Patent ID: 7673582
Filing Date: 2010-03-09
Classification: H01L

Abstract:
1. An apparatus for spin coating a material in a liquid phase across a top surface of a substrate to form a layer of the material and exposing an annular region of the layer proximate to a peripheral rim of the substrate to a chemical capable of dissolving the material, the apparatus comprising: a coater cup; a substrate support in said coater cup, said substrate support configured to hold and rotate the substrate relative to said coater cup about an azimuthal axis; a nozzle adapted to dispense the material in the liquid phase onto the top surface of the substrate held by said substrate support; a head radially moveable relative to said azimuthal axis of said substrate support between a first position in which said head is proximate to the peripheral rim of the substrate and a second position in which said head is retracted from the peripheral rim of the substrate, said head including a plurality of nozzles adapted to dispense the chemical to contact the layer in the annular region when the head is in the first position; a controller; an actuator physically coupled with said head and electrically coupled with said controller, said actuator operative to move said head between said first and second positions as instructed by said controller; and a detector adapted to sense a radial location of the peripheral rim of the substrate relative to said head when said head is in said first position and being rotated by said substrate support, said detector configured to communicate an electrical signal to said controller representing said radial location, wherein said controller is configured to operate said actuator to move said head relative to said peripheral rim, when said nozzle is dispensing the chemical, in response to said electrical signal to compensate for changes in the radial location of the peripheral rim of the substrate relative to said head.