OPTIMAL EXPOSURE OF A BOTTOM SURFACE OF A SUBSTRATE MATERIAL AND/OR EDGES THEREOF FOR CLEANING IN A SPIN COATING DEVICE
FIG5 is a schematic front view of disengagement of the lid from the base plate of the photoresist coating device of FIG1, according to one or more embodiments
FIG5 shows disengagement of lid 110 from base plate 112, according to one or more embodiments; FIG5 is a front view thereof. In one or more embodiments, said disengagement may be triggered through data processing device 104 as part of instructions stored therein to enable cleaning of bottom surface 294 of semiconductor wafer 202 and/or edges 252 thereof. In one or more other embodiments, the disengagement may result from manual or automatic intervention on photoresist coating device 102. In one or more embodiments, as part of the disengagement, lid mechanism 302 may raise lid 110 from the lock position to disengage lid 110 from base plate 112. In one or more embodiments, said disengagement may result in lid 110 going back to initial position 350. In one or more embodiments, the disengagement of base plate 112 from spin chuck 308 may cause base plate 112 to be lowered. In some embodiments, the lowering of base plate 112 may continue until a point of locking thereof (FIG5 shows the direction of movement of base plate 112 till a locking point 550); said locking may be due to cleaning nozzle 318 poking out through an exposed hole 502 in base plate 112. It should be noted that, in one or more embodiments, cleaning nozzle 318 may, thus, be enabled to clean and/or wash bottom surface 294 of semiconductor wafer 202 and/or edges 252 thereof following the lowering (e.g., to locking point 550) of base plate 112. While exposed hole 502 may be one means to optimally expose cleaning nozzle 318 to bottom surface 294 of semiconductor wafer 202 and/or edges 252 thereof for washing/cleaning, other means therefor are within the scope of the exemplary embodiments discussed herein.
schematic front view
310
spindle tube
202
semiconductor wafer
306
502
exposed hole
350
initial position
302
lid mechanism
402
key slots
112
base plate
308
air cylinder
312
sleeve
102
photoresist coating device
316
locking pins
318
cleaning nozzle
15
clause
108
spin chuck
110
lid
114
enclosure
['1. A spin coating device comprising: a base plate; a spin chuck on which a substrate material is configured to be placed, the substrate material comprising a top surface and a bottom surface, and the top surface being a surface configured to be coated with a film-forming substance; and an actuator mechanism configured to engage the base plate with the spin chuck such that the base plate is configured to synchronously spin along with the spin chuck, wherein a cleaning mechanism is below the base plate and out of optimal exposure to the bottom surface of the substrate material and edges thereof in a state of the engagement of the base plate with the spin chuck, wherein the actuator mechanism is further configured to: in response to disengagement of a lid configured to synchronously co-rotate with the base plate during the synchronous spinning thereof along with the spin chuck from the base plate, disengage the base plate from the spin chuck to render the spin chuck free of the base plate, and wherein the disengagement of the base plate from the spin chuck is configured to lower the base plate such that the cleaning mechanism is optimally exposed to the bottom surface of the substrate material and the edges thereof based on emergence of the cleaning mechanism through the base plate.', '2. The spin coating device of claim 1, wherein at least one of: the substrate material is a semiconductor wafer, and the film-forming substance is a photoresist material.', '4. The spin coating device of claim 3, wherein at least one of: the spin chuck is associated with a spindle tube configured to serve as an axis of rotation thereof, and a sleeve around the spindle tube is configured to be raised based on the pressurization through the air cylinder to enable the movement of the base plate upward toward the spin chuck.', '7. The spin coating device of claim 1, wherein the optimal exposure of the cleaning mechanism to the bottom surface of the substrate material and the edges thereof is through an exposed hole in the base plate, the cleaning mechanism configured to poke out through the exposed hole for the optimal exposure thereof to the bottom surface.']