KR101892106B1 - Apparatus and method for cleaning wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

The wafer cleaning apparatus of the embodiment includes a cleaning bath for holding a cleaning liquid and a wafer supporting unit disposed inside the cleaning bath for selectively supporting a plurality of first portions or a plurality of second portions adjacent to each other at the edge of the wafer to be cleaned, An ultrasonic wave generating part for generating ultrasonic waves, and a vibrating part disposed below the cleaning bath for vibrating the cleaning liquid according to the ultrasonic waves.

Description

[0001] Apparatus and method for cleaning wafer [0002]

Embodiments relate to a wafer cleaning apparatus and method.

In general, as a method of manufacturing a silicon wafer, a Floating Zone (FZ) method or a CZ (CZochralski) method is widely used. In the case of growing a single crystal silicon ingot by applying the FZ method, it is difficult to manufacture a large diameter silicon wafer, and there is a problem in that the process cost is very high. Therefore, it is general to grow a single crystal silicon ingot according to the CZ method.

According to the CZ method, polycrystalline silicon is charged into a quartz crucible, the graphite heating body is heated to melt it, and then seed crystals are immersed in the silicon melt formed as a result of melting and crystallization occurs at the interface of the melt, So that the single crystal silicon ingot is grown. Thereafter, the grown single crystal silicon ingot is sliced, etched and polished into a wafer shape.

Particles such as abrasive powder are generated and adhered to the wafer at the time of processing a silicon wafer used for a semiconductor device, and therefore it is necessary to clean the wafer by using a wafer cleaning apparatus after the processing.

In a general batch type wafer cleaner, a plurality of wafers are immersed in a cleaning bath filled with a cleaning liquid for a predetermined time, and ultrasonic waves are generated in the cleaning liquid, thereby cleaning the surface of the wafer. At this time, it is important to clean the surface of the wafer uniformly and uniformly. However, in the case of cleaning the wafer with the wafer stopped in the cleaning bath, the portion where the dead zone of the ultrasonic wave is generated is insufficiently cleaned, and the wafer can not be uniformly cleaned.

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2012-151320 (Release date: August 9, 2012)

Embodiments provide a wafer cleaning apparatus and method having improved cleaning power.

A wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment includes: a cleaning bath for containing a cleaning liquid; A wafer support base disposed inside the cleaning bath and selectively supporting a plurality of first portions or a plurality of second portions adjacent to each other at an edge of a wafer to be cleaned; An ultrasonic wave generator for generating ultrasonic waves; And a vibrating part disposed under the cleaning bath and vibrating the cleaning liquid in accordance with the ultrasonic waves.

For example, the plurality of first portions may be equally spaced from each other, and the plurality of second portions may be equally spaced from each other.

For example, the wafer support base may include a plurality of first wafer supports having a shape capable of supporting the wafer in contact with the plurality of first portions; A plurality of second wafer supports having a shape capable of supporting the wafer in contact with the plurality of second portions; And a plurality of elevation control sections for controlling the elevating and lowering operations of the first and second wafer supporting sections to bring the first and second wafer supporting sections into contact with the wafer alternately.

For example, the elevation control unit may include a motor that rotates in response to a first control signal; A main pulley rotating in association with the motor; First and second auxiliary pulleys rotating in conjunction with the main pulley; First and second bars connected to the lower ends of the first and second wafer supports, respectively, for vertically moving the first and second wafer supports in cooperation with the first and second auxiliary pulleys, respectively; And a main control unit for generating the first control signal.

For example, the first and second wafer supports may include a nozzle for ejecting the cleaning liquid to the wafer.

For example, the wafer cleaning apparatus may include first and second pipings for supplying the cleaning liquid to the first and second wafer supports, respectively; A first fluid valve responsive to the second control signal to allow flow of the rinse fluid in the first pipe; And a second fluid valve responsive to the second-2 control signal to allow the flow of the rinse fluid in the second tubing, wherein the main controller is operable to generate the second- have.

For example, the first conduit may supply the cleaning fluid to the first wafer support via the first bar, and the second conduit may supply the cleaning fluid to the second wafer support via the second bar.

For example, at least one of the number or size of the nozzles may be the same or different from each other in the first wafer support and the second wafer support.

For example, the wafer support base may further include a case for sealing the first wafer support portion, the second wafer support portion, and the elevation control portion.

For example, the ultrasonic wave may have megasonic energy.

For example, the number of the first wafer supports and the number of the second wafer supports may be the same or different from each other.

For example, a first period during which the first wafer support portion contacts the wafer and a second period during which the second wafer support portion contacts the wafer may be the same or different from each other, And generate the first control signal corresponding to the second period.

For example, the wafer cleaner may further include at least one sensing unit disposed at a side of the cleaning bath for sensing the elevation of the first and second wafer supports, and the main control unit may include at least one sensing unit The first control signal, the second control signal, and the second control signal through the result of sensing the first control signal, the second control signal, and the second control signal.

According to another embodiment, a wafer cleaning method performed in the wafer cleaner comprises: elevating the first wafer support to contact the first portion of the wafer; Vibrating the cleaning liquid to primarily clean the wafer; Lowering the first wafer support and raising the second wafer support to contact the second portion of the wafer; And secondarily cleaning the wafer by vibrating the cleaning liquid.

For example, the wafer cleaning method may further include ejecting the cleaning liquid to the wafer through a wafer support portion contacting the wafer from among the first and second wafer supports.

The wafer cleaning apparatus and method according to the embodiments clean the wafer by vibrating the cleaning liquid while alternately supporting the wafer while providing a plurality of first wafer supports as well as the plurality of first wafer supports, And at least one sensing portion can be provided to raise and lower the first and second wafer supports more accurately and to spray the cleaning liquid, so that the cleaning power can be further improved.

1 is a view schematically showing a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment.
2 is a flowchart for explaining a wafer cleaning method according to an embodiment.
Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the wafer support base shown in Figure 1.
4 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of an embodiment of the wafer support base shown in Fig.
FIG. 5 shows a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of the wafer support base shown in FIG.
6 is an enlarged side view of the portion 'A' shown in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an enlarged view of the portion 'B' shown in FIG.
8 is a plan view of the wafer cleaning apparatus shown in Fig.
9 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the comparative example.
10 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the comparative example after cleaning the wafer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to facilitate understanding of the present invention. However, the embodiments according to the present invention can be modified into various other forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments described below. Embodiments of the invention are provided to more fully describe the present invention to those skilled in the art.

Hereinafter, a wafer cleaning apparatus 100 and a method 200 according to embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

For convenience, the Cartesian coordinate system (x-axis, y-axis, z-axis) is used to describe the device 100, although other coordinate systems may illustrate this.

1 is a schematic view of a wafer cleaning apparatus 100 according to an embodiment.

The wafer cleaning apparatus 100 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 includes a cleaning bath 120, a wafer support base (or a stand arm) 130, an ultrasonic generator 140, A first sensing unit 160, and a second sensing unit 162,

Referring to FIG. 1, each part will be described as follows.

The cleaning bath 120 serves to contain the cleaning liquid 110. The cleaning bath 120 may have a width and a width capable of accommodating one wafer or a plurality of wafers W. 1, the cleaning bath 120 may have such a depth that the cleaning liquid 110 can not overflow when the wafer W is completely submerged in the cleaning liquid 110. [

The cleaning liquid 110 contained in the cleaning bath 120 may include ammonia, hydrogen peroxide, and water (or ultrapure water) mixed in an appropriate ratio, but the embodiments are not limited thereto.

The ultrasonic wave generator 140 is disposed below the vibration unit 150 and generates ultrasound waves. For example, the ultrasonic wave generated from the ultrasonic wave generator 140 may have megasonic energy, but the embodiment is not limited thereto.

The vibration unit 150 is disposed between the cleaning liquid 110 contained in the cleaning bath 120 and the ultrasonic wave generator 140 and serves as an intermediate role for transmitting the ultrasonic waves generated in the ultrasonic wave generator 140 to the cleaning bath 120 . The ultrasonic wave generated in the ultrasonic wave generator 140 vibrates the cleaning liquid 110 through the vibration unit 150. [ Thus, as the cleaning liquid 110 vibrates by the vibration unit 150, the wafer W to be cleaned, which is contained in the cleaning liquid 110, can be cleaned.

The wafer support base 130 is disposed inside the cleaning bath 120 and can selectively support a plurality of first portions or a plurality of second portions adjacent to each other at the edge of the wafer W. [ Hereinafter, as shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of first portions includes the 1-1 to 1-3 parts P11, P21, and P31, and the plurality of second parts include the 2-1 to 2- -3 portion (P12, P22, P32), but the embodiment is not limited to this. That is, the plurality of first portions may be two or four or more, and the plurality of second portions may be two or four or more.

Further, the plurality of first portions of the edge of the wafer W may be spaced apart at equal intervals or spaced apart from each other, and the plurality of second portions may be spaced apart at equal intervals or spaced apart from each other .

1, the first-first part P11 and the first-second part P21 are spaced apart by a first distance d1, and the first-second part P21 and the first-third part P31 The second-1 part P12 and the second-2 part P22 are separated by the third gap d3, and the second-2 part P22 and the second part P22 are separated by the second gap d2, And the 2-3 parts P32 may be arranged apart from each other by the fourth interval d4.

The first to fourth intervals d1 to d4 may be the same or different from each other. In addition, the first and second intervals d1 and d2 may be the same or different from each other. The third and fourth intervals d3 and d4 may be the same or different from each other.

The wafer W can be more stably supported by the wafer support base 130 when the plurality of first portions are disposed apart from each other at equal intervals. Likewise, when the plurality of second portions are disposed apart from each other at equal intervals, the wafer W can be more stably supported by the wafer support base 130.

The wafer support base 130 may include a plurality of first wafer supports, a plurality of second wafer supports, and a plurality of lift controls. The plurality of first wafer supporting portions may have a shape capable of supporting the wafer W by contacting a plurality of first portions of the wafer W. [ Similarly, the plurality of second wafer supporting portions can have a shape capable of supporting the wafer W by contacting a plurality of second portions of the wafer W. Further, the plurality of elevation control sections can control the elevating operation of the first and second wafer supporting sections so that the first and second wafer supporting sections can be raised alternately to make contact with the wafer W.

The material of each of the plurality of first wafer supports and the plurality of second wafer supports may be a plastic such as polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE) or polyetherether ketone (PEEK) It does not.

1, for example, the wafer support base 130 includes three first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, 136-3, and three second wafer supports 138 -1, 138-2, and 138-3, and includes three elevation control units 134-1, 134-2, and 134-3, but the embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, according to another embodiment, the wafer support base 130 may include two or more than four first wafer supports, two or more second wafer supports, two or more And may include four or more lift control portions.

In addition, the number of the first wafer supporting portions and the number of the second wafer supporting portions may be the same or different from each other. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the number of the first wafer supporting portion and the number of the second wafer supporting portion may be three and equal to each other.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the wafer cleaning method 200 according to the embodiment.

The device 100 shown in FIG. 1 may perform the method 200 shown in FIG. The method 200 shown in FIG. 2 may be performed by the apparatus 100 shown in FIG. However, the embodiment is not limited to this. 1 may perform a method other than the method 200 shown in FIG. 2, and the method 200 shown in FIG. 2 may be performed in a manner other than the apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 Lt; / RTI > device.

The three first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2 and 136-3 are raised simultaneously in the wafer support base 130 having the configuration shown in Fig. 1 to form the first portions P11 and P21 , P31), thereby supporting the wafer W (operation 210).

The first portion P11, P21 and P31 are brought into contact with the first wafer support portions 136-1, 136-2 and 136-3 to support the wafer W, The vibration unit 150 vibrates the cleaning liquid 110 by ultrasonic waves to thereby primarily clean the wafer W (operation 220). While steps 210 and 220 are performed, that is, while the first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3 are in contact with the first portions P11, P21, and P31, respectively, The supports 138-1, 138-2, and 138-3 may be spaced apart from the second portions P12, P22, and P32, respectively.

After step 220, the three first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, 136-3 are lowered simultaneously on the wafer support base 130 and the three second wafer supports 138-1, 138-2 138-2 and 138-3 are simultaneously raised and the three second wafer supports 138-1, 138-2 and 138-3 are brought into contact with the second portions P21, P22 and P32 of the wafer W, respectively, (Step 230).

At this time, the operations of raising and lowering the first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3 and raising and lowering the second wafer supports 138-1, 138-2, and 138-3 may be performed simultaneously, Or may be performed sequentially.

The second portions P12, P22 and P32 are brought into contact with the second wafer supporting portions 138-1, 138-2 and 138-3 so that the wafer W is held by the ultrasonic wave generating portion 140 The vibrating unit 150 vibrates the cleaning liquid 110 by the ultrasonic waves generated by the ultrasonic waves to thereby clean the wafer W in a second step 240. [ While steps 230 and 240 are performed, i.e., while the second wafer supports 138-1, 138-2, and 138-3 are in contact with the second portions P12, P22, and P32, respectively, The support portions 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3 may be spaced apart from the first portions P11, P21, and P31, respectively.

Among the plurality of elevation control units 134-1, 134-2 and 134-3, the first elevation control unit 134-1 controls the first-first wafer support unit 136-1 and the second-1 wafer support unit 138-1 The second lift control unit 134-2 serves to alternately raise the first wafer support unit 136-2 and the second wafer support unit 138-2 And the third lift control unit 134-3 serves to alternately raise the first-third wafer support unit 136-3 and the second-wafer support unit 138-3.

In the case of FIG. 1, the wafer support base 130 alternates between the first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3 and the second wafer supports 138-1, 138-2, Although the first and second portions of the wafer W are selectively moved in the lifting motion to show the wafer W being supported, the embodiments are not limited thereto.

That is, according to another embodiment, the wafer W comprises three or more portions that are adjacent to and spaced from each other, and the wafer support base 130 is in contact with three or more portions to support the wafer W And may include three or more wafer supports. For example, the wafer W includes first to fourth portions that are spaced apart from one another, and the wafer support base 130 includes a first wafer support portion in contact with the plurality of first portions, A third wafer support portion in contact with the plurality of third portions, and a fourth wafer support portion in contact with the plurality of fourth portions.

At this time, the three or more wafer supporting portions may alternately rise to alternately support three or more portions of the wafer W. In this case, the three or more lift control units may function to alternately raise three or more wafer supports.

Although only the first wafer support portion 136-1 will be described in the plurality of first wafer support portions 136-1 through 136-3 shown in FIG. 1, the first wafer support portion 136-1, May also be applied to each of the 1-2 and 1-3 wafer supports 136-2 and 136-3. Although only the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 is described in the plurality of second wafer support portions 138-1 to 138-3 shown in FIG. 1, the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1, May also be applied to each of the 2-2 and 2-3 wafer supports 138-2 and 138-3. Although only the first elevation control section 134-1 is described in the plurality of elevation control sections 134-1 through 134-3 shown in FIG. 1, the description of the first elevation control section 134-1 is omitted here, And the third lift control units 134-2 and 134-3, respectively.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate cross-sectional views of an embodiment 130A of the wafer support base 130 shown in FIG.

The first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3 and the second wafer supports 138-1, 138-2, and 138-3 have a circular cross-sectional shape in the case of FIG. 1, Although illustrated as having a square cross-sectional shape, the embodiment is not limited to this.

The operation in which the first-first wafer support portion 136-1, the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 and the first lift control portion 134-1 are linked to each other is described below, 136-2, the second-2 wafer support portion 138-2, and the second lift control portion 134-2, and the first to third wafer support portions 136-3, The wafer support portion 138-3 and the third lift control portion 134-3.

Referring to FIG. 3, the first-first portion P11 of the wafer W is held in contact with and supported by the eleventh wafer support portion 136-1 as shown in FIG. 1, The first-first wafer support portion 136-1, the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1, and the first lift control portion 138-1 are disposed such that the portion P12 is spaced apart from the lowered second-1 wafer support portion 138-1. (134-1) operate in association with each other.

1, the first-first portion P11 of the wafer W is spaced apart from the lowered first-wafer support portion 136-1, and the second-first portion The first-1 wafer support portion 136-1, the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1, and the first lift control portion 138-1 so that the first-first wafer support portion 136-1, the second- (134-1) operate in association with each other.

The first elevation control section 134-1 can elevate the first-1 wafer supporting section 136-1 and the second-1 wafer supporting section 138-1 alternately through various constructions.

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the first elevation control unit 134-1 for alternately elevating the first-first wafer support unit 136-1 and the second-1 wafer support unit 138-1 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description will be made, but the embodiment is not limited thereto. In other words, in order to alternately raise and lower the first-first wafer supporter 136-1 and the second-1 wafer supporter 138-1, But may have various other configurations.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the wafer support base 130 shown in FIG. 1 according to another embodiment 130B. FIG. 6 is a side view showing an enlarged portion 'A' 5 is an enlarged plan view of the portion 'B' shown in FIG.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement of the first wafer support portion 136-1, the second wafer support portion 138-1 and the first lift control portion 134-1 shown in Figs. 1, 3 and 4 Fig.

5, the wafer support base 130 includes a first wafer support portion 136-1, a second-1 wafer support portion 138-1, a first lift control portion 134-1, and a case 320 ).

The case 320 serves as a housing for sealing a plurality of first wafer support portions (e.g., 136-1), a plurality of second wafer support portions (e.g., 138-1), and a plurality of elevation control portions (e.g., 134-1) . Therefore, the case 320 can prevent the cleaning liquid 110 from being infiltrated into the wafer support base 130 contained in the cleaning bath 120.

In addition, the case 320 may include a groove 322 and an O-ring 330. The grooves 322 are formed on the inner surface of the case 320 so as to prevent the washing liquid from penetrating into the case 320 while the first and second bars 310 and 312 are vertically moving, The O-ring 330 can be disposed in the groove portion 322 of the case 320, but the embodiment is not limited to this. That is, if the first and second bars 310 and 312 are prevented from penetrating into the interior of the case 320 while the bar 320 is vertically moved, the case 320 may have various shapes and members.

5 and 6, the portions 352, 354, and 352 associated with the first wafer supporting portion 136-1, the second-1 wafer supporting portion 138-1, the case 320, and the nozzles N1 and N2, 362, and 364 correspond to the components of the first elevation control unit 134-1. 5 and 6 may include a motor M, first and second bars 310 and 312, a main pulley 340, First and second auxiliary pulleys 342 and 344, first through third belts B1, B2 and B3 and a support shaft 370. Although not shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first lift control unit 134-1 may include the main control unit 132 shown in FIG. At this time, the main control unit 132 is a component shared by the second and third lift control units 134-2 and 134-3.

Referring to FIG. 6, the motor M rotates in response to the first control signal C1 output from the main control unit 132. As shown in FIG. That is, in response to the first control signal C1, the motor M can start or stop rotating motion. Further, in response to the first control signal C1, the motor M can rotate clockwise or counterclockwise. In this way, the first control signal C1 controls the rotation of the motor M and the rotation direction thereof.

Referring to FIG. 6, the main pulley 340 may rotate in conjunction with the motor M. Further, the main pulley 340 may be connected to and supported by the support shaft 370. Further, although the member for supporting the motor M is not specifically shown, the motor M can be fixedly attached to the inner surface of the case 320 in various ways.

The first and second auxiliary pulleys 342 and 344 can rotate in conjunction with the main pulley 340. That is, the first and second auxiliary pulleys 342 and 344 can receive the rotational force of the main pulley 340 by the first belt B1.

The first bar 310 is connected to the lower end of the first wafer support unit 136-1 and can vertically move the first wafer support unit 136-1 in cooperation with the first auxiliary pulley 342 have. To this end, the first bar 310 may be connected to the second belt B2. The second bar 312 is connected to the lower end of the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 and can vertically move the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 in cooperation with the second auxiliary pulley 344 have. To this end, the second bar 312 may be connected to the third belt B3.

The operation of the wafer support base 130B having the above-described structure will be described below. In the case of FIGS. 3 and 4, except that the first-1 wafer support portion 136-1 and the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 have no nozzles N1 and N2, same.

The motor M can rotate the main pulley 340 clockwise in response to the first control signal C1 generated from the main control unit 132. [ At this time, as shown by an arrow, the first and second auxiliary pulleys 342 and 344 can be rotated clockwise in conjunction with the main pulley 340. At this time, by the clockwise rotation of the first auxiliary pulley 342, the first bar 310 can elevate the first-wafer support portion 136-1 vertically as indicated by an arrow. Conversely, by the clockwise rotation of the second auxiliary pulley 344, the second bar 312 can vertically lower the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 as indicated by the arrows. At this time, as shown in Fig. 1, the eleventh wafer supporting portion 136-1 is raised to contact the first-first portion P11 of the wafer W to support the wafer W.

When the motor M stops rotating in the state that the first-1-1 wafer supporting portion 136-1 is in contact with the first-first portion P11 of the wafer W, the first-first wafer supporting portion 136- 1) can maintain contact with the first-first part P11.

On the other hand, the motor M can rotate the main pulley 340 counterclockwise in response to the first control signal C1 generated from the main control unit 132. [ At this time, the first and second auxiliary pulleys 342 and 344 can also be rotated in the counterclockwise direction in cooperation with the main pulley 340 in the direction opposite to the arrow shown. At this time, by the counterclockwise rotation of the first auxiliary pulley 342, the first bar 310 can vertically lower the first-wafer support portion 136-1 in the direction opposite to the arrow shown in the figure. Further, by the counterclockwise rotation of the second auxiliary pulley 344, the second bar 312 can lift the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 vertically in the direction opposite to the arrow shown. At this time, unlike the case shown in Fig. 1, the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 can be raised to contact the second-first portion P12 of the wafer W to support the wafer W.

The first period during which the first-first wafer supporter 136-1 contacts the wafer W and the second period during which the second-1 wafer supporter 138-1 contacts the wafer W are the same It may or may not be the same. The vibrating unit 150 vibrates the cleaning liquid 110 during the first period or the second period so that the wafer W can be cleaned by the cleaning liquid 110. [ Accordingly, the main control unit 132 generates the first control signal C1 corresponding to the first and second periods, and starts and stops the rotation of the motor M in response to the first control signal C1, Direction can be controlled.

Generally, half of the total period of cleaning the wafer W by vibrating the cleaning liquid 110 corresponds to the first period, and the other half corresponds to the second period.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an enlarged view of the portion 'B' shown in FIG.

According to one embodiment, the first and second wafer supports may not have nozzles. For example, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the first-1 wafer support portion 136-1 and the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 have no nozzles.

According to another embodiment, the first and second wafer supports may have nozzles. 5 and 7, the first wafer support 136-1 has a first nozzle N1 and the second-1 wafer support 138-1 has a second nozzle N1, And may have a nozzle N2.

In addition, at least one of the number or size of the nozzles may be the same or different from each other in the first wafer support portion and the second wafer support portion. For example, the number of the first nozzles N1 included in the 1-1 wafer supporting portion 136-1 is 8 as shown in FIG. 7, and the number of the first nozzles N1 included in the 2-1 wafer supporting portion 138-1 The number of the second nozzles N2 may be equal to eight. In addition, the number of each of the first and second nozzles N1 and N2 may be more or less than eight.

The first and second wafer supports can spray the cleaning liquid 110 to the wafer through the nozzles. For example, the 1-1 wafer supporting portion 136-1 ejects the cleaning liquid 400 onto the wafer W via the first nozzle N1, and the 2-1 wafer supporting portion 138-1 ejects the cleaning liquid 400 The cleaning liquid 400 can be jetted onto the wafer W through the two nozzles N2.

5, in order to spray the cleaning liquid 400 through the first or second nozzles N1 and N2, the wafer cleaning apparatus includes a first and a second piping 352 and 354, 1 and second fluid valves 362, 364, respectively.

The first pipe 352 supplies the cleaning liquid to the first wafer support portion 136-1 and the second pipe 354 supplies the cleaning liquid to the second wafer support portion 138-1. The first pipe 352 is made of a flexible material so that the first wafer support portion 136-1 can maintain the connection without being separated from the first wafer support portion 136-1 during the elevation of the first wafer support portion 136-1 . Likewise, the second pipe 354 is flexible so that the connection can be maintained without separating from the second-1 wafer support portion 138-2 while the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 is lifted and lowered And can be implemented as a material.

The first pipe 352 can supply the cleaning liquid to the first wafer support portion 136-1 via the first bar 310 and the second pipe 354 can supply the cleaning solution to the first wafer support portion 136-1 via the second bar 312 So that the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the second-1 wafer supporting portion 138-1.

The first fluid valve 362 is locked or opened in response to the second-1 control signal C21 to allow the flow of cleaning fluid through the first pipe 352 to the first wafer support 136-1 Or block. The second fluid valve 364 is locked or opened in response to the second-2 control signal C22 to allow the flow of cleaning fluid through the second tubing 354 to the second-1 wafer support 138-1 Or block.

Although the first and second fluid valves 362 and 364 are illustrated as being disposed within the case 320, the embodiments are not so limited.

The main control unit 132 may generate the second control signal C2, that is, the 2-1 and the 2-2 control signals C21 and C22 for the above-described operation.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the cleaning liquid can be injected only through the nozzles of the wafer supporting portion in contact with the wafer W among the 1-1 and 2-1 wafer supporting portions 136-1 and 138-1.

For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, when the first wafer support portion 136-1 is brought into contact with the first-first portion P11 of the wafer W, the cleaning liquid 400 is transferred to the first- May be ejected only through the first nozzle N1 of the one-wafer support 136-1 and not through the second nozzle N2 of the second-1 wafer support 138-1. To this end, the main control unit 132 generates the second-1 control signal C21 to open the first fluid valve 362, and the first-first wafer support unit 136-1 through the first pipe 352, And the second fluid valve 364 is closed by generating the second-2 control signal C22 to allow the flow of the cleaning liquid 400 to the second-1 wafer support 138- 1). ≪ / RTI >

On the other hand, when the second-1 wafer support portion 138-1 contacts the second-first portion P12 of the wafer W, the main control portion 132 generates the second-1 control signal C21 The first fluid valve 362 is closed to shut off the flow of the cleaning liquid to the first wafer support portion 136-1 through the first pipe 352 to generate the second control signal C22, 2 fluid valve 364 may be opened to allow the flow of rinse solution through the second tubing 354 to the second-1 touched tip 138-1.

At least one sensing unit may be disposed on the side of the cleaning bath 120 to sense the elevation of the first and second wafer supports and output the sensed result to the main controller 132. For example, referring to FIG. 1, at least one sensing unit may include first and second sensing units 162 and 164, but embodiments are not limited thereto. That is, one of the first and second sensing units 162 and 164 may be omitted.

The first sensing unit 162 is disposed on the left side of the cleaning bath 120 and senses the wafer support portion contacting the wafer W among the first and second wafer support portions and the wafer support portion not contacting the wafer W And output the sensed result S1 to the main control unit 132. [

The second sensing unit 164 is disposed on the right side of the cleaning bath 120 and detects a wafer support portion that is in contact with the wafer W among the first and second wafer support portions and a wafer support portion that is not in contact with the wafer W And output the sensed result S2 to the main control unit 132. [

The main control unit 132 outputs the first control signal C1, the second control signal C21 and the second control signal C22 through the results S1 and S2 sensed by the at least one sensing unit Lt; / RTI > That is, the main controller 132 generates the first control signal C1 to cause the motor M to raise the first wafer support (e.g., 136-1) and lower the second wafer support (e.g., 138-1) The main control unit 132 can check the up and down states of the first and second wafer supports through the sensed results S1 and S2.

The main control part 132 recognizes the wafer supporting part in contact with the wafer W among the first and second wafer supporting parts through the sensing results S1 and S2, -2 control signals C21 and C22. The main control part 132 controls the first and second fluid valves 362 and 362 so that the cleaning liquid is supplied only to the wafer supporting part in contact with the wafer W and the cleaning liquid is not supplied to the wafer supporting part not in contact with the wafer W. [ 364 can be precisely controlled.

As described above, the main control unit 132 generates the first control signal C1 and the second control signals C2 (C21, C22) using the sensing results S1, S2, It can be controlled more accurately than the lift.

Fig. 8 shows a plan view of the wafer cleaning apparatus 100 shown in Fig.

The wafer cleaning apparatus 100 according to the embodiment can clean the wafer W in a single wafer process or the wafer W in a batch process. When the wafers W are cleaned in a batch manner, a plurality of wafers can be seated in the cleaning bath 120 in a comb type.

8, the four wafers W1, W2, W3 and W4 are illustrated as being placed on the cleaning bath 120, but two, three or five or more wafers W1, W2, Of course, can be seated on the cleaning bath 120.

Further, as illustrated in Fig. 8, each of the wafer supports 136-1 to 136-3 and 138-1 to 138-3 has an elongated planar shape in which the x-axis is the major axis and the y-axis is the minor axis, A groove H is formed.

Each of the plurality of wafers may be held in contact by a plurality of first wafer supports or a plurality of second wafer supports. In order to alternately support the wafers, the elevation control unit elevates the first wafer supporting unit and the second wafer supporting unit.

Hereinafter, a comparative example and a wafer cleaning apparatus according to the embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

9 and 10 show cross-sectional views of a wafer cleaning apparatus according to a comparative example.

In the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the comparative example shown in Figs. 9 and 10, the same reference numerals are used for the same parts as those of the wafer cleaning apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and redundant explanations are omitted.

Unlike the wafer cleaning apparatus 100 shown in Fig. 1, the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the comparative example shown in Figs. 9 and 10 has only a plurality of first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, 136-3 And does not have a plurality of second wafer supports 138-1, 138-2, and 138-3. After the plurality of first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3 support the wafer W, the cleaning liquid 110 vibrates by the vibration unit 150 to clean the wafer W . At this time, the first, second, and third portions P11, P21, P31 of the wafer W in contact with the plurality of first wafer supporting portions 136-1, 136-2, Are covered by the plurality of first wafer supports 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3, they may not be sufficiently cleaned. For example, referring to Fig. 10, the upper part of the 1-1 part P11 covered by the 1-1 wafer supporting part 136-1 is a part of the upper surface Residual dead zones 410, 412, and 414 may occur. That is, the dead zone is a region having a contamination pattern in which the megasonic sonic waves can not propagate by the first wafer supporting portions 136-1, 136-2, and 136-3.

On the other hand, unlike the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the comparative example, the wafer cleaning apparatus 100 according to the embodiment further includes a plurality of second wafer supporting members in addition to the plurality of first wafer supporting members. Therefore, after the wafer W is supported by the plurality of first wafer support portions, the wafer W is cleaned, and then the wafer W is supported by the second wafer support portion adjacent to the first wafer support portion instead of the first wafer support portion And then rinsed. Accordingly, the contaminant 410 as shown in FIG. 10 can be removed by the cleaning liquid 110 vibrated by the vibration unit 150 while the wafer is supported by the second wafer support. As described above, the wafer cleaning apparatus 100 according to the embodiment can clean the dead zones 410, 412, and 414 shown in FIG. 9, and the cleaning power of the wafer can be improved.

Further, the cleaning ability of the wafer W can be further improved by injecting the cleaning liquid through the first or second nozzles N1 and N2 while the first or second wafer supporting portion supports the wafer.

While the present invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to exemplary embodiments thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments, but, on the contrary, It will be understood that various modifications and applications are possible. For example, each component specifically shown in the embodiments can be modified and implemented. It is to be understood that all changes and modifications that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced therein.

100: Wafer cleaning apparatus 110: Cleaning liquid
120: cleaning bath 130, 130A, 130B: wafer support base
140: ultrasonic wave generator 150:
162, 164: sensing section 132:
134-1, 134-2, and 134-3:
136-1, 136-2, and 136-3: a first wafer support
138-1, 138-2, and 138-3: a second wafer support
310, 312: bar 320: case
340: main pulley 342, 344: auxiliary pulley
370: Support shaft

Claims (13)

A cleaning bath containing a cleaning liquid;
A wafer support base disposed inside the cleaning bath and selectively supporting a plurality of first portions or a plurality of second portions adjacent to each other at an edge of a wafer to be cleaned;
An ultrasonic wave generator for generating ultrasonic waves; And
And a vibrating part disposed below the cleaning bath for vibrating the cleaning liquid in accordance with the ultrasonic waves,
The wafer support base
A plurality of first wafer support portions having a shape capable of supporting the wafer in contact with the plurality of first portions;
A plurality of second wafer supports having a shape capable of supporting the wafer in contact with the plurality of second portions; And
And a plurality of elevation control sections for controlling the elevating and lowering operations of the first and second wafer supporting sections to bring the first and second wafer supporting sections into contact with the wafer alternately,
Wherein the first and second wafer supports comprise nozzles for ejecting the cleaning liquid to the wafer. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the plurality of first portions are equally spaced from one another and the plurality of second portions are equally spaced from one another. delete The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the elevation control unit
A motor rotating in response to a first control signal;
A main pulley rotating in association with the motor;
First and second auxiliary pulleys rotating in conjunction with the main pulley;
First and second bars connected to the lower ends of the first and second wafer supports, respectively, for vertically moving the first and second wafer supports in cooperation with the first and second auxiliary pulleys, respectively; And
And a main control unit for generating the first control signal. delete The wafer cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the wafer cleaning apparatus
First and second pipings supplying the cleaning liquid to the first and second wafer supports, respectively;
A first fluid valve responsive to the second control signal to allow flow of the rinse fluid in the first pipe; And
And a second fluid valve responsive to the 2-2 control signal for allowing the flow of the rinse solution in the second pipe,
And the main control unit generates the second-first and second-second control signals. 7. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the first pipe supplies the cleaning liquid to the first wafer support via the first bar,
And the second pipe supplies the cleaning liquid to the second wafer support via the second bar. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the wafer support base
And a case for sealing the first wafer supporting portion, the second wafer supporting portion, and the elevation control portion. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein a first period during which the first wafer support portion contacts the wafer and a second period during which the second wafer support portion contacts the wafer are the same,
And the main control unit generates the first control signal in accordance with the first and second periods. 5. The method of claim 4, wherein a first period during which the first wafer support portion contacts the wafer and a second period during which the second wafer support portion contacts the wafer are different,
And the main control unit generates the first control signal in accordance with the first and second periods. 7. The polishing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising: at least one sensing unit disposed at a side of the cleaning bath, for sensing an elevation of the first and second wafer supports,
Wherein the main control unit generates the first control signal, the second control signal, and the second control signal through a result sensed by the at least one sensing unit. A wafer cleaning method performed in the wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, 4, and 6 to 11,
Raising the first wafer support to contact the first portion of the wafer;
Vibrating the cleaning liquid to primarily clean the wafer;
Lowering the first wafer support and raising the second wafer support to contact the second portion of the wafer; And
And secondarily cleaning the wafer by vibrating the cleaning liquid. 13. The method of claim 12, further comprising the step of spraying the cleaning liquid onto the wafer through a wafer support portion contacting the wafer from among the first and second wafer supports.

Images