JP3436887B2 - Wafer edge cleaning method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer edge cleaning method and apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An abnormal pattern is likely to occur at the edge of a wafer due to exposure deviation during patterning. This abnormal pattern is likely to fall off during the subsequent process to become a foreign substance. Further, the abnormal pattern may be dropped due to chucking or the like in a later process. The foreign matter that has fallen off may adhere to a clean pattern portion. Therefore, cleaning of a range of about 3 mm from the edge of the wafer is performed.

Conventionally, the pattern removal on the edge of the wafer is
The exposure apparatus is used. In addition, foreign matter is removed by scrub cleaning.

[0004]

The removal of the pattern at the outer peripheral edge portion by the exposure apparatus can be performed only on the front surface and cannot be performed on the rear surface and the end surface. Further, the removal of foreign matter by scrubbing was unsatisfactory because, for example, unremovable foreign matter remained strongly attached to the root of the pattern.

A first object of the present invention is to provide a wafer edge cleaning method and apparatus capable of simultaneously removing foreign matter on the front and back surfaces of the edge portion and removing foreign matter which cannot be removed by conventional scrub cleaning. It is in.

A second object of the present invention is to perform a wafer edge cleaning method and apparatus capable of simultaneously removing foreign matters on the front and back surfaces of the end portion and further on the end surface, and removing foreign matters which cannot be removed by conventional scrub cleaning. To provide.

[0007]

According to a first method of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned first problem, end nozzles are respectively arranged toward the front surface and the back surface of the end of a wafer which is rotationally driven. It is characterized in that a high-pressure fluid is discharged from the end nozzle and moved along the shape of the end of the wafer to simultaneously clean the front and back surfaces of the end of the wafer.

A second method of the present invention for solving the above first and second problems is to dispose end nozzles respectively on the front surface and the back surface of the end of a wafer which is rotationally driven, Further, an end face nozzle is arranged so as to face the end face of the wafer and is moved along the shape of the end part of the wafer while ejecting the high pressure fluid from the end part nozzle and further ejecting the high pressure fluid from the end face nozzle. The end surface of the wafer and the back surface and the end surface are simultaneously cleaned.

A first device of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned first problem comprises a table for holding and rotating a wafer, and a high-pressure fluid which is arranged respectively toward the front surface and the back surface of the end portion of the wafer. A pair of end nozzles for ejecting to the end of the wafer, a drive means for moving the end nozzle along the shape of the end of the wafer, and the end nozzle with respect to the end of the wafer. It is characterized in that it is provided with an end nozzle oscillating means for inclining it at an appropriate angle, and the front surface and the back surface of the end portion of the wafer are cleaned at the same time.

A second apparatus of the present invention for solving the above first and second problems is a table that holds and rotates a wafer, and a table that is arranged toward the front and back surfaces of the edge of the wafer, respectively. , A pair of end nozzles for ejecting the high-pressure fluid to the end of the wafer, an end-face nozzle disposed to face the end surface of the wafer and ejecting the high-pressure fluid to the end face of the wafer, and the end nozzle. A drive means for moving along the shape of the edge of the wafer, and an end nozzle swinging means for inclining the end nozzle at an appropriate angle with respect to the edge of the wafer are provided. It is characterized in that the front and back surfaces and the end surface are cleaned at the same time.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 1, the table 2 that holds the wafer 1 by vacuum suction is rotated by a motor described later. A pair of end nozzles 3A, 3B are disposed so as to face the front and back surfaces of the end of the wafer 1, and the end nozzles 3A, 3B are separated from each other by 90 degrees.
The end face nozzle 4 is disposed so as to face the end face of the. A high pressure fluid is supplied to the end nozzles 3A, 3B and the end surface nozzle 4 from a high pressure pump (not shown) through pipes 5A, 5B (5B is not shown) and 6.

The end nozzles 3A and 3B are swung by the end nozzle swinging means 10A and 10B, and the end nozzle swinging means 10A and 10B are moved by the end nozzle vertical driving means 20A and 20B. Driven up and down. Here, since the end portion nozzle rocking means 10A and 10B and the end portion nozzle vertical drive means 20A and 20B have almost the same structure,
The structure of the end part nozzle swinging means 10A and 10B and the structure of the end part nozzle up-and-down driving means 20A and 20B are given the same numbers, one side is given the reference number A after that number, and the other is given the reference number B. Attach and distinguish. Then, the structures of the upper end nozzle rocking means 10A and the end nozzle vertical driving means 20A will be described, and the lower end nozzle rocking means 10B will be described.
The description of the structure of the end nozzle up / down driving means 20B will be omitted.

First, the structure of the end portion nozzle rocking means 10A will be described. The end nozzle 3A is the nozzle holder 1
1A, and the support shaft 12A is fixed to the nozzle holder 11A. The support shaft 12A is rotatably supported by the vertical movement arm 13A, and a pulley 14A is attached to the end of the support shaft 12A.
Is fixed. A servo motor 15A is fixed to the vertical movement arm 13A, and a belt 17A is stretched around a pulley 16A fixed to the output shaft of the servo motor 15A and the pulley 14A.

Next, the structure of the end portion nozzle vertical drive means 20A will be described. The vertical movement arm 13A is fixed to the vertical movement block 21A.
A is vertically fixed to a slider 22A having a guide portion. The slider 22A is slidably provided on a vertically arranged guide rail 23.
Is fixed to a unit holding plate 24 which is vertically arranged. A male screw 25A is screwed on the vertical movement block 21A, and upper and lower ends of the male screw 25A are rotated by bearings 26A and 27A fixed to the upper and lower sides of the unit holding plate 24 (the lower bearing 27A is not shown). It is supported freely. The lower end of the male screw 25A is connected to the output shaft of a motor 28A fixed to the unit holding plate 24 (note that the motor 28A is not shown, so refer to the motor 28B).

The unit holding plate 24 is fixed to a horizontally arranged unit holding plate 35. The unit holding plate 35 is driven by a cylinder 36 so that the end nozzles 3A and 3B can move in the radial direction of the wafer 1.

The end face nozzles 4 are provided on the unit holding plate 35 via end face nozzle driving means 40. The end face nozzle driving means 40 has the following structure. The end surface nozzle 4 is fixed to a nozzle holder 41, and the nozzle holder 41 is fixed to a slider 42. The slider 42 is slidably provided on a guide rail 43 arranged in the radial direction of the wafer 1, and the guide rail 43 is fixed to the unit holding plate 35. The slider 42 is driven by a cylinder 44 fixed to the unit holding plate 35.

The table 2 shown in FIG. 1 has a structure as shown in FIG. The table 2 is fixed to the upper end of a rotary shaft 50, and the rotary shaft 50 is rotatably supported by a rotary shaft support cylinder 52 via a bearing 51. The rotary shaft support cylinder 52 is fixed to the base plate 53. Further, the lower end of the rotary shaft 50 is rotatably supported by a support block 55 via a bearing 54.

A through hole 50a is formed in the central axis of the rotary shaft 50, and a suction hole 2a is formed in the table 2 so as to communicate with the through hole 50a. A hole 55a is also formed in the support block 55 so as to communicate with the through hole 50a, and a pipe 56 connected to a vacuum source (not shown) is connected to the hole 55a. A pulley 57 is fixed to the rotary shaft 50. A motor 59 is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 53 via a bracket 58, and a belt 61 is wound around a pulley 60 fixed to the output shaft of the motor 59 and the pulley 57.

A lower cover support cylinder 70 is fixed to the outer periphery of the rotary shaft support cylinder 52, and a lower cover 71 is fixed to the lower cover support cylinder 70 along the lower surface of the table 2.
The table 2 and the lower cover 71 are provided on the inner peripheral side of the lower cover 71.
One end of a pipe 72 for supplying gas is connected between them, and the other end of the pipe 72 is connected to a gas supply source (not shown). An upper cover 73 is arranged above the table 2, and the upper cover 73 is fixed to a gas supply member 74 having a gas supply hole 74a.

One end of a pipe 75 is connected to the gas supply member 74, and the other end of the pipe 75 is connected to a gas supply source (not shown). The gas supply member 74 is the base plate 53.
It is provided on a guide rail 76 that is vertically fixed to the above so that it can move up and down, and can be moved up and down by a drive source (not shown).
A plurality of exhaust joints 77 are attached to the base plate 53, and the exhaust joints 77 are connected to a suction source (not shown) through a pipe (not shown). Also, the lower cover support cylinder 7
0, the lower cover 71, and the upper cover 73 are covered with a cover 78 except the end nozzle swinging means 10A, 10B.

Next, the operation will be described. Wafer 1
As shown in FIG. 3, a chamfered portion 1a is formed at the end. When the wafer 1 is placed on the table 2,
The wafer 1 is positioned at the center of the table 2 by a positioning means (not shown). Then, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the wafer 1 is vacuum-sucked to the table 2. Next, the upper cover 73 shown in FIG. 2 is lowered by a driving means (not shown), gas is supplied to the pipes 72 and 75, and forced exhaust is performed from the exhaust joint 77. As a result, the gas flows from the inner circumference of the wafer 1 to the outer circumference thereof, and an air flow as indicated by an arrow 80 is created. When the motor 59 rotates, the pulley 60,
The rotation shaft 50 and the table 2 rotate via the belt 61 and the pulley 57, and the wafer 1 rotates.

Subsequently, the cylinder 36 shown in FIG. 1 is actuated to move the unit holding plate 35 toward the wafer 1, and the end nozzles 3A and 3B are located above and below the wafer 1 by about 3 mm inside from the end surface of the wafer 1. Located in. The end face nozzle 4 faces the end face of the wafer 1.

Next, the cylinder 44 is actuated, the slider 42 moves along the guide rail 43, and the end face nozzle 4 approaches the end face of the wafer 1. Also, the end nozzle 3
The motor 2 is moved in the direction in which A descends and the end nozzle 3B rises.
8A and 28B (the motor 28A is not shown) rotate. When the motor 28A rotates, the male screw 25A rotates, the vertical movement block 21A and the vertical movement arm 13A descend, and the edge nozzle 3A approaches the surface of the edge of the wafer 1. When the motor 28B rotates, the male screw 25B rotates, the vertical movement block 21B and the vertical movement arm 13B rise, and the end nozzle 3B approaches the back surface of the end of the wafer 1.

Next, the servomotors 15A and 15B are operated, the support shafts 12A and 12B rotate via the pulleys 16A and 16B, the belts 17A and 17B, and the pulleys 14A and 14B, and the end nozzles 3A and 3B are supported by the support shafts. It swings around 12A and 12B. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the end nozzles 3A and 3B are set to have an appropriate angle θ with respect to the front surface 1b and the back surface 1c of the end portion of the wafer 1.

Next, high pressure fluid is supplied to the pipes 5A, 5B and 6 shown in FIG. 1 at a preset discharge pressure, and the high pressure fluid is directed toward the wafer 1 from the end nozzles 3A, 3B and the end face nozzle 4. Is ejected. The operating rod of the cylinder 36 gradually retracts while the high-pressure fluid is being discharged.
As a result, the unit holding plate 35 moves away from the wafer 1, and the end nozzles 3A and 3B move from the front surface 1b and back surface 1c of the end of the wafer 1 shown in FIG. 3 to the chamfered portion 1a. When the center lines of the end nozzles 3A and 3B are located in the chamfered portion 1a, the servo motor 15 shown in FIG.
The nozzles 3A and 3B for ends are swung by actuation of A and 15B, and are adjusted to an appropriate angle θ suitable for cleaning the chamfered portion 1a.

As described above, by moving while ejecting the high-pressure fluid from the end nozzles 3A, 3B and the end surface nozzle 4, the end portion and the end surface of the wafer 1 are cleaned.
The high-pressure fluid during this cleaning is the air flow 80 shown in FIG.
Is discharged from the exhaust joint 77 to the outside. After the cleaning process is completed, the upper cover 73 rises and the operating rods of the cylinders 36 and 44 shown in FIG.
The motors 28A and 28B rotate in the opposite direction, and the end nozzles 3A and 3B and the end surface nozzle 4 return to the origin. Then, the vacuum of the table 2 is turned off, and the wafer 1
Is taken out.

In this embodiment, the wafer 1 is set to 5
˜200 rpm, and supply pressure of the high pressure fluid to the end nozzles 3A, 3B and the end nozzle 4 is 50 to 20.
Wafer 1 and edge nozzle 3 at 0 Kgf / cm ²
The distance between A, 3B and the end face nozzle 4 is 0.1 to 100 m.
When the edge nozzles 3A and 3B were moved along the edge shape of the wafer 1 as m, abnormal patterns that could easily fall off and other foreign matter could be removed. In particular, the foreign matter strongly adhered to the root of the pattern could not be removed by the conventional scrub cleaning, but could be easily removed by the method of the present embodiment. Further, according to this embodiment, the front surface and the back surface can be cleaned at the same time, and the end faces can also be cleaned at the same time.

[0028]

According to the present invention, the end nozzles are respectively arranged toward the front surface and the back surface of the end portion of the wafer which is rotationally driven, and the high pressure fluid is ejected from the end nozzle to remove the wafer. Since it moves along the shape of the end portion, it is possible to remove foreign matter on the front and back surfaces of the end portion at the same time, and also to remove foreign matter that cannot be removed by conventional scrub cleaning.

End nozzles are respectively provided toward the front surface and the back surface of the end portion of the wafer which is rotationally driven, and further an end surface nozzle is provided so as to face the end surface of the wafer. While ejecting the high-pressure fluid, it moves along the shape of the edge of the wafer, and further ejects the high-pressure fluid from the end face nozzle, so that it is possible to remove foreign matter on the front and back surfaces of the end and further on the end face at the same time. Foreign substances that cannot be removed by the scrub cleaning of can also be removed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a wafer edge cleaning device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a table portion.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a tilted state of the end nozzle when cleaning the end.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 wafer 2 tables 3A, 3B end nozzle Nozzle for 4 end faces 10A, 10B End Nozzle Swinging Means 20A, 20B end portion nozzle vertical drive means 24, 35 unit holding plate 36 cylinders 40 End face nozzle drive means

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. An end nozzle is provided respectively toward the front and back surfaces of the end of a wafer that is driven to rotate, and a high-pressure fluid is discharged from the end nozzle to follow the shape of the end of the wafer. And moving the wafer to clean the front and back surfaces of the edge of the wafer at the same time. 2. An edge nozzle is provided respectively toward the front surface and the back surface of the edge of the wafer which is rotationally driven, and an edge nozzle is provided opposite to the edge surface of the wafer. The high-pressure fluid is discharged from the nozzle and moved along the shape of the edge of the wafer, and the high-pressure fluid is further discharged from the edge nozzle to clean the front and back surfaces and the end surface of the edge of the wafer at the same time. Wafer edge cleaning method. 3. A table which holds and rotates a wafer, and a pair of end nozzles which are respectively disposed toward the front and back surfaces of the end of the wafer and discharge a high-pressure fluid to the end of the wafer. A driving means for moving the edge nozzle along the shape of the edge of the wafer; and an edge nozzle swinging means for inclining the edge nozzle at an appropriate angle with respect to the edge of the wafer, A wafer edge cleaning apparatus, which simultaneously cleans the front and back surfaces of the edge of a wafer. 4. A table which holds and rotates a wafer, a pair of end nozzles which are respectively disposed toward the front surface and the back surface of the end portion of the wafer and discharge a high pressure fluid to the end portion of the wafer, and the wafer. End face nozzles arranged to face the end face of the wafer for discharging high-pressure fluid to the end face of the wafer, drive means for moving the end portion nozzle along the shape of the end portion of the wafer, and the end portion nozzle. And an edge nozzle swinging means for inclining the wafer at an appropriate angle with respect to the edge of the wafer, and cleaning the front and back surfaces and the end surface of the edge of the wafer at the same time. apparatus.