CN113557591A - Substrate processing apparatus and transfer control method thereof - Google Patents

Substrate processing apparatus and transfer control method thereof Download PDF

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Publication number
CN113557591A
CN113557591A CN202080020635.1A CN202080020635A CN113557591A CN 113557591 A CN113557591 A CN 113557591A CN 202080020635 A CN202080020635 A CN 202080020635A CN 113557591 A CN113557591 A CN 113557591A
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Prior art keywords
substrate
liquid
liquid film
processing unit
unit
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CN202080020635.1A
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Chinese (zh)
Inventor
河原启之
桥本光治
菊本宪幸
墨周武
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Screen Holdings Co Ltd
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Screen Holdings Co Ltd
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Publication of CN113557591A publication Critical patent/CN113557591A/en
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    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67739—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations into and out of processing chamber
    • H01L21/67745—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations into and out of processing chamber characterized by movements or sequence of movements of transfer devices
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
    • B25J11/00—Manipulators not otherwise provided for
    • B25J11/0095—Manipulators transporting wafers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
    • B25J19/00—Accessories fitted to manipulators, e.g. for monitoring, for viewing; Safety devices combined with or specially adapted for use in connection with manipulators
    • B25J19/02—Sensing devices
    • B25J19/021—Optical sensing devices
    • B25J19/023—Optical sensing devices including video camera means
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B25—HAND TOOLS; PORTABLE POWER-DRIVEN TOOLS; MANIPULATORS
    • B25J—MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES
    • B25J9/00—Programme-controlled manipulators
    • B25J9/16—Programme controls
    • B25J9/1679—Programme controls characterised by the tasks executed
    • B25J9/1692—Calibration of manipulator
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/027—Making masks on semiconductor bodies for further photolithographic processing not provided for in group H01L21/18 or H01L21/34
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
    • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
    • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
    • H01L21/302—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to change their surface-physical characteristics or shape, e.g. etching, polishing, cutting
    • H01L21/304—Mechanical treatment, e.g. grinding, polishing, cutting
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/04—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer
    • H01L21/18—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof the devices having potential barriers, e.g. a PN junction, depletion layer or carrier concentration layer the devices having semiconductor bodies comprising elements of Group IV of the Periodic Table or AIIIBV compounds with or without impurities, e.g. doping materials
    • H01L21/30—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26
    • H01L21/302—Treatment of semiconductor bodies using processes or apparatus not provided for in groups H01L21/20 - H01L21/26 to change their surface-physical characteristics or shape, e.g. etching, polishing, cutting
    • H01L21/306—Chemical or electrical treatment, e.g. electrolytic etching
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67017—Apparatus for fluid treatment
    • H01L21/67028—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
    • H01L21/67034—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like for drying
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
    • H01L21/67017—Apparatus for fluid treatment
    • H01L21/67028—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
    • H01L21/6704—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like for wet cleaning or washing
    • H01L21/67051—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like for wet cleaning or washing using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/67242—Apparatus for monitoring, sorting or marking
    • H01L21/67253—Process monitoring, e.g. flow or thickness monitoring
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/677—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations
    • H01L21/67739—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for conveying, e.g. between different workstations into and out of processing chamber
    • H01L21/67742—Mechanical parts of transfer devices
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
    • H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
    • H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
    • H01L21/683—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping
    • H01L21/687—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches
    • H01L21/68707—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere for supporting or gripping using mechanical means, e.g. chucks, clamps or pinches the wafers being placed on a robot blade, or gripped by a gripper for conveyance

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
  • Power Engineering (AREA)
  • Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
  • Robotics (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Multimedia (AREA)
  • Cleaning Or Drying Semiconductors (AREA)
  • Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)
  • Weting (AREA)
  • Container, Conveyance, Adherence, Positioning, Of Wafer (AREA)

Abstract

A substrate processing apparatus (1) for conveying a substrate with a liquid film covering the surface of the substrate, in order to prevent exposure of the surface of the substrate due to vibration during conveyance, volatilization of the liquid, and the like, comprises: a 1 st processing unit (11A) for supplying a liquid to a substrate (S) and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; a conveying mechanism (15) for conveying the substrate carrying the liquid film; a 2 nd processing unit (13A) for receiving the substrate conveyed by the conveying mechanism and performing a predetermined process; an imaging unit (157) that images a liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate; and a control unit (90) for controlling the operation of the conveying mechanism based on the difference between the plurality of images captured by the imaging unit at different times during the period from the formation of the liquid film to the loading of the substrate into the processing unit (2) by the conveying mechanism.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and transfer control method thereof
Technical Field
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that transfers a substrate between a plurality of processing units, and more particularly, to control of transfer in a state where a liquid film is formed on a surface of the substrate.
Background
In the manufacturing process of substrates such as semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for display panels, the substrates need to be transported between a plurality of processing units in order to perform different processes in the respective processing units. In this case, it is necessary to prevent, in advance, surface oxidation due to exposure of the substrate surface during conveyance, adhesion of suspended matter on the conveyance path to the substrate surface, collapse of a fine pattern formed on the substrate, and the like. Therefore, there is a case where the substrate is transported in a state where the surface of the substrate is covered with a liquid film.
For example, in the conventional technique described in japanese patent application laid-open No. 2010-182817 (patent document 1), in the transfer between the processing systems that process the substrates respectively by the liquid, the substrates are transferred in a state of being immersed in the liquid stored in the transfer tray or in a state of being entirely filled with the liquid.
Documents of the prior art
Patent document
Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2010-182817
Disclosure of Invention
Shell body required to be solved by the invention
During the conveyance of the substrate, there is a possibility that a part of the surface of the substrate is exposed to the ambient environment during the conveyance due to acceleration and deceleration or vibration in the conveyance path, or reduction in volatilization of the liquid. This phenomenon causes product defects. In particular, in a substrate on which a fine pattern is formed, pattern collapse is caused immediately by surface exposure, and therefore, this is not allowed even in a short time.
In the above-described conventional technique, although a certain stable conveyance can be expected because the substrate is stored in the conveyance tray, the function of preventing the temporary exposure of the substrate surface due to the above-described vibration, volatilization of the liquid, and the like is not yet provided.
The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus for transferring a substrate in a state where a surface of the substrate is covered with a liquid film, which can prevent the surface of the substrate from being exposed due to vibration during transfer, volatilization of the liquid, or the like.
Means for solving the problems
In order to achieve the above object, one aspect of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention includes: a first treatment unit 1 for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; a carrying mechanism for carrying the substrate carrying the liquid film; a 2 nd processing unit that receives the substrate conveyed by the conveyance mechanism and performs a predetermined process; an imaging unit that images the liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate; and a control unit that controls an operation of the transport mechanism based on a difference between a plurality of images captured by the imaging unit at different times during a period from when the liquid film is formed to when the substrate is carried into the 2 nd processing unit by the transport mechanism.
Another aspect of the present invention is a transfer control method for a substrate processing apparatus including: a first treatment unit 1 for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; a 2 nd treatment unit that receives the substrate carrying the liquid film and performs a predetermined treatment; and a transport mechanism that transports the substrate between the 1 st processing unit and the 2 nd processing unit, wherein in order to achieve the above object, the liquid films are respectively captured at different timings during a period from when the liquid film is formed to when the substrate is transported into the 2 nd processing unit, and an operation of the transport mechanism is controlled based on a difference between the plurality of captured images.
In the invention thus constituted, the liquid film on the surface of the substrate being transported is imaged, and the operation of the transport mechanism is controlled based on the difference between the images captured at different times. Therefore, the change in the film state of the liquid on the substrate surface can be detected and reflected in the conveyance control. For example, the liquid can be replenished when the transport speed is suppressed to reduce vibration or the thickness of the liquid film is reduced. This enables the substrate to be stably conveyed in a state where the surface of the substrate is covered with the liquid film, thereby preventing the substrate surface from being exposed.
Effects of the invention
As described above, according to the present invention, since the liquid film on the surface of the substrate during the transfer is imaged and the change is reflected in the transfer control, the substrate can be transferred in a state where the liquid film on the surface of the substrate is stabilized. This prevents exposure of the substrate surface due to vibration during conveyance, volatilization of the liquid, and the like.
The above and other objects and novel features of the present invention can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings. The drawings, however, are intended to be illustrative only and not limiting as to the scope of the invention.
Drawings
Fig. 1A is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 1B is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration and installation environment of the center robot.
Fig. 3A is a diagram illustrating a substrate processing unit that performs wet processing.
Fig. 3B is a diagram illustrating a substrate processing unit that performs wet processing.
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a substrate processing unit that executes a supercritical drying process.
Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus.
Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the transfer process of embodiment 1.
Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the 2 nd embodiment of the transfer process.
Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the 3 rd embodiment of the transfer process.
Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing operation including the transfer process according to embodiment 3.
Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the 4 th embodiment of the transfer process.
Detailed Description
Fig. 1A and 1B are schematic diagrams illustrating a configuration of one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. More specifically, fig. 1A is a plan view showing a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 1B is a side view showing the substrate processing apparatus 1. These drawings do not show the external appearance of the device, but are schematic diagrams showing the internal structure of the device by removing the outer wall panel and other parts of the device. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is, for example, an apparatus installed in a clean room (clean room) and configured to perform a predetermined process on a substrate.
Here, as the "substrate" of the present embodiment, various substrates such as a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal Display, a glass substrate for a plasma Display, a substrate for an FED (Field Emission Display), a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, and a substrate for an optical disk can be applied. Hereinafter, a substrate processing apparatus mainly used for processing a semiconductor substrate will be described as an example with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to the above-described substrate processing.
As shown in fig. 1A, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a substrate processing unit 10 that processes a substrate S, and an indexer unit (indexer)20 coupled to the substrate processing unit 10. The indexer block 20 includes a container holding portion 21 and an indexer robot (indexerrobot) 22. The indexer 20 can hold a plurality of containers C for storing the substrates S. As the container C, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod), a SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) Pod, an OC (Open Cassette), or the like that accommodates a plurality of substrates S in a sealed state may be used. The indexer robot 22 accesses the container C held by the container holding unit 21, and takes out an unprocessed substrate S from the container C or stores a processed substrate in the container C. In each container C, a plurality of substrates S are stored in a substantially horizontal posture.
The indexer robot 22 includes a base 221, an articulated arm 222, and a hand 223. The base portion 221 is fixed to the apparatus casing. The multi-joint arm 222 is provided to be rotatable about a vertical axis with respect to the base portion 221. A robot 223 is attached to the distal end of the articulated arm 222. The robot 223 is configured to place and hold the substrate S on the upper surface thereof. Since such an indexer robot having a multi-joint arm and a substrate holding robot is well known, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The substrate processing unit 10 includes: a center robot 15 disposed substantially at the center in a plan view; and a plurality of substrate processing units configured to surround the center robot 15. Specifically, a plurality of (4 in this example) substrate processing units 11A, 12A, 13A, and 14A are disposed facing a space in which the center robot 15 is disposed. These substrate processing units 11A to 14A perform predetermined processes on the substrate S, respectively. When these processing units have the same function, parallel processing of a plurality of substrates can be performed. Further, different processing units having different functions may be combined to sequentially perform different processes on 1 substrate.
As will be described later, the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is used for a series of processes in which a substrate S is wet-processed by a predetermined processing liquid and then dried. For this purpose, 2 substrate processing units 11A and 12A out of the 4 substrate processing units are responsible for wet processing of the substrate S, and have a structure for enabling these processes therein. The other 2 substrate processing units 13A and 14A are responsible for a process (drying process) of removing the residual liquid from the substrate S after the wet process and drying the substrate S, and are configured to be able to perform the processes therein.
In each of the substrate processing units 11A to 14A, a substrate processing main body that performs processing on the substrate S is housed in a processing chamber provided with a shutter (shutter) that can be opened and closed on a side surface facing the center robot 15. That is, the substrate processing unit 11A has a processing chamber 110 and a shutter (shutter)111 provided in the processing chamber 110 on a side facing the center robot 15. The shutter 111 is provided to cover an opening (not shown) provided in a side surface of the process chamber 110 facing the center robot 15. When the shutter 111 is opened, the opening is exposed, and the substrate S can be carried in and out through the opening. When the process for the substrate S is performed in the process chamber 110, the atmosphere in the process chamber 110 is blocked from the outside by closing the shutter 111.
Likewise, the substrate processing unit 12A has a process chamber 120 and a baffle plate 121 disposed in the process chamber 120 facing the side of the center robot 15. Further, the substrate processing unit 13A has a process chamber 130 and a baffle 131 provided in the process chamber 130 to face the side of the center robot 15. Further, the substrate processing unit 14A has a processing chamber 140 and a baffle plate 141 provided in the processing chamber 140 on a side facing the center robot 15.
Further, the components (set) of the substrate processing unit arranged in the horizontal direction are arranged in a plurality of stages (2 stages in this example) in the vertical direction. That is, as shown in fig. 1B, a substrate processing unit 11B is provided below the substrate processing unit 11A. The substrate processing unit 11B has the same structure and function as the substrate processing unit 11A. A substrate processing unit 12B having the same configuration and the same function as those of the substrate processing unit 12A is provided below the substrate processing unit 12A. Similarly, a substrate processing unit 13B (fig. 2) is provided below the substrate processing unit 13A, and a substrate processing unit (not shown) is provided below the substrate processing unit 14A. The number of stages of the substrate processing unit is arbitrary, and is not limited to 2 as exemplified herein. The number of substrate processing units disposed per 1 stage is not limited to the above.
Fig. 2 is a diagram showing the configuration and installation environment of the center robot. The center robot 15 can receive an unprocessed substrate S from the indexer robot 22 and can transfer the processed substrate S to the indexer robot 22. More specifically, the center robot 15 includes a base unit 151, an elevating unit 152, a rotating unit 153, a telescopic arm 154, and a robot hand 155. The base unit 151 is fixed to a bottom frame of the substrate processing unit 10, and supports each configuration of the center robot 15. The lifting unit 152 is attached to the base unit 151, and the rotating unit 153 is attached to an upper portion of the lifting unit 152. The lifting unit 152 is extendable and retractable in the vertical direction, and the rotating unit 153 is lifted and lowered by the extension and retraction movement.
The rotating portion 153 is rotatable about a vertical axis with respect to the elevating portion 152. A base portion of the telescopic arm 154 is attached to the rotating portion 153, and a robot arm 155 is attached to a distal end portion of the telescopic arm 154. The telescopic arm 154 is telescopic within a predetermined range in the horizontal direction. The robot hand 155 can place and hold the substrate S on the upper surface thereof, and can transfer the substrate S to and from the robot hand 223 of the indexer robot 22. The structure of the robot having such a structure is well known, and thus, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.
The telescopic arm 154 is horizontally telescopic, and can move the substrate S held by the robot arm 155 in the horizontal direction. The rotating unit 153 rotates relative to the elevating unit 152, and can define the direction of horizontal movement of the substrate S. The lifting unit 152 can lift and lower the rotation unit 153 to adjust the height of the substrate S, i.e., the vertical position.
A support member 156 extending upward is attached to the rotating portion 153. A support member 156 is attached to the side surface of the rotating portion 153 on the opposite side to the extending direction of the telescopic arm 154 so as not to interfere with the extension and retraction of the robot arm 155. A CCD camera 157 is attached to the upper end of the support member 156. The CCD camera 157 is slightly downward in the optical axis direction from the horizontal direction, and the substrate S held by the robot 155 is viewed from obliquely above so as to fall in the imaging field of view. Thereby, the upper surface of the substrate S can be imaged. The shooting data is transmitted to the control unit 90.
The rotation portion 153 is provided with a replenishment liquid nozzle 158. The replenishment liquid nozzle 158 opens downward above the substrate S held by the robot 155. The replenishment liquid nozzle 158 is connected to a low surface tension liquid supply unit (described below), not shown, and supplies the low surface tension liquid supplied from the low surface tension liquid supply unit to the substrate S as necessary.
In the substrate processing apparatus 1 configured as described above, the process for the substrate S is performed as follows. In the initial state, unprocessed substrates S are stored in the containers C placed on the container holding portion 21. The indexer robot 22 takes out 1 unprocessed substrate S from the container C and transfers it to the center robot 15. The center robot 15 carries the received substrate S into a substrate processing unit that is to perform a process for the substrate S.
As shown in fig. 2, for example, when the substrate S is carried into the substrate processing unit 11A, the center robot 15 adjusts the height of the rotating unit 153 by the elevating unit 152, and positions the substrate S held by the robot arm 155 at the height of the shutter 111 on the side surface of the processing chamber 110 of the substrate processing unit 11A. The shutter 111 is opened, and the retractable arm 154 is extended toward the opening on the side surface of the processing chamber 110, thereby carrying the substrate S into the processing chamber 110. After the telescopic arm 154 is retracted, the shutter 111 is closed, and the process for the substrate S is performed in the process chamber 110. The substrate S can be carried into another substrate processing unit in the same manner.
On the other hand, when the processed substrate S is taken out from the substrate processing unit 11A, the telescopic arm 154 enters the processing chamber 110 in which the shutter 111 is opened and takes out the processed substrate S. The substrate S taken out may be carried into another substrate processing unit to perform a new process, or may be returned to the container C via the indexer robot 22. Hereinafter, a specific processing procedure of the present embodiment will be described in detail.
As shown in fig. 2, the center robot 15 is provided in a conveyance space TS laterally and upwardly separated from the outside space by a partition wall 101. The substrate processing unit 11A is attached to the side of the partition wall 101 such that the side of the processing chamber 110 on which the shutter 111 is provided faces the transfer space TS. The same applies to other substrate processing units.
In addition, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided with a control unit 90 for controlling the operations of the respective parts of the apparatus. The control Unit 90 includes at least a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 91 and a memory 92. The CPU91 executes a control program prepared in advance to cause each unit of the apparatus to perform a predetermined operation. The memory 92 stores a control program to be executed by the CPU91, data generated by the execution, and the like. The CPU91 executing the control program controls operations related to the operations of the indexer robot 22 and the center robot 15, the opening and closing of the shutters in the respective processing chambers, various processes on the substrate S, and the like.
Fig. 3A and 3B are views showing a substrate processing unit performing wet processing. More specifically, fig. 3A is a diagram showing the structure of the substrate processing unit 11A, and fig. 3B is a diagram for explaining the operation of the substrate processing unit 11A. Here, the structure of the substrate processing unit 11A will be described, but the structures of other substrate processing units 11B, 12A and the like that perform wet processing are basically the same.
The substrate processing unit 11A includes a wet processing unit 30 as a substrate processing main body in the processing chamber 110. The wet processing unit 30 supplies a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate S to perform surface processing, cleaning, and the like of the substrate S. In addition, in order to prevent the upper surface of the substrate S carried out after the wet processing from being exposed to the ambient air, the wet processing section 30 performs a liquid film forming process of covering the upper surface of the substrate S after the wet processing with a liquid film of a low surface tension liquid.
For this purpose, the wet processing unit 30 includes a substrate holding unit 31, a splash guard (splash guard)32, a processing liquid supply unit 33, and a low surface tension liquid supply unit 34. Their actions are controlled by the control unit 90. The substrate holding portion 31 includes a disk-shaped spin chuck (spin chuck)311, the spin chuck 311 has a diameter substantially equal to that of the substrate S, and a plurality of chuck pins (chuck pins) 312 are provided at a peripheral portion of the spin chuck 311. The chuck pins 312 support the substrate S by coming into contact with the peripheral edge portion of the substrate S, and thereby the spin chuck 311 can hold the substrate S in a horizontal posture in a state of being separated from the upper surface of the substrate S.
The spin chuck 311 is supported so that the upper surface is horizontal by a rotation support shaft 313 extending downward from the center of the lower surface thereof. The rotation support shaft 313 is rotatably supported by a rotation mechanism 314 attached to the bottom of the processing chamber 110. The rotation mechanism 314 incorporates a rotation motor, not shown, and rotates in response to a control command from the control unit 90, whereby the spin chuck 311 directly connected to the rotation support shaft 313 rotates about a vertical axis indicated by a one-dot chain line. In fig. 3A and 3B, the vertical direction is the vertical direction. Thereby, the substrate S rotates around the vertical axis while maintaining the horizontal posture.
The cup part 32 is provided so as to laterally surround the substrate holding part 31. The cup part 32 includes a substantially cylindrical cup part 321 provided to cover the peripheral edge part of the spin chuck 311, and a liquid receiving part 322 provided below the outer peripheral part of the cup part 321. The cup 321 moves up and down in accordance with a control command from the control unit 90. The cup 321 moves up and down between a lower position in which an upper end of the cup 321 descends to a position below a peripheral edge of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311 as shown in fig. 3A and an upper position in which the upper end of the cup 321 is located above the peripheral edge of the substrate S as shown in fig. 3B.
When the cup 321 is located at the lower position, as shown in fig. 3A, the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311 is exposed outside the cup 321. Therefore, for example, the cup 321 is prevented from being obstructed when the spin chuck 311 carries in and out the substrate S.
When the cup 321 is located at the upper position, as shown in fig. 3B, the cup surrounds the peripheral edge of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311. This prevents the processing liquid thrown off from the peripheral edge of the substrate S from scattering into the processing chamber 110 during liquid supply described below, and thus ensures recovery of the processing liquid. That is, droplets of the processing liquid thrown off from the peripheral edge of the substrate S by the rotation of the substrate S adhere to the inner wall of the cup 321 and flow downward, and are collected and recovered by the liquid receiving portion 322 disposed below the cup 321. A plurality of cups may be provided concentrically to collect a plurality of treatment liquids individually.
The processing liquid supply unit 33 has the following structure: the rotary support shaft 332 is provided to be rotatable with respect to a base 331 fixed to the processing chamber 110, and a nozzle 334 is attached to a tip of an arm 333 horizontally extending from the rotary support shaft 332. The pivot support shaft 332 pivots in accordance with a control instruction from the control unit 90, whereby the arm 333 rocks. Thereby, the nozzle 334 at the tip of the arm 333 moves between a retracted position retracted laterally from above the substrate S as shown in fig. 3A and a processing position above the substrate S as shown in fig. 3B.
The nozzle 334 is connected to a processing liquid supply unit (not shown) provided in the control unit 90. When an appropriate processing liquid is fed from the processing liquid supply unit, the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle 334 toward the substrate S. As shown in fig. 3B, the spin chuck 311 rotates the substrate S at a relatively low speed, and the nozzle 33 positioned above the rotation center of the substrate S supplies the processing liquid Lq. Thereby, the upper surface Sa of the substrate S is processed by the processing liquid Lq. As the processing liquid Lq, liquids having various functions such as a developing solution, an etching solution, a cleaning solution, and a rinsing solution can be used, and the composition thereof is arbitrary. Further, the treatment may be performed by combining a plurality of treatment liquids.
The low surface tension liquid supply unit 34 also has a structure corresponding to the processing liquid supply unit 33. That is, the low surface tension liquid supply unit 34 includes a base 341, a pivot shaft 342, an arm 343, a nozzle 344, and the like, and these configurations are the same as those of the processing liquid supply unit 33. The pivot support shaft 342 pivots in accordance with a control instruction from the control unit 90, whereby the arm 343 rocks. The nozzle 344 at the tip of the arm 343 supplies a low surface tension liquid for forming a liquid film to the upper surface Sa of the substrate S after wet processing.
The operation of the low surface tension liquid supply unit 34 will be described with reference to the processing liquid Lq, the arm 333, and the nozzle 334 in the description of fig. 3B as the low surface tension liquid Lq, the arm 343, and the nozzle 344, respectively. The discharged low surface tension liquid is a liquid different from a general treatment liquid.
When a fine uneven pattern (hereinafter, simply referred to as a "pattern") is formed on the upper surface Sa of the substrate to be processed, pattern collapse may occur due to the surface tension of the liquid entering the pattern during the process of drying the wet substrate S after wet processing. As a method for preventing this, there is a method of: a method of replacing the liquid in the pattern with a liquid having a lower surface tension and then drying the liquid; a sublimation drying method of covering the upper surface Sa of the substrate with a solid of a sublimable substance and subliming the sublimable substance; and the supercritical drying method employed in the present embodiment.
In order to perform supercritical drying processing requiring a high-temperature and high-pressure state, a high-pressure chamber different from a chamber for performing wet processing is additionally required. Therefore, the substrate S after the wet processing needs to be transferred to the high pressure chamber. In order to avoid pattern collapse due to exposure of the substrate surface during conveyance, it is preferable to cover the substrate upper surface Sa with a liquid or a solid. In this case, the liquid covering the upper surface Sa of the substrate is preferably a liquid having a surface tension smaller than that of the processing liquid, from the viewpoint of more reliably preventing pattern collapse due to surface tension. In the present specification, a liquid of such a nature is referred to as a "low surface tension liquid".
In the present embodiment, the substrate upper surface Sa is conveyed while being covered with a liquid film of a low surface tension liquid. The liquid film is formed as follows. As shown in fig. 3B, when the substrate S is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed, the low surface tension liquid Lq supplied from a low surface tension liquid supply unit (not shown) provided in the control unit 90 is discharged from the nozzle 343, and the substrate upper surface Sa is covered with the liquid film LF of the low surface tension liquid. The low surface tension liquid is preferably a liquid which has good mixing properties with a treatment liquid used for wet treatment and has a lower surface tension than the treatment liquid. For example, when the treatment liquid contains water as a main component, Isopropyl alcohol (IPA) is preferably used. Thus, the entire upper surface Sa of the substrate is covered with the liquid film LF of the low surface tension liquid.
In the processing chamber 110, a CCD camera 351 and an illumination light source 352 are disposed above the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311. The optical axis direction of the CCD camera 351 is slightly downward from the horizontal direction. Therefore, the CCD camera 351 looks down the substrate S held by the spin chuck 311 from obliquely above to fall in the imaging field of view. The illumination light source 352 irradiates illumination light for imaging onto the substrate S. Thereby, the upper surface of the substrate S is photographed. The shooting data is transmitted to the control unit 90.
The substrate S carried out of the substrate processing unit 11A with the upper surface Sa covered with the liquid film LF is conveyed to the substrate processing unit 13A and subjected to a drying process. That is, the substrate processing unit 13A has a function of performing a drying process of drying the substrate S by removing the liquid film LF formed on the upper surface Sa of the substrate S carried in a horizontal posture, as the substrate processing. As the drying process, supercritical drying is applied in which the substrate S is covered with a supercritical fluid and then the supercritical fluid (not via a liquid phase) is vaporized and removed. Here, the configuration of the substrate processing unit 13A will be described, and the configurations of the other substrate processing units 13B, 14A and the like that perform the drying process are also basically the same.
Fig. 4 is a diagram showing a substrate processing unit that executes a supercritical drying process. More specifically, fig. 4 is a side sectional view showing the internal structure of the substrate processing unit 13A. The principle of the supercritical drying process and the basic structure required therefor are well known, and therefore a detailed description is omitted here. The substrate processing unit 13A includes a high-pressure chamber 130, and a drying unit 40, which is a main body of performing a drying process, is provided therein. In the drying processing unit 40, a stage 41 for placing the substrate S is provided in the high-pressure chamber 130. The stage 41 holds the substrate S whose upper surface Sa is covered with the liquid film by suction holding or mechanical holding. Since the high pressure chamber 130 is high pressure, a member having a simple internal structure and capable of withstanding high pressure is used to withstand high pressure.
A rotation fulcrum 42 extends downward at the center of the lower surface of the platform 41. The rotation support shaft 42 is inserted through the high-pressure seal rotation introduction mechanism 43 to the bottom surface of the high-pressure chamber 130. The rotary shaft 431 of the high-pressure seal rotation introduction mechanism 43 is connected to the rotary mechanism 432. Therefore, when the rotation mechanism 432 is operated in accordance with a control command from the control unit 90, the substrate S rotates together with the stage 41 about the rotation axis in the vertical direction indicated by the one-dot chain line.
A fluid dispersion member 44 is disposed inside the high pressure chamber 130 and above the platform 41. The fluid dispersion member 44 is provided with a plurality of through holes 442 that vertically penetrate a flat plate-like blocking plate 441. The carbon dioxide gas is supplied from the carbon dioxide supply unit 45 to the upper portion of the high-pressure chamber 130 as needed, and the carbon dioxide gas is rectified by the fluid dispersion member 44 and uniformly supplied to the substrate S from above the substrate S.
Further, nitrogen is introduced from the nitrogen supply portion 46 into the high-pressure chamber 130 as necessary. If necessary, nitrogen may be supplied in various manners, i.e., as a gas at normal temperature or after temperature rise, or as liquid nitrogen liquefied by cooling, for the purpose of purging the gas in the high-pressure chamber 130, cooling the chamber, or the like.
The high-pressure chamber 130 is connected to the discharge mechanism 48. The discharge mechanism 48 has a function of discharging various fluids such as gas and liquid introduced into the high-pressure chamber 130. The discharge mechanism 48 includes piping, valves, pumps, and the like for this purpose. Thereby, the fluid in the high pressure chamber 130 can be rapidly discharged when necessary.
Although not shown, the control unit 90 has a structure for detecting the pressure and temperature in the high-pressure chamber 130 and a structure for controlling these to predetermined values. That is, the control unit 90 has a function of controlling the pressure and temperature in the high-pressure chamber 130 to predetermined target values.
Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described. As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that sequentially performs a wet process and a dry process on a substrate S. The main flow of this process is as follows. That is, after the substrate S is transferred to the substrate processing unit that performs the wet processing and the processing by the processing liquid is performed, a liquid film of the low surface tension liquid is formed, and the substrate S is transferred to the substrate processing unit that performs the drying processing and the liquid film is removed to dry the substrate S. The following describes specific processing contents.
Here, the substrate processing unit 11A is explained as performing wet processing on 1 substrate S, and the substrate processing unit 13A is explained as performing dry processing on the 1 substrate S. However, the combination of the substrate processing unit that performs the wet process and the substrate processing unit that performs the dry process is arbitrary and is not limited thereto. In the following description, in order to clearly show the operation of each substrate processing unit, the substrate processing unit 11A and the like that performs wet processing will be referred to as a "wet processing unit", and the substrate processing unit 13A and the like that performs dry processing will be referred to as a "dry processing unit".
Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus. This operation is realized by the CPU91 executing a control program prepared in advance to cause each unit of the apparatus to execute a predetermined operation. First, the indexer robot 22 takes out 1 unprocessed substrate S from one container C that stores unprocessed substrates (step S101). Then, the substrate S is transferred from the indexer robot 22 to the center robot 15 (step S102). The center robot 15 carries the substrate S into the substrate processing unit (wet processing unit) 11A that performs wet processing (step S103).
The substrate processing unit 11A into which the substrate S is carried performs wet processing on the substrate S (step S104). As described above, the wet treatment is performed by supplying the treatment liquid to the substrate S to process and clean the upper surface Sa of the substrate. A liquid film forming process for forming a liquid film LF of a low surface tension liquid is performed on the substrate S after the wet process (step S105).
The substrate S on which the liquid film LF is formed on the upper surface Sa by the liquid film forming process is taken out of the substrate processing unit 11A by the center robot 15 and carried into the substrate processing unit (drying processing unit) 13A that performs the drying process. That is, the transfer process of transferring the substrate S from the substrate processing unit 11A to the substrate processing unit 13A is performed (step S106). Various methods are conceivable as the transfer process, and these are described later.
The substrate processing unit 13A into which the substrate S is carried performs a drying process of removing the liquid adhering to the substrate S and drying the substrate S (step S107). In the substrate processing unit 13A, supercritical drying processing using a supercritical fluid is performed. That is, carbon dioxide is introduced from the carbon dioxide supply unit 45 into the high-pressure chamber 130, and the chamber internal pressure is sufficiently increased, whereby carbon dioxide is liquefied. Alternatively, liquid carbon dioxide may be introduced into the high pressure chamber 130. The liquid carbon dioxide covers the upper surface Sa of the substrate. The liquefied carbon dioxide sufficiently dissolves the organic solvent. Therefore, the liquid such as IPA remaining in the pattern is replaced with liquid carbon dioxide.
Next, the temperature and pressure in the high-pressure chamber 130 are adjusted to conditions under which carbon dioxide is brought into a supercritical state. Thereby, the carbon dioxide in the high-pressure chamber 130 becomes a supercritical fluid. The fluid in the supercritical state has extremely high fluidity and extremely low surface tension. In particular, the supercritical fluid generated from carbon dioxide sufficiently dissolves organic solvents such as IPA and acetone. Therefore, the supercritical fluid of carbon dioxide enters the deep part of the fine pattern, and the remaining organic solvent component is removed from the pattern. Carbon dioxide is also one of the reasons for applying it to the supercritical drying process from the point of being brought into a supercritical state at a relatively low pressure and low temperature.
Then, the inside of the high pressure chamber 130 is rapidly reduced in pressure, whereby the supercritical fluid is directly vaporized without passing through the liquid phase and removed from the substrate S. Thereby, the substrate S is in a state where the liquid component is completely removed and dried. The liquid component remaining in the pattern is replaced with the supercritical fluid, and the supercritical fluid is directly vaporized, thereby avoiding the problem of pattern collapse due to the surface tension of the liquid in the pattern.
The processed substrate S is taken out from the substrate processing unit 13A by the center robot 15 (step S108). The taken-out processed substrate S is transferred from the center robot 15 to the indexer robot 22 (step S109). The indexer robot 22 stores the substrate S in one container C (step S110). The container C for storing the processed substrate S may be a container for storing the unprocessed substrate S, or may be another container.
If there is a substrate to be processed (yes in step S111), the process returns to step S101, and the process is executed on the next substrate S. If there is no substrate to be processed (no in step S111), the process is terminated.
Although the flow when processing 1 substrate S has been described above, processing for a plurality of substrates is executed in parallel in an actual apparatus. That is, while 1 substrate S is being processed in 1 substrate processing unit, at least one of the conveyance of another substrate by the indexer robot 22 and the center robot 15 and the substrate processing by another substrate processing unit can be performed simultaneously and in parallel.
More specifically, for example, after transferring the substrate S from the indexer robot 22 to the center robot 15 in step S102, the indexer robot 22 can access the container C again and take out another substrate. For example, after 1 substrate S is carried into the substrate processing unit 11A in step S103, the center robot 15 can carry other substrates into the other substrate processing unit or carry other substrates processed by the other substrate processing unit out.
Therefore, when a plurality of substrates S need to be processed sequentially, the order of operations of the respective parts of the apparatus for processing the substrates S is appropriately adjusted, so that the plurality of substrates S are processed in parallel. In this way, the throughput of the entire substrate processing apparatus 1 can be improved. The specific operation sequence needs to be determined appropriately according to the specification of the process, the time required for each step, whether simultaneous processing is possible, and the like.
Next, some aspects of the transfer process (step S106 in fig. 5) of the substrate processing will be described. The transfer process is intended to carry the substrate S having the liquid film LF formed on the upper surface Sa out of the substrate processing unit 11A and to transfer the substrate S to the substrate processing unit 13A while maintaining the liquid film LF, that is, without exposing the upper surface Sa of the substrate. For this reason, in the present embodiment, images captured by the CCD camera 351 provided in the substrate processing unit 11A and the CCD camera 157 provided in the center robot 15 are used.
Fig. 6 is a flowchart showing the transfer process of embodiment 1. First, in the processing chamber 110 of the substrate processing unit 11A, the substrate S immediately after the liquid film formation processing is imaged by the CCD camera 351 (step S201). At this time, the liquid film LF formed to cover the upper surface Sa of the substrate is actually imaged. Preferably, the entirety of the liquid film LF covering the upper surface Sa of the substrate falls into the image. The data of the captured image is stored as reference data in the memory 92 of the control unit 90.
Next, the robot 155 of the center robot 15 enters the processing chamber 110 to hold the substrate S (step S202), and the robot 155 moves horizontally to start the transfer of the substrate S (step S203). During the transfer, the CCD camera 157 provided in the center robot 15 captures an image of the liquid film LF on the upper surface Sa of the substrate at any time (step S204). The position, size, and elevation angle of the substrate S within the image are preferably the same between the image captured by the CCD camera 157 and the image captured by the CCD camera 351.
An image obtained by photographing is compared with a reference image originally photographed. That is, the difference between the image newly captured by the CCD camera 157 and the image captured by the CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 is obtained (step S205). As a result, if there is a significant difference between the two images, it is considered that the liquid film LF on the substrate S has some variation. For example, the absolute value of the difference between two images per pixel is accumulated in an image, and whether or not there is a significant difference is determined based on whether or not the value exceeds a preset reference amount (threshold). The difference in the liquid film thickness is expressed as a variation in the surface reflectance and a difference in the occurrence of interference fringes. This difference can be detected by calculating the difference between the images.
As a change that may occur in the liquid film during transport, it is considered that the liquid level is shaken due to vibration, and the amount of liquid decreases due to dropping or volatilization of the liquid. In response to this, it is effective to replenish the substrate S with the low surface tension liquid. Therefore, when the liquid film has changed significantly (yes in step S206), a predetermined amount of the low surface tension liquid is replenished from the replenishment liquid nozzle 158 provided in the center robot 15 (step S207). This can prevent the liquid film from being damaged due to the decrease in the amount of liquid. If no significant change is found (no in step S206), liquid replenishment is not performed.
The above-described steps S204 to S207 are repeatedly performed until the substrate S reaches the target position, i.e., the inside of the high pressure chamber 130 of the substrate processing unit 13A (no in step S208). Therefore, the state of the liquid film LF is constantly monitored while the substrate S is being transferred, and the low surface tension liquid is replenished as necessary. This stably maintains the liquid film on the substrate S. When the target position is reached (yes in step S208), the substrate S is transferred from the center robot 15 to the stage 41 in the high-pressure chamber 130 (step S209), and the transfer of the substrate S is completed.
Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the 2 nd embodiment of the transfer process. In this embodiment, step S221 is provided instead of step S207 in embodiment 1. The other processing contents are the same as those of embodiment 1, and therefore the same processing is denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. In step S221 executed in embodiment 2, instead of the liquid replenishment in embodiment 1, the conveyance speed of the substrate S by the center robot 15 is changed.
For example, in the case where a low surface tension liquid falls from the substrate S due to vibration or rapid acceleration and deceleration, the liquid can be suppressed from falling by conveying the substrate S more slowly. That is, in this case, the conveyance speed may be reduced. For example, when the surface of the liquid film is wavy, the liquid film LF may be considered to be shaken by the vibration. On the other hand, the decrease in the amount of liquid due to the volatilization of the liquid is expressed as a decrease in the film thickness of the liquid film on the entire substrate S. In this case, it is preferable to increase the conveyance speed and complete the conveyance in a shorter time. In the case of this embodiment alone, the replenishment liquid nozzle 158 may be omitted.
Fig. 8 is a flowchart showing the 3 rd embodiment of the transfer process. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing operation including the transfer process. In this method, the operation of substrate processing itself needs to be changed depending on the contents of the transfer process. Here, the same reference numerals are given to the processing having the same contents as those of the processing described above, and the description thereof is omitted. As shown in fig. 8, in the transfer process according to the 3 rd embodiment, when the image of the liquid film is significantly changed in step S206, an exception mark for making the subsequent process different is provided (step S231). In this case, the transfer of the substrate S is interrupted.
As shown in fig. 9, in the substrate processing of this embodiment, a step S121 of determining whether or not an exception flag is set is added after the transfer processing (step S106). When the flag is set (yes in step S121), the center robot 15 returns the substrate S to the wet processing unit 11A (step S122). Subsequently, the exception flag is reset (step S123). Then, the wet processing unit 11A performs the liquid film formation process again (step S105), and then performs the transfer process again (step S106).
In this embodiment, when the liquid film LF on the substrate S changes, the liquid film LF is formed again in the substrate processing unit 11A. If the exception flag is not set (no in step S121), the liquid film LF does not change greatly, and therefore the drying process continues (step S107). This can prevent the liquid film LF from being damaged and carried into the substrate processing unit 13A. That is, the substrate S can be transferred while stably maintaining the liquid film LF. In this embodiment, the replenishment liquid nozzle 158 may be omitted in the case of a single embodiment.
Fig. 10 is a flowchart showing the 4 th embodiment of the transfer process. In fig. 10, the same components as those in the transfer process shown in fig. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof is omitted. In this method, when the CCD camera 351 captures the liquid film in step S201, the image is compared with an ideal image prepared in advance. That is, the difference between the captured image and the ideal image is obtained (step S241). The ideal image is an image corresponding to an ideal state in which the upper surface Sa of the substrate S is uniformly covered with the liquid film LF having a predetermined thickness.
This process is a process for verifying whether or not an appropriate liquid film LF is formed on the substrate S. That is, in the substrate S after the wet treatment, unevenness and wettability on the surface are changed as a result of the treatment, and thus it is difficult to form a uniform liquid film. In particular, when the surface of the substrate after the treatment is in a liquid-repellent state, it is difficult to carry a uniform liquid film. In addition, depending on the operation abnormality of the apparatus structure for forming a liquid film and the manner of holding the substrate S, an appropriate liquid film may not be formed initially. Such an abnormality can be immediately detected by comparing the image of the substrate S immediately after the liquid film is formed with an ideal image. Further, the amount of liquid supplied for liquid film formation and the rotation speed of the substrate S may be adjusted based on the magnitude of the difference from the ideal image.
If there is a significant difference between the captured image and the ideal image (yes in step S242), the transfer process is terminated through appropriate error processing (step S243). The content of the error processing is arbitrary, and for example, it is conceivable to notify an operator of the occurrence of an abnormality and display and output an image at that time. Preferably, even if the process is stopped for the substrate S in which the abnormality is detected, the process for the substrate having no abnormality can be continued.
If no abnormality is detected (no in step S242), the transfer process from step S202 onward is executed using the captured image as a reference image. Here, the transfer processing according to the 1 st embodiment is executed, but the processing according to the 2 nd or 3 rd embodiment may be executed.
Further, the processes of the above-described respective modes may be appropriately combined. For example, a plurality of reference amounts may be set for the difference between the image captured by the CCD camera 157 and the reference image, and the subsequent processing may be changed according to the difference.
In actual substrate processing, depending on the subsequent processing conditions and the like, there is a case where a standby time is required for a long time from when the substrate S is placed in the processing chamber 110 and the liquid film LF is formed on the upper surface Sa thereof to when the substrate S starts to be conveyed. As a measure against such a situation, for example, the processing shown in fig. 10 may be partially changed and implemented as follows. The CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 images the liquid film LF at a plurality of different timings between the time when the liquid film LF is formed on the substrate S and the time when the substrate starts to be transported. These images are compared, and when it is confirmed that there is a significant difference in liquid film between the latest image captured and the ideal image or the image captured first, replenishment of liquid or appropriate error processing is performed (step S243).
In this way, in the substrate processing of the present embodiment, images of a plurality of liquid films captured at different times during a period from when the liquid film LF is formed on the substrate S to when the transport is completed are compared, and the subsequent transport operation is determined based on the result. Therefore, the fluctuation of the liquid film due to the vibration or volatilization during the conveyance can be detected without delay, and the conveyance operation can be changed according to the situation. In this way, in the present embodiment, the substrate can be conveyed in a state where the liquid film is stably formed on the surface. As a result, exposure of the substrate surface due to vibration during conveyance, volatilization of the liquid, or the like can be prevented.
As described above, in the above embodiment, the substrate processing unit 11A or the like as a wet processing unit functions as the "1 st processing unit" of the present invention, and the substrate processing unit 13A or the like as a dry processing unit functions as the "2 nd processing unit" of the present invention. The center robot 15 functions as a "conveyance mechanism" according to the present invention. In addition, the process chamber 110 functions as a "process chamber" of the present invention.
In the above embodiment, the robot 155 functions as a "holding member" according to the present invention. The CCD cameras 157 and 351 function as the "2 nd camera" and the "1 st camera" of the present invention, respectively, and constitute the "image pickup unit" of the present invention. The replenishment liquid nozzle 158 functions as a "liquid supply mechanism" of the present invention. The control unit 90 also functions as a "control unit" of the present invention. The image of the liquid film captured by the camera 351 immediately after the liquid film is formed corresponds to the "before-conveyance image" in the present invention.
The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications other than the above can be made without departing from the spirit of the invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the substrate processing unit 11A, the substrate processing unit 13A, and the center robot 15, which correspond to the "1 st processing unit", the "2 nd processing unit", and the "transfer mechanism" of the present invention, are housed in 1 casing to constitute an integrated processing system. However, the present invention can also be applied to a processing system having a 1 st processing unit and a 2 nd processing unit provided independently of each other, and a conveyance mechanism that conveys substrates therebetween.
In the above embodiment, the image of the liquid film captured by the CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 is used as the reference image, but the reference image is not limited to this. For example, an image captured by the CCD camera 157 at the initial stage of conveyance may be used as the reference image. In this case, the CCD camera 351 in the processing chamber 110 is not necessary for the purpose of observing the state of the liquid film being transported. In particular, if the CCD camera 157 is configured to move integrally with the robot 155, the positional relationship between the substrate S held by the robot 155 and the CCD camera 157 is not changed at each stage during the conveyance. With this configuration, mutual alignment is not required for comparison between images, and the accuracy of difference calculation can be further improved.
In the above embodiment, the CCD camera 157 is attached to the center robot 15 that moves together with the substrate S when the substrate S is conveyed. Instead of this, the substrate S to be conveyed is imaged by a camera fixedly provided at a position where the conveying path of the substrate S is located to the fundus oculi. In particular, in the substrate S provided with a fine pattern, the substrate surface is not allowed to be exposed even in a short time in order to prevent pattern collapse. Therefore, in this case, it is preferable to arrange a plurality of cameras on the transport path and to take an image of the liquid film transported together with the substrate S at short time intervals. Alternatively, a mechanism for causing the camera to follow the movement of the substrate S may be provided.
The center robot 15 may be configured to catch and collect liquid falling from the substrate S being transported.
As described above by way of example of specific embodiments, the present invention may be configured such that, for example, the 1 st processing unit forms a liquid film on a substrate in a processing chamber, and the imaging unit includes the 1 st camera provided in the processing chamber. With this configuration, the liquid film immediately after formation can be imaged, and the state of the liquid film after formation can be evaluated with reference to the liquid film included in the image, for example.
For example, the conveying mechanism may have a holding member for holding the substrate, and the imaging unit may have a 2 nd camera provided in the conveying mechanism and moving together with the holding member. With this configuration, it is possible to perform imaging at any time during transport, and it is possible to detect a change in the liquid film on the substrate without delay and take necessary measures.
Further, for example, the control unit may vary the time taken for the transport from the 1 st processing unit to the 2 nd processing unit between a case where the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds a predetermined reference amount and a case where the difference does not exceed the predetermined reference amount. The change in the liquid film may be caused by vibration, rapid acceleration and deceleration during conveyance, or volatilization of a liquid component, and the change in the liquid film may be suppressed by changing the conveyance speed.
For example, the transport mechanism may include a liquid supply mechanism that supplies liquid to the substrate to be transported, and the control unit may be configured to cause the liquid supply mechanism to supply liquid to the substrate when a difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds a predetermined reference amount. With this configuration, the liquid constituting the liquid film is replenished as necessary, and thus the substrate can be continuously conveyed while maintaining the liquid film on the substrate. In particular, in the case where the liquid film is made of a material having a high volatility, the thickness of the liquid film is reduced by volatilization during conveyance, which causes the surface of the substrate to be exposed. This problem can be solved by providing a mechanism for replenishing the liquid in the conveying section.
For example, the control unit may be configured to return the substrate to the 1 st treatment unit by the transport mechanism and to cause the 1 st treatment unit to reform the liquid film when the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds a preset reference amount. According to this configuration, since the liquid film is reformed in the 1 st treatment section having a configuration necessary for forming the liquid film, the liquid film can be prevented from being damaged during conveyance without separately providing a configuration for replenishing the liquid during conveyance.
For example, the liquid constituting the liquid film may be an organic solvent, and the 2 nd processing unit may perform the supercritical drying process on the substrate. The supercritical drying process requires a dedicated high-pressure environment in order to be carried out under high pressure. Further, a high-pressure resistant member needs to be used. Therefore, it is realistic to perform the wet treatment in a place different from the wet treatment which can be performed under normal pressure. In this case, the substrate after wet processing needs to be transferred, and by applying the present invention, the substrate can be transferred without exposing the surface of the substrate. From the viewpoint of affinity with the supercritical fluid, it is preferable to use an organic solvent for liquid film formation, but an organic solvent having a high volatility is easily lost during transportation. Even in this case, the substrate surface can be covered with the liquid film and can be conveyed reliably by observing the state of the liquid film by applying the present invention.
Further, for example, the plurality of images may include a pre-conveyance image captured before conveyance of the substrate by the conveyance mechanism is started. With this configuration, it is possible to grasp whether or not the substrate surface is appropriately covered with the liquid film at the time of starting the transfer, and to take necessary measures depending on the situation. For example, the controller may determine whether to start the conveyance of the substrate by the conveyance mechanism based on a difference between an ideal image corresponding to the substrate in an ideal state where the liquid film is carried and a pre-conveyance image. Thus, the substrate can be prevented from being conveyed in a state where the surface is not properly covered with the liquid film.
Industrial applicability
The present invention is applicable to the entire substrate processing technique in which the substrate is transferred between the processing units that perform different processes while the substrate surface is covered with the liquid film. For example, the method is suitable for drying a wet-processed substrate by supercritical drying.
While the invention has been described in terms of predetermined embodiments, this description is not intended to be construed in a limiting sense. As with the other embodiments of the present invention, various modifications of the disclosed embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the description of the invention. Therefore, the scope of patent protection is considered to include the modifications and embodiments within a range not departing from the true scope of the invention.
Description of the symbols
1 substrate processing apparatus
11A Wet processing Unit and substrate processing Unit (No. 1 processing part)
13A drying unit, substrate processing unit (No. 2 processing part)
15 center robot (carrying mechanism)
90 control unit (control unit)
110 process chamber (Chamber)
130 high pressure chamber
155 mechanical arm (holding member)
157 CCD Camera (imaging part, 2 nd camera)
351 CCD Camera (shooting part, 1 st camera)
158 replenishment liquid nozzle (liquid supply mechanism)
LF liquid film
And an S substrate.

Claims (10)

1. A substrate processing apparatus is characterized by comprising:
a first treatment unit 1 for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film;
a carrying mechanism for carrying the substrate carrying the liquid film;
a 2 nd processing unit that receives the substrate conveyed by the conveyance mechanism and performs a predetermined process;
an imaging unit that images the liquid film formed on the surface of the substrate; and
and a control unit configured to control an operation of the transport mechanism based on a difference between a plurality of images captured by the imaging unit at different times during a period from when the liquid film is formed to when the substrate is carried into the 2 nd processing unit by the transport mechanism.
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
the 1 st treatment unit is configured to form the liquid film on the substrate in a treatment chamber,
the imaging unit includes a 1 st camera disposed in the processing chamber.
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
the carrying mechanism has a holding member for holding the substrate,
the imaging unit includes a 2 nd camera provided in the conveyance mechanism and moving together with the holding member.
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the control unit may be configured to set a time taken for the first processing unit to be transported to the second processing unit 1 to be different between a case where the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds a predetermined reference amount and a case where the difference does not exceed the predetermined reference amount.
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the carrying mechanism has a liquid supply mechanism for supplying the liquid to the substrate to be carried,
the control unit causes the liquid supply mechanism to supply the liquid to the substrate when a difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds a predetermined reference amount.
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
when the difference obtained from the plurality of images exceeds a predetermined reference amount, the controller causes the transport mechanism to return the substrate to the 1 st treatment unit, and causes the 1 st treatment unit to reform the liquid film.
7. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
the liquid is an organic solvent, and the 2 nd processing unit performs a supercritical drying process on the substrate.
8. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
the plurality of images include a pre-conveyance image captured before the conveyance of the substrate by the conveyance mechanism is started.
9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8,
the controller determines whether to start the transfer of the substrate by the transfer mechanism based on a difference between an ideal image corresponding to the substrate in an ideal state where the liquid film is carried and the image before the transfer.
10. A method for controlling transfer of a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a first treatment unit 1 for supplying a liquid to a substrate and covering the surface of the substrate with a liquid film; a 2 nd treatment unit that receives the substrate carrying the liquid film and performs a predetermined treatment; and a conveying mechanism for conveying the substrate between the 1 st processing unit and the 2 nd processing unit,
the liquid film is imaged at different times during the period from the formation of the liquid film to the transfer of the substrate into the 2 nd processing unit, and the operation of the transfer mechanism is controlled based on the difference between the plurality of images imaged.
CN202080020635.1A 2019-03-26 2020-02-04 Substrate processing apparatus and transfer control method thereof Pending CN113557591A (en)

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JP2019058734A JP7261052B2 (en) 2019-03-26 2019-03-26 SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND TRANSPORT CONTROL METHOD THEREOF
JP2019-058734 2019-03-26
PCT/JP2020/004018 WO2020195175A1 (en) 2019-03-26 2020-02-04 Substrate processing device and transfer control method therefor

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