FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to semiconductor fabrication equipment, and in particular, relates to a high pressure spray head that includes extension which allows sprays to be applied at optimal distances from a wafer surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Photoresist removal is a common process used during semiconductor fabrication. This process is used to remove a patterned layer of photoresist including any material deposited on top of the patterned photoresist layer. Photoresist removal can be performed in a number of different ways, with one advantageous technique, discussed in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. No. 9,541,837, involving two successive stages of solvent bath immersion and high pressure spraying. The solvent baths dissolve and loosen photoresist material and the high pressure sprays dislodge the loosened material from the substrate.

The removal process can be made more challenging when a hardened crust has formed on the top of the photoresist layer, as sometimes occurs due to doping. The parameters of the solvent bath immersion, such as the concentration of the solvent and duration of immersion, as well as the parameters of the spraying, such as the fluid pressure, spraying configuration (e.g., fan-shaped versus needle-shaped), and distance of the spray nozzle from the substrate, need to be suitably controlled to remove the hardened material.

It is believed that the current sprayers in use can be improved upon with regard to their flexibility, so that they can be readily adapted to removal photoresist layers having a range of different hardness and other characteristics. It is with respect to these and other considerations that the disclosure made herein is presented.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention provide a device for spraying substrates that comprises a longitudinal extending fluid dispensing head coupled to a supply of fluid and including a perpendicularly extending flange, a spacer having first and second ends, the first end of the spacer coupled to the extending flange of the dispensing head, a nozzle adapted to eject fluid coupled to the second end of the spacer, and a locking nut enclosing the spacer and securely the dispensing head, spacer and nozzle.

Some embodiments of the spray device further comprise a first O-ring for sealing an interface between the dispensing head and the spacer. Some implementations thereof include a second O-ring for sealing an interface between the spacer and the nozzle.

In some embodiments, the spacer includes seats for receiving the first and second O-rings. The dispensing head can also include a seat for receiving the first O-ring.

These and other aspects, features, and advantages can be appreciated from the following description of certain embodiments of the invention and the accompanying drawing figures and claims.

