiers 15 and 16 supplied in the direction of the arrow and are rinsed while waiting at the HTP stations 5 and 6. At this time, the exhaust port 10
It is automatically opened and closed by the feedback control, and is kept constant so that the humidity detected by the hygrometer 12 does not saturate. The wafer after the rinsing process is transferred to the polishing scrubber 11 via the in-line transfer unit 9.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the humidifiers 13 to 16 are used while waiting the wafers before and after the polishing process.
Humidification is performed, and the exhaust air from the exhaust port 10 is automatically adjusted by feedback control to keep the humidified atmosphere constant, so that drying of the wafer can be prevented.

Further, since the wafer can be rinsed by the steam from the humidifiers 15 and 16 provided in the vicinity of the HTP stations 5 and 6, the conventional pure rinsing system can be omitted. Furthermore, since the inside of the wafer transport path is humidified by the humidifiers 13 to 16,
It is possible to prevent the contamination of the slurry (abrasive) in the clean room.

(Second Embodiment) FIG. 3 is a front view showing a polishing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the polishing apparatus of FIG.

In the second embodiment, a humidifier 17 is provided above the load stations 2 and 3 and the HTP stations 5 and 6, as shown in FIGS. The load stations 2 and 3 and the HTP stations 5 and 6 are positions where the wafers are on standby, and perform sufficient humidification on the wafers by pure steam from the humidifier 17 supplied in the direction of the arrow. it can.

[0018]

As described above, according to the polishing apparatus and the polishing method according to the present invention, humidification is performed while the wafer is on standby before and after the polishing processing, and the exhaust is automatically adjusted by feedback control to maintain the humidification atmosphere constant. As a result, the drying of the wafer can be prevented, and the humidity can be easily controlled.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a polishing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the polishing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing a polishing apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the polishing apparatus of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a conventional polishing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wafer input port 2, 3 Load station 4 Polishing table 5, 6 HTP station 7, 8 Pure water rinse injection port 9 In-line conveyance part 10 Exhaust port 11 Polishing scrubber 12 Hygrometer 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 Humidifier

Claims (8)

(57) [Claims] 1. A wafer input from a wafer input port is transferred to a polishing table by a load station and polished, and the polished wafer is rinsed while waiting at an HTP station. A polishing apparatus for transporting the wafer to the polishing scrubber side via a humidifier and an exhaust port with an automatic opening / closing exhaust damper that is automatically opened / closed by feedback control in the wafer transport path. Polishing equipment. 2. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the humidifier is provided near the wafer inlet and near the HTP station. 3. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the humidifier is provided at a position occupied by the load station and the HTP station. 4. A hygrometer is provided at a position occupied by the load station and the HTP station, and the exhaust port is automatically opened and closed by feedback control so that a detection value of the hygrometer becomes constant. The polishing apparatus according to claim 1. 5. A rinsing process in which a wafer loaded from a wafer loading port is transferred to a polishing table by a load station and polished, and the polished wafer is made to stand by in an HTP station. While the wafer is waiting at the HTP station,
Wet and exhaust by feedback control
A second step of automatically adjusting and keeping the humidified atmosphere constant, and a third step of transporting to the polishing scrubber side after the rinsing process .
Polishing method characterized by comprising the step. 6. The polishing method according to claim 5, wherein the first step includes a step of performing humidification. 7. The polishing method according to claim 5, wherein the second step includes a step of performing a rinsing process by humidification. 8. The polishing method according to claim 5, wherein the fourth step includes a step of automatically evacuating by feedback control so that the detection value of the hygrometer becomes constant. .