Cleaning apparatus of semiconductor device

A nozzle for spraying a cleaning solution, a body of the nozzle having its intake at one end, its sealed end portion at the other end, and a plurality of holes arranged linearly on its surface form inside of the body to outside of the body are disclosed. Also disclosed is a cleaning apparatus of a semiconductor device which includes a bath where wafers are cleaned and a cleaning solution spraying nozzle mounted at the bottom of the bath for spraying a cleaning solution through a plurality of holes formed on its surface, with the nozzle's one side being connected to a cleaning solution supply tube and the nozzle's other side being sealed. The hole's area through which the solution passes gradually decreases from one side of the nozzle through which the cleaning solution is induced, to the other side sealed so that the solution is sprayed with a uniform pressure.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus of a semiconductor 
device, and more particularly, to a cleaning apparatus of a semiconductor 
device which can enhance the uniformity of wafer etching rate by 
uniforming the spraying pressure of a cleaning solution spraying nozzle in 
order to clean the wafers immersed in a bath. 
2. Discussion of Related Art 
Generally, the cleaning efficiency of fine patterns of a wafer and its 
peripheral portion, and the uniformity of wet reaction are becoming very 
important in semiconductor device industry, in accordance with the wafer's 
diameter extension for the high integration and the high integration of 
chip resulting from the size reduction of semiconductor device. 
Therefore, lots of supplementary arts are provided for the enlargement of 
wet cleaning efficiency. 
A conventional cleaning apparatus of semiconductor device includes an 
innerbath 12 for cleaning a plurality of wafers 10, a cleaning solution 
supply tube 15 located at the innerbath 12 for supplying a cleaning 
solution, a cleaning solution spraying nozzle 18 mounted at the bottom of 
a bath for spraying the cleaning solution through a plurality of holes 
formed on its surface, the nozzle's one side 1 being connected to the 
cleaning solution supply tube 15 and the nozzle's other side 2 being 
sealed. The apparatus further includes an exhaust tube 14 installed under 
the bath, and an outerbath 13 where the overflowing cleaning solution in 
the innerbath 12 is exhausted. 
The following description relates to the operation of a conventional 
cleaning apparatus of semiconductor device. 
If a pump becomes on-mode, the cleaning solution supplied to the cleaning 
solution supply tube 15 is filtered by a filter 16, and then flows into 
the innerbath 12. 
As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1C, the cleaning solution supplied through the 
cleaning solution supply tube 15 fills the innerbath 12 from the center of 
the innerbath 12's bottom, or is sprayed to the lower edge or the side of 
the wafers 10 through the cleaning solution spraying nozzle 18 connected 
to one end of the cleaning solution supply tube 15. 
That is to say, the cleaning solution flowing into the innerbath 12 through 
the cleaning solution supply tube 15 located at the center of the 
innerbath 12 (A direction), or through the cleaning solution spraying 
nozzle 18 located at the bottom of the innerbath 12 and connected to the 
cleaning solution supply tube 15 located at the side of the innerbath 12 
(B direction), circulates between the wafers and cleans them occurring 
chemical reaction with the wafers' surface. 
Also, the cleaning solution sprayed through multiple holes 18-1 of a size 
distributed at the same interval on the surface of the cleaning solution 
spraying nozzle 18 which is located at the bottom of the innerbath 12 in 
the direction of the accumulated wafers in a wafer cassette 11, cleans the 
edge and side of the wafers. 
Additionally, if the cleaning solution which at over specific water level, 
flows into the innerbath 12 overflows to the outerbath 13, it is exhausted 
out of the apparatus through the exhaust tube 14 located at the bottom of 
the outerbath 13, or re-flows into the innerbath 12 through a circulating 
pipe where impurity is filtered, the circulating pipe being connected to 
the cleaning solution supply tube 15. 
But, as depicted in FIG. 1D, the spraying pressure of the cleaning solution 
spraying nozzle 18 spraying the cleaning solution to the wafers 10 through 
lots of holes on the surface of the nozzle in a conventional cleaning 
apparatus, varies in accordance with the location of the nozzle. 
That is, the deviation of the cleaning solution spraying pressure intensity 
increases from one side 1 of the cleaning solution spraying nozzle where 
the cleaning solution is supplied, to the other sealed side 2 thereof. 
This is because the backpressure affects the nozzle's other sealed side 2. 
Therefore, there is a problem that the accumulated wafers in the wafer 
cassette are not cleaned uniformly. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a cleaning apparatus of a 
semiconductor device that substantially obviates one or more of the 
problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art. 
An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus of a 
semiconductor device which can enhance the cleaning rate by uniformly 
spraying cleaning solution to the lower edge or the side of wafers through 
a cleaning solution spraying nozzle. 
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in 
the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the 
description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The 
objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and 
attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written 
description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings. 
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of 
the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a cleaning 
apparatus of a semiconductor device comprising a bath with a wafer 
cassette where a plurality of wafers are accumulated, a cleaning solution 
supply tube located at the lower portion of the bath, and a cleaning 
solution spraying nozzle whose one side 1 is connected to the cleaning 
solution supply tube and whose other side is sealed 2 for spraying the 
cleaning solution through many holes on its surface, has the cleaning 
solution spraying nozzle that the area of the hole decreases from one side 
1 through which the cleaning solution flows to the other sealed side 2 of 
the nozzle, the cleaning solution spraying nozzle with angled portions 
that one side 1 through which the cleaning solution flows is higher than 
the other sealed side 2 of the nozzle, or the cleaning solution spraying 
nozzle that the sectional area gradually decreases from one side 1 through 
which the cleaning solution flows to the other sealed side 2 of the 
nozzle. 
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the 
following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are 
intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Reference will now be made in detail to the preferred embodiments of the 
present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying 
drawings. 
As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B of the first preferred embodiment of the 
present invention, the area of the hole on the nozzle decreases from one 
side 1 through which the cleaning solution flows to the other sealed 2 
side of the nozzle. 
In order to decrease the area of the hole, the diameter of the hole 
gradually gets smaller from one side 1 through which the cleaning solution 
flows to the other sealed side 2 of the nozzle, as shown in FIG. 2A, or 
the number of the hole is gradually reduced from one side 1 through which 
the cleaning solution flows to the other sealed side 2 of the nozzle, as 
shown in FIG. 2B, so that the sum of the hole's area is gradually reduced 
in accordance with each hole's location. 
The second preferred embodiment of the present invention indicates that the 
spraying pressure of the cleaning solution through the hole on the nozzle 
is uniformly put to the wafers irrespective of the nozzle's location, 
because the cleaning solution's pressure on the nozzle's sealed side 
decreases due to the nozzle's angled portions. 
As shown in FIG. 2C, the nozzle with more than one angled portion 3 whose 
one side through which the cleaning solution flows is higher than the 
other sealed side of the nozzle, sprays the cleaning solution to the 
wafers with a uniform pressure. 
That is, the cleaning apparatus of the present invention can eject the 
cleaning solution to the edge of the wafers accumulated in a wafer 
cassette with a uniform pressure by dividing the pressure which increases 
from one side 1 through which the cleaning solution flows to the other 
sealed side 2 of the nozzle. 
The third preferred embodiment of the present invention shows that the 
spraying pressure of the cleaning solution through the hole on the nozzle 
is uniformly put to the wafers irrespective of the nozzle's location by 
differentiating the sectional area and the depth of the hole from one side 
1 through which the cleaning solution flows to the other sealed side 2 of 
the nozzle. 
As illustrated in FIGS. 2D, 2E and 2F, the nozzle whose sectional area 
gradually decreases from one side through which the cleaning solution 
flows to the other sealed side of the nozzle, sprays the cleaning solution 
to the wafers with a uniform pressure. 
FIG. 2D shows the nozzle in which the depth of the hole as well as its 
sectional area gradually decreases from one side through which the 
cleaning solution flows to the other sealed side of the nozzle. 
As depicted in FIG. 2G, the present invention of FIGS. 2A to 2F which the 
sealed nozzle 28 itself and the hole on the nozzle are transformed, can 
uniformly eject the cleaning solution to the wafers with a uniform 
pressure regardless of the nozzle's location. 
The fourth preferred embodiment of the present invention is illustrated in 
FIG. 3. The nozzle includes an open side 1, an opposite partially-open 
side 2 and a linking line 30 mounted on the partially-open side 2 for 
exhausting the specific amount of the cleaning solution to the exhaust 
pipe connected to the outerbath, the linking line is inserted into the 
innerbath. 
Therefore, the backpressure occurring at one side through which the 
cleaning solution flows and the opposite side of the nozzle, is reduced as 
much as the open area in comparison with the conventional one, so that the 
cleaning solution spraying the intensity at the hole on the surface of the 
nozzle which is directly affected by the backpressure, decreases and that 
the cleaning solution is sprayed with a uniform pressure irrespective of 
the nozzle's location. 
FIG. 4 shows the fifth embodiment of the present invention. The nozzle 
comprises an open side 1, an opposite partially-open side 2, and a flow 
control stopper 40 installed on the partially-open side 2 for controlling 
the amount of the exhausted cleaning solution by being inserted or 
extracted into or from the nozzle's surface, respectively, the flux 
control stopper being hollow with the fixed thickness. 
As depicted in FIGS. 3 and 4, the backpressure affecting the partially-open 
side 2 of the cleaning solution spraying nozzles 38 and 48, is controlled 
by the flow of the specific amount of the cleaning solution to the 
partially-open side 2, so that the nozzles eject the cleaning solution to 
the wafers with a uniform pressure. 
It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications 
and variations can be made in a cleaning apparatus of semiconductor device 
of the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the 
invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the 
modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within 
the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.