SBIR Phase II: Clean Tool: A Unified Approach to Wafer Cleaning

SBIR 第二阶段：清洁工具：晶圆清洁的统一方法

• 批准号: 1127460
• 负责人: Hang Ji
• 金额: $ 50万
• 依托单位: Uncopiers, Inc.
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2011
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2011-12-15 至 2013-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1127460&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Clean; Tool

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop a single wafer processing clean tool for semiconductor wafer cleaning at all stages of wafer processing. The method relies on using acoustically controlled micro-cavitation to remove on-wafer particles. This is a chemical-free cleaning method, using ultra-pure water as the only processing fluid. During cleaning the particles will be counted as they get removed. The cleaning is deemed complete when there remain no more particles to be removed. The wafer will then be rinsed and dried in the same tool. This project is expected to provide a one-at-a-time wafer cleaning method with all the four functionalities of cleaning, inspection, rinsing and drying accomplished in a single setting.The broader/commercial impacts of this project will be the potential to provide a complete environmentally-friendly solution to the wafer cleaning predicament. Cleanliness is a critical requirement in semiconductor manufacturing that directly impact the chip yields. Among all processing steps in semiconductor manufacturing, approximately one in every five processing steps is wafer cleaning. Perfect wafer cleaning is a significant, yet unsolved, problem in semiconductor industry, and the need is becoming more urgent as the technology moves towards sub-50nm design nodes. In this project, a wafer-cleaning tool will be developed to address this market need. This tool will also be useful in precision cleaning needed in the cleaning of lithography masks, Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), solar cells, flat panel displays, and hard disk drives (HDDs).

这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目旨在开发一种用于半导体晶圆加工所有阶段的晶圆加工清洁工具。该方法依赖于使用声控微空化来去除晶片上的颗粒。这是一种不含化学物质的清洗方法，使用超纯水作为唯一的加工液。在清洁过程中，当颗粒被去除时，将被计算在内。当没有更多要去除的颗粒时，清洁被视为完成。然后，晶片将在同一工具中漂洗和干燥。该项目预计将提供一次一次的晶片清洗方法，在一次设置中完成清洗、检查、漂洗和干燥的所有四项功能。该项目的更广泛/商业影响将是为晶片清洗困境提供完整的环境友好型解决方案的潜力。清洁度是半导体制造中的一个关键要求，它直接影响芯片的良率。在半导体制造的所有工艺步骤中，大约每五个工艺步骤中就有一个是晶片清洗。完美的晶圆清洁是半导体行业中一个重要但尚未解决的问题，随着技术向50 nm以下的设计节点发展，对晶片清洁的需求变得更加迫切。在这个项目中，将开发一种晶片清洗工具来满足这一市场需求。该工具还可用于光刻掩模、微电子机械系统(MEMS)、太阳能电池、平板显示器和硬盘驱动器(HDD)清洗所需的精密清洗。