JPH05129268A - Wafer cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a wafer cleaning equipment which favorably prevents rust and dust to permit stable operations for a long time. CONSTITUTION:A wafer cleaning equipment which places a plurality of wafers with their surface already treated in a cassette type container and then cleans the wafers in chemical. A plurality of cassette rests 5 are arranged in a cleaning bath 1 filled with cleaning chemical 2 for immersion. The cassette rests 5 correspond to cassette type containers 4 on a one-to-one basis. One end of each cassette rest is lead out of the cleaning bath and directly connected to a drive cylinder 8, being moved up/down thereby. The cylinder 8 is composed of a highly corrosion resistant material, and the interior thereof is filled with grease. Furthermore, the cylinder 8 is covered with dustproof cover 11 to efficiently prevent rust and dust.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer cleaning apparatus to be used by incorporating it into a semiconductor wafer process processing facility.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the above-mentioned semiconductor wafer processing equipment, as is well known, a predetermined number of wafers, which have been subjected to surface treatment such as etching, are housed in a cassette container and transferred to the next cleaning step. It is a common practice to immerse and stir in a cleaning tank filled with (chemical solution such as organic solvent) to clean the chemical solution such as etching solution remaining on the surface of the wafer. In addition, such process processing equipment is installed by being installed in a clean booth installed in a clean room. Normally, in view of the processing capacity of the equipment, two cassette containers each containing 25 wafers are loaded into the cleaning tank at the same time and cleaned. I am trying to process it.

FIG. 2 shows the structure of a conventional wafer cleaning apparatus. In the figure, 1 is a cleaning tank filled with the cleaning liquid 2, 3 is a sink surrounding the periphery of the cleaning tank 1 (which collects the cleaning liquid dripping from the cleaning tank), and two cleaning tanks 1 are simultaneously installed inside the cleaning tank 1. Cassette container 4
The quartz cassette pedestal 5 is mounted so as to be installed side by side. Further, the cassette pedestal 5 is connected to a pair of left and right drive rods 6 by pulling out the mounting ends 5a at both ends thereof to the outside of the cleaning tank 1, and the drive rods 6 are provided with bearings 7 for supporting guides. It penetrates the sink 3. On the other hand, a biaxial linear motion cylinder 8 is installed below the sink 3, and a roller 6a attached to the tip of the drive rod 6 is provided on an inclined cam surface of a cam 9 connected to both ends of the shaft of the cylinder 8. Abutting. With such a configuration, by reciprocating the cylinder 8, the cassette pedestal 5 is moved to the drive rod 6 and the cam 9.
Move up and down in the cleaning solution via. As a result, the wafer contained in the cassette container 4 is washed by stirring.

[0004]

By the way, in the above-mentioned conventional cleaning apparatus, the following problems occur during long-term operation. That is, the bearing 7 that guide-supports the drive rod 6 is rusted by the corrosive action of the atmosphere of the chemical solution for a long period of time, and the movement of the drive rod 6 becomes less smooth. The sliding surface becomes worn and becomes a dust source, and the fine particles generated from the sliding surface are scattered around and adhere to the wafer being processed.

In order to minimize dust generation from the drive system, the sliding members such as the bearing 7 and the cam 9 are omitted, and cylinders are directly connected to both ends of the cassette pedestal 5 to drive vertically. However, in this case, if there is a slight deviation in the operation and stroke between the two cylinders, stress is applied to the cassette pedestal 5 and the cassette pedestal made of quartz becomes easy. It is extremely difficult to put into practical use because it is damaged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a wafer cleaning apparatus which can suppress rusting and dust generation and can maintain a stable operation function for a long period of time. It is in.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, in the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of cassette pedestals, which correspond to the cassette containers in a one-to-one correspondence, are provided in the cleaning tank. For each base, one end of the cassette pedestal is pulled out of the cleaning tank and directly connected to one drive cylinder.

As an embodiment of the above construction, the cylinder is made of a material having a high corrosion resistance, and grease for preventing rusting is sealed inside the cylinder. Further, there is a structure in which the cylinder is covered with a dust prevention cover.

[0009]

In the above construction, the cassette pedestal provided in the cleaning tank moves up and down by the operation of the cylinder directly connected to each base. In this case, since the cassette pedestals are separated and independent for each group, the drive cylinders directly connected to the cassette pedestals are dispersed in the peripheral region of the cleaning tank without occupying a large space and centrally deploying the drive cylinders. Can be deployed. Further, it is not necessary to perform troublesome control such as coordination and synchronization of operations between the cylinders, and each cylinder can be supported by independent drive control. Further, since there is no sliding part such as a bearing between the cassette pedestal and the cylinder, there is no fear of rusting or dusting in the power transmission path portion, thereby ensuring stable operation for a long period of time.

[0010]

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. The same members corresponding to those in FIG. 2 are designated by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 1, inside the cleaning tank 1, two independent cassette pedestals 4 each of which is divided into left and right and one cassette container 4 is placed for each, are arranged side by side. Further, one end of each cassette receiving base 4 is pulled out to the outside of the cleaning tank for each base, and is directly connected to the output shaft 8a of the small cylinder 6 mounted on the base 10 arranged in the peripheral region and supported in a cantilever manner. ing. It should be noted that the cylinder 8 is made of a metal material having high corrosion resistance, and grease is sealed inside the cylinder for the purpose of preventing rusting in an atmosphere of a chemical solution. It is covered with a dust prevention cover 11 in order to prevent dust from scattering around.

With such a construction, the cassette containers 4 carried into the cleaning device are placed one by one on the cassette pedestal 5, and in this state, the cassette pedestals 5 are individually moved up and down by the operation of the cylinders 8 to form the cassette containers. The wafer housed in No. 4 is cleaned.

[0012]

As described above, the wafer cleaning apparatus of the present invention has the following effects. (1) By arranging a plurality of cassette pedestals that correspond to the cassette containers in a one-to-one relationship in the cleaning tank, one end of each cassette cradle is pulled out of the cleaning tank and directly connected to the drive cylinder. Reliable because it does not generate dust from sliding members such as bearings and cams unlike conventional devices, and avoids problems such as lack of smooth vertical movement of the cassette pedestal due to rusting of the bearings. It is possible to improve the durability and extend the service life. Moreover, the individual cylinders do not need to be linked or synchronized in operation, and can be handled by individual operation control.

(2) Further, by adopting a construction in which the cylinder is made of a material having high corrosion resistance, grease for preventing rusting is filled in the cylinder, and the cylinder is covered with a dust prevention cover, It is possible to prevent rusting of itself and dust of the cylinder from scattering around.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a conventional wafer cleaning device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Cleaning tank 2 Cleaning liquid 4 Cassette container 5 Cassette pedestal 8 Cylinder 11 Dust prevention cover

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A wafer cleaning apparatus for accommodating a plurality of surface-treated wafers in a cassette container for chemical cleaning, in which a cassette pedestal is dipped in a cleaning tank filled with the cleaning liquid, and the cassette pedestal is mounted on the cassette pedestal. In a case where a cassette pedestal is moved up and down while the cassette container is mounted to clean a wafer, a plurality of cassette pedestals corresponding to the cassette container in a one-to-one correspondence are provided in the cleaning tank, and A wafer cleaning device characterized in that one end of the cassette pedestal is pulled out of the cleaning tank and directly connected to one drive cylinder. 2. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder is made of a material having high corrosion resistance, and grease for preventing rusting is filled inside the cylinder. 3. The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cylinder is covered with a dust prevention cover.