KR20070079403A - Semiconductor device manufacturing equipment having particle removing apparatus and particle removing method the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Semiconductor device manufacturing equipment having a particle removing apparatus and a particle removing method using the same are provided to reduce a wafer loss rate by removing effectively particles form an upper surface of a wafer after unit processes. Semiconductor device manufacturing equipment(100) comprises a plurality of process chambers(102) for performing unit processes such as a thin film deposition process or an etch process for wafers, an alignment chamber(104) for aligning flat zones of the wafers of the process chambers, a transfer chamber(108) including a robot arm(106) for transferring the wafers from the alignment chamber to the process chambers, and a plurality of load lock chambers(116) connected to the transfer chamber. A slit valve(110) is formed at one side of the load lock chamber. The slit valve is opened when the robot arm enters the load clock chamber. A wafer cassette(112) including the wafers is transferred through a door(114) to the load lock chamber. A cleaning unit(118) is connected to the transfer chamber.

Description

Particle removal apparatus in semiconductor manufacturing equipment and particle removal method using the same {semiconductor device manufacturing equipment having particle removing apparatus and particle removing method the same}

1 shows a state in which particles are dropped on the wafer.

2 shows a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus equipped with a particle removing device according to the present invention.

3 shows a cross-sectional structure of the particle removing device shown in FIG.

4 shows a clean wafer top surface free of particles.

5 sequentially shows a particle removing method by the particle removing device according to the present invention.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

100: semiconductor manufacturing equipment 102: process chamber

104: alignment chamber 106: robot arm

108: transfer chamber 110: slit valve

112: wafer cassette 114: door

116: load lock chamber 118: cleaning unit

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly, to a particle removing apparatus for removing particles on a wafer surface and a particle removing method using the same.

In general, semiconductor devices are fabricated by depositing thin films that perform various functions on the wafer surface and then patterning them to form various circuit geometries. The unit process for manufacturing such a semiconductor device includes an impurity ion implantation step of implanting impurity ions of Group 3B (eg, B) or 5B (eg, P or As) into the semiconductor substrate, and forming a material film on the semiconductor substrate. A thin film deposition process, an etching process for forming a material film on a semiconductor substrate in a predetermined pattern, and a planarization (CMP: Chemical) method to remove the step by polishing the surface of the semiconductor substrate at once after depositing an interlayer insulating film on the semiconductor substrate. It consists of several unit processes such as mechanical polishing process and cleaning process to remove impurities from wafer or chamber. Accordingly, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device, the above-described various unit processes are repeatedly performed several times. Such unit processes are performed through respective semiconductor device manufacturing facilities.

Meanwhile, in manufacturing the semiconductor device by performing the above-described unit process, various particles including the pollutants in the air or the polymer generated during the process have a great influence on the reliability and yield of the semiconductor device. . Therefore, the inside of the process chamber in which the unit process is performed is pumped using a vacuum pump or the like, thereby maintaining cleanliness required in the process.

However, the etching process among the various unit processes described above is performed to form a material film pattern that performs various functions on the wafer surface, and is a different process because it uses a solution chemical or a gas plasma, an ion beam, or sputtering. Particle generation rate is higher than. Therefore, in the art, after completing the etching process, various particles including residual gases in the chamber are discharged to the outside through a vacuum pump (turbo pump). However, there is a limit to the complete removal of particles inside the process chamber using a vacuum pump. The polymer remaining inside the process chamber is then adsorbed onto the process chamber inner wall, in particular the dome above the process chamber, and then dropped onto the subsequently introduced wafer.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which particles 12 such as polymer are dropped on the upper surface of the wafer 10.

As shown in FIG. 1, when particles 12 present inside the process chamber are dropped onto the wafer top surface, wafer loss is caused. The yield of semiconductor devices is also greatly reduced by the fine dust in the air, and if a polymer mass of several hundred times larger than the fine dust is dropped on the wafer, it causes a fatal defect on the wafer and greatly reduces the reliability of the semiconductor device. .

In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, when the wafer 10 in which the particles 12 are dropped is transferred to the load lock chamber and the transfer chamber using the robot arm, the load lock chamber including the robot arm that lifts the wafer 10 and The transfer chamber is also contaminated by particles. Therefore, the PM cycle is shortened by cleaning the load lock chamber and the transfer chamber, including the robot arm contaminated with particles, thereby lowering the facility utilization rate, resulting in a decrease in productivity of the semiconductor device.

An object of the present invention for solving the above conventional problems is to provide a particle removal device and a particle removal method using the same for effectively removing particles on the upper surface of the wafer having a unit process is completed.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a particle removing apparatus and a particle removing method using the same, which can prevent contamination of a robot arm for transferring a wafer.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a particle removing device and a particle removing method using the same, which can prevent contamination of the load lock chamber and the transfer chamber.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a particle removing device and a particle removing method using the same, which can extend the PM period by minimizing the equipment contamination by particles.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a particle removing apparatus and a particle removing method using the same, which can prevent a decrease in reliability and productivity of a semiconductor device.

Particle removal apparatus according to the present invention for achieving the above objects, the chamber providing a space independent from the outside; A wafer seating portion provided at a lower end of the chamber and on which a wafer to be cleaned is seated; A wafer spin unit provided at an upper end of the chamber and for spinning a wafer seated on the wafer seating unit; A cleaning liquid spraying unit spraying the cleaning liquid onto the wafer seated on the wafer seating unit; And a cleaning liquid supply unit supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid injection unit.

Here, the particle removing device may be configured to further include a spin portion for spinning the wafer seating portion.

Here, the chamber may be configured to communicate with the transfer chamber and the slit valve.

In addition, the particle removal method according to the present invention for achieving the above object comprises the steps of performing a unit process on a wafer using a process chamber; Removing the wafer from the process chamber after the unit process is completed and transferring the wafer to the particle removing unit to remove particles from the wafer surface; And removing the wafer having the particle removal completed and transferring the wafer to the inside of the load lock chamber.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described in detail the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but can be embodied in various other forms without departing from the scope of the present invention, and only the present embodiment makes the disclosure of the present invention complete and common knowledge It is provided to fully inform the person of the scope of the invention.

Figure 2 shows a semiconductor manufacturing equipment equipped with a particle removal apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 3 shows a cross-sectional structure of the particle removal device shown in FIG. 4 shows a clean wafer top surface with no particles present.

First, referring to FIG. 2, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus 100 is a cluster type and includes a plurality of process chambers 102 in which a unit process such as a thin film deposition process or an etching process on a wafer W is performed. An alignment chamber 104 to align in one direction a flat zone of the wafer W on which the unit process is performed in the plurality of process chambers 102, the plurality of alignment chambers 104 in the alignment chamber 104. A transfer chamber 108 in which a robot arm 106 for transferring the wafer W to the process chamber 102 is formed, is in communication with the transfer chamber 108, and is opened upon entry of the robot arm 106. A slit valve 110 is formed on one side, and a plurality of load lock chambers are provided with a door 114 through which a wafer cassette 112 on which a plurality of wafers W are mounted is flowed in and out. chamber: 116) and the core sphere of the present invention It consists of an adult cleaning unit 118. In addition, the cleaning liquid unit 118 is also in communication with the transfer chamber 108 by a slit valve 110 that opens when the robot arm 106 enters the robot arm 106.

The process chamber 102 shown in FIG. 2 is a device that provides a predetermined enclosed space in which various unit processes for manufacturing a semiconductor device can be performed. For example, the process chamber 102 may be a thin film deposition process or a thin film deposition process for forming a thin film having a predetermined thickness on the wafer W through a physical vapor deposition method or a chemical vapor deposition method. An etching process may be performed to remove the surface of the wafer W exposed through a mask film such as a photoresist formed on the wafer W. After the etching process is completed, an ashing process of oxidizing and removing the photoresist may be sequentially performed. In addition, such a thin film deposition process, an etching process and an ashing process typically improve the uniformity and reliability of the process while converting a reactive gas having excellent reactivity into a plasma state and flowing it to the surface of the wafer (W). In this case, it is very important that the process chamber 102 minimizes the inflow of contaminants such as particles for uniform plasma generation. To this end, the process chamber 102 is maintained in a vacuum state by using a vacuum pump. For example, when the wafer W is loaded, the process chamber 102 pumps the high vacuum at about 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ Torr. Then, when a purge gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) or argon (Ar) is supplied to induce the plasma reaction, a low vacuum of about 1 × 10 ⁻³ Torr to about 1 × 10 ⁻¹ Torr is maintained. . When the unit process in the process chamber 102 is completed, the process chamber 102 and the transfer chamber 108 may allow the robot arm 106 to withdraw the wafer W in the process chamber 102. The slit valve 110 formed between the open.

However, various particles, including polymers, are generated in the process of performing various unit processes in the process chamber 102. In particular, the etching process is performed to form a material film pattern that performs various functions on the wafer surface. Since the etching process uses a solution chemical or gas plasma, ion beam, or sputtering, particle generation rate is higher than that of other processes. . Therefore, a pumping process for removing particles existing in the process chamber 102 is essentially performed. However, particles that could not be removed through this pumping process are dropped on the wafer on which the etching process is completed, and the wafers in which such particles are dropped are transferred to the inside of the load lock chamber 116 via the transfer chamber 108 by the robot arm 106. It is then transferred to and wait for the next process. When the particle dropped wafer is held by the robot arm and then transferred to the load lock chamber through the transfer chamber, the particle is contaminated by the particles as well as the robot arm, the transfer chamber and the load lock chamber, as well as the loss of the wafer itself. Can be.

Accordingly, in the present invention, in order to prevent such a problem, as shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning unit 118 is provided as a particle removing device in a semiconductor manufacturing facility having a cluster structure. Referring to Figure 3, the structure of the cleaning unit 118 according to the present invention, the transfer chamber 108 and the communication through the slit valve 110, the chamber 119 for providing an independent space from the outside, the In the chamber 119, a wafer seating part 120 on which the wafer W to be cleaned is seated, and a spin part for spinning the wafer seating part to spin the wafer seated on the wafer seating part 120 ( 122), the three sperm spraying unit 124 for spraying the cleaning liquid 126 onto the wafer W seated on the wafer seating unit 120 and the cleaning liquid supply unit 128 for supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid spraying unit 124. It can be composed of). Here, the cleaning solution may be, for example, DI water.

Therefore, the wafer having the process completed in the process chamber 102 is transferred into the cleaning unit 118 through the slit valve 110 of the transfer chamber 108. Then, the cleaning unit 118 undergoes a rinse process to remove particles on the wafer surface and transfers the particles into the load lock chamber. As such, when the rinsing process is performed on the surface of the wafer using the cleaning unit 118, as shown in FIG. 4, particles present on the upper surface 202 of the wafer 200 are neatly removed, including a robot arm. It is possible to minimize contamination of the transfer chamber and the load lock chamber. In addition, such a rinsing process may be expected to have a larger particle removal effect, especially when the etching process is performed on the wafer. In addition, at least one cleaning unit 118 may be formed in a cluster type semiconductor manufacturing facility.

5 is a flowchart sequentially showing a particle removing method by the particle removing device according to the present invention. With reference to FIGS. 2, 3 and 5, the particle removal method using the particle removal apparatus according to the present invention will be described sequentially.

First, in step 300, a wafer is loaded into the process chamber 102, and then various unit processes such as a deposition process and an etching process are performed.

In operation 302, the wafer on which the unit process is completed is removed from the process chamber 102 using the robot arm 110 of the transfer chamber 108.

In step 304, the wafer taken out from the process chamber 102 is transferred to the cleaning unit 118 using the robot arm 110. When the unit chamber is subjected to various unit processes using the process chamber 102, various particles including polymers are generated during the process. Most of these particles are evacuated through a pumping process using a vacuum pump. Particles that are not removed through the pumping process are dropped onto the wafer upper surface where the unit process is completed. Therefore, in the present invention, in order to effectively remove particles dropped on the upper surface of the wafer, the cleaning unit 118 is provided as a particle removing apparatus in the cluster type semiconductor manufacturing equipment. Accordingly, after the wafer in which the unit process is completed is removed from the process chamber as in the step 302, the wafer is transferred into the cleaning unit 118.

In step 306, the particles dropped on the surface of the wafer are removed using the cleaning unit 118, which is a particle removing device according to the present invention. More specifically, the wafer W on which the unit process is completed is mounted on the wafer seating portion 120 of the cleaning unit 118. Then, by spraying, for example, pure water 126 as a cleaning liquid on the wafer seated on the wafer seating portion 120, particles on the wafer surface are neatly removed. In this case, when the wafer is rotated using the spin unit 122, particles separated from the wafer surface by the pure water 126 may be more effectively removed by centrifugal force generated by the wafer spin.

In operation 308, the wafer from which the particles are removed is removed through the cleaning unit 118 and transferred into the load lock chamber 116. As such, the wafer transferred into the load lock chamber 116 waits until a subsequent unit process is performed.

In operation 310, the other wafer, which is waiting in the load lock chamber 116, is transferred to the process chamber 102 to proceed with the unit process. Then, the process returns to step 300 again to undergo a particle removal process by the particle removal apparatus according to the present invention.

As described above, the present invention includes a cleaning unit as a particle removing device for removing particles on the wafer surface in a cluster type semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The cleaning unit is used to remove particles from the wafer surface to minimize wafer losses, as well as to transfer chambers, including robot arms that lift wafers, transfer chambers for wafer movement, and load lock chambers where wafers are waiting for subsequent processing. Pollution can be minimized.

As described above, in the present invention, a particle removing device for removing particles on the wafer surface is formed in a cluster type semiconductor manufacturing equipment. As a result, it is possible to effectively remove particles present on the wafer surface where the unit process is completed, thereby preventing wafer loss. In addition, by minimizing contamination to the robot arm that lifts the wafer, the transfer chamber, which is the wafer's movement path, and the load lock chamber where the wafer is waiting for the subsequent process, the PM cycle is shortened according to the facility cleaning. The reliability and yield improvement can be expected.

Claims (11)

A chamber providing a space independent from the outside; A wafer seating portion provided at a lower end of the chamber and on which a wafer to be cleaned is seated; A wafer spin unit provided at an upper end of the chamber and for spinning a wafer seated on the wafer seating unit; A cleaning liquid spraying unit spraying the cleaning liquid onto the wafer seated on the wafer seating unit; And And a cleaning solution supply unit for supplying a cleaning solution to the cleaning solution injection unit. 2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a spin portion for spinning the wafer seating portion. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the chamber is in communication with the transfer chamber via a slit valve. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning solution is pure water. Performing a unit process on the wafer using the process chamber; Removing the wafer from the process chamber after the unit process is completed and transferring the wafer to the particle removing unit to remove particles from the wafer surface; And removing the wafer from which the particle removal is completed, and transferring the wafer to the inside of the load lock chamber. The method of claim 5, wherein the wafer is transferred using a robot arm provided in a transfer chamber. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the particle is a polymer. 10. The method of claim 7, wherein the unit process is a process for removing particles on the wafer surface, characterized in that the polymer is generated after the process is completed. The method of claim 8, wherein the unit process is an etching process. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the particles are removed by spraying pure water on the wafer surface. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the wafer is spun during pure spraying.

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