JP2000150363A - Liquid processing mechanism, and liquid processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To discharge processing liquid even when the power of a liquid processor is off. SOLUTION: Pure water supplied from a pure water supply source 64 is sent to a pure water supply nozzle 55 through a pure water sending pipe 62. The working part 65 of an air operation system of air-driven valve 63 provided in the pure water sending pipe 62 and the first air supply mechanism 69 working with a power source 68 are connected with each other through air supply paths 70' and 70. The second air supply mechanism 72 is provided with a main circuit 74 wherein a sub switchover valve 78 is interposed, a bypass circuit 79 branching from the main circuit 74, a circular path 80, a bypass path 82 branching from the circular path 80, and a bypass path 85. With off of the power source 68, the main switchover valve 76 becomes automatically open, and the air supplied from a compressor 73 is supplied to the working part 63 of the air drive type of valve 63 through the main circuit 74.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a liquid processing mechanism and a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid such as pure water to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a photoresist processing step in a semiconductor manufacturing process, a resist liquid is applied to a surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, referred to as a "wafer") to form a resist film, and a pattern is exposed. After doing
A developing solution is supplied to the wafer to perform a developing process. After the developing, the developing solution is washed away with a rinsing solution such as pure water. In performing such a series of processing, a coating and developing processing apparatus has been conventionally used.

[0003] The coating and developing processing apparatus is individually provided with various processing apparatuses for performing, for example, a resist coating process, a heating process, a developing process, and the like on a wafer. Of these, a pure water supply nozzle for supplying pure water as a rinsing liquid after the wafer is subjected to the development processing, and a liquid supply for supplying pure water supplied from a pure water supply source to the nozzle. Means and the like are provided. The pure water supply source and the pure water supply nozzle are connected via a pure water supply pipe, and the pure water supply pipe is provided with an air-driven valve. Then, when air is supplied from the air supply mechanism to the air-driven valve, the air-driven valve is opened, and pure water supplied from the pure water supply source is supplied to the pure water supply nozzle through the pure water supply pipe. The liquid is sent.

[0004] By the way, except during the rinsing process for the wafer, pure water as a rinsing liquid stays in the pure water feed pipe,
If the state where pure water is not supplied from the nozzle continues, pure water may be deteriorated. In particular, when the development processing is not performed for a while and pure water stays for a long time, bacteria may be generated inside the tube or nozzle.

Therefore, conventionally, even when the developing process is not performed, the air supply mechanism is operated by an electrical control signal at an appropriate timing to supply air to the air-driven valve and discharge pure water. Dummy dispensing is performed appropriately. By performing this dummy dispensing, the pure water in the pure water supply pipe, the filter, the valve, etc. is always replaced with new pure water to prevent the pure water from deteriorating.
Bacteria were prevented from being generated inside the pure water feed pipe and the like.

[0006]

However, conventionally, for example, as in the case of maintenance of a developing processing apparatus,
When the power of the developing apparatus is turned off, the air supply mechanism for opening and closing the air-driven valve cannot be operated, so that air is not supplied to the air-driven valve and dummy dispensing cannot be performed. Was. As a result, pure water deteriorates inside the pure water feed pipe and the like, and bacteria may be generated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide a liquid processing apparatus capable of performing dummy dispensing even when the power is off.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid supply mechanism for supplying a processing liquid through a liquid circuit having an opening / closing mechanism. A first control mechanism for controlling the power supply, a power supply for supplying power for operating the first control mechanism, and a second control mechanism for controlling opening and closing of the opening and closing mechanism when the power supply is off. A liquid supply mechanism is provided.

In the liquid processing apparatus according to the first aspect,
When the power is off, the opening and closing mechanism is controlled by the second control mechanism. With this control, the processing liquid can be discharged to the outside as in the case where the power is on. As a result, it is possible to always perform the dummy dispensing of the processing liquid.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the liquid supply mechanism according to the first aspect, the operation of the first control mechanism includes:
It is characterized by having switching means for switching the operation of the second control mechanism.

In the liquid supply mechanism according to the second aspect,
When the power is on, the opening and closing mechanism is controlled by the first control mechanism. On the other hand, when the power is off, the opening and closing mechanism is controlled by the second control mechanism.

[0012] The invention described in claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2.
Wherein the opening and closing mechanism is an opening and closing valve provided in the liquid circuit and opened by supply of a fluid, and the first control mechanism supplies a fluid to the opening and closing valve. A fluid supply mechanism, wherein the second control mechanism is a second fluid supply mechanism that supplies fluid to the on-off valve.

[0013] In the liquid processing mechanism according to the third aspect,
When the power is on, the opening and closing of the on-off valve is controlled by the first fluid supply mechanism, and when the power is off, the opening and closing of the on-off valve is controlled by the second fluid supply mechanism.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the second fluid supply mechanism is provided in a main circuit for supplying a fluid to the on-off valve and in the main circuit. And a main switching valve that opens in conjunction with turning off the power supply.

In the liquid processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect,
When the power of the liquid processing apparatus is turned off, the main switching valve is automatically switched and opened, so that the fluid is automatically supplied from the second fluid supply mechanism to the on-off valve through the main circuit, and the dummy dispense is performed. It becomes possible.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the liquid supply mechanism according to the fourth aspect, the second fluid supply mechanism includes a sub switching valve provided in the main circuit and opened intermittently. It is characterized by:

In the liquid processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect,
When the sub switching valve is closed, the flow of the fluid through the main circuit is stopped, so that no fluid is supplied to the on-off valve. Conversely, when the sub switching valve is opened, fluid is supplied to the on-off valve through the main circuit. The intermittent opening and closing of the sub-switching valve makes it possible to perform the dummy dispensing of the processing liquid intermittently.

In this case, the second fluid supply mechanism may include an opening timing setting means for opening the sub-switching valve at a predetermined timing, and an opening timing setting means for opening the sub-switching valve at a predetermined timing. And an opening time setting means for opening the opening only during the time.

In the liquid processing apparatus according to the sixth aspect,
With these setting means, the timing when the sub-switching valve opens and the time from this timing until the sub-switching valve closes can be automatically controlled. As a result, it is possible to control the timing for performing the dummy dispensing and the time for performing the dummy dispensing.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the liquid processing apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the opening timing setting means and / or the opening time setting means is a delay valve, and the delay valve is connected to the main switching device. When the valve is opened, it is operated by the fluid supplied to the main circuit.

In the liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention, the delay valve includes, for example, a throttle valve or a check valve for adjusting a flow rate of supplied air, a tank for storing air, and a switching valve. The operation timing of the switching valve can be delayed by changing the throttle amount, the capacity of the tank, and the like. According to such a delay valve, it is possible to control the opening / closing timing of the sub-switching valve and the opening time of the sub-switching valve by appropriately adjusting the capacity of the throttle valve and the tank.

Then, as in claim 8, claims 1 to 7
In the liquid processing apparatus having a plurality of liquid processing mechanisms described in any of the above, deterioration of the processing liquid when the power is turned off can be prevented in the plurality of liquid processing mechanisms.

[0023]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on a developing apparatus as an example of a liquid processing apparatus. 1 to 3 are explanatory views of a coating and developing apparatus having a developing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a rear view. .

As shown in FIG.
For example, a cassette station 2 for loading and unloading 25 wafers W from the outside to the coating and developing apparatus 1 in cassette units and loading and unloading wafers W to and from the cassette C, The wafer W is transferred between a processing station 3 in which various processing apparatuses for performing predetermined processing in a single-wafer manner are arranged in multiple stages and an exposure apparatus (not shown) provided adjacent to the processing station 3. And an interface unit 4 for the same.

In the cassette station 2, for example, four cassettes C are positioned at the positions of the positioning projections 6 on the cassette mounting table 5 serving as the mounting portion, with the entrance and exit of the wafer W facing the processing station 3 in the X direction (FIG. 1). It can be placed in a line in the vertical direction. The wafer carrier 7 movable in the cassette arrangement direction (X direction) and the wafer arrangement direction of the wafers W accommodated in the cassette C (Z direction; vertical direction).
Are freely movable along the transport path 8 so that each cassette C can be selectively accessed.

The wafer carrier 7 is also rotatable in the θ direction (rotational direction around the Z axis). As will be described later, the multistage unit of the third processing unit group G ₃ on the processing station 3 side will be described later. It is configured to be able to access the alignment device 32 and the extension device 33 belonging to the section.

In the processing station 3, a main transfer device 13 provided with three upper, middle, and lower tweezers 10, 11, and 12 for holding a wafer W is disposed at a central portion.
Various processing devices are arranged in multiple stages around 3 to form a processing device group. In the coating and developing apparatus 1, 5
One processing device group G ₁ , G ₂ , G ₃ , G ₄ , G ₅ can be disposed, and the first and second processing device groups G ₁ , G ₂ are disposed on the front side of the coating and developing processing device 1. and, the third processing unit group G ₃ is disposed adjacent to the cassette station 2, the fourth processing unit group G ₄ are disposed adjacent to the interface section 4, a shown by the broken line processing unit group G ₅ 5 is disposed on the back side.

As shown in FIG. 2 in the first processing unit group G _1, 2 types of spinner type processing apparatus, for example, a resist coating unit for processing by applying a resist to the wafer W 15
And a developing apparatus 16 according to the present embodiment for supplying a developing solution to the wafer W for processing is arranged in two stages from the bottom. Similarly, for the second processing unit group G _2,
A resist coating device 17 and a developing device 18 are stacked in two stages from the bottom.

As shown in FIG. 3, the third processing unit group G _3, the cooling unit 30 carries out the oven-type processing units, for example, a cooling process for performing predetermined processing put on the mounting table the wafer W, the resist and the wafer A hydrophobizing device 31 for improving the fixability to W, an alignment device 32 for aligning the wafer W, an extension device 33 for holding the wafer W on standby, prebaking devices 34 and 34 for performing a heating process before the exposure process; Post-baking devices 35, 35 and the like for performing a heating process after the developing process are stacked in, for example, eight stages from the bottom.

In the fourth processing unit group G ₄ , for example, a cooling unit 40, an extension cooling unit 41 for naturally cooling the mounted wafer W, an extension unit 42, a cooling unit 43, and a wafer W after the exposure processing
Exposure baking devices 44, 44, and post baking devices 45, 45, etc., which heat-treat the same, are stacked, for example, in eight stages from the bottom.

A wafer carrier 49 is provided at the center of the interface section 4. This wafer carrier 49 is X
The first processing unit group is configured to be able to freely move in the direction (vertical direction in FIG. 1), the Z direction (vertical direction), and rotate in the θ direction (rotation direction about the Z axis). G ₄
Extension device 42 and peripheral exposure device 5 belonging to
0, the exposure apparatus (not shown) can be accessed.

The coating and developing apparatus 1 is configured as described above. Next, the developing devices 16 and 18 incorporated in the coating and developing device 1 will be described. Since the developing devices 16 and 18 have basically the same configuration, the developing device 16 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4, the developing device 16 includes an annular cup 52 having an open upper surface in a casing 51, a spin chuck 53 for horizontally mounting the wafer W in the cup 52, and a developing solution. And a pure water supply nozzle 55 for supplying pure water as a rinsing liquid to the wafer W.

The bottom surface of the cup 52 is inclined, and a drainage pipe 57 for draining the developer scattered in the cup 52 is connected to the lowermost portion of the bottom surface 56. An exhaust pipe 58 for exhausting the atmosphere inside the cup 52 is connected to the opposite side of the drain pipe 57. A back surface cleaning nozzle 59 is provided below the wafer W held by the spin chuck 53 to clean the back surface of the wafer W.

The spin chuck 53 is configured to suck and hold the wafer W on the mounting surface, and is connected to a support column 61 of a lifting / lowering rotating mechanism 60 provided below the cup 52. Therefore, the wafer W held by the spin chuck 53 can be moved up and down and rotated by the columns 61.

As shown in FIG. 5, the pure water supply nozzle 55 is connected to a pure water supply source 64 via a pure water supply pipe 62. An air-driven valve 63 as an opening / closing mechanism, a flow meter 66, and a filter 67 are provided in the middle of the pure water supply pipe 62. The air-driven valve 63 is provided with an operating portion 65. When air is supplied to the operating portion 65, the air-driven valve 63 is opened, and pure water from a pure water supply source 64 is supplied with pure water. Pure water supply nozzle 55 through liquid pipe 62
It is supplied to. Thereby, the wafer W
To discharge pure water. When air is no longer supplied to the operating portion 65 of the air-driven valve 63, the driven valve 63 closes and pure water is not supplied to the pure water supply nozzle 55.

The operating section 65 of the air-driven valve 63 includes a first air supply mechanism 69 as a first control mechanism operated by a power supply 68 of the developing device 16 and an air supply path 7.
0 ′ and an air supply passage 70, and a switching valve that is an air-operated three-way valve that switches the drive of an air-driven valve 63 between the air supply passage 70 ′ and the air supply passage 70. A drive switching valve 71 as a means is interposed. The drive switching valve 71 is connected to a main circuit 74 of a second air supply mechanism 72 described later. Drive switching valve 71
Are valve bodies 71b and 71c and these valve bodies 71b and 71c.
An actuating section 71a for switching the flow path by moving c and a spring 71d are provided. The spring 71d has the valve bodies 71b and 7
1c, the air supply path 70 and the air supply path 70 'are always electrically connected via the valve body 71c, and the first air supply mechanism 69 supplies the air-driven valve 6c.
The air is supplied to the operating section 65 of No. 3 and the air-driven valve 63 is opened. In this case, the drive switching valve 71 is provided between the main circuit 74 of the second air supply mechanism 72 and the air supply path 70.
Is closed, and the main circuit 74 and the air supply path 70 are not electrically connected at all times. On the other hand, when air is supplied to the operating portion 71a via a bypass 79 of the second air supply mechanism 72 described later, the air moves the valve bodies 71b and 71c in a direction to push back the spring 71d. As a result, the drive switching valve 71 is opened between the main circuit 74 of the second air supply mechanism 72 and the air supply path 70, and the main circuit 74 and the air supply path 70 are conducted through the valve body 71b. Then, the operating portion 65 of the air-driven valve 63 is supplied from the second air supply mechanism 72.
Is supplied to the air.

Next, the second air supply means 72 as a second control mechanism will be described. First, a compressor 73 is connected to the most upstream side of the main circuit 74. Between the compressor 73 and the drive switching valve 71, a safety valve 75,
A main switching valve 76, a filter 77 and a sub switching valve 78 are arranged in this order.

The safety valve 75 is a manual three-way valve. The safety valve 75 has valve bodies 75a and 75b. Normally, when an operator operates the handle 75c, the valve
The main circuit 74 is made conductive through 5b.

The main switching valve 76 is an electromagnetic three-way valve.
The main switching valve 76 includes valve bodies 76a and 76b, and these valve bodies 76a and 76b.
A spring 76c for switching the main circuit 74 by moving a and 76b and a solenoid 76d are provided. Normally, the solenoid 76d is driven by electric power supplied from the power supply 68.
Pushes the valve bodies 76a and 76b toward the spring 76c, so that the main switching valve 76 is closed, and the main circuit 74 is not conducting through the valve body 76a. On the other hand, when the power from the power source 68 is not supplied to the solenoid 76d, the valve bodies 76a, 76
b is pushed back by the spring 76c, and the main switching valve 76 is opened. This allows the main circuit 74 to conduct through the valve body 76b.

The sub switching valve 78 is an air-operated three-way valve. The sub-switching valve 78 has valve bodies 78b and 78c, an operating unit 78a that moves the valve bodies 78b and 78c to switch the flow path, and a spring 78d. Since the spring 78d pushes the valve bodies 78b and 78c toward the operation portion 78a, the sub-switching valve 78 is normally closed, that is, the main circuit 74 is always in a state of non-conduction through the valve body 78c. I have. On the other hand, when air is supplied to the operating portion 78a from an annular path 80 described later, this air causes the valve bodies 78b, 7
8c moves in the direction to push back the spring 78d, so that the sub-switching valve 78 is opened, and the main circuit 74 is conducted through the valve body 78b.

The main circuit 74 includes a filter 77 and a sub switching valve 7.
8, a bypass 79 is branched, and the downstream side of the bypass 79 is connected to the operating portion 71 a of the drive switching valve 71. The main circuit 74 includes a filter 77 and a sub switching valve 78.
An annular path 80 is branched from between the two. The downstream side of the annular passage 80 is connected to the operating portion 78a of the sub switching valve 78 described above, and a first delay valve 81 is interposed in the middle of the annular passage 80. Here, the first delay valve 81 will be described with reference to FIG. 6. The first delay valve 81 has a throttle valve 81a capable of adjusting the flow rate of the inflow air, and a tank 8 capable of storing a fixed amount of air.
1b and a check valve 81c for flowing air in a certain direction.
And a switching valve 81d. The switching valve 81d is an air-operated three-way valve having basically the same function and configuration as the above-described drive switching valve 71 and sub-switching valve 78, and is interposed in the annular passage 80. The switching valve 81d has valve bodies 81g and 81h, a spring 81e for moving the valve bodies 81g and 81h, and an operating portion 81f.
Normally, the spring 81e connects the valve bodies 81g and 81h to the operating portion 81f.
Side, the switching valve 81d is closed.
The annular path 80 is in a state of not conducting through the valve body 81h.

Air flows into the throttle valve 81a through a bypass passage 82 branched from the annular passage 80, and a delay switching valve 83 is disposed in the bypass passage 82. The delay switching valve 83 is an air-operated three-way valve having basically the same function and configuration as the above-described drive switching valve 71 and sub-switching valve 78, and includes an operating portion 83a and a valve body 83.
b, 83c and a spring 83d. Since the valve elements 83b and 83c are normally pushed toward the operation portion 83a by the spring 83d, the delay switching valve 83 is opened and the valve element 8 is opened.
Although the bypass passage 82 is in a conductive state via the bypass passage 3c, when air is supplied to the operating portion 83a through the bypass passage 85, the valve bodies 83b and 83c are opposed to the spring 83d. The delay switching valve 83 is closed because it is pushed back to the side 83d, and the bypass passage 82 is connected to the valve body 83b.
And no conduction occurs.

The throttle valve 81 passes through the bypass 82.
The flow rate of the air flowing into a is adjusted by the throttle valve 81a and stored in the tank 81b. When air larger than that capacity is supplied to the tank 81b, the air is supplied to the tank 81b.
The air is supplied to the operating portion 81f from b through the check valve 81c. The valve elements 81g and 81h are driven by the spring 8e against the spring 81e by the air supplied to the operating portion 81f.
1e is pushed back. Thereby, the switching valve 81
d is opened, and the annular passage 80 is opened as shown in FIG.
It conducts through g.

The bypass passage 85 branches from the annular passage 80 upstream of the first delay valve 81, and the bypass passage 8
The downstream side of 5 is connected to the operating section 83a of the delay switching valve 83 described above. The bypass passage 85 has a second delay valve 84
Is interposed. The second delay valve 84 is connected to the first delay valve 8.
1 has a configuration basically similar to that of the throttle valve 84a.
, A tank 84b, a check valve 84c, and a switching valve 84.
d. The switching valve 84d has a bypass passage 85
And has a valve body 84g, 84h, a spring 84e for moving the valve body 84g, 84h to switch the bypass 85, and an operating portion 84f.
Normally, the spring 84e connects the valve bodies 84g and 84h to the operating portion 84f.
Side, the switching valve 84d is closed, and the bypass passage 85 is in a state of not conducting through the valve body 84h. Then, the air flowing through the annular path 80 is branched into the branch paths 80 '.
When the air is supplied to the operating portion 84f through the throttle valve 84a and the tank 84b, the air moves the valve bodies 84g and 84h in a direction to push back the spring 84e. As a result, the switching valve 84d is opened, the bypass passage 85 is conducted through the valve body 84g, and the air flowing through the bypass passage 85 is supplied to the operating portion 83a of the delay switching valve 83. It has become. As a result, the valve body 8 resists the spring 83d.
3b and 83c are pushed back to the spring 83d side, the delay switching valve 83 is closed, and the bypass passage 82 is connected to the valve body 83.
No conduction occurs through b.

Now, at the cassette station 2,
The wafer carrier 7 accesses the cassette C that accommodates the unprocessed wafer W on the cassette mounting table 5 and takes out one wafer W from the cassette C. Thereafter, the wafer W is carried into the alignment device 32 included in the third processing unit group G _3. The wafer W whose alignment has been completed by the alignment device 32 is transferred to the tweezers 11 of the main transfer device 13.
While being held on and conveyed to the resist coating unit 15 belonging to the first processing unit group G _1. The wafer W on which the resist film is formed by the resist coating device 15 is thereafter
Subjected to heat treatment in the third processing unit group G ₃ of the pre-baking unit 34, is cooled are carried into the extension cooling unit 41 of the fourth processing unit group G _4. Then, the wafer is taken out of the extension cooling device 41 by the wafer carrier 49, transported to the exposure device (not shown) via the peripheral exposure device 50, and subjected to a predetermined exposure process.

The wafer W which exposure processing has been completed is subjected to heat treatment after the exposure process in the post-exposure baking apparatus 44 belonging to the fourth processing unit group G _4. After that, it is carried into the cooling device 43 and cooled to a predetermined temperature. The wafer W after the cooling process is transferred to the main transfer device 10
Developing device 16 while being held by tweezers 11
And the developer supply nozzle 5
After the developer is supplied from 4 and development is performed, pure water as a rinse liquid is supplied from a pure water supply nozzle 55.

At this time, regardless of whether the power supply 68 of the developing device 16 is on or off, in the present embodiment, the dummy dispensing can be performed as described below, so that the wafer W is not always deteriorated. Pure water is supplied.

Firstly when power source 68 is on, i.e. in the state of S ₁ shown in the timing chart of FIG. 8, as shown in FIG. 9, the air supplied from the first air supply mechanism 69 is an air supply passage 70 ', The air is sent to the operating section 65 of the air-driven valve 63 through 70. At this time, in the second air supply mechanism 72, since the valve bodies 76a and 76b of the main switching valve 76 are pushed toward the spring 76c by the solenoid 76d, the main switching valve 76 is closed. Therefore, the main circuit 74 is not conducted between the safety valve 75 and the filter 77, and the air from the compressor 73 does not flow downstream of the main switching valve 76.

The air supplied from the first air supply mechanism 69 is supplied to the operating portion 65 of the air-driven valve 63 in this way, so that the air-driven valve 63 is opened and supplied from the pure water supply source 64. Pure water is air driven valve 63
Through the pure water feed pipe 62 to the pure water supply nozzle 55. As a result, pure water is discharged from the pure water supply nozzle 55, and dummy dispensing becomes possible.

[0051] Then, as the isochronous maintenance of the development processing unit 16, when the power source 68 of the developing unit 16 is ready for S ₂ shown in the timing chart of Figure 8 turned off, the first air supply mechanism Since the supply of air from the valve 69 is stopped and power is not supplied to the solenoid 76d of the main switching valve 76, the valve bodies 76a and 76b
The main switching valve 76 is opened by being pushed to the solenoid 76d side by 6c. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the main circuit 7 is provided between the safety valve 75 and the filter 77.
4 is conducted through the valve body 76b. Therefore, the air supplied from the compressor 73 is supplied to the main circuit 74.
It will be distributed through. The air branched from the main circuit 74 to the detour 79 is operated by the operating portion 7 of the drive switching valve 71.
1a, and the operating portion 71 is supplied by a spring 71d.
The valve bodies 71b and 71c that have been pushed to the a side are pushed back by this air. Therefore, the drive switching valve 71 is opened between the main circuit 74 and the air supply path 70, and the air supply path 70 and the main circuit 74 are conducted through the valve body 71b. However, in this case, the air supplied from the compressor 73 is not supplied to the air supply path 70 through the main circuit 74 because the sub switching valve 78 is still closed.

The air supplied from the compressor 73 flows through an annular passage 80 branched from the main circuit 74, and also flows through a bypass passage 82 branched from the annular passage 80. At this time, the delay switching valve 83 is opened and the bypass passage 82 is conducted through the valve body 83c, so that the air flowing through the bypass passage 82 is supplied to the throttle valve 81a of the first delay valve 81. Is done. Then, the air adjusted to a predetermined flow rate by the throttle valve 81a is stored in the tank 81b.

[0053] Subsequently FIG state of S ₃ shown in FIG. 8, when the words air is first delay valve 81 air tank 81b of the above capacity provided through the bypass passage 82 is the air supply is 11
As shown in (2), the air stored in the tank 81b is supplied to the operating portion 81f via the check valve 81c.
For this reason, the valve bodies 81g and 81h are pushed to the spring 81e side to open the switching valve 81d, and the annular path 80 becomes conductive through the valve body 81g. Then, the air flowing through the annular passage 80 passes through the valve body 81g, and thereafter, the sub-switching valve 78
Is supplied to the operating portion 78a.

The air supplied to the operating portion 78a of the sub switching valve 78 causes the valve bodies 78b and 78c to move the springs 78d.
Side, the sub switching valve 78 is opened, and the main circuit 74 is conducted through the valve body 78b. Therefore, the air supplied from the compressor 73 flows into the air supply path 70 through the main circuit 74, and then is supplied to the operating portion 65 of the air-driven valve 63. For this reason, pure water is sent to the pure water supply nozzle 55 to perform dummy dispensing.

On the other hand, air is also supplied from the branch passage 80 'to the second delay valve 84 simultaneously with the supply of air to the operating portion 78a. The air supplied to the throttle valve 84a from the branch passage 80 'is adjusted to a predetermined flow rate by the throttle valve 84a, and then stored in the tank 84b.

[0056] Then, when the above air volume supplied to the tank 84b is in S ₄ shown in FIG. 8 state, i.e. tank 8
As shown in FIG. 12, the air stored in 4b is supplied to the operating portion 84f via the check valve 84c. Therefore, the valve bodies 84g and 84h are pushed toward the spring 84e by the air supplied to the operating portion 84f, the switching valve 84d is opened, and the bypass path 85 is conducted through the valve body 84g. Accordingly, the air flowing through the bypass passage 85 is supplied to the operating portion 83a of the delay switching valve 83 through the valve body 84g.
Is supplied with air. By the supply of the air, the valve elements 83b and 83c pushed by the spring 83d are pushed back to close the delay switching valve 83, the valve element 83b and the valve element 83c are switched, and the bypass passage 82 is connected to the valve element 83b. And no conduction occurs.

Therefore, the air is not supplied from the bypass passage 82 to the throttle valve 81a of the first delay valve 81, and the switching valve 81d pressed by the air supplied to the operating portion 81f.
Is pushed back by the spring 81e. Therefore, the switching valve 81d is closed, and the annular path 80 is connected to the valve body 81h of the first delay valve 81.
And no conduction occurs. Accordingly, the air from the annular passage 80 is not supplied to the operating portion 78a of the sub switching valve 78, so that the valve bodies 78b and 78c are pushed back by the spring 78d to close the sub switching valve 78, and the main circuit 74 is closed. No conduction is made via the valve 78c. As a result, the air supplied from the compressor 73 is supplied to the operating portion 65 of the air-driven valve 63.
The air-driven valve 63 is closed, pure water is no longer supplied to the pure water supply nozzle 55, and the dummy dispensing stops.

When the annular passage 80 is not conducted through the valve body 81h of the first delay valve 81, air is not supplied to the operating portion 84f of the second delay valve 84 through the branch passage 80 '. Therefore, the switching valve 84d is closed, and the bypass passage 85 that has been conducting until then is not conducted through the valve body 84h. Accordingly, the air is not supplied to the operating portion 83a of the delay switching valve 83 through the bypass passage 85, so that the valve bodies 83b and 83c are pushed back by the spring 83d, and the delay switching valve 83 is opened, and the bypass passage 82 is opened. Is the valve element 83
conducting again via the c, returned to the state S ₂ shown again the timing chart of FIG.

Thereafter, the air supplied from the compressor 73 is intermittently driven by repeating a series of steps of the states S _{2 to} S ₄ shown in the timing chart of FIG. 8 until the power supply 68 is turned on. Actuator 6 of type valve 63
Supply air to 5 and perform intermittent dummy dispensing.

In this embodiment, in the first delay valve 81 and the second delay valve 84, throttle valves 81a, 81
By adjusting the flow rate of the air by 4a and appropriately adjusting the capacity of each of the tanks 81b and 84b, the timing at which the annular passage 80 is conducted through the valve body 81g and the time at which the bypass passage 85 is conducted through the valve body 84g are reduced. Can be controlled. Thus, the timing of the air supplied to the operating portion 78a of the sub switching valve 78 through the annular passage 80 and the supply time thereof can be controlled. In addition,
In the above-described embodiment, the air is supplied from the annular passage 80 to the operating portion 78a every 600 seconds for 10 seconds.
Air is supplied from the compressor 73 every 10 seconds for 10 seconds. As a result, when the power supply 68 is off, the dummy dispense is performed once every 600 seconds.
This can be done only for 0 seconds.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, when the power supply 68 is turned off, the air supplied from the compressor 73 is supplied to the operating portion 65 of the air-driven valve 63 by the second air supply mechanism 72. can do.

The operating part 6 of the air-driven valve 63
When the air is supplied to the nozzle 5, the air-driven valve 63 is opened, and the pure water supplied from the pure water supply source 64 is sent to the pure water supply nozzle 55. Therefore, the power supply 68
Since the dummy dispensing for the wafer W can be performed even when the wafer W is off, the pure water in the pure water feed pipe 62 and the like does not deteriorate, and the rinsing process after the suitable developing process for the wafer W can be performed. It can be carried out. In addition, pure water feed pipe 6
It is also possible to prevent the generation of bacteria inside the second and the like.

Further, by supplying air to the operating portion 78a of the sub switching valve 78 from the annular passage 80, the main circuit 74 can be conducted through the valve body 78b.
Unless air is supplied to 8a, the main circuit 74 can be prevented from conducting through the valve body 78c. By intermittently switching the opening and closing operation of the sub switching valve 78 in this manner, the air supplied from the compressor 73 can be intermittently supplied to the operating portion 65 of the air-driven valve 63. As a result, it becomes possible to supply pure water intermittently to the wafer W.

In the first delay valve 81, the tank 81b
The time from when the air starts to accumulate in the inside to when the air is discharged toward the operating portion 81f is set to, for example, 600 seconds. During this 600 seconds, the annular passage 80 has not been electrically connected via the valve body 81h.
No air is supplied from the annular passage 80 to the operating portion 78a of No. 8, and the sub-switching valve 78 is closed. And tank 8
When the air is released from 1b, the air is supplied to the operating portion 78a, and the sub switching valve 78 is opened. As a result, the sub switching valve 78 opens and closes every 600 seconds, and dummy dispensing can be performed every 600 seconds. The set time of 600 seconds can be appropriately adjusted by changing the flow rate of the throttle valve 81a and the capacity of the tank 81b.

The air flowing through the annular passage 80 via the valve body 81g is supplied to the operating portion 78a of the sub-switching valve 78 and the second delay valve 84.
At the same time as the tank 84b. In the present embodiment, the time from the first accumulation of air in the tank 84b until the air is released toward the operating portion 84f is set to, for example, 10 seconds. During this 10 seconds, the sub-switching valve 78 is opened, but when the air discharged from the tank 84b is supplied to the operating portion 84f, the bypass passage 85 is conducted and the air is supplied to the operating portion 83a of the delay switching valve 83. Is supplied. As a result, the delay switching valve 83 is closed and air is not supplied to the operating portion 81a of the first delay valve 81, and the switching valve 81d
Is closed. As a result, since the annular passage 80 does not conduct through the valve body 81h, the sub switching valve 78 is closed. As described above, in the second delay valve 84, the sub-switching valve 78 is closed again 10 seconds after the sub-switching valve 78 is opened.
As a result, it is possible to perform the dummy dispensing for only 10 seconds. The set time of 10 seconds can be appropriately adjusted by changing the flow rate of the throttle valve 84a and the capacity of the tank 84b.

In the above embodiment, the development processing device 16 has been described exclusively. However, the present invention can be applied to another development processing device 18 having the same configuration as the development processing device 16. is there. That is, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the pure water supply source 64 and the pure water supply nozzle 90 of the developing device 18 are connected via a pure water supply pipe 91, and an air-driven valve 92 is provided in the middle of the pure water supply pipe 91. And a drive switching valve 93 for switching the driving of the air-driven valve 92 is provided. Then, the first air supply mechanism 69 and the drive switching valve 93 are connected via an air supply path 94 ′,
The drive switching valve 93 and the operating portion 95 of the air-driven valve 92 are connected via an air supply path 94, and a branch circuit 96 branched from the main circuit 74 is connected to the drive switching valve 93 and branched from the bypass circuit 79. The connected circuit 97 is connected to the operating portion 93a of the drive switching valve 93. According to such a configuration, the second air supply mechanism 72 of the development processing device 16 can be formed without forming a new second air supply mechanism for the other development processing device 18.
When the power supply 68 is turned off, the air supplied from the compressor 73 can also be supplied to the operating portion 95 of the air-driven valve 92 of the other developing device 18 by using the same. . Of course, even when three or more development processing devices are provided in the coating and development processing device 1, the second air supply mechanism 72 can be commonly used in the same manner.

Although the processing liquid sent from the air-driven valve 63 has been described using pure water as an example, the present invention is not limited to this example. It can be applied to any developing solution. The fluid used in the present invention is not limited to air, and may be, for example, a liquid. Furthermore, the example using the wafer W as the substrate has been described, but the present invention is also applicable to a case where another substrate such as an LCD substrate or a CD substrate is used.

[0068]

According to the liquid processing mechanism of the present invention, the fluid can be supplied to the opening / closing mechanism by the second control mechanism when the power is off. Therefore, even when the power is off, the processing liquid can be sent, so that the dummy dispensing can be performed. As a result, even when the power supply is turned off for a long time, a deteriorated processing solution is not supplied to the substrate, and defects in the development processing can be eliminated.

In particular, according to the liquid processing mechanism of the fourth aspect, when the power is turned off, the main switching valve is automatically switched to open, and the fluid is automatically transmitted to the on-off valve through the main circuit by the second fluid supply mechanism. Supplied with. Therefore, since the dummy dispensing can be automatically performed, the burden on the operator can be reduced, and the switching error of the operator can be prevented.

In particular, according to the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention, by intermittently switching the opening and closing of the sub switching valve, the fluid is intermittently supplied to the opening and closing mechanism through the main circuit. be able to. As a result, the dummy dispensing can be performed intermittently, and the amount of the processing liquid consumed in the dummy dispensing can be saved.

In particular, according to the liquid processing apparatus of the sixth and seventh aspects, since the opening time and the closing time of the sub-switching valve can be controlled, the timing at which the processing liquid is discharged to the substrate and the discharge timing thereof. The time can be set appropriately. According to the eighth aspect, in the plurality of liquid processing mechanisms, the deterioration of the processing liquid when the power is turned off can be suppressed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a coating and developing apparatus provided with a developing apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a rear view of the coating and developing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the developing apparatus according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a second air supply mechanism provided in the developing device of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a delay valve provided in the second air supply mechanism of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the valve element of the delay valve in FIG. 6 is switched.

FIG. 8 is a timing chart showing the operation of a delay valve and the like when dummy dispensing is performed.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of air when the developing device of FIG. 4 is turned on.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the flow of air when the main switching valve of the second air supply mechanism in FIG. 5 is switched.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of air when air is discharged from a first delay valve of the second air supply mechanism of FIG. 5;

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a flow of air when air is released from a second delay valve of the second air supply mechanism in FIG. 5;

13 is an explanatory diagram in which two developing devices are connected by the second air supply mechanism of FIG. 5;

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 coating / developing processing apparatus 16, 18 developing processing apparatus 55 pure water supply nozzle 63 air-driven valve 65 operating section 68 power supply 69 first air supply mechanism 71 drive switching valve 72 second air supply mechanism 73 compressor 74 main circuit 76 main switching Valve 78 Sub-switching valve 79 Detour 80 Ring path 81 First delay valve 82, 85 Bypass path 83 Delay switching valve 84 Second delay valve W Wafer

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A liquid supply mechanism for supplying a processing liquid through a liquid circuit having an opening / closing mechanism, comprising: a first control mechanism for controlling opening / closing of the opening / closing mechanism; and an electric power for operating the first control mechanism. And a second control mechanism for controlling opening and closing of the opening and closing mechanism when the power is off. 2. An operation of the first control mechanism, and an operation of the second control mechanism.
2. The liquid supply mechanism according to claim 1, further comprising a switching unit that switches between the operation of the control mechanism and the operation of the control mechanism. 3. The open / close valve provided in the liquid circuit and opened by supply of a fluid, wherein the first control mechanism supplies a fluid to the open / close valve. Wherein the second control mechanism is a second fluid supply mechanism for supplying fluid to the on-off valve.
The liquid processing mechanism according to claim 1. 4. The second fluid supply mechanism includes a main circuit that supplies fluid to the on-off valve, and a main switching valve that is provided in the main circuit and that opens when the power is turned off. The liquid supply mechanism according to claim 3, wherein: 5. The liquid supply mechanism according to claim 4, wherein the second fluid supply mechanism includes a sub switching valve provided in the main circuit and opened intermittently. 6. The second fluid supply mechanism includes an opening timing setting means for opening the sub switching valve at a predetermined time, and an opening time setting means for opening the sub switching valve for a predetermined time. The liquid supply mechanism according to claim 5, wherein the liquid supply mechanism is provided. 7. The opening timing setting means and / or the opening time setting means is a delay valve, and the delay valve is operated by the fluid supplied to the main circuit when the main switching valve is opened. 7. The liquid supply mechanism according to claim 6, wherein: 8. A liquid processing apparatus comprising a plurality of the liquid supply mechanisms according to claim 1.