KR20000066966A - Apparatus for cleaning semiconductor wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: An apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor wafer is provided to prevent a cleaning liquid from splashing out of a cleaning bath, by stably spraying the cleaning liquid into the surface of the semiconductor wafer. CONSTITUTION: An apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor wafer(40) comprises a cleaning bath(12), a turntable, a spin cup(14), a first spraying nozzle(32), a second spraying nozzle(34) and a third spraying nozzle. The turntable is established in the cleaning bath, on which a semiconductor wafer to clean is placed. The spin cup is established in an upper part of the cleaning bath, and at least two openings are formed on a side surface of the spin cup. The first spraying nozzle is established in the cleaning bath, and is positioned on one of the openings of the spin cup, so that a cleaning liquid is sprayed in the same direction as the semiconductor wafer rotates. The second spraying nozzle is installed in parallel with the first spraying nozzle. The third spraying nozzle sprays a nitrogen gas to the surface of the semiconductor wafer, installed on another opening of the spin cup.

Description

Semiconductor wafer cleaning equipment {APPARATUS FOR CLEANING SEMICONDUCTOR WAFER}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus used for cleaning a semiconductor wafer surface in a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process.

One of the most basic technologies in the semiconductor manufacturing process is the cleaning technology. The semiconductor manufacturing process goes through several steps to form the surface of the wafer. At this time, since the unnecessary thin film and various contaminants are formed and remain on the surface of the semiconductor wafer where a predetermined process is performed in each step, the semiconductor wafer must be cleaned for a predetermined time. Therefore, the cleaning technique removes various thin films and contaminants generated during the semiconductor manufacturing process using physical and chemical methods.

1 is a block diagram showing a conventional cleaning apparatus used for cleaning a semiconductor wafer. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional cleaning apparatus 100 includes a cleaning tank 102 and first and second nozzles 112 and 114 that spray ultrapure water onto a surface of a semiconductor wafer 120 located in the cleaning tank 102. And a nozzle 116 for injecting nitrogen gas. However, in the conventional cleaning apparatus 100, as shown in FIG. 1, since the direction in which ultrapure water is injected from the first nozzle 112 and the direction in which the semiconductor wafer 120 rotates are opposite to each other, when cleaning the surface of the semiconductor wafer. Ultrapure water sprayed from the first nozzle 112 is splashed out of the cleaning tank 102. At this time, the ultrapure water splashing out of the cleaning tank 102 acts as a cause of electrical shorts inside the facility, and in some cases, there is a problem of causing downtime.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve such a conventional problem, and an object thereof is to provide a cleaning apparatus for a semiconductor wafer of a new type to stably spray the cleaning liquid onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer.

1 is a view showing a conventional semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus;

2 is a view showing a cleaning tank of a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a view showing a spraying direction of the cleaning liquid in the semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

12: washing tank 14: spin cup

32: first injection nozzle 34: second injection nozzle

36: third injection nozzle 40: semiconductor wafer

According to a feature of the present invention for achieving the above object, a cleaning apparatus for a semiconductor wafer includes a cleaning tank; A turntable installed in the cleaning tank and having a semiconductor wafer for cleaning on an upper surface thereof; A spin cup installed at an upper end of the cleaning tank and having at least two openings formed at a side thereof; A first injection nozzle installed in the cleaning tank and positioned on one opening of the spin cup such that the cleaning liquid is injected in the same direction as the rotation direction of the semiconductor wafer placed on the turntable; A second injection nozzle installed in parallel with the first injection nozzle; And a third injection nozzle installed on another opening of the spin cup and injecting nitrogen gas onto the semiconductor wafer.

In the present invention as described above the cleaning liquid is made of ultrapure water.

According to the cleaning apparatus of the semiconductor wafer described above, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the first and second injection nozzles in the same direction as the rotation direction of the semiconductor wafer, so that the phenomenon of splashing when the cleaning liquid contacts the semiconductor wafer surface can be minimized.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, the same reference numerals are given to components that perform the same function.

2 is a view showing a cleaning tank of a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 3 is a view showing an injection state of the cleaning liquid in the semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

2 and 3, a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a cleaning tank 12, a turntable, a spin cup 14, a first injection nozzle 32, and a second injection. It consists of a nozzle 34 and a third injection nozzle 36. The cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 2 shows an ultrasonic cleaning apparatus for cleaning using ultrasonic waves.

The turntable is installed in the cleaning tank 12 and is covered by the semiconductor wafer 40 and is not shown in the drawing. On the top surface of the turntable is placed a semiconductor wafer 40 for cleaning. The spin cup 14 is installed on the upper end of the cleaning tank 12. The spin cup 14 is installed at the upper end of the cleaning tank 12 and three openings 16a, 16b, and 16c are formed at the side surface. Nozzles are positioned on the opening of the spin cup 14.

The first injection nozzle 32 and the second injection nozzle 34 which spray the cleaning liquid for cleaning the semiconductor wafer 40 are fixedly installed on the outer wall of the cleaning tank 12 side by side. Meanwhile, the first and second injection nozzles 32 and 34 are positioned on the first opening 16a of the spin cup 14, and the first and second injection nozzles 32 and 34 are disposed on the first opening 16a. Has an injection angle capable of spraying the cleaning liquid in the same direction as the rotational direction of the semiconductor wafer 40 placed on the turntable. Ultrapure water is used as the cleaning liquid.

The third injection nozzle 36 for injecting nitrogen gas onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer is installed in the cleaning tank 12 so as to be positioned on the second opening 16b of the spin cup 14.

For example, the first injection nozzle 32 is installed at the portion where the existing third injection nozzle is located, and the third injection nozzle 36 is installed at the position where the existing first injection nozzle is located. That is, as the positions of the existing first injection nozzle and the third injection nozzle are interchanged with each other, the cost can be reduced.

The structural feature of the present invention is that the injection angles of the first and second injection nozzles for injecting ultrapure water onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer are the same as the rotational direction of the semiconductor wafer.

An arrow a shown in FIG. 3 indicates a rotation direction of the semiconductor wafer, and an arrow b indicates an injection direction of ultrapure water sprayed from the first injection nozzle 32 and the second injection nozzle 34. will be. As described above, in the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, since the rotation direction of the semiconductor wafer 40 coincides with the injection direction b of the ultrapure water, the impact at the moment when the ultrapure water contacts the surface film of the semiconductor wafer can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the splashing of ultrapure water.

According to the semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus of the present invention as described above, since the cleaning liquid is stably sprayed on the surface of the semiconductor wafer, the problem of the conventional cleaning liquid splashing out of the cleaning tank can be solved. Therefore, there is an effect that the failure rate due to the electrical short of the other device in the facility or in close proximity is reduced and the environmental safety is improved.

Claims (2)

A washing tank; A turntable installed in the cleaning tank and having a semiconductor wafer for cleaning on an upper surface thereof; A spin cup installed at an upper end of the cleaning tank and having at least two openings formed at a side thereof; A first injection nozzle installed in the cleaning tank and positioned on one opening of the spin cup such that the cleaning liquid is injected in the same direction as the rotation direction of the semiconductor wafer placed on the turntable; A second injection nozzle installed in parallel with the first injection nozzle; A third injection nozzle installed on the other opening of the spin cup and injecting nitrogen gas onto the semiconductor wafer, And a cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer in the same direction as the rotational direction of the wafer, thereby minimizing the splashing of the cleaning liquid out of the cleaning tank. The method of claim 1, And said cleaning liquid is ultrapure water.