The Study on Wafer Cleaning Using Excimer Laser

엑사이머 레이저를 이용한 웨이퍼 크리닝에 관한 고찰

The removal of contaminants of silicon wafers has been investigated by various methods. Laser cleaning is the new dry cleaning technique to replace wafer wet cleaning in the near future. A dry laser cleaning uses inert gas jet to remove contaminant particles lifted off by the action of a KrF excimer laser. A laser cleaning model is developed to simulate the cleaning process and analyze the influence of contaminant particles and experimental parameters on laser cleaning efficiency. The model demonstrates that various types of submicrometer-sized particles from the front sides of silicon wafer can be efficiently removed by laser cleaning. The laser cleaning is explained by a particle adhesion model. including van der Waals forces and hydrogen bonding, and a particle removal model involving rapid thermal expansion of the substrate due to the thermoelastic effect. In addition, the experiment of wafer laser cleaning using KrF excimer laser was conducted to remove various contaminant particles.