TW201618212A - Method and device for treating a semiconductor material - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a method (500) for treating a semiconductor material (100), wherein the method (500) comprises a step (504) of discharging, a step (502) of purifying, and a step (506) of providing. In the step (318, 336, 504) of discharging, the semiconductor material (100) is electrostatically discharged. In the step (306, 322, 328, 332, 334, 502) of purifying, particles (310) are removed from the semiconductor material (100). In the step (340, 344, 346, 350, 506) of providing, the semiconductor material (100) is made available for further use.

Description

Method and apparatus for processing semiconductor materials

The present invention relates to a method of processing a semiconductor material, a related apparatus, and an associated computer program.

It is mainly used in the photovoltaic industry and semiconductor industry. The photovoltaic market is divided into so-called “inefficient” mass markets and “efficient” vacancies. In particular, the market for filling the market has special requirements for the purity of the cockroach. In the manufacture of highly efficient single crystal solar cells, the purity level of germanium needs to be at least 9N+.

Heretofore, as for the raw material ruthenium used in the semiconductor field, it has been subjected to multiple etching, washing and drying after the completion of the production. This solution is costly and produces non-negligible material losses. Especially in "efficient" applications, due to the high requirements for photovoltaic crucibles, the materials also need to be of high quality and cleaned by the front. Potential-free cesium with sustainable purity is currently difficult to trace on the market, which is important for the photovoltaic industry and the semiconductor industry.

In view of this, in accordance with an independent item, the present invention provides a method of processing a semiconductor material, and an apparatus using the same, and a related computer program. For a better design, see the attached item and the description below.

The manufacturing process of semiconductor germanium or photovoltaic germanium can lead to the formation of dust. The mining It is deposited by vapor deposition and solidified into a so-called "U-shaped rod". For further processing, the U-shaped bars are broken by a crushing process and subsequently packaged in a dust-containing manner. Manufacturers do not have to ensure dust-free and no-charge (ESD-free) packaging because there is no such need for mainstream products. 矽 Manufacturers currently refuse to make adjustments to the packaging program for missing products. This requirement can be met by the pSi finishing scheme described below. Among them, the processing of the currently commercially available pSi is indispensable, which will be explained below.

The impurity level of bismuth is determined by the surface purity based on the content of other metals. Righteousness. Therefore, by purifying the surface, the purity of the surface of the material can be greatly improved. This makes it easy to achieve high quality flaws.

With the finishing process proposed in this paper, 75% of the rationalization potential can be achieved. The sales of materials can be improved by the method proposed in this paper. The material will change radically.

The present invention provides a method of processing a semiconductor material, wherein the method comprises the steps of: discharging the semiconductor material, wherein the semiconductor material is electrostatically discharged; cleaning the semiconductor material, wherein the particles are removed from the semiconductor material And preparing the semiconductor material for further use.

In particular, a semiconductor material refers to germanium or polycrystalline germanium in the form of fragments. The discharge operation may specifically be: neutralizing the charge carriers through oppositely charged charge carriers. The cleaning operation may specifically be: removing particles from the semiconductor material by mechanical force.

In the discharging step, the electrostatically charged semiconductor material can be discharged to obtain a discharged semiconductor material. In the cleaning step, the discharged semiconductor material can be Cleaning is performed to obtain a cleaned semiconductor material. The discharged and cleaned semiconductor material can be prepared during the preparation process. Discharge can be performed prior to the cleaning operation to reduce the mechanical force required to remove particles from the semiconductor material.

In this cleaning step, the (thicker) particles can be sieved out by gravity. Can be taken The fine particles are washed away with a fluid stream. The fluid stream can be delivered to the semiconductor material and/or the fluid stream can be passed through the semiconductor material. Alternatively or additionally, the fluid stream can be drawn from the semiconductor material. The coarser particles can be removed prior to the discharge operation. The fluid stream can be a gas stream. In particular, the fluid stream can be a stream of pure air. The fluid stream can be directed transversely to the flow of material of the semiconductor material. In particular, the fluid stream can penetrate into the material stream.

The flushing operation can be performed in at least two steps. Between these steps Apply an intermediate step for flipping. By this flipping operation, the fluid stream can reach the side of the semiconductor material that was previously covered. This can improve cleaning efficiency.

The plasma material can be used to discharge the semiconductor material. Plasma flow can be included A certain proportion of the gas stream of charged gas particles. The charged particles are attracted by oppositely charged particles on the surface of the semiconductor material. When a contact occurs, the voltage potential between the two particles is balanced. As a result, the charged particles on the surface lose their electrostatic charge and lose the electromagnetic attraction to the surface. The discharged surface can be easily cleaned through the fluid stream.

The plasma stream can simultaneously be the fluid stream used to clean the semiconductor material. So The discharge and cleaning operations can be performed in the same processing step.

The method can include the step of verifying the state of the semiconductor material. specific In other words, the semiconductor material can be inspected for the particles. The quality of the material can be determined by inspection. This allows for trimming without material quality. In addition, material quality can be recorded as proof of quality for further use.

The semiconductor material can be packaged using a permanent conductive (ESD) bag. The bag prevents the semiconductor material from being recontaminated. The bag can be conveniently stored and transported.

The invention also proposes a device for processing a semiconductor material which is suitable for implementing, controlling and converting the steps of a solution of the method of the invention in a corresponding unit. With the device embodiment of the invention, the object of the invention can also be achieved quickly and efficiently.

The device of the present invention refers to an electronic device capable of processing a sensor signal and outputting a control signal and/or a data signal based on the sensor signal. The device may have an interface embodied as a hard body and/or a soft body. When implemented as a hardware, such interfaces may be, for example, components of a so-called "system ASIC" that includes various functions of the device. However, the interfaces may also be separate integrated circuits or at least partially constructed of discrete components. When implemented as a software, the interfaces are, for example, software modules on the microcontroller other than other software modules.

The invention also provides a computer program product or computer program comprising a code, which can be stored on a machine readable carrier or a storage medium (such as a semiconductor memory, a hard disk memory or an optical memory), and especially when in a computer In the case where the program product or program is executed on the device, the processing steps of any of the foregoing embodiments are implemented, converted and/or controlled.

100‧‧‧Semiconductor materials

102‧‧‧cleaning machine

104‧‧‧ bags

200‧‧‧ device

202‧‧‧Discharge unit

204‧‧‧cleaning unit

206‧‧‧Preparation unit

300‧‧‧First step

302‧‧‧Transport container

304‧‧‧Conveyor belt

306‧‧‧Second step

308‧‧‧ sieve

310‧‧‧Stain

312‧‧‧ third step

314‧‧‧ fourth step

316‧‧‧ camera

318‧‧‧ fifth step

320‧‧‧ Plasma flow

322‧‧‧ sixth step

324‧‧‧ airflow

326‧‧‧Blowers

328‧‧‧ seventh step

330‧‧‧ eighth step

332‧‧‧Ninth step

334‧‧‧Step 11

336‧‧11 eleventh step

338‧‧‧12th step

340‧‧‧13th step

342‧‧‧14th step

344‧‧‧ fifteenth step

346‧‧‧16th step

348‧‧‧Overpack

350‧‧‧17th step

352‧‧‧18th step

502‧‧‧ cleaning steps

504‧‧‧Discharge procedure

506‧‧‧Preparation steps

1 is a process of processing a semiconductor material in an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an apparatus for processing a semiconductor material in an embodiment of the present invention; 3 is a process of processing a semiconductor material and a step thereof in an embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a method of processing a semiconductor material in an embodiment of the present invention.

The solution proposed in this paper will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention, the same or similar elements are denoted by the same or similar elements, and the description of the elements is not repeated.

1 is a process of processing semiconductor material 100 in one embodiment of the present invention. In the present embodiment, the semiconductor material 100 is a broken piece. That is, the semiconductor material 100 is presented as a bulk material. In the method of the present invention, the semiconductor material 100 is first mechanically pretreated for use in subsequent processing steps. Therein, the semiconductor material 100 is screened to remove particles smaller than the smallest particle size. In the second step, the semiconductor material 100 is discharged. The semiconductor material 100 is brought into an uncharged state from a self-charging state. In a third step, the semiconductor material 100 is cleaned. The particles are removed from the semiconductor material 100. To this end, the semiconductor material 100 is passed through the cleaning machine 102. In a fourth step, the semiconductor material is prepared and dispensed into a bag 104. A conductive bag 104 is employed to extract static charge from the semiconductor material.

Based on the preset manufacturing process and packaging process, the material 100 is not packaged in a conventional manner. But for the ever-expanding market, this kind of dust-free packaging is needed. The large surface-to-volume ratio (A/V ratio) of fine particles and fine particles leads to an increase in the amount of impurities.

The method presented in this paper describes the implementation of particle separation through electrostatic discharge and cleaning. Separate, thereby tailoring the polycrystalline germanium (pSi) 100.

The following processing steps are the main processing steps and are in a Class 10,000 clean room. The core of the implementation of the process.

Release the particles for use in the further processing of the semiconductor 100 Use high sensitivity equipment. Particles that are difficult to capture or that cannot be processed may cause equipment damage, increase processing complexity, and/or cause analytical distortion. In particular, the larger surface-to-volume ratio (A/V ratio) of the particles also leads to an increase in the amount of impurities.

In addition to releasing the particles, other finishing operations are required.

Electrostatic discharge, which provides a zero potential material. Zero potential material 100 in half It is of great significance in the conductor industry. Tests have shown that more than 1 kV of charge is detected in the current package. It is therefore necessary to discharge the material 100 and ensure the subsequent potential.

The principle of electrostatic discharge is to remove parasitic charges. Charge can cause undesired The adhesion of particles, such as dust, small fragments and/or impurities, is particularly critical. In the case of ensuring that the cleaned and non-potential product is fed into the package, undesired adhesion on the customer side can be prevented.

The method presented herein describes a process that includes an opening step, electrostatic discharge Step, particle release step, packaging and sealing steps.

With the polycrystalline germanium finishing scheme shown here, it is able to meet the sustainable purity The demand for polycrystalline germanium. An improvement of the currently commercially available polysilicon is described herein.

2 is an apparatus for processing a semiconductor material in an embodiment of the present invention. Set the block diagram of 200. The processing steps shown in Figure 1 can be implemented on device 200. The device 200 has a discharge unit 202, a cleaning unit 204, and a preparation unit 206. The discharge unit 202 is suitable The semiconductor material is electrostatically discharged. Cleaning unit 204 is adapted to remove particles from the semiconductor material. The preparation unit 206 is adapted to prepare the semiconductor material for further use.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a semiconductor material 100 in one embodiment of the invention. Process and its step by step. This process generally corresponds to the process shown in FIG. This process has more steps.

In a first step 300, the semiconductor material 100 is removed from the transport container 302. Shipping container 302 is here a packaging bag 302. The semiconductor material 100 is stacked onto a conveyor belt 304. For example, at this point in time, the polysilicon 100 is removed from the dual PE package 302 in a clean room of class <=1000.

In a second step 306, the semiconductor material 100 is caused to pass through the screen 308 from The semiconductor material 100 or the dirt 310 having a mesh size smaller than the mesh width of the sieve 308 is removed. Therein, the semiconductor material 100 can be caused to vibrate on the screen 308. Due to the support on a suitable penetrable conveyor belt 308 (for ESD), large dust particles and fine particles can be released by slight vibration.

In a third step 312, the semiconductor material 100 is distributed over a wider conveyor belt On 304. The singulation of the material 100 is achieved to reach all sides of the material 100 from above or below.

In a fourth step 314, the semiconductor material 100 is inspected. Here to make An optical inspection performed by the camera 316 is representative. For example, the semiconductor material can also be subjected to sampling inspection. The electrical properties of the semiconductor material 100 can also be tested. In particular, particle measurements are performed. For example, the initial charge of material 100 is first determined by potentiometry.

In a fifth step 318, the plasma stream 320 is used to feed the semiconductor material 100. Line discharge. Therein, an ionized gas is blown onto the semiconductor material 100. In this case, the charged particles of the plasma 320 are neutralized with the oppositely charged particles on the semiconductor material 100. In step 318, for example, material 100 is exposed to atmospheric piezoelectric slurry 320. This allows material 100 to enter an electrically neutral state.

A direct plasma source or an indirect plasma source can be used to generate the atmospheric piezoelectric slurry 320. in When a direct plasma source is employed, a plasma 320 is produced directly between the plasma source and the material to be treated 100. When an indirect plasma source is employed, a plasma 320 is generated inside the plasma source and is blown through the gas stream to the material 100 to be treated. The plasma generating device is powered by an alternating electric field. Among them, the excitation frequency of several hertz, or even several billions of microwaves can be used. Ambient air at normal pressure is preferably used as the working gas. Alternatively, any mixture of nitrogen, oxygen and a rare gas may be employed. It can also deviate from atmospheric pressure, but this is not mandatory. The distance between the plasma source and the material to be treated 100 should be as small as possible since the duration of the treatment will increase as the distance increases.

In a sixth step 322, airflow 324 is blown by blower 326 onto semiconductor material 100 on conveyor belt 304. Among them, extremely fine particles which are no longer adhered to the semiconductor material 100 by electromagnetic force are blown off at this time.

In a seventh step 328, the semiconductor material 100 is subjected to suction filtration. Among them, other undesired particles and impurities are removed.

For example, the zero potential material 100 is again cleaned by the clean air 324. An appropriate amount of air stream 324 is blown directly onto the material 100 while at the same time achieving an optimum level of particle release across the surface of the material through a matched suction filtration operation.

According to one embodiment, a single fluid flow is used to implement the fifth step 318, sixth step 322, and seventh step 328. In this case, the fluid stream is used both to discharge the semiconductor material 100 and to clean it.

In an eighth step 330, the semiconductor material 100 is flipped. In this case, The semiconductor material 100 is dropped from the first conveyor belt to the second conveyor belt. In this way, the portion of the semiconductor material 100 previously covered by the first conveyor belt can be accessed during subsequent processing steps.

In the ninth step 332, the tenth step 334 and the eleventh step 336, The currently exposed portions of the semiconductor material 100 are purged, filtered, and discharged.

In a twelfth step 338, the semiconductor material 100 is again inspected. If The corresponding step 318, 322, 328, 330, 332, 334, 336 is re-implemented if the cleaning and discharging operations performed in the previous step have not yielded satisfactory results. The downstream potential analysis device 340 is used to prove the quality of the material 100.

In the thirteenth step 340, the cleaned and discharged semiconductor material 100 is The bag 104 is filled in. As shown in Figure 1, a conductive bag 104 is used for this purpose to derive the static charge of the semiconductor material 100. The material 100 is packaged in a clean manner. An antistatic packaging material 104 in the form of an ESD package 104 is employed. This solution is the core of continuous cleaning, which can subsequently prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) and electrostatic attraction (ESA). Precaution against recharging is especially important to ensure that material 100 does not overly attract dust and dirt particles even after repacking.

In a fourteenth step 342, the charge of the semiconductor material 100 is measured and recording.

In a fifteenth step 344, the bag 104 is sealed.

In the sixteenth step 346, the bag 104 is prevented from being soiled by the outer package 348. dye. Among them, at least each bag 104 is fed into an outer package 348. The additional outer package 348 can provide external protection to ensure cleanness of the outer surface of the ESD package 104 and, for example, to prevent the ingress of impurities during transport to the clean room.

In the seventeenth step 350, the outer package 344 is also sealed.

In the eighteenth step 352, the outer package 344 is labeled. Here you will be able to The cleaned, discharged, and sub-component semiconductor material is provided to subsequent processing steps. Finally, each packaging unit 348 is individually labeled after sealing to facilitate tracking.

According to an extended embodiment, the particle separation scheme proposed herein includes The following steps: opening step 300, screening step 306, singulation step 312, first particle measuring step 314, first electrostatic discharge step 318, first particle release step 322 through gas pressure and/or fluid, first a suction filtration step 328, a reverse or vibration step 330, a second particle release step 332, a second suction filtration step 334, a second electrostatic discharge step 336, a second particle measurement step 338, by means of a gas pressure and/or a fluid, The first package step 340, the charge detection step 342, the first seal step 344, the second package step 346, the second seal step 350, and the labeling step 352 are implemented by the ESD protection method.

4 is a method of processing a semiconductor material in an embodiment of the present invention Flow chart of 500. Method 500 generally corresponds to the method illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, the method 500 includes the following steps: a first opening or unpacking step 300, a second screening step 306, a third singulation step 312, a fourth measuring step 314, and a fifth discharging step. 318, a sixth purge step 322, a seventh suction filter step 328, an eighth flip or vibration step 330, a ninth purge step 332, a tenth suction step 334, and an eleventh discharge step 336 , the twelfth measurement step 338, the thirteenth package step 340, the fourteenth test step 342, the fifteenth seal step 344, the sixteenth package step 346, the seventeenth The sealing step 350 and the eighteenth labeling step are 352.

The method presented in this paper describes a way to minimize material loss. A saving solution for cleaning polysilicon. Sustainable purity (specific form of zero potential state) is an indispensable requirement. Subsequent processing of the material is not always carried out under the required clean room conditions, so this sustainable purity is required.

By preventing the electromagnetic attraction of the material, the hybrid plasmid can be reduced in the subsequent process. Child number.

According to an embodiment, the processing method 500 includes a cleaning step 502 and a discharging step Step 504 and preparation step 506. The second screening step 306, the sixth purging step 322, the seventh suction filtering step 328, the ninth purging step 332, and/or the tenth suction filtering step 334 are integrated into the cleaning step 502. The fifth discharge step 318 and the eleventh discharge step 336 are integrated into a discharge step 504. The thirteenth package step 340, the fifteenth seal step 344, the sixteenth package step 346, and/or the seventeenth seal step 350 are integrated in the preparation step 506.

The core of the process is: removing particles and fine particles on the surface of the polycrystalline silicon, and Sustainably prevent reattachment. With the solution proposed herein, the cleaning of the surface of the polysilicon can be achieved in a material-saving, low-cost and reliable manner.

The foregoing illustrated embodiment is merely exemplary. Different embodiments can be combined and applied The respective embodiments are combined as a whole, or individual features thereof are combined. Features of an embodiment may also be supplemented by another embodiment.

In addition, in the order described herein, and in a different order Implement the processing steps presented in this paper.

If the first feature is connected to the second feature by "and/or" in the embodiment, then It should be understood that, according to an embodiment, the embodiment has both the first feature and the second feature, and according to another embodiment, the embodiment has only the first feature or only the second feature.

100‧‧‧Semiconductor materials

104‧‧‧ bags

300‧‧‧First step

302‧‧‧Transport container

304‧‧‧Conveyor belt

306‧‧‧Second step

308‧‧‧ sieve

310‧‧‧Stain

312‧‧‧ third step

314‧‧‧ fourth step

316‧‧‧ camera

318‧‧‧ fifth step

320‧‧‧ Plasma flow

322‧‧‧ sixth step

324‧‧‧ airflow

326‧‧‧Blowers

328‧‧‧ seventh step

330‧‧‧ eighth step

332‧‧‧Ninth step

334‧‧‧Step 11

336‧‧11 eleventh step

338‧‧‧12th step

340‧‧‧13th step

342‧‧‧14th step

344‧‧‧ fifteenth step

346‧‧‧16th step

348‧‧‧Overpack

350‧‧‧17th step

352‧‧‧18th step

Claims (12)

A method (500) for processing a semiconductor material (100), wherein the method (500) includes the step of discharging (318, 336, 504) the semiconductor material (100), wherein the semiconductor material (100) is subjected to Electrostatic discharge; cleaning (306, 322, 328, 332, 334, 502) of the semiconductor material (100), wherein the particles (310) are removed from the semiconductor material (100); and the semiconductor material (100) Preparation (340, 344, 346, 350, 506) was carried out for further use. The method (500) of claim 1, wherein the electrostatically charged semiconductor material (100) is discharged in the discharging step (504) to obtain a discharged semiconductor material (100), wherein the cleaning step is performed The discharged semiconductor material (100) is cleaned in (502) to obtain a cleaned semiconductor material (100), wherein the cleaned and discharged semiconductor material (100) is in the preparation step (506) Preparation was carried out. The method (500) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the particles (310) are screened out by gravity in the cleaning step (502). The method (500) of any of the preceding claims, wherein the fluid stream (324) is used in the cleaning step (502) to flush the particles. The method (500) of claim 4, wherein in the cleaning step (502), the fluid stream (324) is sent to the semiconductor material (100), and/or the fluid stream is passed through The semiconductor material, and/or from the semiconductor material (100), draws the fluid stream. The method (100) of any one of claims 4 to 5, wherein in the cleaning step (502), the flushing operation is performed in at least two steps (322, 328, 332, 334) , wherein an intermediate step (330) for flipping is implemented between the steps (322, 328, 332, 334). The method (500) of any of the preceding claims, wherein in the discharging step (504), the semiconductor material (100) is discharged using a plasma stream (320). The method (500) of any one of the preceding claims, comprising the step (314, 338, 342) of inspecting the state of the semiconductor material (100), wherein the semiconductor material (100) is carried out, in particular, in terms of particles. test. The method (500) of any of the preceding claims, wherein in the preparing step (506), the semiconductor material (100) is packaged with a bag (104). A device (200) adapted to carry out all the steps of the method (500) of any of the preceding claims. A computer program adapted to carry out all the steps of the method (500) of any of the preceding claims. A machine readable storage medium on which a computer program as claimed in claim 11 is stored.