JPS62281334A - Semiconductor device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a semiconductor device having an extremely fine structure to be water washed and dried with less contamination of the surface, by connecting adjacent chip regions at one or more positions on scribed lines surrounding the chip regions or opposing adiacent chip regions across narrow gaps. CONSTITUTION:Adjacent chip regions are connected to each other at one or more positions on scribed lines 31 of the chip regions upon completion of a field isolating process, even if the minimum working size of a field pattern is 2 mum or below. Alternatively, adjacent chip regions may be opposed across a narrow gap of 10 mum or below, When a semiconductor device having such a construction is lifted out of a water-washing tank, any water drops on the device will be connected to each other over the surface of field oxide films 2 through bridging portions between the adjacent chip regions. The water drops are moved easily by an air pressure of dry air and grow to larger drops. These water drops are blown off by the air pressure together with various contaminants left therein. Therefore, the surface of the semiconductor device is freed of residual contaminant.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] This invention relates to a semiconductor device, and particularly in the case where the field pattern has an ultra-fine structure with a minimum feature size of 2 μm or less, surface contamination can be avoided. This invention relates to a semiconductor device that can be washed and dried with less water.

[Prior Art] FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a conventional ff1LsI semiconductor device, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 4.

In the figure, a field oxide 112 made of silicon dioxide is formed on the surface of a silicon wafer 1, and this field oxide 112 is formed by the LOCO8 method in most cases in ultra-LSI level semiconductor devices such as the one targeted here. Ru. Scribe lines 30 are provided in a grid pattern on the field oxide film 2, and each area (area within the point 111c) surrounded by the scribe lines 3° indicates a chip area. A field pattern (not shown) is formed in the interior 111 of the surface of the field oxide film 2 in a shape necessary for the actual arrangement of the LSI circuit. The scribe line 30 is the ff1Ls I semiconductor device.
At the initial stage of the IJ fabrication process, 50 to 20
It is provided by exposing the surface of the silicon wafer 1 without forming a field oxide film with a width of approximately 0 μm.

The scribe line 30 corresponds to a region where cuts are made with a laser or diamond rotating tooth or the like when cutting out each chip after the wafer process is finally completed.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] As described above, in the conventional semiconductor device, each chip area is already surrounded by the scribe line 30 at the stage of forming the field pattern. When the device is washed with water and dried as required for device manufacturing, the surface of the silicon wafer 1 is a hydrophobic surface that is difficult to get wet with water, whereas the field oxide film 2 is a hydrophilic silicon dioxide surface that is easily wetted with water. , when the semiconductor III was pulled up from the washing tank, the water caused field oxidation l1 as shown in Figure 6.
Water droplets 4 adhere to the surface of 2 as independent water droplets 4 for each chip area. Semiconductor devices that have gotten wet in this way will continue to be damaged.
For example, it is placed in a spin dryer R1 that uses centrifugal force and is dried by blowing off water droplets 4. However, the inventor conducted repeated experiments on LSI silicon wafers with various minimum processing dimensions for field patterns, and found that For LSI silicon wafers with processing dimensions larger than 2μ, the proportion of water that adheres to the surface as independent water droplets 4 for each chip area is I'!, as shown in FIG. ? ! F¥1 can be blown away by centrifugal force. However, as the minimum processing size of field patterns becomes finer from 2 μm to the submicron 11 range, the surface adsorption force between water droplets and field oxide 1142m rapidly increases, and even in spin drying, water droplets Instead of being blown away and dried as in the case of LSI silicon wafers with dimensions larger than 2μ thin, most of the water droplets are removed from each chip gtti! as shown in FIG. ! It turned out that each piece can be left to dry naturally on the spot. As a result, regarding the Wt purity of the semiconductor device surface after final drying, when the minimum feature size of the field pattern is 2μ layer or less, it is much more contaminated than when the minimum feature size of the field pattern is larger than 2μ layer. There was a fatal problem in that this resulted in a large amount of contamination, which became the main cause of contamination in subsequent processes.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is very simple! An object of the present invention is to obtain a semiconductor device having an Il structure that can be washed and dried with less surface contamination.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A semiconductor device according to the present invention includes a silicon wafer and a field oxide film formed on the surface of the silicon wafer. In a semiconductor device provided with scribe lines, adjacent chips *[ are arranged in a row or face each other with a narrow gap in at least 1111 locations of the scribe lines around each chip region.

[Function] In the present invention, adjacent chip regions are connected to each other or face each other with a narrow gap in at least one location of the scribe line around each chip region. Water droplets adhering to the surface are connected over the entire surface of the field oxide film through the tank-crossing portion or narrow gap portion between adjacent chip regions.

In the drying process of semiconductor devices, when centrifugal force or wind pressure is applied to these connected water droplets, the water droplets easily flow and grow into large water droplets. It is blown away from the semiconductor device β surface. Therefore, even if the minimum processing size of the field pattern is very small, it is possible to wash and dry the semiconductor device with less surface contamination.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In the description of this embodiment, the description of parts that overlap with the description of the conventional technology will be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a semiconductor device which is an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 31 indicates a scribe line. In conventional semiconductor devices, even if the minimum processing size of the field pattern is 2 μm or less, the periphery of each chip region after the field separation process is completed is a scribe line 30 where the surface of the silicon wafer 1 is completely exposed. However, in this embodiment (1), adjacent chip regions are connected at each corner of each chip region by being bridged by a field oxide film. Accordingly, when this semiconductor device is washed with water and dried, the water droplets that adhere to the surface of the semiconductor device when the semiconductor device U is pulled out of the washing tank are separate water droplets for each chip area, as in the case of conventional semiconductor devices. Therefore, the water droplets attached to each chip area are transferred to the field oxide film 2 through the II transition area between adjacent chip areas.
It becomes connected over the entire surface. Therefore, in the next drying process, when a force parallel to the surface of the semiconductor device is applied to these connected water droplets, such as centrifugal force in spin drying or wind pressure of blown nitrogen or dry air, the surface of the field oxide film 2 is The attached water droplets flow easily and grow into large water droplets I\. In this way,
When this water droplet becomes larger than the adhesion area between the water droplet and the field oxide film 2, the centrifugal force and wind pressure applied to the whole water droplet become large, so that the water droplet eventually continues to be a water droplet from the edge of the semiconductor device, and inside the water droplet. It is blown away along with various dirt remaining on the surface of the semiconductor device, so that no contaminants remain on the surface of the semiconductor device.

Also, when a force parallel to the surface of the semiconductor device is applied to the water droplet,
Since water droplets have a strong tendency to move along the scribe line 31, it is most effective to arrange the bridging parts at the four corners of each chip area as in this embodiment. The field oxide film may be arranged at at least one place around the periphery of the field oxide film, and instead of making the adjacent chip regions completely continuous with the field oxide film, the field oxide film may be arranged with a narrow gap that can be considered continuous considering the surface tension of water. Adjacent chip regions may also face each other. According to the experimental results, this narrow gap is 10 μm.
It has been found that the following is sufficient.

In addition, when adjacent chip areas are connected at the four corners of each chip area as in the above embodiment, scribe grooves 5 are formed in the semiconductor device as shown in FIG. 2 in order to finally divide it into chips. When put in, field oxidation l
Since 12 is quite hard and brittle, cracks 6 may occur in the field oxidation m2 above the scribe grooves 5, and there is a risk that the reliability of the chip will be lost. To avoid this, one method is to avoid arranging circuit elements that would be affected by Precept 6 near the portion II. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 3A, a field oxide film may be formed on both sides of the scribe groove 5 without completely connecting the adjacent chip regions with the field oxide film.
It is also effective to leave a narrow gap of 10 μm or less in the cut portion.

By doing this, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the scribe groove 5 is finally cut, cracks 6 in the field oxide film 2 can be avoided.
does not have any adverse effect on the inside of the chip area, and in the worst case, the effect can be prevented by this narrow gap.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, llj
! ! Since the adjacent chip areas are connected or face each other with a narrow gap, the water droplets that adhere to the surface of each chip area during washing grow into large water droplets during the drying process, and the force applied to the water droplets is large. This large water droplet is then blown away from the surface of the semiconductor device. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a semiconductor device having an ultrafine structure that can be washed and dried with less surface contamination, and high yield and quality can be achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a semiconductor device 2 which is an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a T cross-sectional view showing cracks that occur in the field oxide film during scribe groove processing in the semiconductor device of FIG. 1. FIG. 3A is a sectional view showing a semiconductor device according to another embodiment of the invention. FIG. 38 is a sectional view showing a seed in which the adverse effects of cracks generated in the field oxide film during scribe groove processing in the semiconductor device of FIG. 3A are prevented by a narrow gap. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a conventional VLSI semiconductor device. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line A-AJI in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing how water droplets adhere to the surface of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 4. In the figure, 1 is a silicon wafer, 2 is a field oxide film, 30, 31 is a scribe line, 4 is a water drop, 5 is a scribe groove, and 6 is an imprint. Note that the same reference numerals in each figure indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (4)

[Claims] (1) In a semiconductor device comprising a silicon wafer and a field oxide film formed on the surface of the silicon wafer, and in which the field oxide film is provided with scribe lines for partitioning into a large number of chip regions, the periphery of each chip region. A semiconductor device, wherein the adjacent chip regions are connected to each other or face each other with a narrow gap interposed therebetween at at least one location of the scribe line. (2) The scribe lines are provided in a grid pattern, and the adjacent chip regions are connected to each other at intersections of the scribe lines or face each other with a narrow gap between them. The semiconductor device described. (3) The semiconductor device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the narrow gap is 10 μm or less. (4) The semiconductor device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a minimum processing dimension of a field pattern of the semiconductor device is 2 μm or less.