JPS609128A - Method for surface cleaning of article to be processed in vacuum processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable to completely remove the adhered dust on a wafer before performing each process by a method wherein the dust adhered on the article to be processed is removed by blasting gas on the surface of the article to be processed simultaneously with the evacuation of a vacuum processing device which will be performed before processing. CONSTITUTION:A door 6 is closed after a wafer 10 has been completely set, a preparatory chamber 1 is evacuated by opening a valve 6, and gas is supplied to the preparatory chamber 1 for a fixed period from a pipe 4 by opening a valve 7 at the same time when said evacuation is performed or immediately before the evacuation. The supplied gas is blasted to the surface of the wafer 10, and the surface of the wafer 10 is completely cleaned up. At this time, the flow up dust is absorbed by a vacuum and exhausted from a pipe 3. Subsequently, the valve 7 is closed, the door 9 is opened, the wafer 10 is inserted to a processing chamber 2, the door 9 is closed, and a processing is performed. Thus, gas is blasted simultaneously with the evacuation of the vacuum processing device, and the dust blown off by the gas is absorbed and exhausted by a vacuum, thereby enabling to perform a complete cleaning of the article to be processed before performing a process without having manual help.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a method for cleaning the surface of a workpiece.

Background of the technology In recent years, as LSI technology has progressed and the integration of devices has progressed, the presence of dust on processed products such as wafers and mask dry plates has become a major factor in determining the yield rate of device manufacturing. ing. Further, each device for manufacturing elements is automated, and contamination due to manual intervention is avoided, but since the devices are connected by a long-distance transport mechanism, the adhesion of dust during transport cannot be ignored.

On the other hand, most of the various process processes include etching, film growth, and other processes in vacuum.

Conventional technology and problems When conventionally manufacturing objects to be processed such as seed elements, the objects to be processed are manually cleaned in advance, but this work is troublesome and it is difficult to completely remove attached dust. It was difficult to do so. Moreover, even if complete cleaning is possible, as mentioned above, dust may adhere to the conveyor lines and structures connecting the apparatuses during conveyance, so additional countermeasures are required.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned problems, and provides a method for cleaning the surface of a processed object in a vacuum processing apparatus, which can reliably remove adhering dust before processing in each process without requiring human labor. is intended to provide.

Structure of the Invention The purpose of this invention is to remove dust on the surface of a workpiece set in a vacuum processing apparatus by blowing gas onto the surface of the workpiece set in a vacuum processing apparatus, coinciding with the evacuation period before processing in the apparatus. This can be achieved by configuring it as follows.

Examples of the invention The invention will now be described in detail in conjunction with the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an outline of a wafer processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied, and in the figure, 1 is a preparation room and 2 is a wafer processing sieve.

The preparation chamber 1 is connected adjacent to the processing chamber 2 and is connected to a vacuum source via a pipe 5 and to a gas supply source such as dry N2 or dry air via a pipe 4.

The processing chamber 2 is connected to a vacuum source via a pipe 5.

6.7 is a valve with OFF & +5 action.

The wafer 10 is first set in the preparation chamber 1 as shown in the figure, but the insertion of the wafer 10 into the preparation chamber 1 is as follows.
This is done by opening the door 8 provided in the preparation room 1. wafer 10
After completing the setting, the door 6 is closed and the valve 6 is opened to evacuate the preparation chamber 1. At the same time as this evacuation, or just before that, the valve 7 is opened to supply a constant amount of gas into the preparation chamber 1 from the pipe 4. Supply time. The supplied gas is blown onto the surface of the wafer 10 as shown by the arrow line in the figure, and the surface of the wafer 10 is reliably swept. The dust thrown up at this time is sucked up by a vacuum and discharged through the pipe 3. Thereafter, the pulp 7 is closed, the door 9 is opened, the wafer 10 is inserted into the processing chamber 2, the door 9 is closed, and processing is performed. In addition,
The inside of the processing chamber 2 is evacuated, and the processing is performed in vacuum.

When supplying new wafers into the preparation chamber 1, open the valve 7 to break the vacuum in the preparation chamber 1, and then open the valve 18.
8 and supply.

A time chart of the above-mentioned wafer processing step is shown in FIG. A is the setting time of the wafer, B is the time required for gas flow from the pipe 4, C is the evacuation time in the preparation chamber 1, D is the time for inserting the wafer from the preparation chamber 1 into the processing chamber 2, E indicates the wafer processing time in the processing chamber 2, respectively.

In this example, an example has been described in which the vacuum break gas is sprayed onto the wafer before processing at the same time as the evacuation period, but cleaning gas may be sprayed separately from the vacuum break gas.

Moving bed of the invention As described above, according to the present invention, gas is applied to the surface of a workpiece, such as a wafer, set in a vacuum processing apparatus, overlapping the evacuation period before processing in the apparatus. The dust blown away by this gas is sucked into the vacuum.

Since it is discharged, it is possible to reliably clean the items to be processed before processing without requiring any manual labor. Moreover, if such processing is performed before processing in each process, it is possible to solve the problem of dust adhesion during transportation between each carcass.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the method for cleaning the surface of a workpiece in a vacuum processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a front view showing an overview of the vacuum processing apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a time chart of the processing steps. In the figure, 1 is a preparation room, 2 is a wafer processing chamber, 3, 4.5 is a pipe, 6, 7 is a valve, 8, 9 is a door, and 1o is a wafer (product to be processed). Patent Applicant: Fujitsu Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Kugobe Tamaaki (1 other person) Figure 1 Figure 21 Figure 11-F Yukai

Claims (1)

[Claims] Vacuum processing characterized by blowing gas onto the surface of an item to be processed set in a vacuum processing apparatus to coincide with the evacuation period in the apparatus to remove dust on the surface of the item to be processed. A method for cleaning the surface of a workpiece in an apparatus.