CN112222096B - Cleaning device, wafer processing equipment and cleaning method of wafer carrier - Google Patents
Cleaning device, wafer processing equipment and cleaning method of wafer carrier Download PDFInfo
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- CN112222096B CN112222096B CN201910635373.9A CN201910635373A CN112222096B CN 112222096 B CN112222096 B CN 112222096B CN 201910635373 A CN201910635373 A CN 201910635373A CN 112222096 B CN112222096 B CN 112222096B
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B08—CLEANING
- B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
- B08B5/00—Cleaning by methods involving the use of air flow or gas flow
- B08B5/02—Cleaning by the force of jets, e.g. blowing-out cavities
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B08—CLEANING
- B08B—CLEANING IN GENERAL; PREVENTION OF FOULING IN GENERAL
- B08B13/00—Accessories or details of general applicability for machines or apparatus for cleaning
Abstract
The invention relates to a cleaning device, wafer processing equipment and a cleaning method of a wafer carrying platform, wherein the cleaning device is internally provided with a gas cavity for storing cleaning gas, the surface of the cleaning device is provided with an air hole which is communicated with the gas cavity and used for spraying the cleaning gas stored in the gas cavity, and the air hole is provided with a switch which is used for being opened when the pressure difference between the gas cavity and the outside is larger than a first preset threshold value. The cleaning device, the wafer processing equipment and the cleaning method of the wafer carrying platform are provided with the gas cavity, the air hole and the switch, and the switch is opened only when the pressure difference between the gas cavity and the outside is larger than a first preset threshold value, so that the cleaning device is ensured to have certain cleaning force when spraying cleaning gas, and the cleaning effect is ensured.
Description
Technical Field
The invention relates to the field of semiconductor production, in particular to a cleaning device, wafer processing equipment and a cleaning method of a wafer carrier.
Background
During the Wafer manufacturing process, particulate impurities often adhere to a Wafer stage (Wafer stage), which affects the yield of the Wafer manufacturing process, and when monitoring the Wafer processing process using error data monitoring control (FDC, fault detection control) or statistical process control (SPC, statistical process control), acquiring monitoring data also increases the risk of Wafer loss or Wafer electrical test failure, resulting in product rejection.
In the prior art, the wafer stage is commonly referred to as an electrostatic chuck (E-chuck). When the electrostatic chuck has contamination particles on its surface, wafer yield is reduced. A test piece (dummy wafer) is typically used to remove particulate impurities from the surface of the electrostatic chuck, however, when the back of the electrostatic chuck is evacuated, the test piece is adsorbed on the electrostatic chuck, if there are particulates on the surface of the electrostatic chuck, the particulates are crushed by the electrostatic chuck, damaging the electrostatic chuck, and also damaging the test piece, causing scratches on the surface of the test piece. In addition, when the test piece is used to remove the particulate impurities on the surface of the electrostatic chuck, the test piece is in direct contact with the particulate impurities on the surface of the electrostatic chuck, so that the used test piece is also required to be cleaned to prevent secondary pollution.
There is also a wafer for adsorbing particulate impurities on the market, where an insulating medium layer is grown on the back of the wafer for adsorbing particulate impurities, and the surface of the wafer is charged. When the wafer for adsorbing the particulate matter impurities is placed on the surface of the electrostatic chuck, the particles on the surface of the electrostatic chuck can be adsorbed by the electric charge on the surface, so that the particulate matter impurities on the surface of the electrostatic chuck can be removed. But when the mode is used for removing the particulate impurities on the surface of the electrostatic chuck, as the surface of the electrostatic chuck is provided with grooves with different shapes, the particulate impurities in the grooves are difficult to adsorb cleanly, and the cleaning force cannot be ensured.
Disclosure of Invention
The invention aims to provide a cleaning device, wafer processing equipment and a cleaning method of a wafer carrier, which can remove particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer carrier.
In order to solve the above technical problems, the following provides a cleaning device, which is internally provided with a gas cavity for storing cleaning gas, wherein the surface of the cleaning device is provided with air holes which are communicated with the gas cavity and are used for spraying the cleaning gas stored in the gas cavity, and the air holes are provided with switches for opening when the pressure difference between the gas cavity and the outside is larger than a first preset threshold value.
Optionally, the number of the air holes is at least four, and the air holes are uniformly distributed on the surface of the cleaning device.
Optionally, the switch is a time delay switch, and each air hole is provided with a time delay switch.
Optionally, the method further comprises: the marking point is arranged on the outer surface of the cleaning device and is used for being aligned with the alignment point arranged on the surface of the wafer; the gas cavity is provided with an inflation inlet, the inflation inlet is made of silica gel, is exposed out of the outer surface of the cleaning device, and is arranged at a non-marking point.
Optionally, the cleaning device is disc-shaped, the diameter of the disc surface is the same as that of the wafer, and the thickness of the disc surface is larger than that of the wafer.
Optionally, the cleaning device is made of high-resistance alloy material, the surface of the cleaning device is provided with grooves for inserting lifting pins of the wafer stage when the cleaning device is placed on the wafer stage, and the number and the positions of the grooves are consistent with those of the lifting pins of the wafer stage.
In order to solve the above technical problems, the following further provides a wafer processing apparatus, including: the reaction chamber is internally provided with a wafer stage for placing a wafer; the cleaning device is used for being placed in the reaction chamber to clean the wafer stage arranged in the reaction chamber.
Optionally, the reaction chamber is in a vacuum environment, the cleaning device is in a disc shape, the diameter of the disc surface is the same as that of the wafer, and the thickness of the disc surface is larger than that of the wafer.
Optionally, the method further comprises: the size of the wafer box is matched with that of the cleaning device, and the wafer box is used for placing a wafer and the cleaning device; and the mechanical arm is arranged between the reaction chamber and the wafer box and is used for conveying the wafer and the cleaning device between the reaction chamber and the wafer box.
In order to solve the above technical problems, the following further provides a method for cleaning a wafer stage of a wafer processing apparatus, including the following steps: placing the cleaning device onto the wafer stage; and opening the air holes on the surface of the cleaning device to enable the cleaning gas in the gas cavity to be sprayed out of the air holes so as to remove the particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer stage.
Optionally, the cleaning device is disc-shaped, the diameter of the disc is the same as that of the wafer, and the thickness is greater than that of the wafer, the wafer processing apparatus further includes a wafer box, the size of which is adapted to that of the cleaning device, and the cleaning device is used for placing the wafer and the cleaning device, before the cleaning device is placed on the wafer stage, the wafer processing apparatus further includes the following steps: the cleaning device is placed into the wafer cassette.
Optionally, the wafer processing apparatus further includes a mechanical arm disposed between the reaction chamber and the wafer box, and configured to transfer the wafer and the cleaning device between the reaction chamber and the wafer box, and grasp the cleaning device from the wafer box to place the cleaning device on the wafer stage by using the mechanical arm.
Optionally, the method further comprises the following steps: the reaction chamber is evacuated.
Optionally, before the cleaning device is placed on the wafer stage, the method further comprises the following steps: and filling the gas cavity of the cleaning device with cleaning gas.
The cleaning device, the wafer processing equipment and the cleaning method of the wafer carrying platform are provided with the gas cavity, the air hole and the switch, and the switch is opened only when the pressure difference between the gas cavity and the outside is larger than a first preset threshold value, so that the cleaning device is ensured to have certain cleaning force when spraying cleaning gas, and the cleaning effect is ensured.
Drawings
Fig. 1 is a schematic view of a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when the cleaning apparatus is placed on a wafer stage.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention when the cleaning apparatus is placed on a wafer stage.
Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a method for cleaning a wafer stage of a wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a schematic view showing the transfer of a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Detailed Description
The following describes a cleaning apparatus, a wafer processing apparatus, and a method for cleaning a wafer carrier according to the present invention in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and detailed description.
Referring to fig. 1 to 3, fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the invention, fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the invention when cleaning a wafer stage, and fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning device according to an embodiment of the invention when cleaning a wafer stage.
In this embodiment, a cleaning device 100 is provided, in which a gas chamber 105 is built in to store cleaning gas, and a gas hole 101 is provided on the surface of the cleaning device 100, which is in communication with the gas chamber 105, and is used for spraying the cleaning gas stored in the gas chamber 105, and the gas hole 101 is provided with a switch for opening when the pressure difference between the gas chamber 105 and the outside is greater than a first preset threshold.
The cleaning device 100 has a gas chamber 105 and a gas hole 101, and is capable of storing a cleaning gas using the gas chamber 105 and releasing the cleaning gas through the gas hole 101. Moreover, since the air hole 101 is provided with a switch, when the pressure difference between the air cavity 105 and the outside is greater than a first preset threshold value, the switch is turned on, so that the cleaning air can be sprayed out from the air cavity 105 only when the pressure difference between the air cavity 105 and the outside is greater than a certain degree, and the cleaning air is sprayed out, so that a certain cleaning force is provided, and a certain cleaning effect is ensured.
In one embodiment, the cleaning device 100 is made of a high-resistance alloy material. In one embodiment, the high resistance alloy material comprises an aerospace high pressure resistant material or the like. In one embodiment, the aerospace high pressure resistant material comprises a titanium alloy, a titanium aluminum metal matrix composite, or the like.
During actual use, the materials of preparation of the cleaning device 100 may be selected as desired. The cleaning device 100 is made of aerospace high-pressure-resistant materials, so that the cleaning device 100 can be prevented from being broken due to the fact that the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the cleaning device 100 is too large when the cleaning device 100 is placed in a vacuum environment for use.
In one embodiment, in addition to the requirements for the materials from which the cleaning device 100 is made, the thickness of the housing of the cleaning device 100 is also required. In one embodiment, the overall thickness of the cleaning device 100 is not more than 5cm, because it is very likely that it is difficult to put the cleaning device 100 into the reaction chamber 203 to clean the inside of the reaction chamber 203 if the thickness of the cleaning device 100 is too large in consideration of the size of the inlet height of the reaction chamber (Processing Chamber).
In this embodiment, the housing of the cleaning device has a thickness of less than 5mm, so that an excessively thick housing occupies the space of the gas chamber 105, making the volume of the gas chamber 105 too small to accommodate a sufficient amount of cleaning gas.
In one embodiment, the cleaning device 100 has a disk shape, and the diameter of the disk surface is the same as the wafer, and the thickness of the disk surface is greater than the thickness of the wafer. Thus, when cleaning the wafer stage 201 on which the 12 inch wafer is placed, the diameter of the disk surface of the cleaning apparatus 100 is about 300mm, specifically 304mm or 305mm, which is the same as the diameter of the 12 inch wafer.
The cleaning device 100 is configured in a disk shape, and the disk surface diameter is the same as the size of the wafer, so that the cleaning device 100 can be placed into a special wafer cassette. When the cleaning apparatus 100 is used, the cleaning apparatus 100 may be transferred into the reaction chamber 203 where the wafer stage 201 is located using a robot arm for transferring wafers.
In one embodiment, the cleaning apparatus 100 has a thickness greater than the thickness of the wafer to contain sufficient cleaning gas. The wafer cassette is a specially-made wafer cassette, and the distance between two adjacent clamping grooves for placing the cleaning device 100 is greater than the thickness of the cleaning device 100. A plurality of cleaning devices 100 may be placed within a single tailored wafer cassette. In one embodiment, the wafer cassette in which the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed may also be used to place wafers, since the diameter of the disk surface of the cleaning apparatus 100 is the same as the diameter of the disk surface of the wafer, and the thickness is greater than the thickness of the wafer.
In one embodiment, the number of the air holes 101 is at least four, and the air holes are uniformly distributed on the surface of the cleaning device 100. The distribution of the gas holes 101 determines the purge area of the cleaning gas. In some embodiments, the number of the air holes 101 is greater than 6, so that a more uniform purging effect can be achieved, and a better cleaning effect can be obtained. The distribution of the air holes determines the purge area of the cleaning device 100, and the number of the air holes 101 is adjusted according to the sizes of different wafer stages 201, so as to ensure that particles on the surfaces of the wafer stages 201 are purged.
Note that in this embodiment, purging the surface of the wafer stage 201 of the particulate impurities means that the number of particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer stage 201 is below a second predetermined threshold.
In one embodiment, the air holes 101 are uniformly formed on the top or bottom surface of the cleaning device 100. In one embodiment, only one of the top and bottom surfaces of the cleaning device 100 is provided with the air holes 101. This is to ensure that when the cleaning gas is sprayed outward through the air hole 101, all the sprayed cleaning gas faces the wafer stage 201, and the cleaning gas does not face other directions, and does not act on the wafer stage 201, thereby wasting the cleaning gas.
In practice, the air holes 101 may be provided at any place of the cleaning device 100 as needed, or may be provided in a state of uneven distribution, and the distribution area and distribution density of the air holes 101 may be set according to the distribution condition of the particulate matter impurities.
In one embodiment, the air holes 101 are circular air holes 101, and the size is 3 to 5mm. In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the size of the air hole 101 is 4mm. The appropriate size of the air holes 101 is selected so that the cleaning gas is ejected from the gas chamber 105 at a moderate flow rate, which does not cause waste of the cleaning gas or lose the cleaning effect due to too low flow rate.
In practice, the shape of the air hole 101 may be set according to actual needs. In some embodiments, square air holes 101, rectangular air holes 101, etc. may also be provided.
In one embodiment, the switch is a time delay switch, and each air vent 101 is provided with a time delay switch. Controlling the time delay switch to open when the pressure differential between the gas chamber 105 and the outside is greater than a first preset threshold may be determined by estimating the time the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed in a negative pressure environment. Specifically, it is estimated that the cleaning device 100 is placed in a negative pressure environment for one hundred seconds, so that the delay time of the delay switch is set to 100s.
This makes the cleaning device 100 suitable for cleaning the reaction chamber 203. This is because the gas pressure within the reaction chamber 203 is typically controllable and typically is in a vacuum environment. The switch of the cleaning device 100 is controlled to be opened only when the pressure difference between the gas cavity and the outside is larger than a first preset threshold value, so that the gas waste caused by the fact that the switch of the cleaning device 100 is opened in a non-cleaning area can be avoided. In addition, when the cleaning device 100 cleans the cleaning area, the sprayed cleaning gas can be ensured to have a certain strength, so that a certain cleaning effect is ensured.
In one embodiment, the number of the delay switches is identical to the number of the air holes 101, and each air hole 101 is provided with a delay switch. In one embodiment, the time delay durations of all the time delay switches are equal, so that the air holes 101 are opened together at the same time, and thus, a better cleaning effect can be obtained.
In one embodiment, when the cleaning device 100 is used to clean the wafer stage 201, the cleaning device 100 needs to be taken into the reaction chamber 203 by a robot arm until the cleaning device 100 is placed on the surface of the wafer stage 201 or until the cleaning device 100 is placed at a first preset distance from the upper surface of the wafer stage 201, and during this time, the cleaning device 100 is in a state that the time delay switch is closed and the air hole 101 is closed, which ensures that the cleaning device 100 only blows out the cleaning gas when the optimal blowing distance is reached, thereby ensuring the cleaning effect of the cleaning device 100 on the wafer stage 201.
It should be noted that the surface of the cleaning device without the vent hole faces upwards when the cleaning device is transferred by the robot arm, so that when the cleaning device 100 is transferred onto the wafer stage 201 in the reaction chamber 203 by the robot arm, the surface with the vent hole faces the wafer stage, and the cleaning device directly sweeps the particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer stage 201 after the switch is turned on.
In a specific embodiment, the cleaning device 100 further includes a control unit, where the control unit is connected to the delay switch, and the control unit controls the delay switch to be turned on or off. In a specific embodiment, a user is connected to the control unit through a wireless communication mode, and sends control information to the control unit to control the on/off of the delay switch.
In one embodiment, the delay time of each delay switch is fixed. Therefore, when the user sends control information to the control unit to control the opening and closing of the delay switch in a wireless communication mode, only the timing starting time of the delay switch is controlled. In this way, a simple operation can also obtain a good effect.
In a specific embodiment, the user can also adjust the delay time of the delay switch in a wireless communication manner, and the delay time preset by the delay switch is not necessarily used. It should be noted that in this embodiment, the delay times of all delay switches are the same, and even if the delay time of the delay switch is changed, the delay times of all delay switches are changed together.
In one embodiment, the cleaning device 100 further includes marking points disposed on the outer surface of the cleaning device 100 to follow wafer alignment points (Notch), thereby facilitating control of the placement position of the cleaning device 100. The gas chamber 105 is provided with an inflation inlet 102, and the inflation inlet 102 is made of silica gel, is exposed to the outer surface of the cleaning device 100, and is disposed at a non-marking point.
In one embodiment, a plug is further included to block the inflation port 102 to prevent cleaning gas from being ejected from the inflation port 102. In one embodiment, the plug is also made of silicone. In practice, the materials of preparation of the inflation port 102 and the plug may be provided as desired.
In a specific embodiment, the inflation port 102 includes an inflation hole, a valve core structure is disposed in the inflation hole, the plug is pulled out during inflation, the valve core structure in the inflation hole is pushed open by an inflation needle, the inflation needle is pulled out after inflation is completed, the valve core structure in the inflation hole is closed, and then the plug is plugged tightly.
In one embodiment, the inflation port 102 is located opposite the marking point 103. If the position of the marking point 103 is in the 6 o 'clock direction, the position of the inflation port 102 is in the 12 o' clock direction.
In one embodiment, the surface of the cleaning device 100 is further provided with grooves 104 for inserting the lift pins of the wafer stage when the cleaning device is placed on the wafer stage, and the number and positions of the grooves are consistent with those of the lift pins of the wafer stage.
In one embodiment, the number of the grooves 104 is 3, and the positional relationship is consistent with the positional relationship of the three lift pins 202 of the wafer stage 201. Here, the recess 104 is used for three lift pins 202 to be inserted, so that the cleaning device 100 is not shaken when being placed on the wafer stage 201. The distance between the cleaning device 100 and the surface of the wafer stage 201 can be controlled by the lift pins 202.
Referring to fig. 2 and 3, in this embodiment, the lifting pin 202 has two or three height-adjustable steps during lifting. In one embodiment, after the lift pins 202 are adjusted in height, the cleaning device 100 is placed on top of the lift pins 202 and a cleaning gas is started to be ejected to clean the wafer stage 201.
For example, in fig. 2, the lifting pin 202 is at the first level, and when the cleaning device 100 ejects the cleaning gas outwards, the cleaning gas acts in a wider range, but the cleaning force of the cleaning gas on the particulate impurities is weaker. In fig. 3, the lifting pin 202 is at the second level, which is lower than the first level, and at this time, the height of the cleaning device 100 disposed at the top end of the lifting pin 202 is moved downward, and when the cleaning device 100 ejects the cleaning gas outwards, the cleaning gas acts in a smaller range, but the cleaning force of the cleaning gas on the particulate impurities is large, so that the particulate impurities which are more difficult to clean can be removed.
In this embodiment, the height of the lift pins 202 may be set as needed to clean the wafer stage 201.
The wafer stage 201 is cleaned from different heights so that the cleaning apparatus 100 has a better cleaning effect.
In practice, more grooves 104 may be provided as needed, and the depth of the grooves 104 should be within 0.5 to 1.5mm to prevent the inner convex chamber wall from obstructing the flow of gas in the gas chamber 105 and reduce the volume of gas in the cleaning device, thereby affecting the purge effect on the surface of the wafer stage 201.
In one embodiment, the cleaning gas is Pure nitrogen (Pure N 2 ). The wafer stage 201 is an electrostatic chuck.
Referring to fig. 5, a schematic diagram illustrating a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention is shown.
In this embodiment, the cleaning device is transported using a robotic arm 506. The cleaning device is firstly placed in a Load Port (wafer loader) 504, the cleaning device 100 is placed in an ATM (Atmosphere transfer module, atmospheric transport module) 507 by a robot arm 506, then the robot arm 506 places the cleaning device 100 in an order (wafer alignment module) 503 for wafer alignment, then the robot arm 506 places the cleaning device 100 in a LLM (Load lock module), then the robot arm 506 places the cleaning device 100 in a VTM (Vacuum transfer module, vacuum transport module) 502, and finally in a PM (Process module) 501.
When the cleaning device 100 is taken out of the PM501, the procedure is reversed from that when the cleaning device is put in. It can be seen that the cleaning apparatus 100 is identical to the process when wafers are transferred into the PM501 and then out. Because the diameter of the disk surface of the cleaning device 100 is the same as the diameter of the wafer, but the thickness is different, but the wafer cassette is used for accommodating the wafer, the cleaning device 100 is convenient to clean the wafer stage 201 just like placing the wafer, is very simple and easy to operate, and only needs to place the wafer cassette for placing the cleaning device 100 into the Load Port504, and does not need to add any other operation, so that the time and steps required for cleaning the wafer stage 201 are greatly saved.
In this embodiment, there is also provided a wafer processing apparatus including: a reaction chamber 203, in which a wafer stage is disposed for placing a wafer; the cleaning device is configured to be placed into the reaction chamber 203 to clean a wafer stage disposed in the reaction chamber 203.
In one embodiment, the reaction chamber 203 is in a vacuum environment, and the cleaning device 100 has a disc shape, the diameter of the disc is the same as that of the wafer, and the thickness of the disc is larger than that of the wafer.
In one specific embodiment, the method further comprises: a wafer cassette having a size adapted to the size of the cleaning apparatus for holding a wafer and the cleaning apparatus 100; and a robot 506 disposed between the reaction chamber 203 and the wafer cassette for transferring the wafer and the cleaning apparatus 100 between the reaction chamber 203 and the wafer cassette.
Referring to fig. 1 to 4, fig. 4 is a schematic step diagram illustrating a method for cleaning a wafer stage of a wafer processing apparatus.
In this embodiment, there is also provided a method for cleaning a wafer stage of a wafer processing apparatus, including the steps of: s41, placing the cleaning device on the wafer stage; s42, opening the air holes on the surface of the cleaning device, so that the cleaning gas in the gas cavity is sprayed out of the air holes to remove the particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer stage.
The cleaning device 100 has a gas chamber 105 and a gas hole 101, and can store cleaning gas by using the gas chamber 105 and release the cleaning gas through the gas hole 101, which is simple and convenient.
In one embodiment, the cleaning device 100 is made of at least one of a titanium alloy or a titanium aluminum alloy. The aerospace high-pressure resistant material comprises at least one of titanium alloy, titanium aluminum metal matrix composite and the like. In actual use, the materials of preparation of the cleaning device 100 may be selected as desired. The cleaning device 100 is made of an aerospace pressure-resistant material, so that the cleaning device 100 can be prevented from being broken due to the fact that the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the cleaning device 100 is too large when the cleaning device 100 is placed in a vacuum environment for use.
In one embodiment, the cleaning device 100 has a disc shape, the diameter of the disc is the same as that of the wafer, and the thickness of the disc is greater than that of the wafer, the wafer processing apparatus further includes a wafer box, and the size of the wafer box is adapted to that of the cleaning device 100, so as to place the wafer and the cleaning device 100, and before the cleaning device 100 is placed on the wafer stage 201, the method further includes the following steps: the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed into the wafer cassette.
The cleaning device 100 is configured in a disk shape having the same disk diameter as the wafer, so that the cleaning device 100 can be placed in a special wafer cassette, and a plurality of cleaning devices 100 can be placed in one wafer cassette. When the cleaning apparatus 100 is used, the cassette on which the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed may be placed in a place where the cassette on which the wafer is placed, and the robot 506 may wait for gripping, without performing any other operation.
In one embodiment, the wafer cassette in which the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed may also be used to place wafers, since the diameter of the disk surface of the cleaning apparatus 100 is the same as the diameter of the disk surface of the wafer, and the thickness is greater than the thickness of the wafer.
In one embodiment, the number of the air holes 101 is at least four, and the air holes are uniformly distributed on the surface of the cleaning device 100. The distribution of the gas holes 101 determines the purge area of the cleaning gas. In some embodiments, the number of the air holes 101 is greater than 6, so that a more uniform purging effect can be achieved, and a better cleaning effect can be obtained. The distribution of the air holes determines the purge area of the cleaning device 100, and the number of the air holes 101 is adjusted according to the sizes of different wafer stages 201, so as to ensure that particles on the surfaces of the wafer stages 201 are purged.
Note that in this embodiment, purging the surface of the wafer stage 201 of the particulate impurities means that the number of particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer stage 201 is below a second predetermined threshold.
In one embodiment, the air holes 101 are uniformly formed on the top or bottom surface of the cleaning device 100. In one embodiment, only one of the top and bottom surfaces of the cleaning device 100 is provided with the air holes 101. This is to ensure that when the cleaning gas is sprayed outward through the air hole 101, all the sprayed cleaning gas faces the wafer stage 201, and the cleaning gas does not face other directions, and does not act on the wafer stage 201, thereby wasting the cleaning gas.
In practice, the air holes 101 may be provided at any place of the cleaning device 100 as needed, or may be provided in a state of uneven distribution, and the distribution area and distribution density of the air holes 101 may be set according to the distribution condition of the particulate matter impurities.
In one embodiment, the switch is a time delay switch, and each air vent 101 is provided with a time delay switch. Controlling the time delay switch to open when the pressure differential between the gas chamber 105 and the outside is greater than a first preset threshold may be determined by estimating the time the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed in a negative pressure environment. Specifically, it is estimated that the cleaning device 100 is placed in a negative pressure environment for one hundred seconds, so that the delay time of the delay switch is set to 100s.
This makes the cleaning device 100 suitable for cleaning the reaction chamber 203. This is because the gas pressure within the reaction chamber 203 is typically controllable and typically is in a vacuum environment. The switch of the cleaning device 100 is controlled to be opened only when the pressure difference between the gas cavity and the outside is larger than a first preset threshold value, so that the gas waste caused by the fact that the switch of the cleaning device 100 is opened in a non-cleaning area can be avoided. In addition, when the cleaning device 100 cleans the cleaning area, the sprayed cleaning gas can be ensured to have a certain strength, so that a certain cleaning effect is ensured.
In one embodiment, the number of the delay switches is identical to the number of the air holes 101, and each air hole 101 is provided with a delay switch. In one embodiment, the time delay durations of all the time delay switches are equal, so that the air holes 101 are opened together at the same time, and thus, a better cleaning effect can be obtained.
In one embodiment, when the cleaning apparatus 100 is used to clean the wafer stage 201, the cleaning apparatus 100 needs to be taken into the reaction chamber 203 by the robot 506 until the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed on the surface of the wafer stage 201 or until the cleaning apparatus 100 is placed at a first predetermined distance from the upper surface of the wafer stage 201, and during this time, the cleaning apparatus 100 is in a state where the time delay switch is turned off and the air hole 101 is turned off, which ensures that the cleaning apparatus 100 only blows out the cleaning gas when the optimal blowing distance is reached, thereby ensuring the cleaning effect of the cleaning apparatus 100 on the wafer stage 201.
It should be noted that the surface of the cleaning device without the vent hole faces upwards when the cleaning device is transferred by the robot 506, so that when the cleaning device 100 is transferred to the wafer stage 201 in the reaction chamber 203 through the robot 506, the surface with the vent hole faces the wafer stage, and the cleaning device directly sweeps the particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer stage 201 after the switch is turned on.
In a specific embodiment, the cleaning device 100 further includes a control unit, where the control unit is connected to the delay switch, and the control unit controls the delay switch to be turned on or off. In a specific embodiment, a user is connected to the control unit through a wireless communication mode, and sends control information to the control unit to control the on/off of the delay switch.
In one embodiment, the delay time of each delay switch is fixed. Therefore, when the user sends control information to the control unit to control the opening and closing of the delay switch in a wireless communication mode, only the timing starting time of the delay switch is controlled. In this way, a simple operation can also obtain a good effect.
In one embodiment, the cleaning apparatus 100 further includes marking points disposed on an outer surface of the cleaning apparatus for alignment with alignment points disposed on a surface of the wafer. The gas chamber 105 is provided with an inflation inlet 102, and the inflation inlet 102 is made of silica gel, is exposed to the outer surface of the cleaning device 100, and is disposed at a non-marking point.
In one embodiment, a plug is further included to block the inflation port 102 to prevent cleaning gas from being ejected from the inflation port 102. In one embodiment, the plug is also made of silicone. In practice, the materials of preparation of the inflation port 102 and the plug may be provided as desired.
In a specific embodiment, the inflation port 102 includes an inflation hole, a valve core structure is disposed in the inflation hole, the plug is pulled out during inflation, the valve core structure in the inflation hole is pushed open by an inflation needle, the inflation needle is pulled out after inflation is completed, the valve core structure in the inflation hole is closed, and then the plug is plugged tightly.
In one embodiment, the provision of marking points 103 on the surface of the cleaning device 100 may be used to control the placement position of the cleaning device 100. In one embodiment, the inflation port 102 is located opposite the marking point 103. If the position of the marking point 103 is in the 6 o 'clock direction, the position of the inflation port 102 is in the 12 o' clock direction.
In one embodiment, the surface of the cleaning device 100 is further provided with grooves 104 for inserting the lift pins of the wafer stage when the cleaning device is placed on the wafer stage, and the number and positions of the grooves are consistent with those of the lift pins of the wafer stage.
In one embodiment, the number of the grooves 104 is 3, and the positional relationship is consistent with the positional relationship of the three lift pins 202 of the wafer stage 201. Here, the recess 104 is used for three lift pins 202 to be inserted, so that the cleaning device 100 is not shaken when being placed on the wafer stage 201. The distance between the cleaning device 100 and the surface of the wafer stage 201 can be controlled by the lift pins 202.
In one embodiment, the cleaning gas is Pure nitrogen (Pure N2). The wafer stage 201 is an electrostatic chuck.
In one embodiment, the wafer processing apparatus further includes a robot 506 disposed between the reaction chamber 203 and the wafer cassette for transferring the wafer and the cleaning device between the reaction chamber 203 and the wafer cassette, and the cleaning device is grasped from the wafer cassette to the wafer stage by the robot 506.
In one embodiment, the method further comprises the steps of: the reaction chamber 203 is vacuumized, so that the pressure difference between the gas cavity 105 of the cleaning device 100 and the outside is greater than the first preset threshold, a switch arranged at the air hole is turned on, and the cleaning gas is sprayed out from the gas cavity 105.
In one embodiment, before the cleaning device is placed on the wafer stage, the method further comprises the steps of: the gas chamber of the cleaning device 100 is filled with a cleaning gas.
The cleaning device 100 and the method for cleaning the wafer stage 201 by the cleaning device 100 have the gas cavity 105 and the gas hole 101, so that the wafer stage 201 can be cleaned, and the cleaning device is simple and convenient.
The foregoing is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and it should be noted that modifications and adaptations to those skilled in the art may be made without departing from the principles of the present invention, which are intended to be comprehended within the scope of the present invention.
Claims (13)
1. The cleaning device is characterized in that a gas cavity is arranged in the cleaning device and is used for storing cleaning gas, an air hole is formed in the surface of the cleaning device and communicated with the gas cavity and is used for spraying the cleaning gas stored in the gas cavity, the air hole is provided with a switch and is used for being opened when the pressure difference between the gas cavity and the outside is larger than a first preset threshold value, and the air hole is formed in the top surface or the bottom surface of the cleaning device;
the surface of cleaning device is provided with mark point for with the alignment point that the wafer surface set up aligns, the gas chamber is provided with the inflation inlet, the inflation inlet is the silica gel material, expose in cleaning device's surface sets up in non-mark point department.
2. The cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the number of air holes is at least four and is uniformly distributed on the surface of the cleaning device.
3. The cleaning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the switch is a time delay switch and each air vent is provided with a time delay switch.
4. The cleaning device of claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is disc-shaped, the disc surface has the same diameter as the wafer, and the thickness is greater than the thickness of the wafer.
5. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is made of a high-resistance alloy material, the cleaning device surface is provided with grooves for inserting lift pins of the wafer stage when placed on the wafer stage, and the number and positions of the grooves are identical to those of the lift pins of the wafer stage.
6. A wafer processing apparatus, comprising:
the reaction chamber is internally provided with a wafer stage for placing a wafer;
the cleaning apparatus as recited in any one of claims 1-5, configured to be placed into the reaction chamber to clean a wafer stage disposed within the reaction chamber.
7. The wafer processing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the reaction chamber is in a vacuum environment, the cleaning device has a disk shape, the disk surface has the same diameter as the wafer, and the thickness is greater than the thickness of the wafer.
8. The wafer processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising:
the size of the wafer box is matched with that of the cleaning device, and the wafer box is used for placing a wafer and the cleaning device;
and the mechanical arm is arranged between the reaction chamber and the wafer box and is used for conveying the wafer and the cleaning device between the reaction chamber and the wafer box.
9. A method of cleaning a wafer stage of a wafer processing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 8, comprising the steps of:
placing the cleaning device onto the wafer stage;
and opening the air holes on the surface of the cleaning device to enable the cleaning gas in the gas cavity to be sprayed out of the air holes so as to remove the particulate impurities on the surface of the wafer stage.
10. The method of claim 9, wherein the cleaning device has a disk shape with a disk surface diameter equal to the wafer and a thickness greater than the thickness of the wafer, and the wafer processing apparatus further comprises a wafer cassette sized to fit the size of the cleaning device for placing the wafer and the cleaning device, and further comprising the steps of, prior to placing the cleaning device on the wafer stage:
the cleaning device is placed into the wafer cassette.
11. The method of claim 10, further comprising a robot arm disposed between the reaction chamber and the wafer cassette for transferring the wafer and cleaning device between the reaction chamber and the wafer cassette, the cleaning device being grasped from within the wafer cassette by the robot arm and placed on the wafer stage.
12. The method of cleaning a wafer stage of a wafer processing apparatus of claim 9, further comprising the steps of:
the reaction chamber is evacuated.
13. The method of cleaning a wafer stage of a wafer processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising the steps of, prior to placing the cleaning device on the wafer stage:
and filling the gas cavity of the cleaning device with cleaning gas.
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| CN201910635373.9A CN112222096B (en) | 2019-07-15 | 2019-07-15 | Cleaning device, wafer processing equipment and cleaning method of wafer carrier |
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| CN201910635373.9A CN112222096B (en) | 2019-07-15 | 2019-07-15 | Cleaning device, wafer processing equipment and cleaning method of wafer carrier |
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