JP2002177856A - Substrate treatment apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment apparatus capable of certainly separating the gas-liquid mixed fluid supplied from a cup into a gas component and a liquid component to recover both components at the time of treatment of a substrate. SOLUTION: In the substrate treatment apparatus 2, the substrate W is held on a rotary support plate 21 to be subjected to rotary treatment. In an exhaust cup 61, a first skirt part 67a inclined downwardly from the upstream side in the rotary direction of the substrate to the downstream side in the rotary direction thereof is arranged to a first drain tank 64a. The liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid is recovered in a first drain port 65a on the downstream side of the first skirt part 67a. A first exhaust port 66a is arranged to the bottom surface of the cup 61 on the downstream side of the first drain port 65a and a gas component is guided. The first skirt part 67a is opposed to the upper part of the first exhaust port 66a on its upstream side so that the liquid component from above does not directly fall to the first exhaust port 66a.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing required processing such as chemical processing, cleaning processing and drying processing while rotating a substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display or a semiconductor wafer in a horizontal plane. In particular, it relates to a cup surrounding a space in which a substrate is arranged.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional substrate processing apparatus of this type, for example, an apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-150452 will be described with reference to FIG. This substrate processing apparatus rotates a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer in a horizontal plane,
This is an apparatus that performs a chemical treatment, a cleaning treatment, and a drying treatment on the front and back surfaces of the substrate W in that order. This substrate processing apparatus includes a rotation support plate 110 that holds a substrate W in a horizontal posture. The rotation support plate 110 is a flat plate having a circular shape in a plan view, and has a plurality of drive pins 111 supported on the upper surface thereof for supporting the substrate W by engaging with the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W.

[0003] A cylindrical shaft 11 is provided at the center of rotation of the rotation support plate 110.
2 is connected and fixed. The cylinder shaft 112 is
3 is connected. A liquid nozzle 114 is provided along the center of the cylinder shaft 112, and the tip of the liquid nozzle 114 faces the center of the lower surface of the substrate W. The liquid nozzle 114 is selectively connected to a chemical liquid supply source and a cleaning liquid supply source. Similarly, a liquid nozzle 115 is disposed above the substrate W, and the tip of the liquid nozzle 115 faces the center of the upper surface of the substrate W. As in the case of the liquid nozzle 114, the liquid nozzle 115 is also selectively connected to the chemical liquid supply source and the cleaning liquid supply source.

[0004] The cup 116 housing the above-described structure is provided with two exhaust ports 117 and 117 on the bottom surface. The exhaust ports 117 and 117 are connected to exhaust pipes 118 and 118, respectively.
It is connected to the. The exhaust pipes 118, 118 are gathered by the gas-liquid separator 119 and led to the outside.

[0005] Each exhaust port 117 has a cover 120.
Is attached. As shown in FIG.
0 covers the exhaust port 117 from above and from the downstream side in the rotation direction of the rotation support plate 110, extends to the upstream side of the rotation support plate 110, and opens the exhaust port 117 to the upstream side in the rotation direction of the rotation support plate 110. That is, the cup 116 is connected to the rotation support plate 11.
And a cover 120 that is inclined downward toward the downstream side in the rotation direction.

In the substrate processing apparatus configured as described above, the substrate processing is performed as follows. First, the substrate W is placed on the rotation support plate 110. Subsequently, the driving source 11
3 starts, and with the rotation of the rotation support plate 110, its rotational force is transmitted to the substrate W via the drive pins 111, and the substrate W also rotates. When the rotation speed of the substrate W reaches a predetermined value,
The chemical liquid and the cleaning liquid are supplied from the upper and lower liquid nozzles 114 and 115 in that order, and the processing of the front and back surfaces of the substrate W is performed. When the chemical processing and the cleaning processing of the substrate W are completed, the substrate W is dried while rotating the substrate W.

As described above, during the period from the chemical solution treatment to the drying treatment, the swirling flow is generated in the cup due to the rotation of the rotary support plate. However, the exhaust ports 117 and 117 are provided on the bottom surface of the cup 116 and each exhaust port 117 Cover 12 inclined to 117
Since 0 is provided, this swirling flow is rectified downward and becomes a downward spiral flow. Therefore, the cup 11
The gas in 6 is efficiently exhausted from the exhaust pipe 118 communicating with the exhaust ports 117 and 117.

[0008]

However, the prior art having such a structure has the following problems. The processing liquid (cleaning liquid) that has been shaken off is collected, and the gas-liquid mixed fluid of the gas component and the liquid component is discharged to the outside of the cup 116 via the exhaust pipe 118. And cup 11
Separating the gas-liquid mixture fluid from 6 into a gaseous component and a liquid component,
A gas-liquid separator 119 is provided for recovery.

That is, the gas-liquid separator 1 is removed from the cup 116.
There is a problem that the distance to 19 becomes long and the device becomes large. Further, a larger gas-liquid separator 119 is required to separate a large amount of the gas-liquid mixed fluid discharged with the increase in size of the substrate, which hinders miniaturization of the apparatus.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to supply a processing liquid to a surface of a substrate disposed in a space surrounded by a cup. In a substrate processing apparatus for performing predetermined processing on the substrate, a small and efficient apparatus capable of reliably separating and recovering a gas-liquid mixed fluid from a cup into a gas component and a liquid component is provided. .

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus for performing a required process on a substrate while rotating the substrate supplied with the processing liquid. A substrate holding means for holding the substrate substantially horizontally, an exhaust cup in which the substrate holding means is arranged and covering the periphery thereof, and a downwardly moving inner side of the exhaust cup from the upstream side in the rotational direction of the substrate to the downstream side in the rotational direction. A skirt portion inclined to the bottom, a drain port provided on the bottom surface of the exhaust cup downstream of the skirt portion in the substrate rotation direction, and a drain port provided on the bottom surface of the exhaust cup downstream of the drain port in the substrate rotation direction. And a lower surface of the skirt portion on the upstream side in the substrate rotation direction is opposed to the upper side of the exhaust port.

The operation of the present invention is as follows. In the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate is held horizontally, and the processing liquid is supplied and processed while being rotated. The exhaust cup covers the periphery with the substrate holding means disposed inside. The swirling flow generated by the rotation of the substrate holding means during the substrate processing is rectified by the skirt portion inclined downward from the upstream side in the rotational direction of the substrate toward the downstream side in the rotational direction inside the exhaust cup. Then, the liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid that is the swirling flow is guided and collected along the skirt to a drain port provided on the bottom surface of the exhaust cup downstream of the skirt. On the other hand, the gas component flows downstream of the drain port and is guided to the exhaust port provided on the bottom surface of the cup. The upstream side of the skirt portion is opposed to the upper side of the exhaust port, so that the liquid component from above does not fall directly to the exhaust port. Also, since the liquid component due to the swirling flow is collected at the drain port upstream of the exhaust port, only the gas component is collected at the exhaust port. Therefore, gas-liquid separation can be performed with a simple configuration and the gas-liquid separation can be performed.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. First Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings, taking a substrate processing apparatus used for processing a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display as an example of a substrate. However,
The present invention can be applied not only to processing of a glass substrate but also to processing of various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer. In addition, the substrate processing to which the present invention can be applied is not limited to one in which chemical solution processing, cleaning processing, and drying processing are continuously performed in the same apparatus, one in which a single processing is performed, and one in which chemical processing, cleaning processing, The present invention can also be applied to a case where the drying process is continuously performed in the same apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a configuration of a substrate processing system in which a substrate processing apparatus as one embodiment of the present invention is disposed. In this substrate processing system 1, a transfer device 3 that carries a glass substrate W for LCD (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate W) into and out of the substrate processing device 2 is arranged at one end. At one end of the transfer device 3, there is provided a cassette station 5 in which a plurality of cassettes 4 accommodating the substrates W can be placed.
A substrate transfer device 7 having a transfer arm 6 for taking out the substrates W one by one before the processing step from the cassette 4 and accommodating the substrates W after the processing step one by one in the cassette 4 is provided on the side of. Provided.

The mounting portion 8 of the cassette station 5 is configured to mount a plurality of cassettes 4 each containing 25 substrates W. The substrate transfer device 7 is horizontally, vertically moved (X,
It is configured to be movable in the (Y, Z) directions and to be rotatable (θ direction) about a vertical axis.

Next, the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 2 will be described. FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 2 forms and shields a processing space S above the rotation support unit 20, a rotation support unit 20 for holding the substrates, a rotation support unit 20 for rotating the substrates, and processing the rectangular substrate W. The upper shielding unit 40, the elevating unit 50 of the upper shielding unit 40, the cup unit 60 for collecting the liquid shaken off from the substrate W, the ultrasonic cleaning mechanism 200 for performing ultrasonic cleaning on the substrate W, and a unit for accommodating each mechanism. A housing 70 is provided.

The rotation support section 20 is configured by supporting pins 22 and drive pins 23 for supporting the substrate W from the lower surface on a donut-shaped rotation support plate 21 in plan view. The drive pins 23 are arranged two by two corresponding to the four corners of the substrate W. FIG. 2 shows only two drive pins 23 in order to avoid complicating the drawing.

The drive pin 23 has a support portion 23a for supporting the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W from below, and a guide rising surface 23b for contacting the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W supported by the support portion 23a to regulate the movement of the substrate W. And The substrate W is held by the rotation support plate 21 in a horizontal posture.

The drive section 30 is provided so as to be connected to the opening 24 at the center of rotation of the rotation support plate 21. The motor includes a cylindrical shaft 31 connected to the lower surface of the rotation support plate 21 so as to communicate with the opening 24, and a motor 33 that rotates the cylindrical shaft 31 via a belt mechanism 32. This motor 33 corresponds to the driving means in the present invention,
Corresponds to the drive shaft. By driving the motor 33, the held substrate W is rotated around the vertical axis along with the cylindrical shaft 31 and the rotation support plate 21.

The cylindrical shaft 31 is formed of a hollow cylindrical member, and a liquid nozzle 34 is provided along the center. The tip of the liquid nozzle 34 faces the center of the lower surface of the substrate W. I have. The processing liquid can be supplied to the vicinity of the rotation center on the lower surface of the substrate W from the nozzle hole 34a at the upper end.

The cylindrical shaft 31 extends toward the opening 24 of the rotation support plate 21 and is located above the rotation support plate 21 and is located at the outlet 3.
6 is opened. Then, air from the atmospheric pressure atmosphere is discharged from the gap between the side surface of the liquid nozzle 34 and the inner peripheral surface of the cylinder shaft 31 at the discharge port 36. The tip of the liquid nozzle 34 is formed in a T-shaped cross section, and a nozzle hole 34a for the cleaning liquid is opened at the center of the flat upper surface.

The liquid nozzle 34 is connected to a pipe 80. The base end of the pipe 80 is branched, and a chemical supply source 81 is connected to one branch pipe 80a.
A pure water supply source 82 is connected to the other branch pipe 80b. An on-off valve 83 is provided for each branch pipe 80a, 80b.
a, 83b are provided, and these on-off valves 83a, 83
By switching the opening and closing of 3b, a chemical solution and pure water can be selectively switched and supplied from the nozzle hole 34a.

The gas supply passage 35 is connected to a gas supply source 85 through a pipe 84 provided with an on-off valve 84a. It is configured such that clean gas such as clean air or clean inert gas (such as nitrogen gas) can be supplied to the space between the substrate and the lower surface of the substrate W.

Further, the gap between the cylinder shaft 31 and the liquid nozzle 34 is configured such that the pipe 86 is opened to the atmospheric pressure atmosphere through the flow control valve 86a. Tube shaft 31 and liquid nozzle 34
The air from the atmospheric pressure atmosphere is discharged through the opening 36 through the gap. With this configuration, when the rotation support plate 21 rotates, the air in the processing space S is discharged by the centrifugal force,
The closer to the rotation center, the lower the pressure. Therefore, the inside of the cylindrical shaft 31 that is open to the atmospheric pressure atmosphere sucks air by a pump effect. At this time, the amount of air sucked by the flow control valve 86a is adjusted so as to set the pressure state in the processing space S to a desired state as described later.

The motor 33 and the belt mechanism 32 are accommodated in a cylindrical casing 37 provided on a base member 71 as a bottom plate of the substrate processing apparatus 2. The casing 37 is connected to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical shaft 31 via a bearing 38, and is in a state of covering the cylindrical shaft 31. That is, the periphery of the cylindrical shaft 31 immediately before the connection from the motor 33 to the rotation support plate 21 is covered with the casing 37, and the motor 33 attached below the cylindrical shaft 31 is also covered with the cover. Furthermore, the cylinder shaft 31 is
In order to improve the airtightness of the portion, the atmosphere around the cylindrical shaft 31 that protrudes from the casing 37 and supports the lower surface of the rotary support plate 21 is changed to a substantially circular seal portion 90 provided along the peripheral surface. Seal with.

The upper shield 40 is provided with an upper rotary plate 41 so as to face the rotary support plate 21 with the substrate W interposed therebetween. The upper rotating plate 41 has a ring shape that covers the peripheral region of the substrate W, and has a large opening 41a in the center. A partition wall 41b is provided upright around the opening 41a in a cylindrical shape, and an auxiliary shielding mechanism 45 and a cleaning liquid such as pure water are supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W into the partition wall 41b so as to cover the opening 41a. The liquid nozzle 43 is provided to be vertically movable.

The upper rotating plate 41 is supported by the driving pins 23 via the holding pins 44, and forms a processing space S sandwiched between the rotating supporting plates 21. Drive pin 23
This prevents the substrate W from being unevenly stressed due to the point of contact of the support portion 23a with the peripheral edge of the substrate W. The holding pin 44 has an inverted convex shape, and the upper rotating plate 41
It is fixedly attached to the lower surface.

With the above configuration, the drive pin 23 is configured to be vertically separable from the holding pin 44. When the upper rotating plate 41 is moved down to the processing position by the arm bar 55, the drive pin 23 is fitted to the holding pin 44, so that the upper rotating plate 41 can rotate integrally with the rotation supporting plate 21. Is to be supported. That is, the drive pin 23 also serves as a support mechanism for detachably supporting the upper rotary plate 41 on the rotary support plate 21.
The holding pins 44 prevent the substrate W from lifting.

The auxiliary shielding mechanism 45 includes a disk-shaped shielding plate 4.
The liquid nozzle 43 is inserted into the center opening 452 of the 51 without contact by a gap 452a. A plate 453 extends from an upper end of the center opening 452, and an elevating drive unit 454 is connected to an end of the plate 453. The lifting / lowering drive mechanism 454 is configured by a known cylinder or the like, and includes a contact / separation mechanism 430 described later.
Is mounted on the support arm 431 of FIG.

With this configuration, when the rotation support plate 31 rotates, the air in the processing space S is discharged by the centrifugal force, and the pressure becomes lower as the rotation support plate 31 is closer to the center of rotation. Therefore, the processing space S sucks air from the gap 452a between the shielding plate 451 and the liquid nozzle 43. At this time, the gap 452a gives a resistance to the flow of the sucked air (air flow) and plays a role of restricting the flow rate of the air supplied into the processing space S.
Then, the air amount is adjusted so as to set the air pressure state in the processing space S to a desired state as described later. The processing space S is divided into a lower part and an upper part with the substrate W interposed therebetween, and a gap 4
The upper air pressure is set by defining the air flow rate flowing into the upper portion by 52a, and the lower air pressure is set by defining the air flow rate flowing into the lower portion by the opening. By setting the upper and lower pressures of the substrate W, lifting and waving during the rotation processing of the substrate W are suppressed.

The raising / lowering portion 50 includes a T-shaped engaging portion 51 projecting upward from the upper surface of the upper rotating plate 41 and a raising / lowering driving means 5 connected to an upper flange portion 51a of the engaging portion 51.
And 2. The raising / lowering driving means 52 is configured to extend and contract the rod 54 of the cylinder 53 so that the arm bar 5 is moved.
5 goes up and down. On the lower surface of the arm bar 55, a gate-shaped arm 56 is disposed so as to face the above-described engaging portion 51, and the engaging portion 51
The upper flange portion 51a is engaged. In this configuration, the gate-shaped arm 56 moves up and down in contact with the upper flange portion 51a, so that the upper portion extends over the processing position supported by the rotary support plate 21 and the upper evacuation position allowing the loading and unloading of the substrate W. The rotating plate 41 moves. In FIG. 2, two lifting / lowering driving means 52 are disclosed. However, four engaging portions 51 are arranged at equal intervals on the upper surface of the upper rotating plate 21, and four lifting / lowering driving means 52 are correspondingly provided. Be placed. Then, by controlling the rotation stop position of the upper rotating plate 41, the engaging portion 51 and the portal arm 56 are engaged.

Further, the lifting unit 50 and the upper rotating plate 41
Above is a so-called punching plate in which a number of small holes are formed in, for example, a stainless steel plate, and a flow path resistance member 57 having an opening formed in the center side is disposed. The flow path resistance member 57 is configured such that a partition wall 57a extends downward at an inner peripheral edge thereof, and the partition wall 57a is
In the vicinity of the outer peripheral surface. The outer peripheral edge of the flow path resistance member 57 is connected to the unit housing 70. The flow path resistance member 57 substantially closes the upper part of the device 2 and divides the upper part into two parts, thereby giving a flow to the drawn-in air (air flow) according to the negative pressure accompanying the exhaust through the exhaust structure described later. Thus, it has a role of restricting scattering of air containing mist discharged from the processing space S.

The flow path resistance member 57 is not limited to the punching plate as in the present embodiment, but may be, for example, a plurality of plate members which are arranged close to each other while being inclined in the vertical direction. The flow path resistance may be varied by changing the inclination angle of the plate material.

The liquid nozzle 43 is provided on the upper surface of the flow path resistance member 57.
And the upper shielding unit 40 as shown in FIG.
The ultrasonic cleaning mechanism 200 is arranged on a diagonal line with the. The liquid nozzle 43 is supported by a support arm 431, and the support arm 431 is turned and moved up and down by a contact / separation mechanism 430. As the support arm 431 moves up and down, the substrate W
The liquid nozzle 43 is configured to be moved toward and away from the center position (the state shown in FIG. 2) of the upper shielding portion 40 and the standby position on the side (the state shown in FIG. 3) by turning. . The contact / separation mechanism 430 that realizes such contact / separation movement is configured by a mechanism using a screw shaft or the like, or an air cylinder. At this time, the auxiliary shield mechanism 45 also moves up and down and turns at the same time.
By means of 54, it is possible to independently move up and down along the liquid nozzle 43.

A liquid supply pipe 43 is provided in the hollow portion of the liquid nozzle 43.
2, through which the processing liquid can be supplied from the lower end to the vicinity of the center of rotation of the upper surface of the substrate W held by the rotation support plate 21. The liquid supply pipe 432 is connected to the pipe 87 in communication. The base end of the pipe 87 is branched, and one branch pipe 87a is connected to a chemical solution supply source 81, and the other branch pipe 87b is connected to a pure water supply source 82. On / off valves 88a and 88b are provided in each of the branch pipes 87a and 87b.
8a and 88b are switched to open and close the liquid nozzle 43.
It is possible to selectively switch between a chemical solution and pure water.

The inner peripheral surface of the liquid nozzle 43 and the liquid supply pipe 4
A gap between the outer peripheral surface of the gas turbine 32 and the outer peripheral surface of the gas turbine 32 serves as a gas supply path 433. The gas supply path 433 is connected to a gas supply source 85 via a pipe 89 provided with an opening / closing valve 89a.
It is configured such that clean gas can be supplied to the space between the substrate and the upper surface of the substrate W. The gas supply path 35, the gas storage section 35a, the conduit 35b, the discharge port 35c, the pipe 84, the on-off valve 84a, and the gas supply source 85 correspond to the inert gas ejection means of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ultrasonic cleaning mechanism 200 includes a contact / separation mechanism 201, a support arm 202 extending from the side of the contact / separation mechanism 201, and two protruding ends at the end of the support arm 202. The sonic cleaning nozzle 203 is supported. With this configuration, the support arm 202 is turned and moved up and down around the rotation center 204 of the contact / separation mechanism 201 by the contact / separation mechanism 201. As the support arm 431 moves up and down, the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle 203 comes into contact with and separates from the substrate W, and the center position of the upper shield 40 (the state shown in FIG. 3) and the standby position of the side part (the state shown in FIG. 2). It is constituted so that it may turn between.

Further, the holding piece 202a for holding the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle 203 at the tip of the support arm 202 is formed slightly smaller in size than the diameter of the opening 41a of the upper rotary plate 41, and has entered through the opening 41a. By rotating the support arm 202 by the length of the diameter of the opening 41a in this state, the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle 203 is scanned with the holding piece 202a facing the surface of the substrate W.

In order for the holding piece 202a to enter between the substrate W and the upper rotary plate 41, the support arm 202 stops turning close to the partition wall 41b of the opening 41a, thereby holding the opening 41a. The piece 202a can pass. Then, the holding piece 202a is formed at right angles to the turning direction of the support arm 202, and the support arm 202 turns from the rotation center P of the substrate W to the partition wall 41b.
The tip of “a” can move to the rotation locus W1 of the substrate W. As a result, the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle 203 mounted on the holding piece 202a scans the substrate W in the radial direction,
Is rotated, thereby cleaning the entire surface of the substrate W.

Returning to FIG. 2, the cup section 60 is provided with a ring-shaped exhaust cup 61 which is open toward a mouth which is a gap between the outer peripheral end of the rotary support plate 21 and the upper rotary plate 41. Including exhaust structure. On the bottom surface 62 of the exhaust cup 61,
A cylindrical partition member 63 is provided upright, and the partition member 63 and the inner peripheral wall 61a of the exhaust cup 61 form
Also, the partition member 63 and the outer peripheral wall 61b of the exhaust cup 61
Thus, a first drainage tank 64a and a second drainage tank 64b each having a substantially donut shape in plan view are formed. Each space of the first drainage tank 64a and the second drainage tank 64b serves as both drainage and exhaust.

Next, a more detailed description will be given with reference to FIGS. FIG. 4 is a plan view of the exhaust cup 61, and FIG. A first drain port 6 connected to a waste drain is connected to the bottom of the first drain tank 64a.
5a is provided. The substrate W of the first drain port 65a
On the downstream side in the rotation direction F, a first exhaust port 66a is provided on the bottom surface, and is connected to the exhaust unit. A first skirt 67a is provided so as to cover above the first exhaust port 66a.

The first skirt 67a is provided with the exhaust cup 6
1 is disposed between the inner peripheral wall 61a and the partition member 63, and is inclined downward from above the first exhaust port 66a toward the downstream side in the substrate rotation direction F. Is connected to the upstream side of the bottom surface where the drain port 651a is opened. That is, the first skirt portion 67a is curved so as to draw an arc along the shape of the first drainage tank 64a, and is inclined downward from the upstream side to the downstream side along the substrate rotation direction F. .

The first skirt portion 67a has four (6) in the circumferential direction along the entire circumference of the first drainage tank 64a.
7a, 671a, 672a, 673a), and accordingly, the first drain port 65a and the first exhaust port 66a are configured in the same position. With the above configuration, the substrate W
The vortex flow such as mist generated in the process of (1) rotates the rotation support plate 21 in the substrate rotation direction F, is guided by each first skirt portion 67a, and forms a swirl flow inside the first drainage tank 64a. Flows downward. The liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid is first collected at the bottom of the exhaust cup 61 at the first drain port 65a, the gas component proceeds to the downstream side, and the first exhaust port disposed on the downstream side. 66a. At this time,
Since the upper part of the first exhaust port 66a is covered with the first skirt portion 67a, the falling liquid component does not directly enter, the gas-liquid mixed fluid is swirled, and the bottom portion is favorably formed. Gas-liquid separation.

The second drainage tank 64b is composed of the first drainage tank 64
a, the second skirt portion 67b is provided with four (67b, 671b, 672) circumferentially around the entire circumference.
b, 673b) arranged and correspondingly the second drain 6
5b and the second exhaust port 66b are arranged at the same position. On the other hand, the second drainage tank 64b is
, The shape of the bottom surface is increased in the radial direction. Therefore, by arranging two second drainage tanks 64b and 64c on the upstream side of the second exhaust port 66b, it is possible to more reliably separate and collect the liquid component. With the above-described configuration, the vortex such as mist generated during the processing of the substrate W is guided by the second skirt portions 67b to form a swirling flow.
The liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid is recovered at b and 65c, and the gas component is exhausted from the second exhaust port 66b on the downstream side.

In FIG. 2, in order to avoid complicating the drawing, only the sectional shape of the partition member 63 and a peripheral guide member 68 (splash guard) described later is shown. Above the first and second drainage tanks 64a and 64b, the rotation support plate 21 and the substrate W held by the rotation support plate 21
A cylindrical peripheral guide member 68 having a substantially rotationally symmetric shape with respect to the axis J is provided so as to be able to ascend and descend so as to surround the periphery of the peripheral edge of. The peripheral guide member 68 is supported by an elevating mechanism 69 via a support member 681 on an outer wall surface thereof. The elevating mechanism 69 is moved up and down by driving a motor (not shown).
Is raised and lowered with respect to the rotation support plate 21. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the elevation control is configured to be performed by the control unit 300.

The peripheral guide member 68 has an inner wall surface having a rotationally symmetric shape with respect to the axis J. An inclined surface is formed on the inner wall surface, and vertical portions 68a, 68b
Are connected. The vertical portions 68a and 68b are connected at their upper ends, and an annular groove 68c is formed in the connecting portion between the vertical portions 68a and 68b in the circumferential direction. The groove 68c is fitted into the partitioning member 63, and the surrounding guide member is arranged such that the vertical portion 68a is fitted into the first drainage tank 64a and the vertical portion 68b is fitted into the second drainage tank 64b. 68 are arranged.

The peripheral guide member 68 is provided on the rotation support plate 21.
When the peripheral guide member 68 is located at the height position of the substrate W held in the above, that is, when the peripheral guide member 68 is raised by the elevating mechanism 69, the cleaning liquid shaken off from the rotated substrate W is received by the inclined surface, The liquid is guided to the first drainage tank 64a along the vertical portion 68a.

On the other hand, the upper part of the peripheral guide member 30 is formed such that the diameter decreases as going upward, and the outer wall surface is formed by the peripheral edge of the substrate W and the peripheral guide member 68.
When the substrate W is positioned at a height position above, that is, when the substrate W
The washing liquid flowing down from the tank is received by the outer wall surface and guided to the second drain tank 64b.

The elevating mechanism 69 includes a well-known one-axis driving mechanism (not shown) such as a ball screw, and the supporting member 681 is moved up and down by the one-axis driving mechanism to move the surrounding guide member 68 up and down. It is configured to be. At the height position of the elevating mechanism 69 corresponding to each height position of the surrounding guide member 68, an ascent / descent detection sensor including a reflection type optical sensor (neither is shown) is provided. The motor is driven and controlled based on detection signals from these sensors so that the surrounding guide member 68 is positioned at each height position.

The unit housing 70 includes the base member 7
1, a frame 72 having a size surrounding the cup portion 60 and a substrate loading / unloading port 73 are formed in the frame 72. With this configuration, when the elevation drive unit 52 moves up and down, the upper rotating plate 41 moves up, and at the same time, when the elevation drive unit 64 moves up and down, the exhaust cup 61 descends. Accordingly, the rotation support plate 21 is attached to the frame 7.
The substrate W can be carried into the apparatus 2 from outside by facing the carry-in port 73 of the second apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the present apparatus. The motor 33 controls the rotation of the rotation support plate 21, a chemical solution supply source 81, a pure water supply source 82, and a gas supply source 85. Valves 83a, 83b, 84a, 88a, 88b, 8 for controlling the supply of chemicals, pure water and gas from
9a, an elevating unit 50 for controlling the elevation of the upper rotating plate 41, an approaching / separating mechanism 430 for controlling the rotation and contact / separation of the liquid nozzle 43 and the auxiliary shielding mechanism 45, and an elevating control of the shielding plate 451. Drive mechanism 454 for rotating the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle 203 and a contact / separation mechanism 201 for controlling the approach / separation of the ultrasonic cleaning nozzle 203 and a lift mechanism 69 for controlling the elevation of the surrounding guide member 68. It is shown.

An output signal from a sensor for detecting that the surrounding guide member 68 is located at each height is given to the control unit 300, and based on the outputs of these sensors, the control unit 300 69 to control the surrounding guide member 6
8 is controlled to be located at a desired height. Cleaning conditions according to the substrate W are stored in the control unit 300 in advance in the control unit 300 as a cleaning program (also referred to as a recipe). Is controlled. In addition, the control unit 300 further creates and changes a cleaning program,
An instruction unit 301 used to select a desired one from a plurality of cleaning programs is connected.

Next, the operation of the apparatus having the above configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 (a) to 5 (d).
FIG. 5A shows a state of the substrate W treated with a chemical solution, and FIG.
FIG. 5C shows a state of the cleaning processing, FIG. 5C shows a state of the ultrasonic cleaning, and FIG. 5D shows a state of the drying processing. Note that, as an example, the description will be made on the assumption that the substrate W is intended to be subjected to a process of etching and cleaning the front and back surfaces.

The overall flow of the processing steps will be outlined below. First, a cleaning program corresponding to a predetermined substrate W is selected from the instruction unit 301 and executed. Then, when the substrate W is carried into the apparatus 2 of the present embodiment, the controller 300 sets the upper rotating plate 41 and the liquid nozzle 43 to the upper retracted position. When the upper rotary plate 41 is in the retracted position, the drive pin 23 and the holding pin 44 are vertically separated, and only the drive pin 23 is provided on the rotary support plate 21. Then, by controlling the elevating mechanism 69, the peripheral guide member 68 is lowered, and the rotation support plate 21 is positioned above the peripheral guide member 68.
Thus, between the upper rotation plate 41 and the rotation support plate 21,
The carrying path of the substrate W is secured. The substrate W transferred by the substrate transfer device 7 through the substrate loading / unloading port 73 is supported and supported by the drive pins 23. The transfer arm 6 of the substrate transfer device 7 enters the processing device 2 and the drive pin 23
The unprocessed substrate W is placed on the substrate, and thereafter, the substrate W is retracted outside the processing apparatus 2.

Subsequently, when the reception of the substrate W is completed, as shown in FIG.
The peripheral guide member 68 is raised and positioned with 1 kept at the separated position, and the peripheral guide member 68 is positioned at a height facing the periphery of the substrate W held by the rotation support plate 21.

Next, in this state, the contact / separation mechanism 430 is controlled, and the liquid nozzle 43 is turned, lowered from above the opening 41a, and placed on the surface of the substrate W. Liquid nozzles 34, 43
Then, the chemical solution is supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W to start the chemical solution treatment process of the present invention. That is, by opening the on-off valves 83a and 88a, the etching liquid as the cleaning chemical is discharged from the liquid nozzles 34 and 43. The shielding plate 45
Numeral 1 expands and lowers the elevation drive means 454 and positions it upward.

Further, the control section 300 gives a drive control signal to rotate the motor 33. Thereby, the cylinder shaft 31
Is rotated, and the rotation support plate 21 rotates integrally. Therefore, the substrate W held on the rotation support plate 21 is rotated while being held horizontally. Thus, the etchant is supplied from a short distance toward the center of the front and back surfaces of the substrate W. The supplied etchant is guided outward in the radial direction of rotation by the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the substrate W. As a result, the entire area of the front and back surfaces of the substrate W can be completely washed with the chemical solution. .

At the time of this chemical treatment, the chemical which is shaken off from the periphery of the rotated substrate W and scattered around is guided by the peripheral guide member 68 to the first drainage tank 6 of the exhaust cup 61.
4a will be accepted. Simultaneously with the start of the chemical solution processing, the exhaust means outside the device communicating with the first drain port 65a operates to exhaust the exhaust cup portion 61. Vortices such as mist generated during the processing of the substrate W
In the entire circumference of the drainage tank 64a, the first skirt 67
a (671a, 672a, 673a) and flows downward as a swirling flow inside the first drainage tank 64a.
Then, on the bottom surface of the exhaust cup 61, first, the first drain port 65 is formed.
a, the liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid is recovered, the gas component proceeds to the downstream side, and the first exhaust port 6 disposed on the downstream side.
6a and the gas and liquid are satisfactorily separated. At this time, since the upper rotating plate 41 and the shielding plate 451 are separated from the substrate W, the chemical liquid is scattered and the upper rotating plate 41 and the shielding plate 4 are separated.
51 is prevented.

The etching liquid supplied to the substrate W from the chemical liquid supply source 81 is, for example, HF or BHF.
(Dilute hydrofluoric acid), H ₃ PO ₄ , HNO ₃ , HF + H ₂ O ₂
(Hydrofluoric acid / hydrogen peroxide), H ₃ PO ₄ + H ₂ O ₂ (phosphate / hydrogen peroxide), H ₂ SO ₄ + H ₂ O ₂ (sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide), HCl +
H ₂ O ₂ (ammonia perhydrogen), H ₃ PO ₄ + CH ₃ CO
Examples thereof include OH + HNO ₃ , iodine + ammonium iodide, oxalic acid and citric acid organic acids, and organic alkalis such as TMAH (tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide) and choline.

The exhaust cup 61 scattered from the substrate W
A part of the chemical solution hit by the mist becomes a mist and floats. However, in this device, the mist floating near the rotation support plate 21 moves between the casing 37 and the cylindrical shaft 31.
Even if the mist moves, the mist is prevented from entering the drive unit 30 by the seal unit 90.

Further, a part of the waste liquid scattered from the substrate W and hitting the surrounding guide member 68 floats as a mist, but the re-adhesion of the waste liquid to the substrate W can be suitably suppressed. That is, since the central portion of the opening of the peripheral guide member 68 is closed by the upper rotary plate 41 arranged at a predetermined distance from the upper surface of the substrate W, the space inside the inner wall surface of the peripheral guide member 68 The gas flows from a narrow annular gap between the inner wall surface of the peripheral guide member 68 and the upper rotary plate 41, flows in from the gap, and flows down around the substrate W and the rotary support plate 21. The gas flow rate is relatively high, and gas convection hardly occurs in the space below the rotary support plate 21. Further, the first skirt portion 67 of the exhaust cup 61
Since it is swirled by a, gas convection is further prevented. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the mist of the cleaning liquid from re-adhering to the substrate W and from scattering to the outside of the peripheral guide member 68.

When a predetermined chemical cleaning time has elapsed, the supply of the etching liquid from the liquid nozzles 34 and 43 is stopped. Subsequently, the control unit 300 controls the elevating unit 50 to lower the upper rotating plate 41 as shown in FIG. As a result, the upper rotating plate 41 at the retracted position moves down to the processing position, so that the pressing pins 44 of the upper rotating plate 41 are fitted and connected to the driving pins 23 of the rotation support plate 21. In this state, the on-off valve 83a is closed to end the chemical solution treatment process, and the on-off valves 83b and 88b are opened.

Thus, from the liquid nozzles 34 and 43,
Pure water is supplied as a cleaning liquid toward the center of the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W. Therefore, a cleaning process is performed in which pure water is supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W and the chemical liquid attached to the substrate W is washed away with the pure water. Thus, the cleaning process for washing away the etching liquid existing on the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W after the chemical solution processing step is performed. In addition, ozone water, electrolytic ion water, etc. may be used as the cleaning liquid.

Further, a drive control signal is given, and the motor 33
To rotate. Accordingly, the cylinder shaft 31 is rotated, and the rotation support plate 21 fixed to the cylinder shaft 31 rotates around the vertical axis passing through the center. The rotational force of the rotation support plate 21 is transmitted to the substrate W via the drive pins 23, and the substrate W rotates with the rotation support plate 21. Further, the rotational force of the rotation support plate 21 is applied to the upper rotation plate 4 via the holding pin 44.
1 and the upper rotary plate 41 also rotates together with the rotary support plate 21.

Further, the control section 300 controls the elevating mechanism 69 to lower the peripheral guide member 68 and position the substrate W held on the rotary support plate 21 above the peripheral guide member 68. At this time, the cleaning liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W is shaken off by the rotation of the substrate W, flows out from the peripheral edge of the substrate W, and falls on the upper surface of the peripheral guide member 68. The pure water flowing down flows down along the upper surface and flows into the second drain tank 64.
b, is drained from the second drain port 65b, and is discarded through the waste drain.

At the same time as the start of the cleaning process, the exhaust means outside the apparatus communicating with the second drain port 65b operates to exhaust the exhaust cup portion 61. A vortex such as a mist generated during the processing of the substrate W is guided by the second skirt portion 67b over the entire circumference of the second drainage tank 64b, and is swirled into the inside of the second drainage tank 64b. Flows downward. Then, on the bottom surface of the exhaust cup 61, first, the second drain port 65b,
At 65c, the liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid is recovered, the gas component proceeds to the downstream side, and is exhausted from the second exhaust port 66b provided on the downstream side to be satisfactorily separated into gas and liquid.

Further, during the cleaning process, a part of the waste liquid (pure water mixed with the chemical solution) which is shaken off from the periphery of the rotated substrate W and scattered around is floated as a mist. Since the processing space S is closed by the upper rotating plate 41 disposed on the upper surface of W, gas flows out of the annular narrow gap between the upper rotating plate 41 and the rotation support plate 21,
Further, since the air is swirled by the second skirt portion 67b of the exhaust cup 61, the air further flows down to the second exhaust port 66b.
The flow velocity of the gas flowing through the rotating support plate 21 becomes relatively high.
Convection of gas is less likely to occur in the space below. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the mist of the cleaning liquid from re-adhering to the substrate W.

After the elapse of the cleaning time, FIG.
As shown in (2), the control unit 300 controls the contact / separation mechanism 430 to position the liquid nozzle 43 and the shielding plate 451 at the standby position. Then, the contact / separation mechanism 201 of the ultrasonic cleaning mechanism 200
And the support arm 202 is turned so that the holding piece 202a is positioned in the range of the opening 41a. Next, the support arm 202 is lowered to allow the holding piece 202a to enter the processing space S. The holding piece 202a is formed by the upper rotating plate 41 and the substrate W
When the support arm 202 is located at the gap between the lower arm and the lower arm, the lowering of the support arm 202 stops.

Next, the controller 300 reciprocates the support arm between the radii of the substrate W while discharging the cleaning liquid from the two ultrasonic cleaning nozzles 203. After performing the reciprocating movement a predetermined number of times, the discharge of the cleaning liquid from the ultrasonic cleaning nozzles 203 is stopped, and the support arm 202 is moved to the vicinity of the center of the opening 41a by the holding piece 202a. Then, the support arm 202 is lifted by the contact / separation mechanism 201 and is positioned above the upper rotating plate 41, and then is turned to the standby position.

That is, while the cleaning by the ultrasonic cleaning mechanism 200 is performed, the ultrasonic cleaning is performed in the processing space S with most of the upper surface of the substrate W being shielded by the upper rotating plate 41. Therefore, the atmosphere in the processing space S is controlled, and the entire surface of the substrate W is uniformly cleaned.

After the supply of the cleaning liquid is stopped, the cleaning liquid adhering to the substrate W is shaken off by rotating the rotation support plate 21 at a high speed. During this drying step, FIG.
As shown in (d), the control unit 300 controls the contact / separation mechanism 430 to move the liquid nozzle 43 and the shielding plate 451 to the upper rotating plate 41.
Is turned to a position facing the opening 41a. And
The lifting / lowering drive means 454 is extended, and the shielding plate 451 is lowered until it approaches the substrate W.

Subsequently, the on-off valves 84a and 89a are opened,
Nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas supply paths 35 and 433 to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W. As a result, the air in the processing space S is promptly replaced with nitrogen gas.
Undesired oxide films do not grow on the upper and lower surfaces. The mist of the cleaning liquid shaken off from the substrate W flows in the processing space S radially outward along with the flow of air, and is discharged from the gap between the rotation support plate 21, the upper rotation plate 41, and the shielding plate 451. Then, the air containing the mist of the discharged cleaning liquid is discharged out of the apparatus 2 through the exhaust cup part 61 and the exhaust pipes 62, 62.

Further, the gap (processing space S) between the rotation support plate 21 and the upper rotation plate 41 is narrowed at the outer peripheral end side, and the upper and lower spaces are narrower than those at the rotation center side.
The amount of air discharged from the outer periphery is regulated. In accordance with this, the amount of air sucked from the rotation support plate 21 side into the lower space which is the processing space S with the substrate W by the pump effect is also adjusted by the flow control valve 86a. The amount of air sucked into the upper space, which is the processing space S with the substrate W, is regulated by the flow path resistance member 42.

After the drying step, the rotation of the motor 33 is stopped, and the upper rotating plate 41 and the liquid nozzle 4
3 and the shielding plate 451 are returned to the retracted position, and the processed substrate W is carried out of the apparatus by the substrate transfer device 7. Hereinafter, as described above, the unprocessed substrate W is carried in and the processing is repeatedly performed.

As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, this substrate processing apparatus rotates a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer in a horizontal plane while controlling the atmosphere of the processing space using upper and lower rotating plates, and Is a device that performs processing on The swirling flow generated by the rotation of the substrate holding means during the substrate processing is rectified by the skirt portion inclined downward from the upstream side in the rotational direction of the substrate toward the downstream side in the rotational direction inside the exhaust cup. The liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid that is the swirling flow is guided and collected along the skirt to the drain port. On the other hand, the gas component flows downstream of the drain port, and is guided to an exhaust port provided on the bottom surface of the cup, so that gas-liquid separation can be performed.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be modified as follows. (1) The injection of the nitrogen gas from the gas supply path 35 is not limited to the drying process, and may be performed in parallel with the supply of each processing liquid at the time of chemical solution processing or cleaning processing.

(2) Further, in the above-described embodiment, the description has been given of the example in which the chemical treatment is performed by using the etching liquid.

[0078]

As described above, according to the present invention,
This substrate processing apparatus is an apparatus that performs processing by rotating a substrate W. The vortex generated by the rotation of the substrate holding means during substrate processing is swirled and rectified by a skirt portion inclined downward from the upstream side in the rotation direction of the substrate toward the downstream side in the rotation direction inside the exhaust cup. Then, the liquid component of the gas-liquid mixed fluid that is a swirling flow is guided and collected to the drain port on the downstream side of the skirt portion. On the other hand, the gas component flows downstream of the drain port and is guided to the exhaust port. The upstream side of the skirt portion is opposed to the upper side of the exhaust port, so that the liquid component from above does not fall directly on the exhaust port. Also, since the liquid component due to the swirling flow is collected at the drain port upstream of the exhaust port, only the gas component is collected at the exhaust port. Therefore, gas-liquid separation can be performed with a simple configuration and the gas-liquid separation can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a substrate processing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of an upper shielding mechanism and its surroundings.

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a configuration of an exhaust cup.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a configuration of an exhaust cup.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the present apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining a processing state of a substrate W;
6A is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a chemical treatment of a substrate W, FIG. 6B is a state of a cleaning processing, FIG. 6C is a state of an ultrasonic cleaning, and FIG.

FIG. 8 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional device.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of an exhaust cup of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

W substrate S processing space 2 substrate processing apparatus 20 rotation support unit 30 drive unit 40 upper shielding unit 60 cup unit 61 exhaust cup 62 bottom surface 64a first drain tank 64b second drain tank 65a first drain port 66a First exhaust port 67a, 671a, 672a, 673a First skirt portion 21 Rotation support plate 41 Upper rotation plate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a required process on a substrate while rotating a substrate to which a processing liquid is supplied, comprising: a substrate holding unit for holding a substrate substantially horizontally; An exhaust cup covering the periphery, a skirt portion inclined downward from the upstream side in the rotational direction of the substrate toward the downstream side in the rotational direction inside the exhaust cup, and an exhaust cup downstream of the skirt portion in the substrate rotational direction. A drain port provided on the bottom surface, and an exhaust port provided on the bottom surface of the exhaust cup downstream of the drain port in the substrate rotation direction, and a substrate rotation direction of the skirt portion above the exhaust port. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the lower surfaces on the upstream side of the substrate face each other.