TWI762188B - Method and apparatus of manufacturing semiconductor devices - Google Patents

Abstract

Methods of manufacturing semiconductor devices are described herein. In some embodiments of the method, the method includes disposing a wafer in a processing chamber, in which the wafer is surrounded by a deflector. A cleansing liquid film is formed on an inner surface of the deflector. An etchant is applied to an edge bevel area of the wafer after forming the cleansing liquid film to perform an edge bevel removal process.

Description

Method and process equipment for manufacturing semiconductor device

The present disclosure relates to a method and process equipment for manufacturing a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method and process equipment for manufacturing a semiconductor device in an edge bevel removal process.

In semiconductor processing, metals may be deposited on wafers to form wiring for semiconductor devices. Metals are typically deposited using physical vapor deposition. However, metal may deposit on the edge portion of the wafer instead of the desired top surface of the wafer. Therefore, edge bevel removal (EBR) can be used to remove metal deposited on the edge of the wafer.

In some embodiments, a method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes placing a wafer in a process chamber, wherein the wafer is surrounded by a deflector, forming a film of cleaning fluid on the inner side of the deflector, and after forming the film of cleaning fluid Afterwards, an etchant is applied to the edge of the wafer to perform an edge bevel removal process.

In some embodiments, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes The wafer is placed in the process chamber, so that the flow guider surrounds the wafer, wherein the flow guider includes an inner side wall and an outer side wall, the upper part of the inner side wall has a plurality of first openings, and the bottom of the flow guider has a second opening, And the inner side wall and the outer side wall jointly define a guiding space, and the cleaning liquid is injected into the guiding device from the second opening of the inner side wall of the guiding device, so that the cleaning liquid passes through the guiding space and leaves the guiding device at the first opening. The etchant is applied to the edge of the wafer to perform the etching process.

In some embodiments, a process equipment for fabricating a semiconductor device includes a process chamber, a chuck structure, a flow director, a nozzle, and a supply device. The process chamber contains a pedestal. The chuck structure is located in the process chamber and is connected to the base of the process chamber. The deflector is located in the process chamber and surrounds the chuck structure, the deflector includes an inner side wall and an outer side wall, the upper part of the inner side wall has a first opening, the bottom of the deflector has a second opening, and the gap between the inner side wall and the outer side wall is together define the diversion space. A nozzle is located in the process chamber and outside of the flow director, and the nozzle includes a spray head toward the outer edge of the chuck structure. The supply device is connected to the second opening of the inner side wall of the deflector, and is configured to supply the cleaning liquid into the guiding space of the deflector.

100: Process equipment

101: Process Chamber

102: Interior Space

104: Chamber side wall

106: Base

110: Chuck structure

112: Abutment

114: Support arm

116: Chuck

116a: Alignment

116b: Fasteners

116c: Holder

120: deflector

122: Inner side wall

122a: upper part

122b: lower part

124: Outer Wall

124a: Upper

124b: lower part

126: The first opening

127: Diversion space

128: Second Opening

130: Nozzle

132: Riser

134: Connector

134a: first bend

134b: top

134c: Second bend

136: Sprinkler

140: Supply device

142: Waste tank

205: Cleaning liquid film

510: Operation

520: Operation

530: Operation

540: Operation

a1: included angle

d1: distance

d2: distance

p1: Projection point

p2: Projection point

W: Wafer

W1: width

Aspects of the present disclosure are best understood when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that, in accordance with standard practice in the industry, the various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be arbitrarily increased or decreased for clarity of discussion.

FIG. 1 illustrates process equipment for fabricating semiconductor devices in some embodiments. schematic diagram.

FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view of the detailed structure of the flow director and wafer of some embodiments.

Figures 2B and 2C illustrate front views of the inner sidewalls of the flow directors of the chambers of some embodiments.

Figure 3 shows a side view of a nozzle of some embodiments.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the chuck structure of some embodiments.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of using a process equipment for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The following disclosure provides many different embodiments or examples for implementing different features of the provided subject matter. Specific examples of components and configurations are described below to simplify the present disclosure. Of course, these are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. For example, in the following description, forming a first feature on or on a second feature may include embodiments in which the first and second features are formed in direct contact, and may also include Embodiments in which additional features are formed between a feature and a second feature so that the first feature and the second feature may not be in direct contact. Furthermore, the present disclosure may repeat reference to digits and/or letters in various instances. This repetition is for the purpose of simplicity and clarity, and does not in itself determine the relationship between the various embodiments and/or configurations discussed.

Additionally, for ease of description, spatially relative terms (such as "below", "under", "lower", "Above," "over," and the like) to describe the relationship of one element or feature to another (other) elements or features as illustrated in the figures. In addition to the orientation depicted in the figures, spatially relative terms are intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations), and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

As used herein, "about", "about", "approximately" or "substantially" shall generally mean within 20%, within 10%, or within 5% of a given value or range. Numerical quantities given herein are approximate, meaning that the terms "left or right," "about," "approximately," or "substantially" can be inferred without express recitation.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure are to improve the process of manufacturing devices for semiconductors. Specifically, the present disclosure is related to improving the problem of wafer damage caused by etchant spraying when performing an etching process of a semiconductor device. Some embodiments as disclosed herein may be used in an edge bevel removal (EBR) process or any suitable etch process.

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a process tool 100 for fabricating semiconductor devices in some embodiments. The process equipment 100 includes a process chamber 101 , a chuck structure 110 , a flow guide 120 , a nozzle 130 and a supply device 140 . The process equipment 100 may be an equipment for an edge bevel removal process. In some embodiments, the process equipment 100 may be used to remove the edge bevel of the wafer W to increase the uniformity of the wafer.

The process chamber 101 may include a chamber sidewall 104 and a chamber floor (not shown). The chamber floor is the bottom portion of the process chamber 101 . chamber side Wall 104 is located above and connected to the chamber floor. The chamber sidewalls 104 and the chamber floor may define the interior space 102 . Wafer processes, such as wafer electrofill processes or wafer post-electrofill processes, may be performed in the process chamber 101 .

In some embodiments, the process chamber 101 may also include one or more pedestals 106 . The base 106 rests on the chamber floor. In some embodiments, the base 106 may be cylindrical. Different wafer fabrication processes, such as a wafer electro-fill process or a wafer post-fill process, can be performed on different susceptors 106 . It should be noted that some embodiments of the present disclosure describe the post-fill process of the wafer, that is, the edge bevel removal process, so FIG. 1 only shows the base 106 for the edge bevel removal process. In addition, although the first figure only shows one base 106 for the edge bevel removal process, in some embodiments, the base 106 for the edge bevel removal process is not limited to one, for example, three bases 106 indivual. The chamber sidewall 104 and base 106 can be made of any material that will not be damaged by the etchant, such as stainless steel, ceramic, metal coated with plastic film, and the like.

The chuck structure 110 may include a base 112 , a support arm 114 and a chuck 116 . The base 112 may be located on the base 106 . The support arm 114 can be connected to the base 112 and extend outward along the radial direction of the base 112 . The chuck 116 can be located at the end of the support arm 114 that is not connected to the base 112 , and can be used to fix the wafer W during the edge bevel removal process, so as to facilitate the wafer process. Generally, the chuck structure 110 can be rotated at high speed to remove excess etchant at the edge of the wafer W during the process.

The deflector 120 can be placed on the edge of the base 106 and located in the clip Outside of the disk structure 110 . In some embodiments, a fixing portion (not shown) may be provided below the deflector 120 to be fixed on the base 106 , as shown in FIG. 1 . However, in other embodiments, the deflector 120 may also be fixed to the chamber side wall 104 . The deflector 120 may be a ring surrounding the chuck structure 110 . The flow guide 120 can be used to remove excess etchant in the process of removing edge bevels, and can be used to prevent the etchant in the process from being splashed to other parts of the process equipment 100, such as the chamber sidewall 104, etc., causing the process equipment 100 damage. In some embodiments, the upper portion of the deflector 120 has an angle that slopes toward the center of the deflector 120 . The deflector 120 can be positioned at any height suitable for the removal process. In some embodiments, the height of the inwardly sloping upper portion of the deflector 120 is approximately equal to the height of the wafer W. When the chuck structure 110 carrying the wafer W is rotating at a high speed, the etchant located at the edge of the wafer W is thrown out of the wafer W by centrifugal force. The ejected etchant hits the inclined upper portion of the deflector 120 , and can flow down along the inclined angle of the deflector 120 , thereby removing excess etchant from the edge portion of the wafer W.

However, in some embodiments, after the ejected etchant hits the inclined upper part of the deflector 120 , it will not flow down all the way down the inclined angle of the deflector 120 . Conversely, the etchant may be bounced by the deflector 120 to the upper surface of the wafer. The etchant splashed back onto the surface of the wafer W may etch the metal deposited on the wafer W to form trenches by centrifugal force caused by the high-speed rotation. These trenches are defects on the wafer W, which further reduces the yield of the wafer W. FIG. It can be detected by a suitable instrument, such as a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The wafer W is tested for defects as described above.

In addition, after the ejected etchant hits the deflector 120 , the etchant remains on the inner sidewall 122 (as shown in FIG. 2A ) of the deflector 120 . As the use time of the deflector 120 increases, the amount of etching remaining on the inner sidewall 122 of the deflector 120 also increases. At this time, the etchant that hits the deflector 120 may take away the etchant originally attached to the surface of the deflector 120, which may increase the amount of etchant sprayed back on the surface of the wafer W. The defects formed on the circle W are more serious.

Therefore, in some embodiments of the present disclosure, the deflector 120 is improved by, for example, providing cleaning liquid, so that the cleaning liquid flows down the inner side wall 122 of the deflector 120 , or forms a mist-like cleaning liquid on the inner side wall 122 of the deflector 120 . film to reduce the probability of the etchant adhering to the inner sidewall 122 of the deflector 120 and/or to reduce the probability of the etchant being sprayed back onto the surface of the wafer W.

FIG. 2A shows a cross-sectional view of the detailed structure of the flow director 120 and the wafer W according to some embodiments. Figure 2B shows a front view of the inner sidewall of the flow director 120 of the chamber in some embodiments. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B , the deflector 120 may include an inner side wall 122 and an outer side wall 124 . The inner side wall 122 includes an upper portion 122a and a lower portion 122b, and the upper portion 122a is on the lower portion 122b. The upper portion 122a may have one or more first openings 126 . In some embodiments, there is a sharp corner between the upper portion 122a and the lower portion 122b, as shown in FIG. 2A. For example, an obtuse angle is defined between the upper portion 122a and the lower portion 122b. In other embodiments, the corner of the upper portion 122a and the lower portion 122b is a curved surface, so the corner between the upper portion 122a and the lower portion 122b is a smooth corner. A guide can be defined between the inner side wall 122 and the outer side wall 124 Stream space 127.

The bottom of the deflector 120 may have one or more second openings 128 . In some embodiments, the second opening 128 may be located at the bottom of the lower portion 122b of the inner sidewall 122 of the deflector 120 ; in other embodiments, the second opening 128 may be located at the bottom of the outer sidewall 124 of the deflector 120 . As long as the height of the second opening 128 is below the first opening 126, it is within the scope of the present disclosure. The deflector 120 may be made of any suitable material. In some embodiments, the deflector 120 is made of stainless steel.

The second opening 128 may be used to introduce cleaning fluid into the deflector 120 . In some embodiments, the cleaning fluid may be added to the guide space 127 in the guide 120 from the second opening 128 . The second opening 128 may be any suitable shaped opening. For example, the second opening 128 may be a plurality of circular openings for pipeline connection. The guide space 127 is a flow space of the cleaning liquid inside the guide 120 . Since the second opening 128 is located at the bottom of the deflector 120 , generally, the flow direction of the cleaning liquid in the deflector space 127 is from bottom to top. The guide space 127 may be any space for the cleaning fluid to flow inside the guide 120 .

In some embodiments, the flow guiding space 127 may be a hollow space. In other embodiments, the flow guiding space 127 may be a porous material-like space. In still other embodiments, the deflector 120 further includes a plurality of partitions connecting the inner side wall 122 and the outer side wall 124 . These baffles can divide the guide space 127 into a plurality of guide tubes. The opposite ends of the guide tube may be one or more first openings 126 and one or more second openings 128 respectively, so that the cleaning liquid can flow from the second opening 128 to the first opening 126 along the guide tube.

The cleaning liquid may be any liquid capable of cleaning the etchant adhering to the inner sidewall 122 of the deflector 120 . For example, the etchant may be dissolved in the cleaning solution to facilitate the cleaning solution to remove the etchant remaining on the deflector 120 . In some embodiments, the cleaning fluid is water, such as pure water or deionized water. In other embodiments, the cleaning solution is an aqueous solution, which can substantially not react with the etchant (eg, chemically react), so as to prevent the reactants of the cleaning solution and the etchant from contacting the wafer W and causing the wafer W to be damaged. damage.

When the cleaning fluid fills the guiding space 127, the cleaning fluid may flow out from one or more first openings 126 located at the upper portion 122a. The first opening 126 may have any suitable shape. In some embodiments, the first opening 126 may be a plurality of circular openings arranged in an up-and-down manner, as shown in FIG. 2B . Below the center point between each two adjacent circular openings in the upper row, there is a circular opening in the lower row, and the vertical projections of the two adjacent circular openings in the upper row on the openings in the lower row can correspond to The lower row of circular openings partially overlap. In other embodiments, the first opening 126 may be a plurality of rectangular openings arranged in an up-and-down manner, as shown in FIG. 2C . There is a lower row of rectangular openings below the center point between each two adjacent rectangular openings in the upper row, and the vertical projections of the two adjacent rectangular openings in the upper row on the lower row of openings can match the corresponding lower row of openings. The rectangular openings partially overlap. In still other embodiments, the first opening 126 may be a continuous elongated opening. The first opening 126 may be set to have an appropriate width according to different situations. In some embodiments, the width W1 of the first opening 126 (when the first opening 126 is circular, the diameter of the first opening 126 ) is in the range of about 0.8 mm to about 2.0 mm. In some specific embodiments, the The width W1 of an opening 126 is about 1.0 mm.

After the cleaning liquid flows out from the first opening 126 , a cleaning liquid film 205 can be formed on the inner side wall 122 . When the etchant thrown out at a high speed hits the deflector 120 , the etchant can contact and dissolve in the cleaning liquid film 205 on the inner side wall 122 and flow down along the cleaning liquid film 205 . The cleaning liquid film 205 can also continuously clean the inner sidewall 122 so that there will not be too much etchant remaining on the inner sidewall 122 . Even if the ejected etchant is sprayed back to the upper surface of the wafer W, the sprayed-back etchant has been diluted by the cleaning liquid, so that serious defects on the upper surface of the wafer W will not be caused. In this way, the above-mentioned deflector 120 can achieve the effect of self-cleaning, and solve the problem of wafer defects caused by etchant sputtering.

The cleaning liquid film 205 can be in liquid or mist form, depending on the pressure of the cleaning liquid when it leaves the first opening 126 , the speed of the cleaning liquid flowing in the guide space 127 and/or the temperature of the cleaning liquid, and the like. For example, when the pressure of the cleaning liquid at the moment when the cleaning liquid leaves the first opening 126 is higher, the cleaning liquid film 205 can be in the form of a mist, and vice versa. The pressure of the cleaning liquid can be adjusted by adjusting the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and/or the diameter of the first opening 126 . In addition, the faster the cleaning liquid flows in the guide space 127, the cleaning liquid may flow out of the first opening 126 in a waterfall pattern, and the slower the flow rate, the cleaning liquid may flow along the guide in a liquid state after flowing out of the first opening 126. The inner side wall 122 of the flow vessel 120 flows down. In addition, as the temperature of the cleaning liquid is higher, the cleaning liquid film 205 may be in the form of mist, and vice versa.

As described above, in some embodiments, the cleaning liquid may flow down vertically directly from the first opening 126 , that is, the cleaning liquid film 205 is in a waterfall shape. The first opening 126 may not overlap with the wafer W in the vertical direction, thus cleaning the liquid film 205 (or the cleaning fluid waterfall) does not affect the subsequent edge bevel removal process. The height of the first opening 126 can be higher than the height of the wafer W, so the formed cleaning liquid film 205 can also be higher than the height of the wafer W, thereby completely reducing the probability of the etchant rebounding to the wafer W. Herein, the vertical direction is the normal direction of the upper surface of the wafer W when the wafer W is placed on the chuck 116 (as shown in FIG. 1 ).

In FIG. 2A, the outer side wall 124 of the deflector 120 also includes an upper portion 124a and a lower portion 124b, and the upper portion 124a is above the lower portion 124b. In some embodiments, the upper portion 124a of the outer sidewall 124 is substantially parallel to the upper portion 122a of the inner sidewall 122 , and the lower portion 124b of the outer sidewall 124 is substantially parallel to the lower portion 122b of the inner sidewall 122 . That is, there are sharp corners or smooth rounded corners between the upper portion 124a and the lower portion 124b. In other embodiments, the distance between the upper parts 124a and 122a is smaller than the distance between the lower parts 124b and 122b. Therefore, when the cleaning liquid flows from the second opening 128 to the first opening 126, due to the narrowing of the guiding space 127, The pressure of the cleaning liquid is increased, and the cleaning liquid may leave the first opening 126 in a mist form.

Returning to FIG. 1 , the nozzle 130 may be disposed outside the deflector 120 . In some embodiments, the nozzle 130 may be secured to the base 106 outside the deflector 120 . The nozzle 130 may be used to provide an etchant to etch the edge portion of the wafer W. The etchant may be any suitable etchant for etching wafer W, such as hydrogen peroxide, sulfuric acid, other suitable etchants, or combinations thereof. In some embodiments, when the metal layer (eg, cobalt) at the edge of the wafer W is to be etched, the etchant may be hydrogen peroxide. Typically, one nozzle 130 is provided on the outside of each base 106 . However, in other embodiments, the spray The number of mouths 130 may be greater than one.

FIG. 3 shows a side view of the nozzle 130 of some embodiments. The nozzle 130 may include a standpipe 132 , a connecting portion 134 and a spray head 136 . The riser 132 stands outside the deflector 120 . Both the top and bottom of the standpipe 132 have openings, so that the etchant can enter the nozzle 130 from the bottom opening of the standpipe 132 . For example, the process tool 100 may further include an etchant source connected to the riser 132 for storing the etchant and supplying the etchant to the nozzle 130 .

The connecting portion 134 is tubular and may include a first curved portion 134a, a top portion 134b and a second curved portion 134c, and the top portion 134b connects the first curved portion 134a and the second curved portion 134c, as shown in FIG. 3 . The top portion 134b is straighter than the first curved portion 134a and the second curved portion 134c. In some embodiments, the configuration of the connection portion 134 may be different from the configuration of the connection portion 134 as shown in FIG. 3 . For example, the connecting portion 134 may only include the first curved portion 134a and the second curved portion 134c, and the first curved portion 134a is directly connected to the second curved portion 134c.

The first curved portion 134a of the connecting portion 134 can be connected to the top opening of the standpipe 132, and is curved toward the inner diameter direction of the deflector 120 (as shown in FIG. 1). The first bend 134a may have any suitable geometry. In some embodiments, the middle portion of the first curved portion 134a is a curved tubular structure, and the rear end is a straight tubular structure to facilitate connecting the top portion 134b.

The top portion 134b may be connected to the rear end of the first curved portion 134a. Top 134b may have any suitable geometry. In some embodiments, the top portion 134b is in the shape of a circular tube substantially horizontal to the ground, as shown in FIG. 3 . The second curved portion 134c is connected to the rear end of the top portion 134b and is curved toward the direction of the upright pipe 132 . The spray head 136 may be connected to the rear end of the second curved portion 134c. The tail end of the spray head 136 has a tapered structure, and the tip of the tapered structure has an opening. The opening of the showerhead 136 faces the edge portion of the wafer W placed on the chuck structure 110 (as shown in FIG. 1 ). In some embodiments, the showerhead 136 is positioned lower than the first opening 126 . That is, the position of the shower head 136 is located between the first opening 126 and the wafer W.

The riser 132 , the connecting portion 134 and the spray head 136 may be integrally formed or assembled. Furthermore, the cross-section of the nozzle 130 in the direction of flow of the etchant may be of any suitable shape. In some embodiments, the cross-section of the nozzle 130 in the direction of etchant flow is circular. Since the interiors of the riser 132 , the connecting portion 134 and the showerhead 136 are all hollow and connected to each other, the etchant can be added from the bottom opening of the riser 132 , and the etchant can be supplied from the showerhead 136 to the edge portion of the wafer W to Perform the edge bevel removal process. Since the shower head 136 only faces the edge portion of the wafer W, and the opening of the shower head 136 is located at the tip of the tapered structure, the edge portion of the wafer W can be precisely etched with an etchant without affecting the upper surface of the wafer W.

Generally speaking, the second curved portion 134c and the spray head 136 face the standpipe 132, so the centerline of the spray head 136 and the centerline of the top 134b can extend to form an included angle a1, and the included angle a1 is an acute angle. In some embodiments, the included angle a1 is in a range between about 47 degrees and about 49 degrees, for example, about 48 degrees.

The opening of the showerhead 136 may be vertically projected onto the wafer W placed on the chuck structure 110 , and this projected point may be referred to as a projected point p1 . Projection point There is a distance d1 between p1 and the outermost edge of wafer W. In some embodiments, the distance d1 ranges between about 1.6 millimeters to about 2.8 millimeters, such as about 2.2 millimeters. The innermost edge portion of the second curved portion 134c may also be vertically projected onto the wafer W placed on the chuck structure 110, and this projection point may be referred to as a projection point p2. There is a distance d2 between the projected point p2 and the projected point p1. In some embodiments, the distance d2 is in a range between about 18 millimeters to about 20 millimeters, eg, about 18.9 millimeters.

It should be noted that although FIGS. 1 and 3 show the nozzle 130 fixed on the base 106, the nozzle 130 can still be in other forms. For example, the nozzle 130 may be connected to the moving arm and move the position of the nozzle 130 according to where the wafer W is to be etched during the removal process.

Returning to FIG. 1 , a supply device 140 may be provided below the deflector 120 . The supply device 140 may be a pump for supplying cleaning fluid into the deflector 120 . There is no limit to the number of pumps. In some embodiments, only one pump may be used to provide cleaning fluid into the deflector 120 . In other embodiments, multiple pumps may be used to provide cleaning fluid. The process equipment 100 may further include a waste liquid tank 142 , which may be used to store the cleaning liquid flowing down from the inner side wall 122 of the deflector 120 . Specifically, a groove can be installed under the deflector 120, and the groove can be connected with a pipeline and lead the waste liquid into the waste liquid tank 142, thereby achieving the function of collecting the waste liquid.

In some embodiments, the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 142 can be directly discarded without any waste liquid recycling process, so there is no connection between the waste liquid tank 142 and the supply device 140 . In other embodiments, the waste liquid tank 142 and the supply device 140 can be connected, as shown in FIG. 1, so that the waste liquid The waste liquid in tank 142 can be recycled. Compared with the cleaning liquid that has been flowing in the process, the amount of etchant sprayed on the inner side wall 122 of the deflector 120 is less, so the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 142 can also be introduced into the deflector 120. achieve self-cleaning effect. Besides, the supply device 140 can also be connected to the waste liquid tank 142 and the clean cleaning liquid pipeline at the same time, so as to simultaneously add the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 142 and the clean cleaning liquid to the deflector 120 .

In still other embodiments, the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 142 may be recycled and thus a separation device may be used to treat the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 142 . The separation device may be any device that can separate cleaning liquid, etchant, residue of wafer W or other impurities in the waste liquid, such as a filter and the like. For example, a filter core can be arranged at the bottom of the waste liquid tank 142 to filter the residue of the etched wafer W, and the filtered waste liquid is then introduced into the flow guide 120 to become a cleaning liquid.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method of using a process equipment for manufacturing a semiconductor device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The method shown in FIG. 5 can be applied to fabricating semiconductor devices. Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2A and FIG. 5 at the same time. The method of the present embodiment can be applied to the process equipment of FIG. 1. The following describes the inventive embodiment of the present disclosure in combination with the operation relationship between various devices in the process equipment. The detailed steps of the process equipment.

In operation 510, the wafer is placed in the process chamber such that the flow director surrounds the wafer. Specifically, the wafer W can be moved by a robot arm and placed on the chuck structure 110 from above the process chamber 101 . In some embodiments in which the EL process and the edge bevel removal process can be performed on the same process equipment 100 , a robot arm can be used to move the wafer W from the base 106 where the EL process is performed to the edge bevel removal process. the base 106. In some embodiments, the electrofill process is the deposition of a suitable metal on wafer W, such as cobalt, copper, aluminum, the like, or a combination thereof. In some specific embodiments, the metal deposited on wafer W is cobalt.

FIG. 4 shows a top view of the chuck structure 110 of some embodiments. In FIG. 4 , the base 112 can be fixed at the center of the chuck structure 110 to support the chuck structure 110 on the base 106 . The support arms 114 are evenly connected to the base 112 at substantially equal distances, and all the support arms 114 extend outward along the radial direction of the base 112 . It should be noted that FIG. 4 shows that three support arms 114 are connected to the base 112 , however, the number of support arms 114 is not limited to three, and may be less or more, such as two or four. A chuck 116 is connected to the rear end of each support arm 114 . The chucks 116 can be used to fix the wafer W (as shown in FIG. 1 ) on the chuck structure 110 to facilitate the edge bevel removal process. The chuck 116 includes an alignment member 116a, a fixing member 116b and a clamping member 116c.

When the wafer W is placed on the chuck structure 110, the wafer W can be aligned by the alignment member 116a of the chuck 116 (as shown in FIG. 4) to facilitate the edge bevel removal process. Location. At this time, the alignment member 116a may contact the edge portion of the wafer W. FIG. In addition, the holder 116b of the chuck 116 (as shown in FIG. 4 ) can fix the wafer W from below the wafer W. As shown in FIG. The clamping member 116c is used to fix the wafer W in the subsequent high-speed rotation process. When the wafer W is placed in a position suitable for the removal process, the robot arm will retract and return to the original position.

When the wafer W is placed on the chuck structure 110 , the flow director 120 has been placed around the wafer W and surrounds the wafer W. As shown in FIG. In some embodiments , the height of the deflector 120 is adjustable. For example, when the wafer W is placed on the chuck structure 110 or the wafer W is removed, the deflector 120 may be at a lower height. When performing the removal process or the etching process, the deflector 120 can be at a higher height to block the spray of the etchant. The deflector 120 has a deflecting space 127, so the cleaning liquid can be injected into the deflector 120 for use in subsequent processes.

Back to Figure 5. In operation 520, a cleaning liquid film is formed on the inner surface of the deflector. For example, cleaning liquid may be injected into the deflector from the second opening of the inner side wall of the deflector, so that the cleaning liquid passes through the deflecting space and reaches the second opening of the deflector. An opening leaves the deflector. Specifically, in some embodiments, a flow controller of the cleaning liquid may be provided in the line between the supply device 140 and the flow director 120 . By adjusting the flow controller, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid entering the deflector 120 can be regulated. When the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is low, the cleaning liquid flows out from the first opening 126 and flows down along the inner side wall 122 , so that a cleaning liquid film 205 conforming to the inner side wall 122 can be formed on the inner side wall 122 . When the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is high, the cleaning liquid flowing out from the first opening 126 will not flow down along the inner side wall 122 . On the contrary, the cleaning liquid flows out from the first opening 126 in a direction perpendicular to the ground. Therefore, a waterfall-shaped cleaning liquid film 205 surrounding the wafer W can be formed. Since the inner diameter of the deflector 120 is larger than the outer diameter of the wafer W, the formed cleaning liquid waterfall will not contact the wafer W, and therefore will not affect the edge bevel removal process. The time suitable for stopping the flow of cleaning fluid can be arbitrarily determined. In some embodiments, the flow of the cleaning fluid may not be stopped at all, allowing the cleaning fluid to flow continuously during different batches of the wafer etch process. In other embodiments, after the subsequent etching process is completely completed That is, the flow of cleaning fluid is stopped. In addition, the pressure and/or temperature of the cleaning liquid can also be adjusted, so that the cleaning liquid film 205 becomes mist or liquid.

In operation 530, the wafer is rotated. Specifically, the lower part of the base 112 may be connected to a motor. The motor can drive the rotation of the submount 112 to remove excess etchant in the next operation 540 by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation. The motor can adjust the rotational speed of the submount 112 to match the rotational speed desired at different stages of the process. The rotational speed of the submount 112 In some embodiments, when the rotational speed of the submount 112 is low, the wafer W can be fixed by the friction force provided by the fixing member 116b (as shown in FIG. 4 ) of the chuck 116 on the chuck structure 110 . In some embodiments, fasteners 116b with different coefficients of friction may be selected according to different operational expectations. For example, when the wafer material in the process is relatively smooth, the fixing member 116b with a higher friction coefficient can be selected. Conversely, when the material of the wafer is rough, the fixing member 116b with a lower friction coefficient can be selected. When the rotation speed of the base 112 is increased, the alignment member 116 a can also fix the wafer W on the chuck structure 110 , so as to prevent the wafer W from being separated from the chuck structure 110 .

In operation 540, an etchant is applied to etch the wafer. Specifically, an etchant may be applied to the edge portion of the wafer W from the nozzle 130 to perform the edge bevel removal process. In some embodiments, before performing the edge bevel removal process, a pre-rinse of the wafer W may be performed to remove contaminants or particles remaining in the previous electrofilling process. Any suitable pre-rinse solution can be used for the pre-rinse. In some embodiments, the pre-rinse is deionized water. Deionized water can be injected into the upper surface of the wafer W, and during the rotation of the chuck structure 110, the deionized water can be evenly distributed on the upper surface of the wafer W, Forms a thin water film. During the pre-rinse stage, the aligner 116a can be retracted from the edge portion of the wafer W so that the wafer W no longer contacts the aligner 116a. In this way, during pre-rinsing, the alignment member 116a does not block part of the wafer W, and the wafer W can be uniformly rinsed. In the subsequent edge bevel etching process, the wafer W can also be uniformly etched. In some embodiments, the pre-rinse lotion may be added before the wafer W is rotated. In other embodiments, the edge bevel removal process may be performed without pre-rinse.

In the edge bevel removal process, an etchant is supplied to the edge portion of the wafer W to etch the edge portion of the wafer W. FIG. After the edge bevel removal process is completed, the excess etchant can be removed by rotating the wafer W. When the wafer W rotates, the thrown out etchant hits the cleaning liquid film 205 (as shown in FIG. 2A ) or waterfall surrounding the wafer W formed by the deflector 120 . Therefore, the etchant can be dissolved in the cleaning liquid film 205 or the waterfall, and flow down along the flow direction of the cleaning liquid. Compared with the deflector without self-cleaning effect, the cleaning liquid film 205 or waterfall formed by the deflector 120 is less likely to bounce the thrown etchant back to the upper surface of the wafer W. In addition, the cleaning liquid film 205 can continuously flush the inner sidewall 122 of the deflector 120 , so that too much etchant will not adhere to the inner sidewall 122 . Even if the etchant bounces back to the upper surface of the wafer W, the bounced back liquid is the etchant diluted by the cleaning liquid, so it will not cause serious damage to the upper surface of the wafer W. In this way, damage caused by the etchant bouncing back to the wafer by the deflector can be improved.

In some embodiments, after the edge bevelling process is completed, a backside etch (BSE) process may be followed. A pre-rinse of the backside of the wafer can also be performed prior to the backside etch process to remove Impurities remaining on the backside of the wafer. In some embodiments, the pre-rinse for the edge bevel removal process and the backside etch process may be the same. In some embodiments, the pre-rinse for the pre-rinse of the wafer backside is deionized water. Next, an appropriate etchant can be sprayed to the center of the backside of wafer W. In some embodiments, the position of the movable nozzle 130 , or another nozzle disposed in the lower portion of the process chamber 101 , can spray the etchant to the backside surface of the wafer W. FIG. Due to the surface tension of the etchant, the etchant can adhere to the backside surface of the wafer W for the backside etching process. Since part of the backside surface of the wafer W is shielded by the holder 116b, the wafer W can be rotated at two different rotational speeds. Under different rotational speeds, the positions of the fixing members 116b shielding the wafer W may be different, so that the backside surface of the wafer W may be completely etched.

After the backside etching process is completed, the wafer W may be rinsed again to remove residues generated on the wafer W during the etching process. In some embodiments, the wafer W may be first rinsed of metal oxides or other impurities with a small amount of dilute acid. Next, the entire wafer W may be rinsed with deionized water to rinse the dilute acid from the wafer W. During this period, the wafer W still keeps rotating, so that the excess liquid on the wafer W is removed by centrifugal force. In some embodiments, the rotational speed of wafer W may be the highest when wafer W is finally rinsed with deionized water. The wafer W can be fixed by the clamping member 116c of the chuck 116 (as shown in FIG. 4 ), so that the wafer W can be fixed on the chuck structure 110 at high rotation speed without breaking away from the chuck structure 110 . After all the procedures and processes are completed, the wafer W can be removed from the chuck structure 110 using the robot arm.

In some embodiments, after the etching process of the wafer W, namely The formation of the cleaning liquid film 205 can be stopped. For example, the formation of the cleaning liquid film 205 may be stopped after the injection of the etchant is stopped, the formation of the cleaning liquid film 205 may be stopped after the rotation of the wafer W may be stopped, or the formation of the cleaning liquid may be stopped after the wafer W is removed from the chuck structure 110 membrane 205. In other embodiments, the formation of the cleaning liquid film 205 may be stopped after the backside etching process, the formation of the cleaning liquid film 205 may be stopped after the diluted acid rinse of the wafer W, and/or the formation of the cleaning liquid film may be stopped after the rinse process is completed 205. As long as the cleaning liquid film 205 is formed during the injection of the etchant (or the dilute acid rinse), it is within the scope of the present disclosure.

It should be noted that the operation sequence of the process equipment 100 is not limited to the operation sequence shown in FIG. 5 . The operator can adjust the operation sequence of Fig. 5 under acceptable circumstances according to his own conditions. For example, in some implementations, operation 520 may be performed first, followed by operation 530 . In other embodiments, operation 530 may be performed first, followed by operation 520 .

In light of the above discussion, the present disclosure provides advantages. It should be understood, however, that other embodiments may provide additional advantages, and that not all advantages are necessarily disclosed herein, and that no particular advantage is required for all embodiments. Through the deflector with a deflector space disclosed by some embodiments of the present disclosure, the cleaning liquid can form a cleaning liquid film on the deflector, which can improve the removal of the etched etchant during the edge bevel removal process. The deflector bounces back onto the wafer, causing defects on the wafer surface. Cleaning the liquid film also removes residual etchant on the deflector.

In some embodiments, a method of fabricating a semiconductor device includes placing a wafer in a process chamber, wherein the wafer is surrounded by a flow guide, forming a A cleaning liquid film is formed on the inner surface of the deflector. After the cleaning liquid film is formed, an etchant is applied to the edge of the wafer to perform an edge bevel removal process.

In some embodiments, wherein the process chamber is a post-electrofill chamber.

In some embodiments, the above-described method further includes spinning the wafer after forming the cleaning liquid film.

In some embodiments, the above-mentioned method further comprises: stopping applying the etchant to the edge of the wafer, and stopping forming the cleaning liquid film after stopping applying the etchant to the edge of the wafer.

In some embodiments, a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device includes placing a wafer in a process chamber such that a flow guide surrounds the wafer, wherein the flow guide includes an inner side wall and an outer side wall, and an upper portion of the inner side wall has a first opening, The bottom of the deflector has a second opening, and the inner side wall and the outer side wall jointly define a guiding space, and the cleaning liquid is injected into the deflector from the second opening of the inner side wall of the deflector, so that the cleaning liquid passes through the guiding space and passes through the deflector. The first opening leaves the deflector, forms a cleaning liquid film on the inner side of the deflector and applies an etchant on the edge of the wafer to perform an etching process.

In some embodiments, the cleaning fluid exiting the first opening is in the form of a mist.

In some embodiments, the first openings include an upper row of openings arranged in a first row and a lower row of openings arranged in a second row, the second row is located below the first row, and every two adjacent upper row openings are between There is a lower row of openings below the center point between the two adjacent upper row of openings, and the vertical projections of the two adjacent upper row of openings on the lower row of openings partially overlap with the lower row of openings.

In some embodiments, the first opening is higher than the height of the wafer, and the second opening is lower than the height of the wafer.

In some embodiments, a process equipment for fabricating a semiconductor device includes a process chamber, a chuck structure, a flow director, a nozzle, and a supply device. The process chamber contains a pedestal. The chuck structure is located in the process chamber and is connected to the base of the process chamber. The flow guide is located in the process chamber and around the chuck structure, the flow guide includes an inner side wall and an outer side wall, the upper part of the inner side wall has a first opening, the bottom of the flow guide has a second opening, and the inner side wall and the outer side wall The diversion space is jointly defined between them. A nozzle is located in the process chamber and outside of the flow director, and the nozzle includes a spray head toward the outer edge of the chuck structure. The supply device is connected to the second opening of the inner side wall of the deflector, and is configured to supply the cleaning liquid into the guiding space of the deflector.

In some embodiments, the first opening is higher than the height of the spray head of the nozzle.

The foregoing has outlined features of several embodiments so that those skilled in the art may better understand aspects of the present disclosure. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that those skilled in the art may readily use the present disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures for carrying out the same purposes and/or achieving the same advantages of the embodiments described herein. Those skilled in the art should also recognize that these effective constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, and that those skilled in the art can make various changes herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure , substitutions and alterations.

120: deflector

122: Inner side wall

122a: upper part

122b: lower part

124: Outer Wall

124a: Upper

124b: lower part

126: The first opening

127: Diversion space

128: Second Opening

205: Cleaning liquid film

W: Wafer

Claims (10)

A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: placing a wafer in a process chamber, wherein the wafer is surrounded by a flow director; forming a cleaning liquid film on an inner side of the deflector; and After the cleaning liquid film is formed, an etchant is applied to an edge of the wafer to perform an edge bevel removal process. The method of claim 1, wherein the process chamber is a post-electrofill chamber. The method of claim 1, further comprising spinning the wafer after forming the cleaning liquid film. The method as described in claim 1, further comprising: stop applying the etchant to the edge of the wafer; and After the application of the etchant to the edge of the wafer is stopped, the formation of the cleaning liquid film is stopped. A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: A wafer is placed in a process chamber, so that a deflector surrounds the wafer, wherein the deflector includes an inner sidewall and an outer sidewall, an upper portion of the inner sidewall has a plurality of first openings, and the deflector includes a plurality of first openings. A bottom of the flow device has a second opening, and the inner side wall and the outer side wall jointly define a flow guiding space; A cleaning liquid is injected into the deflector from the second opening of the inner side wall of the deflector, so that the cleaning liquid passes through the deflector space and leaves the deflector at the first openings; and An etchant is applied to an edge of the wafer to perform an etching process. The method of claim 5, wherein the cleaning liquid exiting the first openings is in the form of a mist. The method of claim 5, wherein the first openings comprise a plurality of upper row openings arranged in a first row and a plurality of lower row openings arranged in a second row, the second row being located in the first row Below the row, and below a center point between the two adjacent upper row openings, there is one of the lower row openings, and the two adjacent upper row openings are located in the one of the lower row openings A vertical projection of the row openings partially overlaps the one of the lower row openings. The method of claim 5, wherein the first openings are higher than a height of the wafer, and the second openings are lower than the height of the wafer. A process equipment for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: a process chamber, including a base; a chuck structure located in the process chamber and connected to the base of the process chamber; a flow guide, located in the process chamber and surrounding the chuck structure, the flow guide includes an inner side wall and an outer side wall, an upper part of the inner side wall has a first opening, and a bottom of the flow guide having a second opening, and a guide space is jointly defined between the inner side wall and the outer side wall; a nozzle located in the process chamber and outside the deflector, the nozzle including a spray head directed toward an outer edge of the chuck structure; and A supply device is connected to the second opening of the inner side wall of the deflector, and is configured to supply a cleaning liquid into the deflecting space of the deflector. The process equipment of claim 9, wherein the first opening is higher than a height of the spray head of the nozzle.

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