JPH0128677Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus used in the manufacture of semiconductor devices and for treating semiconductor wafers with a chemical solution.

Prior Art In the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices, when patterning an oxide film, metal film, etc. formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer, it is common to use an etching process in which the semiconductor wafer is chemically treated. . After this etching process, there is a cleaning process in which the surface of the etched semiconductor wafer is cleaned with pure water, etc. In this etching and cleaning process, multiple semiconductor wafers are aligned on a jig called a carrier. This is done by immersing the jig in a chemical solution in a processing solution tank while it is being held.

Hereinafter, a conventional example of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus used for the above-mentioned wafer etching process will be explained with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. In FIG. 4, 1 is a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer), and 2 is a carrier made of, for example, Teflon (registered trademark), which holds a plurality of wafers 1, 1, etc. in a vertically aligned manner at a constant pitch, and is a carrier for semiconductor devices. It is used for wafer processing in each step of manufacturing. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, this carrier 2 consists of a pair of parallel side plates 3, 3 and a pair of end plates 4, 4 connecting both ends of the side plates 3, 3. A plurality of wafer storage grooves 5, 5... are formed at regular pitches in the vertical direction on the inner surfaces of the plates 3, 3, and each wafer storage groove 5, 5...
The wafers 1, 1, . . . are stored and held one by one.
Reference numeral 6 denotes a processing liquid tank containing a chemical solution 7 for etching the oxide film, metal film, etc. formed on the surface of the wafer 1. The chemical solution 7 is supplied to cause an overflow, and the overflowing chemical solution 7 is collected in a recovery tank 9 provided on the outer periphery of the processing solution tank 6 and discharged from a drain port 10. 11 is a circulation channel connecting the liquid supply port 8 of the processing liquid tank 6 and the liquid drain port 10 of the recovery tank 9; 12 is a cooler for cooling the discharged chemical liquid 7; 13 is a pump; This is a filter that filters the chemical liquid 7 and supplies it again to the processing liquid tank 6.

In an etching process for manufacturing semiconductor devices, a carrier 2 placed at a predetermined position is transferred by a wafer transport mechanism (not shown) and immersed in a chemical solution 7 in a processing solution tank 6. In this state, the driving force of the pump 13 causes the chemical solution 7 flowing in from the liquid supply port 8 of the processing liquid tank 6 to overflow and flow out from the liquid drain port 10 of the recovery tank 9, where it is cooled by the cooler 12 and filtered by the filter 14. Then, it is supplied to the liquid supply port 8 of the processing liquid tank 6. The wafers 1, 1, . . . in the carrier 2 immersed in the chemical solution 7 are etched by the circulating chemical solution 7 as described above.

When this wafer etching is completed, the carrier 2 in the processing liquid tank 6 is taken out by a wafer transport mechanism (not shown) and transferred to a processing liquid tank for wafer cleaning having the same structure as the processing liquid tank 6 described above. In this wafer cleaning process, the wafers 1, 1, . . . in the carrier 2 are immersed in the circulating chemical solution.
Wash.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Incidentally, in the conventional semiconductor manufacturing equipment, the carrier 2 is immersed in the chemical solution 7 in the processing liquid tank 6 as described above, and in this state, the chemical solution 7 overflows from the processing liquid tank 6. The wafers 1, 1, . . . in the carrier 2 are treated with the chemical by circulating the wafers 1, 1, . . .
In this case, the amount of chemical liquid in the processing liquid tank 6 is large, and most of the chemical liquid 7 passes through the outside of the carrier 2, and not only the wafers 1, 1, etc. in the carrier 2 cannot be efficiently processed with the chemical liquid, but also the chemical liquid 7 in the processing tank 6 Since the chemical solution 7 in the inner corner is difficult to be replaced, it is difficult to efficiently circulate and filter the chemical solution 7 in the processing solution tank 6, and dirt remains in the processing solution tank 6, causing the wafers in the carrier 2 to be damaged. There was a risk that 1, 1... would be contaminated. Further, there was a problem in that the above-mentioned circulation filtering required time and work efficiency was significantly reduced.

Means for solving the problem The present invention was proposed in view of the above problem, and the technical means for solving this problem are as follows:
a water-retentive container having a funnel shape with upper and lower ends open and holding a plurality of semiconductor wafers aligned at a constant pitch; a lower end opening of the container connected to a liquid supply port; The device includes a liquid recovery tank in which a chemical solution that is supplied into the container from the liquid supply port through the lower end opening of the container to treat semiconductor wafers is recovered by overflowing from the upper end opening of the container.

Function According to the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, when processing a wafer with a chemical liquid, the chemical liquid supplied from the liquid supply port of the processing liquid tank is caused to flow into the container connected to the liquid supply port. Circulate and filter while allowing overflow from the container. It is easy to reduce the amount of chemical liquid used to treat the wafers in the container, and efficient circulation filtering of the chemical liquid can be achieved.

Embodiment A first embodiment of the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is described below.
This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3 to 3. Furthermore, the fourth
Components that are the same as or equivalent to those in FIGS. 6 to 6 are given the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted. In the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 15 shown in FIG. 1, reference numeral 16 is a water-retaining container in which a plurality of wafers 1, 1, . . . are held in alignment. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, this container 16 has a funnel shape with upper and lower ends 16a, 16b open, and the wafer storage grooves 5 of the carrier 2, A plurality of wafer holding grooves 18, 18... in the vertical direction with the same pitch as 5...
are formed, and one wafer 1, 1, . . . is housed and held in each wafer holding groove 18, 18, . 19
As will be described later, a liquid recovery tank is used to recover the chemical liquid overflowing from the container 16, and a liquid supply port 20 and a liquid drain port 21 are provided at the bottom of the liquid recovery tank 19. During wafer liquid processing, the lower end opening 16b of the container 16 holding the wafers 1, 1, . Reference numeral 22 denotes a circulation channel that connects the liquid supply port 20 and the liquid drain port 21 of the liquid recovery tank 19. A part of this circulation channel 22 is provided with pure water for wafer cleaning into the container 1.
A water supply channel 23 that supplies water into the container 16 and a drainage channel 24 that discharges pure water overflowing from the container 16 are connected. Reference numeral 25 denotes a liquid storage tank for temporarily storing the chemical liquid 7 discharged from the liquid recovery tank 19, for example, an etching liquid; 26 a cooler for cooling the chemical liquid 7 in the liquid storage tank 25; and 27 a cooler in the circulation flow path 22. A pump 28 that is a driving source for circulating the chemical solution 7 is a filter that filters the chemical solution 7 discharged from the liquid recovery tank 19 and supplies it again into the container 16. 29a~
29d is a circulation channel 22, a water supply channel 23, and a drainage channel 2
This is a solenoid valve that is disposed at a predetermined location of 4 and switches the opening and closing of each flow path.

In the etching process of semiconductor device manufacturing, the carrier 2 transported from the previous process is placed in a predetermined position, and the wafers 1, 1, . . . Transfer and store them in a row.
This container 16 is transferred by a wafer transport mechanism (not shown), and the container 16 is transferred to the liquid supply port 20 of the liquid recovery tank 19.
The container 16 is connected to the liquid recovery tank 19 by fitting the lower end opening 16b of the container 6. Then, the solenoid valves 29a and 29b are closed, and the solenoid valves 29c and 2 are closed.
9d is set to the open state, and in this state, the driving force of the pump 27 filters the chemical liquid 7 in the liquid storage tank 25 with the filter 28, and the liquid supply port 2 of the liquid recovery tank 19 is opened.
0 into the container 16 through the lower end opening 16b of the container 16. The chemical solution 7 that has flowed into the container 16 overflows from the upper end opening 16a of the container 16, and the overflowing chemical solution 7 is collected into the liquid storage tank 25 through the drain port 21 of the liquid recovery tank 19. Each wafer 1, 1, . . . in the container 16 is etched by the chemical solution 7 circulating in this manner.

Next, when the etching process is completed, the etched wafers 1, 1, . . . are washed with pure water or the like. This wafer cleaning process can be carried out by taking out the container 16 from the liquid recovery tank 19 and transferring it to a cleaning liquid recovery tank, but in this case, the container 16 is
The above-mentioned method is not suitable because there is a risk that foreign matter such as dust may adhere to the processing surface of the wafers 1, 1, . . .

Therefore, with the container 16 connected to the liquid recovery tank 19, the chemical solution 7 in the container 16 is gradually diluted with pure water and finally the inside of the container 16 is replaced with pure water, thereby removing the etched wafer. 1,1
... to the cleaning process without exposing it to the external atmosphere. That is, as shown in FIG.
29b is open, and the solenoid valves 29c and 29d are closed, and in this state, the liquid collection tank 1 is
9 and the lower end opening 16b of the container 16
Pure water is supplied into the container 16 through. As a result, the chemical solution 7 in the container 16 is gradually diluted and overflows from the upper end opening 16a of the container 16 together with pure water, and is discharged from the drain port 21 of the liquid recovery tank 19 to the drainage channel 24. Thereafter, the chemical solution 7 in the container 16 is finally replaced with pure water, and the wafers 1, 1, . . . in the container 16 are cleaned with this pure water. In the conventional apparatus, the method of gradually diluting the chemical solution and replacing it with pure water to move on to the wafer cleaning process requires a large amount of chemical solution in the processing liquid tank 6, as shown in FIG. Must be replaced with pure water,
In addition, it was not a preferable method because the replacement work required a long time. However, in the device of the present invention, the amount of chemical liquid in the container 16 is relatively small, so the above-mentioned method is suitable.

It goes without saying that the present invention is applicable to chemical treatments other than the above-mentioned etching process.

Effects of the invention According to the invention, the container in which the wafers are held in alignment is connected to a liquid recovery tank, and the chemical liquid is circulated while overflowing from the container to process the wafers in the container. All of the chemical solution passes through the container, and not only can the wafers be efficiently treated with the chemical solution, but also the amount of chemical solution required for solution treatment is small, which shortens the time for circulating the chemical solution, and reduces the amount of debris floating in the chemical solution. It is possible to quickly remove foreign substances such as As a result, efficient circulation filtering can be easily achieved, work efficiency is greatly improved, and wafers of good quality can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a front cross-sectional view showing a container of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 includes a partial cross-section of FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a conventional example of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, FIG. 5 is a front cross-sectional view showing a carrier of the apparatus shown in FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is a side view including a partial cross-section of FIG. 5. 1... Semiconductor wafer (wafer), 7... Chemical solution, 15... Semiconductor manufacturing equipment, 16... Container, 1
6a, 16b...upper and lower ends, 19...liquid recovery tank,
20...Liquid supply port.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] A water-retentive container that has a funnel shape with open upper and lower ends and holds a plurality of semiconductor wafers arranged at regular pitches inside, and a lower end opening of the container that supplies liquid. a liquid recovery tank that is connected to the opening of the container and that collects a chemical solution that is supplied from the liquid supply opening into the container through the lower end opening of the container and treats semiconductor wafers by overflowing from the upper end opening of the container; A semiconductor manufacturing device characterized by comprising: