WAFER DRYING SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A wafer drying system, comprising:
- a wafer drying module configured to spin a batch of wafers and to dispense a drying gas over the batch of wafers;
an analyzer configured to detect molecular contaminants dispersed in the drying gas from the wafer drying module and to determine a concentration of the molecular contaminants; and
circuitry configured to;
compare the concentration of the molecular contaminants to a baseline value; and
in response to the concentration being greater than the baseline value, command the wafer drying module to re-spin and flow additional drying gas over the batch of wafers.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The present disclosure is directed to a wafer drying method that detects molecular contaminants in a drying gas as a feedback parameter for a multiple wafer drying process. For example, the method includes dispensing, in a wafer drying module, a drying gas over a batch of wafers. Further, the method includes collecting the drying gas from an exhaust of the wafer drying module and determining the concentration of contaminants in the drying gas. The method also includes re-dispensing the drying gas over the batch of wafers if the concentration of contaminants is greater than a baseline value and transferring the batch of wafers out of the wafer drying module if the concentration is equal to or less than the baseline value.
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20 Claims
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1. A wafer drying system, comprising:
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a wafer drying module configured to spin a batch of wafers and to dispense a drying gas over the batch of wafers; an analyzer configured to detect molecular contaminants dispersed in the drying gas from the wafer drying module and to determine a concentration of the molecular contaminants; and circuitry configured to; compare the concentration of the molecular contaminants to a baseline value; and in response to the concentration being greater than the baseline value, command the wafer drying module to re-spin and flow additional drying gas over the batch of wafers. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of drying a batch of wafers, comprising:
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spinning the batch of wafers in a wafer drying module; dispensing, in the wafer drying module, a drying gas over the batch of wafers; collecting the drying gas from an exhaust line of the wafer drying module; analyzing the collected drying gas to determine a concentration of contaminants dissolved in the drying gas; in response to the concentration of contaminants being greater than a baseline value, re-spinning the batch of wafers while re-dispensing the drying gas over the batch wafers; and in response to the concentration being equal to or less than the baseline value, transferring the batch of wafers outside the wafer drying module. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A multiple wafer drying system, comprising:
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a wafer drying module configured to dry a plurality of wafers by spinning the plurality of wafers and dispensing a drying gas over the plurality of wafers; a detector configured to collect, from an exhaust line of the wafer drying module, the drying gas dispensed over the plurality of wafers; an analyzer configured to analyze the collected drying gas and to output a concentration of one or more airborne molecular contaminants in the drying gas; and circuitry configured to; compare the concentration of the one or more airborne molecular contaminants to respective one or more values; in response to the concentration of the one or more airborne molecular contaminants being equal to or less than the respective one or more values, command the wafer drying module to remove the plurality of wafers from the drying module; and in response to the concentration of the one or more airborne molecular contaminants being greater than the respective one or more values, command the wafer drying module to re-spin the plurality of wafers and re-dispense the drying gas over the plurality of wafers. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification