JPH051390A - Etching device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To uniformly etch a material by supporting the plural materials with a holder, rotating and vertically moving the holder in an etching tank. CONSTITUTION:A holder 12 having a supporting part 14 is provided in an etching tank 10, and plural materials 18 to be etched are supported by the supporting part 14. The holder 12 is repeatedly rotated and vertically moved in the etching tank 10 by a driving means to etch the materials 18. An etchant 11 is previously filled in the tank 10. The dielectrics, gold alloys, etc., deposited on a semiconductor are exemplified as the material 18. Consequently, the etchant is sufficiently agitated in the tank, and plural materials are etched.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an etching apparatus used in an etching operation in a semiconductor manufacturing process for semiconductor wafers and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, semiconductor wafers have been etched by horizontally placing each wafer in an etching tank filled with an etchant, placing the wafers on a turntable, and rotating the wafer in one direction to perform the etching process. ing.

[0003]

In the conventional etching work, the wafers were etched one by one in the etching tank, and the work efficiency was very poor. Therefore, it is conceivable to put a plurality of wafers in the etching tank and etch them simultaneously. However, simply by increasing the number of wafers to be put in the etching bath and performing etching while rotating in one direction as in the case of single wafer processing, the etchant is not sufficiently agitated, and the etchant is removed from each wafer. There is a problem that the surface does not act uniformly and the etching varies.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an etching apparatus capable of simultaneously etching a plurality of materials to be etched and capable of uniformly etching each material to be etched.

[0005]

According to the etching apparatus of the present invention, a holder having a supporting portion capable of supporting a plurality of materials to be etched is provided in an etching tank, and the holder is repeatedly rotated and driven by driving means in the etching tank. It moves up and down.

[0006]

According to the etching apparatus configured as described above, a plurality of materials to be etched are supported by the holder and placed in the etching tank, so that the plurality of materials to be etched can be etched at the same time, and the holder is repeatedly used by the driving means. Since it is rotated and moved up and down, the etchant in the etching tank is sufficiently stirred.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an etching tank with a lid made of a material such as Teflon, polypropylene, polyethylene, ABS resin, etc. The etching tank 10 is filled with an etchant 11. Further, 12 is a holder provided in the etching bath 10 and is formed as shown in FIG. That is, the support portions 14 composed of a plurality of standing pieces are radially arranged on the base 13, the square insertion hole 15 is provided in the center, and the receiving pieces 16 are formed between the adjacent support portions 14. Has been done.

Further, a rod 17 which is a part of the driving means is inserted through the insertion hole 15 and is inserted through the lid of the etching bath 10. The rod 17 is fixed to the holder 12 and is connected to a driving means (not shown) that repeatedly rotates and vertically vibrates the holder 12. As an example of the driving means, for example, in the case of repetitive rotary motion, there is a method of controlling a reversible motor or a stepping motor with a driver, and vertical vibration uses, for example, a linear motor that converts the rotary motion of the motor into a linear motion. There are ways.

Reference numeral 18 denotes a material to be etched made of a semiconductor wafer supported by the holder 12, and each supporting portion 14
The material 18 to be etched is fitted and installed in a standing posture. The material to be etched 18 supported by the holder 12 includes a semiconductor wafer (for compound semiconductors such as LEDs), a dielectric material deposited on the semiconductor wafer, a gold alloy deposited on the semiconductor wafer, and the like. As a specific example of the combination of the material to be etched 18 and the etchant 11, when the material to be etched is a semiconductor wafer (for example, GaAs), a mixed solution of sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide or a mixed solution of ammonia / hydrogen peroxide is used as the etchant. Alternatively, when the material to be etched is a dielectric material (eg, SiO ₂ ) deposited on a semiconductor wafer,
A buffered hydrofluoric acid solution or the like is used as the etchant, and when the material to be etched is a gold alloy deposited on a semiconductor wafer, potassium cyanide or the like is used as the etchant.

According to the etching apparatus having such a configuration, the plurality of materials to be etched 18 can be supported by the holder 12 and the plurality of materials to be etched 18 can be simultaneously etched. Moreover, by repeatedly rotating and vertically vibrating the holder 12 by the driving means, the etching tank 1
The etchant filled in 0 is sufficiently agitated, uneven distribution of the etchant flow on the surface of the material to be etched 18 is prevented, and uniform etching can be performed.

Further, the holder 12 supports a plurality of materials to be etched 18 arranged in a circle and can support the plurality of materials to be etched 18 in a compact manner.
The size can be reduced to 0, the amount of etchant can be reduced, and the cost can be reduced.

In the above embodiment, the vertical movement of the holder 12 is vibration, but it may be simple vertical movement instead of vibration. Further, the holder 12 is not limited to one that supports the material to be etched 18 in a standing posture, and may be one that supports a material in a horizontal posture.

A drain valve is provided on the bottom wall of the etching bath 10 to circulate the etchant outside the etching bath 10 to control the etchant temperature.
More stable etching can be performed.

Further, it can be applied not only to semiconductors but also to other fields. For example, it may be a liquid-processed plating, an engraving, or the like.

[0015]

According to the etching apparatus of the present invention, a plurality of materials to be etched are supported by the holder and placed in the etching tank, so that a plurality of materials to be etched can be etched at the same time, and the holder is repeatedly rotated by the driving means. Further, since the etchant is moved up and down, the etchant in the etching tank is sufficiently agitated, and the etching can be uniformly performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a holder according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Etching Tank 12 Holder 14 Supporting Part 18 Etching Material

Claims (1)

Claim: What is claimed is: 1. An etching bath, a holder having a support portion provided in the etching bath and capable of supporting a plurality of materials to be etched, and the holder being repeatedly rotated in the etching bath. An etching apparatus comprising a driving means for moving up and down.