JP2000189728A - Substrate treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To smoothly flow out drainage from a liquid receiving vessel such as a processing cup. SOLUTION: A main body part 61 of a drain filter 60 has a tubular peripheral surface 64 and a bottom surface 65 as a filtering surface which is provided so as to shut an opening below the peripheral surface 64. At the bottom surface 65, a large number of filtering holes 66 for catching foreign matters such as broken pieces of a substrate S and small parts such as a screw, are formed. Further the bottom surface 65 is provided in an inclined state to a horizontal surface. Thereby even when large quantity of treating soln. flows in the main body part 61 from a drainage port 33, the flown-in treating soln. is gathered to a lower part of the main body part 61 and a space 37 above the bottom surface 65 and a space 38 therebelow are communicated via the filtering holes 66 formed the bottom surface 65. Thereby the lower space 38 can be prevented from being in a closed state and the treating soln. above the bottom surface 65 can be made to smoothly flow into the lower space 38 side.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a process for treating various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display and a glass substrate for a plasma display panel (PDP) using a processing liquid. A substrate processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, a processing liquid is supplied to a substrate to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate, so that the surface of the substrate to be processed or a thin film formed on the surface is formed. And performing a process for An apparatus for performing such a process includes, for example, a spin chuck that rotates while horizontally holding a substrate, and a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the surface of the substrate held by the spin chuck. ing. And
While the substrate is being rotated by the spin chuck, a processing liquid is supplied from a nozzle to the surface of the rotating substrate, whereby the surface of the substrate is processed with the processing liquid. Further, the processing liquid supplied to the substrate and used for processing is collected on the bottom surface of the processing cup provided so as to surround the spin chuck, and is discharged from a drain port formed on the bottom surface of the processing cup. You.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a simplified structure near a drain port of a conventional substrate processing apparatus. A drain pipe 103 for guiding the processing liquid collected on the bottom surface of the processing cup 102 to the outside of the apparatus is connected to the drain port 101. A meandering portion 104 is formed in the middle part of the drainage pipe 103 by extending downward, folding back and extending upward, again folding back and extending downward.
A constant amount of the processing liquid always accumulates in the meandering portion 104,
The portion of the drainage pipe 103 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the meandering portion 104 in the processing liquid flow direction are separated from each other. This prevents, for example, odor generated from the drain reservoir provided outside the apparatus from flowing into the processing cup 102 through the drain pipe 103.

A drain filter 105 is attached to the drain port 101 to prevent small foreign matter, such as a piece of substrate or a screw, from entering the drain pipe 103. The drain filter 105 is formed, for example, in the shape of a bottomed cylinder, and its bottom surface 106 is a filtration surface 106 in which a plurality of holes 107 are formed to allow the passage of the processing liquid and prevent the passage of foreign matter. I have. The filtering surface 106 is provided substantially along the horizontal plane, and foreign matters contained in the drainage (treatment liquid) are captured by the filtering surface 106.

[0005]

However, in the above-described conventional configuration, when a large amount of drainage flows from the drainage port 101 to the drainage pipe 103, the drainage passes through the filtration surface 106 of the drain filter 105. As a result, the filtration surface 106 becomes clogged, and the drainage liquid may overflow into the processing cup 102.

More specifically, when a large amount of drainage flows into the drainage pipe 103, the inflowed drainage accumulates in the drain filter 105 due to the flow path resistance of the filtration surface 106 of the drain filter 105, and is horizontally The entire upper surface of the filtration surface 106 is covered. As a result, the space 108 between the filtration surface of the drainage pipe 103 and the meandering portion 104 becomes a substantially closed space, and the drainage flowing into the drain filter 105 does not easily pass through the filtration surface 106, The filtering surface 106 becomes clogged.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of smoothly discharging waste liquid from a liquid receiving container such as a processing cup.

[0008]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate using a processing liquid, the apparatus being used for processing a substrate. A liquid receiving container for receiving the processing liquid, a liquid discharging port provided at a lower portion of the liquid receiving container for discharging the processing liquid received by the liquid receiving container, and a liquid discharging port connected to the liquid discharging port; A drain pipe through which the processing liquid discharged from the mouth flows, and a filtration surface having a plurality of holes formed therein, and the filtration surface is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and is in the middle of the drain port or the drain pipe. And a filtering member provided in the section.

According to the present invention, the filtering surface of the filtering member is
It is formed so as to be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. Therefore, even if a large amount of the processing liquid flows into the drain pipe from the liquid receiving container, the flowing processing liquid is collected at a lower portion on the filtration surface. The space below the surface is communicated via a hole formed in the upper part of the filtration surface. This can prevent the space below the filtration surface from being substantially closed, so that the processing liquid on the filtration surface can smoothly flow to the lower space side. Therefore, even if a large amount of drainage flows into the drainage port, the drainage can be prevented from overflowing into the liquid receiving container.

[0010] Further, since the filtering surface is provided at an inclination, compared with a configuration in which the filtering surface is provided horizontally,
Since the area of the filtration surface increases when the area of the drainage port is the same, the smooth flow of the processing liquid to the lower space side can also be achieved. The filtering member is formed in a cylindrical shape in which a lower opening is closed by the filtering surface, and a predetermined gap is provided inside the drain port or the drain pipe. It is preferable that it is inserted and installed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a through hole penetrating the side surface of the filtering member is formed at a position higher than the filtering surface.
It is a substrate processing apparatus of a statement. If the through-hole is formed at a position higher than the filtration surface as in the present invention, when the processing liquid accumulated in the lower portion on the filtration surface passes through the filtration surface, the air in the space below the filtration surface is removed. Flows into the space above the liquid surface of the processing liquid collected on the filtration surface through a gap and a through hole formed between the side surface of the filtration member and the inner wall surface of the drainage port or the drainage pipe. can do. Thereby, for example, even if foreign matter accumulates on the filtration surface, the flow resistance of the treatment liquid on the filtration surface increases, and even if the treatment liquid accumulates to cover the entire area on the filtration surface, the accumulated treatment The liquid can be smoothly circulated to the lower space side, and the treatment liquid can be prevented from overflowing into the liquid receiving container.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an illustrative sectional view showing the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus is an apparatus for performing a cleaning process on a substrate S such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, and includes a spin chuck 20 that rotates while holding a substrate S to be processed, A processing cup 30 disposed so as to surround the periphery of the chuck 20 is accommodated in a processing chamber 12 defined by a partition 11.

The spin chuck 20 includes a rotating shaft 21 arranged along a vertical direction, a rotating driving mechanism 22 for rotating the rotating shaft 21, and a plate-shaped spin fixing horizontally fixed to an upper end of the rotating shaft 21. Base 23 and this spin base 2
3 and a plurality of chuck pins 24 for holding the peripheral portion of the substrate S. The substrate S to be processed is rotated in a substantially horizontal plane by rotating the rotation shaft 21 by the rotation drive mechanism 22 while being held by the chuck pins 24.

The processing cup 30 has a cup main body 31 formed in a cylindrical shape with a bottom, and a splash guard 32 provided to be vertically movable with respect to the cup main body 31. The splash guard 32 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and when the substrate S is attached to or detached from the spin chuck 20, the spin guard 20 is positioned above the upper edge of the splash guard 32. It is moved downward from the state shown.

Above the splash guard 32, surface processing nozzles 41 and 42 for supplying a processing liquid to the surface (upper surface) of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 20 via an opening in the upper surface of the splash guard 32. Are arranged. The surface treatment nozzles 41 and 42 have a chemical supply pipe 4
3 and a cleaning chemical solution (hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, ammonia, hydrogen peroxide or the like thereof) via the chemical liquid valve 44, or a chemical solution attached to the substrate S by the processing with this cleaning chemical solution To wash away
A rinsing liquid (pure water or the like) via the rinsing supply pipe 45 and the rinsing liquid valve 46 is used as a processing liquid as the processing liquid supply path 4.
7 selectively.

On the bottom surface of the cup body 31, back surface processing nozzles 51 and 52 for supplying a processing liquid toward the back surface (lower surface) of the substrate S held by the spin chuck 20 are arranged. Cleaning chemicals (hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, ammonia, or hydrogen peroxide water or the like) through the chemical liquid supply pipe 53 and the chemical liquid valve 54 are provided to the back surface processing nozzles 51 and 52, or In order to wash out the chemical liquid attached to the substrate S by the processing with the cleaning chemical liquid, a rinse liquid (pure water or the like) via the rinse supply pipe 55 and the rinse liquid valve 56 is selectively supplied from the processing liquid supply path 57 as a processing liquid. It is being supplied.

On the bottom surface of the cup body 31, a plurality of (two in this embodiment) liquid discharge ports 33 are formed on a circumference around the rotation shaft 21 of the spin chuck 20. The processing liquid supplied toward the substrate S from the front surface processing nozzles 41 and 42 and the back surface processing nozzles 51 and 52 is scattered from the outer peripheral edge of the substrate S by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the spin chuck 20, and the splash guard 32 Bump into Then, the water flows along the splash guard 32 and the inner wall surface of the cup main body 31, flows down to the bottom surface of the cup main body 31, and is guided from the drain outlet 33 to the drain pipe 34.

The drain port 33 is fitted with a drain filter 60 for preventing foreign substances such as fragments of the substrate S and small parts such as screws from entering the drain pipe 34. The drain filter 60 has a filtration surface that permits the passage of the processing liquid and blocks the passage of foreign substances. For example, during the processing of the substrate S or during the transfer of the substrate S to the spin chuck 20, In the case where S is broken, the fragments of the substrate S can be captured by the filtration surface. In addition, when an operator replaces or adjusts components in the processing chamber 12 and accidentally drops small components such as screws required for the replacement or adjustment, etc., into the processing cup 30. In addition, the small parts can be captured on the filtration surface.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a simplified structure of the drain pipe 34 and the drain filter 60. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a drain filter 60. The drainage pipe 34 is, for example, a cylindrical pipe, and extends vertically downward from a drainage port 33 formed on the bottom surface of the cup body 31 at an intermediate portion thereof, and then is folded upward. The meandering portion 35 is formed by extending, folding back, and extending downward. A constant amount of the processing liquid can always be stored in the meandering portion 35, so that a portion of the drain pipe 34 on the upstream side and the downstream side in the processing liquid flow direction with respect to the meandering portion 35 is isolated. Then, for example, odor generated from a drain reservoir provided outside the apparatus can be prevented from rising to the cup body 31 through the drain pipe 34.

At the periphery of the drain port 33, a cup body 31 is provided.
A step 36 which is one step lower than the bottom surface is formed, and the drain filter 60 is locked to this step 36. The drain filter 60 is integrally formed using a synthetic resin having chemical resistance such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride). The drain filter 60 has a substantially bottomed cylindrical main body 61 having an outer diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the drain pipe 34.
A flange portion 62 projecting outward from an upper end edge of the main body portion 61, and a substantially U-shaped grip portion 63 provided over the upper surface of the flange portion 62, and the grip portion 63 is pinched. By inserting the main body 61 into the drain pipe 34 and locking the flange 62 to the step 36, the drain port 33 is
It can be detachably attached to the. In this state, a gap D with a predetermined interval is formed between the inner peripheral surface of the drain pipe 34 and the outer peripheral surface of the main body 61.

The main body 61 has a cylindrical peripheral surface 64 and a flat bottom surface 65 provided so as to close an opening below the peripheral surface 64. On the bottom surface 65, a large number of filtration holes 66 are formed to allow the passage of the processing liquid and prevent the passage of these foreign substances, in order to capture foreign substances such as fragments of the substrate S and small parts such as screws. That is, the bottom surface 65
Has a filtration surface for capturing foreign matter.

The bottom surface 65 forming the filtering surface is provided in a state inclined with respect to the horizontal plane.
Is formed so that the cross-sectional shape becomes tapered as it goes downward. Therefore, even if a large amount of the processing liquid flows into the main body 61 of the drain filter 60 from the drain port 33, the flowing processing liquid flows along the bottom surface 65 and is collected at the lower part of the main body 61, so that the drainage liquid is discharged. A space 37 above the bottom surface (filtration surface) 55 in the tube 34 (a space above the liquid surface of the processing liquid collected in the lower part of the main body 61) 37 and a space 38 below are formed above the bottom surface 65. It is communicated through the filtered hole 66. In other words, the filtration hole 66 formed on the upper portion of the bottom surface 65 functions as an air vent hole when the processing liquid flowing into the main body 61 passes through the bottom surface 65, whereby the processing liquid can smoothly pass through the space 38. Can be distributed to

Further, a plurality of air vent holes 67 are formed in the peripheral surface 64 above the bottom surface 65. Therefore, the air in the space 38 below the bottom surface 65 in the drain pipe 34 is separated from the outer peripheral surface of the main body 61 by the drain pipe 34.
Can flow into the space 37 above the bottom surface 65 through the gap D and the air vent hole 67 formed between the inner surface and the inner surface. Accordingly, for example, when foreign matter accumulates below the bottom surface 65, the flow resistance of the processing liquid on the bottom surface 65 increases, and even when the processing liquid accumulates until the top surface of the bottom surface 65 is covered, The liquid can flow smoothly to the lower space 38 side.

Further, since the bottom surface 65 is inclined, the area of the bottom surface (filtration surface) 65 is smaller when the outer diameter of the peripheral surface 64 is the same as in the configuration where the bottom surface 65 is provided horizontally. And the bottom surface 65 is not easily clogged, so that the processing liquid can also be smoothly circulated to the lower space 38 side. As described above, according to this embodiment, the processing liquid (discharged liquid) discharged from the liquid discharge port 33 smoothly passes through the filtration surface 65 of the drain filter 60. Even if the liquid flows, the drainage liquid can be prevented from overflowing into the cup body 31.

In this embodiment, the drain filter 60 has one filtration surface 65 provided to be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. For example, as shown in a drain filter 70 shown in FIG. It may have two flat filter surfaces 71 and 72 inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. Moreover, you may have more filtration surfaces. FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a drain filter 80 according to a second embodiment that can be used in place of the drain filter 60 described above. In FIG. 5, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

In the drain filter 80, the main body 61 includes a cylindrical upper peripheral surface 81 and the upper peripheral surface 81.
And a conical lower peripheral surface 82 extending from a lower end edge of the lower surface. The upper peripheral surface 81 has a plurality of air vent holes 67.
Are formed. A large number of filtration holes 66 are formed in the lower peripheral surface 82, and the lower peripheral surface 82 is a filtration surface.

According to this configuration, the same effect as when the drain filter 60 according to the above-described first embodiment is used can be achieved. That is, the drain filter 8
Even if a large amount of processing liquid flows into the main body 61, the flowing processing liquid is collected at the lower part of the main body 61, so that the space above and below the liquid surface of the collected processing liquid is reduced. The filter hole 66 formed in the upper part of the lower peripheral surface 82 and the air vent hole 67 formed in the upper peripheral surface 81
The processing liquid smoothly passes through the filtration surface 82 of the drain filter 80.

FIG. 6 shows a drain filter 90 according to a third embodiment which can be used in place of the drain filter 60.
It is a perspective view which shows a structure of. In FIG. 6, the same parts as those shown in FIG. 3 are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the drain filter 90, the main body 61
Are provided so as to close a cylindrical upper peripheral surface 91, a tapered lower peripheral surface 92 extending from a lower edge of the upper peripheral surface 91, and an opening below the lower peripheral surface 92. And a disc-shaped bottom surface 93. A plurality of air vent holes 67 are formed in the upper peripheral surface 91. Further, a large number of filtration holes 66 are formed in the lower peripheral surface 92 and the bottom surface 93, and the lower peripheral surface 92 and the bottom surface 93 are filtration surfaces.

When a large amount of processing liquid flows into the main body 61 of the drain filter 90, the processing liquid that has flowed in is collected at a lower portion of the main body 61. At this time, even if the entire upper surface of the bottom surface 93 is covered with the processing liquid, the space below the bottom surface 93 is formed in the space above the liquid surface of the processing liquid accumulated on the bottom surface 93 and the lower peripheral surface 92. Filter hole 6 formed
6 and an air vent hole 67 formed in the upper peripheral surface 91. Therefore, even with this configuration,
The same effect as when the drain filter 60 is used can be achieved.

While some embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be embodied in other forms. For example, the drain filter as a filtering member has a filtering surface inclined with respect to a horizontal plane, and is not limited to the above-described configurations as long as a plurality of holes are formed in the filtering surface. For example, a drain filter
It is not necessary to be composed of a synthetic resin having chemical resistance, and when applied to an apparatus that uses a chemical that does not cause metal corrosion as a treatment liquid, it may be composed of a metal material such as stainless steel. . Further, instead of forming the filtering hole and the air vent hole in a part of the peripheral surface and the bottom surface of the drain filter, the entire drain filter may be formed of, for example, a metal mesh plate. Further, when the drainage pipe is a rectangular pipe, the side surface of the drain filter may be formed in a rectangular pipe correspondingly.

In the above-described embodiment, the drain filter is disposed at the connection port between the processing cup and the drain pipe. However, for example, the drain filter may be disposed at an intermediate portion of the drain pipe. . Further, the connection port does not need to be formed on the bottom surface of the processing cup, and may be formed so as to straddle the side surface and the bottom surface of the processing cup.

In the above-described embodiment, an apparatus for performing a cleaning process on a substrate is taken as an example.
The present invention can also be applied to an apparatus that performs processing such as development processing and etching processing. In other words, the present invention can be widely applied to an apparatus that performs processing using a processing liquid on a substrate,
As the treatment liquid, the above-mentioned hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid,
In addition to a cleaning chemical solution containing hydrochloric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, ammonia or a hydrogen peroxide solution thereof and pure water, a developing solution, a resist solution, an etching solution, a stripping solution and the like can be exemplified. In addition, since high-viscosity processing liquids such as sulfuric acid, phosphoric acid, and resist liquid do not easily pass through the filtration surface of the drain filter, an apparatus for processing a substrate using such a processing liquid is particularly suitable for the present invention. Can be satisfactorily exhibited.

In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an illustrative sectional view showing an internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a simplified configuration of a drain pipe and a drain filter.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a drain filter.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another configuration of the drain filter.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing still another configuration of the drain filter.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing still another configuration of the drain filter.

FIG. 7 is a simplified cross-sectional view showing a configuration near a drain port in a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31 cup body (liquid receiving container) 33 drain port 34 drain pipe 60, 70, 80, 90 drain filter (filtration member) 54 peripheral surface (side surface of filtration member) 65 bottom surface (filtration surface) 66 filtration hole 67 air vent Hole 71, 72 Filtering surface 81, 91 Upper peripheral surface (side surface of filtering member) 82, 92 Lower peripheral surface (filtering surface) 93 Bottom surface (filtration surface) D Gap S Substrate

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuhiro Kurata 4 chome, Horikawa-dori Teranouchi, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto-shi, Kyoto 1 Fukuda-term (reference) 4D064 AA05 AA31 AA40 BC07 BC21 BK03 5F043 BB27 DD13 EE07 EE08 EE16 EE27 EE32 EE33 EE35 EE40

Claims (3)

[Claims] A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate using a processing liquid, comprising: a liquid receiving container for receiving a processing liquid used for processing a substrate; a liquid receiving container provided below the liquid receiving container; A drain port for discharging the received processing liquid; a drain pipe connected to the drain port, through which the processing liquid discharged from the drain port flows; and a filtration surface having a plurality of holes formed therein. And a filtration member provided at an intermediate portion of the drain port or the drain pipe in a state where the filtration surface is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. 2. The filter member is formed in a cylindrical shape whose lower opening is closed by the filter surface, and is inserted and provided with a predetermined gap inside the drain port or drain pipe. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a through-hole penetrating the side surface of the filtering member is formed at a position higher than the filtering surface.