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  Wet chemical processing chambers for processing microfeature workpiecesUSPTO Application #: 20070295600Title: Wet chemical processing chambers for processing microfeature workpieces Abstract: A wet chemical processing chamber comprising a fixed unit, a detachable unit releasably coupled to the fixed unit, a seal contacting the fixed unit and the detachable unit, and a processing component disposed in the fixed unit and/or the detachable unit. The fixed unit can have a first flow system configured to direct a processing liquid through the fixed unit and a mounting fixture for fixedly attaching the fixed unit to a platform or deck of an integrated processing tool. The detachable unit can include a second flow system configured to direct the processing liquid to and/or from the first flow system of the fixed unit. The seal has an orifice through which processing liquid can flow between the first and second flow systems, and the processing component can impart a property to the processing liquid for processing a surface on a microfeature workpiece having submicron microfeatures. (end of abstract) Agent: Perkins Coie LLP/semitool - Seattle, WA, US Inventors: Kyle M. Hanson, Kert L. Dolechek USPTO Applicaton #: 20070295600 - Class: 204194000 (USPTO) Related Patent Categories: Chemistry: Electrical And Wave Energy, Apparatus, Electrolytic The Patent Description & Claims data below is from USPTO Patent Application 20070295600. Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This Application is a Divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/860,384, filed Jun. 3, 2004, and now pending, which claims priority to U.S. Application Nos. 60/476,786; 60/476,333; 60/476,881; and 60/476,776, all filed on Jun. 6, 2003. Each of the Applications listed above, and their appendices, is incorporated herein by reference. U.S. Application No. 60/501,566 filed on Sep. 9, 2003 is also incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD [0002] The present invention is directed toward apparatus and methods for processing microfeature workpieces having a plurality of microdevices integrated in and/or on the workpiece. The microdevices can include submicron features. Particular aspects of the present invention are directed toward a wet chemical processing chamber having a fixed unit and a detachable unit that can be removed quickly for servicing components within the chamber. BACKGROUND [0003] Microdevices are manufactured by depositing and working several layers of materials on a single substrate to produce a large number of individual devices. For example, layers of photoresist, conductive materials, and dielectric materials are deposited, patterned, developed, etched, planarized, and otherwise manipulated to form features in and/or on a substrate. The features are arranged to form integrated circuits, micro-fluidic systems, and other structures. Wet chemical processes are commonly used to form features on microfeature workpieces. Wet chemical processes are generally performed in wet chemical processing tools that have a plurality of individual processing chambers for cleaning, etching, electrochemically depositing materials, or performing combinations of these processes. FIG. 1 schematically illustrates an integrated tool 10 that can perform one or more wet chemical processes. The tool 10 includes a housing or cabinet 20 having a platform 22, a plurality of wet chemical processing chambers 30 in the cabinet 20, and a transport system 40. The tool 10 also includes lift-rotate units 32 coupled to corresponding processing chambers 30 for loading/unloading the workpieces W. The processing chambers 30 can be rinse/dry chambers, cleaning capsules, etching capsules, electrochemical deposition chambers, or other types of wet chemical processing vessels. The transport system 40 includes a linear track 42 and a robot 44 that moves along the track 42 to transport individual workpieces W within the tool 10. The integrated tool 10 further includes a workpiece storage unit 60 having a plurality of containers 62 for holding workpieces W. In operation, the robot 44 transports workpieces to/from the containers 62 and the processing chambers 30 according to a predetermined workflow within the tool 10. [0004] One concern of integrated wet chemical processing tools is that the processing chambers must be maintained and/or repaired periodically. In electrochemical deposition chambers, for example, consumable electrodes degrade over time because the reaction between the electrodes and the electrolytic solution decomposes the electrodes. The shape of consumable electrodes accordingly changes causing variations in the electrical field. As a result, consumable electrodes must be replaced periodically to maintain the desired deposition parameters across the workpiece. The electrical contacts that contact the workpiece also may need to be cleaned or replaced periodically. To maintain or repair electrochemical deposition chambers, they can be removed from the tool 10 and replaced with an extra chamber, or they can be serviced in-situ within the tool. [0005] One problem with repairing or maintaining existing wet chemical processing chambers is that the tool must be taken offline for an extended period of time to replace the electrodes or service other components in the processing chambers 30. When the processing chamber 30 is removed from the tool, a pre-maintained processing chamber 30 is mounted to the platform 22 at the vacant station. When the processing chamber 30 is serviced in-situ on the platform, the lift/rotate unit 32 is generally moved out of the way and the operator reaches into the processing chamber 30 from above to repair or replace the components within the chamber 30. For example, to replace consumable electrodes, the worn electrodes are disconnected from the chamber 30 and new electrodes are then installed. This can be an extremely cumbersome process because there is only a limited amount of space in the tool 10 to access the lower portion of the chambers 30 where the electrodes are positioned. After the chamber 30 has been repaired or replaced, the robot 44 and the lift-rotate unit 32 are recalibrated to operate with the processing chamber. [0006] The processes for replacing worn electrodes, servicing other components in-situ within the tool, or replacing a chamber with another chamber require a significant amount of time during which the tool cannot process workpieces. Moreover, the robot 44 and the lift-rotate unit 32 are generally recalibrated to the repaired chamber after each repair; this is a time-consuming process that increases the downtime for repairing or maintaining processing chambers. As a result, when only one processing chamber 30 of the tool 10 does not meet specifications, it is often more efficient to continue operating the tool 10 without stopping to repair the one processing chamber 30 until more processing chambers do not meet the performance specifications. The loss of throughput of a single processing chamber 30, therefore, is not as severe as the loss of throughput caused by taking the tool 10 offline to repair or maintain a single one of the processing chambers 30. [0007] The practice of operating the tool 10 until at least two processing chambers 30 do not meet specifications severely impacts the throughput of the tool 10. For example, if the tool 10 is not repaired or maintained until at least two or three processing chambers 30 are out of specification, then the tool operates at only a fraction of its full capacity for a period of time before it is taken offline for maintenance. This increases the operating costs of the tool 10 because the throughput not only suffers while the tool 10 is offline to replace the wet processing chambers 30 and recalibrate the robot 44, but the throughput is also reduced while the tool is online because it operates at only a fraction of its full capacity. Moreover, as the feature sizes decrease, the electrochemical deposition chambers 30 must consistently meet much higher performance specifications. This causes the processing chambers 30 to fall out of specifications sooner, which results in shutting down the tool more frequently. Therefore, the downtime associated with repairing and/or maintaining electrochemical deposition chambers and other types of wet chemical processing chambers is significantly increasing the cost of operating wet chemical processing tools. SUMMARY [0008] The present invention is directed toward wet chemical processing chambers with quick-release detachable units that reduce the downtime for repairing or maintaining processing components in the chambers compared to existing wet chemical processing chambers. In several embodiments of the inventive wet chemical processing chambers, processing components that require periodic maintenance or repair are housed or otherwise carried by the detachable units. For example, an electrode can be one type of processing component that is housed within a detachable unit. Such processing components can be quickly replaced by simply removing the detachable unit from the chamber and installing a replacement detachable unit. The detachable unit is generally accessible without having to move the lift-rotate units or detach the head assembly of the chambers. The detachable unit can also be coupled to the chamber by a quick-release mechanism that is easily accessible. As such, the downtime for repairing or maintaining electrodes or other processing components in chambers is reduced by locating such components in detachable units that can be removed and replaced in only a few minutes compared to several hours for performing the same work on existing wet chemical processing chambers. [0009] In one embodiment, a wet chemical processing chamber in accordance with the invention comprises a fixed unit, a detachable unit releasably coupled to the fixed unit, a seal contacting the fixed unit and the detachable unit, and a processing component disposed in the fixed unit and/or the detachable unit. The fixed unit can have a first flow system configured to direct a processing fluid through the fixed unit and a mounting fixture for fixedly attaching the fixed unit to a platform or deck of an integrated processing tool. The detachable unit can include a second flow system configured to direct the processing fluid to and/or from the first flow system of the fixed unit. The seal has an orifice through which processing fluid or liquid can flow between the first and second flow systems, and the processing component can impart a property to the processing fluid for processing a surface on a microfeature workpiece having submicron microfeatures. [0010] Another aspect of the invention is an integrated tool for wet chemical processing of microfeature workpieces. In one embodiment, the tool can include a frame and a mounting module carried by the frame. The mounting module can include a plurality of positioning elements and attachment elements. In this embodiment, the wet chemical processing chamber can have a fixed unit including a mounting fixture with a first interface member engaged with one of the positioning elements of the mounting module and a first fastener engaged with one of the attachment elements of the mounting module. The mounting module is configured to maintain relative positions between positioning elements such that a transport system for transporting workpieces to/from the wet chemical processing chamber does not need to be recalibrated when the processing chamber is replaced with another processing chamber or when one detachable unit is replaced with another detachable unit. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0011] FIG. 1 is a schematic top plan view of a wet chemical processing tool in accordance with the prior art. [0012] FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating a wet chemical processing chamber in accordance with one embodiment of the invention. [0013] FIG. 3 is a schematic view illustrating the operation of a wet chemical processing chamber in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. [0014] FIG. 4A is cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a wet chemical processing chamber in a detached configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. [0015] FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a wet chemical processing chamber in an assembled configuration in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. [0016] FIG. 5A is a top isometric view of a carriage for loading/unloading a detachable unit from a wet chemical processing chamber in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. [0017] FIG. 5B is a bottom isometric view of a carriage for loading/unloading a detachable unit of a wet chemical processing chamber in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. [0018] FIG. 6 is a top plan view of a wet chemical processing tool including a wet chemical processing chamber in accordance with another aspect of the invention. [0019] FIG. 7 is an isometric view of a mounting module for holding a wet chemical processing chamber in a wet chemical processing tool in accordance with an embodiment of the invention. Continue reading... Full patent description for Wet chemical processing chambers for processing microfeature workpieces Brief Patent Description - Full Patent Description - Patent Application Claims Click on the above for other options relating to this Wet chemical processing chambers for processing microfeature workpieces patent application. ###  How KEYWORD MONITOR works... a FREE service from FreshPatents1. Sign up (takes 30 seconds). 2. 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