P9000 Coat and Develop Cluster Tool

The C&D P9000 cluster tool

The P9000 is C&D’s cluster platform for photoresist processing. Process modules stack around a central atmospheric robot with a dual end effector, so a small footprint holds several coaters, developers, hot plates and chill plates working in parallel. Hot plates can be set to different bake temperatures, and wafers move through different modules at the same time. More modules can be added later as the process or the volume changes. C&D builds each P9000 to the customer’s specification in San Jose, California. SiSTEM is C&D’s distributor for the UK and Ireland: we specify and quote the system with you, and our after-sales team installs and supports it.

Process modules

• Coater: brushless servo spindle, 10 to 8,000 rpm in 1 rpm steps; up to five dispenses; programmable top edge bead removal arm in 0.1mm steps and built-in bottom EBR; low-turbulence catch cup with an optional self-cleaning cup
• Developer: up to four developer solutions, aqueous or solvent; low-impact DI stream with optional DI spray
• Hot plate: ambient to 300°C; uniformity ±1% on an open plate and ±0.5% with a closed lid
• Vapour prime: 25°C to 190°C, with contact or programmable proximity bake
• Chill plate: ambient down to 15°C with an optional chiller
• Alloy: 50°C to 500°C, in an atmospheric chamber or a sealed chamber for process gases

Coating options

SynchroSpin is C&D’s closed-lid, co-rotating coater. A lid turns with the chuck in a solvent-saturated bowl, which cuts turbulence and material use and planarises thick resist, polyimide, BCB and spin-on glass. It also coats square substrates without corner build-up. For deep topography, spray coating covers features up to a 4:1 aspect ratio, on its own or combined with standard coating. Other coater options include optical edge bead removal with a 365nm LED (adjustable from 0.1 to 5mm, flats included, no solvent), LED flood exposure, optical or mechanical centring, temperature-controlled resist and dispense, syringe or pump dispense, extra backside rinses, and a spare bowl for bowl changes in under a minute.

Beyond coat and develop

• Metal lift-off and resist strip in a single module: high-pressure spray and soak in heated solvent, dry-in and dry-out, with solvent and rinse drained separately and the lifted metal collected in one place
• Wafer scrubbing: roller brush and high-pressure spray cleaning of wafers, carriers and mask blanks
• Temporary bonding: coating wafers and carriers with bonding material, edge cleaning after bonding and carrier cleaning after debond, with as many hot plates as the bonding material needs
• Wafers on tape frames: protective coating before dicing and cleaning afterwards
• Dry film develop for copper bump and pillar
• Litho cell: the P9000 can be integrated with an exposure tool

System

Windows touchscreen PC running C&D’s smartPro software, with barcode and recipe download and SECS/GEM as an option. HEPA filtration, CE marked, and built to SEMI S2, S6, S8 and S10. Options include chemical cabinets, a remote chiller, environmental control of temperature, humidity and airflow, exhaust controllers and fire suppression.

To quote a P9000 we’ll ask about

• Wafer sizes and materials, including any square substrates
• Resists or polymers, film thicknesses and bake steps
• The modules you need now and may add later
• Throughput, and the space and facilities available