JP2000109994A - Substrate plating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate plating device capable of forming a plating layer on a substrate face, storing the substrate till the next stage without exposing the substrate to the air and easily realizing a device for forming a plating layer on a substrate face and thereafter continuously executing all treating stages including wet treatment such as CMP treatment for removing the plating layer other than the wiring part of the plating layer from the substrate face. SOLUTION: In this substrate plating device having a treating part in which a substrate is applied with plating treatment and a cleaning treating part in which the substrate after the plating treatment is cleaned, the plating treatment is executed at the plating treatment part, and, moreover, a substrate storing tank 16 in which the substrate subjected to the plating treatment at the plating treating part and the cleaning treatment at the cleaning treating part is dipped in a storing soln. for a certain time and is stored is provided. Further, a substrate underwater carrying machine in which the substrate after the plating treatment at the plating treating part is moved in a water channel in which pure water is flowed is provided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate plating apparatus for plating a substrate, and more particularly to a plating method for forming a wiring layer on a wiring portion comprising fine grooves and / or fine holes formed on a substrate surface of a semiconductor wafer or the like. The present invention relates to a substrate plating apparatus suitable as an apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, aluminum is often used as a circuit wiring material for semiconductor devices. In many cases, wiring of a semiconductor device is formed by etching back aluminum sputter. On the other hand, it is sometimes difficult to form a wiring using the above-described method in forming a wiring using another metal material such as copper. Therefore, a method has been adopted in which grooves and holes for wiring are formed in advance on a substrate, a metal material is embedded in the grooves and holes, and then the surface is subjected to chemical mechanical polishing (CMP).

[0003]

However, as the degree of integration of semiconductor devices increases, the fineness of the wiring advances and the width of the wiring further decreases, and as the step coverage increases, the fineness of the conventional sputtering method increases. There is a limit in embedding metal in a wiring portion formed of a groove or a fine hole (fine contact hole), and there is a problem that holes are easily formed in these wiring portions.

For example, due to the high integration of semiconductor devices, wiring grooves and wiring holes having a width of 0.18 μm or 0.13 μm are required. It is difficult to embed a metal material by sputtering in such a fine wiring groove or wiring hole. Therefore, instead of embedding metal material by sputtering,
A Cu plating layer is formed by electrolytic plating or electroless plating on the surface of a semiconductor wafer including a wiring portion including such fine grooves and fine holes, and then the Cu plating layer on the surface of the semiconductor wafer is left, leaving the Cu plating layer on the wiring portion. There is a need for the development of a technique for performing the step of removing a layer with one apparatus.

[0005] Even when the Cu plating apparatus and the CMP apparatus are separated from each other, there is a problem that the surface of the Cu plating film is oxidized or particles adhere when left in the air after the plating treatment.

Also, a Cu plating apparatus and a chemical mechanical polishing (C
When the MP) is separated, the semiconductor wafer is dried and carried out after the Cu plating in the Cu plating apparatus, and the dried semiconductor wafer is carried in the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus. An extra process of steps is required. Further, if the lid plating apparatus provided on the wiring plating layer is separated, in addition to the problems of drying and carrying out and drying and carrying in as described above, there is a problem that surface oxidation of the wiring plating layer proceeds with time. .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and provides a substrate plating apparatus which can form a plating layer on a substrate surface and store the substrate without exposing it to the atmosphere until the next step. With the goal.

[0008] Further, a plating layer is formed on the substrate surface, and thereafter, all processing steps including a wet process such as a CMP process for removing the plating layer from the substrate surface except for the plating layer of the wiring portion are continuously performed. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate plating apparatus capable of easily realizing a practical apparatus.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate having a plating section for plating a substrate and a cleaning section for cleaning the substrate after the plating. The plating apparatus is characterized in that a substrate storage tank is provided for immersing a substrate, which has been subjected to a plating process in a plating process unit and further subjected to a cleaning process in a cleaning process unit, into a storage solution for storage.

[0010] The invention described in claim 2 is the same as the claim 1.
Wherein the storage solution contained in the substrate storage tank is pure water or dilute sulfuric acid or an antioxidant for preventing oxidation of the plating surface.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in a substrate plating apparatus having a plating section for plating a substrate, plating is performed in the plating section, and pure water is applied to the substrate after the plating. It is characterized in that a substrate underwater transfer device for moving in a flowing water channel is provided.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the substrate plating apparatus will be described by taking a semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus as an example. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a plan configuration of a semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus includes a carry-in storage room 10 for storing a semiconductor wafer after a semiconductor wafer is carried in and a plating cleaning process is completed, and a plating processing chamber 20 for performing a plating process.

A loading unit 1 for loading a load cassette 11 containing unprocessed semiconductor wafers into a loading storage room 10.
2. Robot 13, load stage 14 for placing unprocessed semiconductor wafers W, coarse water washing tank 15 for rough water washing, substrate storage tank 16 for storing semiconductor wafers W after rough water washing.
Is arranged. In the plating chamber 20, a pretreatment tank 21, a Cu plating tank 22, and a robot 23 are arranged.

In the semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus having the above arrangement, the load cassette 11 carried into the carry-in section 12 of the carry-in storage room 10 by a wafer transfer means (not shown).
Contains the unprocessed semiconductor wafer W as described above. The semiconductor wafer W is, as shown in FIG.
An insulating film 105 made of SiO ₂ is formed on a conductive layer 106 on a semiconductor wafer W, and a wiring groove 101 and a wiring hole 1 are formed on the insulating film 105 by a lithography / etching technique.
02 is formed. The unprocessed semiconductor wafer W is picked up by the robot 13 and placed on the load stage 14.

In the plating chamber 20, a robot 23 picks up the semiconductor wafer W on the load stage 14,
It is transferred to a pretreatment tank 21 to perform pretreatment before plating, and then sent to a Cu plating tank 22 to perform plating. In the plating process, as shown in FIG.
A Cu plating layer 103 is formed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W including the wiring portion including the wiring holes 1 and the wiring holes (contact holes) 102. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 104 denotes a barrier layer made of TiN or the like.

The semiconductor wafer W after the plating process has been completed.
Is transferred to the rough washing tank 15 by the robot 23, and the rough washing is performed. The semiconductor wafer W having been subjected to the rough washing is transferred to the robot 13.
Is transferred to the substrate storage tank 16, immersed in the storage liquid, and stored for a certain period of time until transferred to the next step.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of the substrate storage tank 16. As shown, the substrate storage tank 16 is a storage tank 16-1.
A mounting table 16-3 for mounting the wafer cassette 16-2 and a storage liquid supply nozzle 16-4 for supplying a storage liquid are arranged at the bottom thereof, and further, at the upper end of the storage tank 16-1. A collection gutter 16-5 is provided for collecting a storage solution overflowing from the upper end of the storage tank 16-1.

The semiconductor wafer W which has been subjected to the rough washing in the rough washing tank 15 is transferred to the wafer cassette 16 in the substrate storage tank 16 until it is sent to the next CMP step.
2 housed. The storage tank 16-1 and the wafer cassette 1
The inside of 6-2 is filled with a storage solution such as pure water, and the semiconductor wafer W waits to be sent to the CMP while being immersed in the pure water. As a storage solution, a dilute sulfuric acid solution, an antioxidant for preventing oxidation of the surface of the Cu plating layer 103, or the like is used in addition to pure water.

In order to send the semiconductor wafer W, which has been plated and cleaned by the substrate plating apparatus having the above structure and stored in the substrate storage tank 16, to the next processing step, for example, a CMP apparatus without exposing it to the atmosphere, FIG. A substrate underwater transporter as shown is used. In FIG. 4, the substrate underwater transfer device 30 is connected to the waterway 3
The pure water Q flows in the water channel 31 while maintaining the height of the water surface H in the direction of arrow A. A roller conveyor 33 having a number of transport rollers 32 is disposed at the bottom of the water channel 31.

The underwater substrate transfer device 30 having the above-described configuration connects the substrate plating device to a CMP device (not shown). The semiconductor wafer W from the substrate storage tank 16 of the substrate plating device is transferred by the robot 13 to the underwater substrate transfer device 30. When the semiconductor wafer is placed on the roller conveyor 33, the semiconductor wafer is transferred in the pure water Q in the direction of arrow B opposite to the direction of pure water flow (direction of arrow A). As a result, the semiconductor wafer W that has been subjected to the plating and cleaning processing in the substrate plating apparatus is transferred to, for example, a CMP apparatus (not shown) that performs the next processing step without being exposed to the atmosphere.

The semiconductor wafer W sent to the CMP apparatus is
As shown in FIG. 2C, the Cu plating layer on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is removed from the Cu plating layer 103 while leaving the Cu plating layers formed in the wiring grooves 101 and the wiring holes 102.
As a result, the plated and cleaned semiconductor wafer W
Is not exposed to the air, so that the Cu plating layer 10
The surface of No. 3 is not oxidized and particles do not adhere.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a configuration in which a CMP chamber, a cleaning module and the like are arranged adjacent to the semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 40 denotes a Cu plating apparatus. The Cu plating apparatus 40 includes a load cassette 41 containing unprocessed semiconductor wafers and a rail 43.
A robot 42, which reciprocates as shown by an arrow C above, a pretreatment tank 44, a Cu plating tank 45, and a channel washing tank 46 are provided. A CMP chamber 50 is disposed adjacent to the Cu plating apparatus 40.
Cleaning modules 60, 61, and 62 are arranged adjacent to. A CMP apparatus is disposed in the CMP chamber 50, and a cleaning machine (or cleaning / cleaning) is provided in each of the cleaning modules 60, 61 and 62.
(Dryers) 63, 64 and 65 are arranged.

In the apparatus having the above arrangement, the load cassette 41 accommodates a semiconductor wafer W in which a wiring portion including a wiring groove 101 and a wiring hole 102 is formed, as shown in FIG. The semiconductor wafer W is
Then, a plating pre-process is performed in a pre-treatment tank 44, and then, as shown in FIG. 2B, a semiconductor wafer W including a wiring portion including a wiring groove 101 and a wiring hole 102 is formed in a Cu plating tank 45. A Cu plating layer 103 is formed on the surface.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG.
The apparatus 51 removes the Cu plating layer on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W from the Cu plating layer 103 while leaving the Cu plating layer formed in the wiring groove 101 and the wiring hole 102. Note that here 2
The reason why the two Cu plating tanks 45 are arranged is to take into consideration the case where a long time is required for Cu plating. In some cases, two or more Cu plating tanks may be provided.

When the Cu plating is, for example, electroless plating for the primary plating and electrolytic plating for the secondary plating, one of the two Cu plating tanks 45 is an electroless plating tank and the other is an electrolytic plating tank. There is also. Subsequently, cleaning is carried out in a water channel type cleaning tank 46. The channel cleaning tank 46 has substantially the same structure as the underwater substrate transporter 30 shown in FIG. 4, and a cleaning solution such as pure water flows in the channel, and the Cu-plated semiconductor wafer W
Is put into the side end of the Cu plating tank 45 of the channel type washing tank 46, and is washed while moving to the side end of the CMP chamber 50.

The semiconductor wafer W after the cleaning is moved to the CMP apparatus 51 in the CMP chamber 50 by the robot 42, and the CM
By polishing the Cu plating surface with the P device 51, FIG.
As shown in (c), the Cu plating layer on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is removed while leaving the Cu plating layer 103 formed in the wiring portion including the wiring groove 101 and the wiring hole 102. The polished semiconductor wafer W is transferred by the robot 42 to the cleaning machines 63, 64, 65 of the cleaning modules 60, 61, 62.
, And are dried and stored in the unload cassette 71 of the unload chamber 70.

As described above, the Cu plating apparatus 40 is configured to carry in the semiconductor wafer W in a dry state and carry it out with the cleaning liquid adhered thereto. By arranging the wet processing and the drying processing of the modules 60, 61, 62, etc., it is possible to easily configure an apparatus for continuously performing all the steps of the plating processing shown in FIG. Further, it is easy to carry out the whole process by loading the semiconductor wafer W in a dry state and unloading the semiconductor wafer W in a dry state.

Further, a portion for loading the load cassette 41 of the Cu plating apparatus 40 is separated from the Cu plating apparatus 40 to form a load / unload chamber 80 as shown in FIG.
The loading and unloading of the load cassette 41 and the unload cassette 71 is performed.
The u plating apparatus 40 is separated by a partition wall 81, a passage through which the semiconductor wafer W can be moved by the robot 42 is provided in the partition wall, and the passage is opened and closed by a shutter 82, so that the plating process shown in FIG. An apparatus that continuously performs all processes can be realized in a state of being isolated from the outside.

Therefore, for example, the entire apparatus having the structure shown in FIG. 6 is disposed in a clean room, and the relationship among the internal pressure of the Cu plating apparatus 40, the internal pressure of the load / unload chamber 80, and the internal pressure of the clean room is as follows. This makes it possible to provide a device that does not contaminate the inside of the clean room even if it is arranged in the clean room. (Internal pressure of Cu plating equipment) <(Internal pressure of load / unload chamber) <(Air pressure in clean room)

In the above example, the substrate plating apparatus is described as an example of a semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus. However, the substrate is not limited to a semiconductor wafer, and a portion to be plated is formed on a wiring surface formed on the substrate surface. It is not limited to a department. In the above example, Cu plating is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to Cu plating.

[0031]

As described above, according to the invention described in the claims of the present application, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate storage tank for immersing a substrate, which has been subjected to the plating process in the plating process section and further subjected to the cleaning process in the cleaning section, in a storage solution and stores the substrate. Therefore, a plating layer can be formed on the surface of the substrate, and the substrate can be stored without being exposed to the atmosphere until the next step, whereby particle contamination and formation of an oxide film can be prevented.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a plating apparatus is provided with a substrate transfer device for performing plating processing in a plating processing section and moving the plated substrate in a channel through which pure water flows. The process can be performed without exposing the substrate to the atmosphere up to the step of, and by arranging a wet process and a drying process such as a CMP process or a cleaning process at the transport end of the substrate transporter, A device capable of continuously performing all processing steps including a wet process such as a CMP process for removing a plating layer from a substrate surface by forming a plating layer on the surface and then removing a wiring portion of the plating layer from the substrate surface is easily performed. A realizable substrate plating apparatus can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a plan configuration of a semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a semiconductor wafer showing an example of a step of performing plating by a semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a substrate storage tank used in the semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of an underwater transport mechanism used in the semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a plan configuration in which a CMP chamber, a cleaning module, and the like are arranged adjacent to the semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a plan configuration in which a CMP chamber, a cleaning module, and the like are arranged adjacent to the semiconductor wafer wiring plating apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Loading storage room 11 Load cassette 12 Loading part 13 Robot 14 Load stage 15 Rough rinsing tank 16 Substrate storage tank 20 Plating processing chamber 21 Pretreatment tank 22 Cu plating tank 23 Robot 30 Substrate underwater transport machine 31 Water path 32 Transport roller 33 Roller conveyor Reference Signs List 40 Cu plating apparatus 41 Load cassette 42 Robot 43 Rail 44 Pretreatment tank 45 Cu plating tank 46 Channel cleaning tank 50 CMP chamber 51 CMP apparatus 60 Cleaning module 61 Cleaning module 62 Cleaning module 63 Cleaning machine 64 Cleaning machine 65 Cleaning machine 70 Anne Load chamber 71 Unload cassette 80 Load unload chamber 81 Partition wall 82 Shutter

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Akihisa Hongo 11-1 Haneda Asahimachi, Ota-ku, Tokyo F-term in EBARA CORPORATION (reference) 4K024 AA09 AB15 AB17 BA11 BB12 BC10 CB03 CB26 DB07 DB10 GA16

Claims (3)

[Claims] A plating section for plating a substrate;
In a substrate plating apparatus having a cleaning processing unit for cleaning the substrate after the plating processing, the plating processing is performed in the plating processing unit, and the substrate that has been subjected to the cleaning processing in the cleaning processing unit is immersed in a storage solution and stored. A substrate plating apparatus, comprising: 2. The substrate plating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the storage liquid stored in the substrate storage tank is pure water, dilute sulfuric acid, or an antioxidant for preventing oxidation of a plating surface. Plating equipment. 3. A substrate plating apparatus comprising a plating section for plating a substrate, wherein the plating section performs plating, and the substrate after plating is moved in a channel through which pure water flows. A substrate plating apparatus comprising a transfer device.