JPS642438Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to a wafer processing apparatus, particularly in the semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing process. It relates to a processing device.

Generally, these devices have a structure as shown in FIG. That is, inside one outer tank 1, there is another sealed inner tank 2. On the upper plate of the inner tank 2,
A fountain head 3 that emits water is attached, and the circulating fluid 6 that fills up the inner tank 2 is spouted out from the fountain head 3. A discharge port 7 of a pump 4 that circulates a circulating fluid 6 is connected to the inner tank 2 . After the circulating fluid 6 sprayed from the fountain head 3 comes into contact with the wafer 12, the circulating fluid 6 is discharged from the drain port of the outer tank 1.
The water is collected in a holding tank 5. The recovered circulating fluid 6 is supplied to the inner tank 2 again through the pump 4.
These mechanisms had the following disadvantages.

If the suction side piping of the pump becomes loose or the circulating fluid 6 is replaced, the air remaining inside the pump 4 or in the piping enters this inner tank 2 and eventually flows into the fountain head 3.
It gushes out in the form of bubbles. These bubbles adhere to the wafer surface, and the plating liquid,
Since chemical liquid etc. do not enter, plating or chemical conversion does not occur, which has a large effect on wafer processing. It is difficult to completely remove such air bubbles from the circulating fluid 6, and the more frequently the circulating fluid 6 is replaced, the more air tends to remain in the pipes, pumps, etc., and has an adverse effect.

The present invention is intended to eliminate the above drawbacks.

Since it is quite difficult to completely prevent air or bubbles from entering the circulation system, the present invention prevents the air bubbles from passing through the fountain head 3.

The structure is as follows. A cup 8 in the shape of an inverted funnel is attached directly above the discharge port 7 from the pump 4 attached to the lower part of the inner tank 2.

The top of the cup 8 is attached to the inside of the upper plate of the inner tank 2, and an air vent hole 10 is made therein. This hole 1
0 is installed at a position slightly shifted from the discharge port 7 from the pump. The hole diameter of the extraction hole 10 varies depending on the amount of the circulating fluid 6, the discharge amount of the pump 4, and the like. The circulating fluid 6 containing air or bubbles enters the inner tank 2 from the discharge port of the pump 4, but once it hits the cup, the buoyant air and bubbles float to the surface, and the circulating fluid 6 enters the inner tank 2 from the bottom of the cup. spread. Since the tip of the cup 8 is tapered, the air bubbles float along the tip and are finally released from the punch hole 10. At this time, the circulating fluid 6 also comes out mixed with air bubbles, but since the diameter of the vent hole 10 is small, the amount of fluid discharged therefrom does not matter. The purpose of shifting the positions of the vent hole 10 and the discharge port 7 from the pump 4 is to efficiently remove air bubbles, and to prevent the circulating fluid 6 from spouting out in a larger amount than the vent hole 10 directly above the discharge port 7. It is for.

Next, as an example, a chemical conversion apparatus will be specifically explained.

The chemical conversion equipment has a structure as shown in Figure 2. There is a pump 4 that circulates the chemical liquid 9, and a discharge port 7 is attached to the lower part of the inner tank 2. A cup 8 is attached above the discharge port 7 with a distance of about 10 mm. The cup 8 has a shape as shown in FIG. 3, and is large enough to cover the discharge port 7 and has a taper at the top to cause air bubbles to float above the cup. Those bubbles are pushed out by the chemical liquid 9 discharged from below, and at the same time due to their own buoyancy,
It erupts from 0. Also, most of the chemical liquid 9 is cup 8.
After entering the tank, it comes out through the gap between the discharge port 7 and the cup 8 and flows into the inner tank 2.

The distance between the discharge port 7 and the cup 8 is determined by the amount of chemical liquid 9 and the size of the inner tank 2. Therefore, the chemical liquid 9 discharged from the fountain head 3 with which the wafer 12 comes into contact does not contain air bubbles, and there is no need for air bubbles to adhere to the wafer.

The present invention is effective not only for chemical forming equipment, but also for all equipment such as plating equipment, etching equipment, etc., which have a mechanism as shown in Fig. 1.

It is particularly effective in microfabrication processing where even the smallest bubbles would have an adverse effect if attached to the wafer.

Incidentally, the cup 8 and the upper plate of the inner tank 2 have a hole 10 in the cup 8 which is a male screw, and is fixed with a nut 11. Moreover, if the discharge port 7 from the pump 4 is raised up into the cup 8 as shown in FIG. 3, air bubbles will be less likely to escape into the inner tank, making it even more effective.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a mechanism with a fountain function, FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a wafer processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a cup according to an embodiment of the present invention. be. In the figure, 1...outer tank, 2...inner tank, 3
... Fountain head, 4 ... Pump, 5 ... Holding tank, 6 ... Circulating fluid, 7 ... Discharge port, 8 ... Cup, 9 ... Chemical liquid, 10 ... Spout hole, 11 ...
... Nut, 12... It's a wafer.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In the semiconductor integrated circuit manufacturing process, the wafer processing equipment processes the wafer surface by turning the wafer upside down and spouting plating liquid, chemical liquid, etc. from below, and the discharge port of the pump in the inner tank installed inside the equipment. A funnel-shaped cup was attached upside down on top of the cup, the top of the cup was taken out from the top plate of the inner tank, an air vent hole was provided there, and air was vented through the air vent hole, allowing the air to enter the circulating fluid. Wafer processing equipment that has a bubble removal function that removes bubbles or air from the point where it is sprayed.