JP6972984B2 - Etching liquid application nozzle - Google Patents

Description

The present specification discloses a technique relating to an etching solution coating nozzle.

In the wafer processing step, the etching solution may be applied to the peripheral edge of the rotating wafer. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique of applying an etching solution to a peripheral portion of a wafer via a conical member. The technique of Patent Document 1 supplies the etching solution to the peripheral edge of the wafer by flowing the etching solution from the reduced diameter side to the enlarged diameter side of the conical side surface of the conical member.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-179535

The technique of Patent Document 1 has a problem that it is difficult to allow the etching solution to flow down evenly over the circumferential direction of the conical side surface, and it is difficult to apply the etching solution uniformly to the peripheral edge of the wafer.

One embodiment disclosed herein is an etching solution coating nozzle that coats the peripheral edge of the wafer with an etching solution. This etching solution application nozzle includes a discharge portion and a nozzle main body portion. The ejection unit discharges the etching solution. The nozzle main body allows the etching solution discharged from the ejection unit to flow down onto the wafer. The nozzle body portion includes a conical side surface portion, a liquid receiving portion, a plurality of guide grooves, a plurality of storage portions, and a plurality of through holes. The conical side surface forms the conical side surface. The liquid receiving portion is located on the reduced diameter side of the conical side surface portion where the outer diameter is reduced, and receives the etching liquid discharged from the discharging portion. The plurality of guide grooves are formed at equal intervals on the side surface of the cone, and guide the etching solution from the liquid receiving portion to the enlarged diameter side where the outer diameter of the side surface of the cone is expanded. The plurality of reservoirs are uniformly provided along the circumferential direction of the conical side surface portion corresponding to the plurality of guide grooves on the enlarged diameter side of the conical side surface portion, and have a bottom surface that becomes deeper along the circumferential direction. The etching solution flowing down from the groove is stored. The plurality of through holes are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction corresponding to the plurality of reservoirs, penetrate to the bottom surface, and supply the etching solution stored in the reservoirs to the wafer.

According to the etching solution application nozzle in the above-described embodiment, the etching solution can be evenly flowed down into a plurality of through holes arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. As a result, the etching solution can be uniformly applied to the peripheral edge of the rotating wafer.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the etching solution application nozzle. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the etching solution application nozzle which removed the cover. It is an enlarged perspective view which shows the circumference of the through hole seen from above. It is an enlarged perspective view which shows the circumference of a through hole seen from below. It is a process drawing which shows the etching solution application process.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the etching solution application nozzle 100. The etching solution application nozzle 100 applies the etching solution to the peripheral edge portion 910 of the wafer 900. The etching solution application nozzle 100 constitutes a part of the apparatus used in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor element. The etching solution application nozzle 100 includes a discharge portion 110, a cover 120, a support arm 130, and a nozzle main body portion 200.

The ejection unit 110 of the etching solution application nozzle 100 ejects the etching solution. The discharge unit 110 is an end portion of a tube through which the etching solution flows. The discharge unit 110 is located above the nozzle body unit 200. The ejection unit 110 ejects the etching solution to the nozzle body portion 200.

The cover 120 of the etching solution application nozzle 100 covers the nozzle body 200. The cover 120 has a conical shape that is one size larger than the nozzle body 200. The cover 120 mainly covers the side surface of the nozzle body 200. The cover 120 is configured to be separable from the nozzle main body 200. The cover 120 prevents the etching solution from scattering from the nozzle body 200 to the surroundings.

The support arm 130 of the etching solution application nozzle 100 supports the nozzle body 200. The support arm 130 is driven by a movable mechanism (not shown), and is configured to be able to move the nozzle body 200.

The nozzle body 200 of the etching solution coating nozzle 100 causes the etching solution discharged from the ejection unit 110 to flow down to the wafer 900. The nozzle body 200 has a conical shape that is one size smaller than the cover 120.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the etching solution application nozzle 100 with the cover 120 removed. The nozzle body portion 200 includes a conical side surface portion 210, a liquid receiving portion 220, a plurality of guide grooves 230, a plurality of storage portions 240, and a plurality of through holes 250.

The conical side surface 210 of the nozzle body 200 forms a conical side surface. The conical side surface portion 210 forms the side surface of the cone that is one size smaller than the cover 120. The conical side surface portion 210 is divided by the guide groove 230.

The liquid receiving portion 220 of the nozzle body portion 200 is located on the reduced diameter side (upper side) of the conical side surface portion 210 where the outer diameter is reduced. The liquid receiving unit 220 receives the etching liquid discharged from the discharging unit 110. The liquid receiving portion 220 is a recess formed at the apex of the cone of the nozzle body portion 200.

The plurality of guide grooves 230 in the nozzle body portion 200 are formed from the reduced diameter side (upper side) where the outer diameter of the conical side surface portion 210 is reduced to the enlarged diameter side (lower side) where the outer diameter of the conical side surface portion 210 is expanded. It is a groove. The guide groove 230 guides the etching liquid from the liquid receiving unit 220 to the storage unit 240. The guide grooves 230 are formed in the conical side surface portions 210 at equal intervals. The number of guide grooves 230 in this embodiment is four. However, the number of guide grooves 230 may be less than four or more than four.

The plurality of storage portions 240 in the nozzle main body portion 200 store the etching solution flowing down from the guide groove 230 on the enlarged diameter side (lower side) of the conical side surface portion 210. The storage unit 240 stores the etching solution between the storage unit 240 and the cover 120. The plurality of storage portions 240 are uniformly provided along the circumferential direction of the conical side surface portion 210 corresponding to the plurality of guide grooves 230. The number of storage portions 240 is four, which corresponds to the number of guide grooves 230. However, in another embodiment, a plurality of guide grooves 230 may be provided for one storage unit 240. Further, the guide groove 230 may have a branching portion or a merging portion. The storage portion 240 has a bottom surface 242 and a weir portion 244.

The bottom surface 242 of the storage portion 240 extends along the enlarged diameter side (lower side) of the conical side surface portion 210, and gradually becomes deeper along the circumferential direction. In other words, the bottom surface 242 is inclined along the circumferential direction on the enlarged diameter side (lower side) of the conical side surface portion 210. The weir portion 244 of the reservoir 240 extends upward from the lowest portion of the bottom surface 242 and forms a partition wall with the other reservoir 240. The lower end of the guide groove 230 is above the bottom surface 242 and is particularly located near the highest portion of the bottom surface 242.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the through hole 250 as seen from above. FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing the periphery of the through hole 250 as seen from below. The plurality of through holes 250 in the nozzle body 200 penetrate from the bottom surface 242 of the storage unit 240 to the bottom surface 260 of the nozzle body 200. The through hole 250 supplies the etching solution stored in the storage unit 240 to the wafer 900. The through holes 250 are formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the conical side surface portion 210 corresponding to the plurality of storage portions 240. The number of through holes 250 is four, which corresponds to the number of reservoirs 240. The through hole 250 is formed at the lowest portion of the bottom surface 242. The through hole 250 is located between the bottom surface 242 of one storage portion 240 and the weir portion 244 of the adjacent storage portion 240.

The nozzle body 200 further includes a plurality of protrusions 270. As shown in FIG. 4, the protrusion 270 is provided on the lower surface 260 of the nozzle main body 200, and is formed on the inner peripheral side of the through hole 250. The number of protrusions 270 is four, which corresponds to the number of through holes 250. The protrusion 270 has a shape in which the inner peripheral side of the through hole 250 is extended downward. The protrusion 270 drains the etching solution flowing from the through hole 250. This makes it possible to prevent the etching solution from adhering to the lower surface 260 of the nozzle body 200.

FIG. 5 is a process diagram showing an etching solution coating process. The etching solution coating step of FIG. 5 is performed by a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus provided with an etching solution coating nozzle 100. First, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus moves the etching solution coating nozzle 100 above the wafer 900 (step P110).

After moving the etching solution coating nozzle 100 above the wafer 900 (process P110), the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus rotates the wafer 900 (process P120). After rotating the wafer 900 (process P120), the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus discharges the etching solution from the discharging unit 110 to the liquid receiving unit 220 until each of the plurality of storage units 240 overflows (process P130).

The etching solution of the liquid receiving unit 220 flows through the plurality of guide grooves 230 to the plurality of storage units 240. The amount of the etching solution flowing from the through hole 250 is smaller than the amount of the etching solution flowing from the guide groove 230 to the reservoir 240. Therefore, the etching solution is stored in the storage unit 240. When the etching solution is sufficiently stored in one storage section 240, the etching solution of the storage section 240 flows beyond the weir section 244 into another storage section 240 adjacent to the reservoir section 240. As the etching solution further flows from the guide groove 230 into the reservoir 240, the liquid level of the etching solution in the plurality of reservoirs 240 exceeds the weir portion 244 and becomes the same height.

After discharging the etching solution until each of the plurality of storage portions 240 overflows (process P130), the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus waits until the supply of the etching solution from the plurality of through holes 250 is completed (process P140). After that, the semiconductor manufacturing apparatus moves the etching solution coating nozzle 100 from above the wafer 900 (step P150). This completes the application of the etching solution to the peripheral edge portion 910 of the wafer 900.

According to the embodiment described above, the etching solution can be evenly flowed down into a plurality of through holes 250 arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. As a result, the etching solution can be uniformly applied to the peripheral edge portion 910 of the rotating wafer 900.

Although the embodiments have been described in detail above, these are merely examples and do not limit the scope of claims. The techniques described in the claims include various modifications and modifications of the above-described embodiments. Further, the technical elements described in the present specification or the drawings exhibit technical usefulness alone or in various combinations, and are not limited to the combinations described in the claims at the time of filing. Further, the techniques described in the present specification or the drawings achieve a plurality of objectives at the same time, and achieving one of the objectives itself has technical usefulness.

100 ... Etching liquid application nozzle 110 ... Discharge part 120 ... Cover 130 ... Support arm 200 ... Nozzle body part 210 ... Conical side surface part 220 ... Liquid receiving part 230 ... Guidance groove 240 ... Storage part 242 ... Bottom surface 244 ... Weir part 250 ... Penetration Hole 260 ... Bottom surface 270 ... Protrusion 900 ... Wafer 910 ... Peripheral part

Claims (1)

An etching solution coating nozzle that applies an etching solution to the peripheral edge of a wafer.
A discharge part that discharges the etching solution and
It is provided with a nozzle main body portion that allows the etching liquid discharged from the ejection portion to flow down to the wafer.
The nozzle body is
The conical side surface forming the conical side surface and
A liquid receiving portion that is located on the reduced diameter side of the conical side surface portion where the outer diameter is reduced and receives the etching liquid discharged from the discharging portion.
A plurality of guide grooves formed on the conical side surface portion at equal intervals and guiding the etching solution from the liquid receiving portion to the enlarged diameter side where the outer diameter of the conical side surface portion is expanded.
On the enlarged diameter side of the conical side surface portion, the conical side surface portion is uniformly provided along the circumferential direction corresponding to the plurality of guide grooves, and has a bottom surface that becomes deeper along the circumferential direction. Multiple storage units that store the etching solution flowing down from the groove,
A plurality of through holes formed at equal intervals along the circumferential direction corresponding to the plurality of reservoirs, penetrating the bottom surface, and supplying the etching solution stored in the reservoirs to the wafer. Including etching solution application nozzle.

Images