KR102351341B1 - Fan filter unit and substrate processing apparatus comprising the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a fan filter unit and a substrate processing apparatus including the same.
The fan filter unit according to the present invention includes an inlet formed on one side of a housing to suck in external gas, a ventilation control plate installed in the intake port to open or close the intake port, a driving unit that rotates the ventilation control plate to drive the intake port to open or close; The drying gas supply unit that supplies the drying gas to the housing, the external gas supplied through the inlet, or the fan that rotates the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit to generate a downdraft flow and filters the downdraft generated by the fan. It includes a filter that removes foreign substances.
According to the present invention, after treating a substrate using a chemical solution, in the process of drying the substrate, the internal humidity of the process chamber is quickly adjusted to a level suitable for drying, thereby shortening the substrate drying time and improving drying efficiency. .

Description

FAN FILTER UNIT AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS COMPRISING THE SAME

The present invention relates to a fan filter unit and a substrate processing apparatus including the same. More specifically, the present invention can shorten the substrate drying time and improve drying efficiency by rapidly adjusting the internal humidity of the process chamber to a level suitable for drying in the process of drying the substrate after treating the substrate using a chemical solution. It relates to a fan filter unit capable of being capable of and to a substrate processing apparatus including the same.

In general, as semiconductor devices become high-density, high-integration, and high-performance, miniaturization of circuit patterns is rapidly progressing, and fumes caused by particles, organic contaminants, metal contaminants, liquid chemicals, etc. remaining on the substrate surface. ) and other contaminants have a significant impact on device characteristics and production yield.

For this reason, a cleaning process for removing various contaminants adhering to the surface of the substrate has become very important in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and a process of cleaning the substrate is performed before and after each unit process of manufacturing a semiconductor.

The cleaning methods currently used in the semiconductor manufacturing process are largely divided into dry cleaning and wet cleaning, and wet cleaning is a bath that immerses a substrate in a chemical solution to remove contaminants by chemical dissolution, etc. It is classified into a spin-type method and a spin-type method in which a chemical solution is supplied to the surface of the substrate to remove contaminants while the substrate is placed on a spin chuck and the substrate is rotated.

Among them, in the spin-type method, the process is carried out in a cleaning chamber in which the spin chuck is installed, and during the process, a clean air stream in which foreign substances are filtered and removed by a fan filter unit installed in the upper part of the cleaning chamber is removed. It is formed and flows from the top to the bottom, and the clean air flow is exhausted to the outside through the exhaust port.

On the other hand, the last step of this spin-type wet cleaning process is a process of drying the substrate, and in addition to supplying external air to keep the inside of the chamber in a clean state as a means to increase the drying speed and efficiency, it is suitable for drying the humidity inside the chamber. Drying gas can be supplied to bring it down to a level.

In the process of supplying such drying gas, the external air supply must be cut off, so the power supplied to the fan constituting the fan filter unit is cut off. There is a problem in that the process is delayed. For example, when the rotation speed of the fan is 200 RPM, it takes about 25 seconds to stop the fan, and this time has a problem in that it unnecessarily increases the drying process time.

Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2010-0059336 (published date: June 04, 2010, name: fan filter unit and substrate processing apparatus having the same) Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2010-0052819 (Published date: May 20, 2010, Title: Control device of fan filter unit in substrate processing apparatus) Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 10-2010-0059460 (published date: June 04, 2010, title: fan filter unit control system and airflow supply method)

The technical problem of the present invention is to shorten the substrate drying time and improve drying efficiency by rapidly adjusting the internal humidity of the process chamber to a level suitable for drying in the process of drying the substrate after treating the substrate using a chemical solution. An object of the present invention is to provide a fan filter unit and a substrate processing apparatus including the same.

The present invention for solving the above technical problem is a fan filter unit installed above a process chamber in which a processing process for a substrate is performed to supply gas to form a downdraft in the process chamber, a housing, one side of the housing A suction port for inhaling external gas formed in the inlet, a ventilation control plate installed in the suction port to open or close the intake port, a driving unit to rotate the ventilation control plate to drive the intake port to open or close, and supply drying gas to the housing a drying gas supply unit, a fan that rotates the external gas supplied through the suction port or the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit to generate a descending airflow, and filtering the descending airflow generated by the fan to remove foreign substances Includes filters.

In the fan filter unit according to the present invention, in the external gas supply mode for supplying the first downward airflow by the external gas to the process chamber, the driving unit rotates the ventilation control plate in a first direction to open the intake port. It is characterized by driving.

In the fan filter unit according to the present invention, in the drying gas supply mode in which the second downdraft of the drying gas is supplied to the process chamber, the driving unit moves the ventilation control plate in a second direction opposite to the first direction. It is characterized in that it is driven so that the inlet is closed by rotating it.

A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a process chamber in which a processing process for a substrate is performed, and a fan filter unit installed above the process chamber to supply gas to form a downdraft in the process chamber, the fan filter The unit includes a housing, a suction port formed on one side of the housing to suck in external gas, a ventilation control plate installed in the suction port to open or close the suction port, and rotating the ventilation control plate to drive the suction port to open or close A driving unit, a drying gas supply unit for supplying drying gas to the housing, a fan for generating a downdraft by rotating the external gas supplied through the suction port or the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit, and the fan are generated by the fan It includes a filter that filters the downdraft and removes foreign substances.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, in the external gas supply mode in which the fan filter unit supplies the first downdraft by the external gas to the process chamber, the driving unit rotates the ventilation control plate in a first direction The inlet is driven to open, and external gas sucked through the inlet is supplied to the process chamber in the form of the first downdraft through the fan and the filter to maintain the process chamber in a clean state. It is characterized in that it is discharged to the outside.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, in the drying gas supply mode in which the fan filter unit supplies the second downdraft of the drying gas to the process chamber, the driving unit moves the ventilation control plate in a direction opposite to the first direction is rotated in the second direction to close the inlet, and the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit is supplied to the process chamber in the form of the second downdraft through the fan and the filter to the process chamber. It is characterized in that the substrate disposed in the chamber is dried.

According to the present invention, after treating a substrate using a chemical solution, in the process of drying the substrate, the internal humidity of the process chamber is quickly adjusted to a level suitable for drying, thereby shortening the substrate drying time and improving drying efficiency. A fan filter unit and a substrate processing apparatus including the same are provided.

1 is a view showing a substrate processing apparatus including a fan filter unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;
2 is a view for explaining an operation of an external gas supply mode in which the fan filter unit supplies a first downdraft by external gas to a process chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 3 is a view for explaining an operation of a drying gas supply mode in which a fan filter unit supplies a second downdraft of drying gas to a process chamber according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Specific structural or functional descriptions of the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention disclosed in this specification are only exemplified for the purpose of explaining the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention, and the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may take various forms. It can be implemented with the above and is not limited to the embodiments described herein.

Since the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention may have various changes and may have various forms, the embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, this is not intended to limit the embodiments according to the concept of the present invention to specific disclosed forms, and includes all modifications, equivalents, or substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms such as first or second may be used to describe various elements, but the elements should not be limited by the terms. The above terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another, for example without departing from the scope of the inventive concept, a first component may be termed a second component and similarly a second component A component may also be referred to as a first component.

When a component is referred to as being “connected” or “connected” to another component, it may be directly connected or connected to the other component, but it should be understood that other components may exist in between. will be. On the other hand, when it is said that a certain element is "directly connected" or "directly connected" to another element, it should be understood that the other element does not exist in the middle. Other expressions describing the relationship between elements, such as "between" and "immediately between" or "neighboring to" and "directly adjacent to", should be interpreted similarly.

The terms used herein are used only to describe specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit the present invention. The singular expression includes the plural expression unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In this specification, terms such as "comprise" or "have" are intended to designate that a feature, number, step, operation, component, part, or combination thereof described herein exists, but one or more other features It should be understood that it does not preclude the possibility of the presence or addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof.

Unless defined otherwise, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in the dictionary should be interpreted as having meanings consistent with the meanings in the context of the related art, and are not to be interpreted in an ideal or excessively formal meaning unless explicitly defined in the present specification. .

Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus including a fan filter unit according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Since the fan filter unit is a part of the substrate processing apparatus, it should be pointed out that the fan filter unit is also described through the description of the substrate processing apparatus.

1 is a view showing a substrate processing apparatus including a fan filter unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Referring to FIG. 1 , a substrate processing apparatus 1 including a fan filter unit 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a process chamber 10 and a fan filter unit 20 , The fan filter unit 20 includes a housing 210 , an intake port 220 , a ventilation control plate 230 , a driving unit 240 , a drying gas supply unit 250 , a fan 260 , and a filter 270 . is composed by

The process chamber 10 is installed inside a process room and is a component in which a predetermined semiconductor processing process for a substrate is performed. Examples of the semiconductor processing process performed in the process chamber 10 include a cleaning process including a rinse process and a dry process, but the semiconductor processing process performed in the process chamber 10 is not However, the present invention is not limited thereto.

For example, the process chamber 10 may be configured to include a plurality of reaction vessels having a kind of cup shape in which a circular opening is formed at the upper end, and a substrate is disposed inside the reaction vessels. A chuck, a chuck drive system including a spindle for rotationally driving the chuck, and the like may be provided.

As will be described later, the external gas supplied through the inlet 220 and the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit 250 may be discharged to the outside through an exhaust port provided in the process chamber 10 .

The fan filter unit 20 is installed at the upper portion of the process chamber 10 to supply gas so that a downdraft is formed in the process chamber 10 .

The fan filter unit 20 includes a housing 210 , an intake port 220 , a ventilation control plate 230 , a driving unit 240 , a drying gas supply unit 250 , a fan 260 , and a filter 270 . is composed by

The housing 210 forms the exterior of the fan filter unit 20 and is a base in which other components are embedded or installed.

The inlet 220 is a component that is formed on one side of the housing 210 to suck the external gas. For example, when the housing 210 has a hexahedral shape, the inlet 220 may be a rectangular opening provided in a partial region of one of the four sides of the hexahedron, and increase external gas intake efficiency To this end, the opening constituting the suction port 220 may be configured to have a shape that is opened at a predetermined angle toward the outside. For example, the external gas may be air around the fan filter unit 20 , but the external gas is not limited thereto.

The ventilation control plate 230 is installed in the intake port 220 to open or close the intake port 220 , and the driving unit 240 rotates the ventilation control plate 230 to drive the intake port 220 to open or close. perform the function

For example, the driving unit 240 is a cylinder rotated by a motor (not shown), and the ventilation control plate 230 may be a plate-shaped member coupled to the cylinder and rotating.

The drying gas supply unit 250 serves to supply the drying gas to the housing 210 . For example, the drying gas supplied by the drying gas supply unit 250 to the housing 210 may be compressed dry air (CDA), and in this case, the drying gas supply unit 250 may include a fan filter unit ( 20) It may be configured to suck the surrounding air, compress it while removing moisture from the sucked air, and spray it on the housing 210 , and the end of the drying gas supply unit 250 , that is, the part where the drying gas is sprayed. The silver may be configured to have a slit shape or a shower head shape.

The fan 260 rotates the external gas supplied through the inlet 220 or the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit 250 to generate a downdraft, and supplies the downdraft to the process chamber 10 . perform the function

The filter 270 filters the downdraft generated by the fan 260 to remove foreign substances.

Hereinafter, the operation of an embodiment of the present invention will be described by dividing it into an external gas supply mode and a dry gas supply mode with additional reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 .

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining an operation of an external gas supply mode in which the fan filter unit 20 supplies a first downdraft by external gas to the process chamber 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention; to be.

2 , the external gas supply mode is an operation state in which the fan filter unit 20 supplies a first downdraft by external gas to the process chamber 10 .

In this external gas supply mode, the driving unit 240 constituting the fan filter unit 20 rotates the ventilation control plate 230 installed at the inlet 220 in the first direction to drive the inlet 220 to be opened.

The external gas sucked in through the open suction port 220 is converted into a form of a first downdraft through the fan 260 and the filter 270 , and the first downdraft is converted into a form of a first downdraft in the process chamber 10 installed in the process room. ) is supplied at a speed corresponding to the rotational speed of the fan 260 to face the entire portion.

A cycle in which the first downdraft supplied to the process chamber 10 is discharged to the outside through an exhaust port provided at the lower end of the process chamber 10 while maintaining the process chamber 10 in a clean state is repeatedly performed.

For example, this external gas supply mode is a state after the semiconductor process in progress in the process chamber 10 is terminated together with or after the supply of the chemical solution for performing a specific semiconductor process on the substrate, that is, , can be performed even in an idle state of the equipment, and the internal state of the process chamber 10 is maintained in a clean state in which foreign substances such as fumes and particles do not exist according to this external gas supply.

3 is a diagram for illustratively illustrating an operation of a drying gas supply mode in which the fan filter unit 20 supplies a second downdraft of drying gas to the process chamber 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention; It is a drawing.

Referring further to FIG. 3 , the drying gas supply mode is an operation state in which the fan filter unit 20 supplies a second downdraft of drying gas to the process chamber 10 .

In this dry gas supply mode, the driving unit 240 constituting the fan filter unit 20 rotates the ventilation control plate 230 installed at the inlet 220 in a second direction opposite to the first direction to cause the inlet 220 to operate. drive to close.

In the drying gas supply mode, since the intake port 220 is closed by the ventilation control plate 230 , the intake of external air through the intake port 220 is blocked, and the drying gas is supplied to the housing 210 through the drying gas supply unit 250 . ) is supplied.

The drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit 250 passes through the fan 260 and the filter 270 to be converted into the form of a second downdraft, and the second downdraft flows into the process chamber 10 installed in the process room. ) is supplied at a speed corresponding to the rotation speed of the fan 260 to face the entire portion of the substrate to dry the substrate disposed in the process chamber 10 . In this process, the internal humidity of the process chamber 10 is quickly adjusted to be suitable for drying the substrate, and the second downdraft supplied to the process chamber 10 reduces the internal humidity of the process chamber 10 to a level suitable for drying. A cycle in which the substrate is discharged to the outside through the discharge port provided at the lower end of the process chamber 10 while controlling and drying the substrate is repeatedly performed.

For example, the drying gas supply mode may be performed in a drying process performed after a rinse process constituting a cleaning process, but is not limited thereto.

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, after treating a substrate using a chemical solution, in the process of drying the substrate, the internal humidity of the process chamber is quickly adjusted to a level suitable for drying to shorten the substrate drying time and dry the substrate. A fan filter unit capable of improving efficiency and a substrate processing apparatus including the same are provided.

1: Substrate processing apparatus
10: process chamber
20: fan filter unit
210: housing
220: intake
230: ventilation control panel
240: driving unit
250: drying gas supply unit
260: fan
270: filter
W: substrate

Claims (6)

A fan filter unit installed at an upper portion of a process chamber in which a processing process for a substrate is performed and supplying gas to form a downdraft in the process chamber, the fan filter unit comprising:
housing;
a suction port formed on one side of the housing to suck in external gas;
one ventilation control plate installed in the inlet to open or close the inlet;
a driving unit which rotates the ventilation control plate to drive the inlet to open or close;
a drying gas supply unit supplying drying gas to the housing;
a fan for generating a descending airflow by rotating the external gas supplied through the suction port or the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit; and
A filter for removing foreign substances by filtering the downdraft generated by the fan,
In the external gas supply mode in which the first downdraft by the external gas is supplied to the process chamber, the driving unit rotates the ventilation control plate in a first direction to drive the inlet to open, and sucks through the open suction port the exhausted external gas is converted into the form of the first downdraft through the fan and the filter, and the first downdraft is supplied at a speed corresponding to the rotational speed of the fan to face the entire portion of the process chamber, A cycle in which the first downdraft supplied to the process chamber is discharged to the outside through an exhaust port provided at the lower end of the process chamber while maintaining the process chamber in a clean state is repeatedly performed;
In the drying gas supply mode in which the second downdraft by the drying gas is supplied to the process chamber, the driving unit rotates the ventilation control plate in a second direction opposite to the first direction to close the inlet; In the drying gas supply mode, the inlet is closed by the ventilation control plate, so that the intake of external gas through the inlet is blocked, and the drying gas is supplied to the housing through the drying gas supply unit, and is supplied through the drying gas supply unit. The dried drying gas is converted into the form of the second downdraft through the fan and the filter, and the second downdraft is supplied at a speed corresponding to the rotational speed of the fan toward the entire portion of the process chamber. The substrate disposed in the process chamber is dried, and the second downdraft supplied to the process chamber adjusts the internal humidity of the process chamber to a level suitable for drying to dry the substrate and discharge provided at the lower end of the process chamber The cycle to be discharged to the outside through the port is repeatedly performed,
The fan filter unit, wherein the intake port has a rectangular opening shape that is opened at a predetermined angle toward the outside in order to increase external gas intake efficiency.
delete delete A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
a process chamber in which a processing process for the substrate is performed; and
and a fan filter unit installed above the process chamber to supply gas to form a downdraft in the process chamber;
The fan filter unit,
housing;
a suction port formed on one side of the housing to suck in external gas;
one ventilation control plate installed in the inlet to open or close the inlet;
a driving unit which rotates the ventilation control plate to drive the inlet to open or close;
a drying gas supply unit supplying drying gas to the housing;
a fan for generating a descending airflow by rotating the external gas supplied through the suction port or the drying gas supplied through the drying gas supply unit; and
A filter for removing foreign substances by filtering the downdraft generated by the fan,
In an external gas supply mode in which the fan filter unit supplies the first downdraft by the external gas to the process chamber, the driving unit rotates the ventilation control plate in a first direction to drive the intake port to be opened, and in an open state External gas sucked in through the inlet of A cycle in which the first downflow air supplied to the process chamber is supplied at a speed and discharged to the outside through an exhaust port provided at the lower end of the process chamber while maintaining the process chamber in a clean state is repeatedly performed;
In a drying gas supply mode in which the fan filter unit supplies a second downdraft of the drying gas to the process chamber, the driving unit rotates the ventilation control plate in a second direction opposite to the first direction to allow the suction port is driven to be closed, and in the drying gas supply mode, the intake port is closed by the ventilation control plate to block the intake of external gas through the intake port, and the drying gas is supplied to the housing through the drying gas supply unit, and the drying gas is supplied to the housing. The drying gas supplied through the gas supply unit is converted into the form of the second downdraft through the fan and the filter, and the second downdraft corresponds to the rotational speed of the fan to face the entire portion of the process chamber. is supplied to dry the substrate disposed in the process chamber at a rate of The cycle to be discharged to the outside through the discharge port provided at the lower end is repeatedly performed,
The suction port has a rectangular opening shape that is opened at a predetermined angle toward the outside in order to increase external gas suction efficiency.
delete delete

Images