Method and equipment for removing photoresist residue afer dry etch

Abstract

A method for removing photoresist residue includes etching a photoresist layer disposed over a front side of a semiconductor substrate during fabrication of a semiconductor device, and exposing at least one of the front side and the back side of the semiconductor substrate to an atmosphere comprising active oxygen. The method further includes cleaning at least one of the front side and the back side of the semiconductor substrate with a cleaning fluid.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a chamber, the chamber configured to provide a reactive gas therein and to contain a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side;   a UV transparent window on a top surface of the chamber;   a top lamp module above the UV transparent window, the top lamp module having at least one UV lamp configured to generate UV light and irradiate the front side of the semiconductor substrate inside the chamber through the UV transparent window; and   at least one side UV module inside the chamber, the at least one side UV module configured to generate or reflect UV light to irradiate at least a portion of the back side of the semiconductor substrate.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the top lamp comprises a dome reflector disposed above the at least one UV lamp and configured to reflect UV light toward the UV transparent window. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one UV lamp in the top lamp module comprises a plurality of lamps physically extending outward radially from a center of a planar surface. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one side UV module comprises at least one side UV lamp configured to generate UV light emitting toward the back side of the semiconductor substrate. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one side UV module comprises at least one side reflector configured to reflect UV light from the top lamp module to the back side of the semiconductor substrate. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , where the reactive gas provided in the chamber comprises ozone. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the UV transparent window is a quartz window. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a wafer chuck inside the chamber and below the UV transparent window, wherein the wafer chuck is configured to hold the semiconductor substrate. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the wafer chuck is configured to heat up to a temperature in the range of from 100° C. to 400° C. 
     
     
         10 . The apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the wafer chuck is configured to heat up to a temperature in the range of from 260° C. to 280° C. 
     
     
         11 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a chamber, the chamber configured to provide a reactive gas therein;   a UV transparent window on a top surface of the chamber;   a wafer chuck inside the chamber and below the UV transparent window, the wafer chuck configured to hold a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side;   a top lamp module above the UV transparent window, the top lamp module having at least one UV lamp configured to generate UV light and irradiate the front side of the semiconductor substrate through the UV transparent window; and   at least one side UV module inside the chamber, the at least one side UV module comprising at least one side UV lamp configured to generate UV light to irradiate at least a portion of the back side of the semiconductor substrate.   
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the top lamp comprises a dome reflector disposed above the at least one UV lamp and configured to reflect UV light toward the UV transparent window. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the at least one UV lamp in the top lamp module comprises a plurality of lamps physically radiating outwardly from a center of a plane. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , where the reactive gas provided in the chamber comprises ozone. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the UV transparent window is a quartz window. 
     
     
         16 . An apparatus, comprising:
 a chamber, the chamber configured to provide a reactive gas therein;   a UV transparent window on a top surface of the chamber;   a wafer chuck inside the chamber and below the UV transparent window, the wafer chuck configured to hold a semiconductor substrate having a front side and a back side;   a top lamp module above the UV transparent window, the top lamp module having at least one UV lamp configured to generate UV light and irradiate the front side of the semiconductor substrate through the UV transparent window; and   at least one side UV module inside the chamber, the at least one side UV module comprising at least one side reflector configured to reflect UV light from the top lamp module to irradiate at least a portion of the back side of the semiconductor substrate.   
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the top lamp comprises a dome reflector disposed above the at least one UV lamp and configured to reflect UV light toward the UV transparent window. 
     
     
         18 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the at least one UV lamp in the top lamp module comprises a plurality of lamps extending outward radially from a center of a planar surface. 
     
     
         19 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the UV transparent window is a quartz window. 
     
     
         20 . The apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the wafer chuck is configured to heat up to a temperature in the range of from 100° C. to 400° C.