Multi-zone shower head for drying single semiconductor substrate

Abstract

A shower head processes a wafer with a plate having a plurality of nozzles positioned thereon, each of the nozzles assigned to one of a plurality of processing zones for the wafer; and a manifold assembly coupled to each of the nozzles to control one or more of the nozzles as a group in each processing zone.

1 . A multi-zone shower head to dry a single wafer, comprising: 
 a plate having a plurality of nozzles positioned thereon, each of said nozzles assigned to one of a plurality of processing zones for said wafer; and    a manifold assembly coupled to each processing zone to control one or more of said nozzles as a group in each processing zone, 
 wherein the manifold assembly can control each processing zone group independently.  
   
   
   
       2 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein said plate further comprises: 
 an upper plate having a plurality of inlets and chambers for each zone; and    a lower plate having a plurality of outlet chambers and its nozzles, 
 wherein the chambers are separated from each other by an o-ring seal.  
   
   
   
       3 . The shower head of  claim 1 , comprising a bottom plate having a restrictor section for each nozzle, the restrictor section adapted to allow an equalization of flow distribution to a bottom chamber before discharging to nozzles.  
   
   
       4 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein each processing zone provides one or more flows of: an aqueous vapor, gases, a gas mixture and liquid.  
   
   
       5 . The shower head of  claim 1 , comprising a plurality of valves to control volume, flow rate, pressure or a combination thereof of each processing zone.  
   
   
       6 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein said processing zones comprise a plurality of nitrogen and IPA vapor air zones.  
   
   
       7 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein each nozzle is angled outward approximately between 0 and 45 degrees.  
   
   
       8 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein each zone is separated by a distance approximately between 0.5 inch and 2.0 inch.  
   
   
       9 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein said processing zones comprise one or more of: 
 concentric rings, rectangular rings, linear rings, and radial rings.    
   
   
       10 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein said processing zones comprise one or more of: 
 circular zones, square zones, triangular zones, rectangular zones and linear zones.    
   
   
       11 . The shower head of  claim 1 , wherein an outer processing zone dries a wafer edge, 
 wherein the outer processing zone provides a higher pressure than the inner processing zones,    wherein the outer processing zone provides a flow covering an area near the wafer's edge, the wafer's edge, and an area beyond the wafer's edge, and    wherein the outer processing zone provides a flow forming an outward angle between 0 and 45 degrees with the wafer's surface.    
   
   
       12 . A system to dry a single wafer, comprising: 
 a platform adapted to receive and rotate said wafer;    a multi-zone shower head positioned substantially parallel to the wafer, the multi-zone shower head comprising 
 a plate having a plurality of nozzles positioned thereon, each of said nozzles assigned to one of a plurality of processing zones for said wafer; and  
 a manifold assembly coupled to each processing zone to control one or more of said nozzles as a group in each processing zone, 
 wherein the manifold assembly can control each processing zone group independently.  
 
   
   
   
       13 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein said plate further comprises: 
 an upper plate having a plurality of inlets and chambers for each zone; and    a lower plate having a plurality of outlet chambers and its nozzles, 
 wherein the chambers are separated from each other by an o-ring seal.  
   
   
   
       14 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein each processing zone provides one or more flows of: an aqueous vapor, gases, a gas mixture and liquid.  
   
   
       15 . The system of  claim 12 , comprising a plurality of valves to control volume, flow rate, pressure or a combination thereof of each processing zone.  
   
   
       16 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein each nozzle is angled outward approximately between 0 and 45 degrees.  
   
   
       17 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein an outer processing zone of the multi-zone shower head dries a wafer edge, 
 wherein the outer processing zone provides a higher pressure than the inner processing zones,    wherein the outer processing zone provides a flow covering an area near the wafer's edge, the wafer's edge, and an area beyond the wafer's edge, and    wherein the outer processing zone provides a flow forming an outward angle between 0 and 45 degrees with the wafer's surface.    
   
   
       18 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein said platform generates a centrifugal force during wafer rotation to urge an aqueous solution toward a wafer edge.  
   
   
       19 . The system of  claim 18 , wherein the aqueous solution is distilled water (DIW) and wherein the DIW is rinsed to remove any chemical residues on the wafer.  
   
   
       20 . The system of  claim 12 , wherein each processing zone flows N 2 /isopropyl alcohol (IPA) mixture or heated nitrogen during wafer rotation to evaporate residual thin film on the wafer and to prevent water mark on the wafer.