Wafer cleaning apparatus

• US 7,037,853 B2
• Filed: 07/17/2003
• Issued: 05/02/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Original Assignee: Ebara Corporation
• Inventors: Hongo, Akihisa, Morisawa, Shinya
• Primary Examiner(s): Vinh, Lan
• Application Number:
  US10/620,452
• Publication Number:
  US 20040007559A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,020 Days
• Field of Search: 438/691, 438/692, 438/745, 438/750, 134/1.1, 134/1.2, 134/1.3, 134/2, 134/1, 205/771, 205/772
• US Class Current: 438/745
• CPC Class Codes: B08B 3/02 Cleaning by the force of jets or sprays
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/67051 using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6708 using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 134/902 Semiconductor wafer

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a wafer cleaning apparatus for cleaning wafers that have received various processing such as copper plating and chemical mechanical polishing. An apparatus for cleaning front and back surfaces of a wafer with solution while rotating the wafer that has been subjected to a fabrication process is disclosed. The apparatus comprises cleaning nozzles for spraying a cleaning solution, respectively, onto a front surface of the wafer that has been processed and onto a back surface thereof and also comprises an etching nozzle for spraying an etching solution onto a vicinity of the outer periphery of the wafer.

Claims

1. A method for plating a metal film onto a surface of a seed layer of

a substrate, and for etching the metal film, comprising:

in a plating section, plating a metal film onto a surface of a seed layer of a substrate; and

in a cleaning section, ejecting, from above said metal film, an etching solution only onto a peripheral portion of said metal film for removing said peripheral portion of said metal film and a peripheral portion of said seed layer while holding and rotating said substrate with said peripheral portion of said metal film facing upwardly.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in said cleaning section, ejecting a cleaning solution onto a backside surface of said substrate for removing metal adhered to said backside surface.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

in said cleaning section, supplying a cleaning solution onto a central portion of said metal film, wherein said cleaning solution is for removing metal and particulate contaminants from said metal film and is not for etching said metal film.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein ejecting an etching solution onto a peripheral portion of said metal film comprises ejecting said etching solution onto said peripheral portion of said metal film while supplying said cleaning solution onto said central portion of said metal film.

5. The method according to claim 2, wherein ejecting said cleaning solution onto said backside surface of said substrate is for removing from said backside surface in its entirety metal adhered to said backside surface.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein plating a metal film onto a surface of a seed layer of a substrate comprises using a plating device including a plating vessel to plate said metal film onto said surface of said seed layer of said substrate.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein ejecting an etching solution onto a peripheral portion of said metal film comprises using at least one first nozzle to eject said etching solution onto said peripheral portion of said metal film while said at least one first nozzle is inclined relative to a surface of said metal film.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein ejecting an etching solution onto a peripheral portion of said metal film comprises using at least one first nozzle to eject said etching solution onto said peripheral portion of said metal film while said at least one first nozzle is inclined relative to a surface of said metal film and spaced a given distance from an edge of said substrate.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein ejecting an etching solution onto a peripheral portion of said metal film comprises ejecting one of sodium persulfate, sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, ionized water, ozonized water, diluted hydrofluoric acid, and a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide onto said peripheral portion of said metal film.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein ejecting an etching solution onto a peripheral portion of said metal film comprises ejecting said etching solution onto a peripheral portion of one of a gold film, silver film, copper film and solder film.

11. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

washing said substrate with said metal film plated thereon before ejecting said etching solution onto said peripheral portion of said metal film.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

rinsing and drying said substrate after ejecting said etching solution onto said peripheral portion of said metal film.

13. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:

transporting said substrate with said metal film plated thereon from said plating section to said cleaning section.