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Spin Coating
Introduction to Spin Coating and
   Derivation of a Simple Model
              Presented By: Katie Weigandt
Agenda
   Introduction to spin coating
       Definition and brief history of spin coating
       Uses of spin coating technology
       Common spin coating defects
   Physics of spin coating
       Basic physics behind spin coating
       The Spinning Disk Problem
   Further work on spin coating in relation to my
    honors college thesis
What is Spin Coating?
   A process in which solution is spread
    evenly over a surface using centripetal
    force.
   Spin coating will result in a relatively
    uniform thin film of a specific thickness.
   Spin coating is an important way of
    creating thin films in the microelectronics
    industry.
Brief History of Spin Coating

   Spin coating was first used to apply coatings
    of paint and pitch around seventy years ago.
   In 1958 Emslie et. al. developed the first spin
    coating model.
   This model has been used as a basis for
    future more specific or complicated models.



                        Lawrence and Zhou: “Spin Coating of Non-Newtonian Fluids”
Spin Coater Schematic

              Lid
                           Wafer is held to chuck
                            with vacuum pump.
                           Lid is placed over
Wafer      Basin            spinning basin before
                            spin is initiated.
               Vacuum

   Chuck
Basic Physics of Spin Coating
• Centripetal force is responsible for the spread
  of liquid across the wafer.




• At long times the fluid will flow only negligibly,
  resulting in a lower limit of the final thickness.
Industrial Uses of Spin Coating
   Photoresist for patterning wafers in microcircuit
    production.
   Insulating layers for microcircuit fabrication such as
    polymers.
   Flat screen display coatings.
     Antireflection coatings and
     conductive oxide.
   DVD and CD ROM
   Television tube
    antireflection coatings.
Common Spin Coating Defects

              •Bubbles on the surface of the
              coated wafer.
              •This occursiswhen fluid is deposited
              as the wafer spinning, and may be
              caused by a faulty dispense tip.

   •A swirling pattern may be
   observed.
   •Causes: deposited off center
      •Fluid
      •Acceleration shorthigh
                     too
      •Spin timerate too high
                  to
      •Exhaust       http://www.cise.columbia.edu/clean/process/spintheory.pdf
Common Spin Coating Defects

              •A mark or circle in the center of the
              wafer could indicate a chuck mark.
              •If a chuck markchanged. type of
              chuck should be
                                occurs the




•Streaks can occurincluding: for a
number of reasons
                   on the wafer

  •Acceleration toooff center
                    high
  •Fluid deposited prior to spin
  •Particles on surface
                       http://www.cise.columbia.edu/clean/process/spintheory.pdf
Common Spin Coating Defects

                 •Uncoated areas is deposited on the
                 when to little fluid
                                      on wafer occur

                 wafer.



•Pinholebubbles can be caused by:
         defects
   •Air in fluid
   •Particles on substrate.
   •Particles
                          http://www.cise.columbia.edu/clean/process/spintheory.pdf
Agenda
   Introduction to spin coating
       Definition and brief history of spin coating
       Uses of spin coating technology
       Common spin coating defects
   Physics of spin coating
       Basic physics behind spin coating
       Derivations of common spin coating models
   Further work on spin coating in relation to my
    honors college thesis
Spin Coating Process
   Four main processing steps:

       Step 1: Deposit fluid onto
        substrate.



       Step 2: Accelerate wafer to
        final radial velocity.



                                 http://www.mse.arizona.edu/faculty/birnie/Coatings/
Spin Coating Process
   Four main processing steps:

       Step 3: The coating thins at a
        rate that depends on the
        velocity at which the wafer is
        spinning and the viscosity of
        the fluid.

       Step 4: Solvent is evaporated
        from the film, resulting in
        further thinning.

                                 http://www.mse.arizona.edu/faculty/birnie/Coatings/
The Spinning Disk Problem

   Problem:
       Consider unsteady behavior of liquid film
        thickness under centripetal force.
   Goal:
       Develop relationship between film thickness and
        time.




                                   Middleman, Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
The Spinning Disk Problem

   Assumptions
                                                             ∂uθ
       Axisymmetric flow of fluid across the wafer              =0
       Laminar flow of the thinning film
                                                             ∂θ
       Film thickness decreases slowly with time
       Angular velocity of fluid is equivalent to the angular
        velocity of the disk
       Film is thin and has uniform thickness over the wafer
       Newtonian and incompressible fluid
       Liquid is not volatile



                                            Middleman, Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
The Spinning Disk Problem
Continuity Equation:
              1 ∂ (ru r ) ∂u z 1 ∂ (ru r )
           0=            +    ≈
              r ∂r         ∂z r ∂r

 Momentum Equation:
               ∂ur    uθ2   ∂p ∂ 2u r
          ρu r     −ρ     =− +µ 2
               ∂r      r    ∂r ∂z
                  ρrω 2
                   ∂ur            ∂ 2u r
               ρur     − ρrω 2 = µ 2
                   ∂r             ∂z
                                       Middleman, Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
The Spinning Disk Problem
By assuming the nonlinear term in the momentum
  equation is small compared to other terms we are able
  to solve the resulting equation:
                          ∂ ur 2
                 − ρrω = µ 2
                       2

                          ∂z
Boundary Conditions:

                 dur
                      = 0 at z = h(r )
                  dz
                 ur = 0 at z = 0

                                    Middleman, Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
The Spinning Disk Problem
We can now say that the volumetric flow, Q, across the
 edge of the spinning disk is equal to the rate change
 of the solution volume on disk:

              HR                            dH
  Q = 2πr ∫        ur ( z , R )dz = −πR 2
          0                                  dt

         d H 2πρω 2 R 2 3
  − πR 2     =         H R ; Initial Condition H = H R = H 0
          dt    3µ
         dH 2πρω 2 R 2 3
  − πR 2     =        H
          dt   3µ
                                                  Middleman, Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
The Spinning Disk Problem
Integrating the previous equation we obtain an expression for film
   thickness, H, in terms of time, t :


                       1   1   4 ρω 2
                         − 2 =        t
                       H2 H0     3µ

                                                    −1
                  H (t )  4 ρω H      2   2            2
                ∴       = 1 +
                                 t
                                   
                                            0
                  H0          3µ  



                                                Middleman, Introduction to Fluid Dynamics
Model Limitations

                                                                         −1
   This model is limited by the
                                               H (t )  4 ρω H  2   2        2
    assumptions used to derive               ∴       = 1 +
                                                              t
                                                                
                                                                     0

    equations so it only applies to:           H0          3µ  
       Newtonian and non-volatile liquids
       Uniform substrates

   Development of more general models is significantly
    more difficult
       When developing a model for non-Newtonian flow it must
        be considered that the viscosity changes with shear
        force.
Agenda
   Introduction to spin coating
       Definition and brief history of spin coating
       Uses of spin coating technology
       Common spin coating defects
   Physics of spin coating
       Basic physics behind spin coating
       Derivations of common spin coating models
   Further work on spin coating in relation to my
    honors college thesis
Honors College Thesis Topic
   Model flow of spin coated Newtonian fluid using
    FEMLab, a finite element modeling program.
   Extend the FEMLab model to flow of non-Newtonian
    and viscoelastic fluids on spin coated wafer.
   Verify experimentally that the model is valid by spin
    coating fluids with relevant properties on 6 in silicon
    wafers and comparing the resultant film thickness
    with the predicted film thickness.
References

Lawrence, C.J, Zhou, W. “Spin coating of non-Newtonian Fluids”.
  Journal of Non-Newtonian Fluid Mechanics, 39 (1991) 137-187

Middleman, S. An Introduction To Fluid Dynamics. John Wiley and
   Sons. New York. 1998

http://www.cise.columbia.edu/clean/process/spintheory.pdf

http://www.mse.arizona.edu/faculty/birnie/Coatings
Questions?