TWI539513B - Etching apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Etching device

This invention relates to a semiconductor process wet etching apparatus, and more particularly to a positive pressure etching apparatus.

In recent years, with the rapid development of electronic technology, the high-tech electronics industry has come out one after another, making electronic products that are more user-friendly and functionally better, and semiconductor components are gradually developing toward a trend of miniaturization and diversification. Therefore, in order to increase the wiring density in the wiring board, an etching process is often used to fabricate the wiring layer in the wiring board.

However, during the etching process, the etching solution may lag in the shape of a pool between the line patterns to affect the etching ability. In addition, during the etching process, the etching solution also has a serious side etching effect on the sidewall of the wiring pattern, thereby affecting the quality and reliability of the circuit, and is not conducive to the fabrication of the fine circuit. In addition, the etching solution used in the etching process is easy to produce crystals after drying, and the crystals are liable to adhere to the surfaces of the tubes, nozzles, and etching equipment in the etching machine, thereby causing blockage of the pipes and nozzles. The etching equipment is difficult to maintain, and the efficiency and yield of the etching process are deteriorated.

The present invention provides an etching apparatus which is easy to maintain and has a high efficiency and yield of an etching process.

The etching apparatus of the present invention is adapted to etch an etched object. The etching device includes an etching reaction chamber, a positive pressure supply unit, a transfer unit, a spray unit, and a plurality of waste tubes. A positive pressure supply unit is coupled to the etching reaction chamber to provide a positive pressure gas to the etching reaction chamber. The transfer unit is configured to carry and transport the etched object into the etch reaction chamber. The spray unit is disposed in the etching reaction chamber and above the transfer unit. The spraying unit includes a plurality of nozzles for spraying the etching liquid, wherein a spray pressure of each nozzle spraying the etching liquid is substantially greater than a pressure of the positive pressure gas. The pressure of the positive pressure gas discharges the waste liquid and the exhaust gas in the etching reaction chamber to the outside of the etching reaction chamber through the exhaust pipe.

In an embodiment of the invention, the pressure of the positive pressure gas is substantially between 900 torr and 1000 torr.

In an embodiment of the invention, the spray pressure is substantially between 1100 torr and 1200 torr.

In an embodiment of the invention, the temperature of the etching solution is substantially between 60 degrees (° C.) and 65 degrees.

In an embodiment of the invention, the distance from each of the nozzles to the object to be etched is substantially between 8 millimeters (mm) and 12 millimeters.

In an embodiment of the invention, the etching apparatus further includes a control unit that controls the spray pressure of each nozzle and the distance of each nozzle to the object to be etched.

In an embodiment of the invention, each of the waste tubes described above is adjacent to the nozzle thereof One of the settings.

In an embodiment of the invention, the spraying unit further includes a plurality of baffles surrounding the nozzles.

In an embodiment of the invention, the positive pressure gas includes moisture.

In an embodiment of the invention, the positive pressure gas further includes oxygen.

In an embodiment of the invention, the etching apparatus further includes at least one sprinkling unit disposed in the etching reaction chamber.

In an embodiment of the invention, the spray unit is adapted to move along a normal direction of a bearing surface of the transfer unit.

In an embodiment of the invention, the etching apparatus further includes a sensing unit to detect whether the object to be etched is transferred to a positioning.

In an embodiment of the invention, the transmitting unit further includes a plurality of positioning cassettes. The object to be etched includes a plurality of positioning holes. When the sensing unit detects the object to be etched to the positioning, the positioning card moves upward and passes through the positioning holes respectively to fix the object to be etched to the conveying unit.

Based on the above, the present invention provides a positive pressure to the etching reaction chamber, and the spray pressure of the nozzle for spraying the etching liquid is substantially larger than the pressure of the positive pressure gas, so that the nozzle can smoothly spray the etching liquid to etch the object to be etched, and then use it. The pressure of the positive pressure gas in the etching reaction chamber immediately discharges the etched waste liquid and exhaust gas to the outside of the etching reaction chamber through the waste discharge tube for recovery. Thus, the etching apparatus of the present invention does not require an additional motor to extract the waste liquid and the exhaust gas after the etching reaction, and the waste liquid and the exhaust gas can be recovered immediately after the etching without overflowing. Furthermore, the etching solution of the present invention is at a short distance and The object is sprayed onto the object to be etched under high pressure and immediately recovered by the waste pipe, thereby reducing the problem that the etching liquid is stagnate into a pool shape between the patterned circuit layers and affecting the etching force. Therefore, the etching apparatus of the present invention can improve the quality and reliability of etching, and can effectively improve the etching efficiency.

The above described features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.

100‧‧‧ etching device

110‧‧‧etching reaction chamber

120‧‧‧ Positive pressure supply unit

130‧‧‧Transfer unit

132‧‧‧ bearing surface

134‧‧‧positioning card

140‧‧‧Spray unit

142‧‧‧ nozzle

144‧‧ ‧ baffle

150‧‧‧Discharge pipe

160‧‧‧ sprinkler unit

170‧‧‧Sensor unit

180‧‧‧ alignment unit

200‧‧‧etched objects

D1‧‧‧ distance

N1‧‧‧ normal direction

T1‧‧‧ transmission path

1 is a side elevational view of an etching apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a top plan view of an etching apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is a side elevational view of an etching apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, the etching apparatus 100 is adapted to etch an etched object 200. The etched object 200 is, for example, a circuit board having a surface covered with a metal layer. The etching apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can be used to etch the metal layer to form a patterned wiring layer on the surface of the circuit board. The etching apparatus 100 includes an etching reaction chamber 110, a positive pressure supply unit 120, a transfer unit 130, a spray unit 140, and a plurality of waste tubes 150. The positive pressure supply unit 120 is connected to the etching reaction chamber 110, A positive pressure gas is supplied to the etching reaction chamber 110, wherein the pressure of the positive pressure gas is greater than an initial pressure of the etching reaction chamber 110. In the present embodiment, the positive pressure supply unit 120 is, for example, a pressure pump. In general, the atmospheric pressure is about 760 torr, and the pressure of the positive pressure gas supplied from the positive pressure supply unit 120 is slightly greater than one atmosphere. In the present embodiment, the pressure of the positive pressure gas supplied from the positive pressure supply unit 120 is between about 900 torr and 1000 torr.

In the above, the transfer unit 130 is used to carry and transport the etched object 200 into the etching reaction chamber 110. The spray unit 140 is disposed in the etching reaction chamber 110 and above the transfer unit 130. The spray unit 140 includes a plurality of nozzles 142 to spray an etchant onto the etched object 200. The spray unit 140 of the present embodiment can freely change the nozzle 142 according to different nozzle caliber requirements. Moreover, the spray pressure of the sprayed etchant of each nozzle 142 is substantially greater than the pressure of the positive pressure gas provided by the positive pressure supply unit 120, so that the nozzle 142 can smoothly spray the etchant and etch the etched object 200. In the present embodiment, the spray pressure of each nozzle 142 is between about 1,100 to 1200 torr.

In the above, the spraying unit 140 is adapted to move along a normal direction N1 of a bearing surface 132 of the conveying unit 130 to adjust the distance D1 of each nozzle 142 to the object to be etched 200. In the present embodiment, the distance D1 of each nozzle 142 to the object to be etched 200 is between about 8 millimeters (mm) and 12 millimeters. That is, the etching liquid of the present embodiment is sprayed onto the object to be etched 200 in a state of a short distance and a high pressure, so that the etching ability and efficiency can be improved. In this embodiment, the etching apparatus 100 further includes a control unit (not shown) for controlling the spray pressure of each nozzle 142 and each nozzle 142. The distance D1 to the object to be etched 200. In addition, the control unit can also independently control the switch of each nozzle 142 and the spray pressure thereof according to the etching data of the object to be etched 200, that is, the control unit can target the region to be etched of the object to be etched 200 according to the etching data of the object to be etched 200. The etching is performed, and the ejection pressure of each nozzle 142 can be adjusted according to different etching thicknesses.

It should be noted that, since the nozzle 142 sprays the etching liquid, the spray pressure disappears, and the pressure in the etching reaction chamber 110 returns to the pressure environment of the positive pressure gas, and the pressure of the positive pressure gas can be etched. The waste liquid and the exhaust gas after the reaction are discharged to the outside of the etching reaction chamber 110 via the exhaust pipe 150 disposed adjacent to the nozzle 142 for recovery. As such, the etching apparatus 100 of the present embodiment does not need to additionally add a motor to extract the waste liquid and the exhaust gas after the etching reaction, and the waste liquid and the exhaust gas can be recovered immediately after the etching without overflowing. Further, since the etching liquid is sprayed to the object to be etched 200 in a state of short distance and high pressure, and is immediately recovered by the waste pipe 150 adjacent to the nozzle 142, the etching liquid can be reduced between the patterned circuit layers. It is a pool shape that affects the etching force. Therefore, the etching apparatus 100 of the present embodiment can improve the quality and reliability of etching, and can improve the etching efficiency.

In detail, the spraying unit 140 may further include a plurality of baffles 144 respectively surrounding the nozzles 142 to control the spraying range of the etching liquid to prevent the etching liquid from splashing around. In addition, the temperature of the etching solution of the present embodiment may be approximately greater than room temperature to further increase the efficiency of etching. In this embodiment, the temperature of the etchant is between about 60 degrees (° C.) and 65 degrees (° C.). In this embodiment, the etching apparatus may further include at least one sprinkling unit 160 disposed in the etching reaction chamber 110 to clean the etching reaction chamber 110 to be etched 200 after the etching process ends.

In addition, the positive pressure gas supplied from the positive pressure supply unit 120 may include moisture to maintain the humidity in the etching reaction chamber 110 above a certain value, preventing the residual etching liquid from crystallizing and causing the nozzle or other piping to clog. In the present embodiment, the humidity in the etching reaction chamber 110 is maintained at about 70% or more. If the thickness of the metal copper layer to be etched is thick, the positive pressure supply unit 120 may increase the oxygen content in the positive pressure gas, that is, the positive pressure gas provided by the positive pressure supply unit 120 at this time further includes oxygen. By oxidizing the metal copper layer, the structure becomes more loose, thereby increasing the etching rate.

2 is a top plan view of an etching apparatus in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , in the embodiment, the etching apparatus 100 can perform the alignment and positioning operation of the object to be etched 200 before the object to be etched 200 enters the etching reaction chamber 110 to ensure the etching position afterwards. Precision. Specifically, the etching apparatus 100 further includes a sensing unit 170 and a pair of bit units 180. The alignment unit 180 can be a full plate for adjusting and correcting the position of the etched object 200 on the transfer unit 130. The sensing unit 170 can be a charge coupled device (CCD) for detecting whether the object to be etched 200 is transferred to a positioning on the transmitting unit 130. Further, the transport unit 130 further includes a plurality of positioning cassettes 134 that are movable up and down along the normal direction N1. The object to be etched 200 includes a plurality of positioning holes corresponding to the positioning tabs 134. As shown in FIG. 2, the transport unit 130 transports the object to be etched 200 along a transport path T1, and the alignment unit 180 is disposed on the transport path T1 to perform alignment adjustment of the position of the object to be etched 200. Then, when the sensing unit 170 detects that the object to be etched 200 is transferred to the positioning, the sensing unit 170 transmits a sensing signal. To the control unit, the control unit controls the positioning cassette 134 to move upward to the positioning holes respectively passing through the object to be etched 200 according to the sensing signal to fix the object to be etched 200 on the conveying unit 130. In this way, the position of the object to be etched 200 on the transfer unit 130 can be more precisely controlled to improve the accuracy of the etching position of the object to be etched 200.

In summary, the present invention provides a positive pressure gas to the etching reaction chamber, and the nozzle pressure of the nozzle for spraying the etching liquid is greater than the pressure of the positive pressure gas, so that the nozzle can smoothly spray the etching liquid to etch the object to be etched, and then The etched waste liquid and exhaust gas can be quickly discharged to the outside of the etching reaction chamber through the waste pipe by the pressure in the etching reaction chamber for recovery. Thus, the etching apparatus of the present invention does not require an additional motor to extract the waste liquid and the exhaust gas after the etching reaction, and the waste liquid and the exhaust gas can be recovered immediately after the etching without overflowing. Moreover, the etching liquid of the present invention is sprayed on the object to be etched in a state of short distance and high pressure, and is immediately recovered by the waste pipe, which not only improves the efficiency of etching, but also reduces the etching liquid in the prior art. The problem that the patterned circuit layers are stagnate into a pool shape affects the etching yield. Therefore, the etching apparatus of the present invention can improve the quality and reliability of the etching, and can effectively improve the etching efficiency and the yield.

Although the present invention has been disclosed in the above embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention, and any one of ordinary skill in the art can make some changes and refinements without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧ etching device

110‧‧‧etching reaction chamber

120‧‧‧ Positive pressure supply unit

130‧‧‧Transfer unit

132‧‧‧ bearing surface

140‧‧‧Spray unit

142‧‧‧ nozzle

144‧‧ ‧ baffle

150‧‧‧Discharge pipe

160‧‧‧ sprinkler unit

170‧‧‧Sensor unit

180‧‧‧ alignment unit

200‧‧‧etched objects

D1‧‧‧ distance

N1‧‧‧ normal direction

Claims (14)

A positive pressure etching apparatus for wet etching, comprising: an etching reaction chamber; a positive pressure supply unit connected to the etching reaction chamber to supply a positive pressure gas to the etching reaction chamber, wherein the positive pressure gas The pressure is greater than an initial pressure of the etching reaction chamber; a transfer unit for carrying and transporting an etched object into the etch reaction chamber; a spray unit disposed in the etch reaction chamber and located above the transfer unit, the spray unit a plurality of nozzles for spraying an etchant, wherein a spray pressure of each of the nozzles spraying the etchant is substantially greater than a pressure of the positive pressure gas; and a plurality of waste tubes, the pressure of the positive pressure gas is in the etch reaction chamber The waste liquid and the exhaust gas are discharged to the outside of the etching reaction chamber through the exhaust pipes. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the pressure of the positive pressure gas is substantially between 900 Torr and 1000 Torr. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spray pressure is substantially between 1100 Torr and 1200 Torr. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the temperature of the etching solution is substantially between 60 degrees and 65 degrees. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein a distance from each of the nozzles to the object to be etched is substantially between 8 mm and 12 mm. The etching apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a control unit for controlling the spray pressure of each nozzle and the distance from each nozzle to the object to be etched from. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the exhaust pipes are respectively disposed adjacent to the nozzles. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spraying unit further comprises a plurality of baffles surrounding the nozzles. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the positive pressure gas comprises moisture. The etching apparatus of claim 9, wherein the positive pressure gas further comprises oxygen. The etching apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising at least one sprinkling unit disposed in the etching reaction chamber. The etching apparatus of claim 1, wherein the spraying unit is adapted to move along a normal direction of a bearing surface of the conveying unit. The etching apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a sensing unit to detect whether the object to be etched is transferred to a positioning. The etching apparatus of claim 13, wherein the conveying unit further comprises a plurality of positioning tabs, the etched object comprising a plurality of positioning holes, and when the sensing unit detects the etched object to the positioning, The positioning tabs are moved upward and respectively pass through the positioning holes to fix the object to be etched on the conveying unit.