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US 12,765,303 B2Granted
Apparatus and method for wafer cleaning
AssigneeTaiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.
InventorsBo Chen Chen, Sheng-Wei Wu, Yung-Li Tsai
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
The present disclosure relates to an apparatus and a method for wafer cleaning. The apparatus can include a wafer holder configured to hold a wafer; a cleaning nozzle configured to dispense a cleaning fluid onto a first surface (e.g., front surface) of the wafer; and a cleaning brush configured to clean a second surface (e.g., back surface) of the wafer. Using the cleaning fluid, the cleaning brush can clean the second surface of the wafer with a scrubbing motion and ultrasonic vibration.
Claims20
An apparatus, comprising:
- a wafer holder configured to:
- hold a wafer in a first orientation during a first mode of operation, and
- hold the wafer in a second orientation during a second mode of operation;
- a nozzle configured to dispense a fluid on a first surface of the wafer;
- and
- a brush configured to:
- vibrate along a first direction during the first mode of operation,
- vibrate along a second direction during the second mode of operation, and
- clean a second surface of the wafer,
- wherein the brush comprises:
- bristles of different lengths and diameters;
- and
- an outlet configured to dispense the fluid on the second surface of the wafer.
10 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a wafer holder configured to:
- hold a wafer in a horizontal orientation during a first mode of operation, and
- hold the wafer in a vertical orientation during a second mode of operation;
- a nozzle configured to dispense a fluid on a first surface of the wafer;
- and
- a brush configured to:
- vibrate along a vertical direction during the first mode of operation,
- vibrate along a horizontal direction during the second mode of operation, and
- clean a second surface of the wafer,
- wherein the brush comprises:
- bristles of different lengths and diameters disposed on a base structure,
- a pressure sensor configured to detect a pressure applied to the brush against the wafer, and
- a spray outlet configured to dispense the fluid onto the second surface of the wafer.
10 more elements
An apparatus, comprising:
- a wafer holder configured to:
- hold a wafer in a horizontal orientation during a first mode of operation, and
- hold the wafer in a vertical orientation during a second mode of operation;
- a nozzle configured to dispense a fluid on a first surface of the wafer;
- and
- a brush comprising bristles of different lengths and diameters disposed on a base structure and configured to:
- vibrate along a vertical direction during the first mode of operation,
- vibrate along a horizontal direction during the second mode of operation, and
- clean a second surface of the wafer.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.