KR20110013900A - Substrate polishing apparatus and method for processing thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A substrate polishing apparatus with a thickness measuring unit and a method for processing the same are provided to reduce omit an additional chamber for measuring the thickness of a substrate by installing the thickness measuring unit in a buffer part. CONSTITUTION: An index(104) includes an index robot(120) transferring a substrate. A substrate polishing part(150) processes a substrate polishing process and a substrate cleaning process. A buffer part(130) receives the substrate transferred by the index robot. A thickness measuring unit(132) is installed in the buffer part and measures the thickness of the substrate. A loading/unloading unit(110) includes a plurality of loading ports(112a to 112d).

Description

Substrate polishing apparatus and its processing method {SUBSTRATE POLISHING APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING THEREOF}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate polishing apparatus, and more particularly, to a substrate polishing apparatus having a film thickness meter and a processing method thereof.

In general, a semiconductor device manufacturing process must repeatedly perform a plurality of unit processes such as a deposition process, a photo process, and an etching process to form and stack thin films. These processes are repeated until the required circuit pattern is formed on the substrate, and after the circuit pattern is formed, many curvatures are generated on the surface of the substrate. In recent years, as semiconductor devices become highly integrated, their structures are multilayered, and the number of bends on the surface of the substrate and the step between them are increasing. Unplanarization of the substrate surface causes problems such as defocus in the photolithography process, and thus the substrate surface must be polished periodically to planarize the surface of the substrate.

Various surface planarization techniques are used to planarize the surface of the substrate, but among them, a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus that can obtain excellent flatness not only for narrow areas but also for wide areas is mainly used. A chemical mechanical polishing apparatus is an apparatus for polishing a surface of a substrate by mechanical friction and at the same time by a chemical abrasive, and very fine polishing is possible.

Conventional chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) devices polish a substrate surface by contacting and rotating the substrate seated on the spin head with a polishing pad. At this time, the chemical mechanical polishing apparatus supplies an abrasive such as a slurry to a portion where the polishing pad and the substrate are in contact with each other. Such a chemical mechanical polishing apparatus measures the thickness of the polished film quality when the polishing process is completed, in order to monitor the polishing state of the surface of the substrate to keep the polishing characteristics constant.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate polishing apparatus having a film thickness gauge and a processing method thereof.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate polishing apparatus and a method for storing the same for reducing a footprint.

In order to achieve the above objects, the substrate polishing apparatus of the present invention has a feature of having a film thickness meter in the buffer portion. Such substrate polishing apparatus can reduce the footprint.

A substrate polishing apparatus of the present invention according to this aspect includes an index including an index robot for transferring a substrate; At least one substrate polishing unit for processing a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process; A film disposed between the index and the substrate polishing unit to receive and receive a substrate before the process from the index robot, to receive and process a substrate processed from the substrate polishing unit, and to measure a film thickness of the processed substrate The buffer unit includes a buffer unit.

In one embodiment, the film thickness meter; The polished film thickness of the processed substrate is measured while the substrate is stored in the buffer unit.

In another embodiment, the substrate polishing apparatus; The apparatus further includes a movement path provided with a main transfer robot configured to transfer the substrate before the process from the buffer unit to the substrate polishing unit or to transfer the substrate processed from the substrate polishing unit to the buffer unit. Here, the plurality of substrate polishing units are arranged in a plurality of layers facing each other on both sides of the transfer passage.

In another embodiment, the substrate polishing unit; A container unit having an upper portion open and providing a process space in which a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process are performed; A substrate support unit accommodated in the container unit to fix the substrate during the polishing and cleaning processes of the substrate; A polishing unit disposed on an upper portion of the substrate fixed to the substrate supporting unit and rotating in contact with the substrate to chemically and mechanically polish the surface of the substrate; At least one processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid necessary for a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process to a substrate fixed to the substrate supporting unit; At least one cleaning unit for removing foreign substances on the surface of the substrate after the polishing process; And a pad conditioning unit for cleaning and regenerating the polishing unit in the atmosphere.

In another embodiment, the substrate polishing apparatus; The controller may further include a control unit configured to receive data on the film thickness measured from the film thickness meter and to control a polishing process of the substrate polishing unit.

According to another feature of the invention, an index having an index robot for transporting the substrate, at least one substrate polishing portion for processing the substrate polishing process and cleaning process, and disposed between the index and the substrate polishing portion There is provided a processing method of a substrate polishing apparatus, which contains a buffer portion and provides a buffer portion in which a film thickness meter for measuring the film thickness of the processed substrate is provided. According to this method, the footprint of the substrate polishing apparatus can be reduced.

The processing method according to this aspect measures the film thickness of the substrate with the film thickness meter while the substrate processed in the buffer portion is stored.

In one embodiment, the receiving; The substrate before the process is transferred from the index robot to the buffer unit and stored therein. And storing the above; The substrate processed by the substrate polishing unit is transferred to and stored in the buffer unit.

In another embodiment, treating the polishing process; The substrate is fixed to the spin head of the substrate polishing apparatus and rotated, and the polishing head is moved onto the fixed substrate to rotate in contact with the substrate to polish the substrate.

As described above, the substrate polishing apparatus of the present invention separately measures the thickness of the substrate by measuring the polished film thickness of the substrate while the substrate is processed by installing a film thickness meter in the buffer portion and storing the processed substrate in the buffer portion. No transfer is necessary, resulting in reduced footprint and improved productivity.

The substrate polishing apparatus of the present invention can reduce the manufacturing cost of the substrate polishing apparatus by providing a film thickness meter in the buffer unit, so that a separate chamber for measuring the film thickness of the processed substrate is not required.

The embodiments of the present invention may be modified in various forms, and the scope of the present invention should not be interpreted as being limited by the embodiments described below. This embodiment is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shapes and the like of the components in the drawings are exaggerated in order to emphasize a clearer explanation.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

1 and 2 are views showing the configuration of a substrate polishing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

1 and 2, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 of the present invention is a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) apparatus for treating a substrate (for example, a wafer) by a single sheet, and is loaded / unloaded. The unit 110, the index 104, the buffer 130, the movement path 106 provided with the main transfer robot 140, the plurality of substrate polishing units 150, and The control unit 102 is included. The substrate polishing apparatus 100 sequentially processes a polishing process for polishing a substrate and a cleaning process for cleaning the substrate after the polishing process in one substrate polishing unit 150.

The loading / unloading unit 110 includes a plurality of load ports 112a to 112d. In this embodiment, the loading / unloading unit 110 has four load ports 112a to 112d, but the number of load ports 112a to 112d depends on the process efficiency and footprint of the substrate polishing apparatus 100. May be increased or decreased.

On each of the load ports 112a to 112d, a substrate, for example, a carrier for receiving the substrates, for example, a front open unified pod (FOUP) 114a to 114d is mounted. Each fulcrum 114a to 114d accommodates the substrates in a state where the substrates are arranged horizontally with respect to the ground. In the pools 12a to 12d, the substrates processed in the substrate polishing units 150 or the substrates before the processing to be put into the substrate polishing units 150 are stored.

The index 104 is disposed between the loading / unloading unit 110 and the buffer unit 130, and the first transport rail 122 and the index robot 120 are installed at the index 104. The index robot 120 transfers the substrates between the loading / unloading unit 110 and the buffer unit 130 while moving along the first transfer rail 122.

The buffer unit 130 is installed at one side of the index 104. The buffer unit 130 accommodates the substrates transferred by the index robot 120 and stores the substrates processed by the substrate polishing units 150. The buffer unit 130 is provided with a film thickness meter 132 for measuring the film thickness of the substrate processed. The film thickness meter 132 is provided with, for example, an optical meter. The film thickness meter 132 may measure the film thickness by an end point detection (EPD) method. The film thickness meter 132 is electrically connected to the control unit 102.

The film thickness meter 132 measures the thickness of the polished film when the substrate processed by the substrate polishing units 150 is accommodated in the buffer unit 130. The film thickness meter 132 is installed at a position where the substrate of the buffer unit 130 is accommodated. Since the buffer unit 130 provides the film thickness meter 132 therein, when the processed substrate is accommodated, the film thickness can be measured during the storage, so that a separate substrate transfer is unnecessary for measuring the film thickness. In addition, the data on the film thickness measured by the film thickness meter 132 is provided to the controller 102 to appropriately adjust the polishing conditions and the like. Therefore, the control unit 102 adjusts the polishing conditions of the substrate polishing unit 150 and the like based on the measurement result.

The main transfer robot 140 is installed in the transfer passage 106. The transfer passage 106 is provided with a second transfer rail 142, and the main transfer robot 140 is installed on the second transfer rail 142. The main transfer robot 140 moves along the second transfer rail 142 and transfers the substrate between the buffer unit 130 and the substrate polishing unit 150.

A plurality of substrate polishing units 150 are disposed at both sides of the transfer passage 106, and each substrate polishing unit 150 processes the substrate to be polished and cleaned. The substrate polishing units 150 are disposed such that at least two substrate polishing units 150 face each other with the transfer passage 106 interposed therebetween. In addition, the substrate polishing units 150 may be disposed in a multilayer.

In this embodiment, the substrate polishing units 150 are disposed in parallel along the conveying passage 106, two on each side of the conveying passage 106 in plan view. In addition, the substrate polishing units 150 are stacked in two layers, two in one layer. Of course, the number and arrangement of the substrate polishing units 150 may be variously modified according to the process efficiency and the footprint of the substrate polishing apparatus 100. For example, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 is composed of eight substrate polishing portions 150, and four substrate polishing portions 150 arranged in two layers in one layer are provided at both sides of the transfer passage 106. Are placed on each. The number of layers in which the substrate polishing units 150 are stacked, the number of substrate polishing units 150 disposed in each layer, and the number of rows in which the substrate polishing units 150 are continuously arranged in parallel are determined by the process of the substrate polishing apparatus 100. It may increase or decrease depending on efficiency and footprint. When the number of rows in which the substrate polishing units 150 are arranged in parallel increases, the number of the transfer passages 106 and the main transfer robot 140 also increases. In addition, even if the number of layers on which the substrate polishing units 150 are stacked increases, the number of main transport robots 140 may also increase.

Accordingly, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 may polish and clean a plurality of substrates at the same time because the substrate polishing units 150 are arranged in a plurality of layers and a plurality of rows. In this case, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 may measure the film thickness of the substrate by the film thickness meter 132 while the substrates processed from the substrate polishing units 150 are accommodated in the buffer unit 130.

On the other hand, each substrate polishing unit 150 is electrically connected to the control unit 102 that controls the overall operation of the substrate polishing apparatus 100, and polish and clean the substrate under the control of the control unit 102. The controller 102 is provided with a computer, a touch screen, a programmable logic controller, a controller, and the like. At least one control unit 132 is provided. For example, the controller 102 may be provided in plurality in order to individually control the substrate polishing units 150, or may be provided as one to integrally control the substrate polishing units 150. The controller 102 controls the substrate polishing units 110 so that the polishing amount of the substrate by the substrate polishing unit 150 is locally controlled to improve polishing uniformity. In addition, the control unit 102 receives data on the film thickness measured by the film thickness meter 132 and adjusts polishing conditions and the like appropriately.

Specifically, referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the substrate polishing unit 150 may include a substrate support unit 152, a container unit 154, a polishing unit 156, and first and second processing liquid supply units. 160, 162, brush unit 164, aerosol unit 166 and pad conditioning unit 158, and the like.

The substrate support unit 152 is housed inside the container unit 154. The substrate supporting unit 152 is mounted with the substrate transferred from the main transfer robot (140 in FIG. 1). The substrate support unit 152 supports and fixes the substrate during the polishing process and the cleaning process of the substrate. The substrate support unit 152 includes a spin head on which the substrate is seated, a spin axis (not shown) coupled to the spin head to rotate the spin head, a driver (not shown) to rotate the spin axis, and the like. The substrate support unit 152 fixes and rotates the substrate during the polishing process and the cleaning process.

The container unit 154 surrounds the substrate support unit 152 and provides a process space in which a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process are performed. The container unit 154 is open at the top, and the top of the substrate support unit 152 is exposed through the open top. For example, the container unit 154 has two processing bowls (not shown) for processing the polishing and cleaning processes, respectively. In addition, the container unit 154 includes two recovery containers (not shown) for recovering the processing liquid used in the polishing and cleaning process corresponding to each processing container, and a substrate supporting unit according to each process during the polishing and cleaning process. An elevating member (not shown) or the like for moving each processing container up and down so that the vertical position between the 152 and the container unit 154 is adjusted.

Meanwhile, the outer side of the container unit 154 is a polishing unit 156, first and second processing liquid supply units 160 and 162, a brush unit 164, an aerosol unit 166, and a pad conditioning unit 158. This is installed.

The polishing unit 156 chemically and mechanically polishes the surface of the substrate fixed to the substrate support unit 152 to polish the surface of the substrate. For example, the polishing unit 156 has a polishing pad of a smaller size than the substrate, and is disposed on the substrate fixed to the substrate support unit 152 during the polishing process. The polishing unit 156 rotates in a state of being in contact with the substrate while injecting a processing liquid (for example, a slurry) for polishing the substrate to polish the substrate. At this time, the polishing pad is swingably moved between the edge and the center area of the substrate fixed to the substrate supporting unit 152. Since the polishing pad has a smaller size than the substrate, the polishing pad can be locally polished, thereby preventing overpolishing in a specific region. In addition, the polishing unit 156 is provided with a driving unit for rotating, swinging and vertically moving the polishing pad.

The first and second processing liquid supply units 160 and 162 spray the processing liquid necessary for the substrate polishing process and the cleaning process onto the substrate fixed to the substrate support unit 152.

The first processing liquid supply unit 160 is installed to face the polishing unit 156 with the container unit 154 interposed therebetween, and is fixedly installed on an outer wall of the container unit 154. In the polishing process or the cleaning process, the first processing liquid supply unit 160 sprays the processing liquid onto the substrate fixed to the substrate supporting unit 152 to clean the substrate. The first processing liquid supply unit 160 includes a plurality of spray nozzles fixed on the upper sidewall of the container unit 154 to spray the processing liquid onto the substrate. Here, the treatment liquid may be a treatment liquid for cleaning or drying the substrate, or may be a drying gas for drying.

The second processing liquid supply unit 162 is provided to face the polishing unit 156 with the container unit 154 and the first processing liquid supply unit 160 interposed therebetween. The second processing liquid supply unit 162 includes a chemical liquid nozzle for spraying the processing liquid, and in the cleaning process, the processing liquid is sprayed onto the substrate fixed to the substrate support unit 152 to clean the substrate. The second processing liquid supply unit 162 is swingable, and sprays the processing liquid in a state in which the chemical liquid nozzle is disposed on the upper portion of the substrate support unit 152 through a swing operation during the cleaning process.

The brush unit 164 physically removes foreign substances on the substrate surface after the polishing process. The brush unit 164 includes a brush pad that contacts the substrate surface to physically wipe off the foreign matter on the substrate surface, and is swingable. In the cleaning process, the brush unit 164 rotates the brush pad in a state in which the brush pad is disposed on the upper portion of the substrate support unit 152 through a swing operation to clean the substrate fixed to the substrate support unit 152. An aerosol unit 166 is disposed at one side of the brush unit 164.

The aerosol unit 166 removes foreign substances on the surface of the substrate by spraying the processing liquid in the form of fine particles on the substrate fixed to the substrate support unit 152. For example, the aerosol unit 166 sprays the treatment liquid into fine particles using ultrasonic waves. Therefore, the brush unit 164 and the aerosol unit 166 are provided as a cleaning unit for removing foreign matter on the surface of the substrate after the polishing process, the brush unit 164 is used to remove the foreign matter of relatively large particles, the aerosol unit ( 166 is used to remove foreign matter in particles that are relatively small compared to brush unit 164.

The pad conditioning unit 158 then cleans and regenerates the polishing unit 156 when the polishing unit 156 is standing by at a home port.

Therefore, in the substrate polishing unit 150, both the substrate polishing process and the cleaning process are performed in one container unit 154.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 transfers and stores the substrates processed from each substrate polishing unit 150 to the buffer unit 130 by the main transfer robot 140. At this time, while the substrate is accommodated in the buffer unit 130, the thickness of the film polished by the film thickness meter 132 is measured. Subsequently, the index robot 120 transfers the substrates of the process and the film thickness measured from the buffer unit 130 to the loading / unloading unit 110.

As described above, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 of the present invention includes a film thickness meter 132 provided in the buffer unit 130 while the substrate processed in the substrate polishing unit 150 is accommodated in the buffer unit 130. Since the thickness of the polished film is measured, it is not necessary to transfer the substrate separately for the film thickness measurement. In addition, in the substrate polishing apparatus 100 of the present invention, since both substrate polishing and cleaning processes are performed in each substrate polishing unit 110, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 does not need to transfer the substrate to the cleaning process chamber after the polishing process. It is not necessary to have a chamber for cleaning processes.

Therefore, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 of the present invention can shorten the transfer time and the process time of the substrate, improve productivity, and reduce the footprint.

4 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of the substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention. Here, the processing procedure of the substrate polishing apparatus will be described using the configuration of FIG. 1.

That is, referring to FIG. 4, in step S200, the index robot 120 pulls out the substrate from the loading / unloading unit 110, for example, one of the cassettes 114a to 114d. This board | substrate is a board | substrate before a process process. The index robot 120 transfers the substrate to the buffer unit 130 in step S202, and stores the substrate in the buffer unit 130 in step S204. In step S206, the substrate is transferred to one substrate polishing unit 150 using the main transfer robot 140. In step S208, the substrate polishing unit 150 processes the substrate polishing process and the cleaning process.

In step S210, the main transfer robot 140 transfers the substrate processed from the substrate polishing unit 150 back to the buffer unit 130 to store the substrate in the buffer unit 130.

When the substrate is accommodated in the buffer unit 130 in step S212, the polished film thickness of the substrate is measured using the film thickness meter 132 installed inside the buffer unit 130. At this time, the data on the measured film thickness is provided to the controller 102 so as to determine whether it is suitable for the polishing conditions.

When the film thickness measurement is completed in step S214, the index robot 120 transfers the substrate to the loading / unloading unit 110, and inserts the substrate into the cassette in step S216.

Therefore, the substrate polishing apparatus 100 of the present invention does not need a separate chamber for measuring the film thickness of the processed substrate, and the footprint is reduced because the film thickness is measured while the substrate is stored in the buffer unit 130. Productivity can be improved.

In the above, the configuration and operation of the substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention has been shown in accordance with the detailed description and drawings, but this is merely described by way of example, and various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. It is possible.

1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of the substrate polishing apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG.

3 is a perspective view showing the structure of the substrate polishing part shown in FIG. 1; And

4 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the substrate polishing apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: substrate polishing apparatus

102: control unit

104: index

130: buffer unit

132: film thickness meter

150: substrate polishing unit

Claims (7)

In substrate polishing apparatus: An index having an index robot for transporting the substrate; At least one substrate polishing unit for processing a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process; A film disposed between the index and the substrate polishing unit to receive and receive a substrate before the process from the index robot, to receive and process a substrate processed from the substrate polishing unit, and to measure a film thickness of the processed substrate Substrate polishing apparatus, characterized in that it comprises a buffer unit is installed thickness gauge. The method of claim 1, The substrate polishing apparatus; A movement passage provided with a main transfer robot for transferring the substrate before the process from the buffer portion to the substrate polishing portion or for transferring the substrate processed from the substrate polishing portion to the buffer portion; And a plurality of substrate polishing units disposed in a plurality of layers so as to face each other on both sides of the transfer passage. The method of claim 2, The substrate polishing unit; A container unit having an upper portion open and providing a process space in which a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process are performed; A substrate support unit accommodated in the container unit to fix the substrate during the polishing and cleaning processes of the substrate; A polishing unit disposed on an upper portion of the substrate fixed to the substrate supporting unit and rotating in contact with the substrate to chemically and mechanically polish the surface of the substrate; At least one processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid necessary for a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process to a substrate fixed to the substrate supporting unit; At least one cleaning unit for removing foreign substances on the surface of the substrate after the polishing process; And a pad conditioning unit for cleaning and regenerating the polishing unit in the atmosphere. The method of claim 3, wherein The substrate polishing apparatus; And a control unit which receives data on the film thickness measured from the film thickness meter and controls the polishing process of the substrate polishing unit. In the processing method of a substrate polishing apparatus, The substrate polishing apparatus includes an index including an index robot for transferring a substrate, at least one substrate polishing portion for processing a substrate polishing process and a cleaning process, and disposed between the index and the substrate polishing portion to receive a substrate. And providing a buffer unit in which a film thickness meter for measuring the film thickness of the processed substrate is provided, and measuring the film thickness of the substrate with the film thickness meter while the processed substrate is accommodated in the buffer unit. Processing method of substrate polishing apparatus. The method of claim 5, Storing the; A substrate polishing apparatus, characterized in that the substrate before the process is transported and stored from the index robot to the buffer unit, and the substrate processed by the substrate polishing unit is transferred to and stored in the buffer unit. The method according to claim 5 or 6, Treating said polishing process; And rotating the substrate by fixing the substrate to the spin head of the substrate polishing apparatus, moving the polishing head onto the fixed substrate, and rotating the substrate in contact with the substrate to polish the substrate.

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