The present invention generally relates to spinning chucks used in conjunction with inspection systems, such as semiconductor wafer inspection systems, and more particularly to a high speed spinning chuck which may allow for air flow management when used with such inspection systems.
As demand for ever-shrinking semiconductor devices continues to increase, so too will the demand for improved semiconductor device fabrication methodologies and semiconductor wafer inspection sensitivity. Due to the continued increase in complexity of modern integrated circuits, the tolerance for the presence of defects on a surface of a semiconductor wafer during and/or after fabrication continues to decrease. One class of defects that commonly negatively impact device fabrication and performance are contamination defects. One source of contamination defects results from the utilization of current wafer chucking systems. When spun at high rotational speeds, commonly implemented spinning wafer chucking systems, the top and bottom surfaces of the wafer/chuck assembly act as centrifugal pumps. This effect creates a layer of air on both the top and bottom surface that rapidly move from the centers (e.g., center of wafer) to the edges of the surfaces. The outward airflow, in turn, generates a low pressure zone at the centers of the top and bottom surfaces, when promotes the movement of more air into the center air from regions external to the wafer region. The air tending to flow into the low pressure zone may include various types of contaminants. The top and bottom layers of the pumped air meet generally off the chuck edge, and in a commonly implemented chuck combine at some distance away from the chuck, creating a low pressure zone between the two airflows. This low pressure zone is immediately filled with surrounding air, thereby generating a zone of air turbulence. This turbulence may bring contaminants from the downstream region (i.e., the below the chuck), which is generally not sufficiently clean. As a result of this turbulence, contaminants may be displaced from a region below the wafer and/or wafer chuck to a top surface of the wafer. The introduction of these contaminants onto the surface of a given semiconductor wafer have severe consequences on the performance of the semiconductor devices fabricated on wafer. As such, it is desirable to provide an improved rotating wafer chuck that acts to cure the turbulence, thereby reducing chuck rotation induced contamination in a semiconductor fabrication or inspection processes.
Accordingly an embodiment of the invention is directed to a high speed, spinning chuck, including, but not limited to, a first surface, the first surface configured for supporting and retaining a substrate; and a second surface, the second surface being configured generally opposite the first surface, the second surface including at least one of: a sloped portion and a curved portion, the chuck configured for being connected to a driving mechanism, the driving mechanism configured for causing the chuck to rotate about a vertical axis, the vertical axis being perpendicular to the first surface, wherein the first surface of the chuck and the at least one of sloped portion and curved portion of the second surface of the chuck form a turbulence-reducing lip for: promoting a reduction in air turbulence proximal to the chuck when the chuck is rotating; and for promoting the reduction of a separation between a first radial airflow produced proximal to the substrate and a second radial airflow produced proximal to the second surface of the chuck when the chuck is rotating, thereby promoting reduced deposition of contaminants upon the substrate.
A further embodiment of the present disclosure is directed to a semiconductor wafer inspection system, the system including, but not limited to, a vacuum chuck, the vacuum chuck configured for supporting and retaining the semiconductor wafer, the vacuum chuck configured for being connected to a shaft and motor, the vacuum chuck configured for being rotated via the shaft and motor; an inspection tool configured to optically inspect at least a portion of the semiconductor wafer supported and retained by the vacuum chuck, the inspection tool comprising: a laser light source, the laser light source configured for producing a beam of light, the beam of light illuminating an area on the semiconductor wafer; an imaging camera, the imaging camera configured to detect light emanating from the illuminated area on the semiconductor wafer; a set of optical elements configured for imaging the area on the semiconductor wafer illuminated by the beam of light onto an imaging portion of the camera, wherein the vacuum chuck includes a first surface and a second surface, the second surface being configured generally opposite the first surface, the first surface being configured for supporting the semiconductor wafer, the second surface including at least one of: a sloped portion and a curved portion, the first surface of the chuck and the at least one of sloped portion and curved portion of the second surface of the chuck forming a turbulence-reducing lip for: promoting a reduction in air turbulence proximal to the chuck when the chuck is rotating; and for promoting the reduction of a separation between a first radial airflow produced proximal to the substrate and a second radial airflow produced proximal to the second surface of the chuck when the chuck is rotating, thereby promoting reduced deposition of contaminants within the system upon the wafer.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not necessarily restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.
The numerous advantages of the present invention may be better understood by those skilled in the art by reference to the accompanying figures in which:
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not necessarily restrictive of the invention as claimed. The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the general description, serve to explain the principles of the invention. Reference will now be made in detail to the subject matter disclosed, which is illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Referring generally to
In another aspect of the present invention, the wafer chuck 100 consists of a vacuum-based wafer chuck configured to secure a wafer 102 (e.g., semiconductor wafer) utilizing a supplied vacuum. In one embodiment, the vacuum chuck 100 may be configured as a generally circular bowl-shaped structure and may include a top surface 104 (e.g., a support surface) configured for supporting (e.g., holding) the wafer 102 in place. In an alternative embodiment, the wafer chuck 100 may include an edge handling wafer chuck (not shown).
In another embodiment, the vacuum chuck 100 may be configured for having an air current drawn through it to create a vacuum for securing the wafer 102 to a support surface of the chuck 100. In this regard, a wafer 102 placed on top of the vacuum chuck 100 will experience a pressure difference between the external environment and the evacuated volume of the vacuum chuck (not shown), thereby securing the wafer 102 on the support surface of the chuck 100. For example, a vacuum may be applied to a bottom surface of the wafer 102 via a vacuum line (not shown) coupled to an external vacuum pump (not shown), whereby an inlet for the vacuum line is disposed on a bottom surface 108 (e.g., the surface opposite the support surface) of the chuck 100. In this regard, a vacuum system may establish a vacuum, which acts to securely draw and hold the wafer 102 against the support surface of the chuck 100.
In another embodiment, the vacuum chuck 100 may be integrally supported by a shaft 114 (e.g., spindle). For example, the shaft 114 may be connected to a motor (e.g., spindle motor) (not shown). In this regard, the spindle motor may be configured to rotate the shaft 114, thereby rotating the vacuum chuck 100 about an axis perpendicular to the support surface 104 (e.g., z-axis). For instance, the chuck 100 may be rotated at speeds greater than 1,000 revolutions per minute (rpm) (e.g., 1,000 to 10,000 rpm).
Referring now to
In an alternative embodiment, an airfoil structure consisting of a wing-shaped ring (when viewing edge on) (not shown) may be selectably attached to a standard chuck 202. In this regard, a ring structure which incorporates the curvature, slop, and lip features described previously herein may be attached to a surface of a stand chuck 202, such as a cylindrical shaped chuck. It is anticipated that the advantages of the winged-structure evident in the chuck 100 of the present invention will be applicable to a wing-shaped ring attachment suitable for retrofitting currently existing vacuum-based wafer chucks 202.
In an additional alternative embodiment, airfoil structure may include a stationary airfoil structure (not shown) positioned proximate to the top surface of a standard chuck (e.g., chuck 202). The stationary airfoil structure may act to disrupt the air flow pattern, as described previously herein, thereby reducing the amount of contaminants displaced from a region below the chuck and wafer assembly to the surface of the wafer 102.
The inspection system 300 of the present invention may be configured as any inspection system known in the art. For example, as shown in
In a further aspect of the present disclosure, the vacuum chuck 100, wafer 102, light source 302, imaging camera 304 and various optical elements of the inspection system 300 may be contained within a pressurized enclosure (e.g., an inspection chamber) (not shown) of the system 300. The inspection chamber may be maintained, by vacuum pump(s), at a vacuum pressure level suitable for processing of the wafer 102.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that it is common within the art to describe devices and/or processes in the fashion set forth herein, and thereafter use engineering practices to integrate such described devices and/or processes into data processing systems. That is, at least a portion of the devices and/or processes described herein can be integrated into a data processing system via a reasonable amount of experimentation. Those having skill in the art will recognize that a typical data processing system generally includes one or more of a system unit housing, a video display device, a memory such as volatile and non-volatile memory, processors such as microprocessors and digital signal processors, computational entities such as operating systems, drivers, graphical user interfaces, and applications programs, one or more interaction devices, such as a touch pad or screen, and/or control systems including feedback loops and control motors (e.g., feedback for sensing position and/or velocity; control motors for moving and/or adjusting components and/or quantities). A typical data processing system may be implemented utilizing any suitable commercially available components, such as those typically found in data computing/communication and/or network computing/communication systems.
While particular aspects of the present subject matter described herein have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that, based upon the teachings herein, changes and modifications may be made without departing from the subject matter described herein and its broader aspects and, therefore, the appended claims are to encompass within their scope all such changes and modifications as are within the true spirit and scope of the subject matter described herein.
Although particular embodiments of this invention have been illustrated, it is apparent that various modifications and embodiments of the invention may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the foregoing disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the invention should be limited only by the claims appended hereto. It is believed that the present disclosure and many of its attendant advantages will be understood by the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the components without departing from the disclosed subject matter or without sacrificing all of its material advantages. The form described is merely explanatory, and it is the intention of the following claims to encompass and include such changes.
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/522,569 entitled: Air Flow Management in a System With High Speed Spinning Chuck filed Aug. 11, 2011, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61522569 | Aug 2011 | US |