JP2002222792A - Substrate treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent dust and heat from being generated from the sliding section between a rotary member such as V seal mounted to a rotary shaft and a member where the rotary member slides. SOLUTION: An annular plate member 80 for sliding is mounted onto the lower surface of a mounting block 50. Also, the V seal 81 made of rubber is mounted to the upper end of an outer cylinder 211 so that the V seal 81 slides on the member 80 for sliding, and the upper section of the inner space of a holder section 24 for accommodating a bearing 23 and an arm 40 is sealed by the member 80 for sliding and the V seal 81. The member 80 for sliding is formed by an SiC(silicon carbide) material being impregnated with oil.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer,
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing using a processing liquid on various substrates such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display panel, and a substrate for a magnetic / optical disk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, a substrate processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid (chemical solution or pure water) to a substrate to perform a surface treatment of the substrate is used. A single wafer type substrate cleaning apparatus that processes substrates one by one includes, for example, a spin chuck that horizontally holds and rotates the substrate, a processing liquid supply nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate held by the spin chuck, and It has. Then, the substrate held by the spin chuck is rotated in a horizontal plane, and on the other hand, the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate from the processing liquid supply nozzle, whereby the substrate is subjected to a cleaning process using the processing liquid.

In order to prevent the processing liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate from splashing on the upper surface of the substrate and scattering to the outside, the processing liquid is placed at a position close to the upper surface of the substrate held by the spin chuck. There may be a case where a blocking plate is arranged to face. This blocking plate is attached to the lower end of a rotating shaft rotatable around a vertical axis, and rotates in the same direction at substantially the same speed as the substrate rotated by the spin chuck during the cleaning process on the substrate. Can be

[0004]

The rotating shaft of the blocking plate is inserted into the tip of a lifting arm provided above the spin chuck, and is rotatably held by a bearing provided inside the lifting arm. . Therefore, particles may be generated from the bearings when the blocking plate rotates, and the particles may fall on the substrate and contaminate the substrate. In order to solve the problem caused by particles generated from the bearing, for example, a ring-shaped sliding contact member made of SiC (silicon carbide) is provided around a rotary shaft insertion hole formed in a lifting arm, and a rotation of a blocking plate is provided. By attaching a rubber V-seal to the shaft so as to slide on the member to be slid, it is conceivable to seal the gap between the lifting arm and the rotating shaft.

However, in such a configuration, even though particles generated from the bearing can be prevented from falling onto the substrate, the frictional resistance between the member to be slid and the V-seal is large, so that the V-seal is worn. A new problem arises in that particles are generated and the particles contaminate the substrate. Further, heat is generated at a sliding contact portion between the V seal and the sliding member, and this heat may adversely affect the processing of the substrate. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to prevent dust and heat generation from a sliding contact portion between a rotating member such as a V-seal attached to a rotating shaft and a member to be slid on which the rotating member comes into sliding contact. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of performing good processing.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a rotating member (81) rotating in a substrate processing space for processing a substrate (W). , 26) and a slidable contact member (80, 25) with which the rotating member slidably contacts, and a portion of the rotating member that slidably contacts the slidable contact member and the rotating member of the slidable contact member that slidably contact with each other. At least one of the parts is formed of a silicon carbide material impregnated with oil.

[0007] However, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses indicate the corresponding components in the embodiment described later. Hereinafter, the same applies in this section. According to the present invention, at least one of a portion of the rotating member that is in sliding contact with the sliding member and a portion of the rotating member that is in sliding contact with the rotating member are formed of the silicon carbide material impregnated with oil, thereby enabling rotation. The oil is automatically supplied to the sliding contact portion between the member and the sliding contact member, so that the frictional resistance between the rotating member and the sliding contact member is small, and particles of the rotating member and the sliding contact member are worn. Occurrence can be suppressed. Further, heat generation at a sliding contact portion between the rotating member and the sliding contact member can be suppressed, and a change in the temperature of the substrate during processing can be prevented.

Therefore, it is possible to perform a good treatment on the substrate and to obtain a high-quality substrate free from particles. In addition, the life of the rotating member and the member to be slid is long, and the cost for maintenance of the substrate processing apparatus can be suppressed. According to a second aspect of the present invention, one of a portion of the rotating member slidingly contacting the sliding member and a portion of the sliding member slidingly contacting the rotating member is oil-impregnated silicon carbide. It may be formed of a material, and the other may be formed of a rubber material.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the apparatus further comprises suction means (72, 73, 74, 75) for sucking an atmosphere around a sliding contact portion between the rotating member and the member to be slid. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
According to the present invention, even if particles are generated at the sliding contact portion between the rotating member and the sliding contact member, the particles are sucked and removed by the suction means. Therefore, it is possible to reliably prevent the contamination of the substrate by the particles generated at the sliding contact portion between the rotating member and the sliding contact member.

[0010]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an illustrative sectional view for explaining the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus holds a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as a “wafer”) W, which is an example of a substrate, substantially horizontally, and rotates around a vertical axis passing substantially the center of the held wafer W. In a processing cup (not shown). The wafer W held by the spin chuck 11 is treated with a processing solution (for example, a cleaning process with an etching solution or a water washing process with pure water), and the wafer W
A drying process is performed in which the droplets on the surface are shaken off to dry the wafer W.

The spin chuck 11 is connected to a drive shaft of a motor 12 and is rotated. Motor 1
The second drive shaft is a hollow shaft, into which a back rinse nozzle 13 capable of supplying a processing liquid is inserted. The back surface rinsing nozzle 13 has a discharge port at a position close to the center of the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11, and discharges the processing liquid from the discharge port toward the center of the back surface of the wafer W. It has the form of a central shaft nozzle to supply. The processing liquid is supplied to the backside rinse nozzle 13 from a processing liquid supply source (not shown) via a processing liquid supply valve 14.

Above the spin chuck 11, a disk-shaped blocking plate 20 having an opening near the center of the lower surface near the center of the lower surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11 is provided horizontally. Have been. This blocking plate 2
Numeral 0 is attached near the tip of the arm 40 coupled to the lifting drive mechanism 30 so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis. The lifting drive mechanism 30 includes a support cylinder 31 and a hollow lifting shaft 32 held by the support cylinder 31 so as to be able to move up and down.
And a ball screw mechanism 33 for moving the elevating shaft 32 up and down. The lower end of the lifting shaft 32 is fixed to a bracket 34, which is fixed to a nut 33 a of a ball screw mechanism 33. The screw shaft 33b of the ball screw mechanism 33 is driven to rotate by a motor 33c. Therefore, by vertically / reversely rotating the motor 33c, the elevating shaft 32 moves up and down, and the arm 40 attached to the tip of the elevating shaft 32 moves up and down. Reference numeral 35 denotes a bellows for preventing the treatment liquid from entering.

A rotating shaft 41 is inserted through the elevating shaft 32. The rotating shaft 41 is rotatably held by bearings 42 and 43 disposed at the upper and lower ends of the elevating shaft 32, respectively. The lower end of the rotating shaft 41 is connected via a coupling 44 to a rotating shaft of a motor 45 attached to the bracket 34. A pulley 46 is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 41.
Is wound around a timing belt 47 disposed in the internal space of the arm 40. The timing belt 47 includes a pulley 2 fixed to the rotation shaft 21 of the blocking plate 20.
It is also wrapped around 2. Therefore, if the motor 45 is driven to rotate, this rotation is transmitted to the blocking plate 20 via the rotating shaft 41 and the timing belt 47, and the blocking plate 20 rotates around the vertical axis. Thus, a rotation drive mechanism for the blocking plate 20 is configured.

When the wafer W is loaded into the spin chuck 11, the blocking plate 20 is largely retracted above the spin chuck 11. When the wafer W is held by the spin chuck 11, the rotation of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11 is started. In addition, as the lifting drive mechanism 30 lowers the arm 40, the blocking plate 20 is brought closer to the upper surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11. Then, the motor 45 is biased and the shut-off plate 20 is turned on.
Is rotated in the same direction in the vicinity of the wafer W at substantially the same speed as the substrate rotated by the spin chuck 11. In a state where the wafer W and the blocking plate 20 are rotating, the processing liquid is supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W from the vicinity of the center of the blocking plate 20 and the backside rinsing nozzle 13, and the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W are processed by the processing liquid. Will be applied. At this time, since the blocking plate 20 is disposed so as to face the upper surface of the wafer W, the processing liquid supplied to the upper surface of the wafer W is prevented from rebounding and scattering outside.

After the treatment with the treatment liquid, the lifting drive mechanism 3
As the arm 0 further lowers the arm 40, the blocking plate 20 is brought closer to the surface of the wafer W. At the same time, the wafer W and the blocking plate 20 are both rotated at a high speed, and in this state, nitrogen gas is supplied from near the center of the blocking plate 20 to the space between the wafer W and the blocking plate 20.
Thereby, the wafer W can be dried well without leaving traces of the processing liquid on the surface of the wafer W.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration near the blocking plate 20. The rotating shaft 21 of the blocking plate 20 is provided with a pair of bearings 2.
An outer cylinder 211 is rotatably held by the holder 24 via a third member 3 and the like, and an inner cylinder 212 is fitted inside the outer cylinder 211. The holder part 24 is fixed to the arm 40 and hangs from the lower surface thereof. On the upper surface of the arm 40, a mounting block 50 which covers the thinned upper end portion of the inner cylinder 212 over the entire circumference in a non-contact state and has a through hole 51 formed in the center is fixed. A step 53 is formed on the upper surface of the mounting block 50 between the mounting block 50 and the through hole 51.

The inner cylinder 212 has a processing liquid supply nozzle 60
However, it is inserted into the inner cylinder 212 in a non-contact state. More specifically, the processing liquid supply nozzle 60 includes a pipe member 61 through which the inner cylinder 212 is inserted, a flange 62 formed at the upper end of the pipe member 61, and a step formed at the lower surface of the flange 62. And a portion 63. Then, the flange portion 62 is fixed to the upper surface of the mounting block 50 by the bolts 64 in a state where the stepped portion 63 is fitted to the stepped portion 53 of the mounting block 50 and the positioning with respect to the inner cylinder 212 is performed. The attachment of the liquid supply nozzle 60 to the attachment block 50 is achieved.

The distal end of the processing liquid supply nozzle 60 (tube member 61) reaches a through hole 201 at the center of the blocking plate 20.
The processing liquid supply nozzle 60 is provided with a processing liquid supply source (not shown)
The processing liquid is supplied at a required timing through the processing liquid supply valve 65. The processing liquid supplied to the processing liquid supply nozzle 60 is ejected from the tip of the processing liquid supply nozzle 60 through the through hole 201 of the blocking plate 20. A gas passage 52 penetrating from the side surface to the through hole 51 is formed in the mounting block 50. Gas passage 5
2 is connected to a wafer drying nitrogen gas supply pipe 55 by a pipe joint 54. A nitrogen gas supply valve 55 is connected to the nitrogen gas supply pipe 55 from a nitrogen gas supply source (not shown).
6, nitrogen gas is supplied at a required timing. The nitrogen gas supplied to the nitrogen gas supply pipe 55 passes through the gas passage 52 of the mounting block 50,
The gas is guided to a gas passage 57 formed between the inner wall surface of the inner cylinder 212 and the pipe member 61, and further blows out from the central through hole 201 of the blocking plate 20 toward the upper surface of the wafer W through the gas passage 57. Is done.

On the lower surface of the mounting block 50, an annular plate-like sliding contact member 80 is attached so as to surround the opening of the through hole 51. On the other hand, a rubber V-seal 81 is attached to the upper end of the outer cylinder 211 so as to slidably contact the slidable member 80. Thereby, the upper part of the internal space (bearing accommodating space) of the holder portion 24 and the arm 40 accommodating the bearing 23 is sealed, and particles generated from the bearing 23 are separated from the thin upper end of the inner cylinder 212 and the mounting block 50. Gap 72 and gas passage 57 between
Through the wafer W to prevent the wafer W from being scattered into a space for processing the wafer W (wafer processing space). Further, the gas containing the processing liquid in the wafer processing space is prevented from entering the bearing housing space.

The sliding member 80 is made of SiC impregnated with oil.
(Silicon carbide) material. As a result, the oil is automatically supplied to the sliding contact portion between the sliding member 80 and the V-seal 81, so that the frictional resistance between the sliding member 80 and the V-seal 81 is small, and 80 and V seal 8
1 can suppress generation of particles due to abrasion. Further, heat generation at a sliding contact portion between the sliding contact member 80 and the V seal 81 can be suppressed. Therefore, the wafer W
And a high-quality wafer W can be obtained.

Further, since it is not necessary to supply the lubricating oil between the sliding member 80 and the V-seal 81, the cost for maintenance can be reduced. In this embodiment, an intake pipe 71 is connected to a gap 72 between the inner cylinder 212 and the mounting block 50, and the gas in the gap 72 can be sucked through the intake pipe 71. .
More specifically, an annular space 73 is formed in the mounting block 50 so as to surround the gap 72.
The mounting block 50 has an intake passage 74 penetrating from the side surface to the annular space 73.
4, an intake pipe 71 extending from an intake source (not shown) is connected via an intake pipe connecting member 75. The annular space 73 communicates with the gap 72, so that gas in the gap 72 can be sucked through the annular space 73, the intake passage 74, and the intake pipe 71. Therefore, even if particles due to abrasion are generated at the sliding contact portion between the sliding contact member 80 and the V seal 81, the generated particles are transferred to the gap 72 through the annular space 73, the intake passage 74 and the intake pipe 71. Can be removed from
Therefore, the contamination of the wafer W by the particles can be better prevented.

On the other hand, a lower portion of the inner space of the holder portion 24 and the arm 40 is provided with a ring-shaped member 25 attached to the lower end of the inner peripheral surface of the holder portion 24 and an outer cylinder 211 so as to slide on the ring-shaped member 25. It is sealed by a V-seal 26 attached to the lower end. The ring-shaped member 25 is also made of an oil-impregnated SiC (silicon carbide) material, similarly to the sliding member 80. As a result, oil is automatically supplied to the sliding contact portion between the ring-shaped member 25 and the V-seal 26, so that heat generation and generation of particles in the sliding contact portion between the ring-shaped member 25 and the V-seal 26 are suppressed. it can. Therefore, good processing can be performed on the wafer W, and a high-quality wafer W can be obtained.

A plurality of (two in this embodiment) annular grooves are formed on the lower surface of the holder portion 24. A through passage 92 is formed in the holder portion 24 to penetrate from the side surface to one of the plurality of annular grooves 91.
A nitrogen gas supply pipe 94 extending from a nitrogen gas supply source (not shown) is connected to the through passage 92 via a connection member 93. The holder portion 24 is further provided with an intake passage 96 penetrating from the side surface to an annular groove 95 formed inside the annular groove 91 among the plurality of annular grooves,
An intake pipe 98 extending from an intake source (not shown) is connected to the intake path 96 via a connection member 97.

Accordingly, even if the ring-shaped member 25 or the V-seal 26 is worn due to the sliding contact between the ring-shaped member 25 and the V-seal 26 and particles are generated,
The generated particles are transferred to the annular groove 95 and the intake path 96.
Then, it is sucked and removed through the suction pipe 98. Therefore, there is no possibility that particles generated from the ring-shaped member 25 or the V-seal 26 scatter in the wafer processing space and contaminate the wafer W. Further, when the nitrogen gas is supplied to the annular groove 91 through the nitrogen gas supply pipe 94 and the through passage 92, the periphery of the V seal 26 is filled with the nitrogen gas. Is V seal 2
6 can be prevented, and the V-seal 2
6 can be prevented.

Although the nitrogen gas is supplied to the annular groove 91, the gas is not limited to the nitrogen gas, but another inert gas such as a helium gas or an argon gas may be supplied.
Further, it is preferable that the supply of the inert gas is also performed to the periphery of the slidable contact member 80. As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can be implemented in another form. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the generation of dust due to the sliding contact between the sealing member 81 provided on the rotating shaft 21 of the blocking plate 20 and the sliding member 80 and the sliding contact between the V seal 26 and the ring-shaped member 25 are described. Although the case where the present invention is applied to prevent heat generation is taken as an example, dust generation due to sliding contact between a seal member attached to the rotating shaft of the spin chuck 11 and a sliding member to which the seal member slides is described. The present invention may be applied to prevent heat generation. Further, the present invention is applied to prevent dust generation and heat generation due to sliding contact between a seal member attached to a rotating shaft for rotating a scrub cleaning brush and a member to be slid in contact with the seal member. You may. Moreover,
In order to prevent dust generation and heat generation due to sliding contact between a seal member attached to a rotation shaft of a nozzle arm holding a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the wafer W and a member to be slid in contact with the seal member The present invention may be applied.
Of course, in addition to the above, the present invention is intended to prevent dust generation and heat generation due to sliding contact between a rotating member that rotates in a processing space for performing processing on the wafer W and a member to be slid in contact with the rotating member. Is widely applicable.

The substrate to be processed is not limited to the wafer W, but may be another type of substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a plasma display panel, and a substrate for a magnetic / optical disk. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration near a blocking plate provided in the substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 Rotation shaft 211 Outer cylinder 212 Inner cylinder 71 Gap 72 Intake pipe 73 Annular space 74 Intake path 75 Intake pipe connection member 80 Sliding contact member 81 V seal W Wafer

Claims (3)

[Claims] A rotating member that rotates in a substrate processing space for performing processing on a substrate; and a slidable contact member that slidably contacts the rotating member, and a portion of the rotating member that slidably contacts the slidable contact member. And at least one of the portions of the member to be slid in contact with the rotating member is formed of a silicon carbide material impregnated with oil. 2. One of a portion of the rotating member slidingly contacting the sliding member and a portion of the sliding member slidingly contacting the rotating member are formed of an oil-impregnated silicon carbide material. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate is formed of a rubber material. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising suction means for sucking an atmosphere around a sliding contact portion between said rotating member and said member to be slid.