Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids – Apparatus – Houses – kilns – and containers
Patent
1996-03-26
1999-12-21
Bennett, Henry
Drying and gas or vapor contact with solids
Apparatus
Houses, kilns, and containers
34 92, 34418, F26B 1900
Patent
active
06003243&
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a wafer cleaning apparatus and a method thereof, and more specifically relates to a wafer cleaning apparatus and a method thereof wherein a wafer surface after cleaned is terminated with hydrogen.
BACKGROUND ART
In a semiconductor manufacturing process, cleaning of a wafer is a very important process to remove any impurity such as metal, organic matter, and fine particles that badly affect semiconductor characteristics. However, a wafer surface after cleaned and dried has many dangling bonds thereon which cause the surface to become very active. This produces a difficulty, for example, that the surface is again contaminated and a natural oxide film is nonuniformly formed thereon as the surface makes contact with air upon the wafer being carried. The present inventor has investigated a method of terminating dangling bonds on the wafer surface with hydrogen for stabilization of the wafer surface as a method of preventing the foregoing difficulty.
Such a hydrogen terminating method includes: 1) a method of subjecting a wafer to a dilute fluoric acid processing after a final cleaning process of the wafer for a ultra-pure water processing, 2) a method of processing a wafer with boiled ultra-pure water after final cleaning of the wafer, and 3) a method of processing a wafer in the atmosphere of hydrogen at a temperature of 600.degree. C. or more.
However, these methods are unlikely to completely terminate a wafer surface with hydrogen and are insufficient to prevent recontamination after cleaning.
Further, for drying a wafer, there are used a nitrogen blow and a rotary dryer or the like, however, they are unlikely to completely remove water molecules from the wafer surface and hence a nonuniform natural oxide film is produced.
In view of the drawbacks with the prior art, it is an object of the present invention to provide a wafer cleaning apparatus and a method thereof capable of preventing contamination of a wafer surface after cleaned and production of a natural oxide film on the wafer surface by completely terminating the wafer surface with hydrogen after cleaned.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
A wafer cleaning apparatus according to the present invention for achieving cleaning and drying of a wafer in a single cleaning tank with a cleaning solution, in its first gist, includes a hydrogen activation seed production means for producing a hydrogen activation seed from gas involving hydrogen and active gas introduction means for introducing active gas involving the hydrogen activation seed into the cleaning tank characterized in that the activation gas involving the hydrogen activation seed is sprayed on the wafer to terminate dangling bonds on the wafer with hydrogen.
Said gas involving hydrogen is preferably mixed gas of hydrogen and inert gas, the inert gas being preferably argon gas.
It is further preferable to construct at least part of a contact part of said hydrogen activation seed production means between said hydrogen activation seed production means and said gas involving hydrogen with a material such as Ni serving as a catalyst for a hydrogen radical formation reaction, and it is preferable to heat the material serving as the catalyst to 300 to 450.degree. C.
It is further preferable to construct at least part of a contact part of said active gas introduction means between said active gas introduction means and said active gas with a material serving as a catalyst for a hydrogen radical formation reaction.
A wafer cleaning method in the second gist of the present invention of cleaning wafer with a cleaning solution and thereafter drying the wafer comprises the steps of spraying gas involving a hydrogen activation seed on a wafer surface during the drying, and terminating dangling bonds on the wafer surface with hydrogen.
FUNCTION
Hereinbelow, function of the present invention will be described together with embodiment examples.
A wafer surface is terminated with hydrogen at low temperature more simply and completely by spraying argon gas involvin
Bennett Henry
Drake Malik N.
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