KR20030001034A - Apparatus for cleaning pad table - Google Patents

Abstract

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to semiconductor cleaning equipment, and more particularly, in a CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) equipment having a tub formed on an upper surface of a main body and rotatably installed inside the tub. And a cleaning solution supply unit for supplying a cleaning solution to the side of the pad table through the spray nozzle, and a cleaning solution supply unit for cleaning the pad table.

By cleaning the waste slurry remaining on the pad table during the polishing process using the cleaning device as described above, there is an effect that can prevent the malfunction of the device by preventing contamination of the polishing portion.

There is an effect of suppressing micro scratches generated during CMP operation due to waste slurry not removed from the polishing unit.

Description

Pad table cleaning device {APPARATUS FOR CLEANING PAD TABLE}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to semiconductor equipment, and more particularly, to a pad table cleaning apparatus for cleaning a pad table while performing a polishing process in a chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process.

As the high integration and high functionalization of semiconductor devices is rapidly progressing, the role of the manufacturing apparatus becomes more important. In particular, manufacturing equipment must be improved to accurately reflect the needs of the process technology of the era in which it is used. Examples of such technical requirements include the ease of readjustment in case of malfunction during operation of the equipment, the ease of regular maintenance / maintenance work and the manual work involved in the use of the equipment, and the accuracy of the work. It can be said to be various such as automation.

In general, CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) technology, which can be interpreted as a chemical / physical polishing process in semiconductors, is one of the techniques for planarizing the surface of a wafer. More specifically, a process of contacting a polishing pad with a surface of a thin film on which a wafer pattern is formed, and then rotating and polishing the slurry liquid in suspension form while supplying the surface of the wafer, and flattening the wafer surface by chemical and physical methods. It is a technique to do.

In addition, CMP is widely used in a wiring process for forming a metal plug in a semiconductor device manufacturing process or in a planarization process such as an interlayer insulating film and a protective film, and specifically, a predetermined material layer such as a metal layer or an insulating layer. By a polishing process. The polishing process is to etch the exposed portions on the wafer by the mechanical components using the polishing pad and the abrasive and the chemical components in the slurry solution.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a polishing unit of a conventional CMP equipment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the polishing unit of the CMP equipment is supplied with a slurry supply unit 100 for supplying a slurry to the CMP equipment during the polishing process, a nozzle 130 for spraying the slurry stored in the slurry supply unit 100, and Flow meter 110 for accurately measuring the amount of slurry, valve 120 for discharging or blocking the slurry, rotary shaft 220 for rotating the pad table, and pad rotated by the rotary shaft 220 during the polishing process The table 200, the polishing pad 210 deposited on the pad table 200, the tub (Tube: 300) formed on the upper surface of the CMP equipment, and formed on the lower portion of the tub 300 during the polishing process A discharge port 310 for discharging the slurry discharged from the pad table 200 is included.

The waste slurry discharged between the pad table 200 and the tub 300 is discharged through the discharge port 310 while the polishing process is performed using the polishing unit of the CMP device.

However, the waste slurry generated during the polishing process remains on the pad table 200 even after the process is finished, thereby contaminating the polishing unit, thereby causing a malfunction of the equipment due to the waste slurry.

In addition, the waste slurry that is not removed from the polishing unit is left between the polishing pads, there is a problem that generates micro scratches during the CMP operation.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art, a pad table cleaning for cleaning the pad table by supplying a cleaning liquid to the pad table while the polishing process by installing a plurality of spray nozzles between the tub and the pad table To provide a device.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention, in the CMP equipment having a tub formed on the upper surface of the main body, rotatably installed inside the tub, at least one or more installed inside the tub And a cleaning liquid supply unit configured to supply the cleaning liquid to the side of the pad table through the spray nozzle and to wash the pad table.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a polishing unit of a conventional CMP equipment,

2 is a cross-sectional view showing a pad table cleaning apparatus according to the present invention;

3 is a perspective view showing a pad table cleaning removal apparatus according to the present invention.

<Description of the code | symbol about the principal part of drawing>

100: slurry supply unit 120: valve

130: nozzle 200: pad table

210: polishing pad 220: rotating shaft

300: Tub 310: Outlet

400: cleaning liquid supply 410: discharge valve

420 spray nozzle

There may be a plurality of embodiments of the present invention, and a preferred embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Those skilled in the art will be able to better understand the objects, features and advantages of the present invention through this embodiment.

2 is a front view showing a polishing unit of the CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) equipment according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a front view showing a polishing unit of the CMP equipment according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the polishing unit of the CMP device includes a slurry supply unit 100 for supplying a slurry to the CMP device during the polishing process, a nozzle 130 for supplying the slurry stored in the slurry supply unit 100 to the pad table; , By the flow meter 110 for accurately measuring the amount of slurry supplied, the valve 120 for discharging or blocking the slurry, the rotary shaft 220 for rotating the pad table, and the rotary shaft 220 during the polishing process. The pad table 200 to be rotated, the polishing pad 210 deposited on the pad table 200, a tub (Tube: 300) formed on the upper side of the CMP device, and a lower portion of the tub 300 are formed. A discharge port 310 for discharging the slurry discharged from the pad table 200 during the polishing process, a cleaning liquid supply unit 400 for supplying ultrapure water or a chemical that is a cleaning liquid during the polishing process, and a cleaning liquid supply unit 400 A plurality of injection nozzles 420, and the discharge valve 410 for blocking or discharging the cleaning liquid discharged through the injection nozzle 400.

The spray nozzle 420 is attached to the bottom of the tub 300 and sprays the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit 400 toward the pad table 200 during the CMP process, and the pad table 200 is sprayed by the sprayed cleaning liquid. It is cleaned.

Here, although only one spray nozzle 420 is installed on the bottom of the tub 300, as shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of spray nozzles 420 are installed on the bottom of the tub 300 to spray the cleaning liquid, thereby polishing the polishing process. Waste slurry remaining on the pad table 300 can be removed during the process.

As shown in FIG. 3, after manufacturing a plurality of spray nozzles 420 on the bottom surface of the tub 300 in a typical CMP facility, the spray nozzle 420 is operated when the CMP process proceeds on a program. The pad table 300 and the polishing pad 210 may be cleaned during the process by spraying the cleaning liquid at an appropriate pressure while rotating the pad table 300.

Here, although the injection nozzle 420 is only installed on the bottom surface as an example, it is provided on the inner circumferential surface of the tub 300 can spray the cleaning liquid.

As described above, the polishing pad and the pad table are cleaned by using at least one spray nozzle installed on the inner or bottom surface of the tub of the CMP facility, thereby preventing contamination of the polishing unit, thereby preventing malfunction of the apparatus.

There is an effect of suppressing micro scratches generated during CMP operation due to waste slurry not removed from the polishing unit.

Claims (3)

In the CMP equipment having a tub formed on the upper surface of the main body, and having a pad table rotatably installed inside the tub, At least one spray nozzle installed inside the tub, And a cleaning solution supply unit for supplying a cleaning solution to the side of the pad table through the spray nozzle to clean the pad table. The method of claim 1, The injection nozzle, Pad table cleaning apparatus, characterized in that installed on the bottom or inner peripheral surface of the tub. The method of claim 1, The cleaning liquid supply unit, The pad table cleaning apparatus, characterized in that the waste slurry remaining on the pad table is removed using ultrapure water as the cleaning liquid.