Apparatus and methods for processing semiconductor substrates using supercritical fluids
First Claim
1. A system for cleaning semiconductor wafers, the system comprising:
- a solvent delivery mechanism configured to provide a supercritical cleaning solution;
a process vessel in downstream fluid communication with the solvent delivery mechanism, said process vessel comprising a wafer support that includes;
a plurality of point contacts configured to support the wafer or plurality of wafers while making minimal contact with the wafer or plurality of wafers; and
a plurality of wafer guides configured to position the wafer plurality of wafers in the wafer support, wherein each of the plurality of wafer guides is inclined at an angle of between about 60 and 85 degrees to the vertical (perpendicular to the wafer support surface) and is arranged around the periphery of the wafer or each of the plurality of wafers; and
a recirculation system in fluid communication with the process vessel, said recirculation system comprising at least one flow distribution element configured to allow the supercritical cleaning solution to recirculate through the process vessel such that a flow field is established over at least one surface of a wafer or a plurality of wafers in the wafer support to thereby clean the surface or surfaces that contact the flow field.
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Abstract
The present invention pertains to a system for cleaning wafers that includes specialized pressurization, process vessel, recirculation, chemical addition, depressurization, and recapture-recycle subsystems, as well as methods for implementing wafer cleaning using such a system. A solvent delivery mechanism converts a liquid-state sub-critical solution to a supercritical cleaning solution and introduces it into a process vessel that contains a wafer or wafers. The supercritical cleaning solution is recirculated through the process vessel by a recirculation system. An additive delivery system introduces chemical additives to the supercritical cleaning solution via the solvent delivery mechanism, the process vessel, or the recirculation system. Addition of chemical additives to the sub-critical solution may also be performed. The recirculation system provides efficient mixing of chemical additives, efficient cleaning, and process uniformity. A depressurization system provides dilution and removal of cleaning solutions under supercritical conditions. A recapture-recycle system introduces captured-purified solvents into the solvent delivery mechanism.
149 Citations
59 Claims
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1. A system for cleaning semiconductor wafers, the system comprising:
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a solvent delivery mechanism configured to provide a supercritical cleaning solution;
a process vessel in downstream fluid communication with the solvent delivery mechanism, said process vessel comprising a wafer support that includes;
a plurality of point contacts configured to support the wafer or plurality of wafers while making minimal contact with the wafer or plurality of wafers; and
a plurality of wafer guides configured to position the wafer plurality of wafers in the wafer support, wherein each of the plurality of wafer guides is inclined at an angle of between about 60 and 85 degrees to the vertical (perpendicular to the wafer support surface) and is arranged around the periphery of the wafer or each of the plurality of wafers; and
a recirculation system in fluid communication with the process vessel, said recirculation system comprising at least one flow distribution element configured to allow the supercritical cleaning solution to recirculate through the process vessel such that a flow field is established over at least one surface of a wafer or a plurality of wafers in the wafer support to thereby clean the surface or surfaces that contact the flow field. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57)
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58. A system for cleaning semiconductor wafers, the system comprising:
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a solvent delivery mechanism configured to provide a supercritical cleaning solution, wherein the solvent delivery mechanism comprises;
a source of a sub-critical cleaning solvent or a sub-critical cleaning solution in a liquid state;
an inlet configured to receive the sub-critical cleaning solvent or the sub-critical cleaning solution and deliver it to a supercritical solution generator configured to convert the sub-critical cleaning solvent or the sub-critical cleaning solution into the supercritical cleaning solution, wherein the supercritical solution generator comprises;
a pump configured to pressurize the sub-critical cleaning solvent or the sub-critical cleaning solution to at least its critical point; and
a heat exchanger in fluid communication with the pump, said heat exchanger configured to heat the sub-critical cleaning solvent or the sub-critical cleaning solution to at least its critical temperature;
an outlet configured to deliver the supercritical cleaning solution from the supercritical solution generator to a process vessel; and
a buffer vessel in downstream fluid communication with the heat exchanger;
the process vessel in downstream fluid communication with the solvent delivery mechanism, said process vessel comprising a wafer support; and
a recirculation fluid communication with the process vessel, said recirculation system comprising at least one flow distribution element configured to allow the supercritical cleaning solution to recirculate through the process vessel such that a flow field is established over at least one surface of a wafer or a plurality of wafers in the wafer support to thereby clean the surface or surfaces that contact the flow field;
wherein the buffer vessel is capable of storing between about 5 and 25 times the volume of supercritical solution that the process vessel can store.
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59. A system for cleaning semiconductor wafers, the system comprising:
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a solvent delivery mechanism configured to provide a supercritical cleaning solution;
a process vessel in downstream fluid communication with the solvent delivery mechanism, said process vessel comprising a wafer support; and
a recirculation system fluid communication with the process vessel, said recirculation system comprising;
at least one flow distribution element configured to allow the supercritical cleaning solution to recirculate through the process vessel such that a flow field is established over at least one surface of a wafer or a plurality of wafers in the wafer support to thereby clean the surface or surfaces that contact the flow field;
a pump configured to move the supercritical cleaning solution through the recirculation system;
an inline static mixer configured to provide a circuitous path to the supercritical cleaning solution a first particulate filter in upstream fluid communication with the pump, said first particulate filter configured to remove particulates from the supercritical cleaning solution before said supercritical cleaning solution enters the pump;
a second particulate filter in upstream fluid communication with the process vessel, said filter configured to remove particulates from the supercritical cleaning solution before said supercritical cleaning solution enters the process vessel; and
a differential pressure transducer configured to measure the pressure in the recirculation system at a point upstream from the first particulate filter and at a point downstream from the second particulate filter.
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Specification