Advanced Semiconductor Cleaning Technologies

2006. 6 , www.imt-c.co.kr

Contents
CFC Cleaning Issue Cleaning overview and issues at Semiconductor industry Wet cleaning overview > RCA, Ozone, Marangoni, Sonic, Scrubber, Single wafer mega. Ref: , 2004/04 Dry cleaning overview > Plasma, Dry ice, Ar aerosol, UV lamp, SCF Laser cleaning technology > Overview & Introduction Ref: > Applications , 2003/07 Conclusions
Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

CFC Cleaning Issues

Halogen series Solvent is very effective for cleaning and widely used at industrial fields: ex) CFC-113, TCE However they are all ODS (Ozone Depletion Substance): CFC-113, TCE which is permanently prohibited to use in Korea till 2015 (Vienna Agreement) Needs for Alternative cleaning method is very high recently. Wet alternative on development => Water and Hydrocarbon based cleaning solution >> Fundamental measure for ODS is to develop Dry Cleaning Technique
Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Wafer cleaning

Definition: To reduce the surface contaminants to a minimum level during semiconductor manufacturing processes in order to achieve higher yield. Around 30 % of total processing steps
Photolithography CVD PVD Thermal processing

Bare wafer

Cleaning

Output wafer

Etching

Ion implantation

CMP

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Wet cleaning
RCA cleaning Ozone cleaning Marangoni dry and cleaning Sonic cleaning: Ultrasonic & Megasonic Single wafer megasonic cleaning Scrubber cleaning

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

RCA cleaning
Typical wet chemical cleaning method for semiconductors 1970 by W. Kern at RCA Co., USA Based on H2O2
Wet chemicals SC1 (APM: Ammonium Peroxide Mixture) SC2 (HPM: Hydrochloric Peroxide Mixture) Piranha (SPM: Sulfuric Peroxide Mixture) DHF (Dilute Hydrofluoric Acid) Typical Composition NH4OH + H2O2 + H2O = 1:1:5 HCl + H2O2 + H2O = 1:1:5 H2SO4 + H2O2 = 4:1 HF + H2O Effective removal contaminants Particles, Organic residue Metallic impurities (Al, Fe, Mg) Gross organics (PR, grease, wax) Native oxide (SiO2) Side effects Al & Cu attack, native oxide, surface roughness Native oxide

Native oxide

Reactive surface

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Wet station
Batch type: dominant till 200 mm wafer

X
1) 2)

Advantages: Large throughput (~200 wph) Cleaning performance Disadvantages: Huge footprint Enormous chemical and water use & cost Difficult clustering

X
1) 2) 3)

Yearly chemical use / wet station Yearly DI water use / wet station Yearly chemical cost / wet station

19,235 Gallon 64,821,120 Gallon 1,136,300 USD

Based on 8 inch wafer, 96 run/day 9 Data from Semiconductor international Mar., 2000
9

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Ozone cleaning
RCA based wet chemical cleaning using O3 Oxidizer H2O2 => O3 replacement H2O2: dissociation => H2O => dilution => reduce cleaning performance Current application: PR & organic removal > Piranha(H2SO4+H2O2) => DI/O3 cleaning

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Marangoni dry and cleaning

Surface tension difference of IPA & DI water Marangoni force => dry and cleaning No water mark Patent process: Mattson (USA)

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Sonic cleaning
Ultrasonic & Megasonic Above 20kHz & near 1MHz Cleaning Mechanisms > Cavitation: dominant less 100kHz (ultrasonic cleaning) > Acoustic streaming: sonic acceleration 100,000G at Mega. Dominant at Megasonic

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Megasonic cleaning
Mechanism: Acoustic streaming => Acoustic boundary layer => Drag force => Rolling removal mechanism Nano-scale particle removal (<100nm)

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Single wafer megasonic cleaning (1)

Single wafer processor: dominant more than 300 mm wafer (Verteq Co.: Gold finger)

>> Cleaning Mechanism => Chemical reaction + Megasonic force

>> Advantages (cf CWC): 1) Controllable and repeatable 2) Low consumption of chemicals & water 3) Double-side cleaning 4) Low cycle time >> Disadvantages: 1) Low throughput (rinse + dry) 2) Still wet chemical process

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

High Pressure Aerosol Jet

Gas Inlet Liquid Inlet

Atom izing zone HIGH Pressure Jet Droplet acceleration zone Exit Orifice

Chemical dispense

Ocean Spray (AMAT): for <100nm gate

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Scrubber cleaning
Dominant for post CMP cleaning
>> Cleaning Mechanism: Hydrodynamic drag force > Adhesion force >> Advantages: 1) Strong cleaning force => good organic & inorganic removal Double side cleaning Low recontamination

2) 3)

>> Disadvantages: 1) Blush material: PVA Throughput = 55-60 wph Control factors: blush pressure, rotation speed, DI & chemical volumes Applications: post CMP, post PECVD 2) Pattern damage due to contact process Only flat & hard surface available => contaminants stuck & scratch induced

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Dry cleaning
Limits of wet cleaning > High aspect ratio structure (contact, trench) > Water mark > Corrosion issues (Cu, low-k) > Cluster tool > Environmental issues (water, chemicals) Plasma cleaning Dry ice cleaning Ar aerosol cleaning UV lamp cleaning Super critical fluid cleaning Laser cleaning Laser shock cleaning Laser plasma cleaning
Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Plasma cleaning (1)

Remote plasma cleaning > Ashing = PR stripping > in-situ etch/strip processing Direct plasma cleaning : Reactive plasma & Ar plasma > Ar plasma: pre-deposition cleaning by sputtering > Reactive plasma: Microwave Remote chemical reaction plasma chamber => volatile O2 Plasma H 2O byproducts ex) PCB flux cleaning, desmearing, Process chamber H O deflashing O H H O H
O O O H O O

Wafer

*PR Stripping mechanism : chemical reaction O2 => O+O, H2O => 2H+O O + PR => H2O+CO+CO2 +
Heated plate To the pump

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Dry Ice cleaning (1)

Cryokinetic source: CO2

>> Cleaning type

>> CO2 dry ice pellets

1. Soft dry ice cleaning = CO2 snow cleaning > liquid CO2 => adiabatic expansion at nozzle => dry ice generation and blowing 2. Hard dry ice cleaning = CO2 pellet cleaning > Dry ice lump => pellet => high pressure blasting
Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Ar aerosol cleaning (1)

Cryokinetic source: Ar Ar / N2 mixture => compression => adiabatic expansion from the nozzle => Ar aerosol ejection

Advantages 1) Dry process 2) Excellent particle removal performance Disadvantages 1) Pattern damage => flat surface 2) Thermal shock 3) Expensive maintenance due to high purity Ar 4) Expensive equipment due to Vacuum process

>> IBM patent technology => FSI International commercialized.

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

UV lamp cleaning
UV radiation (Hg lamp) + O2 => O & O3 (O+O2) Mechanisms: Direct bond breaking + Chemical reaction E = h = hc/ Organic contamination removal (UV/O3 cleaning) Applications: PR hardening, OELD cleaning, surface activation >> Competition with AP tech

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Super critical fluid cleaning (1)

Super critical region SCF characteristics (CO2) > High density (~liquid) > Low viscosity (~gas) > High diffusivity (~gas) > High solubility (CO2) > Easy recycling Organic removal process > PR removal Nano-scale pattern rinse & dry process > Deep penetration
Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

What is a laser cleaning?

Definition of laser cleaning : A process which removes contaminants from a surface by lasersurface interactions

1. 2. 3.

Cleaning mechanisms Photo-thermal effect Photo-mechanical effect Photo-chemical effect

Ref: ,

, , 2002

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Laser cleaning mechanisms

Photo-thermal effect Mechanical effect Photo-chemical effect

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Process characteristics
-

Unique characteristics Precise process which ceases shortly after the laser pulse has ended Selective process which can be tuned for the removal of specific substances with a proper selection of wavelength Non-contact process which produces no contact wear Surface relief process without any mechanical loads Controllable process that a specific thickness of materials can be removed Environmentally preferable (or clean) process since it is a dry process

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Applications
Medical applications Conservation of artworks Industrial applications

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Artwork conservation
First laser cleaning shoot at 1975, Venice

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Medical applications
***Applications: Dermatology & Dental Surgery

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Industrial applications

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Tire-mold cleaning

Tyre residue removal (every 2-3 weeks) => blasting methods (glass beads with high pressure) Excimer laser (licensed process: Radiance process)

Other application: tire-marking indicating class (rain tire) or logo

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Comparison of cleaning processes

Media blasting In-situ cleaning (op. Off-line) Labor required No Dry ice cleaning Yes Wet chemical cleaning No Laser cleaning Yes

High

Medium

High

Low

Level of automation

Low

Low

Low

High

Noise level

Medium

High

Low

Low

Substrate wear Environmental hazards Post-cleaning waste

Yes

No

Medium

No

Medium

Medium

High

Low

High

Low

High

Low

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.

Summary
Every cleaning methodologies have their own advantages and drawbacks, so fundamental understanding of the cleaning processes is most important for successful applications. Cleaning prospect (Semi. Industry) > Wet & Batch => Hybrid => Dry & Single Laser cleaning has unique characteristics and its industrial applications will be expand rapidly. iMT holds diverse laser cleaning techniques and systems, i.e. LSC, LPC, SLC, LMC, ISM etc. A creative idea from industrial fields is most important to implement the new technology successfully.

Jong-Myoung Lee, Laser Engineering Group, IMT Co. Ltd.