JP2001223198A - Spin chuck device for washing sheet-type substrate, and sheet-type substrate washing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a spin chuck device that is suited for a sheet-type substrate washing device that utilizes the advantages of sheet-type wet washing, and can accurately perform washing in highly pure atmosphere. SOLUTION: A plurality of radial chucking arms 110 for composing a substrate supporting part 104 are connected to a cylinder device 111a that projects into and retreats from a vertical direction via a connection wire 111b for performing the projection operation of the cylinder device 111a, is led in to the inside in a diameter direction for chucking operation, and at the same time is pushed to the outside in the diameter direction for chucking cancellation operation, thus making compact and simplifying device structure, at the same time obtaining appropriate chucking force also for centrifugal force by high speed rotation, and effectively preventing a wafer from being damaged.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a single wafer type substrate cleaning spin chuck apparatus and a single wafer type substrate cleaning apparatus.
More specifically, the present invention relates to a spin chuck technique for cleaning a semiconductor wafer or the like in a single wafer wet cleaning system for performing a wet cleaning process on a semiconductor wafer or the like one by one in a device manufacturing process of a semiconductor or an electronic component.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method of wet cleaning a semiconductor wafer or the like (hereinafter simply referred to as a wafer), a wet bench type cleaning tank in which a plurality of cleaning tanks are continuously arranged is provided in a carrier cassette. So-called batch-type wet cleaning, in which a plurality of stored wafers or a plurality of wafers are directly immersed in a transfer device directly without a carrier cassette and processed, has been the mainstream, but semiconductor devices have also entered the submicron era. With the miniaturization and high integration of such device structures, very high cleanliness is also required on the surface of the wafer. A so-called single wafer wet cleaning in which wafers are wet-cleaned one by one in a cleaning chamber without a cassette has been developed and proposed.

[0003] In this single wafer type wet cleaning, cleaning in a high cleanness atmosphere can be performed with high precision without reattachment of particles, etc. In addition, the apparatus configuration is simple and compact, and it is possible to produce many kinds of small quantities. Also has the advantage of being able to respond effectively.

[0004]

In any of the conventional batch-type and single-wafer-type wet cleaning, the cleaning apparatus itself is installed in a clean room kept in a clean atmosphere. The main body employs an apparatus configuration that prioritizes workability, such as opening a floor, a wafer loading / unloading section, and the like, and opening each booth in the apparatus main body.

However, in such an apparatus configuration,
It is not possible to completely prevent particles from re-adhering to the wafer after the cleaning process, or the harmful effect on the operator due to the splash of the cleaning liquid and the dust generated from the wafer itself during the cleaning process of the wafer. In addition, it is necessary to apply a corrosion-resistant coating to the entire wall surface, and there is a problem that the cost of the apparatus is high.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a single wafer wet cleaning in which a wafer is cleaned one by one in a closed cleaning chamber without using a cassette. A substrate cleaning system that can perform high-precision cleaning in a highly clean atmosphere without any redeposition of particles while taking advantage of the advantages described above, and has a simple and compact device configuration and excellent cost performance. An object of the present invention is to provide a single-wafer-type substrate cleaning spin chuck apparatus having a configuration suitable for a single-wafer-type substrate cleaning apparatus to be used.

Another object of the present invention is to
An object of the present invention is to provide a single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus having the above-described single-wafer substrate cleaning spin chuck apparatus and having a configuration suitable for the above-described substrate cleaning system.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a spin chuck apparatus for cleaning a single-wafer substrate according to the present invention comprises:
A substrate supporting portion for supporting one wafer includes a plurality of chucking arms for chucking and supporting a peripheral portion of the wafer, and the chucking arms are arranged radially and reciprocated in a radial direction by opening / closing means. The opening / closing means is provided inside the rotating shaft, and is provided with a cylinder device protruding and retracting in the vertical direction, and a flexible connecting means connecting the cylinder device and the chucking arm. By the projecting operation of the cylinder device, the chucking arm is pulled inward in the radial direction via the flexible connection means, and performs the chucking operation, while the retracting operation of the cylinder device allows the chucking arm to perform the chucking operation. The chucking arm is configured to be pushed out radially outward through the flexible connection hand to perform a chucking release operation. And it features.

In a preferred embodiment, the opening and closing means includes:
A cylinder device provided inside the rotary shaft, a connection wire connecting the cylinder device and the chucking arm, and a return spring for constantly urging the chucking arm in the chucking release direction. By the projecting operation of the cylinder device, the chucking arm is pulled inward in the radial direction via the connection wire to perform the chucking operation, while the retracting operation of the cylinder device causes the return spring to return elastically. The chucking arm is pushed radially outward by force to perform a chucking release operation.

Further, chucking claws for chucking and supporting the peripheral portion of the wafer in a horizontal state are provided at the tip of the chucking arm, and the chucking surfaces of the chucking claws make the peripheral portion of the wafer point-contact. Alternatively, it is formed so as to abut and support in a line contact state and in a vertically restricted state. Preferably, the wafer supporting structure by the chucking surface of the chucking claw is configured to allow a slight movement of the peripheral portion of the wafer to prevent chipping of the peripheral portion of the wafer.

Further, the single wafer type substrate cleaning apparatus of the present invention comprises: a substrate rotating means for supporting and rotating one wafer in a horizontal state;
A cleaning chamber operable up and down relative to the substrate rotating means, and an annular cleaning tank is provided on an inner peripheral portion of the cleaning chamber. Concentrically so as to surround, and arranged in a plurality of stages in the up and down direction, the substrate rotating means is constituted by the single wafer type substrate cleaning spin chuck device,
This spin chuck device is characterized in that it is arranged concentrically at the center of the cleaning chamber.

In the substrate cleaning system of the present invention, a plurality of wafers before the cleaning process are stocked in the main body of the apparatus which can be hermetically sealed and a plurality of wafers after the cleaning process are stocked. A loading / unloading booth comprising a substrate unloading section which stands by for unloading, a processing booth including at least one substrate cleaning chamber device for cleaning wafers one by one with a plurality of cleaning liquids, the processing booth and the loading / unloading apparatus. A robot booth including a transfer robot for transferring wafers one by one between the loading booths is provided, and the substrate cleaning chamber apparatus includes the single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus.

In the present invention, the loading / unloading booth, the processing booth, and the robot booth are provided in an apparatus main body configured to be hermetically sealable, and the substrate cleaning chamber apparatus is provided from the single wafer type substrate cleaning apparatus. Since it is a single-wafer system that processes wafers one by one, it can perform precise processing for each wafer in an extremely high cleanliness atmosphere, with little reattachment of particles, etc. The washing space of the device is small, and the amount of washing liquid is small.

Further, since the wafer is cleaned one by one with a plurality of cleaning liquids, that is, the whole cleaning step is performed in one substrate cleaning chamber, the wafer is not taken in and out in the cleaning step and exposed to the atmosphere. Without being affected by metal contamination, ions or oxygen, etc.
The configuration of each substrate cleaning chamber can be simple and small.

Further, in the spin chuck apparatus of the single wafer type substrate cleaning apparatus, a plurality of radial chucking arms constituting a substrate support section are provided with a cylinder apparatus and a flexible connecting means which project and retreat in a vertical direction. The chucking arm is drawn inward in the radial direction by the projecting operation of the cylinder device, and performs the chucking operation, while the retracting operation of the cylinder device causes the chucking arm to move outward in the radial direction. The device is configured to be pushed out and released for chucking, so that the device structure is small and simple, and an appropriate chucking force against centrifugal force due to high-speed rotation is obtained, thus effectively damaging the wafer. To prevent.

Further, the vertical movement of the spin chuck device is fixed, and the cleaning chamber is vertically movable relative to the spin chuck device so as to be vertically movable. Since any one of the annular cleaning tanks of the cleaning chamber is configured to move to a position corresponding to the wafer supported by the spin chuck device, the supporting structure of the substrate rotating means that rotates at a high speed. Is simple and robust, and the occurrence of rotational vibration in the rotating portion of the spin chuck device, that is, the substrate supporting portion is effectively prevented.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

A single wafer type substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. This substrate cleaning apparatus 10 specifically constitutes a part of the substrate cleaning system shown in FIGS. Specifically, the substrate cleaning system includes a substrate cleaning chamber apparatus for cleaning wafers W one by one as a basic unit.
Reference numeral 0 constitutes the substrate cleaning chamber device.

The substrate cleaning system is installed in a clean room in a clean atmosphere. The substrate cleaning system
Loading and
An unloading booth A, a robot booth B and a processing booth C are provided, and these booths A, B,
C is defined by partitions 2 and 3.

In the illustrated embodiment, a loading / unloading booth A and a processing booth C are disposed on both front and rear sides of the apparatus main body 1, respectively.
A robot booth B is interposed therebetween, and opening / closing ports 4 and 5 are provided on the front side of the loading / unloading booth A so as to be openable to an operating space O outside the apparatus main body 1. In the processing booth C,
A plurality (two in the figure) of substrate cleaning apparatuses 1
It is a two-chamber system in which 0 and 10 are arranged.

The substrate cleaning apparatus 10 is linked to a cleaning liquid supply apparatus D, which is a supply source of the cleaning liquid, and each of the booths and apparatuses A to D includes a system control apparatus E.
Are driven and controlled in conjunction with each other. Hereinafter, first, the processing booth C in which the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 is disposed will be specifically described.

I. Processing booth C: The processing booth C includes at least one single-wafer-type substrate cleaning apparatus 10 for cleaning wafers W one by one with a plurality of cleaning liquids. A twin-chamber system including the substrate cleaning apparatuses 10, 10 is adopted. As a measure against the throughput, the number of the substrate cleaning apparatuses 10 may be appropriately increased, and a three-chamber system or a four-chamber system may be used.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 includes a cleaning chamber 80 which can be moved up and down relatively.
And a spin chuck device 81 as main parts, and the spin chuck device 81 is concentrically arranged at the center of the cleaning chamber 80.

The spin chuck device 81 rotates a single wafer W horizontally while supporting the chuck in a horizontal state during spin cleaning and spin drying.
As shown in FIG. 6, a substrate supporting portion 104 is mounted and supported on a tip portion of the rotating shaft 103 in a horizontal state, and a drive motor 105 for rotating the rotating shaft 103 is provided.

The substrate support 104 and the rotating shaft 103 are
The substrate support portion 1 is rotatably disposed concentrically at the center of the cleaning chamber 80 via the bearing support cylinder 106.
04 is configured to support one wafer W in a horizontal state.

More specifically, the substrate support 104 is provided with the components shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of (six in the illustrated example) chucking arms 110, 110,... For chucking and supporting the peripheral portion of the wafer W are provided.

These chucking arms 110 and 11
Are arranged radially in a horizontal state as shown in the figure, and can be reciprocated in the radial direction by an opening / closing mechanism (opening / closing means) 111.

The chucking claws 112, 11 provided at the tips of the chucking arms 110, 110,.
Are set so as to be at the same height as each other, thereby chucking and supporting the peripheral portion of the wafer W in a horizontal state during chucking.

The chucking surface 112a of the chucking claw 112 has a sectional shape corresponding to the sectional shape of the peripheral portion of the wafer W. That is, although not specifically shown, the chucking surface 112a is a right-angled plane inclined in the vertical direction, and the peripheral edge of the rectangular cross section of the wafer W is in a point contact state or a line contact state. It is formed so as to be in contact with and supported by.

Thus, the chucking arms 110,
During the chucking of the wafers 110,..., The peripheral portion of the wafer W is supported by the chucking surfaces 112a, 112a,. Also,
In this supporting state, the peripheral portion of the wafer W is not fixed,
The setting is such that a slight movement of the peripheral portion is allowed.
With this configuration, since only the peripheral portion of the wafer W is supported, there is no contamination on the back side of the wafer W, and the chucking surface 112a corresponds to the cross-sectional shape of the peripheral portion of the wafer W. This has the effect that there is no chipping at the peripheral portion of the wafer W.

The opening / closing mechanism 111 includes the rotating shaft 103
A cylinder device 111a provided therein, and the cylinder device 111a and the chucking arms 110 and 11
, Flexible connection means 111b, 111b,
….

In the illustrated embodiment, the cylinder device 111a is provided vertically upward inside the rotary shaft 103, and is configured such that its piston rod 120 (see FIG. 6) projects and retracts in the vertical direction. . Also, as the flexible connection means 111b, a connection wire for connecting the piston rod 120 and the chucking arms 110, 110,... Is used. In connection with this, the chucking arms 110, 110,. Return springs 111c, 111 that constantly urge in the chucking release direction
c,... are provided.

The chucking arms 110, 110,... Are drawn inward in the radial direction through the connection wires 111b, 111b,. On the other hand, the return spring 1 is caused by the retreat operation of the cylinder device 111a.
With the elastic return force of 11c, 111c,..., The chucking arms 110, 110,.
The chucking release operation is performed.

The rotating shaft 103 is mounted on the bearing support cylinder 10.
6, the lower end portion thereof is connected to a drive motor 105 so as to be capable of driving a belt, and is driven to rotate by the drive motor 105, so that the substrate support portion 104 is fixed to a predetermined position. It is configured to be rotated with the number of rotations. In the illustrated embodiment,
The rotation speed of the bearing support cylinder 106 is set to 40 to 50 rpm during the spin cleaning process, and is set to about 3000 rpm during the spin drying.

A plurality of cleaning chambers 80 (in the illustrated embodiment, four cleaning chambers 80 are arranged in
), And is configured to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction.

More specifically, the cleaning chamber 80 is in the form of a closed container having a gate 90 for opening and closing the substrate, which can be opened and closed, and a chemical solution supply section 91, an inert gas supply section 92, and drain sections 93 and 94. Is provided.

The cleaning chamber 80 has a sealable single cleaning tank structure for accommodating one wafer W, and includes an upper processing standby section 95 and a lower processing section 96.

The upper processing standby portion 95 is a portion for loading and unloading the wafer W. The gate 90 for loading and unloading the wafer W is provided on a side portion thereof. 95a is provided so as to be detachable with one touch, so that the maintenance inside the cleaning chamber 80 can be easily performed.

The gate 90 is an openable / closable gate constituting a substrate loading / unloading port of the cleaning chamber 80.
The gate 90 has an opening area through which the hand units 70a and 70b of the transfer robot 70 holding the wafer W in a horizontal state can pass. The door 90a of the gate 90 is
It is closed airtight and watertight so that it can be opened and closed vertically by a drive source such as an air cylinder.

In the upper processing standby section 95, the chemical liquid supply section 91 and the inert gas supply section 92 are provided.

The chemical solution supply section 91 includes a spin chuck 8
The cleaning nozzle supplies the cleaning liquid to the surface of the wafer W supported by the substrate holding unit 104 of the spin chuck device 81 from above. It is a form.

The injection nozzle 91 is provided in the upper processing standby section 95 of the cleaning chamber 80 so as to be horizontally pivotable in a downward state and can communicate with the cleaning liquid supply device D. Reference numeral 97 denotes a driving motor for swinging the injection nozzle 91.

The spray nozzle 91 rotates horizontally or from the outer periphery to the center with respect to the surface of the wafer W which is horizontally supported by the substrate supporting portion 104 of the spin chuck device 81. After stopping, the cleaning liquid is injected and supplied.

In the illustrated embodiment, the injection nozzle 9
1 is provided with a number of nozzle ports corresponding to the type of the cleaning liquid to be supplied, specifically, four nozzle ports (not shown), each of which is described below with an APM liquid, pure water, and DHF. Functions as a supply port for liquid and N ₂ . These nozzle openings are formed in an elliptical tapered shape, and are configured to be supplied to the surface of the wafer W in an elliptical shape widely. Thereby, in cooperation with the rotation operation of the wafer W, the supply distribution of the cleaning liquid to the surface of the wafer W becomes quick and uniform.

The inert gas supply section 92 is provided in the cleaning chamber 8.
It supplies an inert gas for discharging and replacing the cleaning liquid in the chamber 0. The inert gas is provided at the top of the upper processing standby section 95 and can communicate with an inert gas supply source (not shown). In the illustrated embodiment, N ₂ is used as the inert gas. Further, the inert gas supply source can be communicated with the injection nozzle 91, and the injection nozzle 91 is configured to function as an inert gas supply unit.

The lower processing part 95 is a part for cleaning the wafer W. The inner diameter of the lower processing part 95 is set in relation to the substrate support part 104 of the spin chuck device 81 as described later. Specifically, as shown in FIG.
6, the annular processing tanks 85 to 88 are arranged concentrically so as to surround the wafer W supported by the substrate supporting unit 104 of the spin chuck device 81 and arranged in four stages in the vertical direction. Become. And these annular processing tanks 85-8
The inner peripheral edge of the spin chuck 8 does not contact the outer peripheral edge of the substrate support portion 104 of the spin chuck device 81, and the annular gap formed between the two edges prevents leakage of the cleaning liquid or the like to the lower side. The interval is set to be a minute interval.

In the lower processing unit 96, the above-described 4
The two annular processing tanks 85 to 88 are provided in a multi-stage or layered manner in the vertical direction, and the drain sections 93 and 94 communicating with the outside of the apparatus are provided in each processing tank 85 to 88 and the bottom 96 a of the lower processing section 96. The cleaning liquid or the inert gas in each of the processing tanks 85 to 88 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus via the drain portions 93 and 94. The drain portions 93 of the processing tanks 85 to 88 are opened only when the cleaning processing is performed, and are closed when the cleaning processing is performed in another processing tank.

Further, the cleaning chamber 80 is vertically vertically supported via an LM guide 98 which is an elevating guide, and is moved up and down by a predetermined stroke with respect to the substrate supporting portion 104 of the spin chuck device 81. An elevating mechanism 100 is provided as operating elevating means.

This elevating mechanism 100 is, specifically, shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a feed screw mechanism 100a for raising and lowering a support frame 99 supporting the cleaning chamber 80, and a drive motor 100 for rotating the feed screw mechanism 100a.
b.

Then, a spin chuck device 81 to be described later is used.
The cleaning chamber 80 is moved up and down by a predetermined stroke in the vertical direction through the feed screw mechanism 100a by the drive of the drive motor 100b interlocked with the operation of the above. One of the processing tanks is selectively positioned in the height direction with respect to the substrate support 104 of the rotating device 81.

Thus, in the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 having the above-described structure, the vertical direction of the cleaning chamber 80 causes the substrate supporting section 10 of the spin chuck apparatus 81 to move upward and downward.
4 is selectively positioned between the wafer W supported by the substrate support 4 and one of the processing tanks 85 to 88 of the cleaning chamber 80, and the wafer W supported by the substrate supporting unit 104 is moved to a predetermined position by the spin chuck device 81. It is rotated horizontally with the rotation speed.

As described above, the structure of the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 has a high speed because the vertical movement of the spin chuck device 81 is fixed and the cleaning chamber 80 moves up and down. The supporting structure of the rotating spin chuck device 81 is simple and robust, and the rotating portion of the spin chuck device 81, that is, the substrate supporting portion 104
As a result, a minute gap between the inner peripheral edge of the lower processing unit 96 and the outer peripheral edge of the substrate support unit 104 of the spin chuck device 81 is accurately held,
The advantage is obtained that leakage to the lower side of the cleaning liquid or the like can be stably prevented for a long period of time. However, depending on the purpose, the reverse configuration, that is, the spin chuck device 8
1 is equipped with a structure that also guarantees vertical movement,
It is also possible to adopt a structure in which the cleaning chamber 80 is fixed vertically.

Next, referring to FIGS. 7 to 24, the apparatus main body 1 of the substrate cleaning system and the other booths A and C will be specifically described.

II. Apparatus main body 1: As described above, the apparatus main body 1 has a structure that can be hermetically sealed in an external clean room for the purpose of maintaining and promoting the cleanliness inside the apparatus main body 1.

The outer peripheral wall of the apparatus body 1 is subjected to an acid-resistant coating treatment on the surface of the steel plate, and only the inner wall surface of the treatment booth C is coated with a corrosion-resistant material on the outer periphery of the steel plate, specifically, A coating treatment with a vinyl chloride resin (PVC) is performed to ensure corrosion resistance to the cleaning liquid. As described above, the corrosion resistance treatment only needs to be performed on the inner wall surface of the processing booth C because the booths A, B, and C in the apparatus main body 1 form spaces as isolated as possible by the partitions 2 and 3. By adopting such a wall structure, cost reduction in manufacturing the device frame and shortening of the construction time are achieved.

As shown in FIG. 7, a loader opening 11 and an unloader opening 12 for a loading / unloading booth A are provided on the front wall surface of the apparatus main body 1. Both openings 11, 12 are described later. Wafer W,
An automatic shutter mechanism with a transparent cover that allows the carrier housing W,. ing. Accordingly, the intrusion of particles and the like from the clean room into the loading / unloading booth A is minimized. Reference numeral 13 denotes a HEPA filter,
The cleaning air is sucked into the loading / unloading booth A via the HEPA filter 13.
Reference numeral 14 denotes a display which also serves as a touch panel. The display 14 is used to set the operation system of the device program based on various recipes and parameters. On the right side of the display 14, an emergency stop button (red) 15
And a pause button (green) 16, and a hand pen duct connector 17 and a patrol light 18 for connecting an operation panel are provided on the right side thereof. Also,
An alarm buzzer 20 is provided on the left side of the display 14, and an on / off switch 21 for starting and stopping various components is provided below the alarm buzzer 20. On the upper side of the display 14, an opening / closing door 2 with a lock mechanism for each electrical unit such as an electrical system of a device or a sequencer is mainly provided.
2, 23 are provided in parallel. Further, mechanic maintenance ports 24 and 25 for various driving mechanisms of the loading / unloading booth A are provided at the lower portion of the front wall so as to be openable and closable.

As shown in FIG. 8, an opening 30 for a transport system is provided at the center of the right side wall of the apparatus main body 1, and this opening 30 is provided with an automatic shutter with a transparent cover that allows the inside to be viewed. A mechanism is adopted to provide a closed structure that can be automatically opened and closed. Around the opening 30, various maintenance ports 31 to 34 are provided so as to be openable and closable.

As shown in FIG. 9, an opening 40 for robot maintenance of the robot booth B is provided at the center of the left side wall of the apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. It has an opening area and can be opened and closed by a door with a key switch. When a key is inserted and released, the power to the device is turned off (pause state).
Safety measures have been implemented. The opening 40
Loading and unloading booth A on both sides of
A viewing window 41 for viewing the inside and a viewing window 42 for viewing the inside of the processing booth C are respectively provided, and maintenance ports 43 and 44 are provided below the windows.

As shown in FIG. 10, an emergency stop button 45, a pause (pause) button 46, and a hand pen duct connector 47 are provided on the rear side wall surface of the apparatus main body 1, and a substrate cleaning apparatus is provided below the button. Indicator of N ₂ pressure and the air pressure of the use point of operation of 10, the panel 48 the regulator or the like is provided is disposed. 4
Reference numerals 9 and 50 denote maintenance openings for the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 in the processing booth C. These openings 49 and 50 have a double sealing structure to effectively prevent leakage of cleaning liquid and the like to the outside of the apparatus. Has become. Reference numerals 51, 52 denote air outlets of the air in the apparatus body 1, and 53, 53,... Denote connector ports for connecting various pipes.

III. Loading / Unloading Boo
A: The loading / unloading booth A includes a substrate loading section Aa and a substrate discharging section Ab.

The substrate loading section Aa is a section into which the wafer W is loaded from the previous process, and includes the wafers W, W. ... are stocked and wait for loading. The substrate unloading part Ab is a part for unloading the wafer W to the next step, and includes the wafers W, W. ... are stocked and wait for carry-out. These two parts Aa, Ab
Has the same basic configuration as described below.

That is, the substrate loading section Aa will be described as an example. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, the substrate loading section Aa is provided with the loader port 11 on the front side wall of the apparatus main body 1 described above.
Can be opened and closed with respect to the operating space O, and the robot booth B
Is in communication with The opening area of the opening 55 is
The minimum necessary size, that is, the transfer robot 70 described later
Is set to the minimum size that allows the hand to hold and insert the wafer W.

The substrate carrying-in portion Aa is a substrate holding portion 60 for holding a carrier 56 that stores a plurality of wafers W, W,.
, A vertical positioning device 61 that moves the substrate holding part 60 in the vertical direction to perform positioning for loading or unloading the wafers W, W,... In the carrier 56.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, the substrate holder 60 mounts a carrier 56 in which a plurality of (26 in the illustrated) wafers W, W,. A holding table 60a having a horizontal mounting surface for holding is provided. In the illustrated embodiment, two holding tables 60a, 60a are arranged on the support frame 62 at predetermined intervals in the vertical direction. Correspondingly, the loader port 11 has an opening area that allows the two carriers 56, 56 to be simultaneously inserted and mounted on the two-stage holding tables 60a, 60a, as described above.

The carrier 56 is also used for transferring a wafer outside the present system. Although not shown, holding grooves for holding the peripheral portion of the wafer W are provided at a predetermined pitch in the inside thereof. ing. The carrier 56 transports the wafer W,
Are handled in a posture in which the wafers W,... Are held in a vertical upright position, and when placed on the holding table 60a, the wafers W, W,. .

As shown in FIGS. 14 to 17, the elevation positioning device 61 includes a feed screw mechanism 61a for raising and lowering the support frame 62, and a drive motor 61b for rotating the feed screw mechanism 61a. And a form of a carrier elevation mechanism. Then, by the drive of a drive motor 61b interlocked with the operation of the transfer robot 70 described later, the holding tables 60a, 60a and the carriers 56, 56 are driven via the feed screw mechanism 61a.
Are moved up and down by a predetermined pitch in the vertical direction, and positioning for loading and unloading the wafers is performed.

In connection with the above configuration, a carrier inclination detection sensor 63, a wafer jumping alignment mechanism 64, and a wafer mapping sensor 65 are provided.

The carrier tilt detection sensor 63 is
This is for detecting whether or not the carrier 56 is correctly arranged on 0a, 60a. In the illustrated example, it is for detecting whether or not the carrier 56 is accurately placed horizontally on the holding tables 60a, 60a. In the transmission type optical sensor, when the carrier 56 is obliquely placed on the holding tables 60a, 60a, sensing cannot be performed, and it functions as a safety mechanism for stopping the driving of the apparatus.

The wafer ejecting and aligning mechanism 64 is used to smoothly and surely extract the wafer W by the transfer robot 70, which will be described later. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, the wafer can be swung horizontally. The contact arm 64b is provided at the tip of the swing arm 64a so as to be able to contact and push the edges of the wafers W, W,... And a drive motor 64c for swinging the swing arm 64a.

Then, by driving the drive motor 64c,
With respect to the carriers 56, 56 on the holding tables 60a, 60a, the swing arm 64a of the wafer pop-out alignment mechanism 64 is horizontally swung, and the contact 64b becomes an edge of the wafers W, W,. A contact operation is performed, thereby pushing the edge of the ejected wafer W to align the wafer W at a predetermined position. This wafer pop-out alignment mechanism 64
Each time the carriers 56 are moved up and down by a predetermined pitch by the elevation positioning device 61, the wafers W, W,.
Ensure that they are aligned in place.

It is to be noted that an optical sensor for detecting the ejection of the wafer W is provided, and the ejection of the wafer W is detected by the optical sensor. 64 may be operated.

The wafer mapping sensor 65 is a transmission type optical sensor for controlling the driving of the transfer robot 70 in the robot booth B. As shown in FIGS. 18 and 19, a swing arm 65a capable of horizontally swinging is provided. Are provided with a comb-shaped detecting portion 65b having a plurality of grooves corresponding to the wafers W, W,... And a drive motor 65c for swinging the swing arm 65a.

Then, by driving the drive motor 65c,
The swing arm 65a of the wafer mapping sensor 65 horizontally swings with respect to the carriers 56, 56 on the holding tables 60a, 60a, and the detection unit 65b moves close to the wafers W, W,. Thereby, the wafers W, W,
.. Are included in the carriers 56, 56, and there is no missing portion in the arrangement of the wafers W, W,. This detection result is sent to the system controller E to control the movement of the transfer robot 70. The wafer mapping sensor 65 operates only once when it is placed on the carriers 56, 56 on the holding tables 60a, 60a.

In the illustrated embodiment, the drive control of the transfer robot 70 by the system controller E
The configuration can be selected and set as follows. That is, i) withdraws from the wafer W above each carrier 56 of the substrate carry-in part Aa, and inserts the processed wafer W from above each carrier 56 of the substrate carry-out part Ab. Ii) Each of the substrate carry-in parts Aa The wafer W is removed from the upper wafer W of the carrier 56, and the processed wafer W is inserted from below each carrier 56 of the substrate unloading unit Ab. Iii) From the lower wafer W of each carrier 56 of the substrate unloading unit Aa The wafer W after processing is inserted from above each carrier 56 of the substrate unloading part Ab, and i
v) Wafer W on the lower side of each carrier 56 in substrate loading section Aa
, And the processed wafer W is inserted from below each carrier 56 of the substrate unloading part Ab.

The substrate unloading section Ab has the same basic configuration as the substrate loading section Aa except that the wafer mapping sensor 65 is not provided, and the configuration of the unloader port 12 is the same as that of the loader port 11 described above. is there.

In the loading / unloading booth A, as described above, the wafers W, W,.
Are arranged in a horizontal state with a predetermined arrangement pitch in the vertical direction, and the flow path of the clean air flowing in the loading / unloading booth A is the same as the substrate unloading section Ab.
, And is configured to flow horizontally in the direction of the substrate loading portion Aa. Specifically, H on the front of the apparatus body 1
The clean air sucked from the EPA filter 13 is
After passing between the processed wafers W, W,... Of the substrate unloading section Ab on the unloader side, and further passing between the unprocessed wafers W, W,. Then, the air is sent from the exhaust port 51 on the back side of the apparatus main body 1 to a factory exhaust path (not shown).

By controlling the air flow of the clean air in consideration of the arrangement of the wafers W, W,..., A high cleanness of the processed wafers W, W,. In this regard, the flow paths of the clean air flowing in the robot booth B and the processing booth C flow vertically downward from the HEPA filters 66 and 67 provided on the ceiling of the apparatus main body 1, respectively. When the air is sent from a rear exhaust port 52 to a factory exhaust path (not shown), the partition walls 2 and 3 perform a rectifying action to regulate the flow of the clean air, and a loading / unloading booth A is provided.
Since it forms a partition with the flow path of the clean air flowing inside, a smooth air flow path in the apparatus main body 1 is secured.

The driving units of the mechanical mechanism in the loading / unloading booth A, that is, the mechanical driving units such as the elevating / lowering positioning device 61, the wafer ejection alignment mechanism 64, and the wafer mapping sensor 65 are all SEM.
According to the I standard, it is arranged below the height of 900 mm,
Dust prevention measures are taken.

IV. Robot Booth B: Robot Booth B
Is a portion where the wafers W are transferred one by one between the loading / unloading booth A and the processing booth C. As described above, the loading / unloading booth A is opened by the openings 55 of the partition wall 2. It is also connected to the processing booth C through the openings 72 and 72 of the partition wall 3. The opening area of the opening 72 is set to the necessary minimum size, that is, the minimum size that allows the hand of the transfer robot 70 to hold and insert the wafer W, similarly to the opening 55 of the partition wall 2.

Further, an ionizer 94 is provided in an upper portion of the openings 72, 72 with the processing booth C (FIG. 1).
2), an ion shower is performed by the ionizer 94 when the wafer W enters and exits the cleaning processing chamber 10 (supply of ionized N _{2 and the} like), and the wafer W is prevented from being charged there. That is, the cleaning processing chamber 1
In the case of 0, since the wafer W rotates at a very high speed at the time of drying, there is a high possibility that static electricity is generated and charged in the wafer W. Since such static electricity causes dust and the like to adhere to the wafer W, an ionizer 94 is provided to prevent it.

The robot booth B is mainly composed of a transfer robot 70 and a substrate reversing device 71.

The transfer robot 70 transfers wafers W one by one in a horizontal state between the substrate carrying-in section Aa and the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 and between the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 and the substrate carrying-out section Ab. Is what you do.

The transfer robot 70 is, specifically, in the form of a twin-arm robot having a pair of hand parts 70a, 70b that move up and down and move horizontally as shown in FIGS. I have. The pair of hand units 70a and 70b are configured such that one hand unit 70a performs a transfer process of the wafer W before the cleaning process, and the other hand unit 70b performs a transfer process of the wafer W after the cleaning process. This prevents impurities such as particles from adhering to the processed wafer W.

The hand 70 of the transfer robot 70
a, a substrate holding portion 75 provided at the tip portion of 70b,
The lower surface of the wafer W is placed and supported by a soft landing method, and the structure is such that damage to the wafer W is prevented.

More specifically, the transfer robot 70 can be moved horizontally in the robot booth B in the horizontal direction, and the hand units 70a and 70b of the transfer robot 70 can move up and down on the robot body 70c and rotate. It is provided as possible. The drive source of the hand units 70a, 70b is a drive motor provided inside the robot body 70c. Although a specific configuration is not shown, a ceramic fork member is employed as the substrate holding unit 75, and the flat upper surface of the substrate holding unit 75 holds the wafer W in a horizontal state from below. In addition, the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W is positioned by a plurality of tapered positioning pins provided on the upper surface of the substrate holding unit 75.

Although not shown, a conventionally well-known vacuum suction type transfer robot may be used. For this purpose, the substrate holding section 7 at the tip of the hand section 70a, 70b is used.
Reference numeral 5 denotes a structure that can be replaced with a substrate suction unit that vacuum-chucks the wafer W, and can communicate with a negative pressure source such as a vacuum pump (not shown).

Then, the transfer robot 70 is
By the handling operation of 0a or 70b, the substrate holding unit 75 withdraws the wafer W in the carrier 56 of the substrate loading unit Aa or on the substrate supporting unit 104 of the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 in a horizontal state, and the transfer robot 70 moves. Later or at that position, after being rotated by a predetermined angle in the horizontal direction, it is transferred onto the substrate support 104 or the carrier 56 of the substrate unloading part Ab.

In this case, in the substrate loading section Aa or the substrate unloading section Ab, the carrier 56 is vertically moved by one pitch when the wafer W is inserted into or removed from the carrier 56 by the lifting / lowering positioning device 61 interlocked with the operation of the transfer robot 70. The wafer W is moved up and down by the distance to perform the positioning for carrying in and out the wafers W, W,.

Note that, contrary to the illustrated embodiment, the hand unit 70 a or 70 b of the transfer robot 70 is
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which when the wafer W is inserted into and removed from the device, the drive is controlled so as to vertically move by one pitch and then repeat the same operation as above.
In this case, the lifting / lowering positioning device 61 becomes unnecessary.

The substrate reversing device 71 converts the upper and lower positions of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W, and is configured to operate when the cleaning process is performed not only on the front surface but also on the back surface of the wafer W.

More specifically, the substrate reversing device 71 shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 24 to FIG. 24, a chuck mechanism 76, a cylinder device 77, and a drive motor 78 are mainly configured. The chuck mechanism 76 chucks the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W in a gripping manner, and includes a pair of movable chucks 76.
a, 76b are provided so as to be openable and closable. Support rollers 79, 79, 79 having an annular groove for engaging and supporting the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W are respectively provided on both chucks 76a, 76b around the circumference of the wafer W. Correspondingly three rings are provided,
Such support rollers 79, 79, 79 arranged in an annular shape.
Are coaxially arranged in pairs, so that two wafers W and W can be simultaneously chuck-supported.

The movable chucks 76a and 76b are configured to open and close by a cylinder device 77 toward the center in the horizontal direction. The cylinder device 77 is specifically composed of an air cylinder using pressurized air as a working medium.

The two chucks 76a and 76b are
It is rotatably supported in the vertical direction by a drive motor 78 via a transmission belt mechanism.

When the cleaning process is performed not only on the front surface but also on the rear surface of the wafer W, the transfer robot 70 transfers the wafers W and W having been subjected to the cleaning process on the front surface to the substrate reversing device 71. Then, it is inverted. That is,
The substrate reversing device 71 operates the chuck mechanism 76 by the cylinder device 77 to chuck and support the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W in a gripping manner, and then drives the driving motor 78 to chuck the wafers W and W by chucking. The wafer 76 is rotated 180 degrees at a low speed, and the wafers W and W are inverted. The wafers W, W whose front and back surfaces are inverted, are again transferred to the transfer robot 7.
By 0, the substrate is supplied to the substrate cleaning apparatuses 10 and 10 of the processing chamber C with the back surface before the processing facing upward, and the back surface is also subjected to the cleaning process.

Further, similarly to the loading / unloading booth A, the drive unit of the mechanical mechanism in the robot booth B, that is, the transfer robot 70 and the substrate reversing device 7
All of the mechanical drive units are disposed below the height of 900 mm in accordance with the SEMI standard, and dust prevention measures are taken.

V. Cleaning liquid supply device D: Cleaning liquid supply device D
Is a supply source for supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 of the processing booth C. In the illustrated embodiment, A is selectively provided.
A two-chemical liquid system including a configuration for performing cleaning with a PM (NH ₄ OH + H ₂ O ₂ + H ₂ O) solution and a configuration for performing cleaning with a DHF (HF + H ₂ O) solution,
Correspondingly, the cleaning chamber 80 of the substrate cleaning apparatus 10
In the processing tanks 85 to 88, the lowermost processing tank 85 is for the cleaning step using the APM liquid, the upper processing tank 86 is for the cleaning step using the DHF liquid, and the upper processing tank 87 is pure. For rinsing with water and at the top treatment tank 8
8 is for spin drying.

Then, by selectively setting a recipe for the cleaning step, i) APM + DHF + O ₃ + DIW
+ DRY, ii) APM + DHF + DRY, iii) APM +
Cleaning steps such as DRY and DHF + DRY can be selectively performed.

VI. System control device E: The system control device E includes the above-described substrate loading section Aa, the transfer robot 70,
The substrate reversing device 71, the substrate cleaning devices 10, 10 and the substrate unloading section Ab are drive-controlled in conjunction with each other, and a series of wet processing steps in the following substrate cleaning system are performed by the system control device E. It is automatically executed from the time of loading from the previous process to the time of unloading to the next process.

(1) Loading of the wafers W, W,...: The wafers W, W,... Before the cleaning process are transported to the operating space O in a vertical state accommodated in the carrier 56 from the previous process by the AGV or the like. .

When the loader port 11 of the apparatus main body 1 is opened and the wafers W, W,... Before the cleaning process are changed in posture from the vertical state to the horizontal state by tilting the carrier 56, an automatic carry-in apparatus (not shown) Alternatively, by the operator's manual operation, the operator may leave
The two upper and lower stages 60 of the substrate holding unit 60 in the substrate loading unit Aa of the loading / unloading booth A
a and 60a.

In this case, first, the upper first stage holder 60
After the carrier 56 is placed on the holding member 60a, the substrate holding part 60 is raised by the elevating / lowering positioning device 61, and the next carrier 56 is placed on the lower second stage holder 60a.

After the loader port 11 is closed again, the presence / absence of inclination of the carrier 56 is detected by the carrier inclination detection sensor 63. If the carrier 56 is not inclined, the carrier 56 is aligned by the wafer ejection alignment mechanism 64, and the wafer mapping sensor 65 , The arrangement state of the wafers W, W,... Is detected, and the transfer robot 70 in the robot booth B stands by.

The transfer robot 70 extracts the wafers W in the carrier 56 one by one in a horizontal state in accordance with the detection result of the wafer mapping sensor 65,
Are sequentially carried into the cleaning chamber 80 of each substrate cleaning apparatus 10.

At this time, the wafer W by the transfer robot 70 is
Is removed through the opening 55 of the partition wall 2, and the positioning operation of the carrier 56 by the lifting / lowering positioning device 61 (the carrier 56 is moved up and down by one pitch in the vertical direction, (Positioning operation for loading W, W, ...)
The process is performed sequentially from the uppermost or lowermost wafer W.

On the other hand, the transfer of the wafer W by the transfer robot 70 is performed while the substrate supporting unit 104 of the substrate cleaning apparatus 10 is standing by at the wafer loading / unloading position in the upper processing standby unit 95 of the cleaning chamber 80. Through the opening 72 of the cleaning chamber 80 and the gate 90 of the cleaning chamber 80. The gate 90 is opened only when the wafer W is loaded and unloaded, and effectively prevents the diffusion of fumes in the cleaning chamber 80 and the inflow of particles into the cleaning chamber 80.

When the wafer W is loaded onto the substrate support 104 in the cleaning chamber 80, the chucking arm 11
, Chucking support the periphery of the wafer W in a horizontal state.

(2) Wet in the substrate cleaning apparatus 10
Processing: When the substrate supporting unit 104 chucks and supports the wafer W, the chamber body 80 is moved to the wafer cleaning processing position in the lower processing unit 96 by the elevating operation, and then the above-described various cleaning processing is predetermined. Performed in steps.

For example, the washing treatment step (A) of ii) described above.
PM + DHF + DRY), the wafer W on the substrate support 104 is moved by the vertical positioning of the chamber body 80.
However, first, it is positioned and arranged in the lowermost processing tank 85,
After the APM liquid is supplied from the injection nozzle 91 and the spin cleaning is performed by the low-speed rotation by the spin chuck device 81, the pure water is positioned and disposed in the second processing tank 87 from the top, and pure water is supplied from the injection nozzle 91. While being supplied,
Rinsing is performed by low-speed rotation of the spin chuck device 81. Subsequently, after being positioned and arranged in the third processing tank 86 from the top, the DHF solution is supplied from the injection nozzle 91, and the spin cleaning is performed by the spin chuck device 81 at low speed, the processing tank 87 is again formed. The rinse is performed by low-speed rotation of the spin chuck device 81 while pure water is supplied from the injection nozzle 91. Finally, spin drying is performed by high-speed rotation of the spin chuck device 81 while being positioned and arranged in the uppermost processing tank 88 and injecting an inert gas, that is, N ₂ (nitrogen gas) from the injection nozzle 91.

In this case, the inert gas from the inert gas supply unit 92, that is, in this embodiment, N ₂ (nitrogen gas)
, The inside of the chamber body 80 is purged with N ₂ , and the chamber body 80 is forcibly evacuated from the drain section 93 of each chamber. Is generated, and the mist in the chamber main body 80 is effectively prevented from rolling up.

Further, the drain 93 of each of the processing tanks 85 to 88 is provided.
Is to opened only when the cleaning process is performed in the processing tank, when the cleaning process in the other processing tanks is being performed has been closed, thereby, N ₂ purge of the chamber body 80 The effect is promoted.

When a series of cleaning processes on the surface of the wafer W are completed, the substrate supporting unit 104 is relatively moved up again to the wafer loading / unloading position in the upper processing standby unit 95 by the lowering operation of the chamber body 80, and then the robot The transfer robot 70 in the booth B is on standby.

In this case, when cleaning the back surface of the wafer W, the wafer W is transported to the substrate reversing device 71 by the transfer robot 70, the front surface and the back surface are reversed, and then the wafer W is again loaded into the substrate support portion 104. Then, the above-described series of cleaning processing is performed on the back surface of the wafer W.

(3) Unloading of wafers W, W,...: Wafer W after a series of cleaning processes in substrate cleaning apparatus 10
Is again operated by the transfer robot 70 in a manner reverse to that described above.
The substrates are carried out from the cleaning chamber 80 of each substrate cleaning apparatus 10 and sequentially carried out and stored in a horizontal state in carriers 56, 56 that are respectively waiting on two upper and lower holding tables 60 a, 60 a of the substrate holding unit 60 in the substrate unloading part Ab. Is done.

The specific unloading and storing operation in this case is the same as that of the above-described (1) loading operation of the wafers W, W,...

When the wafers W, W,... After cleaning are arranged and filled in all the holding grooves inside the carriers 56, 56, the unloader port 12 of the apparatus body 1 is opened, and the carriers 56, 56 are opened. Is transported to the next processing step for forming a thin film by sputtering or CVD processing.

In the above series of operations, the processing procedure of the wafers W, W,... In the carrier 56 by the transfer robot 70 is selected and set from the four methods i) to iv) as described above. You.

The loading operation and the unloading operation in the substrate loading section Aa and the substrate unloading section Ab in the loading / unloading booth A are actually performed simultaneously.

Thus, in the substrate cleaning system configured as described above, the loading / unloading booth A, the robot booth B, and the processing booth C are provided in the apparatus main body 1 configured to be sealable. The substrate cleaning apparatus 10 is disposed in the processing booth C as a substrate cleaning chamber apparatus, and is a single wafer processing apparatus for processing the wafers W one by one. No, wafer W
It is possible to carry out precise processing for each substrate cleaning apparatus 10
Cleaning space is small, and only a small amount of cleaning liquid is required.

In addition, since the cleaning process is performed on the wafers W one by one with a plurality of cleaning liquids, that is, the entire cleaning process is performed by one substrate cleaning apparatus 10, the wafer W is not taken in and out in the cleaning process. Touch the atmosphere,
The configuration of each substrate cleaning chamber device can be simplified and reduced in size without being affected by metal contamination, ions, oxygen, or the like.

In the single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus 10, the spin chuck 81 that supports and rotates one wafer W in a horizontal state is fixed in the vertical direction, while the inner peripheral portion has a circular shape. The cleaning chamber 80 in which the annular processing tanks 85 to 88 are arranged in a plurality of stages in the vertical direction is capable of vertically moving relative to the spin chuck device 81 in the vertical direction. Annular processing tank 8
Any one of the above-mentioned spin chuck device 81
The support structure of the spin chuck device 81 that rotates at high speed is simple and robust because it is configured to move to a position corresponding to the wafer W supported by
Generation of rotational vibration in the rotating portion of the spin chuck device 81, that is, the substrate supporting portion 104, is effectively prevented.

The above-described embodiment merely shows a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various design changes can be made within the scope.

The cleaning liquid used in the present embodiment is merely an example, and is, for example, HPM (HCl +
H ₂ O ₂ + H ₂ O) or SPM (H ₂ SO ₄ + H ₂ O ₂ +
Other cleaning liquids such as H ₂ O) can be used depending on the purpose.

[0123]

As described above in detail, according to the spin chuck device of the present invention, a plurality of radial chucking arms constituting a substrate supporting portion can be flexibly connected to a cylinder device which projects and retracts in a vertical direction. The chucking arm is connected via connection means, and the chucking arm is drawn inward in the radial direction by the projecting operation of the cylinder device, and performs the chucking operation. It is configured to be pushed out to the outside in the direction to perform the chucking release operation, so that the device structure is small and simple, and an appropriate chucking force against centrifugal force due to high-speed rotation is obtained, thereby damaging the wafer. Effectively prevent.

Further, in the substrate cleaning apparatus provided with the above-mentioned spin chuck apparatus, the vertical movement of the spin chuck apparatus is fixed, and the cleaning chamber is moved up and down relatively to the above-mentioned spin chuck apparatus. It is configured to be operable, and one of the annular cleaning tanks of the cleaning chamber is moved and positioned at a position corresponding to the wafer supported by the spin chuck device in accordance with the cleaning processing step. Therefore, the supporting structure of the substrate rotating means which rotates at high speed is simple and robust, and the generation of rotational vibration in the rotating portion of the spin chuck device, that is, the substrate supporting portion is effectively prevented.

In the substrate cleaning system of the present invention, the loading / loading is carried out in the apparatus main body which can be sealed.
An unloading booth, a processing booth, and a robot booth are provided, and the substrate cleaning chamber apparatus is constituted by the single-wafer-type substrate cleaning apparatus, and is a single-wafer processing apparatus that processes wafers one by one. In a clean atmosphere, there is almost no reattachment of particles and the like, precise processing can be performed for each wafer, the cleaning space of the substrate cleaning apparatus is small, and a small amount of cleaning liquid is required.

Further, since the cleaning process is performed on a wafer one by one with a plurality of cleaning liquids, that is, the entire cleaning process is performed in one substrate cleaning chamber, the wafer is not taken in and out of the cleaning process and exposed to the atmosphere. Without being affected by metal contamination, ions or oxygen, etc.
The configuration of each substrate cleaning chamber can be simple and small.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a single wafer type substrate cleaning apparatus arranged in a processing booth of a substrate cleaning system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the same substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing the same substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a spin chuck device of the substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a front sectional view showing the same spin chuck device.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front cross-sectional view showing a main part of a substrate supporting portion of the spin chuck device.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the appearance of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 8 is a right side view showing the appearance of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 9 is a left side view showing the appearance of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 10 is a rear view showing the appearance of the same substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 11 is a front view showing an internal configuration of a loading / unloading booth A of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 12 is a side sectional view showing the internal configuration of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 13 is a plan sectional view showing an internal configuration of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 14 is a front view showing a substrate holding unit and a lifting device in a loading / unloading booth of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 15 is a side view showing the same substrate holding unit and lifting device.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing the same substrate holding unit and lifting device.

FIG. 17 is a side view showing the elevation device in a partial cross section.

FIG. 18 is a plan view showing a wafer mapping sensor and a board pop-out correction device in the loading / unloading booth.

FIG. 19 is a rear view showing the same wafer mapping sensor and substrate pop-out correction device.

FIG. 20 is a plan view showing a transfer robot in a robot booth of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 21 is a side view showing the same transfer robot.

FIG. 22 is a front view showing a substrate reversing device in a robot booth of the substrate cleaning system.

FIG. 23 is a side sectional view showing the same substrate reversing device.

FIG. 24 is a plan view showing the same substrate reversing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

W Wafer A Loading / unloading booth Aa Substrate carry-in section Ab Substrate carry-out section B Robot booth C Processing booth D Cleaning liquid supply device E System control device 1 System body 10 Substrate cleaning device 80 Cleaning chamber 81 Spin chuck device 85-88 Annular processing Vessel 98 LM guide (elevating guide) 100 Elevating mechanism (elevating means) 100a Feed screw mechanism 100b Drive motor 103 Rotating shaft 104 Substrate support 105 Drive motor 110 Chucking arm 111 Opening / closing mechanism (opening / closing means) 111a Cylinder device 111b Connection wire ( Flexible connection means) 111c Return spring 112 Chucking claw 112a Chucking surface

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Miyuki Takaishi 3-9-1-18 Imai, Ome-shi, Tokyo Inside SSE Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hiroshi Yamaguchi 3-9-1-18 Imai, Ome-shi, Tokyo No. SES Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Hideo Kamikawauchi 238, Dairakuji-cho, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo F-term in Mtec Co., Ltd. (reference) 3B201 AA03 AB34 AB42 BB02 BB21 CD31 CD43

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus for performing wet cleaning of substrates one by one without using a cassette, comprising: a spin chuck device for supporting and rotating one substrate, wherein a substrate supporting portion for supporting one substrate is provided. A plurality of chucking arms for chucking and supporting the peripheral portion of the substrate, these chucking arms are radially arranged, and are reciprocally movable in a radial direction by opening and closing means. A cylinder device provided inside the rotating shaft and protruding and retracting in the vertical direction; and flexible connecting means for connecting the cylinder device and the chucking arm. Through the flexible connecting means, the chucking arm is pulled inward in the radial direction to perform a chucking operation, while the cylinder device is retracted. The chuck chucking arm is pushed outwardly in the radial direction by the operation through the flexible connection hand to perform a chucking releasing operation, and the single wafer type substrate cleaning spin chuck apparatus is characterized in that the chucking arm is released. . 2. The opening / closing means includes: a cylinder device provided inside the rotary shaft; a connection wire connecting the cylinder device to the chucking arm; And a return spring that urges the chucking arm. The projecting operation of the cylinder device causes the chucking arm to be drawn inward in the radial direction via the connection wire to perform a chucking operation. The single wafer type according to claim 1, wherein the chucking arm is pushed outward in the radial direction by an elastic return force of the return spring by the retreating operation, and the chucking release operation is performed. Spin chuck device for substrate cleaning. 3. A chucking claw for chucking and supporting a peripheral portion of the substrate in a horizontal state at a tip end of the chucking arm, and a chucking surface of the chucking claw makes a point contact with the peripheral portion of the substrate. The spin chuck apparatus for cleaning a single-wafer substrate according to claim 1, wherein the spin chuck apparatus is formed so as to abut and support in a line contact state and a vertically restricted state. 4. A structure for supporting a substrate by a chucking surface of a chucking claw is configured to allow a slight movement of a peripheral portion of the substrate to prevent chipping of the peripheral portion of the substrate. The spin chuck apparatus for cleaning a single-wafer substrate according to claim 3. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate supporting portion is mounted and supported in a horizontal state on a tip end of a rotatable shaft rotatably supported, and the rotating shaft is drivingly connected to a driving motor. The spin chuck apparatus for cleaning a single-wafer substrate according to claim 1. 6. A single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus for performing wet cleaning of substrates one by one without a cassette, comprising: substrate rotating means for supporting and rotating one substrate in a horizontal state;
A cleaning chamber operable up and down relative to the substrate rotating means, and an annular cleaning tank provided on an inner peripheral portion of the cleaning chamber, wherein a substrate supported by the substrate rotating means is provided. And a plurality of stages arranged in a vertical direction so as to surround the substrate, wherein the substrate rotating means is constituted by the spin chuck apparatus for cleaning a single-wafer substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus is characterized in that the spin chuck apparatus is concentrically arranged at the center of the cleaning chamber. 7. The single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the cleaning chamber is in the form of a closed container having a substrate loading / unloading gate that can be opened and closed. 8. The cleaning chamber, wherein an inner peripheral edge of the annular processing tank is not in contact with an outer peripheral edge of the substrate supporting portion of the spin chuck device, and an annular gap formed between the both edges is a cleaning liquid. 8. The distance is set so as to be small enough to prevent leakage to the lower side.
A single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus according to item 1. 9. The cleaning chamber is provided with elevating means which is vertically vertically supported via an elevating guide so as to be vertically movable, and which moves up and down by a predetermined stroke with respect to a substrate supporting portion of the spin chuck apparatus. The elevating means includes a feed screw mechanism that moves the cleaning chamber up and down, and a drive motor that rotationally drives the feed screw mechanism. The drive of the drive motor causes the cleaning chamber to move through the feed screw mechanism. Is lifted up and down by a predetermined stroke in the vertical direction, and any one of the annular processing tanks to be subjected to the cleaning process is selectively moved in the height direction with respect to the substrate supporting portion of the spin chuck device. 9. The single-wafer substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the apparatus is positioned.