JPH11195635A - Semiconductor wafer cleaning and drying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove wash water through evaporation by heating the water, by applying a centrifugal force to the water, and so on, by providing a blow pipe for blowing an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, etc., upon the surface of a semiconductor wafer above a semiconductor wafer placing section. SOLUTION: A vertical shaft 2 which is rotated by means of a motor, etc., is inserted into a cover container 1 having an opened top through a bottom plate 1a of the container 1 and a vacuum suction type spin chuck 4 is attached to the upper end of the shaft 2. Above the spin chuck 4, an injection nozzle 5 is provided for spraying wash water such as pure water, etc., upon the surface of a semiconductor wafer 3 placed on the chuck 4. On the other hand, a blow pipe 7 through which an inert gas such as nitrogen gas, etc., is blown upon the surface of the wafer 3 is extended toward the central part of the wafer 3 from the outside of the wafer 3, and the base-side end of the pipe 7 is pivotally attached to the internal surface of the container 1 so that the pipe 7 may be rotated freely by means of a pin section 8.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning and drying the surface of a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, when fabricating an integrated circuit chip using a semiconductor wafer, the surface of the semiconductor wafer is cleaned each time various types of surface processing such as various types of film formation are performed. After that, it is necessary to dry, but in one device for cleaning and drying, the vertical axis on which the semiconductor wafer is placed horizontally at the upper end is placed in a cover container having an open upper surface, The bottom surface of the semiconductor wafer was inserted through, and the surface was rotated while rotating the semiconductor wafer on the vertical axis, and the surface was washed while the washing water sprayed on the surface was shaken off by the centrifugal force, and then dried. There is something.

[0003]

However, since the conventional cleaning / drying apparatus performs the cleaning / drying in the air, the moisture adhering to the surface of the semiconductor wafer during cleaning is heated and evaporated and centrifuged. By absorbing oxygen in the atmosphere before being removed by force, etc.,
There is a problem that dry stains occur on the surface of the semiconductor wafer.

In order to solve this problem, the cover container in the above-mentioned cleaning / drying apparatus may be closed and the inside thereof may be set to an atmosphere of an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. In this case, not only is it extremely troublesome to take the semiconductor wafer into and out of the cover container, but also there is a problem that the amount of use of an inert gas such as nitrogen gas increases.

[0005] The present invention provides a cleaning and cleaning method which solves these problems.
It is a technical object to provide a drying device.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a cover container having an open upper surface, wherein a rotating longitudinal axis is inserted through a bottom plate of the cover container. At the upper end of the vertical axis, a mounting part for the semiconductor wafer is provided,
In the cleaning / drying apparatus having a nozzle for jetting cleaning water for the surface of the semiconductor wafer disposed above the semiconductor wafer mounting portion, the nitrogen for the surface of the semiconductor wafer may be mounted above the semiconductor wafer mounting portion. A blow pipe for inert gas such as gas is provided. ".

[0007]

In this configuration, when cleaning is performed by spraying cleaning water on the surface of a semiconductor wafer while rotating the semiconductor wafer, the cleaning is performed substantially simultaneously with or before or after the completion. The surface of the semiconductor wafer is blown with an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas from a blow pipe to bring the surface of the semiconductor wafer into an atmosphere of an inert gas such as a nitrogen gas and contact the atmosphere with oxygen. The washing water can be removed by heat evaporation and centrifugal force, etc., in a state where the gas is blocked, and the inert gas such as the nitrogen gas is blown onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer by a blow pipe. Therefore, the amount of use of the inert gas such as the nitrogen gas can be reduced.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the occurrence of dry stain on the surface of a semiconductor wafer during cleaning and drying can be prevented by taking the semiconductor wafer into and out of the cover container easily, and also by removing nitrogen gas or the like. This has the effect of reliably reducing the amount of inert gas used.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In this figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a cover container having an open top surface, and a vertical axis 2 rotated by a motor or the like (not shown) is inserted through the bottom plate 1a of the cover container 1 inside the cover container 1. ,
At the upper end of the vertical axis 2, a vacuum chuck spin chuck 4 on which the semiconductor wafer 3 is placed horizontally is mounted.

Above the spin chuck 4, the semiconductor wafer 3 mounted on the upper surface of the spin chuck 4 is provided.
While a jet nozzle 5 for spraying cleaning water such as pure water on the surface of the cover container 1 is provided, a discharge port 6 for cleaning water is provided in the bottom plate 1a of the cover container 1. Reference numeral 7 denotes a blow tube for blowing an inert gas such as nitrogen gas to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3, and the blow tube 7 is disposed at a substantially center of the semiconductor wafer 3 from outside the semiconductor wafer 3. 2, the base end thereof is rotatably pivotally connected to the inner surface of the cover container 1 with a pin 8 so that the upper portion of the semiconductor wafer 3 (this position is indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2). ) And a position distant in the outer peripheral direction of the semiconductor wafer 3 (this position is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2). The ejection ports 7a are formed in a row.

In this configuration, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG.
After the semiconductor wafer 3 is placed, the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3 is cleaned by spraying cleaning water from the ejection nozzle 5 while rotating the semiconductor wafer 3.

When this cleaning is completed,
Alternatively, before or after the completion, the blow tube 7 is
As shown by a solid line, the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3 is blown with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas from the blow pipe 7 to the surface of the semiconductor wafer 3. The washing water can be removed by heat evaporation and centrifugal force in an atmosphere of an inert gas such as nitrogen gas while preventing contact with oxygen in the atmosphere.

In this case, since the inert gas such as nitrogen gas only needs to be blown onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer by a blow pipe, the cover container is closed and the inside is filled with the inert gas. As compared with the case, the amount of the inert gas used can be reduced, and the semiconductor wafer can be easily taken in and out of the cover container. As described above, the blow pipe 7 extends from the outside of the semiconductor wafer 3 toward the approximate center of the semiconductor wafer 3, and a plurality of gas outlets 7a are bored in a row. Since the inert gas can be supplied almost uniformly to the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer by configuring the semiconductor wafer, the amount of the inert gas used can be further reduced,
Further, the blow tube 7 is positioned at a position above the semiconductor wafer 3 (this position is indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2) and at a position separated in the outer peripheral direction of the semiconductor wafer 3 (this position is indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2). (Shown) can be prevented from obstructing the blow tube 7 when the semiconductor wafer 3 is attached to or detached from the spin chuck 4.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cover container 2 Vertical axis 3 Semiconductor wafer 4 Spin chuck 5 Cleaning water jet nozzle 7 Inert gas blow pipe

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotating vertical axis is inserted through a bottom plate of the cover container into a cover container having an open upper surface, and a mounting portion for a semiconductor wafer is provided at an upper end of the vertical axis. A cleaning / drying device comprising a nozzle for jetting cleaning water for the surface of the semiconductor wafer disposed above the mounting portion, wherein a nitrogen gas or the like for the surface of the semiconductor wafer is disposed above the semiconductor wafer mounting portion. An apparatus for cleaning and drying a semiconductor wafer, comprising an injection nozzle for an inert gas.