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US 2003/0143866 A1Published application
Method and system for drying semiconductor wafers in a spin coating process
AssigneeTexas Instruments Incorporated
InventorDavid C. Hall
Life of this patent
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Abstract
The invention provides methods and apparatus for drying the backside of semiconductor wafers in a spin-coating environment. Solvent is evaporatively dried from a semiconductor wafer held in a spin mechanism. The undried wafer is sprayed with one or more jets of pressurized gas from gas ports disposed about the spin mechanism.
Claims29
A method of drying the backside of a semiconductor wafer during spin coating comprising the steps of:
- spinning an undried spin coated semiconductor wafer in a spin mechanism;
- spraying the backside of the undried spin coated semiconductor wafer with one or more jets of purified pressurized gas thereby evaporatively drying the backside of the wafer.
Apparatus for drying the backside of a semiconductor wafer comprising:
- a spin mechanism for spin coating a semiconductor wafer, the spin mechanism having a wafer chuck for securing the wafer, and
- one or more gas ports adapted to deliver one or more pressurized gas jets to the backside of a semiconductor wafer secured to the spin chuck for evaporatively drying the backside of the semiconductor wafer.
Apparatus for drying solvent from the backside of a spin coated semiconductor wafer comprising:
- a spin mechanism for use in spin coating a semiconductor wafer, the spin mechanism having a wafer chuck for securing the wafer and a spin cup for encircling the wafer;
- one or more gas ports adapted to deliver one or more pressurized gas jets to the backside of a semiconductor wafer secured to the spin chuck for evaporatively drying solvent from the backside of the semiconductor wafer;
- and
- means for delivering pressurized gas to the one or more gas ports.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.