KR101388110B1 - Wet station and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Disclosed are a wet cleaning apparatus and a method of operating the same, which can facilitate maintenance and management of measuring means for measuring physical or chemical properties of a cleaning liquid. The wet cleaning device includes a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid, a circulation line connected to the cleaning tank to circulate the cleaning liquid, and a bypass line and bypass line connected to the circulation line to bypass some of the cleaning liquid circulated through the circulation line to the cleaning tank. It is attached to the measuring means for measuring the characteristics of the cleaning liquid flowing along the bypass line, it is connected to the bypass line so as to be disposed on the inlet side of the measuring means comprises a diluent supply for supplying a diluent.

Cleaning tank, circulation line, bypass line, measuring means, diluent supply part

Description

WET STATION AND OPERATING METHOD THEREOF}

The present invention relates to a wet cleaning apparatus and a method of operating the same, and more particularly, to a wet cleaning apparatus and a method of operating the same, which can facilitate maintenance and management of measuring means for measuring physical or chemical properties of a cleaning liquid. .

In general, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device, lithography, deposition, and etching are repeatedly performed. During these processes, various particles, metal impurities, organic substances, and the like remain on the substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer). Since such contaminants adversely affect the yield and reliability of the product, a cleaning process for removing contaminants remaining on the substrate is performed in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and a drying process for the wafer is performed after the cleaning process.

The method of cleaning the substrate may be divided into a dry cleaning method and a wet cleaning method according to a treatment method. Among them, the wet cleaning method refers to a method of cleaning a substrate by immersing the substrate for a predetermined time in a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid mixed with various chemical liquids at a predetermined ratio.

On the other hand, the physical and chemical properties of the cleaning liquid used in the wet cleaning apparatus has a great influence on the cleaning efficiency of the substrate. In general, the wet cleaning apparatus includes measuring means for measuring physical and chemical properties of the cleaning liquid during the cleaning process, and for adjusting physical and chemical properties of the cleaning liquid by measuring values measured in real time through the measuring means. Action may be taken. For example, the concentration of the cleaning liquid greatly affects the cleaning efficiency of the substrate. Therefore, during the cleaning process, the change in the concentration of the washing liquid may be measured in real time, and additional supply of the chemical liquid may be performed according to the change in the concentration of the washing liquid.

In addition, in order to maintain the measurement reliability of the measuring means, the measuring means must be able to be maintained and managed at regular intervals. However, in the related art, maintenance and management of the measuring means are very troublesome and inconvenient.

That is, since the cleaning liquid containing the strong chemical liquid passes through the measuring means, the measuring means must first be able to be diluted by the diluent before being separated from the cleaning apparatus. However, in the related art, since the measuring means is diluted by a diluent supplied to a washing tank in which a washing treatment is simply performed without a separate supply means for separately supplying a diluent required for diluting the measuring means, it is inevitably repeated several times in the washing tank. Dilutions had to be supplied and discharged. Accordingly, there is a problem that the processing time required for dilution of the measuring means is long, and maintenance and management of the measuring means are very troublesome and inconvenient.

In addition, the cleaning liquid used in the wet cleaning apparatus should be replaceable after a certain period of time. However, conventionally, when the cleaning solution is newly replaced, there is a problem in that the cleaning solution remaining in the measuring means is mixed with the newly replaced cleaning solution. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately measure the physical and chemical properties of the newly replaced cleaning solution.

The present invention provides a wet cleaning apparatus and a method of operating the same, which can facilitate the maintenance and management of the measuring means for measuring the physical or chemical properties of the cleaning liquid.

In addition, the present invention provides a wet cleaning apparatus and its operating method which can improve the measurement reliability of the measuring means.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, the wet cleaning device is connected to the cleaning tank containing the cleaning liquid, the circulation tank for circulating the cleaning liquid, the circulation line is connected to the circulation line through the circulation line A bypass line for bypassing some of the circulating cleaning liquid to the cleaning tank, measuring means for measuring characteristics of the cleaning liquid flowing along the bypass line, and being arranged at the inlet side of the measuring means. And a diluent supply for connecting and optionally supplying a diluent.

The shape and structure of the cleaning bath can be varied in various ways depending on the required conditions and design specifications. As an example, the cleaning tank may include an inner tank and an outer tank. The inner tank contains the cleaning liquid and substantially cleaning operation can be performed, and the outer tank contains the cleaning liquid overflowed from the inner tank. In addition, the circulation line connects the inner tank and the outer tank at the outside of the washing tank and allows the washing liquid of the outer tank to be circulated to the inner tank.

The bypass line allows a portion of the cleaning liquid circulated along the circulation line to be bypassed to the outer tank, and the structure of the bypass line may be variously changed according to the required conditions and design specifications. In addition, the connection point of the bypass line connected to the circulation line may be changed in various ways depending on the required conditions and design specifications.

The measuring means may be mounted on the bypass line to measure physical or chemical properties of the cleaning liquid flowing along the bypass line. For example, the measuring means may include a concentration meter for measuring the concentration of the cleaning liquid.

The diluent supply unit may include a diluent control valve for adjusting the supply amount of the diluent and whether or not the diluent is supplied, and the structure of the diluent supply unit may be variously changed according to required conditions and design specifications.

A gas supply unit for selectively supplying gas may be connected to the bypass line, and the gas supplied through the gas supply unit may pass through the measuring unit and may be dried after passing through the measuring unit and its connecting portion, and then discharged. In addition, the gas supply unit may include a gas control valve for adjusting the supply amount of gas and whether the gas is supplied, the structure of such a gas supply unit may be variously changed according to the required conditions and design specifications.

According to the wet cleaning apparatus and the operating method thereof according to the present invention, it is possible to shorten the processing time required for dilution of the measuring means, and to facilitate the maintenance and management of the measuring means.

Further, according to the present invention, since the measuring means can be dried by the gas supplied from the gas supply unit after dilution, it is possible to prevent the dilution liquid remaining inside when the measuring means is separated out.

In addition, according to the present invention, the measuring means can be diluted and dried before the cleaning solution is replaced, and the measuring means can more accurately measure the physical and chemical properties of the newly replaced cleaning solution.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For reference, the same numbers in this description refer to substantially the same elements and can be described with reference to the contents described in the other drawings under the above-mentioned rules, and the contents which are judged to be obvious to the person skilled in the art or repeated can be omitted.

1 is a view for explaining a wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes a washing tank 110, a circulation line 200, a bypass line 300, a measuring unit 310, and a diluent supply unit 410.

The cleaning tank 110 is formed in a size that can accommodate a substrate for cleaning as a container containing the cleaning liquid, the shape and structure of the cleaning tank 110 may be variously changed according to the requirements and design specifications. . In addition, the cleaning tank 110 is formed of a material that does not react with the cleaning liquid, the material of the cleaning tank 110 may be appropriately changed according to the required conditions. For example, the cleaning tank 110 may be formed of ordinary quartz, and other materials may be used.

In the present invention, the cleaning liquid may include a single or a plurality of chemical solutions as a chemical solution for cleaning contaminants remaining on the substrate.

Hereinafter, the cleaning tank 110 will be described with an example including the inner tank 120 and the outer tank 130. The cleaning solution is accommodated in the inner tank 120, and the cleaning operation is substantially performed in the inner tank 120. The outer tub 130 is formed along the circumference of the inner tub 120 to accommodate the washing liquid overflowed from the inner tub 120.

In addition, a cleaning liquid supply line (not shown) and a cleaning liquid discharge line (not shown) may be connected to the cleaning tank 110, and the cleaning liquid may be selectively supplied to the cleaning tank through the cleaning liquid supply line and the cleaning liquid discharge line or may be outside the cleaning tank. Can be discharged.

The circulation line 200 connects the inner tank 120 and the outer tank 130 at the outside of the cleaning tank 110 and allows the cleaning solution of the outer tank 130 to be circulated to the inner tank 120. The circulation line 200 may include a conventional circulation passage 210 and a circulation pump 220, the structure of the circulation line 200 may be changed in various ways depending on the required conditions and design specifications. . In addition, various additional devices such as a filter 230 and a heater 240 may be provided on the circulation line 200. The cleaning solution circulated along the circulation line 200 through such an additional device may be mixed, filtered, and heated. Can be.

The bypass line 300 is one end is connected to the circulation line 200 and the other end is connected to the outer tank 130, some of the cleaning liquid circulated along the circulation line 200 may be bypassed to the outer tank 130. To be. The bypass line 300 may include a general bypass flow path, and in some cases, a separate pump may be provided. Here, the connection point of the bypass line 300 connected to the circulation line 200 may be changed in various ways according to the required conditions and design specifications.

The measuring means 310 may be mounted on the bypass line 300 to measure characteristics of the cleaning liquid flowing along the bypass line 300. That is, the measuring means 310 may measure the physical characteristics or chemical characteristics of the cleaning liquid flowing along the bypass line 300. For example, the measuring unit 310 may include a concentration meter for measuring the concentration of the cleaning liquid.

The diluent supply unit 410 is connected to the bypass line 300 to be disposed at the inlet side of the measuring means 310 to selectively supply a diluent. At this time, the diluent supply unit 410 supplies the diluent in a state in which the bypass line 300 is blocked by the shutoff valve 302 so that the washing solution circulated through the circulation line 200 does not flow into the measuring unit 310. do.

As such, the diluent supplied through the diluent supply unit 410 may pass through the measuring unit 310 and dilute the measuring unit 310, and then be discharged to the outer tank 130 through the bypass line 300.

As the diluent, various kinds of diluents may be used depending on washing conditions. Hereinafter, an example in which pure water (DIW: Deionized Water) is used as the diluent will be described. In addition, the diluent supply unit 410 may include a diluent control valve 412 for adjusting the supply amount of the diluent and whether or not the diluent is supplied, and the structure of the diluent supply unit 410 may vary according to required conditions and design specifications. Can be changed.

Meanwhile, a gas supply unit 420 for selectively supplying gas may be connected to the bypass line 300. That is, the gas supply unit 420 may be connected to the bypass line 300 so as to be arranged to selectively supply gas. As described above, the gas supplied through the gas supply unit 420 passes through the measuring unit 310 and may be discharged through the bypass line 300 after drying the measuring unit 310 and its connection part. In some cases, the diluent may be supplied through the diluent supply unit 410 and the gas may be supplied together through the gas supply unit 420.

As the gas supplied through the gas supply unit 420, various kinds of gases may be used according to required conditions. Hereinafter, an example in which nitrogen (N ₂ ) is used as the gas will be described. In addition, the gas supply unit 420 may include a gas control valve 422 for adjusting the supply amount of gas and whether the gas is supplied, and the structure of the gas supply unit 420 varies according to required conditions and design specifications. Can be changed.

In the embodiment of the present invention has been described with an example configured to flow into the inlet side of the measuring means 310 through a single flow path in which the diluent and gas supplied from the diluent supply unit 410 and the gas supply unit 420 are integrated, In some cases, the diluent and the gas may be configured to flow through independent channels.

Hereinafter, the substrate operating method of the wet processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In addition, the same or equivalent portions as those in the above-described configuration are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Substrate operation method of the wet processing apparatus according to the present invention is connected to the cleaning tank 110, the cleaning line 110 is connected to the cleaning tank 110 to circulate the cleaning solution, the circulation line 200, the circulation line 200 The bypass line 300 for bypassing a portion of the cleaning liquid circulated through the circulation line 200 to the cleaning tank 110, mounted on the bypass line 300 flows along the bypass line 300 As a method of operating a wet cleaning apparatus including a measuring means 310 for measuring a characteristic of a cleaning liquid, the bypass line 300 is disposed so that the cleaning liquid circulated through the circulation line 200 does not flow into the measuring means 310. Blocking, diluting the measuring means 310 by supplying a diluent on the bypass line 300 corresponding to the inlet side of the measuring means 310, diluting the diluted measuring means 310, bypass line ( 300).

The cleaning tank 110 may include an inner tank 120 for performing a cleaning operation and an outer tank 130 containing a washing liquid overflowed from the inner tank 120, and the washing liquid of the outer tank 130 is circulated. It may be circulated through the line 200 to the inner tank 120.

In order to maintain and manage the measuring means 310, first, the bypass line 300 is blocked so that the washing liquid circulated through the circulation line 200 does not flow into the measuring means 310. In this step, the bypass line 300 may be blocked by the shutoff valve 302.

Next, the diluent is supplied onto the bypass line 300 corresponding to the inlet side of the measuring means 310 to dilute the measuring means 310. In this step, the diluent may be supplied through the diluent supply unit 410 connected to the bypass line 300 to be disposed at the inlet side of the measuring unit 310, and the supplied diluent passes through the measuring unit 310 and is measured. After diluting the means 310 may be discharged to the outer tank 130 via the bypass line (300).

Thereafter, the diluted measuring means 310 may be separated from the bypass line 300, and the presence or absence of the separated measuring means 310 may be confirmed. If necessary, a new measuring means may be replaced instead of the separated measuring means 310.

Meanwhile, as described above, the measuring means 310 may be separated from the bypass line 300 in a diluted state, but when the measuring means 310 is separated from the bypass line 300, the diluent remaining therein is It may spill out. In order to prevent this, before the separation of the measuring means 310, a step of supplying a gas to the bypass line 300 corresponding to the inlet side of the measuring means 310 may be added.

That is, gas may be supplied through the gas supply unit 420 connected to the bypass line 300 to be disposed at the inlet side of the measuring unit 310, and the supplied gas passes through the measuring unit 310 and is measured. After drying the 310 and the connection portion may be discharged through the bypass line (300). In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, for example, the gas is supplied for drying the measuring means 310. However, in some cases, the diluent is supplied so that the dilution of the measuring means 310 can be performed more effectively. The gas may be supplied together.

Thus, according to the present invention, after supplying pure water to the cleaning tank 110, the hassle to dilute the measuring means 310 through the pure water bypassed to the bypass line 300 via the circulation line (200) Without this, the processing time required for dilution of the measuring means 310 can be significantly shortened, and the maintenance and management of the measuring means 310 can be made easier.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, since the measuring means 310 can be dried by the gas supplied from the gas supply part 420 after dilution, the measuring means 310 remains therein when separated from the bypass line 300. The diluted solution can be prevented from leaking to the outside.

In addition, according to the present invention, even when the cleaning solution is newly replaced along the replacement cycle, the measuring means 310 may be first diluted and dried before the cleaning solution is replaced, and the measuring means 310 may physically change the cleaning solution. Allows more accurate measurement of properties and chemical properties.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the following claims It can be understood that

1 is a view for explaining a wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

Description of the Related Art

110: washing tank 120: inner tank

130: outer tank 200: circulation line

300: bypass line 310: measuring means

410: diluent supply unit 420: gas supply unit

Claims (9)

A washing tank in which a washing liquid is accommodated; A circulation line connected to the cleaning tank to circulate the cleaning liquid; A bypass line connected to the circulation line to bypass a portion of the cleaning liquid circulated through the circulation line to the cleaning tank; Measurement means mounted on the bypass line and measuring physical or chemical properties of the cleaning liquid flowing along the bypass line; And A diluent supply unit connected to the bypass line so as to be disposed at an inlet side of the measuring unit and selectively supplying a diluting liquid to the measuring unit to dilute the measuring unit; Including, A wet cleaning device in which the diluted measuring means can be separated from the bypass line after shutting off the bypass line. The method according to claim 1, And a gas supply unit connected to the bypass line so as to be disposed at an inlet side of the measuring means and selectively supplying gas. 3. The method of claim 2, The gas supply unit is a wet cleaning device, characterized in that it comprises a gas control valve for regulating the supply of the gas. The method according to claim 1, Wet cleaning device, characterized in that the diluent supply unit comprises a diluent control valve for adjusting the supply of the diluent. The method according to claim 1, And the measuring means includes a densitometer for measuring the concentration of the cleaning liquid. The method according to claim 1, The washing tank includes an inner tank and an outer tank for receiving a washing liquid overflowed from the inner tank, The circulation line is connected to the inner tank and the outer tank and the wet cleaning apparatus, characterized in that for circulating the cleaning liquid of the outer tank to the inner tank. The method according to claim 6, And the bypass line connects the circulation line and the outer tub and bypasses the cleaning liquid from the circulation line to the outer tub. A cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid, a circulation line connected to the cleaning tank for circulating the cleaning liquid, a bypass line for bypassing some of the cleaning liquid connected to the circulation line and circulated through the circulation line to the cleaning tank, the bypass A method of operating a wet cleaning apparatus comprising measuring means mounted on a line and measuring means for measuring physical or chemical properties of a cleaning liquid flowing along the bypass line, Blocking the bypass line so that the cleaning liquid circulated through the circulation line does not flow into the measuring means; Diluting the measuring means by supplying a diluent on the bypass line corresponding to the inlet side of the measuring means; And Separating the diluted measuring means from the bypass line; Operating method of a wet cleaning device comprising a. 9. The method of claim 8, And supplying gas onto a bypass line corresponding to an inlet side of the measuring means before separating the measuring means.

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