KR20060130321A - Chemical mechanical polishing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

A CMP equipment is provided to simplify process and to improve UPH(Unit Per Hour) by forming a cleaning solution spray nozzle in a polishing part, thereby performing simultaneously polishing and cleaning. CMP equipment includes a slurry supply part, a cleaning solution supply part, and a polishing part. The slurry supply part further includes a first tank(131), a first supply line(132) for supplying a slurry from the first tank, and a first spray nozzle(134) located at the end portion of the slurry supply line for spraying the slurry to the polishing part. Also, the cleaning solution supply part further includes a second tank(141), a second supply line(142) for supplying a cleaning solution from the second tank, and a second spray nozzle for spraying the cleaning solution to the polishing part.

Description

Chemical mechanical polishing equipment {CHEMICAL MECHANICAL POLISHING EQUIPMENT}

Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing a chemical mechanical polishing equipment according to the prior art.

Figure 2 (a) to (c) is a conceptual diagram showing for explaining the wafer transfer step of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG.

Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing a chemical mechanical polishing equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a configuration diagram illustrating a process of supplying a slurry and a cleaning liquid to the polishing unit shown in FIG. 3.

5 is a perspective view of the polishing unit shown in FIG.

6 is a conceptual view illustrating a wafer transfer step of the polishing apparatus shown in FIG.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: loading / unloading unit

120: polishing unit

121, 122: Micro Plunger

123: Buffing Station

124, 125: drying rack

131, 141: tank

132, 142: supply line

133, 143: valve

134, 144: injection nozzle

1211: Turn Table

1212 head

1213: Support

1214: Pad Conditioner

1215: Polishing Pad

The present invention relates to a chemical mechanical polishing equipment, and more particularly, to a chemical mechanical polishing equipment for planarizing the surface of a semiconductor wafer during a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device.

As the semiconductor devices become more dense, more sophisticated, and more interconnected, the surface level of semiconductor wafers increases, and chemical mechanical polishing techniques have been developed as part of the planarization of the surface level of semiconductor wafers.

Chemical mechanical polishing is a technique for flattening the wafer surface by using chemical and physical reactions. The polishing pad is chemically reacted by supplying a slurry while the semiconductor wafer is brought into contact with the polishing pad surface. The relative movement of the mounted wafer carriers is used to physically planarize the uneven portion of the wafer surface. Such chemical mechanical polishing is commonly used to planarize the surface of the dielectric film or to remove excess metal film deposited on the previous film.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the prior art, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a loading / unloding sequence of a wafer.

As shown in FIG. 1, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the related art loads or unloads a wafer for flattening work into the equipment or unloads a wafer for which the flattening work is completed to the outside of the equipment. And a polishing unit 30 for polishing the wafer for planarization of the wafer, and a cleaning unit 20 for cleaning the polished wafer. In addition, the wafer is transferred to the polishing unit 30, or the rotary transporter 35 for unloading the wafer from the polishing unit 30 and transported to the outside, and the rotary transport unit 35 and the cleaning unit 20. A first transfer robot 26 for transferring wafers between the cleaners 21, 22, 23, and 24, the loading / unloading unit 10 and the transfer buffer stage 25. It further comprises a second transfer robot 11 for transferring the wafer in the liver.

The polishing unit 30 is a wafer carrier for holding and fixing a wafer and two micro planizers 31 and 32 independently installed by pairing a polishing table on which a polishing pad is mounted. Include. Then, a pad conditioner (not shown) is provided between the micro planarizers 31 and 32 to roughen the polishing pad whose surface is smoothed by repetitive polishing operations.

Meanwhile, the polishing units 30 are provided with buffing stations 33 and 34 through which buffing, which is a secondary polishing process, is performed as cleaning on the wafers on which polishing is completed. The buffing stations 33 and 34 include a buffing grinder, and the buffing grinder includes a buffing table on which a wafer is seated and a buffing pad holder mounted on the buffing pad to mount the buffing pad. The buffing pad is made of soft material, unlike the polishing pad made of hard material. In the state where the buffing pad is in contact with the wafer seated on the buffing table, the buffing pad holder is moved to clean the wafer surface by brushing.

The cleaning unit 20 has a table on which the wafer is seated and supported, and a lower brush fixedly installed therein, and includes a brush on a fixed axis of the table top. Eliminates particles and organic matter. That is, after grinding, the loose slurry particles and metal contaminants are removed.

Meanwhile, the first transfer robot 26 is responsible for transferring the polished wafer between the rotary transfer unit 35, the cleaners 21, 22, 23, and 24, and the transfer buffer stage 25, and the second transfer robot 11. Is responsible for wafer transfer between the loading / unloading unit 10 and the transfer buffer stage 25.

In operation, as shown in FIGS. 2A to 2C, the wafer is transferred from the loading / unloading unit 10 to the transfer buffer stage 25 by the second transfer robot 11. The wafer transferred to the transfer buffer stage 25 is transferred from the transfer buffer stage 25 to the rotary transfer unit 35 by the first transfer robot 26, and the wafer transferred to the rotary transfer unit 35 is rotated again. By 35, it is transferred to each micro planarizer 31 and 32, and the surface is grind | polished.

Then, the polished wafer is transferred to the respective buffing stations 33 and 34 by the rotation transfer unit 35 to perform soft polishing through the brush. After the soft polishing is completed, the wafer is transferred to the rotary transfer unit 35, and the wafer transferred to the rotary transfer unit 35 is transferred to each of the cleaners 21, 22, 23, and 24 by the first transfer robot 26, and cleaned. Is processed.

Then, the wafer cleaned by each cleaner 21, 22, 23, 24 is transferred to the transfer buffer stage 25 by the first transfer robot 26 again and transferred to the transfer buffer stage 25. The wafer is transferred to the loading / unloading unit 10 by the second transfer robot 11.

As such, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the prior art must perform a post-cleaning process by using the respective cleaners 21, 22, 23, and 24 to remove particles and organic materials after wafer polishing. Accordingly, there is a problem in that the configuration of the unit is complicated with the volume of the chemical mechanical polishing equipment, and the process time is long.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems of the prior art, chemical mechanical polishing paper that can reduce the size of the chemical mechanical polishing equipment and the configuration of the unit parts, and can shorten the polishing process and cleaning process time The purpose is to provide.

In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, a wafer is polished using a slurry supply part, a cleaning liquid supply part, and a slurry supplied from the slurry supply part, and polished using a cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply part. It provides a chemical mechanical polishing equipment including a polishing unit for cleaning the wafer.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. Also, like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the specification to perform the same function.

Example

Figure 3 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a chemical mechanical polishing equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, Figure 4 is a configuration diagram showing a process for supplying the slurry and the cleaning liquid to the polishing unit, Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the polishing unit shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention performs a polishing process and a cleaning process together in the polishing unit 120 without providing a separate cleaning room. . Thereby, the volume of the polishing equipment can be greatly reduced.

As shown in Figure 4 and 5, the chemical mechanical polishing equipment according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for supplying the cleaning liquid during the cleaning process in addition to the slurry supply for supplying the slurry into the polishing unit 120 during the polishing process The cleaning liquid supply section is installed.

The slurry supply part is installed at the tank 131 in which the slurry is contained, the supply line 132 for supplying the slurry supplied from the tank 131 into the polishing part 120, and at the end of the supply line 132. And a spray nozzle 134 for spraying the slurry onto the wafer seated on the wafer. In addition, the valve 133 is installed in the supply line 132 to control the inflow of the slurry flowing through the supply line 132 during the polishing process or the cleaning process.

The cleaning solution supply unit is installed at a tank 141 in which the cleaning solution is contained, a supply line 142 for supplying the cleaning solution supplied from the tank 141 into the polishing unit 120, and an end of the supply line 142 to turntable 1211. A jet nozzle 144 for jetting the cleaning liquid onto the wafer (W) is mounted on the top. In addition, the valve 143 is provided in the supply line 142 to control the inflow of the slurry flowing through the supply line 142 during the polishing process or the cleaning process.

On the other hand, the polishing unit 120 is independently provided with a pair of turn table (1211) on which the wafer (W) is seated, and a pair of support units (1213) on which the polishing pad 1215 is mounted. Two micro planarizers 121 and 122. The micro planarizers 121 and 122 are provided with a pad conditioner 1214 and a buffing station 123 for roughening the polishing pad 1215 whose surface is smoothed by repetitive polishing operations.

In addition, the polishing units 120 are provided with drying racks 124 and 125 for drying the wetted wafer W after the cleaning process, respectively. In some cases, the wafer W may be dried through the buffing station 123. However, the buffing station 123 may not be installed, or the drying units 124 and 125 may be further added to the polishing unit 120 to increase drying efficiency. It is preferable to install inside.

Hereinafter, operation characteristics of the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6. 6 is an operation conceptual diagram illustrating a transfer step of the wafer W, and the wafer W is transferred step by step in the direction of the arrow to perform a process.

3 to 6, first, the wafer W is transferred from the loading / unloading unit 110 to the rotary transfer unit 126 by the transfer robot 111, and the rotary transfer unit 126. The wafer W transferred to) is seated on an upper portion of the turn table 1211 of each of the micro planarizers 121 and 122. Thereafter, the valve 133 of the slurry supply unit is opened to supply the slurry from the tank 131 to the polishing unit 120 through the supply line 132 and the injection nozzle 134 to perform the polishing process.

When the polishing process is completed, the valve 133 of the slurry supply unit is closed, and then the valve 143 of the cleaning liquid supply unit is opened to purge the cleaning liquid from the tank 141 through the supply line 142 and the injection nozzle 144. ) To a wafer (W) that has been polished and is polished. In this case, as the cleaning liquid, any solution capable of stably removing particles and organic substances generated during the polishing process may be used. For example, the cleaning liquid uses NH ₄ OH and HF.

After the cleaning process is completed, the valve 143 of the cleaning liquid supply unit is closed, and then transferred to the drying racks 124 and 125 to dry the wafer wet with the cleaning liquid, and the wafer is dried. Then, the dried wafer is transferred to the transfer robot 111. It is transferred to the loading / unloading unit 110 through.

On the other hand, the cleaning process described above may be a wet etching process.

Although the technical spirit of the present invention has been described in detail in the preferred embodiments, it should be noted that the above-described embodiments are for the purpose of description and not of limitation. In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various embodiments are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

As described above, according to the present invention, the cleaning liquid injection nozzle is installed in the polishing unit, and the cleaning liquid supplied from the supply line during the cleaning process for the wafer after the polishing process is supplied to the inside of the polishing unit through the injection nozzle to be cleaned on the turntable. By carrying out the process, the polishing process and the cleaning process are carried out together in the polishing part, which simplifies the process, which is advantageous in terms of UPH (Unit Per Hour), and there is no need to install a separate cleaning part in the polishing equipment. The size can be reduced while the cost can be reduced.

Claims (12)

Slurry supply section; Washing liquid supply unit; And Polishing unit for polishing the wafer using the slurry supplied from the slurry supply unit, and cleaning the polished wafer using the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit Chemical mechanical polishing equipment comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the slurry supply unit, A first tank containing the slurry; A first supply line for supplying the slurry from the first tank; And A first injection nozzle installed at an end of the slurry supply line to inject the slurry supplied from the first supply line to the polishing unit Chemical mechanical polishing equipment comprising a. The method of claim 2, In the first supply line, the slurry is supplied to the polishing unit through the first injection nozzle when the wafer is polished, and a first valve is installed to block the supply of the slurry to the polishing unit when the wafer is cleaned. Mechanical polishing equipment. The cleaning liquid supply unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein A second tank containing the cleaning liquid; A second supply line supplying the cleaning liquid from the second tank; And A second injection nozzle installed at an end of the second supply line to spray the cleaning liquid supplied from the second supply line to the polishing unit; Chemical mechanical polishing equipment comprising a. The method of claim 4, wherein In the second supply line, the chemical mechanical and mechanical valves are provided to supply the cleaning liquid to the polishing unit through the second injection nozzle when cleaning the wafer, and to block the supply of the cleaning liquid supplied to the polishing unit when the wafer is polished. Polishing equipment. The method of claim 1, wherein the polishing unit, A turn table on which the wafer is seated; And A support part installed in a direction opposite to the turn table and mounted with a polishing pad for polishing the wafer Chemical mechanical polishing equipment comprising a. The method of claim 6, And a drying table is provided in the polishing unit to dry the wafer wetted by the cleaning liquid after cleaning the wafer. The method according to claim 6 or 7, And the polishing unit is equipped with a pad conditioner to roughen the polishing pad dull after polishing the wafer. The method of claim 1, And a loading / unloading unit in which the wafer is loaded or unloaded. The method of claim 9, And a transfer robot for transferring the wafer loaded by the loading / unloading unit to the polishing unit or transferring the wafer from the polishing unit to the loading / unloading unit. The method of claim 10, And a rotation transfer unit for seating the wafer transferred from the transfer robot onto the turntable of the polishing unit. The method of claim 1, The cleaning solution is chemical mechanical polishing equipment is NH ₄ OH and HF.

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