KR20140040208A - Apparatus for treating a wafer-shaped article - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles includes a closed process chamber, a chuck located within the closed process chamber, and at least one process liquid dispensing device disposed within the chamber. The enclosed process chamber includes a lid that can be opened to position the wafer-like article within the enclosed process chamber. The lid includes a heater configured to heat the wafer-shaped article located in the closed process chamber.

Description

[0001] APPARATUS FOR TREATING A WAFER-SHAPED ARTICLE [0002]

The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for processing wafer-like articles such as semiconductor wafers.

Semiconductor wafers undergo various surface treatment processes such as etching, cleaning, polishing and material deposition. For example, to accommodate such processes, as described in U.S. Patent Nos. 4,903,717 and 5,513,668, a single wafer may be supported by one or more treatment fluid nozzles by a chuck associated with a rotatable carrier .

For example, such spin chucks may be housed in closed process chambers, as described in co-owned and co-pending U. S. Patent Application No. 12 / 913,405, filed October 27, Certain cleaning processes may be used to remove aggressive chemicals at elevated temperatures, for example, as described in co-owned and co-pending U. S. Patent Application No. 12 / 959,924, filed December 3, (chemical).

However, when a high temperature process is performed in an environmentally controlled process chamber, it may be difficult to maintain the desired temperature of the process liquid across the surface of the wafer, particularly for wafers of relatively larger diameter, such as 300 mm or more.

An apparatus for processing wafer-like articles according to the present invention includes a closed process chamber, a chuck located within a closed process chamber, and at least one process liquid dispensing device disposed within the chamber. The enclosed process chamber includes a lid that can be opened to position the wafer-like article within the enclosed process chamber. The lid includes a heater configured to heat the wafer-shaped article located in the closed process chamber.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the heater comprises a plurality of infrared heating elements.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the infrared heating elements are individually tunable to apply the desired heating profile to the surface of the wafer-shaped article located in the closed process chamber.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, the lid engages sealingly with the remaining structure to change the distance between the heater and the wafer-shaped article located in the closed process chamber. And is axially displaceable relative to the remaining structure of the closed process chamber.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, the heater comprises one or more infrared heating elements, and the lid comprises a peripheral shield which is essentially opaque to the IR radiation.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, the lid includes an inner gas inlet communicating with one or more inner peripheral recesses surrounding the heater to allow cooling gas to be supplied near the periphery of the heater.

In preferred embodiments of the device according to the invention, the inner gas inlet is arranged in the central region of the lid and connected to one or more inner peripheral recesses by a plurality of radially extending channels.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention the heater comprises one or more infrared heating elements and the leads comprise an internal IR shield which separates one or more infrared heating elements from one or more inner peripheral recesses do.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, the heater is sealed in the lid to be protected from contact with process liquids inside the closed process chamber.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the lid comprises at least one gas nozzle extending over or facing the downwardly facing surface of the lead to supply gas to the closed process chamber .

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, the apparatus comprises a drive unit for at least one process liquid dispensing device, wherein the drive unit is configured to move from the peripheral standby position to the dispensing end of at least one dispensing device The at least one dispensing device is drivably connected to at least one dispensing device to move the at least one dispensing device to one or more active positions that are moved radially inward of the chuck, and the drive unit is mounted outside the chamber.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, the chamber is a component of a process module for single wafer wet processing of semiconductor wafers.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the present invention, the chuck is a spin chuck having a drive shaft extending downward from the chamber.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the at least one process liquid dispensing device is operable to dispense liquid to the chamber while the lid is in the closed position.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the chuck is vertically movable relative to the closed process chamber and is configured to have at least three stop positions, which are used to load and unload the wafer- The uppermost position for loading, and the at least two lower positions in the chamber, and each of the at least two lower positions corresponds to a separate process level of the chamber.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the apparatus comprises a drive mechanism for moving the lid from the closed position to the open position, the drive mechanism being configured to displace the lid both upwardly and laterally relative to the chamber do.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the drive unit is a motor mounted on the side housing of the chamber, the output shaft of the motor being transferred to the side housing, being delivered to the chamber and connected to at least one liquid dispensing device Link.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the at least one process liquid dispensing device is pivotally mounted in the chamber and is adapted to dispense, from a peripheral atmospheric position, one of the dispensing ends of the media supply arm, Lt; RTI ID = 0.0 > movable < / RTI >

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the media supply arm has one end pivotally connected to the link through the chamber wall and an opposite end provided with a dispensing nozzle.

In preferred embodiments of the device according to the invention, the leads are arranged in parallel on the wafer-shaped article received on the chuck.

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, the closed process chamber comprises a plurality of overlapping process levels, each of the plurality of overlapping process levels having respective gas outlets connected thereto, wherein the gas outlets are individually Lt; / RTI >

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention the closed process chamber is mounted on a base plate and the apparatus further comprises a drive unit for a chuck mounted on a housing dependent from a lower surface of the base plate, .

In preferred embodiments of the apparatus according to the invention, a drive mechanism for moving the lid from the closed position to the open position is mounted on the lower surface of the base plate, and the closed process chamber is mounted on the upper surface of the base plate .

Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent after a reading of the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, given the references to the accompanying drawings.

1 is a perspective view of a preferred embodiment of a closed chamber module according to the present invention;
Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 in which the chamber lid is moved up and away from the module to allow loading or unloading of the module.
Figure 3 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Figure 1 from below showing some of the mechanisms used to operate the module.
Figure 4 is another perspective view of the embodiment of Figure 1 sectioned into an axial plane to illustrate its internal components.
Figure 5 is an axial cross-sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 1 in the same plane as the plane of Figure 4;
Fig. 6 is a perspective view from above the lead of the embodiment of Fig. 1;
Figure 7 is a top view of the lid where the cover is rendered in a transparent form.
8 is a perspective view from the bottom of the lead of the embodiment of Fig.
9 is a cross-sectional view along line AA of FIG.
10 is a cross-sectional view along line DD of FIG.
Figure 11 is an axial cross-sectional view of the embodiment of Figure 1 in a plane that intersects the pivot mount of one of the media supply arms.
12 is a cross-sectional view showing a mechanism for driving and lifting and lowering the spin chuck of this embodiment.
Figure 13 is an emission section of the embodiment of Figure 1 showing media supply arms in their standby position.
Figure 14 is a fragmentary perspective view of a pivot mount of media supply arms.
Figure 15 is a section of the embodiment of Figure 1 in which one of the media supply arms is pivoted to its service position.
Figure 16 is a perspective view of the embodiment of Figure 1 with the top chamber cover removed.

Referring to Figure 1, a closed chamber module 10 is mounted on a base plate 15 and is preferably fixed to the chamber wall 30 by a cylindrical chamber wall 30 and a series of screws, And is constituted by an annular upper chamber cover 32. The chamber module 10 is closed at its upper end by a lid 100 that is sealed at the outer periphery thereof to the inner atmosphere of the annular upper chamber cover 32.

The lead 100 moves the lead 100 from the closed position shown in Fig. 1 to the open position shown in Fig. 2 and in turn is fixed to the lead arm 22 located on the lead support shaft 26 do. The gas feed line 24 supplies gas to the lid 100. In practice, a plurality of gas feed lines may be provided.

The first and second drive units 52 and 62 are provided for respective media supply arms to be described below and are guided to respective covers 54 and 64 for pivotal movement mechanisms for the media supply arms do. Reference numeral 56 denotes a lead-in for the first medium supply line.

The closed chamber module of this embodiment has three interior levels, each of which has an associated gas outlet, and the reference numerals 82, 84, and 86 of FIG. 1 are associated with the lower, middle, And reference numerals 81, 83, and 85 denote the associated lower, middle, and upper gas inlets for these outlets.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a closed chamber module is shown in its open position, which involves lifting the lid upward relative to the chamber and pivoting it against the lid support shaft 26 which receives the hollow shaft 18 .

Inside the chamber, the spin chuck 70 is visible, and in this embodiment the chuck is a double-sided type chuck. Also visible are its standby position, and the second media supply arm 63 at the upper, middle and lower levels 34, 35, 36.

In Fig. 3, the underside of the lead 100 includes a central gas nozzle 23.

For example, a motor 27, which may be a pneumatic cylinder, drives a link 19, which in turn drives a hollow shaft 18 (see FIG. 4). Thus, the motor 27 drives the pivotal movement of the lead 100. The motor 29 is a lifting motor for lifting and lowering the lid 100 while the motor 29 represents a lead-in for the gas feed lines 21 and 24 received in the hollow shaft 18.

The spin motor 72 spins the spin chuck 70 while the motor 76 moves the spin chuck 70 up and down through the slider 74. The lower chamber cover 31 receives bellows of the spin chuck, as will be described later.

In Fig. 4, the upper, middle and lower levels 34,35 and 36 can be seen more easily. The structure of these levels and their respective outlets 86, 84 and 82 may be as described in co-owned application WO 2004/084278 Al. 4 also shows a gas feed line 21 for the central gas nozzle 23, extension bellows 75 serving to isolate the drive mechanisms from the inner periphery of the chamber, A non-rotating nozzle shaft 79 that supports the bottom nozzles of the chuck, and a non-rotating hollow shaft 78 that receives the bottom nozzle head 79. The frame 77 connects the drive mechanism.

The axial cross-section of Figure 5 includes a plate 37 defining a chamber bottom, a first media supply arm 53 shown in its standby position, and a stowage region 55 for arm 53, The above-described components are shown in detail. It should be noted that the shaft 18 is rigidly fixed to the lead arm 22 so that the rotational and translational movements imparted to the shaft 18 are also applied to the lead arm 22 and the lead 100,

The lead 100 is shown in more detail in Figures 6-10. A plurality of electrical connectors 1222 are provided for the heating lamps 120. The top cover of the lead 100 is generally optically opaque to expose the infrared lamps 120 and the ribs 115 but is rendered in a transparent form in Figure 7, The channels of the cooling gas distribution network are set.

As shown in FIGS. 7-9, the lead 100 includes twelve linear infrared (IR) heaters 120. The IR heaters are separately tunable to achieve the desired uniformity of heating across the wafer surface. For example, if it is found that the wafer edge is not heated quickly enough, the power to the outermost IR-heaters 120 is increased. The tuning of the IR-heaters can be optimized by monitoring processed wafers for uniformity of heating or monitoring the temperature increase using a local thermometer.

The IR-heaters are preferably linear quartz rods. There is an isolative coating provided to allow IR-heaters to emit primarily IR-light towards the wafer surface.

The chamber and IR-heaters are separated, for example, by a heat-resistant glass (borosilicate glass), or a transparent plate 135 made of quartz. Surrounding the transparent plate 135 is an annular peripheral shield 125 that is formed of stainless steel or other material that is essentially opaque to infrared radiation. Thus, the shield 125 functions to focus IR radiation onto the wafer surface and prevents excessive heating of peripheral portions (e.g., chamber walls) that are often made of plastic material.

The assemblies of the IR heaters 120 are seeded in the lid 100 such that the process liquid inside the sealed chamber can not make contact with the IR heaters 120. This may be important, for example, in the case of hot isopropyl alcohol used during drying processes, for example when the process liquid is flammable.

Although the heating elements of this embodiment are linear tubes, the heating elements may alternatively be implemented as tunable spot-type IR lamps or concentric annular heating elements.

As shown in FIG. 10, the lid 100 of this embodiment includes an outer plate 130 and also an inner plate 136. The inner plate 136 is preferably also an IR shield. Between the outer plate and the inner plate, there is a gas distribution chamber 133 that is purged using a cooling gas (preferably an inert gas such as nitrogen). The cooling gas is introduced through the feed pipe 129 and is distributed to the six radially arranged gas distribution chambers 133 via the channels 131 defined by the ribs 115. The ribs 115 are part of the outer plate 130 and are arranged like spokes radiating from the center of the lid 100. Since Fig. 9 is a cross-section through one of the ribs 115, the gas distribution network is better observed in Fig.

The lid 100 of this embodiment also includes a series of six rods 103 that are tightly secured to the lid 100 but whose extended heads 104 are trapped in pockets formed in the lid arm 22. [ Which are axially displaceable relative to the lid arm 22 so as to surround the rods 103 and to extend through their upper ends on the lid arm 220 and over the outer covers of the lid 100, May slide axially upward against the forces of the springs (105) bearing through their lower arms on the shaft (133). Thus, a suitable gear motor or the like (not shown) may be positioned between the lead 100 and the lead arm 22, and thus the distance between the top surface of the wafer positioned with the process chamber and the IR heating elements 120 Can be changed. Thus, this axial positioning allows for additional tuning of the heating profile to be applied to the wafer.

11, the sectioned plane passes through the cover 54 of the pivot mechanism for the first medium supply arm 53. As shown in Fig. From this angle, the second medium supply arm 63 is completely visible at its standby position. Reference numeral 17 denotes a pressure-equalizing chamber having a lid 100. An annular seal 33, such as an O-ring or V-seal, is attached to or placed on the annular upper chamber cover 32 to form a seal with the lid 110. However, when the lead 100 is displaceable axially with respect to the lead arm 22, the cylindrical side surface of the lead 100 is less than the entire range of axial movement of the lead 100 relative to the lead arm 22 To sealably seal the upper chamber 32 with respect to the upper chamber 32.

12, the mechanism for rotating the spin chuck carrier 73 includes a rotating hollow shaft 71 for driving the spin chuck carrier 73 during rotation, an extension for shielding the drive mechanisms from the inner atmosphere of the chamber, A bellows 75, a frame 77 connecting the chuck drive mechanism to the backside of the chamber, a non-rotating nozzle head 79 supplying the bottom nozzles of the chuck, and a non- And includes a hollow shaft 78.

The non-rotating hollow shaft 90 surrounds the rotating hollow shaft 71, which in turn surrounds the non-rotating hollow shaft 78, and these three shafts are coaxial with each other. The rotary shaft seal bearing 91 seals the coaxial shafts from the chamber atmosphere and supports the interconnected rotating hollow shaft 78 while the bearing 92 includes a rotating shaft 71 and a non- ). The membrane cover 93 is fit within the lower chamber cover 31 and is seamed against the bellows 75 at its inner periphery and against the chamber bottom 37 at its outer periphery.

13, the radiation section through the cylindrical chamber wall 30 exposes the first and second media supply arms 53 and 63 in their standby position, and the dashed lines in Fig. 8 show the media arms 53, 63 ) Follows the arcuate path through which they move as the dispensing end of the media arm moves from the depicted stand-by position to the service position where the dispensing end of the media arm is approximately centered on the spin chuck. In fact, only one of the media arms will be in use and thus at any given time in its service position, i.e. both media supply arms 63, 63 will be in a standby position as often shown, At the time, typically only one or the other will be in the service location. Nevertheless, both of the media supply arms 53, 63 can move at the same time and, in the alternative, approach the center, which can be achieved by appropriate software commands.

In reference to service locations for media supply arms 53, 63, there may be more than one service location, or for such matter, as the arms move radially inward from the surrounding atmospheric position, It is understandable that it may be in the middle. Thus, the service position may refer to any position where the dispensing end of the media supply arm is located above the wafer supported on the chuck, and not just the innermost position of the center. For example, the service location will move back and forth from the center toward the edge during processing of the wafer.

Figure 14 shows additional details of the mechanism for driving the media supply and dispense arms between their standby and service positions. The cover 64 is indicated only by the dashed line in Fig. 14, to allow viewing of the internal components of the drive mechanism. Actually, the cover 64 will be made of a solid material that is mounted in a sealed manner in the cylindrical wall 30 of the chamber, and the cylindrical wall 30 has a second media arm 63 (Not shown) of the drive unit 62 to allow transmission of the link 67 through the link 67 connected to the output shaft 68 of the drive unit 62 by, for example, splined connection, And has a cutout. The output shaft 68 penetrates the cover 64 from below through the seal ring bearing and thus the drive unit 62 is disposed outside the chamber and is protected from the harsh chemical environment present in the chamber.

Thus, when the drive unit 62 is actuated, the link 67 will pivot over a range of movements indicated by the operating cycle of the drive unit 62, from its standby position to its service position Which corresponds to the displacement of the medium supply arm 63 of FIG. Thus, the size of the cutout of the cylindrical chamber wall 30 is sized to accommodate the pivotal movement of the range.

The lead-in 66 connects to the second medium line 61 inside the chamber. The lead-in 66 may be, for example, a fluid coupling traversing the cylindrical wall 30 of the chamber in a sealed manner, such as an inlet for tubing at its end external to the chamber, And connects to the second media line 61.

Also visible in Fig. 14 is an inner chamber wall located radially inwardly of the cylindrical chamber wall 30, which inner chamber wall, together with the wall 30, (65). The inner wall of which has a downwardly-depending dispensing end of the media supply arm 63 from its standby position within the loading area 65, its service position where the dispensing end of the arm 63 is positioned above the center of the spin chuck The user is provided with a cut-out 69 to allow his passage.

Since the first and second media supply arms 53 and 63 are equipped with essentially identical drive mechanisms in this embodiment, the description of the various components of one unit also applies to the other, But may not. In addition, although the embodiment of the present invention is equipped with two media dispense arms, the number of such arms and their associated drive mechanisms may be only anaerobically, or vice versa, three or more.

15, the first medium arm 53 is maintained in its standby position, but the second media supply arm 63 is pivoted to the service position, wherein the dispensing nozzle, which is subordinate to the arm 63, And is positioned above the center. The second media line 61 is more visible to the arm 63 in its service position. 15 that the length of line 61 is sufficient to accommodate the range of movement of the radially inner end of link 67 and hence also its flexibility Will be observed.

16 corresponds to Fig. 15 and shows the cover 54 in place, but the cover 64 is removed to reveal the drive linkage to the media arm 63. [

In use, the chamber will be opened to allow loading of the wafer to be processed internally. This is firstly fixed by the posts on the back side of the base plate 15 and stationary with respect thereto (see FIG. 3), but when extended, its output shaft allows the lead- Actuating the motor 28 to cause it to be displaced upward, and actuating the shaft 18, the lid arm 22, and the lid 100 therewith. Preferably, the shaft 18 is journaled in the lead-in 29 so that it is lifted using the lead-in, but is rotatable relative to the lead-in 29.

Once the lid 100 is lifted to open the chamber, the motor 27 is then actuated on the drive link 19 in an arcuate range of motion relative to the axis of the shaft 18. This movement causes the shaft 18 and the lid arm 22 and the lid 100 to rotate with the shaft 18 so that the lid 100 is moved upward Is swung away from the opening defined by annular chamber cover 32 to the position shown in Fig. As shown in Fig. 3, the motor 27 itself is mounted on the back side of the base plate 15 via a pivot to allow the pivotal movement of the link 19. The link 19 may be splined to the shaft 18 and sliding thereon during vertical displacement of the shaft 18 driven by the motor 28 or the link 19 may be fastened to the shaft 18 And may be driven by the motor 27 at its opposite end through a pivot connection that may slide vertically when the motor 28 is operated.

After the chamber is opened as shown in FIG. 2, the wafer to be processed is loaded therein. Devices for transferring and loading wafers onto spin chucks are well known in the art. To accommodate the wafer, the motor 76 is actuated to raise the spin chuck 70 through the slider 74 to a position around the opening defined in the upper annular chamber cover 32. In particular, the spin chuck 70 may be raised to a position where it is directly under the opening in the cover 32, just above the opening, or flush with the opening.

It should be noted that the diameter of the opening in the upper annular cover 32 should be apparently larger than the outer diameter of the wafer to be processed in the chamber, but preferably does not have a substantially larger diameter. For example, in the case of a 300 mm silicon wafer, the opening in the cover 32 preferably has a diameter of approximately 320 mm. In general, the diameter of the opening in the upper end of the chamber should not exceed the diameter of the wafer to be processed by more than 50%, preferably by 20%, and more preferably by 10% or less.

The spin chuck 70 is configured to hold a wafer of a predetermined diameter, in this case 300 mm. The spin chuck 70 includes a peripheral series of gripping pins that prevent the wafer from sliding laterally during processing. When the spin chuck 70 is embodied as a Bernoulli chuck, the nitrogen gas flow supplied through the chuck and radially outward from below the wafer provides a downward support of the wafer. Alternatively, the gripping pins may have a shape complementary to the peripheral edge of the wafer, for example, by radially inwardly holding the wafer in its operative position relative to the chuck by providing a lateral and a downward support, And may be composed of facing surfaces.

The spin chuck 70 is then lowered by the motor 76 to one of the upper, middle and lower levels 34, 35 and 36 to the operating position, 70). Any desired combination of liquids and gases may then be fed into the chamber, with the liquids passing through the media supply arms 53, 63, and the gases through the lid 100.

It is preferred that at least one of the seeds sealing the chamber is designed to allow controlled leakage of gas outside the chamber at a predetermined level of overpressure. In that way, a substantially oxygen-free atmosphere is maintained in the chamber during processing of the wafer, while continuing to supply gas from the lid 100 and / or through the shaft 78 without accumulating excess pressure. Can be maintained. This design also allows the exclusion of oxygen without the need to rely on the maintenance of impervious seeds or the use of vacuum.

It will be appreciated that the design of this embodiment allows the lead and media supply arms to simultaneously supply gas and liquid into the chamber. In addition, the design of the media supply arms 53, 63 and their associated drive mechanisms allows the arms to be placed inside the chamber, but their respective drive units are mounted outside the chamber. This provides a significant advantage in preventing exposure of their drive units to highly aggressive chemicals that are often used in such processing modules.

While the invention has been described in connection with various exemplary embodiments thereof, it will be understood that they should not be used as a pretension to limit the scope of protection conferred by the true scope and spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (15)

An apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles,
Closed process chambers,
A chuck located within the closed process chamber, and
At least one process liquid dispensing device disposed within the chamber,
Wherein the closed process chamber includes a lid that can be opened to position the wafer-like article within the closed process chamber,
Wherein the lid comprises a heater configured to heat the wafer-shaped article located in the closed process chamber. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heater comprises a plurality of infrared heating elements. 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the infrared heating elements are individually tunable to apply a desired heating profile to a surface of the wafer-like article located within the closed process chamber. The method according to claim 1,
The lid is sealingly engageable with the remaining structure of the closed process chamber to change the distance between the heater and the wafer-shaped article located within the enclosed process chamber, And displaceable axially relative to the remaining structure of the closed process chamber. The method according to claim 1,
The heater comprising one or more infrared heating elements,
Wherein the lead comprises a peripheral shield that is essentially opaque to the IR radiation. ≪ Desc / Clms Page number 17 > The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lid includes an inner gas inlet communicating with one or more inner peripheral recesses surrounding the heater to allow a cooling gas to be supplied near the periphery of the heater. The method according to claim 6,
Wherein the inner gas inlet is disposed in a central region of the lid and is connected to the one or more inner peripheral recesses by a plurality of radially extending channels. The method according to claim 6,
The heater includes one or more infrared heating elements,
Wherein the lead comprises an inner IR shield that separates the one or more infrared heating elements from the one or more inner peripheral recesses. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the heater is sealed to the lead to protect it from contact with process liquids within the closed process chamber. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the lead comprises at least one gas nozzle extending over or facing the downwardly facing surface of the lead to supply gas to the closed process chamber. Device. The method according to claim 1,
Further comprising a drive unit for at least one process liquid dispensing device,
Wherein the drive unit is configured to move the at least one dispensing device from its peripheral standby position to the at least one dispensing device to move the at least one dispensing device to one or more active positions in which the dispensing end of the at least one dispensing device is moved radially inward of the chuck. A driving device operatively connected to the dispensing device,
Wherein the drive unit is mounted outside the chamber. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the chamber is a component of a process module for single wafer wet processing of semiconductor wafers. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the chuck is a spin chuck having a drive shaft extending downwardly from the chamber. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the at least one process liquid dispensing device is operable to dispense liquid to the chamber while the lid is in the closed position. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the chuck is vertically movable with respect to the closed process chamber and is configured to have at least three stop positions,
Wherein the at least three stop positions are a topmost position for loading and unloading the wafer-shaped article from the chuck, and at least two bottom positions within the chamber,
Wherein each of the at least two lower positions corresponds to a separate process level of the chamber.

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