DFR laminating and film removing system

Details DFR laminating and film removing system DFR laminating and film removing system

2002-06-07

2004-04-06

Lorengo, J. A. (Department: 1734)

Adhesive bonding and miscellaneous chemical manufacture

Surface bonding means and/or assembly means therefor

With work feeding or handling means

C156S543000, C156S582000, C156S583200, C156S230000, C156S247000, C156S345420, C427S148000, C427S096400, C427S331000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06715524

ABSTRACT:

FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to systems used for laminating semiconductor wafer substrates with dry film resist (DFR) and systems used for removing a PET (polyethylene terepthalate) support film from the wafer substrates after the DFR laminating step. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system which is capable of both laminating DFR on a semiconductor wafer substrate and removing the support film from the substrate at the same location without the need to transfer the substrate between two separate stations for these purposes.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the fabrication of semiconductor integrated circuits, metal conductor lines are formed on a silicon wafer substrate to interconnect the multiple components in device circuits on the semiconductor wafer. A general process used in the deposition of metal conductor line patterns on semiconductor wafers includes deposition of a conducting layer on the silicon wafer substrate; formation of a photoresist or other mask such as titanium oxide or silicon oxide on the conductive layer, in the form of the desired metal conductor line pattern, using standard lithographic techniques; subjecting the wafer substrate to a wet or dry etching process to remove the conducting layer from the areas not covered by the mask, thereby leaving the metal layer in the form of the masked conductor line pattern; and removing the mask layer typically using reactive plasma and chlorine gas, thereby exposing the top surface of the metal conductor lines. Typically, multiple alternating layers of electrically conductive and insulative materials are sequentially deposited on the wafer substrate, and conductive layers at different levels on the wafer may be electrically connected to each other by etching vias, or openings, in the insulative layers and filling the vias using aluminum, tungsten or other metal to establish electrical connection between the conductive layers.
Deposition of conductive layers on the wafer substrate can be carried out using any of a variety of techniques. These include oxidation, LPCVD (low-pressure chemical vapor deposition), APCVD (atmospheric-pressure chemical vapor deposition), and PECVD (plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition). In general, chemical vapor deposition involves reacting vapor-phase chemicals that contain the required deposition constituents with each other to form a nonvolatile film on the wafer substrate. Chemical vapor deposition is the most widely-used method of depositing films on wafer substrates in the fabrication of integrated circuits on the substrates. Copper is one of the most widely-used conductive layers in semiconductor fabrication due mainly to the inherent superior conductivity of copper as compared to aluminum and other metals.
Several lithograpic methods are known for forming a circuit pattern in a conductive layer on a wafer substrate. These include laminating a photoresist material, such as by using a dry film resist (DFR), on the conductive layer; using a visible light laser to irradiate the photoresist material in the form of the desired circuit pattern image; and then subjecting the irradiated wafer substrate to a developer, which selectively dissolves non-irradiated portions of the photoresist material and leaves irradiated portions of the photoresist material intact to form a mask corresponding to the circuit pattern. The masked substrate is then subjected to a wet or dry etching process, in which those areas of the conductive layer not covered by the mask are etched and those areas of the conductive layer covered by the mask remain unetched. Finally, the mask is removed such as by using plasma or reactive chlorine gas to expose the unetched metal circuit layer.
One of the most common materials for preparing a photoresist mask on a wafer substrate includes photopolymerizable elements, or dry film resists (DFRs), which are typically transferred from a DFR tape onto the conductive layer on the wafer substrate. A multi-layered construction of a typical DFR tape is generally indicated by reference numeral
1
in FIG.
3
and includes a support film
4
such as polyethylene terepthalate (PET). A photopolymerizable DFR layer
3
is provided on the PET support film
4
, and a polyethylene protective film
5
may be provided on the DFR layer
3
. The DFR layer
3
is applied to the wafer substrate by first removing the protective film
5
from the DFR tape
1
to expose the DFR layer
3
. The DFR layer
3
and the PET support film
4
are then applied to the conductive layer on the wafer substrate
36
. Finally, the PET support film
4
is removed from the underlying DFR layer
3
.
FIG. 1
illustrates a typical conventional DFR laminating system
10
for laminating a DFR layer
3
and a PET protective film
4
on the wafer
36
. The DFR laminating system
10
typically includes a rotatable tape supply reel
14
, from which extends a segment of the DFR tape
1
. The DFR tape
1
extends between a guide roller
23
and a nip roller
16
, which removes the protective film
5
from the DFR layer
3
of the DFR tape
1
, and the protective film
5
extends from the nip roller
16
and typically around a pair of guide rollers
18
and
20
, respectively, and is collected on a protective film wind reel
22
. The tape
1
, with the protective layer
5
removed therefrom, is advanced between a laminating head
24
above and a vertically-extendible wafer support table
12
below thereof, and extends around a pair of remove head rollers
28
of a remove head
26
. Accordingly, the wafer support table
12
initially receives an unlaminated wafer
36
having a conductive layer (not illustrated) such as copper deposited thereon. The remove head
26
and laminating head
24
initially move to the left in
FIG. 1
to extend the DFR tape
1
above the surface of the wafer
36
, at which time additional DFR tape
1
is simultaneously unwound from the rotating tape supply reel
14
. Next, the wafer support table
12
raises the wafer
36
into contact with the DFR tape
1
. As it moves to the right, the laminating head
24
then heat-presses the DFR tape
1
against the conductive layer (not illustrated) on the wafer
36
, whereupon the DFR layer
3
is laminated onto the conductive layer of the wafer
36
and the PET support film
4
remains on the DFR layer
3
on the wafer
36
. A laser
34
is then used to cut a portion of the DFR layer
3
and the PET support film
4
from the DFR tape
1
, around the periphery of the wafer
36
, such that the DFR layer
3
and PET support film
4
remaining on the wafer
36
substantially conform to the size and shape of the wafer
36
. The remove head
26
is then moved to the right in
FIG. 1
to remove the DFR tape
1
(consisting of the residual PET support film
4
and residual DFR layer
3
from which the PET support film
4
and DFR layer
3
portions, respectively, laminated onto the wafer
36
were cut) from the wafer
36
, after which the DFR tape
1
is advanced first between the remove head rollers
28
of the remove head
26
and then between a pair of guide rollers
30
, and finally, collected on a used tape wind reel
32
. The wafer support table
12
is then lowered and the wafer
36
, having the DFR layer
3
and PET support film
4
laminated thereon, is removed therefrom.
Referring next to
FIG. 2
, after it is removed from the wafer support table
12
of the DFR laminating system
10
, the laminated wafer
36
, having both the DFR layer
3
and the PET support film
4
laminated thereon, is transferred to a PET removing system
40
and placed on a vertically-extendible wafer support table
12
to remove the PET support film
4
from the DFR layer
3
on the wafer
36
for further processing of the wafer
36
. The PET removing system
40
typically includes a tape supply reel
42
, from which is extended a segment of adhesive tape
7
. The adhesive tape
7
extends over a guide roller
44
and around the bottom arc of a tape applicator head
46
, and upwardly between the adjacent remover head rollers
49
of a remov

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