US 12,463,061 B2
Wafer drying apparatus, wafer processing system including the same, and wafer processing method using the same
Sangjine Park, Suwon-si (KR); Jihoon Jeong, Seonnam-si (KR); Young-Hoo Kim, Yongin-si (KR); and Kuntack Lee, Suwon-si (KR)
Assigned to SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed by SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., Suwon-si (KR)
Filed on Feb. 1, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/590,263.
Claims priority of application No. 10-2021-0080917 (KR), filed on Jun. 22, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2022/0406623 A1, Dec. 22, 2022
Int. Cl. H01L 21/67 (2006.01); H01L 21/02 (2006.01)
CPC H01L 21/67034 (2013.01) [H01L 21/02101 (2013.01)] 7 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A wafer processing method, comprising:
providing a wafer in a drying chamber housing;
drying the wafer in the drying chamber housing;
after drying the wafer, lowering a pressure in the drying chamber housing;
after lowering the pressure, supplying an inactive gas into the drying chamber housing; and
after supplying the inactive gas, heating the wafer in the drying chamber housing,
wherein the drying of the wafer in the drying chamber housing comprises:
supplying a drying fluid into the drying chamber housing using a drying fluid supplying part;
removing a developing solution on the wafer from a surface of the wafer using the drying fluid; and
discharging the drying fluid to an outside of the drying chamber housing,
wherein the lowering the pressure in the drying chamber housing comprises interrupting the supplying of the drying fluid,
wherein the supplying the inactive gas into the drying chamber housing comprises removing a contamination material from a region near the wafer, and
wherein the lowering the pressure, the supplying the inactive gas and the heating the wafer are performed while the wafer remains in the drying chamber housing after the drying of the wafer.