KR101261369B1 - Wet station and method for calibrating level of solution in the wet station - Google Patents

Abstract

In order to measure the level of the cleaning liquid, it is possible to quickly and accurately determine whether or not the gas supplied to the cleaning tank is normally supplied. Is initiated. The wet cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning tank in which the cleaning liquid is accommodated, a gas supply unit supplying gas to be ejected from the cleaning liquid, a control unit sensing a supply characteristic of the supplied gas and generating a characteristic signal, and a display unit outputting the generated characteristic signal. . Therefore, it is possible to quickly and accurately determine whether the gas supplied to the cleaning tank is normally supplied through the characteristic signal output through the display unit.

Cleaning liquid, level, gas, supply, speed, display

Description

WET STATION AND METHOD FOR CALIBRATING LEVEL OF SOLUTION IN THE WET STATION}

1 is a view for explaining a wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a block diagram for explaining a cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100: washing tank 110: inner tank

120: outer tank 130: gas supply unit

132: gas storage unit 134: supply passage

140: speed controller 150: control unit

200: level leveler 210: display unit

220: mode key

The present invention relates to a wet cleaning device, and more particularly, to a method for calibrating cleaning liquid levels of a wet cleaning device and a wet cleaning device, which enables to quickly and accurately determine whether the gas supplied to the cleaning tank is normally supplied to measure the cleaning liquid level. It is about.

In general, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device, lithography, deposition, and etching are repeatedly performed. During these processes, various particles, metal impurities, organic substances, and the like remain on the substrate (e.g., a silicon wafer). Since such contaminants adversely affect the yield and reliability of the product, a cleaning process for removing contaminants remaining on the substrate should be performed in the semiconductor manufacturing process.

The method of cleaning the substrate may be divided into a dry cleaning method and a wet cleaning method according to a treatment method. Among them, the wet cleaning method refers to a method of cleaning a substrate by immersing the substrate for a predetermined time in a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid mixed with various chemical liquids at a predetermined ratio.

On the other hand, the wet cleaning apparatus is generally provided with a level measuring means for measuring the level change of the cleaning liquid. These level measuring means can be largely divided into direct measurement method and indirect measurement method according to the measurement method. Among them, as an indirect measuring method, conventionally, gas is ejected from a location close to the inner bottom of the washing tank, the back pressure generated when the gas is ejected is measured, and the measured back pressure is compared with a preset reference value to determine the level of the cleaning liquid. Can be measured.

In this way, the normal supply of gas in the method of indirectly measuring the level of the cleaning liquid through gas ejection has a great influence on the level measurement reliability of the cleaning liquid. That is, if the gas supplied to the cleaning tank is abnormally supplied to measure the level, it is difficult to accurately measure the level of the cleaning liquid. Therefore, it should be possible to quickly and accurately determine whether the gas is normally supplied. This should be able to be corrected accordingly.

However, conventionally, as it is configured to determine whether the gas is supplied normally by visually checking the movement state of the bubble as the gas is supplied to the cleaning tank, it is difficult to determine whether the gas is normally supplied quickly and accurately, and also to correct There is a problem that is difficult to achieve correctly.

That is, conventionally, it is difficult to accurately determine whether the gas is properly supplied, since the determination and correction of the normal supply of the gas is made based on the movement interval and the speed of the bubble which are visually confirmed. There is this.

In addition, conventionally, in order to determine whether the gas is normally supplied, the operator has to check the movement state of the bubble as the gas is supplied to each inside of the cleaning tank with the naked eye.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve the above problems, it is possible to quickly and accurately determine whether or not the normal supply of the gas supplied to the cleaning tank to measure the level of the cleaning liquid, and to correct the supply of gas and the level of the cleaning liquid. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method for calibrating the cleaning liquid level of the wet cleaning device and the wet cleaning device.

In particular, the present invention can output the characteristic signal according to the supply characteristics of the gas supplied to the cleaning tank through the display unit, so as to detect and correct the normal supply of the gas quickly and accurately by detecting the characteristic signal of the displayed gas It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for calibrating cleaning liquid levels of a wet cleaner and a wet cleaner.

In addition, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for calibrating a cleaning liquid level of a wet cleaning device and a wet cleaning device that allows an operator to easily determine whether the gas is normally supplied without having to visually check the inside of the cleaning tank.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object of the present invention, the wet cleaning device detects the supply characteristics of the supplied gas, the gas supply unit for supplying the gas to be discharged in the cleaning liquid, the cleaning tank in which the cleaning liquid is accommodated A control unit for generating a characteristic signal, and a display unit for outputting the generated characteristic signal.

In the present invention, the cleaning tank may include not only a container in which a cleaning liquid is accommodated, but also various treatment tanks in which other chemical liquids or treatment liquids are accommodated, and the shape and structure of the cleaning tank may be variously changed according to the required conditions and design specifications. Can be.

The gas supply unit is provided to supply a gas for measuring the level of the cleaning liquid. That is, the level of the cleaning liquid can be measured by allowing the gas to be ejected from the vicinity of the inner bottom of the cleaning tank, measuring the back pressure generated when the gas is ejected, and then comparing the measured back pressure with a preset reference value.

The structure of the gas supply unit may be variously changed according to the required conditions and design specifications. For example, the gas supply unit may include a normal gas storage unit and a supply passage, and a speed controller and various control means for controlling the supply speed and the supply amount of the gas may be provided on the supply passage.

The control unit is provided to generate a characteristic signal by sensing a supply characteristic of the gas supplied from the gas supply unit. Herein, the characteristic signal may include a signal about a flow rate, a speed, and a pressure of a gas to be supplied. For example, the controller may be provided to generate a speed signal of the gas to be supplied. The method of generating the velocity signal by sensing the supply characteristic of the gas may be applied in various ways depending on the required conditions. For example, the controller may measure the back pressure generated when the gas is ejected from the gas supply unit, and then generate a speed signal by calculating a speed according to the back pressure by comparing the measured back pressure with a preset setting value. Can be implemented by a conventional sequence program.

The display unit is provided to output the characteristic signal generated from the controller. The characteristic signal output through the display unit may be output in various ways that an operator can recognize according to a required condition. For example, the display unit may output the characteristic signal as an image signal. As such a display unit, various display apparatuses capable of outputting a digital signal such as a speed signal may be used, and the present invention is not limited or limited by the manner and structure of the display apparatus. In addition, the display unit is preferably provided in a place and location that can be easily confirmed by the operator.

An initialization unit for selectively initializing the characteristic signal may be provided together with the display unit, and the initialization unit allows the characteristic signal to be initialized after the gas supply calibration is completed and the display unit can be initialized. Such an initialization unit may be provided in various ways depending on the required conditions.

On the other hand, according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning device supplying a gas to be ejected in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank, generating a characteristic signal by detecting the supply characteristics of the supplied gas, generating Outputting the generated characteristic signal through the display unit.

In the generating of the characteristic signal, a signal about a flow rate, a speed, and a pressure of the supplied gas may be generated. For example, in the step of generating the characteristic signal, a speed signal of the supplied gas may be generated, and a method of generating the speed signal by sensing the supply characteristic of the gas may be applied in various ways according to a required condition. For example, the speed signal may be generated by calculating the speed according to the back pressure of the gas to be supplied.

It is possible to determine whether the gas is normally supplied through the characteristic signal output, and if it is determined that the gas supply is abnormal, the gas supply can be calibrated manually or automatically.

After the calibration of the gas supply is completed, the characteristic signal may be initialized for the next calibration, and thus the display may also be initialized. In addition, there is a risk that malfunction may occur due to an operator's carelessness or an unintentional initialization signal at the stage where the characteristic signal is initialized. Therefore, the characteristic signal is initialized when the characteristic signal initialization signal lasts longer than a predetermined time. It is preferred to be configured to

In the step of outputting the characteristic signal through the display unit, the characteristic signal may be output in various ways that an operator can recognize according to a required condition. For example, the characteristic signal may be output as an image signal through the display unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments. For reference, the same numbers in this description refer to substantially the same elements and can be described with reference to the contents described in the other drawings under the above-mentioned rules, and the contents which are judged to be obvious to the person skilled in the art or repeated can be omitted.

1 is a view for explaining a wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 1, the wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes a cleaning tank 100, a gas supply unit 130, a control unit 150, and a display unit 210.

The cleaning tank 100 is formed in a size that can accommodate a substrate for cleaning as a container in which the cleaning liquid is accommodated, and the shape and structure of the cleaning tank 100 may be variously changed according to required conditions and design specifications. In addition, the cleaning tank 100 is formed of a material that does not react with the cleaning liquid, the material of the cleaning tank 100 may be appropriately changed according to the required conditions. For example, the cleaning tank 100 may be formed of ordinary quartz, and other materials may be used.

In the present invention, the cleaning liquid may include a single or a plurality of chemical solutions as a chemical solution for cleaning contaminants remaining on the substrate.

Hereinafter, the cleaning tank 100 will be described with an example including the inner tank 110 and the outer tank 120. The cleaning solution is accommodated in the inner tank 110, and the cleaning operation is substantially performed in the inner tank 110. The outer tub 120 is formed along the circumference of the inner tub 110 to accommodate the washing liquid overflowed from the inner tub 110.

The gas supply unit 130 is provided to measure the change in the level of the cleaning liquid contained in the cleaning tank (100). That is, the level of the cleaning liquid may be measured by allowing the gas to be ejected from a position close to the inner bottom of the cleaning tank 100, measuring the back pressure generated when the gas is ejected, and comparing the measured back pressure with a preset reference value. Bar gas supply unit 130 is provided to supply a gas for measuring the level of the cleaning liquid.

As the gas, various materials may be used depending on the required conditions and the cleaning environment. For example, a non-reactant gas that does not react with the cleaning liquid, such as nitrogen (N ₂ ), may be used as the gas.

The gas supply unit 130 may include a conventional gas storage unit 132, a supply passage 134 for supplying gas from the gas storage unit 132 to the cleaning tank 100, and the supply passage ( The outlet end of the supply passage 134 may be disposed adjacent to the bottom surface of the cleaning tank 100 so that the gas ejected from the 134 may be ejected from a location close to the inner bottom of the cleaning tank 100. In addition, the supply passage 134 may be provided with a speed controller 140 and various control means for controlling the supply speed and the supply amount of the gas, the structure of the gas supply unit 130 according to the required conditions and design specifications It can be changed in various ways.

Hereinafter, an example in which gas is supplied to the inner tank 110 and the outer tank 120 through the independent supply passages 134 from one gas storage unit 132 will be described. In some cases, the gas supplied to the inner tank 110 and the outer tank 120 may be configured to be independently supplied from the plurality of gas storage units.

The controller 150 is provided to generate a characteristic signal by detecting a supply characteristic of the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 130. Herein, the characteristic signal may include a signal about a flow rate, a speed, and a pressure of a gas to be supplied. For example, the controller 150 may be provided to generate a speed signal of the gas to be supplied. As a method of generating a speed signal by sensing a supply characteristic of the gas supplied from the gas supply unit 130, various methods may be applied according to a required condition. For example, the controller 150 measures the back pressure generated when the gas is ejected from the gas supply unit 130, and then compares the measured back pressure with a preset setting value to calculate a speed according to the back pressure and thus a speed signal. Can be generated. The controller 150 may be implemented by a conventional sequence program.

The display unit 210 is provided to receive and output the characteristic signal generated from the controller 150. The characteristic signal output through the display unit 210 may be output in various ways that an operator can recognize according to a required condition. For example, the characteristic signal of the gas generated from the control unit 150 may be output as an image signal through the display unit 210, and the operator detects the characteristic signal output through the display unit 210 to supply the gas normally. It can be determined.

As the display unit 210, a conventional display device capable of outputting a digital signal such as a speed signal as an image signal may be used, and the present invention is not limited or limited by the method and structure of the display device.

Such display unit 210 is preferably provided in a place and location that can be easily confirmed by the operator. For example, the display unit 210 may be provided on the level leveler 200 for displaying the level of the cleaning liquid by numerical value and step by step.

By such a configuration, the operator can determine whether the gas is normally supplied based on the characteristic signal of the gas output through the display unit 210, and when the supply speed of the gas is abnormal, by adjusting the speed controller 140 or the like. The feed rate and feed rate of the gas can be calibrated manually or automatically.

Meanwhile, an initialization unit for selectively initializing the characteristic signal may be provided on one side adjacent to the display unit 210 along with the display unit 210. That is, the initialization unit is provided so that the characteristic signal is initialized after the gas supply calibration is completed and the display unit 210 can be initialized. The initialization unit may be provided in the form of a normal button or key capable of inputting an initialization signal through a user's operation, and may be provided in various ways according to a required condition. For example, a mode key 220 capable of inputting an initialization signal according to a pressing operation may be used as the initialization unit. Such a mode key 220 may be provided on the level leveler 200 together with the display unit 210. have.

Hereinafter will be described the cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 2 is a block diagram for explaining a cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention. In addition, the same or equivalent portions as those in the above-described configuration are denoted by the same or equivalent reference numerals, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning apparatus according to the present invention includes supplying a gas to be ejected from the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank (S110), and detecting a supply characteristic of the supplied gas to provide a characteristic signal. Generating step (S120), and outputting the generated characteristic signal through the display unit (S130).

First, gas is supplied to be ejected in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank 100. In this step, the non-reactive gas, such as nitrogen, may be supplied through the above-described gas supply unit 130 to be ejected from a place close to the inner bottom of the cleaning tank 100.

Next, a characteristic signal is generated by detecting a supply characteristic of the gas to be supplied. In the generating of the characteristic signal, a signal about a flow rate, a speed, and a pressure of the supplied gas may be generated. For example, in the step of generating the characteristic signal, a speed signal of the supplied gas may be generated, and a method of generating the speed signal by sensing the supply characteristic of the gas may be applied in various ways according to a required condition. For example, after measuring the back pressure generated when the gas is ejected in the cleaning liquid, the speed signal according to the back pressure may be calculated by comparing the measured back pressure with a preset set value to generate a speed signal. The generation of the speed signal may be implemented through a control unit made of a conventional sequence program.

Next, the generated characteristic signal is output through the display 210. In this step, the characteristic signal may be output in various ways that an operator can recognize through the display 210. As an example, the characteristic signal may be output as an image signal through the display 210, and an operator may check the characteristic signal output through the display 210.

Next, it may be determined whether the gas is normally supplied based on the characteristic signal output through the display 210 (S140). In this step, the operator may determine whether the gas is supplied normally or abnormally by comparing the characteristic signal output through the display unit 210, that is, the velocity signal of the gas output as the image signal with a preset velocity value.

Thereafter, when it is determined that the gas supply is abnormal, the gas supply may be corrected (S150). In this step, when the speed signal outputted as an image signal is too large or smaller than the preset speed value, the above-described speed controller 140 may be adjusted to appropriately correct the gas supply speed. If the speed signal output as an image signal corresponds to a preset speed value, the gas supply may be continuously performed without having to correct the gas supply speed.

Meanwhile, after the calibration of the gas supply speed is completed, the characteristic signal may be initialized for the next calibration, and accordingly, the display 210 may also be initialized. The initialization of the characteristic signal may be implemented by an initialization unit provided in the form of a normal button or key capable of inputting the initialization signal through a user's manipulation.

In the step where the characteristic signal is initialized, it is preferable that the characteristic signal is initialized when the initialization signal lasts for a predetermined time or more. Of course, it is also possible to configure the characteristic signal to be initialized by the temporarily inputted initialization signal, but since the initialization signal is input due to inadvertent and unintentional contact of the operator and there is a possibility that a malfunction may occur, the initialization signal is set in advance. It is preferably configured to initialize the characteristic signal if it lasts longer than time.

As described above, according to the cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning device and the wet cleaning device according to the present invention to determine the normal supply of the gas supplied to the cleaning tank to measure the level of the cleaning liquid, and to supply the gas and The level of the cleaning liquid can be properly calibrated.

Particularly, according to the present invention, the characteristic signal according to the supply characteristic of the gas supplied to the cleaning tank may be output through the display unit, and the characteristic signal of the displayed gas may be sensed to quickly and accurately determine and correct the normal supply of the gas. To be.

In addition, according to the present invention, the operator can easily determine whether the gas is normally supplied based on the speed signal output as an image signal without having to visually check the inside of the washing tank.

As described above, although described with reference to the preferred embodiment of the present invention, those skilled in the art various modifications and variations of the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention described in the claims below I can understand that you can.

Claims (12)

A washing tank in which a washing liquid is accommodated; A gas supply unit supplying gas to be ejected from the cleaning liquid; A controller configured to generate a characteristic signal by sensing a supply characteristic of the gas to be supplied; A display unit for outputting the generated characteristic signal; And An initialization unit provided adjacent to the display unit and selectively initializing the characteristic signal; Wet cleaning device comprising a. The method of claim 1, The control unit generates a wet signal, characterized in that for generating a velocity signal of the gas supplied. The method of claim 1, And the display unit outputs the characteristic signal as an image signal. delete Supplying a gas to be ejected in the cleaning liquid of the cleaning tank; Generating a characteristic signal by sensing a supply characteristic of the gas to be supplied; Outputting the generated characteristic signal through a display unit; Determining whether the gas is normally supplied through the characteristic signal output to the display unit; Correcting the supply of the gas when it is determined that the supply of the gas is abnormal; And Initializing the characteristic signal through an initialization unit after calibration is completed; Cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning device comprising a. The method of claim 5, In the generating of the characteristic signal, the cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning device, characterized in that for generating a speed signal of the gas supplied. The method of claim 6, The speed signal is a cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning device, characterized in that generated by calculating the speed according to the back pressure of the supplied gas. delete delete delete The method of claim 5, In the initializing of the characteristic signal, the cleaning liquid level calibration method of the wet cleaning device, characterized in that the initialization of the characteristic signal is initialized if the initialization signal of the characteristic signal lasts for more than a predetermined time. The method of claim 5, And in the step of outputting the characteristic signal through the display unit, the characteristic signal is output as an image signal.

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