JP2002139367A - Liquid-weighing apparatus and substrate-processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately weigh trace amounts of liquids such as chemicals. SOLUTION: This liquid-weighing apparatus includes a first supply port 211a through, which chemicals are supplied to a weighing tube 210 holding the chemicals; a second supply port 211b, through which nitrogen gas is supplied to the weighing tube 210; a first discharge port 212a, through which the chemicals are discharged from the tube 210; a second discharge port 212b, through which the chemicals are discharged from the tube 210; a volume- changing cylinder 39 for changing the volume of the tube 210; a first regulating valve 31 for regulating the start and stop of supply of the chemicals from the first supply port 211a; a second regulating valve 33 for regulating the start and stop of supply of the nitrogen gas from the second supply port 211b; a third regulation valve 35 for regulating the start and stop of discharge of the chemicals from the first discharge port 212a; and a fourth regulation valve 37 for regulating the start and stop of discharge of the chemicals from the second discharge port 212b.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a liquid for weighing a liquid such as a processing liquid for performing various processes such as etching and cleaning on the surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer for a semiconductor device and a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display. The present invention relates to a weighing device and a substrate processing device using the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus has been used in a manufacturing process of a precision electronic substrate using a semiconductor wafer for a semiconductor device or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display.
A series of various processes such as a chemical solution process and a water washing process are performed on the substrate by sequentially immersing the substrate in a plurality of processing tanks storing various processing solutions. In other words, after immersing the substrate with the chemical solution in pure water and a chemical solution tank for storing the chemical solution prepared from the undiluted solution, the pure water containing the chemical solution is quickly drained, and then the wafer is stored in a new state. After washing the substrate further with pure water and repeating the process of discharging pure water again and again, the substrate is successively immersed in this order between the washing tank and the final washing tank. After that, a series of various processes are performed by drying the processed substrate by spin drying or the like.

[0003] In contrast to such a multi-tank type substrate processing apparatus, a single-tank type substrate processing apparatus requires a single processing tank to store different types of processing liquids such as a chemical solution prepared from a stock solution and pure water. Different treatments such as an etching treatment and a water washing treatment are sequentially performed using a single treatment tank.

The chemicals supplied to the chemical tanks of the multi-tank type substrate processing apparatus and the processing tanks of the single-tank type substrate processing apparatus are weighed by a predetermined required amount, and are weighed in a fixed amount of pure water. , A processing solution having a predetermined concentration (a predetermined mixing ratio) is prepared. The treatment with the treatment liquid for the substrate includes a nitride film removal treatment using a phosphoric acid solution as a treatment liquid, a resist stripping treatment using sulfuric acid or peroxide water,
There are an oxide film etching process using buffered hydrofluoric acid, a light etching process using hydrofluoric acid, and a pre-diffusion cleaning process using hydrochloric acid or peroxide water.

For weighing these chemicals, a chemical solution path is constituted by a transparent tube made of resin or glass which transmits light, a plurality of capacitance sensors are arranged along the chemical solution path, and a static sensor is used. When the capacitance sensor is selected and the selected capacitance sensor changes from off to on, the amount of the chemical solution flowing in the chemical solution path is weighed.

[0006]

However, in the conventional chemical weighing technique described above, the accuracy of the weighing is affected by the accuracy of the capacitance sensor. Therefore, if the capacitance sensor malfunctions, there is a problem that the chemical solution cannot be accurately weighed, and that a processing solution having a predetermined concentration (a predetermined mixing ratio) used for processing a wafer or the like cannot be prepared.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a liquid weighing apparatus capable of accurately weighing a small amount of liquid such as a chemical solution, and a substrate processing apparatus using the same. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a liquid weighing apparatus for weighing a liquid used for processing a substrate. And a first for supplying a liquid into the container.
A supply port, a second supply port for supplying gas into the container,
A first outlet for discharging the liquid from the inside of the container, a second outlet for discharging the liquid from the inside of the container and different from the first outlet, and a volume changing means for changing a volume in the container; A first adjusting means for adjusting the start and stop of the supply of the liquid from the first supply port, a second adjusting means for adjusting the start and stop of the supply of the gas from the second supply port,
A third adjusting unit that adjusts a start and a stop of the discharge of the liquid from the first outlet, and a fourth adjusting unit that adjusts a start and a stop of the discharge of the liquid from the second outlet. It is characterized by the following.

The liquid weighing device according to claim 2 is
2. The liquid weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the volume variable means is movable relative to the container.

The liquid weighing device according to claim 3 is
The liquid weighing device according to claim 2, wherein the container comprises:
A weighing tube is provided, and the volume variable means includes a volume variable cylinder movable relative to the weighing tube.

The liquid weighing device according to claim 4 is
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first supply port, the second supply port, and the first supply port.
A discharge port and the second discharge port are formed in the container.

The liquid weighing device according to claim 5 is
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first discharge port is for supplying a liquid used for downstream processing, and the second discharge port is configured to: It is characterized in that it is for discharging a liquid to be disposed of as a waste liquid.

The liquid weighing device according to claim 6 is
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit that controls the first adjustment unit, the second adjustment unit, the third adjustment unit, and the fourth adjustment unit. , The control means controls the second adjusting means to stop the supply of gas from the second supply port,
And controlling the first adjusting means to supply the liquid from the first supply port while controlling the third adjusting means to stop discharging the liquid from the first discharge port;
After controlling the fourth adjusting means to discharge the liquid from the second discharge port, controlling the first adjusting means to stop the supply of the liquid from the first supply port, and controlling the fourth adjusting means. Controlling the means to stop the discharge of the liquid from the second discharge port, further controlling the first adjusting means to stop the supply of gas from the first supply port, and the fourth adjusting means Controlling the second adjusting means to supply the gas from the second supply port while controlling the discharge of the liquid from the second discharge port, and controlling the third adjusting means. And discharging the liquid from the first discharge port.

Further, the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7 is
A substrate processing apparatus using the liquid weighing device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the substrate processing unit is configured to perform predetermined processing on the substrate by using a liquid, and is connected to the first discharge port, and And a pipe for flowing a liquid to the substrate processing unit. In addition, as the “substrate processing” here, an etching processing and a cleaning processing for the substrate can be considered.

Further, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention further comprises a liquid storage tank for storing a liquid, wherein the first supply port is connected to the liquid storage tank. Is what you do.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a liquid weighing apparatus according to the present invention and a substrate processing apparatus using the same will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a liquid weighing apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus using the same.

In FIG. 1, a substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a processing tank for storing a processing liquid obtained by mixing a chemical and pure water or a processing liquid consisting of only a chemical in order to process a wafer W which is a kind of substrate. 3 is provided. In addition, while the plurality of wafers W are held in the processing tank 3, the plurality of wafers W are moved up and down in and out of the processing tank 3, so that the held plurality of wafers W are immersed or processed in the processing liquid of the processing tank 3. A lifter device 5 for taking out the liquid is provided.

The lifter device 5 has a back plate 51 and three arm members 52 for holding a substrate, the longitudinal direction of which is arranged perpendicular to the back plate 51 at the lower end of the back plate 51. are doing. Grooves (not shown) extending in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the arm members 52 are formed on the upper surfaces of these three arm members 52 so that a plurality of wafers W are respectively held by the respective groove portions. Has become. Further, a plurality of these grooves are formed in the longitudinal direction of the arm member 52, and the plurality of grooves hold the main surfaces of the plurality of wafers W at a predetermined distance in a state where they are parallel to each other. I have.

The lifter device 5 receives a plurality of wafers W from a transfer robot (not shown) in a state where the plurality of wafers W are lifted with respect to the processing tank 3. While being held in the respective groove portions of the three arm members 52, the arm members 52 are immersed in the processing liquid in the processing tank 3. When the processing of the wafer W is completed, the substrate transfer unit 5 is lifted to take out the plurality of wafers W from the processing liquid in the processing tank 1, and in this raised state, the transfer robot moves the plurality of wafers W from the lifter device 5. And transport the plurality of processed wafers W to the next step.

At the bottom of the processing tank 3, two processing liquid supply nozzles 7 arranged in parallel with each other are provided. A plurality of discharge holes (not shown) are formed in the processing liquid supply nozzle 7 along the direction in which the wafers W are arranged, that is, along the longitudinal direction of the arm member 52. The processing liquid is supplied from the left and right discharge holes toward the center of the processing tank 3. The processing liquid supplied toward the center rises while forming an upward flow in the center of the processing tank 3,
It overflows from around the upper opening of the processing tank 3. Contaminants such as particles generated by processing the wafer W with the processing liquid due to the overflow are discharged out of the processing tank 3 together with the processing liquid.

The two processing liquid supply nozzles 7 are connected to a pipe 9
Through a pure water supply source (DIW).
A processing liquid generator 11 is provided in the middle of the pipe 9. As the processing liquid generating unit 11, a mixing valve or the like can be used. The processing liquid generated by the processing liquid generator 11 flows through the downstream pipe 9, and
It is branched into the pipes 9a and 9b and supplied to the processing liquid supply nozzle 7.

The processing liquid generator 11 is connected to a chemical tank 15 via a first chemical supply pipe 13. The chemical solution tank 15 is a liquid storage tank that stores a chemical solution as a liquid. The chemical solution tank 15 is connected to a nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas supply source via a nitrogen gas supply pipe 17. In the middle of the nitrogen gas supply pipe 17, an adjustment valve 19 for adjusting the start and stop of the supply of the nitrogen gas from the nitrogen gas supply source is provided.

The nitrogen gas supply pipe 17 is connected to the regulating valve 1
The first nitrogen gas supply pipe 17 a and the second nitrogen gas supply pipe 17
The first nitrogen gas supply pipe 17a is used to supply nitrogen gas to the chemical solution tank 15.

On the other hand, the second nitrogen gas supply pipe 17b is connected to the liquid weighing device 21, and nitrogen gas is supplied from a nitrogen gas supply source through the nitrogen gas supply pipe 17 and the second nitrogen gas supply pipe 17b. And supplied to the liquid weighing device 21. The chemical solution tank 15 is connected to the liquid weighing device 21 via a second chemical solution supply pipe 23 and is connected to the chemical solution tank 1.
The chemical stored in 5 is supplied to the liquid weighing device 21 via the second chemical supply pipe 23.

A third chemical supply pipe 25 having one end connected to the liquid weighing device 21 is provided, and a chemical is supplied from the liquid weighing device 21 to the processing tank 3 via the third chemical supply pipe 25. Is done. Further, a chemical liquid waste pipe 27 having one end connected to the liquid weighing device 21 is provided, and the liquid chemical is drained from the liquid weighing device 21 via the chemical liquid waste pipe 27.

Next, based on FIG.
Will be described. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the liquid weighing device.

As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid weighing device 21
Has a cylindrical weighing tube 210. A T-shaped fitting 211 is attached to one end of the weighing tube 210, and a cross-shaped fitting 212 is attached to the other end.

The T-shaped fitting 211 has a first supply port 211a and a second supply port 211b. A second chemical supply pipe 23 is connected to the first supply port 211a.
A first adjusting valve 31 corresponding to first adjusting means for adjusting the start and stop of the supply of the nitrogen gas from the supply port 211a is provided. Further, a second nitrogen gas supply pipe 17b is connected to the second supply port 211b, and the start and stop of the supply of the nitrogen gas from the second supply port 211b are connected to the second nitrogen gas supply pipe 17b. A second adjusting valve 33 corresponding to a second adjusting means for adjusting is provided.

The cross-shaped fitting 212 has a first
A discharge port 212a, a second discharge port 212b, and a hole 212c for the volume varying cylinder 39 are formed respectively. A third chemical liquid supply pipe 25 is connected to the first discharge port 212a.
A third adjusting valve 35 corresponding to third adjusting means for adjusting the start and stop of the discharge of the chemical solution discharged from the discharge port 212a to the processing tank 3 is provided. Also, the second outlet 21
A chemical waste liquid pipe 27 is connected to 2b, and the chemical waste liquid pipe 27 is connected to a fourth adjusting means for adjusting the start and stop of discharge of the chemical discharged from the second discharge port 212b. An adjustment valve 37 is provided.

A manually variable displacement cylinder 39 is attached to a hole 212c formed in the cross-shaped fitting 212. By moving the variable volume cylinder 39 relative to the weighing tube 210, the volume of the chemical solution entering the weighing tube 210 can be adjusted. Then, by fixing the volume varying cylinder 39 at a predetermined position, the liquid weighing device 21 can accurately and minutely weigh a small amount of a chemical solution.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric control system of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus 1
Includes a control unit 40 electrically connected to each adjustment valve. The control unit 40 controls the opening and closing of the regulating valve 19 to control the start and stop of the supply of the nitrogen gas, and controls the opening and closing of the first regulating valve 31 to start and supply the chemical solution to the liquid weighing device 21. The stop is controlled, and the opening and closing of the second adjusting valve 33 is controlled to control the start and stop of the supply of the nitrogen gas to the liquid weighing device 21. In addition, the control unit 40 controls the third regulating valve 3
5 to control the start and stop of the discharge of the chemical from the liquid weighing device 21, and the opening and closing of the fourth adjustment valve 37 to control the start and stop of the discharge of the chemical from the liquid weighing device 21. I do.

Next, the processing operation of the substrate processing apparatus using the liquid weighing device will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of the substrate processing apparatus using the liquid weighing device.

First, in this substrate processing apparatus, the regulating valve 1
9, first regulating valve 31, second regulating valve 33, third regulating valve 3
5 and the fourth regulating valve 37 are in a “closed” state (initial state). At this time, in order to weigh the drug solution in the liquid weighing device 1, the weighing cylinder 39 is fixed at a predetermined position in advance so that the weighing tube 210 has a predetermined volume.

Next, according to a control command from the control unit 40,
The control valve 19 is opened (step S1). Thereby, from the nitrogen gas supply source, the nitrogen gas supply pipe 17, the first nitrogen gas supply pipe 17a, and the first nitrogen gas supply pipe 17b
The supply of nitrogen gas to is started.

Next, according to a control command from the control unit 40,
The first adjustment valve 31 and the fourth adjustment valve 37 are switched from "closed" to "open" (step S2). Accordingly, the start of the supply of the nitrogen gas in step S1 is also combined,
The chemical stored in the chemical tank 15 is supplied to the liquid weighing device 2 via the second chemical supply pipe 23 and the first supply port 211a.
1 and further supplied to the liquid weighing device 21 are discharged through the second outlet 212b and the liquid waste pipe 27.

In step S2, the first adjusting valve 31 and the fourth adjusting valve 37 are switched from "closed" to "open" so that the chemical is supplied into the liquid weighing device 21 for a predetermined time and the liquid weighing device is After the state in which the liquid medicine is discharged from 21 continues, the first adjustment valve 31 and the seventh adjustment valve 37 are switched from “open” to “closed” by a control command from the control unit 40 (step S3). Thereby, the liquid weighing device 2
The inside of one weighing tube 210 is closed, and a predetermined amount of the drug solution is stored in the liquid weighing device 21.

Next, according to a control command from the control unit 40,
The second adjustment valve 33 and the third adjustment valve 35 are switched from "closed" to "open" (step S4). Accordingly, the start of the supply of the nitrogen gas in step S1 is also combined,
Nitrogen gas is supplied from a nitrogen gas supply source to a nitrogen gas supply pipe 17,
The liquid is supplied from the second supply port 212b of the liquid weighing device 21 into the liquid weighing device 21 via the second nitrogen gas supply pipe 17b. Then, with the force of the nitrogen gas supplied into the liquid weighing device 21, a predetermined amount of the chemical solution stored in the weighing tube 210 of the liquid weighing device 21 is supplied to the first discharge port 212a and the third chemical solution. It is supplied to the processing tank 3 via the supply pipe 25.

When the supply of the chemical solution of a predetermined amount to the processing tank 3 is completed, the control command from the control unit 40
The second adjustment valve 33 and the third adjustment valve 35 are switched from "open" to "closed" (step S5). At this time, the inside of the weighing tube 210 of the liquid weighing device 21 is in a sealed state, as in the case of step S3.
Unlike the case of 3, in the liquid weighing device 21,
No chemical is stored and it is empty.

Finally, the control valve 40 is switched from "open" to "closed" by a control command from the control unit 40, and the control valve 19, the first control valve 31, and the second
The regulating valve 33, the third regulating valve 35, and the fourth regulating valve 37 are in the “closed” state (final state). Thus, a series of processing operations of the substrate processing apparatus 1 using the liquid weighing device 21 is completed.

According to the liquid weighing apparatus and the substrate processing apparatus using the same according to the embodiments of the present invention described above,
The following effects can be obtained.

First, T is attached to one end of the weighing tube 210.
A letter-shaped fitting 211 is attached, a cross-shaped fitting 212 is attached to the other end, and a first supply port 211a and a second supply port 211b are formed in the T-shaped fitting 211. The fitting 212 has a first outlet 212 a and a second outlet 212.
b are formed respectively, the liquid weighing device 21
This has the effect that the container serving as the main body of the device has a simple structure.

Further, since each control valve is controlled by the control section 40 in the processing operation of the substrate processing apparatus using the liquid weighing device shown in FIG. 4, a precisely weighed chemical solution may be used, The etching process, the cleaning process, and the like of the wafer W can be performed using a processing solution having a predetermined concentration containing

[0043]

As described above in detail, according to the liquid weighing device of the present invention, the volume changing means is moved with respect to the container, and the supply of the liquid from the first supply port is started by the first adjusting means. And adjusting the supply stop, adjusting the supply start and supply stop of the gas from the second supply port by the second adjusting means,
The third adjusting means adjusts the start and stop of discharging the liquid from the first outlet, and the fourth adjusting means adjusts the start and stop of discharging the liquid from the second outlet to measure the liquid. Therefore, there is an effect that an accurate and minute amount of liquid can be weighed.

Further, according to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, a liquid weighing device is provided. The liquid weighing device moves the volume variable means with respect to the container, and the first adjusting means moves the volume from the first supply port. Adjust the start and stop of liquid supply,
The start and stop of gas supply from the second supply port are adjusted by the second adjustment means, the start and stop of discharge of liquid from the first discharge port are adjusted by the third adjustment means, and the fourth adjustment means adjusts the start and stop of liquid discharge. Since the liquid is weighed by adjusting the start and stop of discharging the liquid from the two discharge ports, there is an effect that the processing liquid containing the weighed liquid used for substrate processing can be adjusted to a predetermined concentration.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a liquid weighing apparatus according to the present invention and a substrate processing apparatus using the same.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a liquid weighing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electric control system of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a processing operation of the substrate processing apparatus using the liquid weighing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 3 Processing tank 5 Lifter apparatus 7 Processing liquid supply nozzle 13 First chemical liquid supply pipe 15 Chemical liquid tank 17 Nitrogen gas supply pipe 17a First nitrogen gas supply pipe 17b Second nitrogen gas supply pipe 19 Adjusting valve 21 Liquid weighing device 23 Second Chemical Solution Supply Pipe 25 Third Chemical Solution Supply Pipe 27 Chemical Solution Waste Liquid Pipe 31 First Adjusting Valve 33 Second Adjusting Valve 35 Third Adjusting Valve 37 Fourth Adjusting Valve 39 Cylinder for Variable Volume 210 Weighing Tube 211 T-shaped Fitting 211a First supply port 211b Second supply port 212 Cross-shaped fitting 212a First discharge port 212b Second discharge port 212c Hole W Wafer

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H01L 21/306 H01L 21/306 J F term (Reference) 4F042 AA07 BA02 4G068 AA02 AB15 AC05 AD16 AD24 AD37 AE06 AF31 AF36 5F043 EE28 EE29 EE35 5F046 MA06

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A liquid weighing apparatus for weighing a liquid used for processing a substrate, comprising: a container for storing a fluid; a first supply port for supplying a liquid into the container; and a gas in the container. A second supply port for supplying, a first discharge port for discharging liquid from inside the container, a second discharge port for discharging liquid from inside the container, and different from the first discharge port, Volume changing means for changing the volume, first adjusting means for adjusting the supply start and supply stop of the liquid from the first supply port, and second adjusting means for adjusting the gas supply start and supply stop from the second supply port. 2 adjusting means, 3rd adjusting means for adjusting the start and stop of discharge of the liquid from the first outlet, and 4th adjusting means for adjusting start and stop of discharging of the liquid from the second outlet. , A liquid weighing device. 2. The liquid weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the volume variable means is movable relative to the container. 3. The liquid weighing device according to claim 2, wherein said container has a weighing tube, and said volume changing means has a volume movable relative to said weighing tube. A liquid weighing device comprising a variable cylinder. 4. The liquid weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the first supply port, the second supply port, the first discharge port, and the second discharge port include A liquid weighing device formed in a container. 5. The liquid weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the first discharge port is for discharging a liquid used for processing on a downstream side, and the first discharge port is for discharging a liquid used for processing on a downstream side. The second outlet is
A liquid weighing device for discharging a liquid to be disposed of as a waste liquid. 6. The liquid weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the first adjusting unit, the second adjusting unit, the third adjusting unit, and the fourth adjusting unit are controlled. The control means controls the second adjusting means to control the second adjusting means.
In a state in which the supply of gas from the supply port is stopped and the discharge of the liquid from the first discharge port is stopped by controlling the third adjustment means, the first adjustment means is controlled to control the first After supplying the liquid from the supply port and controlling the fourth adjusting means to discharge the liquid from the second discharge port, controlling the first adjusting means to supply the liquid from the first supply port And stopping the discharge of the liquid from the second discharge port by controlling the fourth adjusting means. Further, controlling the first adjusting means to control the supply of gas from the first supply port. In a state where the liquid is stopped and the discharge of the liquid from the second discharge port is stopped by controlling the fourth adjusting means, the second adjusting means is controlled to supply the gas from the second supply port. Controlling the third adjusting means so that the liquid is discharged from the first discharge port. Liquid weighing device for causing out. 7. A substrate processing apparatus using the liquid weighing device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing section performs a predetermined processing on the substrate with a liquid, and the first discharge port. And a pipe for communicating a liquid to the substrate processing unit. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising a liquid storage tank for storing a liquid, wherein the first supply port is connected to the liquid storage tank. Substrate processing equipment.