KR100864262B1 - Apparatus of Cleaning a Wafer - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus, which continuously performs a series of processes for wafer cleaning performed after wafer lapping, and that the wafers cleaned and dried are immediately loaded onto a recovery carrier to reduce wafer movement and delay time. Not only can it reduce the overall process time, but it also prevents impurities from adhering by reducing the time the wafer is exposed to the air, and minimizes the installation space by making the equipment compact.

According to the present invention, the cassette 110 and the cassette 110 are largely composed of four parts, and are configured to seat a plurality of wafers W, vertically movable up and down, and rotatable at 90 ° about a horizontal axis. ) Is installed at the front of the loading unit 100 having a transfer arm 121 which allows the wafer W seated on the cassette 110 to be drawn out one by one, and is installed at the rear of the loading unit 100. The cleaning unit 200 is provided with a nozzle 210 and a roll brush 220 in which a plurality of cleaning liquids are sprayed up and down the movement path of the wafer W, and is installed behind the cleaning unit 200. However, the drying unit 300 is provided with an air knife 310 disposed up and down the movement path of the wafer W, and is installed at the rear of the drying unit 300 to carry the incoming wafer W. The carrier 410 vertically movable up and down with the transfer arm 421 driven by the cylinder 420 seated in the 410 is It is composed of the unloading unit 400 provided to ensure that uniform cleaning is automatically realized, and each process unit is integrated in a minimum area so that continuous work can be performed, and has an efficient and workable feature.

The present invention having the configuration as described above is configured so that one wafer is automatically selected from a cassette loaded with a plurality of wafers and can be directly loaded into a recovery carrier through a cleaning and drying process while moving through a transfer arm and a transfer roller. As a result, the continuous process can be performed without interrupting the work flow, and the movement and delay time of the wafer can be reduced, thereby reducing the overall process time.

In addition, by minimizing the defect rate by preventing impurities from adhering by reducing the time to be exposed to the air while being transferred to each process unit, by minimizing the transfer distance of each process unit by compacting each process unit in the minimum area and at the same time It is effective to minimize facility space by making it compact.

Wafer Cleaning, Wafer Drying, Nozzles, Brushes

Description

Semiconductor Wafer Cleaning Equipment {Apparatus of Cleaning a Wafer}

The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus, and in more detail, to perform a series of processes for cleaning the wafer performed after the wafer lapping, the wafer is cleaned and dried so that the wafer is immediately loaded on the carrier Not only can it reduce the transfer and delay time, but it also reduces the overall process time and prevents organic matter from adhering by reducing the time the wafer is exposed to air, and minimizes the equipment space by making the equipment compact. A semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus.

In general, a cleaning apparatus used in a cleaning process for removing foreign matter adhering to a wafer during a semiconductor wafer manufacturing process includes a cleaning tank filled with a cleaning liquid and a dryer, and transfers a plurality of wafers stored in a cassette to the process unit. For example, most of the bath-type liquid cleaning method in which a transfer device such as a robot is added and the robot arm or the like is immersed in a washing tank with a plurality of wafers immersed in a cassette is dried.

However, in the conventional bath cleaning apparatus, since a plurality of wafers need to be cleaned in a cleaning bath at a time, the size of the facility is large, thereby limiting the work space. There was a problem that the cleaning is not made.

Accordingly, in order to solve such a problem and to mass-produce high quality wafers, a single wafer processing technology has been spreading out of the conventional cassette unit cleaning to transfer individual wafers one by one to perform a liquid cleaning process.

The single wafer cleaning apparatus includes a loading unit on which a wafer is provided, transfer means such as a robot arm for transferring the loaded wafer to each process unit, a cleaning unit for cleaning the wafer, and drying for drying the cleaned wafer. The robot arm or the like is configured to perform cleaning and drying operations while taking out the wafers one by one from the cassette and transferring them to the cleaning section and the drying section.

The conventional single-leaf liquid cleaning as described above has the advantage of being able to perform cleaning with high precision, but it is withdrawn by the robot arm one by one, and the exposure time to the air in the process of transferring to each process unit is long, such as impurities adhere Problems have arisen, and each process unit is arranged in parallel, which increases the time required to carry out a series of processes that are transported, loaded, and returned to each process unit by the robot arm. There was a problem falling.

According to the present invention, the cassette 110 and the cassette 110 are largely composed of four parts, and are configured to seat a plurality of wafers W, vertically movable up and down, and rotatable at 90 ° about a horizontal axis. The loading unit 100 is provided with a transfer arm 121 driven by the cylinder 120 to allow the wafer W seated on the wafer 120 to be drawn out one by one, and is installed at the rear of the loading unit 100, and the wafer ( The cleaning unit 200 is provided with a nozzle 210 and a roll brush 220 are sprayed with a plurality of cleaning liquids disposed up and down the horizontal movement path of W), and the rear of the cleaning unit 200, Drying unit 300 is provided with a plurality of air knife 310 disposed up and down the horizontal movement path of the wafer (W), and the wafer (W) is installed behind the drying unit 300, the incoming Up and down by the transfer arm 421 and the lift 412 driven by the cylinder 420 seated in the carrier 410 Consists of straight movable carrier an unloading unit 400 is provided with a (410) and to realize the cleaning of the high-density, is characterized with improved efficiency and operability to ensure that the integrated area of each step portion at least.

The present invention having the configuration as described above, the work is configured so that a single wafer is automatically selected from the carrier loaded with a plurality of wafers are moved through the transfer roller and directly loaded onto the recovery carrier through the process of cleaning and drying Continuous processing can be performed without interruption of the flow, and the movement and delay time of the wafer can be reduced, thereby reducing the overall processing time.

In addition, by minimizing the defect rate by preventing organic matter from adhering by reducing the time exposed to the air while being transferred to each process unit by a robot arm, etc., it reduces the transfer distance of each process unit by allowing each process unit to be integrated in the minimum area. The compactness of the equipment makes it possible to minimize the installation space.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus, which continuously performs a series of processes for wafer cleaning performed after wafer lapping, and is configured to immediately load the cleaned and dried wafers into a carrier to reduce wafer movement and delay time. In addition to reducing the overall process time, it is possible to prevent impurities from adhering by reducing the time the wafer is exposed to the air and to minimize the installation space by compacting equipment.

Hereinafter, described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of the present invention.

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the present invention, Figure 2 shows a front cross-sectional view of the present invention, Figure 3 shows a side cross-sectional view of the present invention, Figure 4 shows a plan view according to an embodiment of the present invention, 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of a cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The housing 200 to close the cleaning unit 200 and the drying unit 300 to protect the space for cleaning from the outside air, but to allow the entrance and exit of the wafer (W) from the outside only by the inlet hole 11 and the discharge hole 12 ( In the wafer (W) cleaning apparatus of the present invention, the wafer (W) cleaning is performed in 10),

First, referring to the configuration of the loading unit 100, the wafer (W) loaded with a cassette 110 on which a plurality of wafers (W) is seated, a transfer roller (130) and a transfer arm (121) serving as transfer means are provided. Is configured to be drawn out to the cleaning unit 200.

The central portion of the cassette 110 is provided with a rotating shaft 113 formed horizontally in the longitudinal direction so that the cassette 110 is rotated within a range of 90 ° by the rotation of the rotating shaft 113 in the forward and reverse directions. The lift 111 is coupled to one side of the cassette 110 to allow the cassette 110 to vertically move upward and downward.

The cassette 110 drives the rotation shaft 113 by controlling the control panel 13 to rotate the cassette 110 so that the inlet 111 is the upper surface, and then the wafer W is indented from the top to the bottom. When the indentation 111 of the cassette 110 is completed, the indentation 111 of the cassette 110 is rotated 90 ° to face the inlet hole 11 when the indentation 111 of the wafer W is completed. And it is configured to pass through the entrance hole (11).

In addition, the front of the cassette 110 is provided with a cylinder 120 and a transfer arm 121 driven thereby, the cassette 110 is raised and lowered in the cassette 110 due to the vertical movement of the lift 112. If one of the wafers W selected to be drawn out of the plurality of wafers W is positioned to be parallel to the straight line of the transfer arm 121, the transfer arm 121 moves the selected wafer W to the cleaning unit 200. It is configured to be pushed into the inlet hole 11 leading to).

At this time, one or more transfer rollers 130 are provided on a path through which the wafer W enters the cleaning unit 200 so that the transfer arm 121 may be additionally formed to stably transfer the wafer W. Can be.

Meanwhile, an ultrasonic cleaner 140 is formed at the lower portion of the cassette 110 so that the wafer W may be pre-washed through ultrasonic cleaning before the cleaning is performed in the cleaning unit 200 to be described later. Can be configured to achieve a complete wafer W cleaning.

Next, looking at the configuration of the cleaning unit 200, the nozzle 210 is installed in the rear of the loading unit 100, a plurality of cleaning liquids are sprayed to the top and bottom of the horizontal movement path of the wafer (W) and A plurality of roll brushes 220 are provided to clean the wafer (W).

When the wafer W enters the cleaning unit 200 through the inlet 11, the cleaning solution flowing from the storage tank (not shown) is spray-sprayed through the nozzle 210 to clean the wafer W. Has a configuration.

The nozzle 210 is arranged in a plurality of upper and lower portions of the movement path of the wafer (W) to be transferred horizontally to be sprayed on both sides of the wafer (W) to achieve a high-density uniform cleaning, the cleaning liquid At the same time, the plurality of roll brushes 220 disposed above and below the movement path of the wafer W are rotated to remove impurities remaining on the wafer W surface. The cleaned wafer W is transferred. The roller 230 is transferred to the drying unit 300.

The nozzle 210 used is preferably a two-fluid nozzle, which is to mix and spray a gas and a liquid, as is well known, even if a small amount of liquid is used by using the pressure of the gas It is configured to obtain stronger cleaning effect than when used.

On the other hand, when looking at the configuration of the drying unit 300 for drying the cleaned wafer (W), it is installed in the rear of the cleaning unit 200, a plurality of which is disposed above and below the horizontal movement path of the wafer (W) The air knife 310 is provided to have a configuration to dry the wafer (W) by injecting a high-pressure air, the dried wafer (W) is transferred to the unloading unit 400 by the transfer roller 320 do.

Finally, looking at the configuration of the unloading unit 400, the transport roller 430 and the transport arm 421 and the carrier 410 to which the plurality of wafers (W) is carried, which is a transport means is provided and cleaned and dried The wafers W are loaded and discharged one by one into the slots 411 of the carrier 410.

The wafer W, which is dried and transported, is settled in parallel to the upper portion of the transfer arm 421, and at the same time, the transfer arm 421 is advanced in the direction of the carrier 410 by the driving of the cylinder 420 so that the carrier 410 is moved. In the selected slot 411).

Here, a plurality of transfer rollers 430 are provided on a path that enters the unloading unit 400 and finally enters the slot 411 of the carrier 410 so that the transfer arm 421 may be a wafer (W). ) Can be additionally formed to ensure stable transport.

The transfer arm 421 is one of the slots 411 selected to be carried out of the plurality of slots of the carrier 410 when the transfer arm 421 is advanced, the carrier 410 is raised and advanced due to the vertical movement of the lift 412 When positioned horizontally on a straight line, the transfer arm 421 is configured to draw the wafer W into the selected one slot 411.

In the above process, when the wafers W are all loaded into the empty slots 411 in the carrier 410, the carriers 410 are released, and a series of processes for cleaning the wafers W are completed.

In the unloading process as described above, the wafer W, which has been cleaned and dried, may simply be sequentially loaded, and the normal wafer W may be loaded by selecting good and defective products, and the damaged wafer W may be loaded. Is not only loaded, but also the optional unloading process such as detecting that the wafer (W) is not supplied so that no empty space is generated in the carrier 410 is merely a modification of the present invention. It is obvious that it falls within the scope of the invention.

Looking at the operating state of the present invention having the above configuration, after the plurality of wafers (W) indented in the inlet 111 of the cassette 110 provided in the loading unit 100, the cassette (with a control panel 13) 110 to operate the lift 112 coupled to one side to make the cassette 110 reciprocate vertically up and down to apply vibration to the wafer (W) to the ultrasonic cleaning unit 140 under the cassette 110 This allows the wafer W to be cleaned.

When the ultrasonic cleaning is completed, the inlet 111 is inserted into the inlet hole by rotating the cassette 110 by 90 ° about the rotating shaft 113 so that the wafer W inserted into the cassette 110 can be transported horizontally. To 11).

When the rotation of the cassette 110 is completed, the wafer W input / export data for cleaning is input to the control panel 13, and one wafer W selected to be preferentially drawn out of the plurality of wafers W is entered. The lift 412 is vertically moved so that the height of the cassette 110 is adjusted so as to be horizontally aligned with the inlet hole 11.

When the wafer W to be drawn is positioned in a straight line of the inlet hole 11, the cylinder 120 is driven, and the transfer arm 121 formed in a straight line of the inlet hole 11 in the direction of the inlet hole 11. While advancing, the wafer W is pushed into the inlet hole 11 and the transport roller 130 safely transports it horizontally so that the wafer W enters the cleaning unit 200.

When the wafer W enters the cleaning unit 200, the cleaning liquid is spray-sprayed to both sides of the wafer W through a plurality of nozzles 210 disposed up and down the movement path of the wafer W, and at the same time, the wafer ( A plurality of roll brushes 220 disposed above and below the movement path of W) rotate to sweep both surfaces of the wafer W to remove impurities remaining on the wafer W. As shown in FIG.

The cleaned wafer W is transferred to the drying unit 300 by the transfer roller 230, and the wafer W entered into the drying unit 300 includes air knives disposed in a plurality of up and down moving paths. The high pressure air is injected onto both sides of the wafer W in 310 to dry the wafer W, and the dried wafer W is transferred to the unloading unit 400 by driving the transfer roller 320.

The wafer W transferred through the unloading hole 12 to the unloading part 400 is placed parallel to the upper portion of the transfer arm 421, and at the same time, the transfer arm 421 moves forward toward the carrier 410. As a result, it is carried into the slot 411 of the carrier 410, and the transfer roller 430 is driven to stably transfer the wafer W.

One slot 411 selected to be carried in the plurality of slots of the carrier 410 when the transfer arm 421 is moved is horizontally aligned with a straight line of the transfer arm 421 which is advanced due to the vertical movement of the lift 412. When positioned so that the transfer arm 421 draws the wafer W into the selected slot 411, the carrier W is loaded in the empty slot 411 of the carrier 410 by the above process. The 410 is discharged and the wafer W is cleaned to be more efficient by repeatedly performing the flow of the process without interruption.

1 is a plan view of the present invention

2 is a front cross-sectional view of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a side cross-sectional view of the present invention

4 is a plan view according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the cleaning unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of Code for Major Parts of Drawing]

10 housing 11 inlet hole

12: Carry-out hole 13: Control Panel

100: loading unit 110: cassette

111: inlet 112, 412: lift

113: rotation axis 120, 420: cylinder

121, 421: transfer arm 130, 230, 320, 430: feed roller

140: ultrasonic cleaning unit 200: cleaning unit

210: nozzle 220: roll brush

300: drying unit 310: air knife

400: unloading unit 410: carrier

411 slot

Claims (3)

A single wafer semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus comprising a loading unit into which a wafer is loaded, a transfer unit for transferring the loaded wafer one by one, a cleaning unit and a drying unit to clean the wafer, and an unloading unit to which the wafer is taken out. In The loading unit 100 is configured such that a plurality of wafers (W) is settled vertically movable up and down, a horizontal rotating shaft 113 is formed to be configured to rotate 90 ° around the rotating shaft 113 110 ), And a transfer arm 121 to draw out the wafers W seated on the cassette 110 one by one, but at the bottom of the cassette 110, an ultrasonic cleaning unit 140 is formed to ultrasonically convert the wafers W into ultrasonic waves. Pre-cleaned, The cleaning unit 200 is installed at the rear of the loading unit 100 and includes a nozzle 210 and a roll brush 220 to which cleaning liquids are sprayed, which are disposed at least one of the horizontal movement paths of the wafer W. , The drying unit 300 is installed at the rear of the cleaning unit 200, so that at least one drying unit is disposed above and below the horizontal movement path of the wafer W, The unloading unit 400 is installed at the rear of the drying unit 300, and includes a carrier 410 vertically movable up and down, and a transfer arm 421 for placing the wafer W on the carrier 410. , A semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus characterized by arranging each process unit in one direction so that each process is continuously and automatically made and integrated in a minimum area. delete delete

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