CN115732369A - Chemical mechanical polishing system and polishing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a chemical mechanical polishing system and a polishing method, wherein the chemical mechanical polishing system comprises a front-end unit; a polishing unit; the cleaning unit is arranged between the prepositive unit and the polishing unit; the cleaning unit comprises a first cleaning unit and a second cleaning unit, and the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit are symmetrically arranged relative to the transverse center line of the cleaning unit; the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit comprise a post-processing module, a front transmission manipulator and a rear transmission manipulator, the post-processing module is vertically stacked to form a stacked module, and the front transmission manipulator and the rear transmission manipulator are arranged on the side part of the stacked module; the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit at least comprise two stacked modules, and the stacked modules are arranged in a staggered mode along the transverse direction of the cleaning unit.

Description

Chemical mechanical polishing system and polishing method

Technical Field

The invention belongs to the technical field of CMP (chemical mechanical polishing), and particularly relates to a chemical mechanical polishing system and a polishing method.

Background

Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP) is an ultra-precise surface processing technique for global Polishing, which is one of the core processes in the wafer fabrication process. The CMP system generally includes a pre-stage unit, a polishing unit, and a cleaning unit, and wafers meeting process requirements can be obtained through chemical mechanical polishing.

Because the functions of the prepositive unit and the polishing unit are relatively fixed, and the process of the cleaning unit is relatively complex, the cleaning unit relates to the procedures of pre-cleaning, brushing, drying and the like; how to reasonably arrange the layout of the cleaning units, balance the production beats of polishing and cleaning, reduce the waiting time of the process, and improve the fault tolerance of the system becomes one of the key factors influencing the processing efficiency of the CMP system.

Disclosure of Invention

The embodiment of the invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing system and a polishing method, aiming at least solving one of the technical problems in the prior art.

An embodiment of the present invention provides a chemical mechanical polishing system, including:

a front unit;

a polishing unit;

the cleaning unit is arranged between the prepositive unit and the polishing unit;

the cleaning unit comprises a first cleaning unit and a second cleaning unit, and the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit are symmetrically arranged relative to the transverse center line of the cleaning unit; the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit comprise a post-processing module, a front transmission manipulator and a rear transmission manipulator, the post-processing module is vertically stacked to form a stacked module, and the front transmission manipulator and the rear transmission manipulator are arranged on the side part of the stacked module; the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit at least comprise two stacked modules, and the stacked modules are arranged in a staggered mode along the transverse direction of the cleaning unit.

In some embodiments, the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit further comprise a buffer device disposed in the stacking module to buffer wafers transferred by the front transfer robot and/or the rear transfer robot.

In some embodiments, the caching device is disposed between vertically stacked aftertreatment modules.

In some embodiments, the front transfer robot is horizontally adjacent to the front unit and the rear transfer robot is horizontally adjacent to the polishing unit.

In some embodiments, a line between the front transfer robot and a stacked module is perpendicular to a line between the front transfer robot and another stacked module.

In some embodiments, the front and rear transfer robots are disposed at both sides of one of the stacked modules, respectively, the stacked modules being located on a connection line between the front and rear transfer robots; and a connection line between the front and rear transfer robots is parallel to a length direction of the cleaning unit.

In some embodiments, the front and rear transfer robots are provided to a frame body of the washing unit, which is movable in a height direction of the washing unit.

In some embodiments, the front and rear transfer robots are each slidably connected to vertically disposed slide rails to transfer wafers between vertically stacked post-processing modules.

In some embodiments, the front and rear transfer robots include a rotary joint disposed upside down, and a distal end of the rotary joint is provided with a holding claw.

In some embodiments, the post-processing modules include a brush module, a pre-clean module, and a dry module that process the wafer surface in a horizontal manner.

In some embodiments, the brushing module is disposed adjacent to the polishing unit, which is located at an upper portion and/or a lower portion of the lamination module.

In some embodiments, the drying module is disposed adjacent to the lead unit, which is located at an upper portion of the stacking module.

Further, the present invention also discloses a chemical mechanical polishing method using the above chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising:

s1, transmitting the wafer of the front unit to a polishing unit through a buffer device in the laminating module, and performing chemical mechanical polishing on the polishing unit;

s2, the polished wafer enters a laminating module adjacent to the polishing unit through a rear transmission manipulator to carry out initial cleaning of the wafer;

and S3, drying the wafer after the initial cleaning in a laminating module adjacent to the front unit, and transmitting the dried wafer to the front unit.

In some embodiments, the rear transfer robot transfers the wafers in a stacking module adjacent to the polishing unit, and the front transfer robot transfers the wafers in a stacking module in the cleaning unit.

The beneficial effects of the invention include:

a. the post-processing modules are vertically stacked, so that the vertical space is fully utilized, the occupation of the transverse and longitudinal spaces of the cleaning unit is reduced, and the volume of the cleaning unit is favorably reduced;

b. a buffer memory device is arranged in the laminating module so as to facilitate the transmission of the wafer between the prepositive unit and the polishing unit by a manipulator;

c. the post-processing modules in the stacked module run independently without interference, which is beneficial to improving the fault-tolerant capability of the cleaning unit;

d. the stacked modules are arranged in a staggered mode along the transverse direction of the cleaning unit, so that the maintenance space of the cleaning unit is increased, and the convenience in use and maintenance of the CMP system is improved.

Drawings

The advantages of the invention will become clearer and more readily appreciated from the detailed description given with reference to the following drawings, which are given by way of illustration only, and which do not limit the scope of protection of the invention, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a chemical mechanical polishing system provided in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a connection between a pre-unit and a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a cleaning unit provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a first front laminated module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the first cache apparatus of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a front transfer robot provided in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic view of a rear transfer robot provided in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of a brush module provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram of a pre-clean module provided in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a drying module provided in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a transmission line diagram of a wafer during operation of the chemical mechanical polishing system provided by the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a flow chart of a method of chemical mechanical polishing provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solution of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the following embodiments and accompanying drawings. The embodiments described herein are specific embodiments of the present invention for the purpose of illustrating the concepts of the invention; the description is illustrative and exemplary in nature and is not to be construed as limiting the embodiments of the invention and the scope of the invention. In addition to the embodiments described herein, those skilled in the art will be able to employ other embodiments that are obvious based on the disclosure of the claims and their description, including those that employ any obvious substitutions and modifications to the embodiments described herein.

The drawings accompanying this specification are for the purpose of illustrating the concepts of the invention and are not necessarily to scale, the drawings being schematic representations of the shapes of the parts and their interrelationships. It should be understood that the drawings are not necessarily to scale, the same reference numerals being used to identify the same elements in the drawings in order to clearly show the structure of the elements of the embodiments of the invention.

In the present invention, "Chemical Mechanical Polishing (CMP)" is also referred to as "Chemical Mechanical Planarization (CMP)", and a Wafer (Wafer, W) is also referred to as a Substrate (Substrate), which means equivalent to the actual function.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a chemical mechanical polishing system provided by an embodiment of the present invention, a chemical mechanical polishing system comprising:

the Front unit 1 is also called an EFEM (equivalent Front End Module) and is used for storing wafers to be polished and polished wafers;

the polishing unit 3 is used for carrying out chemical mechanical polishing so as to complete material removal of the surface of the wafer;

and the cleaning unit 2 is arranged between the preposed unit 1 and the polishing unit 3 to remove particles remained on the surface of the wafer in the polishing process and ensure that the cleanliness of the surface of the wafer meets the process requirement.

In fig. 1, the Front unit 1 includes four Front Opening Unified Pod 1a, and the Front Opening Unified Pod 1a (FOUP) is used for storing wafers. A front robot 1b is disposed at one side of the front opening type foup 1a, and the front robot 1b is used for wafer transfer between the front unit 1 and the cleaning unit 2. The front-end robot 1b is usually configured with an upper clamping jaw and a lower clamping jaw to respectively grab the polished wafer and the wafer to be polished, so as to avoid cross contamination during the wafer clamping process.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the wash unit 2 comprises a first wash unit 2A and a second wash unit 2B, wherein the first wash unit 2A and the second wash unit 2B are arranged symmetrically with respect to a transverse centre line CL of the wash unit 2. The transverse center line CL is disposed along the length direction of the cleaning unit 2, i.e. a connection line between the width midpoints of the cleaning unit 2. In the present invention, the lateral direction of the cleaning unit 2 means the longitudinal direction of the cleaning unit 2; the longitudinal direction of the wash unit 2 refers to the width direction of the wash unit 2.

Further, the first cleaning unit 2A and the second cleaning unit 2B include the post-processing module 20 shown in fig. 4, the front transfer robot 23 and the rear transfer robot 24 shown in fig. 2, the post-processing modules 20 are vertically stacked to form a stacked module, and the front transfer robot 23 and the rear transfer robot 24 are disposed at the side of the stacked module to facilitate the transfer of the wafer.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the front transfer robot 23 is horizontally adjacent to the front unit 1. The front transfer robot 23 is mainly responsible for transferring the wafers in the front unit 1 to the cleaning unit 2 and transferring the wafers having completed the post-processing from the cleaning unit 2 to the front opening foup 1a of the front unit 1.

Further, the rear transfer robot 24 is horizontally adjacent to the polishing unit 3. The rear transfer robot 24 is mainly responsible for transferring the wafer to be polished in the cleaning unit 2 to the polishing unit 3, and transferring the wafer whose polishing is completed to the cleaning unit 2.

It should be noted that the first cleaning unit 2A and the second cleaning unit 2B in the present invention are substantially similar in structure. For convenience of description, the part name in the first cleaning unit 2A starts with "first" and the part number ends with "a"; accordingly, the part name in the second cleaning unit 2B starts with "second" and the part number ends with "B". The following description focuses on the composition and connection relationship of the first cleaning unit 2A.

In fig. 1, the first cleaning unit 2A includes two lamination modules, i.e., a first front lamination module 21A and a first rear lamination module 22A, and a first front transfer robot 23A and a first rear transfer robot 24A, which are responsible for transferring wafers, are disposed at sides of the lamination modules.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram of the front end unit and the cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, the first cleaning unit 2A and the second cleaning unit 2B further include a buffer device 25, and the buffer device 25 is disposed in the stacking module to buffer the wafers transferred by the front transfer robot 23 and/or the rear transfer robot 24, so as to ensure the smoothness of the wafer transfer.

In fig. 2, the post-processing modules 20 are vertically stacked, and the buffer device 25 is disposed between the post-processing modules 20. With this arrangement, the occupation of the horizontal or vertical space of the wash unit 2 by the buffer device 25 can be reduced, which is advantageous for reducing the volume of the wash unit 2. In addition, the buffer unit 25 is located at the same level as the post-processing modules 20 located at the upper and lower sides thereof, which also reduces the grasping range of the front and rear transfer robots 23 and 24 to control the manufacturing cost of the cleaning unit 2.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram of a first front stacked module according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the post-processing modules 20 are vertically stacked, and the first buffer device 25A is disposed between the vertically stacked post-processing modules 20. Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, the vertical spacing of the aftertreatment modules 20 is 50-200mm.

It should be noted that the vertical distance H between the post-processing modules 20 refers to a distance between a bottom surface of the post-processing module 20 located on the upper side of the first buffer device 25A and a top surface of the post-processing module 20 located on the lower side of the first buffer device 25A. It will be appreciated that the vertical spacing H needs to be matched to the robot used to transfer the wafers, subject to smooth handling of the wafers by the front transfer robot 23 and the rear transfer robot 24.

Fig. 5 is a schematic view of the first buffer device 25A in the first front laminated module 21A, which includes a buffer main body portion 25A-1 and a plurality of claw portions 25A-2, the claw portions 25A-2 are disposed above the buffer main body portion 25A-1, and the number of the claw portions 25A-2 is plural, so as to clamp the wafer W placed in the first buffer device 25A.

It is understood that the first buffer device 25A may be connected to the post-processing module 20 at the bottom of the first front-end stacked module 21A, and the first buffer device 25A is spaced apart from the post-processing module 20 at the top of the first front-end stacked module 21A sufficiently to facilitate reliable wafer clamping by the wafer transfer mechanism. Or, the first buffer device 25A is disposed on the post-processing module 20 at the top of the first front stacked module 21A to buffer the wafer; alternatively, the buffer main body portion 25A-1 corresponding to the first buffer device 25A is fixed to the rack of the wash unit 2.

The invention abandons the scheme of a transverse transmission mechanism (running beam) in the prior art, and a buffer memory device 25 is arranged between the post-processing modules 20, thereby being beneficial to simplifying the transmission route of the wafer, reducing the size of the cleaning unit 2, reducing the occupation of the cleaning unit on the space and further reducing the occupied area of the CMP system.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the stacked modules are arranged in a staggered manner in the transverse direction of the cleaning unit 2, so that the front transfer robot 23 and the rear transfer robot 24 are arranged appropriately to achieve smooth turnaround of wafers. It should be noted that the first front transfer robot 23A and the first rear transfer robot 24A are components of the front transfer robot 23, and will be described in detail later with reference to fig. 6; the first rear transfer robot 24A and the second rear transfer robot 24B are integral parts of the rear transfer robot 24, and will be described in detail later with reference to fig. 7.

Specifically, a line between the first front transfer robot 23A and the first front laminated module 21A is perpendicular to a line between the first front transfer robot 23A and the first rear laminated module 22A. That is, the first front transfer robot 23A abuts the side surfaces of the first front laminated module 21A and the first rear laminated module 22A to facilitate the transfer robot to transfer the wafers inside the laminated modules and between the laminated modules.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the first front transfer robot 23A is disposed on one side of the first rear laminated module 22A, and the first rear transfer robot 24A is disposed on the other side of the first rear laminated module 22A; a line between the first front transfer robot 23A and the first rear transfer robot 24A is parallel to the lengthwise direction of the cleaning unit 2, and the first rear laminated module 22A is located on the line between the first front transfer robot 23A and the first rear transfer robot 24A. The first front transfer robot 23A is horizontally adjacent to the first front lamination module 21A. With this arrangement, the first front transport robot 23A can grasp the wafers in the first front lamination module 21A and the first rear lamination module 22A, and the wafers disposed on the buffer device 25 in the lamination modules. And the first rear transfer robot 24A can transfer the polished wafers to the post-processing modules corresponding to the first rear lamination module 22A.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the front transfer robot 23 is disposed adjacent to the front unit 1, and the rear transfer robot 24 is disposed adjacent to the polishing unit 3. A line connecting the front transfer robot 23 and the rear transfer robot 24 substantially coincides with the lateral center line CL of the cleaning unit 2 shown in fig. 1. The stacking modules are symmetrically arranged along the transverse center line CL so as to facilitate the wafer picking and placing of the transmission manipulator.

Further, the post-processing modules 20 in the stacked module operate independently of each other without interfering with each other, which is beneficial to improving the fault-tolerant capability of the cleaning unit 2. Specifically, if one of the aftertreatment modules 20 is down, the other aftertreatment modules 20 will not be interfered by the failed aftertreatment module 20 and operate normally, so as to ensure the stability of the operation of the cleaning unit 2.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram of a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the first cleaning unit 2A and the second cleaning unit 2B operate independently without interfering with each other, which is beneficial to ensure stable operation of wafer cleaning. The stacked modules are staggered in the transverse direction of the wash unit 2, and the aftertreatment modules 20 in the stacked modules are arranged in the vertical direction rather than side by side in the transverse and/or longitudinal direction of the wash unit 2. This is advantageous for increasing the maintenance space of the cleaning unit 2 and improving the convenience of the operation of the CMP system.

In fig. 3, the stacking module adjacent to the front unit 1 is disposed near the longitudinal outer side of the cleaning unit 2, so that an operator can directly check and maintain a failed aftertreatment module; accordingly, the laminated module adjacent to the polishing unit 3 is disposed close to the transverse center line CL shown in fig. 1, so that a maintenance work space is formed between the laminated module and the longitudinal outer side surface of the cleaning unit 2 to facilitate the development of maintenance work.

Fig. 6 is a schematic view of the front transfer robot 23 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the front transfer robot 23 includes a front slide rail 23C, the front slide rail 23C is disposed in a vertical direction, and the first front transfer robot 23A and the second front transfer robot 23B are respectively disposed on both sides of the front slide rail 23C and can move along a length direction of the front slide rail 23C independently of each other to transfer wafers between the vertically stacked post-processing modules 20.

Further, the first front transmission manipulator 23A is configured with a rotary joint, and the tail end of the rotary joint is configured with a clamping jaw for taking and placing wafers. And, the rotary joint of the first front transport robot 23A is disposed upside down. Specifically, the driving device of the first front transfer robot 23A is located above the revolute joint.

In fig. 6, the main purpose of the upside-down arrangement of the rotary joints is to control the height of the stacked modules and to reduce the space occupation of the cleaning unit 2. Specifically, if the driving means of the first front transfer robot 23A is located below the revolute joint, the lowest position at which the first front transfer robot 23A moves downward is limited by the height of the driving means itself. It will be appreciated that the drive means of the first front transfer robot 23A cannot interfere with the frame body of the wash unit 2 during operation. If the rotary joint of the transmission manipulator is arranged in an inverted manner, the technical problem can be solved. The second front transfer robot 23B shown in fig. 6 is similar in structure to the first front transfer robot 23A, and will not be described in detail here.

Fig. 7 is a schematic view of the rear transfer robot 24 according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which the rear transfer robot 24 includes a rear slide rail 24C, the rear slide rail 24C is disposed in a vertical direction, and the first rear transfer robot 24A and the second rear transfer robot 24B are disposed at two sides of the rear slide rail 24C, and can move along a length direction of the rear slide rail 24C independently of each other to transfer wafers between the vertically stacked post-processing modules 20. The revolute joints provided on the rear transfer robot 24 are also arranged upside down, and the structure functions similarly to the front transfer robot 23 shown in fig. 6 to control the height of the stacked modules and reduce the space occupation of the cleaning unit 2.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the post-treatment module 20 includes a brush module 20A shown in fig. 8, a pre-cleaning module 20B shown in fig. 9, and a drying module 20C shown in fig. 10 to remove particles and chemicals remaining on the wafer surface and obtain a wafer with a clean surface.

Fig. 8 is a schematic diagram of a scrubbing module 20A according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a wafer is horizontally supported by a roller 20A-1 and rotated by friction force between the roller 20A-1 and an edge of the wafer, the front and back surfaces of the wafer are provided with a cleaning brush 20A-2 and a liquid supply portion, not shown, the cleaning brush 20A-2 rotates around its axis, and the liquid supply portion supplies cleaning liquid toward the cleaning brush and/or the surface of the wafer to remove particles with large volume on the surface of the wafer, so as to achieve rough cleaning of the wafer. It should be noted that the pre-cleaning module 20A further includes a tank, not shown, to ensure that the wafer is brushed on the surface of the wafer in the relatively sealed tank.

Fig. 9 is a schematic view of the pre-cleaning module 20B, in which the wafer W is horizontally held by a plurality of chucks and is rotated by a not-shown rotation driving device. Further, the pre-cleaning module 20B comprises a dual fluid pipe 20B-1 and a brush head 20B-2, wherein the dual fluid pipe 20B-1 sprays cleaning liquid, N2 and/or deionized water toward the wafer W to remove smaller particles on the surface of the wafer and realize fine cleaning of the wafer; the brush-cleaning head 20B-2 is arranged above the wafer through a swing arm, and the swing arm can swing around a fixed point to drive the brush-cleaning head 20B-2 to move on the surface of the wafer so as to clean micro particles on the surface of the wafer. It should be noted that the pre-cleaning module 20B further includes a tank, not shown, to ensure that the wafer is pre-cleaned in the relatively closed tank.

Fig. 10 is a schematic view of a drying module 20C according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which a wafer is horizontally held by a chuck and is driven to rotate at a high speed, and a drying mechanism, not shown, such as a marangoni drying mechanism, is disposed above the wafer to integrally peel off a water film on the surface of the wafer, so as to dry the wafer.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the drying modules 20C disposed in the first cleaning unit 2A and the second cleaning unit 2B need to be horizontally disposed adjacent to the front unit 1, so that the front robot 1B in the front unit 1 can directly place the dried wafer in the front-opening foup 1a, thereby reducing the number of times of transferring the wafer and avoiding the pollution during the transferring process.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the drying module 20C is located at the upper portion of the stacked module, i.e., the post-processing module located at the upper portion of the stacked module is the drying module 20C. This is because the drying module 20C needs to be provided with a Fan Filter unit 20C-1 (FFU) for circulating the drying gas, and the Fan Filter unit 20C-1 in FIG. 10 is disposed above the tank. If the drying module 20C is provided in the post-processing module corresponding to the lower portion of the stack module, the installation position of the fan filter unit 20C-1 collides with the buffer device 25. If the fan filter unit 20C-1 and the buffer device 25 are installed between the vertically stacked post-treatment modules 20, the height of the cleaning unit 2 corresponding to the frame body is increased, and the space occupation of the CMP system in the vertical direction is increased.

Fig. 11 is a diagram of a corresponding wafer transfer route during the operation of the chemical mechanical polishing system, and the following briefly describes the general transfer process of the wafer in the front end unit 1, the cleaning unit 2 and the polishing unit 3 with reference to fig. 11.

In fig. 11, the process of transferring the wafer from the front end unit 1 to the polishing unit 3 through the cleaning unit 2 is described by using the first cleaning unit 2A, and the corresponding transfer route is indicated by a chain line.

First, the front robot 1b of the front unit 1 places the wafer to be polished on the buffer device 25 (shown in fig. 5) in the first front stacking module 21A, i.e. the step (1) of transferring is completed; then, the first front transfer robot 23A transfers the wafer from the buffer device 25 of the first front stacking module 21A to the buffer device 25 of the first rear stacking module 22A, thereby completing the transfer of step (2); then, the first rear transfer robot 24A transfers the wafer placed in the buffer device 25 of the first rear stacking module 22A to the polishing unit 3, thereby completing the step (3) transfer. It is understood that the wafer may be transferred toward the polishing unit 3 through the second cleaning unit 2B independently of each other without any interference.

In fig. 11, the process of transferring the wafer from the polishing unit 3 to the front end unit 1 via the cleaning unit is illustrated by using the second cleaning unit 2B, and the corresponding transfer route diagram is shown by using a dotted line.

Firstly, the polished wafer is transferred from the polishing unit 3 to the second rear laminating module 22B by the second rear transfer robot 24B, and then the transfer of step (4) is completed; it should be noted that the wafer may be transferred between the post-processing modules 20 corresponding to the second rear stacking module 22B, and when the wafer is transferred inside the second rear stacking module 22B, the wafer is transferred by the second rear transfer robot 24B; then, the second front transfer robot 23B transfers the wafer from the second rear lamination module 22B to the second front lamination module 21B, thereby completing the transfer of step (5); the wafers can be transferred between the post-processing modules 20 corresponding to the second front lamination module 21B, and when the wafers are transferred between the second front lamination modules 21B, the wafers need to be transferred by the second front transfer robot 23B; finally, the front robot 1b transfers the wafer having finished the post-processing to the front opening foup 1a of the front unit 1.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 2, the brushing module 20A is disposed adjacent to the polishing unit 2 and located at the lower portion and/or the upper portion of the corresponding stacked module, so as to clean the particles on the surface of the wafer by horizontal brushing, thereby rough-cleaning the surface of the wafer and removing the larger particles on the surface of the wafer. In fig. 2, the brushing module 20A is disposed adjacent to the polishing unit 2 and located at the lower portion of the stacking module, and the post-processing module corresponding to the upper portion of the stacking module adjacent to the polishing unit 2 is a pre-cleaning module 20B, so as to implement fine cleaning of the wafer surface by using a two-fluid and local brushing manner, so as to remove fine particles on the wafer surface.

The drying module 20C shown in fig. 10 is disposed adjacent to the front unit 1 and above the corresponding stacked module to peel off the water film on the surface of the wafer as a whole, thereby drying the surface of the wafer. The drying module 20C is disposed on the upper portion of the stacking module, and can provide an installation space for the fan filter unit 20C-1 disposed in the drying module 20C. The front robot 1b in the front unit 1 can transfer the wafer after drying to the front opening type pod 1a, so as to reduce or avoid particle contamination caused by wafer process transfer.

In addition, the present invention also discloses a chemical mechanical polishing method, which has a flow chart as shown in FIG. 12, and uses the chemical mechanical polishing system as described above, comprising:

s1, the wafer of the front unit 1 is transmitted to the polishing unit 2 through a buffer device 25 in the laminating module, and chemical mechanical polishing is carried out in the polishing unit 2;

specifically, first, the front robot 1b of the front unit 1 transfers the wafer to be polished toward the lamination module adjacent to the front unit 1, specifically, the wafer is placed in the buffer device 25 in the lamination module; next, the front transfer robot 23 transfers the wafer toward the stacking module adjacent to the polishing unit 2, specifically, the front transfer robot 23 places the wafer in the buffer device 25 in the stacking module; then, the rear transfer robot 24 transfers the wafer of the buffer device 25 to the polishing unit 2;

s2, the polished wafer enters a laminating module adjacent to the polishing unit 2 through the rear transmission manipulator 24 to carry out initial cleaning of the wafer;

in step S2, the initial cleaning means cleaning performed in a lamination module adjacent to the polishing unit 2, and includes at least horizontal brushing performed in the brushing module 20A; if the pre-cleaning module 20B is disposed in the lamination module adjacent to the cleaning unit 2, the initial cleaning solution may include pre-cleaning performed in the pre-cleaning module 20B.

And S3, drying the wafer which is subjected to the initial cleaning in the laminating module adjacent to the front unit 1, and transmitting the dried wafer to the front unit 1.

In step S3, the front transfer robot 23 transfers the wafer that has completed the initial cleaning toward the lamination module adjacent to the front unit 1; specifically, the front transfer robot 23 may first place the wafer on the lower portion of the stacking module to further complete wafer cleaning; then, the wafer is transferred to the upper portion of the lamination module to complete surface drying of the wafer in the drying module 20C.

During wafer post-processing, the rear transfer robot 24 may transfer wafers in a stacked module adjacent to the polishing unit 2; specifically, the rear transfer robot 24 may process wafers in the corresponding post-processing modules at the upper and lower portions of the stacked module. The front transfer robot 23 can transfer the wafers in the lamination module of the cleaning unit 2; specifically, the front transfer robot 23 may transfer the wafer between or inside the stacked modules in the corresponding first cleaning unit 2A or second cleaning unit 2B, so as to effectively increase the flexibility of operation, reduce or avoid the waiting time in the wafer transfer process, and improve the tact of wafer post-processing.

In the description of the present specification, reference to the description of "one embodiment," "some embodiments," "an illustrative embodiment," "an example," "a specific example," or "some examples" or the like means that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the terms used above do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

While embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: various changes, modifications, substitutions and alterations can be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims (14)

1. A chemical mechanical polishing system, comprising:

a front unit;

a polishing unit;

the cleaning unit is arranged between the prepositive unit and the polishing unit;

the cleaning unit comprises a first cleaning unit and a second cleaning unit, and the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit are symmetrically arranged relative to the transverse center line of the cleaning unit; the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit comprise a post-processing module, a front transmission manipulator and a rear transmission manipulator, the post-processing module is vertically stacked to form a stacked module, and the front transmission manipulator and the rear transmission manipulator are arranged on the side part of the stacked module; the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit at least comprise two stacked modules which are arranged in a staggered mode along the transverse direction of the cleaning unit.

2. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 1, wherein the first cleaning unit and the second cleaning unit further comprise a buffer storage device disposed in the stacking module to buffer wafers transferred by the front transfer robot and/or the rear transfer robot.

3. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 2, wherein the buffer means is disposed between vertically stacked aftertreatment modules.

4. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 1, wherein the front transfer robot is horizontally adjacent to the front unit and the rear transfer robot is horizontally adjacent to the polishing unit.

5. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 4, wherein a line between the front transfer robot and a module stack is perpendicular to a line between the front transfer robot and another module stack.

6. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 4, wherein the front transfer robot and the rear transfer robot are respectively disposed at both sides of one of the laminated modules, the laminated module being located on a line connecting the front transfer robot and the rear transfer robot; and a connection line between the front and rear transfer robots is parallel to a length direction of the cleaning unit.

7. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 1, wherein the front and rear transfer robots are disposed at a frame of the cleaning unit, which is movable in a height direction of the cleaning unit.

8. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 7, wherein the front transfer robot and the rear transfer robot are each slidably coupled to vertically disposed slide rails for transferring wafers between vertically stacked post-processing modules.

9. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 8, wherein the front and rear transfer robots comprise a rotary joint disposed upside down, and a holding claw is provided at a distal end of the rotary joint.

10. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 1, wherein the post-processing module comprises a brush module, a pre-clean module, and a dry module that process the wafer surface in a horizontal manner.

11. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 10, wherein the brush module is disposed adjacent to the polishing unit at an upper portion and/or a lower portion of the stack module.

12. The chemical mechanical polishing system of claim 10, wherein the drying module is disposed adjacent to the front unit, which is located at an upper portion of the laminated module.

13. A chemical mechanical polishing method using the chemical mechanical polishing system according to any one of claims 1 to 12, comprising:

s1, transmitting the wafer of the front unit to a polishing unit through a buffer device in a laminating module, and performing chemical mechanical polishing on the polishing unit;

s2, the polished wafer enters a laminating module adjacent to the polishing unit through a rear transmission manipulator so as to implement initial cleaning of the wafer;

and S3, drying the wafer after the initial cleaning in a laminating module adjacent to the front unit, and transmitting the dried wafer to the front unit.

14. The chemical mechanical polishing method of claim 13, wherein the rear transfer robot transfers the wafer in a lamination module adjacent to the polishing unit, and the front transfer robot transfers the wafer in a lamination module in the cleaning unit.

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