KR101074899B1 - Single type wafer manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing process for wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention is an airtight shutter which is configured to have an etch processing chamber and a processing processing chamber for wafer processing arranged up and down inside the wafer processing chamber for the wafer plasma etching, and opens and closes between the etching processing chamber and the processing processing chamber. Including a chamber including a, a susceptor transported to be retractable inside each processing chamber, a plasma generator for etching the wafer, and a plasma insulator covering a central region of the upper surface of the wafer so that plasma is not introduced into the upper surface of the wafer, As the wafer etching, cleaning and drying process can be performed continuously, the wafer processing time can be shortened and the peripheral part of the wafer can be etched without damaging the pattern located on the upper surface of the wafer. Reactive particles because no time is exposed to the atmosphere Providing a wafer processing apparatus that do not occur.

Wafer, 3-stage, Continuous, Etch, Inert Gas

Description

Single wafer processing apparatus and wafer processing method {Single type wafer manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing process for wafer}

1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of a conventional single wafer processing apparatus.

2 is a cross-sectional view of a single wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view of an etching unit according to the present invention.

4 is a flowchart of a wafer etching method according to the present invention.

5 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a shape in which a susceptor is transferred to a first processing chamber.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing a shape in which a susceptor is transferred to a second processing chamber.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: chamber 110: etching processing chamber

112: etching shutter 114: closed shutter

120: first processing chamber 122: first processing shutter

124: isolation shutter 130: second processing chamber

132: second processing shutter 200: susceptor

210: etching groove 300: plasma generator

400: plasma insulator 410: protrusion end                 

420: gas guide 500: gas injector

510: gas injection pipe 610: injector

620: Brush

The present invention relates to a single wafer processing apparatus and processing method for processing a wafer after placing the wafer horizontally on the upper surface of the susceptor, and more particularly, vertically moving the susceptor into two or more chambers stacked in a vertical direction. The present invention relates to a single wafer processing apparatus and a wafer processing method capable of continuously performing wafer etching, cleaning, and drying processes, and etching only peripheral portions so as not to damage the pattern.

In semiconductor device manufacturing, a plurality of film manufacturing processes and pattern forming processes are performed, and a wet cleaning process is added between the processes. Conventional batch treatment type cleaning apparatus for standing up and cleaning wafers generates flow defects due to the removal of various film residues and unstable patterns due to poor edge processing. In order to solve the problem, it is necessary to remove the cause of the bonding by processing the periphery of the wafer, that is, the top and back and side portions of the edge, and the need for the wafer to be placed horizontally and spin processing. In recent years, the peripheral area has increased due to the large diameter of the wafer, and the improvement of the peripheral treatment and the wet cleaning method has become more important. In the prior art, there is an apparatus for etching a peripheral portion of a wafer using plasma, but there are problems in that plasma is introduced into the upper surface of the wafer to cause pattern damage, and a reactive defect occurs when the wafer is exposed to the atmosphere after plasma etching.

In addition, the conventional batch wet cleaning apparatus is excellent in productivity, but the wafer is erected so that the cleaning material flows down the entire surface from the periphery of the wafer, resulting in a decrease in yield.

Hereinafter, a conventional sheet type wafer processing apparatus will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a schematic diagram showing an internal configuration of a conventional single wafer processing apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the conventional single wafer processing apparatus, after loading the wafer 6 onto the susceptor 7 inside the chamber 5, the upper surface of the peripheral portion of the wafer 6 is only about 1 to 2 mm. The remaining part is placed so that the insulator 3 capable of blocking the plasma is spaced apart from the wafer 6 by a predetermined distance (about 1 to 2 mm), and the plasma is sprayed to film the upper and side edges of the wafer 6 and the like. The pollutant of is etched and removed. However, since the plasma blocking insulator 3 located on the wafer 6 is not in contact with the wafer 6, it is highly likely to damage the internal pattern of the wafer 6 due to the side penetration of the plasma. In addition, when the wafer 6 etched using plasma is exposed to the air without performing wet cleaning, reaction defects frequently occur.

In addition, the conventional single wafer processing apparatus as described above is a chamber for etching, cleaning, and drying are formed independently, so that the wafer is introduced into and out of the chamber several times in order to perform each process sequentially. There was a disadvantage that it takes a lot of processing time because it must be repeated.

In order to shorten the wafer processing time, a batch wafer processing apparatus which simultaneously inserts 25 to 50 wafers into one chamber and processes them is sometimes used. In this case, defects caused by cross-contamination of the wafer and the wafer periphery flow into the wafer, resulting in flow defects, thereby reducing the yield.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above problems, it is possible to continuously etch, clean, and dry the wafer, it is a single-leaf type configured to etch the peripheral portion of the wafer without damaging the pattern located on the wafer An object is to provide a wafer processing apparatus and a wafer processing method.

In the sheet type wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above problems, an etching processing chamber composed of a structure capable of maintaining a vacuum state for wafer plasma etching and a processing processing chamber for wafer cleaning and drying are arranged up and down therein. And a chamber including a closed shutter for opening and closing the space between the etching processing chamber and the processing chamber, and a susceptor transferred into the etching processing chamber and the processing chamber.                     

In the etching chamber, an etching shutter having a structure capable of opening and closing a wafer or a wafer etching unit is provided at one side wall, and the processing chamber has a processing shutter having a structure capable of opening and closing a wafer cleaning unit or a wafer drying unit. It is provided on one side wall.

The processing chamber is divided so that the first processing chamber for cleaning the wafer and the second processing chamber for drying the wafer are arranged up and down, and an isolation shutter for opening and isolating between the first processing chamber and the second processing chamber is provided. .

The first processing chamber is positioned to be adjacent to the etching processing chamber, and a first processing shutter is provided on one side wall for drawing in and out of the wafer cleaning unit, and the second processing chamber has a second processing shutter for drawing in and out of the wafer drying unit. Is provided on one side wall.

At this time, the susceptor may be configured in a rotatable structure.

Etching unit according to the present invention, the plasma generator for injecting a plasma to the wafer seated on the susceptor; And a plasma insulator covering a central region of the upper surface of the wafer and spaced apart from the predetermined distance, and having a protruding end projecting downward to contact the edge of the upper surface of the wafer.

In addition, the etching unit further includes a gas injector for injecting inert gas to the outer surface of the protruding end. At this time, the plasma insulator has a gas guide tube for guiding the inert gas injected from the gas injector to the outer surface of the protruding end, and the susceptor is etched along the edge of the wafer on the upper surface of the portion corresponding to the outer end of the wafer. This is preferably formed.                     

In the wafer etching method, the plasma insulator is positioned on the upper surface of the wafer such that the upper surface of the wafer is spaced apart from the upper surface of the wafer and exposed to the upper surface of the wafer. Injecting an inert gas to the outer end and plasma processing the wafer on which the plasma insulator is located.

In addition, in the wafer processing method according to the present invention, an etching processing chamber for wafer etching, a cleaning processing chamber for wafer cleaning, and a drying processing chamber for wafer drying are sequentially arranged in the vertical direction, and the processing chambers are separated by a shutter. Inserting and suscepting a susceptor on which a wafer is seated in the etching processing chamber of the chamber configured to open the shutter; and opening a shutter to isolate the etching processing chamber from the cleaning processing chamber when the etching of the wafer is completed; Transferring the susceptor to the cleaning processing chamber to clean the wafer; when the cleaning of the wafer is completed, opening the shutter separating the cleaning processing chamber from the drying processing chamber, and transferring the susceptor on which the wafer is seated to the drying processing chamber to dry the wafer; It includes.

Hereinafter, a sheet type wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 is a cross-sectional view of a single wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the single wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an etching processing chamber 110, a first processing chamber 120, and a second processing chamber 130 arranged downward. It comprises a chamber 100, a susceptor 200 which is transported to be retractable inside each processing chamber, and an etching unit for etching the wafer (W). In this case, the etching unit includes a plasma generator 300 and a plasma insulator 400 covering a portion of the upper surface of the wafer W. The number of processing chambers provided in the chamber 100 varies according to a user's selection. Can be changed.

The etching processing chamber 110 and the first processing chamber 120 are divided by the closed shutter 114, and the first processing chamber 120 and the second processing chamber 130 are separated by the isolation shutter 124. Since it is divided, it is possible to perform different processes for processing the wafer (W) in each processing chamber. In this case, the first processing shutter 122 and the sidewalls of the first processing chamber 120 and the second processing chamber 130 may be introduced into the chamber 100 for various mechanisms for processing the wafer (W). Second processing shutters 132 are respectively provided.

The etching processing chamber 110 is a processing chamber for etching the wafer W. When the susceptor 200 on which the wafer W is seated is positioned in the etching processing chamber 110, the etching processing chamber 110 may plasma the upper surface of the wafer W. A plasma generator 300 that generates and etches the wafer W, and blocks the plasma that is located between the plasma generator 300 and the wafer W and is transferred to the center of the wafer W so that only the periphery of the wafer W is etched. A plasma insulator 400, an etching shutter 112 provided on sidewalls for loading the wafer W into and out of the chamber 100, and a vacuum pump 116 for vacuuming the inside of the etching processing chamber 110. do. At this time, since the inside of the etching processing chamber 110 should be maintained in a vacuum state, the etching shutter 112 and the closed shutter 114 are configured to completely seal the inside and outside of the etching processing chamber 110.                     

In addition, the sheet type wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a gas injection tube for injecting the inert gas generated from the gas injector 500 to the bottom end of the plasma insulator 400. The purpose of injecting the inert gas and the configuration of each part for inert gas injection will be described with reference to the following separate drawings.

3 is a cross-sectional view of an etching unit according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the plasma insulator 400 is spaced upward by about 1 to 2 mm from the top surface of the wafer W to prevent damage to the pattern formed on the top surface of the wafer W, and at the same time, It is positioned to cover a portion of the center of the wafer W, that is, the upper surface of the wafer W, except for 1.5 to 3 mm of the edge of the wafer W, so that only the periphery is etched. At this time, the bottom edge of the plasma insulator 400 is downwardly contacted with the upper surface of the wafer W so that the pattern of the upper surface of the wafer W is not damaged due to the penetration of plasma between the wafer W and the plasma insulator 400. Protruding end 410 is formed over the entire circumference.

An etch groove 210 forming a circle along the outer edge of the wafer W is formed on the upper surface of the susceptor 200 at a portion corresponding to the outer end of the wafer W. Accordingly, since the wafer W is exposed to the plasma as well as the top and side surfaces of the edge, the entire edge is etched by the plasma.

At this time, since the protrusion 410 is not completely adhered to the upper surface of the wafer W to prevent gas from entering the center of the wafer W, a small amount of plasma may penetrate between the wafer W and the protrusion 410. There is. In order to prevent such plasma penetration, the plasma insulator 400 has a gas guide tube 420 formed therein to guide the inert gas injected from the gas injection tube to the outer surface of the protruding end 410. The inert gas injected to the outer surface of the protruding end 410 serves as an air curtain to completely prevent plasma penetration between the wafer W and the protruding end 410.

4 is a flowchart of a wafer etching method according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 6, the wafer etching method according to the present invention includes a plasma insulator such that the top surface of the wafer is exposed so as to be spaced apart from the top surface of the wafer to protect the pattern formed on the top surface of the wafer while the wafer is etched. Placing the wafer on the upper surface of the wafer (S10), injecting an inert gas to the outer end of the plasma insulator (S20) to prevent plasma entry between the wafer and the plasma insulator, and plasma-processing the wafer on which the plasma insulator is located Etching step (S30) is included.

At this time, the injection direction of the inert gas is preferably set in a direction toward the vertical direction or the wafer end outside so that the plasma is pushed outward the wafer end.

5 is a cross-sectional view showing a shape in which the susceptor is transferred to the first processing chamber, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a shape in which the susceptor is transferred to the second processing chamber.

The susceptor 200 may be transferred to the first processing chamber 120 as shown in FIG. 5 in the state shown in FIG. 3 to undergo another processing. At this time, the closed shutter 114 is opened to allow the susceptor 200 to be lowered and then closed again when the susceptor 200 is lowered.

The first processing shutter is disposed on the sidewall of the first processing chamber 120 so that various instruments such as the injector 610 or the brush 620 for cleaning the wafer W can be introduced into the first processing chamber 120. 122 is provided.

For more complete cleaning, as shown in FIG. 5, the susceptor 200 may be transferred into the second processing chamber 130, and then the wafer W may be further cleaned. As a method of cleaning the wafer W, various kinds of cleaning methods such as physical cleaning using a brush, chemical cleaning or pure water cleaning may be applied.

As described above, when a plurality of processes are continuously performed in one chamber 100, an apparatus and a step of loading the wafer W into and out of the chamber 100 may be omitted, thereby miniaturizing the wafer processing apparatus, and W) The processing time is shortened. In addition, since there is no time for the wafer W to be exposed to the atmosphere between the wafer W etching process and the cleaning process, no reactive particles are generated.

In the present embodiment, the etching process may be performed in the etching processing chamber 110, and the first processing processing chamber 120 and the second processing processing chamber 130 may be configured to perform washing and rinsing processes. The use of the processing chambers 120 and 130 may be variously changed according to a user's selection.

For example, the first processing chamber 120 may be used as a processing chamber for wafer cleaning, and the second processing chamber 130 may be used as a processing chamber for wafer drying. In this case, the susceptor 200 may be configured to be rotatable so as to dry the wafer (W).

As such, when the first processing chamber 120 is used as a processing chamber for wafer cleaning and the second processing chamber 130 is used as a processing chamber for wafer drying, the wafer processed by the wafer processing apparatus according to the present invention ( W) is not directly exposed to the atmosphere during the etching, cleaning, and drying process, so corrosion and damage are prevented, and the wafer transfer device is very simple because it is not drawn out of the chamber 100 during each process. It has the advantage of being.

As mentioned above, although this invention was demonstrated in detail using the preferable Example, the scope of the present invention is not limited to a specific Example and should be interpreted by the attached Claim. In addition, those skilled in the art should understand that many modifications and variations are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention.

By using the wafer processing apparatus and the wafer etching method of the present invention, the wafer etching, cleaning, and drying processes can be continuously performed, thereby reducing the wafer processing time, and without damaging the pattern located on the upper surface of the wafer. It is possible to etch the periphery of, and there is no time for the wafer to be exposed to the atmosphere between the wafer etching process and the cleaning process, there is an advantage that no reactive particles are generated.

Claims (12)

A plasma generator for generating a plasma on the wafer seated on the susceptor; A plasma insulator covering a central region of the upper surface of the wafer and spaced apart from the predetermined surface by a protruding end projecting downwardly so as to contact the edge of the upper surface of the wafer; Wafer etching unit, characterized in that comprises a. The method of claim 1, Further provided with a gas injector for injecting an inert gas to the protruding end outer surface, The plasma insulator is a wafer etching unit, characterized in that the gas guide tube for guiding the inert gas to the outer surface of the protruding end is formed therein. The method according to claim 1 or 2, The susceptor, Etching grooves are formed along the edge of the wafer on the upper surface of the portion corresponding to the outer end of the wafer. Positioning a plasma insulator on the upper surface of the wafer, the plasma insulator covering a central region of the upper surface of the wafer and spaced apart from the predetermined upper surface, the projection protruding downwardly so as to contact the edge of the upper surface of the wafer; Injecting an inert gas to an outer end of the plasma insulator to prevent plasma from entering between the wafer and the plasma insulator; And Plasma processing the wafer on which the plasma insulator is located; Wafer etching method comprising a. delete delete delete delete delete delete delete delete

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