KR20040110511A - chemical and mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing semiconductor devices is provided to accelerate a process time by simultaneously performing a polishing process and a wafer transferring process. CONSTITUTION: A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus includes a polishing station(100), a plurality of polishing heads(300a,300b,300c,300d), a driver(242), and a transferring stage(120). The polishing station includes a plurality of flattens having polishing pads attached thereon. The plurality of polishing heads are implemented on an upper portion of the polishing station and include membranes for adsorbing wafers. The driver rotates the polishing head. The transferring stage is implemented on the polishing station to load/unload the wafer to/from the polishing head. The transferring stage includes a plurality of rotational transferring members(130).

Description

Chemical and mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly, to a chemical mechanical polishing for chemically and mechanically polishing a surface of a semiconductor wafer.

As the semiconductor device has high density, miniaturization, and multilayered wiring structure, the step height is increased, and spin on glass, etch-back, reflow, etc. are used to planarize the surface level. The planarization method has been developed and used in the process, but due to many problems, the chemical mechanical planarization (hereinafter referred to as 'CMP') technology is widely used for the complete planarization.

CMP is a technique for planarizing a wafer surface through a chemical mechanical reaction. The principle is to supply the polishing liquid with the wafer in contact with the polishing pad surface to chemically react the wafer surface and to relatively move the platen and the wafer carrier (or wafer holder) to physically planarize the uneven portion of the wafer surface. will be.

1 is a perspective view of a CMP equipment according to the prior art, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the progress of the CMP equipment according to the prior art.

1 and 2, the CMP apparatus has four heads 60, the heads 60 being mechanically connected to the drive means 70 and each by means of the drive means 70. You will be taken to a step.

The head 60 includes a head body and a membrane, and the inside of the head 60 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) to adsorb the membrane on the upper surface of the head. The wafer is inserted into this membrane and subjected to vacuum adsorption.

In addition, one head cup loading unloading (hereinafter referred to as HCLU) and three platens 10, 20, and 30 (platen) are positioned below the heads 60.

The HCLU 40 is mechanically connected to a driving device (not shown), and a transport robot 80 is disposed at a position adjacent to the HCLU 40. The transfer robot 80 includes an inlet 90 that takes over the wafer in the previous process and a takeout unit 90 ′ that takes over the wafer in the HCLU 40 after the polishing process.

The transfer robot 80 seats the wafer transferred from the inlet 90 to the HCLU, moves the wafer to the membrane of the head by a driving device connected to the HCLU 40, and moves the other wafer that has been polished from the membrane of the head. I play a role.

As described above, the conventional or general HCUL 40 had to be configured in one piece to move the wafer to the membrane of the head, and to carry out two operations to receive the polished wafer from the membrane of the head.

In addition, it is composed of an inlet 90 where the wafer is introduced in the previous process and an outlet 90 'which takes over the finished wafer in a subsequent process, and the wafer is transferred from the inlet 90 for the polishing process. It is comprised by the complicated structure which has the work which takes over to 40, and the conveyance robot 80 which picks up a process-processed wafer from HCLU40.

That is, it takes a very long time to move the wafer from the inlet 90 to the membrane of the head, and to move the wafer from the inlet 90 to the takeout 90 'after receiving the wafer from the membrane of the head. .

The present invention is to solve the problems as described above, it is an object to shorten the polishing process time of the polishing equipment for manufacturing a semiconductor device.

1 is a perspective view of CMP equipment according to the prior art;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the progress of the CMP equipment according to the prior art;

3 is a schematic diagram of a CMP apparatus having a polishing table according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a plan view showing a part of the rotational transfer unit of the present invention;

5 is a cross-sectional view A-A of FIG. 4;

6A to 6D are views schematically showing a procedure of performing a polishing process according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: polishing station 110: table

112: lower post 120: base

124: cylinder 126: feed shaft

127: support plate 128: cover

129 through hole 130 transfer stage

130a, 130b, 130c: the rotary feeder 132: the support

132 ': arm 134: guide

136,136 ': Injection nozzle 140: Polishing station

142a, 142b, 142c: platen 144: polishing pad

146: pad control device 148: slurry supply pipe

200: polishing head assembly 210: upper post

220: head support plate 222: slot

230: body 232: cover

240: drive shaft 242: drive unit

300a, 300b, 300c, 300d: Polishing Head W: Wafer

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: a polishing station having a plurality of platens with a polishing pad attached on an upper surface thereof; A plurality of polishing heads equipped with an adsorbing membrane, a driving portion for rotating the polishing head, and a transfer stage portion disposed at the polishing station for loading / unloading wafers to / from the polishing head, wherein the transfer stage portions Two rotational transfer parts.

In addition, the rotary feeder includes a feed shaft, a support portion disposed above the feed shaft, and the wafer is placed on the support portion, and the support portion includes at least one spray nozzle, and at least one position adjacent to the support portion. Cleaning liquid nozzle is provided.

Each of the rotational transfer unit is a cylinder is installed so that it can be raised, lowered, characterized in that the sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the vacuum suction on the head is mounted.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings in detail before the present invention, embodiments of the present invention can be modified in various forms, the scope of the present invention is to be limited by the embodiments described below It should not be interpreted. These examples are provided to more fully explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the shape of the elements in the drawings and the like are exaggerated to emphasize a clearer description.

3 is a schematic diagram of a CMP apparatus having a polishing table according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the CMP apparatus is roughly divided into a polishing station 100 and a polishing head assembly 200.

First, the polishing head assembly 200 is positioned above the polishing station 100, and an upper post 210 is disposed at a center thereof and is supported by a lower post 110 to be described later.

The upper post 210 is coupled to the head support plate 220, the head support plate 220 is also coupled to the body 230.

The head support plate 220 has four slots 222 having the same separation distance from the center thereof and arranged at a uniform angle. The longitudinal direction of the slots 222 is formed in the radial direction at the center of the head support plate 220.

The drive shaft 240 connected to the polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d pressurizing the wafer W in the body 230, and the polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d may be connected to the drive shaft ( The driving unit 242 is mounted to rotate in the same or opposite direction to the rotation direction of the polishing pad 144 with respect to 240. In addition, the body 230 has four covers 232 may be independently disassembled as shown in the figure, and has a cover 232 to open and close the upper opening in one body 230.

The polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d include a membrane (not shown) that adsorbs or pressurizes the wafer W, and the membrane is formed of a circular thin rubber film.

Meanwhile, the polishing station 100 includes a table 110 having a lower post 112 installed at a central portion thereof, a transfer stage 120 coupled to one side of the table 110, and a polishing station 140. Include.

Each polishing station 140 has rotatable platens 142a, 142b and 142c, with a polishing pad 144 disposed thereon. These platens 142a, 142b, and 142c may be connected to a driving unit (not shown) located inside the table 110. In addition, the pad adjusting device 146 may be further provided to maintain the polishing conditions of the polishing pad 144, and the slurry supply pipe 148 may be provided to supply the slurry to the surface of the polishing pad 144.

The transfer stage 120 is disposed on the base 120 and the base 120 to move the wafer W and to load / unload to / from the polishing head. 130b, 130c ('HCLU' of the prior art described above).

4 is a plan view showing a part of the present invention the rotational transfer portion, Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view A-A shown in FIG.

The cylinder 124 is mounted inside the base 120, and the cylinder 124 is connected to the feed shaft 126. A plurality of circular support plates 127 are disposed on the base 120, and a cover 128 protruding upward along a circumference is formed at an outer edge of the support plate 127, and a through hole is formed at the center of the support plate. 129 is formed to position the feed shaft 126.

The feed shaft 126 is coupled to the support 132, the support 132 may be configured in a circular shape, but is composed of a plurality of arms (132 ') having a conformal angle as shown in the accompanying drawings.

The support part 132 is formed with a guide 134 having a height on the outer circumference of the support portion 132 to prevent the wafer W from being separated.

Preferably, six injection nozzles 136 are formed in the area adjacent to the support part 132, and another injection nozzle 136 ′ is disposed in the area adjacent to the cover 128.

The spray nozzle 136 is sprayed on the polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d, and another spray nozzle 136 'is sprayed on the wafer W. The spray nozzles 136 and 136' are polished. The polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d rotate and are loaded and unloaded to the support part 132 due to the repeated polishing process. 300b, 300c, and 300d) and the slurry remaining on the wafer (W) to remove the smooth grinding.

Figure 6 is a flow chart schematically showing the order of performing a polishing process according to the present invention.

When the wafer W1 is placed on the rotation transfer part 130a according to the process, the transfer stage 130 rotates in one direction, and the polishing head assembly 200 also rotates. After the rotary feeder 130a is stopped at the transfer stage 130, the polishing head 300a of the polishing head assembly 200 is placed on the rotary feeder 130a. Loading (loading / unloading wafers is a well known technique and thus a detailed description thereof will be omitted).

The polishing head assembly 200 rotates to polish on the platens 142a, 142b. 142c. Prior to the detailed description of the polishing process, the wafers W2, W3, and W4 are adsorbed to the polishing heads 300b, 300c, and 300d, and will be described after the polishing process.

Referring to the accompanying drawings in more detail, as shown in FIG. 6A, the second polishing head 300b is placed on the first platen 142a and the third polishing head 300c is placed on the second platen 142b. And the fourth polishing head 300d respectively performs a polishing process on the third platen 142c.

The second polishing head 300b, the third polishing head 300c, and the fourth polishing head 300d are in the polishing process, and the first polishing head 300a has the first rotation transfer part after the polishing process is completed. The wafer W1 is unloaded at 130a.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6B, the wafer W1 having finished the polishing process is unloaded to the first rotational transfer member 130a and the wafer W5 which has finished the process before polishing the wafer W5 has a second rotational transfer portion ( 130b).

Thereafter, the transfer stage 130 is rotated and the wafer W1 placed on the first rotary transfer unit 130a is taken over in a subsequent process, and the wafer W5 placed on the second rotary transfer unit 130b is first polished. The head 300a adsorbs. At this time, the transfer stage 130 maintains the standby state until the polishing heads 300b, 300c, and 300d finish the polishing process.

After the polishing process is performed on the second polishing head 300b, the third polishing head 300c, and the fourth polishing head 300d, the polishing head assembly 200 is oriented in one direction as shown in FIG. 6C. Is rotated. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6D, a third polishing head 300c is disposed on the first platen 142a, and a fourth polishing head 300d and a third platen are disposed on the second platen 142b. In 142c, the first polishing head 300a performs a polishing process, respectively. After the polishing process, the second polishing head 300b unloads the wafer W2 into the second rotating transfer member 130b which is in the standby state, and the third polishing head is applied to each of the platens 142a, 142b, and 142c. 300c, the fourth polishing head 300d, and the first polishing head 300a perform a polishing process.

Meanwhile, as described above, in each of the platens 142a, 142b, and 142c, each wafer W is polished by dividing the polishing time through the first, second, and third processes. The finished wafer W may be loaded / unloaded to / from the rotary transfer members 130a, 130b and 130c, but the respective polishing heads 300a and 300b may be loaded on the rotary transfer members 130a, 130b and 130c. 300c and 300d continuously load / unload the wafer W so that polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c and 300d simultaneously polish and simultaneously load / unload the wafers W in the platens 142a, 142b and 142c, respectively. It can also be unloaded.

Such a repetitive process is performed, and the rotational transfer members 130a, 130b, and 130c take over the wafer W in the previous step of the polishing process, and the polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d are respectively applied to the polishing heads. The wafers W are sequentially loaded and unloaded from the respective polishing heads 300a, 300b, 300c, and 300d, and have a plurality of multifunction functions for transferring the wafers W which have been polished for subsequent processing.

As described above, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing the semiconductor device of the present invention has the following effects.

The wafer is loaded into the polishing head, and the transfer stage for unloading the wafer from the finished polishing head is provided with a plurality of rotation transfer parts which are rotated to simultaneously move the wafer to the previous and subsequent steps of the polishing process. Therefore, the progress of the process can be reduced by about half

Claims (5)

In the polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, A polishing station having a plurality of platens having a polishing pad attached to an upper surface thereof; A plurality of polishing heads positioned above the polishing station and equipped with a membrane for adsorbing a wafer; A driving unit for rotating the polishing head; And, A transfer stage portion disposed in the polishing station for loading / unloading wafers to / from the polishing head; The transfer stage unit is a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that provided with a plurality of rotation transfer unit. The method of claim 1, The rotation transfer unit; A feed shaft; A support portion disposed on the transfer shaft to place the wafer; Chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that at least one injection nozzle is provided in a position adjacent to the support. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Each of the rotary transfer unit is a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that the cylinder is installed so that it can be raised and lowered. The method according to claim 1 or 2, Each of the rotary transfer unit is a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that the sensor for detecting the wafer is vacuum-adsorbed on the head. The method of claim 2, The support portion is a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus for manufacturing a semiconductor device, characterized in that the wafer guide is formed so that the wafer is not separated.