TWM670423U - Wet process device - Google Patents

Abstract

A wet process device includes a rotary platform for carrying a substrate, a blocking mechanism, and a fluid control device. The blocking mechanism is arranged around the rotary platform and includes a fixing seat, a telescopic ring wall, and a shielding plate. The telescopic ring wall is liftably arranged on the fixing seat and includes at least a deformation portion. An internal space is defined between the shielding plate, the telescopic ring wall, and the fixing seat. The fluid control device supplies fluid to the internal space. The deformation portion is arranged around the internal space. The deformation part has a first deformation state and a second deformation state according to the flow of the fluid in the internal space, and a height of the telescopic ring wall in the first deformation state is greater than a height of the telescopic ring wall in the second deformation state.

Description

Wet process equipment

This application relates to a wet process equipment, in particular to a single wafer wet process equipment.

In the manufacturing process of semiconductor wafers, packages, display panels, light-emitting diodes and other products, a wafer (substrate) processing system is required to supply processing liquids, such as chemicals or deionized water, to the surface of the substrate for etching, cleaning, coating and other processing procedures. In the substrate processing system, a wet processing equipment must be used to collect, drain, recycle and other subsequent processing of the used process liquid. Traditional wet process rotary equipment can only rely on servo motors or AC motors to raise and lower the motor of the rotating mechanism or the surrounding blocking components to load and place wafers. However, the motor setting occupies a large space, and it is extremely difficult to replace the damaged motor, resulting in high costs for both equipment and maintenance.

One purpose of this application is to provide a wet process equipment for substrate (wafer) processing, which does not require a motor to drive a blocking mechanism around a rotating mechanism or the lifting of a recovery device, thereby reducing equipment and maintenance costs and significantly reducing space requirements.

To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present application provides a wet process equipment, which is applied to a substrate processing process, and the wet process equipment includes a rotating table, a blocking mechanism and a fluid control device. The rotating table is used to carry the substrate. The blocking mechanism is arranged around the rotating table and includes: a fixed seat, including a plurality of fluid connecting parts; a telescopic ring wall, which can be raised and lowered on the fixed seat and includes at least one deformation part; and a shield plate, which is arranged at one end of the telescopic ring wall away from the fixed seat and extends toward the rotating table, and there is an internal space between the shield plate, the telescopic ring wall and the fixed seat, and the internal space is connected to the plurality of fluid connecting parts, and the deformation part is arranged around the internal space. The fluid control device includes a control device and a plurality of first transmission tubes, the plurality of first transmission tubes are connected to the plurality of fluid connection parts, and the control device is used to supply a fluid to the internal space through the plurality of first transmission tubes. The deformation part of the telescopic ring wall has a first deformation state and a second deformation state according to the flow of the fluid in the internal space, and the height of the telescopic ring wall in the first deformation state is greater than the height of the telescopic ring wall in the second deformation state.

Preferably, the telescopic ring wall includes a telescopic inner wall and a telescopic outer wall, the telescopic inner wall and the telescopic outer wall are arranged around the circumference of the rotating table and jointly define the deformation portion, and the internal space is located between the telescopic inner wall and the telescopic outer wall.

Preferably, the telescopic ring wall includes a plurality of the deformation portions, and the plurality of deformation portions are stacked upwardly from the fixing seat.

Preferably, the deformation portion includes a pair of bent edges, which are spaced and symmetrically arranged on the telescopic inner wall and the telescopic outer wall.

Preferably, the shielding plate is arranged around the rotating table and includes a shielding portion and a lower docking portion, and the telescopic ring wall further includes an upper docking portion, wherein the shielding portion extends from the telescopic ring wall toward the rotating table, and the lower docking portion is arranged at one end of the shielding portion adjacent to the telescopic ring wall for sealingly docking with the upper docking portion.

Preferably, the shield has a hardness greater than that of the telescopic ring wall, and the shield further includes an extension wall connected between the lower abutting portion and the shielding portion and arranged around the shielding portion.

Preferably, the shield and the telescopic ring wall are an integrally formed single structure.

Preferably, the fluid control device further includes a detection element and at least one second transmission tube, one end of the second transmission tube is connected to the control device, and the other end is connected to each of the first transmission tubes, and the detection element is arranged on the second transmission tube, wherein the fluid is output by the control device and flows into the internal space of the blocking mechanism in sequence from the second transmission tube and the plurality of first transmission tubes, and the detection element is used to sense the lifting height of the telescopic ring wall.

Preferably, the control device includes an inlet, an outlet and at least one port, the inlet is connected to an external fluid supply source for supplying the fluid, the outlet is connected to an external vacuum source for discharging the fluid out of the internal space, and the at least one port is connected to the plurality of first transmission tubes for allowing the fluid to flow between the plurality of first transmission tubes and the inlet and the outlet.

Preferably, the wet process equipment further includes a pick-and-place device and a liquid supply device, wherein the pick-and-place device is used to place the substrate on the turntable and retrieve the substrate on the turntable, and the liquid supply device is used to supply at least one process liquid to the substrate.

In the embodiment of the present application, the wet process equipment utilizes the retractable ring wall with an airbag structure, which can be deformed by controlling the air intake and pressure relief according to the needs of the process, thereby changing the height of the retractable ring wall, so that the retractable ring wall and the shield plate rise or fall to effectively block the splashing of the process liquid. There is no need to use a motor to drive the recovery equipment around the rotating mechanism or the blocking equipment to rise and fall, thereby reducing equipment and maintenance costs and significantly reducing space requirements.

The following descriptions of the embodiments refer to the attached drawings to illustrate specific embodiments that can be implemented in the present application. Directional terms mentioned in the present application, such as "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", "side", etc., are only with reference to the directions of the attached drawings. Therefore, the directional terms used are used to explain and understand the present application, but not to limit the present application.

The present application is particularly described with the following examples, which are used for illustration only, because for those skilled in the art, various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure, so the protection scope of the present disclosure shall be subject to the definition of the attached patent scope. Throughout the specification and the patent scope, unless the content clearly specifies, the meaning of "one" and "the" includes such a description including "one or at least one" of the elements or components. In addition, as used in the present application, unless it is obvious from the specific context that the plural is excluded, the singular article also includes the description of plural elements or components. Moreover, when applied in this description and the entire patent scope below, unless the content clearly specifies, the meaning of "in which" may include "in which" and "on which".

The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of this application to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of this application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of this application, not all of them. Based on the embodiments in this application, all other embodiments obtained by technical personnel in this field without creative labor are within the scope of protection of this application.

The present application provides a wet process equipment for use in a substrate processing process, wherein the substrate may be a single wafer or a monolithic substrate, and the wet process equipment of the present application may be applied to semiconductor front-end process, semiconductor advanced packaging process, compound semiconductor process, optoelectronic process, etc., and processes such as etching, cleaning, photoresist removal, and drying. Referring to FIG. 1 , FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a wet process equipment 1 of an embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a blocking mechanism 3 in the wet process equipment 1 of FIG. 1 with reduced deformation. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 , the wet process equipment 1 provided by the present application includes a rotating mechanism 2, a blocking mechanism 3 and a fluid control device 4 (refer to FIG. 4 , as described below in detail), and cooperates with a pick-and-place device 5 and a liquid supply device 6 to supply process liquid to a substrate 7 (refer to FIG. 5 , as described below in detail) to perform the above-mentioned various processes. As shown in FIG. 2 , the rotating mechanism 2 includes a rotating table 21 and a shaft 22. The rotating table 21 is arranged on the top of the shaft 22 and is used to carry the substrate 7 (refer to FIG. 5 , as described below in detail), and the shaft 22 is connected to a driving device (not shown) to drive the rotating table 21 and the shaft 22 to rotate. In this embodiment, the height of the rotating mechanism 2 is fixed during the semiconductor manufacturing process and does not need to be raised or lowered, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of the rotating mechanism 2 being raised or lowered during the manufacturing process on the stability of the manufacturing process.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3 , FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a wet process equipment 1 according to an embodiment of the present application. It should be noted that, for the sake of clarity, the turntable 21 shown in FIG. 3 is presented in a three-dimensional perspective. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the blocking mechanism 3 is disposed around the turntable 21 and includes a telescopic ring wall 31, a shield plate 32 and a fixed seat 33. Specifically, the telescopic ring wall 31 is movably disposed on the fixed seat 33 and includes a plurality of deformation portions 312. The shield plate 32 is disposed at one end of the telescopic ring wall 31 away from the fixed seat 33 and extends toward the turntable 21, and an internal space 310 is provided between the shield plate 32, the telescopic ring wall 31 and the fixed seat 33. In some embodiments, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , the retractable annular wall 31 and the shield 32 are annular hollow structures, so that the rotating platform 21 is surrounded by the retractable annular wall 31 and the shield 32 , and the deformation portion 312 is disposed around the inner space 310 . The fixing seat 33 includes a plurality of fluid connection portions 331 connected to the inner space 310 .

In detail, the telescopic ring wall 31 includes a telescopic inner wall 311 and a telescopic outer wall 313. The telescopic inner wall 311 and the telescopic outer wall 313 are arranged around the circumference of the rotating table 21 and define the plurality of deformation parts 312 together, and the inner space 310 is located between the telescopic inner wall 311 and the telescopic outer wall 313. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3 , each deformation part 312 includes a pair of curved edges 312a and 312b, and the pair of curved edges 312a and 312b are spaced from each other and symmetrically formed on the telescopic inner wall 311 and the telescopic outer wall 313, and the plurality of deformation parts 312 are stacked and adjacently arranged upward by the fixing base 33. Specifically, the pair of curved edges 312a and 312b are respectively formed by upper and lower symmetrical hypotenuses. The internal space 310 between the telescopic inner wall 311 and the telescopic outer wall 313 is used to provide a space for accommodating the fluid transmitted by the fluid control device 4. In some embodiments, the fluid can be a gas or a liquid. Preferably, the fluid control device 4 supplies compressed dry air (CDA) to the internal space 310. In this embodiment, the telescopic annular wall 31 acts like an airbag structure. By controlling the air pressure of the internal space 310, the deformation portion 312 of the telescopic annular wall 31 is deformed, thereby changing the overall height of the telescopic annular wall 31 to achieve the lifting effect of rising and falling. In some embodiments, the material of the telescopic ring wall 31 can be perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA) or polytetrafluoroethene (PTFE) or other soft materials with acid and alkali resistance, but it is not limited thereto, and other materials with acid and alkali resistance and capable of generating deformation can be used.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , the shielding plate 32 is arranged around the rotating table 21 and includes a shielding portion 321 and a lower abutting portion 323 (as shown in FIG. 3 ). In addition, the telescopic ring wall 31 further includes an upper abutting portion 315 adjacent to the shielding plate 32. Preferably, the shielding portion 321 extends from the telescopic ring wall 31 toward the rotating table 21, so that the shielding portion 321 extends outside the telescopic inner wall 311. The lower abutting portion 323 of the shielding plate 32 is arranged at one end of the shielding portion 321 adjacent to the telescopic ring wall 31, so as to be sealedly abutted with the upper abutting portion 315, so that the shielding portion 321 is fixed to the top of the telescopic ring wall 31. In some embodiments, the shield 32 and the telescopic ring wall 31 can be a single structure formed in one piece to achieve a better sealing effect. In other embodiments, the shield 32 can be made of hard materials with acid and alkali resistance such as polypropylene (PP) and polyethylene (PE), but it is not limited to this, and other materials with acid and alkali resistance can be used. Preferably, the shield 32 has a hardness greater than the hardness of the telescopic ring wall 31 to ensure that the shield 32 is not easily deformed by the splashing of the process solution for processing the substrate.

Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fluid control device 4 of the wet process equipment 1, and FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the use state of the wet process equipment 1. In some embodiments, the fluid control device 4 includes a control device 41, a plurality of first transmission tubes 421, at least one second transmission tube 422, and a detection element 43. Specifically, the plurality of first transmission tubes 421 are connected to the plurality of fluid connection parts 331. The control device 41 includes an inlet 411, an outlet 412, and at least one port 413. Preferably, the control device 41 is equipped with a programmable logic controller to control the intake and exhaust of compressed dry air. In other embodiments, the control device 41 can also be controlled manually, which is not limited here. In detail, the inlet 411 is connected to an external fluid supply source (not shown) for supplying the fluid, the outlet 412 is connected to an external vacuum source (not shown) for discharging the fluid from the internal space 310, and the port 413 is connected to a plurality of first transmission tubes 421 for allowing the fluid to flow between the plurality of first transmission tubes 421 and the inlet 411 and the outlet 412.

Continuing to refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , one end of the second transmission tube 422 is connected to the control device 41, and the other end is connected to each of the first transmission tubes 421, and the detection element 43 is disposed on the second transmission tube 422. The control device 41 is used to supply a fluid to the internal space 310 through the plurality of first transmission tubes 421. Specifically, the fluid (i.e., compressed dry air) is input into the control device 41 through the inlet 411 and output through the port 413, and then flows into the internal space 310 of the blocking mechanism 3 through the second transmission tube 422 and the plurality of first transmission tubes 421 in sequence. The detection element 43 is used to sense the flow state of the fluid, including, for example, the pressure of the fluid. In some embodiments, the detection element 43 is a pressure switch. When the measured pressure rises or falls to a preset pressure action point, the components in the pressure switch are used to change the on or off state of the switch, so that the control device 41 can achieve the effect of automatic pressure control. In other embodiments, the detection element 43 can be a contrast sensor or a proximity switch, and its configuration and operation are familiar to the industry and will not be described here. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , two first transmission tubes 421 are connected to the same second transmission tube 422. In other embodiments, the two first transmission pipes 421 may be connected to the two second transmission pipes 422, that is, the two first transmission pipes 421 are directly connected to the corresponding ports 413 of the control device 41, and both of them can achieve the function of transmitting fluid. Specifically, the fluid control device 4 of the present application can use a single or multiple electromagnetic valves (not shown) on the flow path of the fluid to complete the intake and pressure relief actions.

Refer to FIG. 5 and FIG. 3 . The fluid control device 4 controls the flow state of the compressed dry air (i.e., fluid), that is, controls the air intake and pressure release, so that the deformation portion 312 of the telescopic annular wall 31 has a first deformation state and a second deformation state according to the flow of the fluid in the internal space 310, and the height H1 of the telescopic annular wall 31 in the first deformation state is greater than the height H2 of the telescopic annular wall 31 in the second deformation state. In detail, when the substrate 7 of the wet process equipment 1 of the present application is not placed on the rotating table 21, as shown in FIG. 5 , the air in the telescopic annular wall 31 is released from the internal space 310, so that the telescopic annular wall 31 drops in the second deformation state and forms a height H2. As shown in FIG3 , after the pick-and-place device 5 places the substrate 7 on the turntable 21 for positioning (for the sake of clarity, FIG3 does not show the substrate 7), the internal space 310 is compressed and the dry air is pressurized, so that the telescopic ring wall 31 rises in the first deformation state and forms a height H1. At this time, the telescopic ring wall 31 and the shield plate 32 rise to a height higher than the turntable 21. Then, the liquid supply device 6 supplies at least one process liquid to the substrate 7. Thereby, the splash of the process liquid caused by the rotation of the turntable 21 can be blocked by the shield plate 32 and flow down along the telescopic ring wall 31, and finally discharged or flow into the recovery equipment (not shown). After the wet process equipment 1 completes the operation, the blocking mechanism 3 can be further cleaned by a cleaning device.

Referring to FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 , FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a wet process equipment 1 ' of another embodiment of the present application, and FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of the blocking mechanism 3 in the wet process equipment 1 ' of FIG. 6 when it is lowered. The main difference between FIG. 6 and the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 is the structure of the shield 32. In detail, as shown in FIG. 6 , the shield 32 further includes an extension wall 322, and the extension wall 322 is connected between the lower docking portion 323 and the shielding portion 321, and is arranged around the shielding portion 321. In addition, the shield 32 includes a lower docking portion 323 for sealingly docking with the upper docking portion 315 of the telescopic ring wall 31, so that the shield 32 is fixed to the top of the telescopic ring wall 31. Preferably, the extension wall 322 is an annular wall formed around the rotating table 21. In some embodiments, a plurality of extraction ports 325 are provided on the extension wall 322 to enhance the effect of extracting compressed dry air. The shield plate 32 shown in FIG6 has a hardness greater than the hardness of the retractable annular wall 31. The provision of the extension wall 322 can increase the resistance of the shield plate 32 to the wind pressure when the substrate 7 rotates, so that the shield plate 32 is not easily deformed or displaced laterally due to the wind pressure, thereby enhancing the effect of the blocking mechanism 3 in blocking the process liquid.

Referring to FIG. 8 , FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a wet process equipment 1 of another embodiment of the present application. The embodiment shown in FIG. 8 differs from the above-mentioned embodiment only in that a pair of bent edges 312a and 312b of the deformation portion 312 are respectively formed of curved arc edges, which can also cause the deformation portion 312 to deform, thereby causing the telescopic ring wall 31 to rise and fall to change its height.

In summary, the wet process equipment provided by the present application utilizes the retractable ring wall with an airbag structure, which can deform the retractable ring wall through the control of air intake and pressure relief according to the needs of the process, thereby changing the height of the retractable ring wall, so that the retractable ring wall and the shield plate rise or fall to effectively block the splashing of the process liquid. There is no need to use a motor to drive the recovery equipment around the rotating mechanism or the blocking equipment to rise and fall, thereby reducing equipment and maintenance costs and significantly reducing space requirements.

Although the present application has been described above with preferred embodiments, the above preferred embodiments are not intended to limit the present application. A person skilled in the art may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present application shall be based on the scope defined in the claims.

The above is a detailed introduction to the wet process equipment used in the processing of wafers and substrates provided by the embodiment of this application. This article uses specific examples to explain the principles and implementation methods of this application. The above description of the embodiment is only used to help understand the method and core ideas of this application. At the same time, for technical personnel in this field, according to the ideas of this application, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scopes. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as a limitation on this application.

1, 1': Wet process equipment 2: Rotating mechanism 21: Rotating table 22: Shaft 3: Blocking mechanism 31: Telescopic ring wall 310: Internal space 311: Telescopic inner wall 312: Deformation part 312a: Bend edge 312b: Bend edge 313: Telescopic outer wall 315: Upper docking part 32: Shield 321: Shielding part 322: Extension wall 323: Lower docking part 325: Extraction port 33: Fixed seat 331: Fluid connection part 4: Fluid control device 41: Control device 411: Inlet 412: Outlet 413: Through port 421: First transmission tube 422: Second transmission tube 43: Detection element 5: Pick-and-place device 6: Liquid supply device 7: Substrate H1: Height H2: Height

FIG. 1 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a wet process device of an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a barrier mechanism in the wet process device of FIG. 1 with reduced deformation. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a wet process device of an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 4 is a structural schematic diagram of a fluid control device of a wet process device of an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a wet process device in use of an embodiment of the present application. FIG. 6 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a wet process device of another embodiment of the present application. FIG. 7 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a barrier mechanism in the wet process device of FIG. 6 with reduced deformation. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a wet process device of another embodiment of the present application.

1: Wet process equipment

21: Rotating table

3: Blocking mechanism

31: Telescopic ring wall

311: Telescopic inner wall

312: Deformation Department

313:Telescopic outer wall

32: Shield

33: Fixed seat

Claims (10)

A wet process equipment is applied to a substrate processing process, and the wet process equipment includes: A rotating table for carrying the substrate; A blocking mechanism, arranged around the rotating table, and including: A fixed seat, including a plurality of fluid connection parts; A telescopic ring wall, which is arranged on the fixed seat in a liftable manner and includes at least one deformation part; and A shield plate, which is arranged at an end of the telescopic ring wall away from the fixed seat and extends toward the rotating table, and an internal space is provided between the shield plate, the telescopic ring wall and the fixed seat, the internal space is connected to the plurality of fluid connection parts, and the deformation part is arranged around the internal space; and A fluid control device, comprising a control device and a plurality of first transmission tubes, the plurality of first transmission tubes are connected to the plurality of fluid connection parts, and the control device is used to supply a fluid to the internal space through the plurality of first transmission tubes; wherein the deformation part of the telescopic ring wall has a first deformation state and a second deformation state according to the flow of the fluid in the internal space, and the height of the telescopic ring wall in the first deformation state is greater than the height of the telescopic ring wall in the second deformation state. A wet process equipment as described in claim 1, wherein the telescopic ring wall includes a telescopic inner wall and a telescopic outer wall, the telescopic inner wall and the telescopic outer wall are arranged around the circumference of the rotating table and jointly define the deformation part, and the internal space is located between the telescopic inner wall and the telescopic outer wall. A wet process equipment as described in claim 2, wherein the telescopic ring wall includes a plurality of the deformation parts, and the plurality of deformation parts are stacked upwardly from the fixed base. A wet process equipment as described in claim 2, wherein the deformation portion includes a pair of curved edges, and the pair of curved edges are spaced and symmetrically arranged on the telescopic inner wall and the telescopic outer wall. A wet process equipment as described in claim 1, wherein the shielding plate is arranged around the turntable and includes a shielding portion and a lower docking portion, and the telescopic ring wall further includes an upper docking portion, wherein the shielding portion extends from the telescopic ring wall toward the turntable, and the lower docking portion is arranged at one end of the shielding portion adjacent to the telescopic ring wall for sealingly docking with the upper docking portion. A wet process equipment as described in claim 5, wherein the baffle has a hardness greater than the hardness of the telescopic ring wall, and the baffle further includes an extension wall, which is connected between the lower docking portion and the shielding portion and is arranged around the shielding portion. A wet process equipment as described in claim 1, wherein the shield and the telescopic ring wall are a single structure formed in one piece. A wet process equipment as described in claim 1, wherein the fluid control device further includes a detection element and at least one second transmission tube, one end of the second transmission tube is connected to the control device, and the other end is connected to each of the first transmission tubes, and the detection element is arranged on the second transmission tube, wherein the fluid is output by the control device and flows into the internal space of the blocking mechanism in sequence from the second transmission tube and the plurality of first transmission tubes. A wet process equipment as described in claim 1, wherein the control device includes an inlet, an outlet and at least one port, the inlet is connected to an external fluid supply source for supplying the fluid, the outlet is connected to an external vacuum source for discharging the fluid out of the internal space, and the at least one port is connected to the plurality of first transmission tubes for allowing the fluid to flow between the plurality of first transmission tubes and the inlet and the outlet. The wet process equipment as described in claim 1 further includes a pick-and-place device and a liquid supply device, wherein the pick-and-place device is used to place the substrate on the turntable and retrieve the substrate on the turntable, and the liquid supply device is used to supply at least one process liquid to the substrate.