JP2002016037A - Liquid treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a compact liquid treatment apparatus which conducts easy control and effective liquid treatment, such as cleaning of a processed work pieces, especially ones used in treatment for a wafer with a large diameter, restraining of being large-sized in its body of the apparatus. SOLUTION: In a cleaning treatment apparatus 1, as an example of a liquid treatment apparatus, there are provided a rotor-rotating mechanism 8 with a motor 32 as a driving mechanism mounted on a rotor 31, which is capable of holding a semiconductor wafer (W) as a substrate at given intervals, a wafer transfer mechanism 7 for transferring the semiconductor wafer (W) between a career (C) for storing the semiconductor wafer (W) and the rotor 31, and a treatment chamber 51 for storing the rotor 31 and applying a given liquid treatment to the semiconductor wafer (W) held in the rotor 31.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus used for performing predetermined liquid processing and drying processing on various substrates such as a CD substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, for example, a semiconductor wafer (wafer) as a substrate is washed with a predetermined chemical solution or a cleaning solution such as pure water, and contaminants such as particles, organic contaminants and metal impurities are removed from the wafer. There is used a wafer cleaning apparatus for removing cations and a wafer drying apparatus for removing liquid droplets from a wafer with an inert gas such as N ₂ gas or highly volatile and highly hydrophilic IPA vapor to dry the wafer. As these cleaning apparatuses and drying apparatuses, apparatuses that store a plurality of wafers in a wafer cleaning chamber or a wafer drying chamber and process the wafers in a batch manner are known.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11, a processing chamber 202 for forming a wafer cleaning chamber 201 is provided. A rotor 205 capable of holding and rotating a wafer W is formed in front of the processing chamber 202. The wafer W can be transferred between the rotor 205 and the wafer chucks 209a and 209b of the transfer arm while the rotor 205 is advanced from the processing chamber 202. Is known. Reference numeral 207 in FIG. 11 denotes a driving mechanism for moving the rotor 205 forward and backward, and rotates it; 208, a rotating shaft;
Reference numeral 02 denotes a lid, and 206 is a holding member for the rotor 205.

[0004]

However, FIG.
In the wafer cleaning apparatus 200 shown in FIG.
The control programs 09a and 209b and the holding member 206 of the rotor 205 must be controlled so as not to collide with each other.

In recent years, as semiconductor devices become finer and more highly integrated and mass-produced, the size of wafers becomes larger.
Large diameter from 0mmφ to 300mmφ is progressing,
Since the size and weight of wafers are increasing, storage and transport of 300 mmφ wafers are handled using, for example, a carrier (pod) containing 25 wafers in a horizontal state. However, it is preferable that the liquid processing itself be performed with the wafer being substantially vertical as in the conventional case. Therefore, not only in the wafer cleaning apparatus 200 but also in an apparatus that conventionally transports a wafer while holding it in a substantially vertical state, it is necessary to separately provide a wafer attitude conversion mechanism and the like. Since the members of the respective parts to be handled also become large, there is a problem that the apparatus becomes large as a whole. Therefore, it is desired to improve the configuration of the device and thereby suppress the increase in the size of the device.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of such problems of the prior art, and enables easy control and efficient liquid processing such as cleaning of a substrate.
In particular, it is an object of the present invention to provide a compact liquid processing apparatus that suppresses an increase in the size of a processing apparatus that occurs when performing liquid processing on a large-diameter substrate.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a liquid processing apparatus for performing a liquid processing by supplying a predetermined processing liquid to a substrate. Between a rotor capable of holding the substrate at a predetermined interval, a rotor rotation mechanism having a drive mechanism for rotating the rotor so that the substrate rotates in-plane, and a carrier capable of storing the substrate. A liquid processing apparatus, comprising: a substrate transfer mechanism that transfers the substrate; and a processing chamber that houses the rotor and performs a predetermined liquid process on a substrate held by the rotor. You.

According to the present invention, secondly, there is provided a liquid processing apparatus for performing a liquid processing by supplying a predetermined processing liquid to a substrate, wherein the rotor is capable of holding the substrate at a predetermined interval. A rotor rotation mechanism having a drive mechanism for rotating the rotor so that the rotor rotates in-plane, and a substrate transport mechanism for transporting the substrate in a horizontal state between a carrier capable of storing the substrate and the rotor. An attitude conversion mechanism that performs an attitude conversion of the rotor rotation mechanism so that the substrate can be held in an upright state or a horizontal state in the rotor;
A processing chamber that houses the rotor and performs a predetermined liquid process on a substrate held by the rotor, and the rotor rotation mechanism and the attitude conversion mechanism together so that the rotor is housed in the processing chamber, or And a moving mechanism for sliding the processing chamber.

According to the present invention, thirdly, there is provided a liquid processing apparatus for performing a liquid processing by supplying a predetermined processing liquid to a substrate, comprising: a rotor capable of holding the substrate at predetermined intervals; A substrate transport mechanism for transporting the substrate in a horizontal state between a carrier capable of accommodating the substrate and the rotor, and a posture conversion for converting the posture of the rotor so that the substrate can be held in an upright state or a horizontal state. Housing a mechanism and the rotor,
A processing chamber for performing predetermined liquid processing on the substrate held by the rotor, a moving mechanism for sliding the rotor and the attitude changing mechanism together so that the rotor is housed in the processing chamber, And a rotor transfer / rotation drive mechanism configured to transfer the rotor and rotate the rotor so that the substrate rotates in a plane.

In the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention, the transport path between the carrier accommodating the substrate and the rotor holding the substrate for performing the liquid processing is short, so that the apparatus can be downsized. In addition, the orientation of the substrate can be changed between the horizontal state and the upright state by changing the direction of the rotor, and the rotor can be directly accommodated in the processing chamber. Since there is no need to transfer the substrate by using the above-described method, and since there is no need to provide a plurality of mechanisms for performing such substrate transfer, the apparatus can be made compact and the occurrence of contamination on the substrate can be prevented.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The liquid processing apparatus of the present invention is a cleaning processing apparatus using various substrates as objects to be processed,
Although the present invention can be applied to a drying processing apparatus and the like, the present embodiment will describe a case where the semiconductor wafer (wafer) is used as a cleaning processing apparatus configured to consistently carry in, wash, dry, and unload a semiconductor wafer in a batch manner. .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the cleaning processing apparatus 1 includes a carrier stage 2 a for mounting a carrier (storage container) C capable of storing a plurality of wafers W, for example, about 25 wafers W in a horizontal state. 2b, a cleaning unit 3 for performing a cleaning process on the wafer W, a wafer transfer unit 4 provided between the carrier stages 2a and 2b and the cleaning unit 3 for transferring the wafer W, Liquid storage unit 5 for storing a liquid chemical for
And a power supply unit 6 for various electric drive mechanisms disposed in the cleaning apparatus 1.

The carrier stages 2a and 2b are carriers C
The carrier C has a loading / unloading port for loading / unloading the wafer W and a window 12 a (carrier stage 2 a) provided in the wall 11 of the wafer transfer unit 4.
Side) and 12b (on the side of the carrier stage 2b) are placed on the carrier stages 2a and 2b.

The inside of the wall 11 (the wafer transfer unit 4
Opening devices 14a (carrier stage 2a side) and 14b (carrier stage) having shutters for opening and closing the windows 12a and 12b and a lid opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing a lid for opening and closing the loading / unloading opening of the carrier C. 2b) and the shutter is closed when the carrier C is not mounted on the carrier stages 2a and 2b. On the other hand, when the wafer W is unloaded from the carrier C or loaded into the carrier C, the shutter and the lid of the carrier C are opened by the lid opening and closing mechanism.

The opening and closing device 1 is provided in the wafer transfer unit 4.
Adjacent to 4a and 14b, detection sensor mechanisms 13a (on the carrier stage 2a side) and 13b (on the carrier stage 2b side) for measuring the number of wafers W in the carrier C are provided. For example, the detection sensor mechanisms 13a and 13b inspect the number of wafers W at two locations at the ends in the Y direction of the wafer W while scanning the infrared sensor head in the Z direction.

As the detection sensor mechanisms 13a and 13b, in parallel with the inspection of the number of wafers W, the stored state of the wafers W, for example, the wafers W are stored one by one in the carrier C in parallel at a predetermined pitch. It is more preferable to use a sensor provided with a sensor for detecting whether or not the wafer W is not accommodated obliquely with a step difference, and whether or not the wafer W has jumped out of a predetermined position in the carrier C. . Furthermore, the number of wafers W may be detected by using the same sensor after confirming the storage state of the wafers W. Note that if a detection sensor mechanism is attached to the wafer transfer mechanism 7 described later and the structure is configured to be movable together with the wafer transfer mechanism 7, only one detection sensor mechanism can be provided.

The wafer transfer unit 4 is provided with a wafer transfer mechanism 7 for transferring a wafer W in a horizontal state between a carrier C mounted on the carrier stages 2a and 2b and a rotor 31 described later. The wafer transfer mechanism 7 includes a transfer arm 21a for transferring an unprocessed wafer W and a transfer arm 21b for transferring a liquid-processed wafer W.
Each of the transfer arms 21a and 21b can transfer one wafer W and can transfer 25 wafers W stored in the carrier C at one time. Are arranged substantially in parallel.

A transfer arm holding portion 22 for holding a total of 50 transfer arms 21a and 21b has an X-axis drive mechanism (not shown) therein, and extends along a guide mechanism 24 such as a groove provided on a table 23 or a guide rail. It is slidable in the X direction. In addition, the transfer arm holding unit 22
It is configured to be rotatable in the θ direction in the −Y plane. This θ
A θ rotation drive mechanism (not shown) that performs directional rotation can be provided inside the transfer arm holding unit 22, and a Z-axis drive mechanism 99 and a table 23 described below can also be provided as a structure that rotates together. .

If such an X-axis drive mechanism or a θ-rotation drive mechanism is used, for example, the transfer arm 21a is inserted into the carrier C using the X-axis drive mechanism, and after the wafer W in the carrier C is unloaded, Transfer arm 2 using θ rotation drive mechanism
The wafer W is turned toward the cleaning unit 3 by rotating the direction of the wafer 1a by 180 °, and the transfer arm 21a is again moved to the rotor 31 provided in the cleaning unit 3 using the X-axis drive mechanism.
, And the wafer W can be stored in the rotor 31 and the reverse operation can be performed. Note that, instead of or together with the X-axis drive mechanism, the transfer arms 21a.
21b has a telescopic form such as an articulated arm, so that the wafer W
It is also preferable to adopt a form in which the sheet can be conveyed between .about.31c.

Normally, the interval between the transfer arms 21a and 21b is the same as the interval between the wafers W stored in the carrier C.
It is also possible to provide a transfer arm interval adjustment mechanism that changes the interval of 21b. In this case, for example, after the wafer W is unloaded from the carrier C according to the interval between the transfer arms 21a in accordance with the storage interval of the wafers W in the carrier C, the interval between the transfer arms 21a is reduced to half, and further described later. The height of the transfer arm 21a is adjusted using the shaft drive mechanism 99, and an operation of storing the wafer W in the lower half or the upper half of the rotor 31 can be performed.

The transfer arms 21a and 21b, the transfer arm holder 22, and the table 23
9 allows movement in the Z direction (vertical direction).
The Z-axis drive mechanism 99 includes, for example, the transfer arm 21a
It is used when the wafer 21b unloads the wafer W from the carrier C or the rotor 31 or when the wafer W held by the transfer arms 21a and 21b is loaded into the carrier C or the rotor 31. For example, when unloading the wafer W from the carrier C, first, the height is adjusted using the Z-axis drive mechanism 99 so that each transfer arm 21a is positioned below each wafer W in the carrier C. And then the transfer arm 21
is inserted into the carrier C, and the wafer W is held on the transfer arm 21a by raising the transfer arm 21a to a predetermined height by using the Z-axis drive mechanism 99. In this state, the transfer arm 21 is moved by the X-axis drive mechanism. By retreating the wafer W from the carrier C to the original position,
Can be carried out.

The transfer arms 21a and 21b, the transfer arm holder 22, and the table 23 can be moved in the Y direction along a guide rail 97 by a Y-axis drive mechanism 98. Any of the carriers C placed on the 2a and 2b can be accessed.

A filter fan unit 28a is provided on the ceiling of the wafer transfer unit 4 so that air from which particles are removed is blown into the wafer transfer unit 4. Further, a shutter is provided on a wall portion 25 that forms a boundary between the wafer transfer unit 4 and the cleaning processing unit 3 so that the wafer W can be transferred between the wafer transfer mechanism 7 and the rotor 31. 27
Forms a window 26 that can be opened and closed. The shutter 27 is provided on the wafer transfer unit 4 side,
The atmosphere of the wafer transfer unit 4 and the cleaning processing unit 3 can be separated. The shutter 27
May be provided on the cleaning unit 3 side.

A filter fan unit 28b is also provided on the ceiling of the cleaning unit 3 so that air or the like from which particles have been removed is blown into the cleaning unit 3. Further, the cleaning processing unit 3 includes:
The wafer W is placed on the rotor 31 capable of holding the wafer W at predetermined intervals.
A motor (drive mechanism) 32 for rotating the rotor 31 so that the rotor rotates in-plane is provided via a shaft member 37. FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the structure of the rotor 31. The rotor 31 has a locking member 31a in which a groove for holding the wafer W is formed, and a groove and the like are formed in the same manner as the locking member 31a and can be opened and closed. Holder 31
b. The locking member 31a is mounted and fixed on a pair of disks 33a and 33b arranged at a predetermined interval. The opening and closing of the holder 31b is restricted by the state of the holder lock pin 31c. In other words, when the holder 31b is locked, the holder 31b is closed so as to hold the wafer W, and when the lock is not locked, the holder rotating cylinder 34 holds the wafer W. It can be moved to close or open to allow loading and unloading of the wafer W.

For example, when opening the holder 31b,
The holder release cylinder 35 for releasing the locked (fixed) state of the holder 31b is lowered from the upper part of the rotor 31, and the holder lock pin 3 formed on the disk 33a is lowered.
1c is kept pressed. At this time, the holder 31b is released from the locked state and is in a state where it can be freely moved. In this state, for example, the disk 3
When the holder rotation cylinder 34 is rotated by engaging the holder rotation cylinder 34 with the coupling portion between the holder 3a and the holder 31b from the disk 33b side, the holder 31b can be opened.

When closing the holder 31b,
Conversely, after the holder rotating cylinder 34 is rotated to close the opened holder 31b and then the holder releasing cylinder 35 is raised, the holder 31b is naturally locked by the holder lock pin 31c.

A shaft member 37 connecting the rotor 31 and the motor 32 passes through the center of another disk 38 disposed on the disk 33b side. As will be described later, the disk 38 is a member for closing the rotor insertion port 53 of the processing chamber 51 when the rotor 31 is inserted into the processing chamber 51 (outer chamber 51a), and does not rotate. The portion where the shaft member 37 penetrates the disk 38 is the processing chamber 51
A sealing structure is adopted so that the processing liquid does not leak from the substrate.

The disk 38 includes a rotor rotation mechanism support member 3
6 is attached. The rotor rotation mechanism support member 36 moves the rotor rotation mechanism 8 around the rotation axis 36a in the YZ direction.
A posture conversion mechanism for rotating the wafer W between a horizontal state and an upright state, for example, a vertical state (an angle between the surface of the wafer W and the horizontal direction is 90 °) by rotating the wafer W by a predetermined angle in the plane. Part 9 The driving of the attitude conversion mechanism 9 can be performed using a driving device such as a motor or an actuator.

The rotor rotation mechanism support member 36 also functions as a cover for the shaft member 37. Therefore, the shape of the rotor rotation mechanism support member 36 is not limited to the illustrated one, and may be, for example, a form that surrounds the entire shaft member 37 and the motor 32. It is possible to suppress the generated particles and the like from deteriorating the atmosphere in the cleaning processing unit 3.

The leg 36b of the posture changing mechanism 9 is disposed on a Y-axis driving mechanism 10 which can move in the Y direction on a guide rail 39, so that the rotor rotating mechanism 8 also moves inside the cleaning unit 3. It is movable in the Y direction. Using the Y-axis drive mechanism 10, the rotor 31 of the rotor rotation mechanism 8 whose posture has been changed so that the wafer W is held in an upright state, for example, a vertical state, can be inserted into the processing chamber 51. .

The lower space 9 of the guide rail 39
4 includes, for example, a rotor rotation mechanism 8, a posture conversion mechanism 9,
A control device such as the Y-axis drive mechanism 10 can be housed. Although not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, a shutter that can be opened and closed is provided between the space in which the guide rail 39 is provided and the space in which the processing chamber 51 is provided, and the inside of the processing chamber 51 is provided. Atmosphere is cleaning unit 3
A structure that does not diffuse throughout can be provided.

FIGS. 5 and 6 are cross-sectional views showing one embodiment in which the rotor 31 is inserted into the processing chamber 51. FIG.
Here, in FIGS. 5 and 6, the attitude conversion mechanism 9 and the Y-axis drive mechanism 10 are omitted, and the processing chamber 51 has an outer chamber 51a having a substantially trapezoidal cross section and a Y-direction. Slidable inner chamber 51
b has a double structure consisting of b. The outer chamber 51a can be retracted to the position of the inner chamber 51b shown in FIG. 5 during maintenance or the like.

FIG. 5 shows a state in which the inner chamber 51b is retracted to the right side in the drawing and the liquid processing is performed using the outer chamber 51a. FIG. 6 shows the state in which the inner chamber 51b is housed in the outer chamber 51a. And a state in which liquid processing is performed by the inner chamber 51b. As shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning process in the outer chamber 51a is performed by the vertical wall 52a.
A vertical wall 52b on which the rotor insertion port 53 is formed; and a disk 38 of the rotor rotation mechanism 8 for closing the rotor insertion port 53.
The processing is performed in the processing space 95 formed by An exhaust path including an exhaust valve 65 and an exhaust pipe 67 is provided above the vertical wall 52b, so that the atmosphere of the processing space 95 can be adjusted.

A drain (drainage path) composed of a drain valve 61 and a drain pipe 63 is formed below the vertical wall 52b so that the used cleaning liquid is discharged from the processing space 95. I have. Here, the outer chamber 51a is fixed so that the vertical wall 52b side is set to the longer diameter side, and a gradient is formed below the body of the outer chamber 51a such that the vertical wall 52b side is downward. The used cleaning liquid is easily discharged from the drain valve 61 through the drain tube 63.

In the vicinity of the upper end in the outer chamber 51a, a discharge nozzle 55 having a number of discharge ports 54 is attached to the vertical wall 52b such that the discharge ports 54 are arranged in a horizontal direction. From the discharge nozzle 55, the pure water supplied from a source of liquid medicine storage unit 5, and various chemical such as IPA, a dry gas such as N ₂ gas has become possible ejection. The vertical walls 52a and 52b have disks 33a and 3 respectively.
Discharge nozzles 74a and 74b for processing liquid for cleaning the surfaces of the 3b facing the vertical walls 52a and 52b, respectively. Such discharge nozzles 74a and 74b
It is mainly used when cleaning the disks 33a and 33b with pure water after various chemical treatments. In addition, the discharge nozzle 55
Although only one is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of them can be provided.

The inner chamber 51b is
It has a tubular shape with a cross section of substantially trapezoidal shape smaller than a, and is configured to be able to translate (slide) in the Y direction between the position shown in FIG. 5 and the position shown in FIG. Inner chamber 5
1b has a ring member 58b on its short-diameter end face and a ring member 58a on its long-diameter end face. When the inner chamber 51b is disposed in the outer chamber 51a, the ring member 58a is attached to the vertical wall 52a. Adhere to
The processing space 96 is formed by the ring member 58b being in close contact with the vertical wall 52b.

When the inner chamber 51b is retracted from the outer chamber 51a, the ring member 58b is in close contact with the vertical wall 52a and the ring member 58a is in close contact with the vertical wall 52c, thereby forming the outer chamber 51a. The atmosphere in the processing space 95 is isolated from the atmosphere in the inner chamber 51b.

A discharge nozzle 57 having a large number of discharge ports 56 is mounted on the upper part in the inner chamber 51b so that the discharge ports 56 are arranged in a horizontal direction. From the discharge nozzle 57, various chemicals, pure water, IPA and the like supplied from a supply source in the chemical storage unit 5 are discharged. Also,
Disks 33a and 33 are provided on the upper inner wall of the inner chamber 51b.
The processing liquid discharge nozzles 75a and 75b for cleaning the opposite surface of b (the surface facing the wafer W) are provided.
A cleaning liquid such as pure water can be discharged. Although only one ejection nozzle 57 is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of ejection nozzles 57 can be provided.

An exhaust port 66 is provided at the upper end of the ring member 58a.
Is formed, and the processing space 96 is formed through the exhaust pipe 68.
Inner chamber 51b in atmosphere adjustment or retreat position
It is possible to adjust the atmosphere inside. Also,
A processing liquid discharge port 46 is formed at the lower end of the ring member 58a, and a drain guide member 47 is provided so as to communicate with the processing liquid discharge port 46.

The inner chamber 51b is disposed so that the motor 32 side is a short diameter side and a gradient is formed on the lower side. That is, since the processing liquid outlet 46 is formed on the lower side of the gradient formed below the inner chamber 51b, the processing liquid used in the inner chamber 51b can be easily discharged from the processing liquid outlet 46. Drain guide member 47
Flow into

The drain guide member 47 extends downward, and its tip end 48 is configured to face in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, a drain tube 49 is separately provided below the vertical wall 52a.
Are disposed, and a cap 50 as a tip is formed at the tip of the drain tube 49.

When the inner chamber 51b is in the retracted position, the tip 48 of the drain guiding member 47 and the cap 5
However, when the inner chamber 51b is slid so as to be housed in the outer chamber 51a for the cleaning process of the wafer W, the tip portion 48 is fitted to the cap portion 50. The structure is airtightly sealed, whereby the drain guide member 47 and the drain tube 49 communicate with each other, and the processing liquid can be drained. On the other hand, when the liquid processing of the wafer W is completed, the inner chamber 51 b
When retracting from the outer chamber 51a, the tip 4
8 and the cap portion 50 are separated from each other.

Next, the carrier C mounted on the carrier stage 2a is referred to as a carrier C1, and the carrier stage 2b
As an example, the carrier C placed on the carrier C2 is used as a carrier C2, and the wafers W stored in the two carriers C1 and C2 are collectively cleaned by using the cleaning apparatus 1.
The cleaning process will be described. 1 to 3
In the above, carrier C1
・ C2 is not specified.

First, the carriers C1 and C2 in which 25 wafers W are stored in parallel at a predetermined interval are separated from the carriers C1 and C2.
The wafer W is placed on the carrier stages 2a and 2b such that the loading / unloading port for loading and unloading the wafer W at C2 faces the windows 12a and 12b.

First, in order to transfer the wafer W in the carrier C1, the shutter that closes the window 12a is opened using the opening / closing device 14a, and the lid that closes the loading / unloading opening of the carrier C1 is opened. Then, the inside of the carrier C1 and the inside of the wafer transfer unit 4 are brought into communication. Thereafter, the detection sensor mechanism 13a is scanned in the Z direction to check the number of wafers W in the carrier C1 and the storage state. Here, when an abnormality is detected, the processing is interrupted and the operation is shifted to the unloading operation of the wafer W from the carrier C2, or the carriers C1 and C2 are collectively processed as one lot due to problems in production management or the like. Is assumed, the carriers C1 and C2 are removed from the carrier stages 2a and 2b, and the process proceeds to another lot cleaning process.

If no abnormality is detected in the wafers W in the carrier C1, the height of the transfer arms 21a is adjusted by the Z-axis drive mechanism 99 so that the individual transfer arms 21a are positioned below the respective wafers W. After the alignment, the X-axis drive mechanism of the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is operated to move the transfer arm 21a.
Is inserted into the carrier C1, the Z-axis drive mechanism 99 is raised by a predetermined height to hold one wafer W on one transfer arm 21a, and the X-axis drive mechanism is operated again to move the transfer arm 21a back. To the position. By operating the opening / closing device 14a to close the window 12a and the cover of the carrier C1, all 25 wafers W have been moved from the carrier C1 into the wafer transfer unit 4. Note that the wafer W is held by the transfer arm 21a at the same interval as the storage interval in the carrier C1.

Subsequently, the wafer W held by the transfer arm 21a is moved to the wafer transfer unit 4 and the cleaning unit 3
The θ rotation drive mechanism of the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is rotated by 180 ° so as to face the window 26 formed in the wall 25 that forms a boundary with the above. Then, the shutter 27 that has closed the window 26 is opened, and the X-axis driving mechanism of the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is operated, and the rotor 31 that has been waiting at the position facing the window 26 in the cleaning processing unit 3 is moved to the inside. The transfer arm 21a holding the wafer W is inserted.

At this time, naturally, the rotor 31 is in a state where the holder lock pin 31c is pressed by the holder release cylinder 35 and the holder 31b is movable, and the holder 31b is opened outward by the holder rotation cylinder 34, that is, the wafer 31 W can be loaded and unloaded. In addition, the height position of the wafer W is adjusted so that the wafer W fits into a groove or the like formed on the locking member 31a for holding the wafer W.

After the wafer W is held by the locking member 31a, the Z-axis drive mechanism 99 of the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is operated to lower the position of the transfer arm 21a, and the X-axis drive mechanism is further operated to transfer the wafer. The arm 21a is returned to the original position, and the shutter 27 is closed. With the above steps, the transfer of the wafer W stored in the carrier C1 to the rotor 31 is completed.

Next, in order to transfer the wafer W stored in the carrier C2 to the rotor 31, the transfer arm 21a
The .theta. Rotation drive mechanism of the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is operated so that is again on the carrier stage 2a / 2b side. Also,
By operating the Y-axis drive mechanism 98, the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is moved to a position where the transfer arm 21a faces the window 12b. Then, in the same manner as the case where the wafer W is unloaded from the carrier C1, the wafer W is unloaded from the carrier C2, and the θ rotation drive mechanism and the Y-axis drive mechanism 98 are operated to carry the transfer arm holding the wafer W. 21a is moved to a position facing the window 26.

The wafer W of the carrier C2 is first placed on the rotor 3
The carrier C1 is inserted between the wafers W of the carrier C1.
That is, the wafer W is placed in the carrier C in the rotor 31.
It will be stored at half the storage interval at 1 · C2. For this purpose, the height position of the transfer arm 21a, that is, the height position of the wafer W is shifted upward or downward by operating the Z-axis driving mechanism 99 by half the holding interval of the wafer W, and then the shutter 27 is moved. When the wafer W is opened, the X-axis drive mechanism of the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is operated, and the wafer W
Then, the transfer arm 21a is inserted into the rotor 31.

The transfer arm 21a is driven by the Z-axis drive mechanism 99.
Is slightly lowered, and the transfer arm 2 is moved using the X-axis drive mechanism.
By returning 1a to the original position and closing the shutter 27, the transfer of the wafers W of the carriers C1 and C2 to the rotor 31 is completed. In the rotor 31, the holder 31b is closed so as to hold the wafer W.
The holder release cylinder 35 is moved to the upper part, so that the holder 31b cannot be freely moved by the holder lock pin 31c.

Next, using the attitude converting mechanism 9, the rotor 3
Rotor rotating mechanism 8 so that 1 faces processing chamber 51 side.
Is tilted by about 90 ° to maintain the rotor rotation mechanism 8 in a horizontal state. At this time, the wafer W is held in a vertical state. Then, using the Y-axis drive mechanism 10, the rotor 31
Is stored in the outer chamber 51a, and the rotor rotation mechanism 8 is slid so that the disk 38 closes the rotor insertion opening 53 of the outer chamber 51a.

In the processing chamber 51, for example, if processing such as removal of a polymer using a chemical solution is performed in the inner chamber 51b, and processing using pure water and subsequent drying processing are performed in the outer chamber 51a, first, the inner chamber 51b
Is housed in the outer chamber 51a, and the wafer W is washed by discharging pure water from the discharge nozzle 57 while rotating the rotor 31 at a predetermined number of revolutions by the motor 32, and then from the discharge nozzles 75a and 75b. By discharging pure water, the surfaces of the disks 33a and 33b facing the wafer W are cleaned.

Next, with the inner chamber 51b retracted from the outer chamber 51a, a predetermined chemical solution is discharged from the discharge nozzle 55 toward the wafer W while rotating the rotor 31 at a predetermined rotation speed. After the processing using the chemical solution is completed, pure water is discharged from the discharge nozzles 74a and 74b, and the vertical walls 52a and 52b of the disks 33a and 33b respectively.
The surface facing 52b is cleaned. Thereafter, the rotor 31 is rotated at a predetermined number of revolutions without discharging the processing liquid, and the pure water adhering to the rotor 31 and the wafer W is shaken off, and N ₂ gas or the like is injected to the wafer W as necessary. To perform a drying process.

After completion of the liquid treatment and the drying treatment,
In order to carry out the rotor 31 from the processing chamber 51 using the Y-axis drive mechanism 10, the rotor rotation mechanism 8 is slid away from the processing chamber 51, and then the attitude conversion mechanism 9 is operated to move the wafer W horizontally. The rotor rotating mechanism 8 is set up again so as to be held in the state, and the rotor 31 is returned to the position facing the window 26. The loading / unloading port of the rotor 31 when the holder 31b is opened is the window 26.
Positioning is performed to face. Then, the holder release cylinder 35 is lowered, and the holder lock pin 31 is lowered.
c, the holder 31b is unlocked, the holder 31b is rotated using the holder rotation cylinder 34 (see FIG. 4), and the holder 31b is opened so that the wafer W can be unloaded.

While the liquid processing of the wafer W is being performed,
The wafer transfer mechanism 7 operates the θ rotation drive mechanism so that the transfer arm 21 b faces the window 26. Then, for example, when returning the wafer W previously stored in the carrier C2 to the carrier C2, the Z-axis driving mechanism 99 is operated so that the transfer arm 21b can carry out the corresponding wafer W. Transfer arm 2
The height position of 1b is adjusted, the shutter 27 is opened, the transfer arm 21b is inserted into the rotor 31 by the X-axis drive mechanism, and then the wafer W is lifted by operating the Z-axis drive mechanism 99. By returning the transfer arm 21b to the original position by the X-axis drive mechanism, the corresponding wafer W
Can be carried out of the rotor 31.

After closing the shutter 27, θ is set so that the transfer arm 21b faces the carrier stages 2a and 2b.
The rotation drive mechanism is driven, and the wafer transfer mechanism 7 is moved by the Y-axis drive mechanism 98 such that the transfer arm 21b faces the window 12b. The window 12b is opened using the opening / closing device 14b, and the lid of the carrier C2 is opened, so that the inside of the carrier C2 and the wafer transfer unit 4 are in communication with each other.
After adjusting the height of the entire wafer 1b, the transfer arm 21b is inserted into the carrier C2 using the X-axis drive mechanism, and the wafer W
And return the transfer arm 21b to the original position. When the lid of the carrier C2 and the window 12b are closed, the storage of the wafer W in the carrier C2 is completed.

After returning the transfer arm 21b to the position facing the window 26 by the same method, the wafer W is taken out from the rotor 31 and stored in the carrier C1. Carrier C
When 1 · C2 is removed from the carrier stages 2a and 2b, processing for the next carrier C can be started.

Next, another embodiment of the cleaning apparatus will be described. FIG. 7 is a side view of the cleaning apparatus 100, and FIG. 8 is a plan view thereof. The cleaning apparatus 100 includes:
Except for having a cleaning processing unit 3a having a different structure from the cleaning processing unit 3 of the above-described cleaning processing apparatus 1, it is configured using the same unit as the cleaning processing apparatus 1. Therefore, the structure of the cleaning processing unit 3a and the processing mode of the wafer W in the cleaning processing unit 3a will be described below.

The rotor transport mechanism 80 provided in the cleaning unit 3a includes a rotor 81, a posture changing mechanism 9a,
It comprises a Y-axis drive mechanism 10a. Rotor 81
Is configured to be detachable between a disk 33b and a connecting member 82a joined to the posture changing mechanism 9a. The disk 33a is connected to a rotor 81 for connection to a rotor transfer / rotation drive mechanism 90, which will be described later. Connecting member 82 for releasing
b is attached. The rotor 81 has a locking member 31 between the disks 33a and 33b, similarly to the rotor 31.
a, a holder 31b, and a holder lock pin 31c (not shown) is provided on the disk 33a.

It is preferable that the attitude changing mechanism 9a has a position adjusting mechanism for adjusting the position so that the loading / unloading port of the holder 31b for loading / unloading the wafer W faces the window 26. Attitude conversion mechanism 9a and Y-axis drive mechanism 10a
Are the same as the operations of the attitude conversion mechanism 9 and the Y-axis drive mechanism 10 of the cleaning apparatus 1 described above.

The cleaning unit 3a is provided with a rotor transfer / rotation drive mechanism 90 and a processing chamber 51. The rotor transfer / rotation drive mechanism 90 is
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating one mode in a state in which 1 is held.
The rotor transfer / rotation drive mechanism 90 includes a rotation shaft member 83 and a motor 32a. The end of the rotating shaft member 83 has a structure in which the rotor 81 can be attached and detached, and the rotation of the motor 32a allows the rotor 81 to rotate.

As the processing chamber 51, a double-structured chamber composed of the outer chamber 51a and the inner chamber 51b shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is shown. Therefore, similarly to the case of the cleaning apparatus 1, the cleaning processing in the outer chamber 51a and the cleaning processing in the inner chamber 51b can be selectively used according to the position of the inner chamber 51b. A shutter 53a is attached to the rotor insertion opening 53 of the outer chamber 51a. The shutter 53a is opened when the rotor 81 is carried in and out of the outer chamber 51a, and is closed during the cleaning process. .

Next, a method of cleaning the wafer W in the cleaning unit 3a will be described. The transfer of the wafer W between the wafer transfer mechanism 7 and the rotor 81 is performed with the wafer W in a horizontal state, as in the case of the cleaning apparatus 1. When the wafer W is stored in the rotor 81, the attitude conversion mechanism 9a is operated to change the attitude of the rotor 81 so that the wafer W is held in an upright state, for example, a vertical state, and then the Y-axis drive mechanism 10 is operated. Then, the rotor 81 is inserted into the outer chamber 51a from the rotor insertion port 53.

The Y-axis drive mechanism 10 is moved until the connecting member 82b is connected to the rotary shaft member 83, and the connecting member 82
After b and the rotating shaft member 83 are connected, the connection between the disk 33b and the connecting member 82a is released. Thus, the rotor 81 can be rotated by the rotor transfer / rotation drive mechanism 90. Thereafter, the Y-axis drive mechanism 10a is operated until the connecting member 82a is positioned outside the outer chamber 51a, and the shutter 53a is closed.

Outer chamber 51a and inner chamber 51b
Form of the processing spaces 95 and 96 is the same as in the case of the cleaning apparatus 1, and when the motor 32a is rotated, the rotor 81 rotates. For example, in the state of FIG. 9, the cleaning processing by the outer chamber 51a is performed. It can be performed. After a series of cleaning processes, the shutter 5
After opening 3a and operating the Y-axis drive mechanism 10a to connect the connecting member 82a to the disk 33b of the rotor 81,
The connection between the rotating shaft member 83 and the connecting member 82b is released.
Thereafter, the Y-axis drive mechanism 10a and the attitude conversion mechanism 9a are operated, the rotor 81 is returned to a position where the wafer W faces the window 26, the holder 31b is opened, and the rotor 8 is opened.
The wafer W in 1 is unloaded using the wafer transfer mechanism 7.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and various modifications are possible.
For example, an apparatus for transporting the carrier C between the cleaning apparatus 1 and another processing apparatus or the like may be mounted on the upper part of the cleaning apparatus 1.
A situation may occur where the down flow supplied from the ceiling direction of the clean room in which the cleaning apparatus 1 is disposed does not hit the carrier C mounted on the a.2b. In this case, there is a problem that particles and the like are easily attached to the wafer W.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10A, a predetermined inclination is provided above the wall portion 11 of the wafer transfer unit 4, and the wafer transfer unit 4 is provided with a filter 29a as an internal structure. Clean air from the filtered fan unit 28a can be applied to the carrier C. Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, the shutter is constituted by the filter 29b as the opening and closing devices 14a and 14b, so that the clean air from the filter fan unit 28a flows toward the carrier C even when the shutter is closed. A flowing structure can also be used.

In the above-described embodiment, the rotation of the rotor has been described with reference to the case where the rotor rotates in a so-called cantilevered state. For example, the connecting member 82a in FIG. The disk 33b and the connecting member 82b may remain integral during processing if they are rotatable by bearings or the like. Such a form having both rotors can also be used in the cleaning apparatus 1, for example, by disposing a rotatable connecting member that is connected to the disk 33a from the inner chamber 51b side.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the mode in which the wafer W is held in the vertical state has been described as the mode in which the wafer W is held in the upright state. This includes holding the wafer W in an inclined state so that the angle between the surface of W and the horizontal direction is, for example, any angle in the range of 45 ° to 90 °. That is, it is possible to arbitrarily set the inclination angle of the attitude conversion mechanism, accommodate the wafer W in the processing chamber 51, and perform liquid processing. In this case, for example, the arrangement state of the processing chamber 51 and the shape of the rotor insertion port 53 are inclined in accordance with the inclination angle of the wafer W, and in the above embodiment, the shaft member 37 penetrates the disk 38 vertically. But
Changing the angle at which the shaft member 37 penetrates the disk 38,
What is necessary is just to change the shape of an apparatus member and the form of arrangement suitably.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the liquid processing is performed using the processing chamber 51 having a double structure including the outer chamber 51a and the inner chamber 51b has been described, but the number of chambers is three or more. Or one. Also, the outer chamber 51
The inner chamber 51a and the inner chamber 51b may be used for cleaning only one side and drying the other side, for example, and may be used for an application in which both cleaning and drying are continuously performed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the rotor 31 is accommodated in the processing chamber 51 by sliding the rotor rotating mechanism 8 and the attitude changing mechanism 9 using the Y-axis driving mechanism 10. Conversely, by moving the processing chamber 51 in the Y direction,
1 may be housed in the processing chamber 51.

In the above-described embodiment, the wafer W is held in the processing chamber 51 while being held substantially vertically.
The angle between the surface of the wafer W and the horizontal direction is 45 ° to 90 °
The wafer W can be accommodated in the processing chamber 51 at an arbitrary angle in the range described above, and liquid processing can be performed. In this case, for example, the arrangement state of the processing chamber 51 and the shape of the rotor insertion port 53 are inclined in accordance with the inclination angle of the wafer W, and the connecting portion between the rotor 31 and the shaft member 37 has an inclination function. Although the shaft member 37 vertically penetrates the disk 38 in the above embodiment,
Changing the angle at which the shaft member 37 penetrates the disk 38,
What is necessary is just to change the shape of an apparatus member and the form of arrangement suitably.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the cleaning process is described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be applied to a coating process of applying a predetermined coating solution, an etching process, and the like. Furthermore, the case where the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to processing of other substrates such as a substrate for a liquid crystal display (LCD).

[0076]

The liquid processing apparatus of the present invention has an effect that the transport path between the carrier accommodating the substrate and the rotor holding the substrate for performing the liquid processing is short, and the apparatus is downsized. . Further, since the direction of the rotor can be changed and the rotor can be directly accommodated in the processing chamber, and the number of times of transfer of the substrate is small, the apparatus can be downsized even by such a structure, and the generation of contamination on the substrate can be prevented. Is advantageously prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing the structure of the rotor shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a processing chamber provided in a liquid processing unit constituting the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a state in which an inner chamber constituting the processing chamber shown in FIG. 5 is housed in an outer chamber.

FIG. 7 is a side view showing another embodiment of the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention.

8 is a plan view of the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an example of a structure around a processing chamber provided in a liquid processing unit included in the liquid processing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing means for supplying clean air to a carrier on a carrier stage in the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a conventional cleaning unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ・ 100; cleaning processing apparatus 2a ・ 2b; carrier stage 3; cleaning processing unit 4; wafer transport unit 5; chemical storage unit 6; power supply unit 7; wafer transport mechanism 8; rotor rotating mechanism 9.9a; 10a: Y-axis drive mechanism 21a, 21b; transfer arm 31, 81; rotor 32, 32a; motor (rotation mechanism) 51a; outer chamber 51b; inner chamber 82a, 82b; connecting member 83; rotating shaft member W; (substrate)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A liquid processing apparatus for performing a liquid processing by supplying a predetermined processing liquid to a substrate, comprising: a rotor capable of holding the substrate at a predetermined interval; A rotor rotation mechanism to which a driving mechanism for rotating is attached; a substrate transport mechanism that transports the substrate between a carrier capable of storing the substrate and the rotor; a rotor that accommodates the rotor and is held by the rotor. And a processing chamber for performing predetermined liquid processing on the substrate. 2. A liquid processing apparatus for performing a liquid process by supplying a predetermined processing liquid to a substrate, comprising: a rotor capable of holding the substrate at a predetermined interval; A rotor rotating mechanism to which a driving mechanism for rotating is attached; a substrate transport mechanism for transporting the substrate in a horizontal state between a carrier capable of storing the substrate and the rotor; and a state in which the substrate stands in the rotor Or, a posture changing mechanism for changing the posture of the rotor rotating mechanism so as to be able to be held in a horizontal state, a processing chamber containing the rotor and performing a predetermined liquid processing on a substrate held by the rotor, A moving mechanism that slides the processing chamber together with the rotor rotation mechanism and the attitude conversion mechanism so as to be accommodated in the processing chamber. Liquid treatment equipment to be featured. 3. A liquid processing apparatus for performing a liquid processing by supplying a predetermined processing liquid to a substrate, comprising: a rotor capable of holding the substrate at predetermined intervals; a carrier capable of accommodating the substrate; Between,
A substrate transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate in a horizontal state, an attitude conversion mechanism for changing the attitude of the rotor so that the substrate can be held in an upright state or a horizontal state, and a housing for holding the rotor and holding the rotor. A processing chamber for performing predetermined liquid processing on the processed substrate, a moving mechanism that slides the rotor and the attitude conversion mechanism together so that the rotor is housed in the processing chamber, And a rotor transfer / rotation drive mechanism for transferring and rotating the rotor so that the substrate rotates in-plane. 4. The substrate transfer mechanism has a plurality of transfer arms each transferring one substrate, and the plurality of transfer arms can transfer a plurality of substrates accommodated in the carrier at a time. The liquid processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: 5. The substrate transfer mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the substrate transfer mechanism has a transfer arm for transferring an unprocessed substrate and another transfer arm for transferring a liquid-processed substrate. Item 5. The liquid processing apparatus according to any one of Items 4. 6. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the substrate transfer mechanism has a mechanism for adjusting a distance between the transfer arms.
Alternatively, the liquid processing apparatus according to claim 5. 7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotor is capable of storing two substrates of the carrier at one time.
The liquid processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6. 8. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing chamber has a double structure including an outer chamber and an inner chamber.