JPS59195647A - Device for washing exposure mask - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the mask of which washing has been finished from the following contamination by installing plural purified gas blowing devices for introducing the gases from different directions to a zone including a housing station and a conveying route. CONSTITUTION:An automatic mask washing device 6 comprises an automatic dust detecting station.a station for automatically housing the mask 2 into a protective case 1, vessels 3a, 3b for washing the mask 2, a washing chemical soln. feeder 4, a mask conveying means 5, and a clean flow device. This device is composed of a down-flow type clean unit 7 for forcing the flow direction from the upper part to the lower part throughout the zone where the mask 2 is present, and a cross-flow type clean unit 8 for forcing the flow direction forward from the rear part, a purified air flow passed through a filter incorporated in the unit 8 is made composite, and the range of the mask 2 especially necessary to be kept clean is prevented from being again contaminated there with dust suspending in the space where the mask 2 is present.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning reticle masks and other exposure masks (hereinafter collectively referred to as masks) used in reduction projection optical equipment in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices. It is something.

Conventionally, the common method for cleaning masks is the wet friction cleaning method, which is used to maintain indoor cleanliness in order to prevent the cleaned masks from becoming contaminated again by indoor dust. The emphasis was on Continuous automatic cleaning equipment also mechanizes this cleaning method, automatically setting the cleaning process, transporting the mask, and supplying cleaning chemicals.

It is necessary to install this device to improve the cleanliness of a certain room, and to create a forced wind direction in some areas to prevent masks from being recontaminated by indoor dust.

In these conventional methods, measures to protect the mask after cleaning from being recontaminated by floating dust and the like have been limited to local measures. In the first place, no matter how clean a room is, it is impossible to always keep it completely free of floating dust. Therefore, it can be said that the mask is always on the verge of being recontaminated, not only before cleaning but also after cleaning. In particular, since a reticle mask becomes unusable even if a single piece of dust adheres to it, it is necessary to avoid contamination from floating dust. Nevertheless,
Due to the wide variety of floating dust locations, floating conditions, etc., it is difficult to take absolute measures to predict and control its trends, and as mentioned above, there are incomplete countermeasures. It stayed in.

An object of the present invention is to provide a mask cleaning device that can prevent a mask that has been cleaned using the device from being recontaminated, regardless of whether it is a manual or automatic mask cleaning device. do.

The exposure mask cleaning apparatus of the present invention includes a cleaning tank for an exposure mask, a storage section for the mask, a transport device that moves the mask along a transport path between the cleaning tank and the storage section, and at least the storage section and the storage section. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a plurality of clean gas blowing devices that flow clean gas from different directions across the conveyance path.

According to the present invention, clean gas can be flowed in the required direction from a plurality of clean gas blowing devices, so that clean gas can be flowed into every corner of the cleaning device, especially where it is needed, such as the mask storage area and the transport path. It can be filled with clean gas and any floating dust can be quickly expelled to the outside of the device. Therefore, the cleaned mask can be stored in the protective case of the storage part in clean air, and re-contamination of the mask can be effectively prevented.

As an embodiment of the present invention, a clean gas blowing device is provided with a combination of a downflow (vertical blowing) type clean unit and a crossflow (horizontal blowing) type clean unit, and the cleaning device is provided with a clean flow function having multiple wind directions. The case will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

That is, the automatic mask cleaning device 6 of this embodiment includes a self-made dust detection section-mask protective case storage section 1, cleaning tank sections 3a and 3b of the mask 2, a cleaning chemical supply section 4, a mask transport section 5, and It consists of a clean flow (clean gas blowing) device.

The clean 70-device includes a down 70-type clean unit 7 that forces the wind direction from the top to the bottom over the entire area where the mask 2 is present, and a down 70-type clean unit 7 that forces the wind direction from the rear to the front (direction of the work surface). Forced cross 70
- type clean unit 8 in combination. In this clean flow device, the flow of clean air that has passed through the filter built into the clean unit is combined, and the dust floating in the area where the mask 2 is present is removed from the area where it is necessary to maintain the cleanliness of the mask. A clean 70 function is provided to prevent re-contamination.

In this embodiment, as described above, the automatic cleaning device was explained as the basis, but even in a manual machine in which each of these components is independent, the clean function of the present invention having multiple air directions can be achieved. It is obvious that it is possible to maintain this. Furthermore, depending on the specificity of the components, the mounting angles of the downflow type unit 7 and the crossflow type IJ-type unit 8 may be slightly changed to ensure that the combined wind direction is the most effective for removing floating dust. It is obvious that the respirator can also be configured to protect the mask from re-contamination, and that such modifications fall within the scope of the present invention.

Although the above embodiment describes the case where two clean units are used, it is not necessary to use two clean units, and by providing two air outlets in one clean unit, the same effect as in the above embodiment can be achieved. As explained above, the present invention provides the mask cleaning device VC2 with the following effects.
By locally creating or combining two or more clean flows, for example, by creating a clean function that has a combination of downflow and crossflow wind directions, the type, size, location and It is possible to most effectively expel dust in various states such as floating state from the device, and to exhibit the effect of preventing the mask from being re-contaminated by the floating dust.

By using a mask that has been cleanly cleaned using a mask cleaning device that maintains this function, it is possible to dramatically improve the yield rate of manufactured semiconductor devices. Therefore, it can be said that the practical effects of the present invention are extremely large.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figure is a perspective view showing one embodiment of the present invention. 1...Automatic dust detection section/mask protective case storage section, 2...Mask, 3a, 3b...Cleaning tank section, 4...For cleaning Chemical solution supply section, 5...
...Mask transport section, 6...Mask automatic cleaning device, 7...Down 70-! clean unit,
8...Cross flow type clean unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] a cleaning tank for a mask for illumination, a storage section for the mask, a transport device for moving the mask along a transport path between the cleaning tank and the storage section, and cleaning from different directions across at least the storage section and the transport path. A cleaning device for an exposure mask, comprising a plurality of clean gas blowing devices for flowing gas.