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

这个小型企业创新研究（SBIR）二期项目旨在开发一种单一的晶圆加工清洁工具，用于半导体晶圆加工的所有阶段的清洁。该方法依靠声控微空化去除晶圆上的颗粒。这是一种无化学物质的清洁方法，使用超纯水作为唯一的处理流体。在清洗过程中，当颗粒被清除时将被计数。当没有更多的颗粒需要清除时，就认为清洁完成了。然后，晶圆片将在同一工具中冲洗和干燥。该项目预计将提供一种一次性的晶圆清洗方法，在一次设置中完成清洗，检查，冲洗和干燥的所有四种功能。该项目的更广泛/商业影响将有可能为晶圆清洗困境提供一个完整的环保解决方案。在半导体制造中，清洁度是一项关键要求，直接影响芯片的产量。在半导体制造的所有加工步骤中，大约每五个加工步骤中就有一个是晶圆清洗。完美的晶圆清洗是半导体行业中一个重要但尚未解决的问题，随着技术向50nm以下设计节点的发展，这一需求变得更加迫切。在这个项目中，将开发一种晶圆清洁工具来满足这一市场需求。该工具还可用于光刻掩模、微机电系统（MEMS）、太阳能电池、平板显示器和硬盘驱动器（hdd）的精密清洁。

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).