ANALYSIS OF CLEANING UNIFORMITY ACCORDING TO NOZZLE GEOMETRY AND ARRANGEMENT IN A BATCH CLEANING EQUIPMENT

K.M. Choi; J.S. Lee; S.S. Kim; B.C. Koo; J.H. You

doi:10.6112/kscfe.2025.30.3.091

All Issue

2025 Vol.30, Issue 3 Preview Page Next Page

Original Article

ANALYSIS OF CLEANING UNIFORMITY ACCORDING TO NOZZLE GEOMETRY AND ARRANGEMENT IN A BATCH CLEANING EQUIPMENT 배치형 세정 장비의 노즐 형상 및 배치에 따른 세정균일도 해석

30 September 2025. pp. 91-101

PDF XML

Abstract

Batch-type cleaning equipment, which processes multiple wafers simultaneously, often exhibits non-uniform cleaning performance, potentially reducing yield and leading to process instability. This study aims to improve wafer cleaning uniformity by investigating various internal piping configurations in batch-type cleaning equipment. Several pipe geometries—including offset straight tubes and U-shaped conduits—were evaluated to achieve a more uniform distribution of wall shear stress across the wafers. Computational fluid dynamics(CFD) analysis was conducted to assess wall shear stress distributions and evaluate the potential for contaminant removal. The results demonstrate that appropriate adjustments to the internal flow geometry can improve the uniformity of wall shear stress, thereby enhancing cleaning effectiveness. The improved configuration resulted in an average wall shear stress that was approximately 2.5 times higher than that of the baseline geometry, indicating enhanced cleaning performance. Furthermore, the standard deviation of the normalized wall shear stress was reduced by about 47%, demonstrating improved uniformity across the wafers.

Keywords

Semiconductor

Cleaning process

Computational fluid dynamics

Batch-type equipment

Cleaning uniformity

키워드

반도체

세정 공정

전산유체역학

배치형 설비

세정 균일도

References

1999, Cho, Y.-S. and Yi, J., “Cleaner technologies for semiconductor cleaning processes,” Clean Tech., Vol.5, No.1, pp.62-77.

2018, Reinhardt, K. and Kern, W., “Handbook of Silicon Wafer Cleaning Technology(3rd ed.),” William Andrew Publishing.

2022, “UNISON decision framework for hybrid optimization of wastewater treatment and recycle for Industry 3.5 and cleaner semiconductor manufacturing,” Resour. Conserv. Recycl., Vol.182, p.106282.

10.1016/j.resconrec.2022.106282

2018, Matsuo, M., Miyazaki, K., Habuka, H. and Goto, A., “Water outlet design of wet cleaning bath for 300-mm diameter silicon wafers,” ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol., Vol.7, No.9, pp.N123-N127.

10.1149/2.0171809jss

2022, Tsuchida, T., Takahashi, T., Habuka, H. and Goto, A., “Water flow improvement by pinhole outlet in batch- type wet cleaning bath for large-diameter wafers,” ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol., Vol.11, p.074001.

10.1149/2162-8777/ac7bf0

2006, Donose, B.C., Taran, E., Vakarelski, I.U., Shinto, H. and Higashitani, K., “Effects of cleaning procedures of silica wafers on their friction characteristics,” J. Colloid Interface Sci., Vol.299, pp.233-237.

10.1016/j.jcis.2006.01.044

2010, Habuka, H., Fukumoto, R., Okada, Y. and Kato, M., “Dominant forces for driving bubbles in a wet cleaning bath using megasonic wave,” J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol.157, No.6, pp.H585-H588.

10.1149/1.3365114

2012, Sato, N., Yamazaki, O. and Shimogaki, Y., “Impacts of chemical supply flow on particle removability in wet clean bath,” J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol.159, No.4, pp.H367-H372.

10.1149/2.012204jes

2004, Habuka, H., Kobayashi, S., Kato, M., Takeuchi, T. and Aihara, M., “Water motion in carrierless wet station,” J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol.151, No.12, pp.G814-G818.

10.1149/1.1809580

2016, Okuyama, S., Miyazaki, K., Ono, N., Habuka, H. and Goto, A., “Slim water injection nozzle for silicon wafer wet cleaning bath,” J. Adv. Chem. Eng. Sci., Vol.6, pp.345-354.

10.4236/aces.2016.64035

2011, Ota, K., Yamamoto, H. and Hashi, A., “Horizontal laminar flow cleaning in wet batch cleaning process,” In Proceedings of the 2011 IEEE 3rd International Conference on Communication Software and Networks (ICCSN), pp.304-308.

10.1109/ICCSN.2011.6014901

2003, Chen, Z. and Singh, R.K., “Mechanism of particle deposition on silicon surface during dilute HF cleans,” J. Electrochem. Soc., Vol.150, No.11, pp.G667-G672.

10.1149/1.1610469

2014, Okorn-Schmidt, H.F., Holsteyns, F., Lippert, A., Mui, D., Kawaguchi, M., Lechner, C., Frommhold, P.E., Nowak, T., Reuter, F., Banchs Piqué, M., Cairós, C. and Mettin, R., “Particle cleaning technologies to meet advanced semiconductor device process requirements,” ECS J. Solid State Sci. Technol., Vol.3, No.1, pp.N3069- N3080.

10.1149/2.011401jss

2002, Lelièvre, C., Legentilhomme, P., Gaucher, C. and Benezech, T., “Cleaning in place: Effect of local wall shear stress variation on bacterial removal from stainless steel equipment,” Chem. Eng. Sci., Vol.57, pp.1287-1297.

10.1016/S0009-2509(02)00019-2

Information

Publisher :Korean Society for Computational Fluids Engineering
Publisher(Ko) :한국전산유체공학회
Journal Title :Journal of Computational Fluids Engineering
Journal Title(Ko) :한국전산유체공학회지
Volume : 30
No :3
Pages :91-101
Received Date : 2025-06-13
Revised Date : 2025-09-01
Accepted Date : 2025-09-04
DOI :https://doi.org/10.6112/kscfe.2025.30.3.091

Journal of Computational Fluids Engineering ISSN:1598-6071(Print) 3022-6252(Online) 한국전산유체공학회지

All Issue