KR101042320B1 - Apparatus and method of treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention discloses a substrate processing apparatus and method, wherein the substrate is chucked by applying different sound pressures to the substrate depending on the contact position of the polishing pad on the substrate.

According to this feature, the polishing uniformity of the substrate can be improved by minimizing the deformation of the substrate due to the vacuum chucking pressure.

CMP, Vacuum Chucking, Negative Pressure, Ejector, Electro-Pneumatic Regulator

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD OF TREATING SUBSTRATE}

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for manufacturing a semiconductor, and more particularly, to an apparatus and a method for polishing and cleaning a substrate in a single sheet method.

In general, a semiconductor device manufacturing process must repeatedly perform a plurality of unit processes such as a deposition process, a photo process, and an etching process to form and stack thin films. These processes are repeated until the desired circuit pattern is formed on the wafer, and after the circuit pattern is formed, a lot of bending occurs on the surface of the wafer. In recent years, as semiconductor devices become highly integrated, their structures are multilayered, and the number of bends on the surface of the wafer and the step between them are increasing. Unplanarization of the wafer surface causes problems such as defocus in the photolithography process, and thus the wafer surface must be polished periodically to planarize the surface of the wafer.

Various surface planarization techniques are used to planarize the surface of the wafer, but among them, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus that can obtain excellent flatness not only for narrow areas but also for wide areas is mainly used. The chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is an apparatus for polishing a surface of a wafer coated with tungsten, an oxide, or the like by mechanical friction and polishing with a chemical abrasive, and enables very fine polishing.

In addition, as semiconductor devices become more dense, highly integrated, and higher in performance, miniaturization of circuit patterns proceeds rapidly, and contaminants such as particles, organic contaminants, and metal contaminants remaining on the substrate surface have a great effect on device characteristics and production yield. Get mad. For this reason, a cleaning process for removing various contaminants adhering to the substrate surface is very important in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and the substrate cleaning process is performed at the front and rear stages of each unit process for semiconductor manufacturing.

The present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and method that can improve the polishing uniformity of a substrate.

The objects of the present invention are not limited thereto, and other objects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

In order to achieve the above object, a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate support unit on which a substrate is placed and rotatable; And a polishing unit for polishing the substrate placed on the substrate support unit, wherein the substrate support unit comprises: a support plate having a plurality of vacuum suction holes formed on a surface on which the substrate is placed; An air ejector in fluid communication with the vacuum suction holes of the support plate; And an electro-pneumatic regulator for adjusting the flow rate of air, which is supplied to the air ejector for generating a negative pressure inside the air ejector.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention having the configuration as described above, the support plate includes a first region in which the vacuum suction holes are formed and a second region in which the vacuum suction holes are not formed on the support plate. When the polishing unit is located on the first area or the second area, the control unit may further include a control unit for controlling the operation of the electric regulator so that different sound pressures act on the substrate.

The vacuum suction holes may be formed along an edge region of the support plate to form an annular arrangement.

In order to achieve the above object, the substrate processing method according to the present invention, in the method of processing the substrate in a single-leaf method, vacuum chucking the substrate on the support plate, and polishing the substrate by contacting the substrate with a polishing pad, Chucking the substrate by applying different sound pressures to the substrate, depending on the contact position of the polishing pad on the substrate.

In the substrate processing method according to the present invention having the configuration as described above, the substrate is a first region located above the region where the vacuum suction holes are formed on the support plate, and the region where the vacuum suction holes are not formed on the support plate And a second region located at an upper portion of the substrate, and when the polishing pad is positioned in the first region or the second region, the substrate may be chucked by applying different sound pressures to the substrate.

When the polishing pad is positioned in the first region than when the polishing pad is positioned in the second region, a smaller sound pressure may be applied to the substrate.

According to the present invention, deformation of the substrate due to the vacuum chucking pressure can be minimized.

And according to this invention, a board | substrate can be polished uniformly.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus and a method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, in adding reference numerals to the components of each drawing, it should be noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to the same components as much as possible, even if shown on different drawings. In the following description of the present invention, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may make the subject matter of the present invention rather unclear.

(Example)

1 is a plan view illustrating an example of a substrate processing apparatus.

Referring to FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is for polishing and cleaning a substrate, and includes a process facility 10 and a facility front end module 20. The process equipment 10 performs a process of polishing and cleaning the substrate in a sheet-fed manner. The facility front end module 20 is mounted in front of the process facility 10 and transfers the substrate between the vessel C in which the substrates are accommodated and the process facility 10.

The facility front end module 20 has a plurality of load ports 22 and a frame 24. The load ports 22 are arranged side by side in one direction, and the frame 24 is located between the load ports 22 and the process equipment 10.

The vessel C containing the substrate is placed on the load port 22 by a transfer means (not shown), such as an overhead transfer, an overhead conveyor, or an automatic guided vehicle. Is placed on. The container C may be a sealed container such as a front open unified pod (FOUP).

The frame robot 25 and a door opener (not shown) are installed in the frame 24. The frame robot 25 moves along the first transfer rail 26 and transfers the substrate between the vessel C placed in the load port 22 and the process equipment 10. The door opener (not shown) opens and closes the door of the container C automatically.

The frame 24 may be provided with a fan filter unit (not shown) for supplying clean air into the frame 24 such that clean air flows in a downward air flow.

The process facility 10 includes a plurality of process processors 100, 200, and 300. The process processing units 100, 200, and 300 are used for polishing and cleaning the substrate, and are divided into the substrate transfer unit 100, the buffer unit 200, and the polishing-cleaner 300 according to a process function.

The substrate transfer part 100 has a transfer passage 110 disposed in the vertical direction on the other side of the facility front end module 20. The main transfer robot 120 is installed in the transfer passage 110, and the main transfer robot 120 moves along the second transfer rail 130.

The buffer unit 200 is disposed between the substrate transfer unit 100 and the facility front end module 20, and is a space in which a substrate loaded in the process facility 10 and a substrate unloaded from the process facility 10 temporarily stay. To provide.

Polishing-cleaning units 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d are disposed side by side in the longitudinal direction on both sides of the substrate transfer unit 100 and perform a process of polishing and cleaning the substrate. The substrate is transferred by the main transfer robot 120 between the buffer unit 200 and the polishing-cleaning units 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d, and between the polishing-cleaning units 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d. .

Since the polishing-cleaning units 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d have the same configuration, hereinafter, the polishing-cleaning unit 300a of one of them will be described as an example.

FIG. 2 is a top view of the polishing-cleaner 300a of FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, the polishing-cleaning unit 300a may include a processing container 310, a substrate supporting unit 320, a polishing unit 340, first and second cleaning units 350 and 360, a brush unit 370, An aerosol unit 380, and a pad conditioning unit 390. The polishing-cleaning unit 300a may proceed with the polishing process for the substrate and the cleaning process after the polishing process in one processing chamber 301. To this end, the polishing unit 340, the first and second cleaning units 350 and 360, the brush unit 370, the aerosol unit 380, and the pad conditioning unit 390 are processed vessel 310 in the process chamber 301. And an appropriate arrangement structure around the substrate support unit 320.

The processing container 310 has a cylindrical shape with an open upper portion, and provides a space for polishing and cleaning the substrate. An open upper portion of the processing vessel 310 is provided to the carrying in and out passages of the substrate. The substrate support unit 320 is provided inside the processing container 310.

In the substrate support unit 320, a substrate transferred by the main transfer robot (reference number 120 in FIG. 1) of the substrate transfer unit (reference number 100 in FIG. 1) is placed, and the substrate support unit 320 is a substrate processing process. Chuck and rotate the substrate.

Outside of the processing vessel 310, a polishing unit 340, first and second cleaning units 350 and 360, a brush unit 370, an aerosol unit 380, and a pad conditioning unit 390 are provided.

The polishing unit 340 polishes the substrate W placed on the substrate support unit 320 by a chemical mechanical method to planarize the surface of the substrate.

The first and second cleaning units 350 and 360 supply the processing fluid required for the substrate polishing process and the cleaning process to the substrate chucked to the substrate support unit 320. The first cleaning unit 350 has a plurality of spray nozzles fixed to the top of the side wall of the processing container 310 and injects the processing fluid to the substrate. The processing fluid injected from the injection nozzles may be a processing liquid for cleaning or drying the substrate, or may be a drying gas for drying. The second cleaning unit 360 includes a chemical liquid nozzle for injecting a processing fluid and cleans the substrate by spraying the processing fluid on the substrate during the cleaning process. The second cleaning unit 360 may swing, and injects the processing fluid onto the substrate while the chemical liquid nozzle is disposed on the substrate through the swing operation during the cleaning process.

The brush unit 370 physically removes foreign substances on the surface of the substrate after the polishing process. The brush unit 370 includes a brush pad that contacts the surface of the substrate to physically wipe off the foreign matter on the surface of the substrate, and may swing. In the cleaning process, the brush unit 370 cleans the substrate by rotating the brush pad in a state in which the brush pad is disposed on the substrate through a swing operation.

The aerosol unit 380 removes foreign substances on the surface of the substrate by high pressure spraying the processing fluid in the form of fine particles on the substrate. For example, the aerosol unit 380 sprays the processing fluid in the form of fine particles using ultrasonic waves. The brush unit 370 is used to remove foreign matter of relatively large particles, and the aerosol unit 380 removes foreign matter of small particles compared to the foreign matter removed by the brush unit 370.

The pad conditioning unit 390 adjusts the surface roughness of the polishing pad by polishing the polishing pad of the polishing unit 340 using the diamond disk.

3 is a plan view of the substrate support unit 320 of FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 is a side cross-sectional view of the substrate support unit 320 of FIG. 3.

3 and 4, the substrate support unit 320 includes a support plate 322 and a vacuum generating member. The support plate 322 may be provided in a disc shape. A substrate is placed on an upper surface of the support plate 322, and a rotation shaft 326 is coupled to a lower surface of the support plate 322. Rotation axis 326 may be rotated by a rotation drive member (not shown) such as a motor.

A plurality of vacuum suction holes 323 are formed on the upper surface of the support plate 322. The vacuum suction holes 323 may be formed along the edge region of the support plate 322, and may be formed to have a generally circular arrangement. An exhaust port 325 is formed at the center of the lower surface of the support plate 322, and the vacuum suction holes 323 are in fluid communication with the exhaust port 325 by flow paths 324 formed in the support plate 322.

The vacuum generating member applies a negative pressure to the vacuum suction holes 323 such that the substrate W placed on the support plate 322 is chucked to the support plate 322. The vacuum generating member has an air ejector 331. The air ejector 331 is connected to the exhaust port 325 of the support plate 322 by the first exhaust line 332, and the air ejector 331 is connected to the compressed air source 334 by the air line 335. . The air regulator 336 is disposed on the air line 335 to adjust the flow rate of the air supplied to the air ejector 331. The second exhaust line 333 is connected to the air ejector 331.

Compressed air is supplied from the compressed air source 334 to the air ejector 331. The flow rate of the supply air is regulated by the electrostatic regulator 336. The compressed air supplied to the air ejector 331 is exhausted to the outside along the flow direction of the second exhaust line 333, and a negative pressure is formed in the air ejector 331. Due to the negative pressure formed inside the air ejector 331, a pressure difference occurs between the vacuum suction holes 323 and the flow paths 324 of the support plate 322, and between the first exhaust line 332 and the air ejector 331. As a result, the vacuum suction holes 323 and the flow paths 324 of the support plate 322 and the air inside the first exhaust line 332 flow into the air ejector 331. As a result, a negative pressure is formed in the vacuum suction holes 323, and the substrate W is fixed to the upper surface of the support plate 322 by the negative pressure. The air introduced into the air ejector 331 is discharged to the outside through the second exhaust line 333.

The electric regulator 336 is controlled by the controller 337. The controller 337 controls the operation of the electric regulator 336 so that different negative pressure acts on the substrate in accordance with the contact position of the polishing pad on the substrate.

The substrate W is positioned above the first region in which the vacuum suction holes 323 are formed on the support plate 322 and in the region where the vacuum suction holes 323 on the support plate 322 are not formed. It may be partitioned into a second region. For example, the controller 337 may control the operation of the electric regulator 336 such that a smaller sound pressure acts on the substrate when the polishing pad of the polishing unit is located in the first region than when the polishing pad is located in the second region. . This is to minimize the deformation of the substrate due to negative pressure acting on the substrate, thereby increasing the polishing uniformity of the substrate.

Conventionally, the substrate is chucked at a constant sound pressure regardless of the position of the polishing pad on the substrate. In the case of carrying out the polishing process for the substrate region supported by the support plate, the substrate is supported by the support plate and thus the substrate is not deformed. However, as shown in FIG. 5, when the polishing process is performed on the substrate region located above the vacuum hole of the support plate 322 ′, the substrate is deformed by the action of negative pressure, and the deformed portion of the substrate is supported by the support plate ( 332 ') may result in lower polishing than the portion of the substrate supported by the substrate, resulting in reduced polishing uniformity as a whole.

To prevent this, the present invention applies a first negative pressure during the polishing process of the second region of the substrate and a second negative pressure smaller than the first negative pressure during the polishing process of the first region of the substrate. This may be accomplished by adjusting the sound pressure inside the ejector 331 using the electro-pneumatic regulator 336. As such, by applying a relatively small negative pressure during the polishing process of the first region, it is possible to minimize the deformation of the substrate due to the negative pressure, thereby improving the polishing uniformity of the substrate.

The foregoing description is merely illustrative of the technical idea of the present invention, and various changes and modifications may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Therefore, the embodiments disclosed in the present invention are not intended to limit the technical idea of the present invention but to describe the present invention, and the scope of the technical idea of the present invention is not limited by these embodiments. The protection scope of the present invention should be interpreted by the following claims, and all technical ideas within the equivalent scope should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention.

The drawings described below are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

1 is a plan view illustrating an example of a substrate processing apparatus.

2 is a plan view of the polishing-cleaner of FIG.

3 is a plan view of the substrate support unit of FIG. 2.

4 is a side cross-sectional view of the substrate support unit of FIG. 3.

5 is a view illustrating a conventional substrate polishing process.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

320: substrate support unit 331: ejector

336: electrical regulator 337: control unit

340: polishing unit

Claims (6)

A substrate support unit on which the substrate is placed and rotatable; And A polishing unit for polishing the substrate placed on the substrate supporting unit, The substrate support unit, A support plate having a plurality of vacuum suction holes formed on a surface on which the substrate is placed; An air ejector in fluid communication with the vacuum suction holes of the support plate; And And an electropneumatic regulator for controlling a flow rate of air supplied to the air ejector for generating a negative pressure inside the air ejector. The method of claim 1, The support plate includes a first region in which the vacuum suction holes are formed and a second region in which the vacuum suction holes are not formed on the support plate. When the polishing unit is located on the first region or the second region, the substrate processing apparatus further comprises a control unit for controlling the operation of the electro-pneumatic regulator so that different sound pressure acts on the substrate . The method of claim 2, And the vacuum suction holes are formed along an edge region of the support plate to form an annular array. In the method of processing a substrate in a single sheet method, Vacuum chuck the substrate onto a support plate, Polishing the substrate by contacting the substrate with a polishing pad, The substrate includes a first region located above the region where the vacuum suction holes are formed on the support plate, and a second region located above the region where the vacuum suction holes are not formed on the support plate. And when the polishing pad is located in the first region or the second region, the substrate is chucked by applying different sound pressures to the substrate. delete The method of claim 4, wherein And apply a smaller sound pressure to the substrate when the polishing pad is located in the first region than when the polishing pad is located in the second region.

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