Solid State Phenomena Vol. 314

Abstract: Visualization experiments were performed to examine whether acoustic bubbles play a role in ultrasonic water flow cleaning, as in convention cleaning with ultrasonic baths. Schlieren visualization confirmed the standing-wave-like acoustic field in ultrasonic water flow that collides with a glass surface. Backlight visualization showed that cavitation bubbles appear in the water flow spreading over the glass surface. These bubbles are found to oscillate in volume and move inside film flow and thus expected to play a role as active cleaning agents.

Abstract: In order to study the role of growing cavitation bubbles in the context of ultrasonic cleaning, we perform two-dimensional, axisymmetric Navier-Stokes simulation for compressible, multicomponent flow and examine the so-called Rayleigh growth of an air bubble (with initial radius 33 µm and pressure 10 MPa) near a rigid wall. The simulation suggests that strong shear stress, which is important in physical cleaning such as particle removal, appears as a result of the bubble-growth-induced shock passage. The parametric study with varying a standoff distance of the bubble to the wall shows that the wall shear stress linearly decreases against the standoff distance.

Abstract: Megasonic cleaning is one of the promising technologies to remove the particles during semiconductor processing. Acoustic bubble cavitation plays a key role in removing the particles. In this work, the effect of an anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) on a bubble in the presence of hydrogen dissolved DIW water was studied. The bubble dynamics were observed using a high-speed camera. It was found that with the increase of surfactant the bubble characteristics were changed very significantly. Several parameters affecting the bubble dynamics were investigated.

Abstract: Visualization experiments were performed to study the relation between free-surface motion and bubble translation in a 1-MHz ultrasonic cleaning bath. From the visualization with a video camera, the characteristic frequencies of the free-surface oscillation (under the acoustic radiation force) and the translational velocity of cavitation bubbles (trapped via the primary Bjerknes force) were extracted, showing that there is a strong correlation between the free-surface oscillation and bubble translation. From the context of megasonic cleaning, such free-surface oscillation is expected to contribute to uniform cleaning performance with cavitation bubbles.

Abstract: A study for uniform deposition on whole area of wafer was conducted to help check the uniformity of cleaning technology between wafer center to edge. A new method of particle deposition was devised different from the conventional studies using the center nozzle and electric field. Our deposition chamber features wafer rotating method and deposition by the principle of convection and diffusion. In this study, we focused on the effect of wafer rotation speed and rotation number to particle deposition result. After setting the optimum condition, fine results with well deposited shape on whole area of the wafer and outstanding particle size uniformity of more than 70% were obtained. Although particle size shift phenomenon occurred in the measurement result using SP5 due to the intrinsic principle, SEM analysis demonstrated that particles with 60, 80 nm sized silica particles were well deposited on wafer. We believe the standard wafer made by our particle deposition system could be utilized and helpful for performance evaluation and development of wafer cleaning technologies.

Abstract: Sulfuric Peroxide Mixture (SPM, H₂SO₄ + H₂O₂) has been widely used in semiconductor manufacturing processes due to its high reactivity and attractive price. However, SPM releases SO₄^2- ions that can be high impact on the environmental contaminations. Therefore, the SPM process requires a high cost wastewater treatment. So, the development of alternative chemicals has been becoming an important task in the semiconductor manufacturing process. In this paper, we evaluated the feasibility of replacing SPM with dissolved ozone water (DIO₃) in the wafer cleaning process, and confirmed that the Particle removal efficiency (PRE) was improved around 68% by mixing with diluted hydrofluoric acid (DHF). And, the PRE was also increased when the concentration of ozone in dissolved ozone water increased. Additionally the PRE was improved up to 98% by combining physical cleaning after O₃ process.

Abstract: Visualization experiments are performed to examine the role of acoustic cavitation bubbles that appear in 0.43-MHz ultrasonic water flow spreading over glass surfaces in the context of physical cleaning. The cleaning performance is evaluated using glass samples on which small silica particles are spin-coated. The visualization suggests that acoustic cavitation bubbles play a major role in particle removal as in the case of conventional cleaning with ultrasonic cleaning baths.

Abstract: Wet cleaning has become challenging as the feature size of semiconductor devices decreased to sub-5 nm nodes. One of the key challenges is removing various types and sizes of particles and contamination from complex and fragile 3D structures without pattern damage and film loss. Conventional physical cleaning methods, such as dual-fluid spray or megasonic cleaning, are being used for the particle removal process. However, in advanced device nodes, these methods induce pattern damage and film loss. In this paper, we describe a novel particle removal technology called Nanolift which uses a polymer film consisting of two organic resins with different functions and achieved high particle removal efficiency on various types and sizes of particles with no pattern damage and minimum film loss.

Abstract: The cleanness of the wafer backside is vital in improving process quality and device yield for advanced technology nodes, 10, 7 nm, and beyond [1,2]. Defects such as particles and scratches on the wafer backside could be sources of local deformation of a wafer [2], causing the photolithography hotspot generation [3], the local variation of film thickness, wafer breakage, so on. The micron-size particle defects are easily generated during deposition, etch, CMP processes, and they can be easily transferred to subsequent processing tools. The particles will be exposed to various process conditions such as high compressive stress and high temperature, and it can be seen on the end-effector and wafer chuck in the process chamber. In order to make the wafer backside clean, we need to understand the behavior of particle adhesion and removal, especially at high temperature. In this paper, the adhesion behavior of aged particles at high temperature and the footprint of them were studied.

Abstract: Due to the emergence of sub-7 nm technologies, next generation CMP slurry formulations have continued to increase in additive (nanoparticle and chemistry) complexity to meet stringent device specifications. Therefore, it is essential to probe the molecular level interactions at the nanoparticle/slurry chemistry/substrate interface and in turn correlate them to key performance metrics such as removal rate, post CMP defects, and planarization efficiency. This work will address key interactions through a series of case studies focusing on the role of supramolecular structure and cleaning method (i.e. contact vs. non-contact) during STI post-CMP cleaning, probing the impact of supramolecular structure and mode of cleaning relevant to Cu post-CMP, and development of a biomimetic matrix with chemical activity to act as a brush in STI post-CMP cleaning processes. Results show in both BEOL and FEOL post-CMP cleaning there is a strong correlation to the delivery and “soft” nature of the chemistry to allow for effective particle removal at low mechanical force and prevent further defect formation. Furthermore, this work shows a clear correlation between supramolecular structure and particle removal efficiency under both contact and non-contact post-CMP processes.