Apparatus for treating a wafer-shaped article

Abstract

An apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles comprises a closed process chamber, a chuck located within the closed process chamber, and at least one process liquid dispensing device disposed within the chamber. The closed process chamber comprises a lid that can be opened to position a wafer-shaped article within the closed process chamber. The lid incorporates a heater adapted to heat a wafer-shaped article positioned in the closed process chamber.

1 . Apparatus for processing wafer-shaped articles, comprising a closed process chamber, a chuck located within said closed process chamber, and at least one process liquid dispensing device disposed within said chamber, said closed process chamber comprising a lid that can be opened to position a wafer-shaped article within said closed process chamber, said lid comprising a heater adapted to heat a wafer-shaped article positioned in the closed process chamber. 
     
     
         2 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said heater comprises a plurality of infrared heating elements. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus according to  claim 2 , wherein the infrared heating elements are individually tuneable to apply a desired heating profile to a surface of a wafer-shaped article positioned within said closed process chamber. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said lid is axially displaceable relative to a remaining structure of said closed process chamber while sealingly engaged with said remaining structure, so as to vary a distance between said heater and a wafer-shaped article positioned within said closed process chamber. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said heater comprises one or a plurality of infrared heating elements, and wherein said lid comprises a downwardly-facing peripheral shield that is essentially opaque to IR radiation. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said lid comprises an internal gas inlet communicating with one or more internal peripheral recesses surrounding the heater, to permit a cooling gas to be supplied adjacent a periphery of said heater. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein said internal gas inlet is disposed in a central region of said lid, and is connected to said one or more internal peripheral recesses by a plurality of radially extending channels. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus according to  claim 6 , wherein said heater comprises one or a plurality of infrared heating elements, and wherein said lid comprises an internal IR shield separating said one or a plurality of infrared heating elements from said one or more internal peripheral recesses. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said heater is sealed with said lid so as to be protected from contact with process liquids inside said closed process chamber. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said lid comprises at least one gas nozzle opening on or extending beyond a downwardly facing surface of said lid, so as to supply gas into said closed process chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , further comprising a drive unit for the at least one process liquid dispensing device, the drive unit being drivingly connected to the at least one dispensing device to move the at least one dispensing device from a peripheral standby position to one or more active positions in which a dispensing end of the at least one dispensing device is moved radially inwardly of the chuck, said drive unit being mounted outside of said chamber. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the chamber is a component of a process module for single wafer wet processing of semiconductor wafers. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein the chuck is a spin chuck having a drive shaft extending downwardly from the chamber. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said at least one process liquid dispensing device is operable to dispense liquid into the chamber while said lid is in the closed position. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus according to  claim 1 , wherein said chuck is vertically movable relative to said closed process chamber, and is configured to have at least three stopping positions, these being an uppermost position for loading and unloading a wafer-shaped article from the chuck, and at least two lower positions within the chamber, each of said at least two lower positions corresponding to a distinct process level of said chamber.