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US 11,056,358 B2Granted
Wafer cleaning apparatus and method
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsJieh-Chau Huang, Bi-Ming Yen, Hung-Lung Hu, Ying Ting Hsia, Ping-Jung Huang, Pei Yen Hsia
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure describes an apparatus for wafer cleaning. The apparatus includes an enclosure made of a noncombustible material, a wafer holder, a cleaning nozzle, at least one sensor, and an exhaust unit. The wafer holder can hold and heat a wafer. The cleaning nozzle can supply a flow of a cleaning fluid onto a surface of the wafer. The at least one sensor can detect attributes of the wafer. The exhaust unit can expel a vapor generated by the cleaning fluid in the enclosure. The exhaust unit can include a rinse nozzle to rinse the vapor passing through the exhaust unit with a mist.
Claims19
An apparatus for wafer cleaning, comprising:
- an enclosure comprising a noncombustible material;
- a wafer holder, in the enclosure, configured to hold and heat a wafer;
- a cleaning nozzle, in the enclosure, configured to supply a flow of a cleaning fluid onto the wafer, wherein at least a part of an outer surface of the cleaning nozzle is coated with a conducting material;
- a magnetic grounding clamp coupled to the cleaning nozzle and a grounding line directly connected to the cleaning nozzle, wherein each of the magnetic grounding clamp and the grounding line is configured to ground the cleaning nozzle;
- at least one infrared sensor, in the enclosure, configured to monitor at least one thermal condition associated with the wafer;
- and
- an exhaust unit coupled to the enclosure and configured to expel a vapor generated by the cleaning fluid, wherein the exhaust unit comprises an exhaust duct disposed through the enclosure to form a passageway for the vapor and a rinse nozzle in the exhaust duct generating a mist and configured to rinse the vapor passing through the exhaust unit with the mist.
4 more elements
An apparatus for wafer cleaning, comprising:
- a wafer holder configured to hold and heat a wafer, wherein the wafer holder comprises at least six support pins and three clamp pins for holding the wafer;
- a cleaning nozzle configured to supply a flow of a cleaning fluid onto a surface of the wafer, wherein at least a part of an outer surface of the cleaning nozzle comprises a conducting material;
- a magnetic grounding clamp coupled to the cleaning nozzle and a grounding line directly connected to the cleaning nozzle, wherein each of the magnetic grounding clamp and the grounding line is configured to ground the cleaning nozzle;
- a fan filter unit configured to supply a flow of a mixture of air and an inert gas;
- at least one sensor configured to detect one or more attributes associated with the wafer;
- and
- an exhaust unit disposed at an opposite side of the wafer with regard to the fan filter unit and configured to expel a vapor generated by the cleaning fluid, wherein the exhaust unit comprises an exhaust duct forming a passageway for the vapor and a rinse nozzle in the exhaust duct generating a mist and configured to rinse the vapor passing through the exhaust unit with the mist and an adsorption material coated on at least a part of an inner surface of the exhaust duct for adsorbing the vapor passing through the exhaust duct.
4 more elements
An apparatus for wafer cleaning, comprising:
- an enclosure comprising a noncombustible material;
- a wafer holder in the enclosure configured to hold and heat a wafer, wherein the wafer holder comprises at least six support pins and three clamp pins for holding the wafer;
- a cleaning nozzle in the enclosure configured to supply a flow of a cleaning fluid onto a surface of the wafer, wherein the cleaning nozzle comprises a first non-conductive portion, a second non-conductive portion, and a conducting material on an outer surface of the second non-conductive portion;
- a magnetic grounding clamp coupled to the cleaning nozzle and a grounding line directly connected to the cleaning nozzle, wherein each of the magnetic grounding clamp and the grounding line is configured to ground the cleaning nozzle;
- a fan filter unit coupled to the enclosure and configured to supply a flow of a mixture of air and an inert gas;
- at least one infrared sensor in the enclosure and connected to a fault detection and classification (FDC) system, configured to monitor at least one thermal condition associated with the wafer;
- and
- an exhaust unit coupled to the enclosure and configured to expel a vapor generated by the cleaning fluid, wherein the exhaust unit comprises an exhaust duct disposed through the enclosure to form a passageway for the vapor and a rinse nozzle in the exhaust duct generating a mist and configured to rinse the vapor passing through the exhaust unit with the mist.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.