KR20070076277A - Washing apparatus for wafer and fabrication equipment for semiconductor device having the same - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for cleaning a wafer is provided to avoid a wafer loss and prevent particles from being generated by a contact between a holder of a cleaning/drying part and a support cap of a wafer transfer part by minimizing the contact between the holder and the support cap. A wafer having undergone a semiconductor device fabricating process is cleaned by a cleaning part. A wafer transfer part(420) includes a plurality of rollers(411) for transferring the cleaned wafer, a support part(421) for supporting the rollers, and a support cap(423) that is formed atone one end of the support part to fix the rollers and the support part. A cleaning/drying part(400) fixes the wafer transferred by the wafer transfer part to a plurality of holders(435) to clean and dry the wafer, positioned under the wafer transfer part. The support cap rises from a portion under the wafer transfer part to be prevented from coming in contact with the holder that fixes the transferred wafer to the cleaning/drying part. A region of the support cap adjacent to the holder can be thinner than the other region.

Description

Wafer cleaning apparatus and semiconductor device manufacturing equipment including the same {Washing apparatus for wafer and fabrication equipment for semiconductor device having the same}

1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a plan view illustrating a portion of a wafer transfer unit included in a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a perspective view illustrating a portion of a wafer transfer unit and a cleaning drying unit provided in the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

4 and 5 show the side of the support cap provided in the wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

(Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawing)

100: input station 200: first cleaning portion

300: second cleaning unit 400: washing drying unit

W: Wafer B: Brush

411: roller 413: wafer transfer stop

420: wafer transfer part 421: support part

423: support cap 425: back plate

431: bumper 433: finger

435: holder 437: spindle body

439: drive unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wafer cleaning apparatus, and more particularly, to a wafer cleaning apparatus capable of reducing wafer defects during a cleaning process and a semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus including the same.

Generally, the process of cleaning a wafer is included in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor element. For example, after a process that can leave particles or slurry on a wafer, such as a chemical mechanical polishing process (hereinafter referred to as a CMP process), a cleaning process may be necessary before proceeding to the next step.

Such a cleaning process may be performed in a wafer cleaning apparatus including a cleaning unit for cleaning a wafer, a wafer transfer unit for transferring the cleaned wafer to the cleaning drying unit, and a cleaning drying unit for rotating and cleaning and drying the transferred wafer. However, in the conventional cleaning apparatus, the holder may not function properly due to the positional relationship between the holder and the wafer transfer unit provided in the cleaning drying unit in the step of fixing the transferred wafer to the cleaning drying unit. . As a result, wafers are not properly secured and wafers are lost or unnecessary particles are generated, causing process defects.

An object of the present invention is to provide a wafer cleaning apparatus that can improve the occurrence of defects during the cleaning process.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a semiconductor device manufacturing facility having the above-described wafer cleaning apparatus.

Technical problems of the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

The wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above technical problem, a cleaning unit for cleaning a wafer that has undergone a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a plurality of rollers for transporting the cleaned wafer, a support unit for supporting the roller And a wafer transfer part formed at one end of the support part and having a support cap for fixing the roller and the support part, and positioned below the wafer transfer part, to fix the wafer transferred by the wafer transfer part to a plurality of holders. A washing and drying unit for washing and drying is included, wherein the support cap is lifted from the lower portion of the wafer transfer unit to prevent contact with the holder holding the transferred wafer.

A semiconductor device manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above another technical problem is provided with the above-described wafer cleaning apparatus.

Specific details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and the drawings.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods for achieving them will be apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be implemented in various different forms, and only the embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and the general knowledge in the art to which the present invention belongs. It is provided to fully inform the person having the scope of the invention, which is defined only by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

In addition, the embodiments described herein will be described with reference to cross-sectional and / or plan views, which are ideal exemplary views of the present invention. Accordingly, shapes of the exemplary views may be modified by manufacturing techniques and / or tolerances. Accordingly, the embodiments of the present invention are not limited to the specific forms shown, but also include variations in forms generated by the manufacturing process. For example, the region shown at right angles may be rounded or have a predetermined curvature. Accordingly, the regions illustrated in the figures have schematic attributes, and the shape of the regions illustrated in the figures is intended to illustrate a particular form and not to limit the scope of the invention.

Hereinafter, a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

1 is a view schematically showing a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes an input station 100, cleaning units 200 and 300, and a cleaning drying unit 400. Movement of the wafer is performed by a wafer transfer unit (not shown).

Input station 100 is a location for placing a wafer that has undergone some semiconductor manufacturing process, such as, for example, CMP. In the input station 100, the front and rear surfaces of the wafer W may be cleaned with deionized water to remove some of the slurry.

Then, the wafer W moves to the cleaning parts 200 and 300. In this case, the cleaning units 200 and 300 may be divided into a plurality of stages. For example, in the first cleaning unit 200, contaminants and the like that are present on the wafer may be removed using the brush B present on the wafer, using, for example, HF solution and deionized water. Then, the second cleaning unit 300 may remove contaminants and the like on the surface of the wafer W using, for example, NH 4 OH solution and deionized water. Also in this case, the brush B present on the wafer can be used. In this case, the HF solution and the NH 4 OH solution may be applied by changing the order. Thus, the type of the cleaning solution may be used as appropriate within the object scope of the present invention.

Subsequently, the wafer W cleaned in the cleaning unit is moved to the cleaning drying unit 400 by the wafer transfer unit. In the washing and drying unit 400, the cleaned wafer W is washed with deionized water and dried. At this time, the cleaning drying unit 400 may perform the cleaning and drying process by rotating the cleaned wafer (W).

Hereinafter, the wafer transfer unit and the cleaning and drying unit of the wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. 2 is a plan view of the wafer transfer unit located on the cleaning and drying unit of the wafer cleaning apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the wafer transfer unit and the cleaning and drying unit of the wafer cleaning apparatus.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the wafer transfer part 420 includes a plurality of rollers 411, a support part 421, and a support cap 423. The roller 411 is a means for contacting the wafer to substantially transport the wafer. Through the rotation of the roller 411, the wafer W may be moved in each step.

The plurality of rollers 411 may be supported by the support part 421. Specifically, the support part 421 is positioned between the plurality of rollers 411 to maintain and support the gap of the rollers 411. In addition, the support unit 421 extends to the upper portion of the roller 411, and by providing a sensor (not shown) in the upper and lower, it is possible to detect the appropriateness of the position of the wafer to be transferred.

The support cap 423 is used to fix the support portion 421 and the roller 411. The support cap 423 connects the support portion 421 and one end of the roller 411. For example, as shown in the drawing, one support cap 423 may fix one support portion 421 and rollers 411 positioned on both sides thereof. It can be adjusted within the scope of the invention. In addition, the other end of the support part 421 and the roller 411 may be fixed to the back plate 425.

At the end of the wafer transfer part 420 is a wafer transfer stop 413 that stops the transfer of the wafer, thereby stopping the wafer transferred by the roller 411 at an appropriate position on the upper portion of the cleaning and drying unit 400. Can be.

The wafer W stopped at the end of the wafer transfer unit 420 is introduced into the cleaning drying unit 400 to perform a cleaning and drying process.

The cleaning and drying unit 400 is located under the wafer transfer unit 420, specifically, under the roller at the end where the wafer is stopped in the wafer transfer unit 420. The washing and drying unit 400 includes a plurality of holders 435 formed on the spindle body 437 to fix the wafer W. For example, the holder 435 may be formed of a finger 433 connected to the spindle body 437 and a bumper 431 fixing the wafer. The bumper 431 has a groove formed in the center portion thereof, and can fix an edge of the wafer W. FIG. To fix this wafer W, a finger 433 connected to the spindle body 437 may rotate to move the bumper 431 in contact with the edge of the wafer W. As shown in FIG.

The spindle body 437 is raised by the driver 439 to fix the edge of the wafer W stopped at the end of the wafer transfer part 420 with the holder 435, and then lower the wafer W, thereby cleaning and It can be introduced into the drying stage.

At this time, the holder 435 of the spindle body 437 may be in contact with the bumper 431 and the support cap 423 of the wafer transfer unit 420 during the ascending or moving operation to fix the wafer. According to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention, one side of the support cap 423 may be formed to a thin thickness to prevent such contact. Therefore, process defects that may occur due to the contact between the holder 435 and the support cap 423, for example, the occurrence of an error that the holder 435 does not hold the wafer can be minimized.

Hereinafter, the support cap will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

Referring to FIG. 4, the support cap 423 is formed as a stepped upper surface. That is, the thickness t1 of the region 423a adjacent to the holder 435 that moves to fix the wafer by rising from the lower portion of the wafer transfer part 420 is thinner than the thickness t2 of the other region 423b. do. As a result, contact between the rising holder and the support cap can be minimized. The support cap 423 has a groove 423c connected to the support portion 421 at the center thereof, and grooves 423d connected to the ends of the roller 411 are provided at predetermined intervals on both sides of the support portion 421. Can be formed.

5, the boundary surface of the stepped portion of the support cap 423 may be a predetermined inclined surface S. Referring to FIG. As such, by treating the stepped surface of the support cap 423 with the inclined surface S, it is possible to more effectively prevent contact with the holder that is raised or moved.

Hereinafter, an operation of a wafer cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

First, a wafer that has undergone a predetermined semiconductor manufacturing process such as a CMP process is located in the input station 100. Here the wafer can be cleaned by deionized water.

Next, while moving by the wafer transfer part, it passes through the 1st washing part 200 and the 2nd washing part 300, and wash | cleans with the solution containing HF, the solution containing NH4OH, deionized water, etc. In this case, a predetermined brush B may be used.

Next, the cleaned wafer is transferred to the washing and drying unit 400 by the wafer transfer unit 420. The wafer W to be transferred is stopped at the end of the wafer transfer part 420. At this time, the spindle body 437 of the washing and drying part 400 rises, so that the bumper 431 of the holder 435 moves to the wafer W. Secure the edges. At this time, the thickness of the support cap 423 may be controlled to form a top surface of the support cap 423 to prevent the holder 435 and the support cap 423 from rising up to fix the wafer. As a result, defects that may occur due to the contact between the holder 435 and the support cap 423 may be minimized.

Thereafter, the wafer transfer unit 420 moves to the rear side, and the spindle body 437 on which the wafer is fixed is lowered and rotated by the driving unit 439, thereby washing the wafer with deionized water and then drying, thereby completing the wafer cleaning process. have.

Such a wafer cleaning apparatus of the present invention may be included in a CMP facility, and may be usefully used to clean a wafer after a chemical mechanical polishing process.

Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains may implement the present invention in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. I can understand that. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are exemplary in all respects and not restrictive.

As described above, since the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the present invention can minimize the contact between the holder of the cleaning drying unit and the support cap of the wafer transfer unit, the wafer may not be fixed because the wafer is not fixed and the particles may be lost due to contact between the holder and the support cap. Occurrence of process defects, such as the occurrence of, can be prevented in advance. Therefore, the productivity of the semiconductor device can be further improved.

Claims (5)

A cleaning unit for cleaning a wafer that has undergone a semiconductor device manufacturing process; A wafer transfer part including a plurality of rollers for transferring the cleaned wafer, a support part for supporting the roller, and a support cap formed at one end of the support part to fix the roller and the support part; And Located in the lower portion of the wafer transfer unit, including a washing and drying unit for fixing and cleaning the wafer transferred by the wafer transfer unit to a plurality of holders, and dry, And the support cap is lifted from a lower portion of the wafer transfer part to prevent contact with the holder for fixing the transferred wafer to the cleaning and drying part. The method of claim 1, The support cap is a wafer cleaning apparatus formed in a region adjacent to the holder thinner than other regions. The method of claim 2, And the support cap is connected to an area adjacent to the holder and the other area by a predetermined inclined surface. The method of claim 1, The semiconductor device manufacturing process is a chemical mechanical polishing process wafer cleaning apparatus. A semiconductor device manufacturing facility comprising the wafer cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Images