Previous

Process Clean Surface

PR coating Soft bake
preparation Alignmen
t
Hard bake Development &
PEB
Exposure
Track system
Photo cell
Rejected
Strip
PR Inspection
Photo Bay
Approved

Etch Ion
Implant
 Preparation (Prebake)
• Dehydration bake
• Remove moisture from wafer surface
• Promote adhesion between PR and surface
• Usually around 150 to 200 °C
• Baking time and temperature are both critical
• Integration with primer coating
 Photolithography Process,
Primer
• Promotes adhesion of PR to wafer surface
• Wildly used: Hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS)
• Primer vapor coating is preferred over spin
coating
• HMDS vapor coating prior to PR spin coating
• Usually performed in-situ with pre-bake
• Chill plate to cool down wafer before PR
coating
Pre-bake and Primer Vapor
Coating
Prep Chamber Primer Layer

Wafer
Wafer HMDS
Vapor

Hot Plate Hot Plate

Dehydration Primer Vapor Coating
Bake
 Wafer Cooling
• Wafer need to cool down before PR spin coating
• Temperature can affect PR viscosity
– Affect PR spin coating thickness
• Water-cooled chill plate
Previous
Process Clean Surface
PR coating Soft bake
preparation Alignmen
t
Hard bake Development &
PEB
Exposure
Track system
Photo cell
Rejected
Strip
PR Inspection
Photo Bay
Approved

Etch Ion
Implant
 Spin Coating

• Wafer sit on a vacuum chuck

• Rotate at high speed
• Liquid photoresist applied at center of wafer PR dispenser
nozzle
• Photoresist spread by centrifugal force
Wa
• Evenly coat on wafer surface fer

Chu
ck
To vacuum Spindle
pump
Photoresist Suck
Back
PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Photoresist Spin Coating

PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
 Static and Dynamic Dispense
 PR distributed on the stationary wafer, then
spun rapidly to 7000 rpm
 Photoresist spread on spinning wafer
surface
 Wafer held on a vacuum chuck
 Slow spin ~ 500 rpm
 Ramp up to ~ 3000 - 7000 rpm
 Relative advantages
 Dynamic Spin
Rate
Spin rate

Time
 Viscosity
• Fluids stick on the solid surface
• Affect PR thickness in spin coating
• Related to PR type and temperature
• Need high spin rate for uniform
coating
 Relationship of Photoresist Thickness to Spin
Rate and Viscosity
3.5
PR thickness depends upon 100 cst
• PR viscosity 3.0
• Surface tension 2.5
50 cst

Thickness (mm)
• PR drying characteristics
• Spin rate 2.0
27 cst
• Acceleration rate 20 cst
• Spin time 1.5

1.0 10 cst

5 cst
0.5

0
2k 3k 4k 5k 6k 7k

Spin Rate (rpm)

Thickness is inversely proportional to the sqrt of Spin rate

 Spin Coater
• Automatic wafer loading system
from robot of track system Wafer PR
• Dispenser nozzle and dispenser pump
• Vacuum chuck to hold wafer EBR
Water
• Spin rate and Spin ramp rate control Sleeve

• Air Flow temperature and Air Flow Chuck

Drain Exhaust
Control Vacuum
• Drain for Excess PR removal
• Exhaust features
• Edge bead removal
 Edge Bead Removal
(EBR)
• PR spread to the edges and backside
• PR could flakes off during
mechanical handling and causes PR dispenser
particles PR suck back nozzle
• Front and back chemical EBR Wafer
• Front optical EBR
Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
 Edge Bead
Removal

Solvent
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
 Edge Bead
Removal

Solvent
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Ready For Soft
Bake

Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
 Optical Edge Bead
Removal
• After alignment and exposure
• Wafer edge expose (WEE)
• Exposed photoresist at edge
dissolves during development
Optical Edge Bead
Removal
Photoresist

Wafer

Chuck
Spindle
 Developer Spin
Off
Question?????
Edge PR removed Patterned
photoresist

Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Negative and Positive Photoresists
Photoresist
Substrate

UV light
Mask/reticle
Photoresist Exposure
Substrate
Negative
Photoresist
Substrate After
Positive Development
Photoresist
Substrate
Photoresist Suck
Back
PR dispenser
PR suck back nozzle
Wafer

Chuck
Spindle

To vacuum
pump
Previous
Process Clean Surface
PR coating Soft bake
preparation Alignmen
t
Hard bake Development &
PEB
Exposure
Track system
Photo cell
Rejected
Strip
PR Inspection
Photo Bay
Approved

Etch Ion
Implant
 Soft Bake
• Evaporating most of solvents in PR
• Solvents help to make a thin PR but absorb radiation and affect
adhesion
• Soft baking time and temperature are crucial
• Over bake: polymerized, less photo-sensitivity
• Under bake: affect adhesion and exposure
 Soft Bake
• Convection oven
• Infrared oven
• Microwave oven
• Hot plates
 Baking Systems
Wafer
MW Source
Heated N 2 Photoresist Heater

Chuck
Wafers
Vacuum
Wafer
Heater Vacuum

Convection oven Microwave oven Hot plate

 Hot Plates
• Widely used in the industry Wafer

• Back side heating- to avoid crust Heater

problem
• Disadvantage ??
 Wafer
Cooling
• Need to cool down to ambient temperature
• Water-cooled chill plate
• Silicon thermal expansion rate: 2.5106/C
• For 300 mm wafer, 1 C change causes
0.75 m difference in diameter
Previous
Process Clean Surface
PR coating Soft bake
preparation Alignmen
t
Hard bake Development &
PEB
Exposure
Track system
Photo cell
Rejected
Strip
PR Inspection
Photo Bay
Approved

Etch Ion
Implant
 Alignment and
Exposure
• Most critical process for IC fabrication
• Most expensive tool in an IC fab.
• Most challenging technology
• Determines the minimum feature size
Alignment and Exposure
Tools
• Contact printer
• Proximity printer
• Projection printer
• Stepper
 Contact
Printer
Light Source
Lenses

Mask

Photoresist
Wafer
 Contact Printer
• Simple equipment
• Use before mid-70s
• Resolution: capable for sub-micron
• Direct mask-wafer contact, limited
mask lifetime
• Particles
 Contact
Printing
UV Light Mask

PR

N-Silicon
 Proximity
Printer
Light Source
Lenses

Mask

Photoresist ~10 m
Wafer
Proximity Printer
• ~ 10 m from wafer
surface
• No direct contact
• Longer mask lifetime
• Resolution: > 3 m
 Proximity
Printing
~10 m UV Light Mask

PR

N-Silicon
 Projection
Printer
• Works like an overhead projector
• Mask to wafer, 1:1
• Resolution to about 1 m
 Projection
System
Light Source
Lenses

Mask

Photoresist
Wafer
 Scanning Projection
System Slit
Light Source

Lens

Synchronized Mask
mask and
wafer Lens
movement
Photoresist
Wafer
 Stepper
• Most popular used photolithography tool
in the advanced IC fabs
• Reduction of image gives high resolution
• 0.25 m and beyond
• Very expensive
 Step-&-Repeat
Alignment/Exposure
Light
Source

Projection
Lens

Reticle

Projection
Lens

Wafer
Wafer Stage
Step&Repeat Alignment System
Light Source Reference Mark

Alignment Laser
Reticle Stage
Reticle

Interferometer
Laser Projection Lens

Y
X
Interferometer
Mirror Set
Wafer
www2.austin.cc.tx.us/HongXiao/Book.htm
Wafer Stage
 Question
• Why does the 4:1 shrink ratio is more popular than the 10:1
shrink ratio?