JP2003007662A - Substrate-cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a small installation space substrate-cleaning apparatus, capable of being made small sized with easy maintenance of replacement, cleaning, and the like of its component and the like. SOLUTION: An upper stage cleaning unit 10 and a lower stage cleaning unit 50 are arranged in the upper and lower two stages, the upper stage cleaning unit 10 comprises a substrate-holding mechanism 11 and a driving mechanism 12, the lower stage cleaning unit 50 comprises a substrate-holding mechanism 52 and a driving mechanism 53, and the upper stage cleaning unit 10 can be flipped upward via a hinge 51.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer through a plurality of different cleaning steps.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As semiconductor devices are highly integrated,
A high degree of cleanliness is required for cleaning the substrate, and the substrate is cleaned through a plurality of different cleaning steps. In a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus, cleaning units that perform different cleaning processes are individually arranged on a horizontal surface, a substrate is transferred between cleaning units using a transfer robot, and cleaning is performed by the cleaning units, and cleaning is performed. The finished substrate is being dried.

As described above, the conventional cleaning apparatus has a problem that the apparatus becomes large in size because a plurality of cleaning units are arranged on the horizontal plane and a large installation space is required. In addition, there is a problem in that the movement distance of the transfer robot that transfers the substrate is increased and the required area of the transfer robot is increased. In addition, since multiple cleaning units are arranged horizontally, the depth increases, and parts can be replaced.
When performing maintenance such as cleaning, there is a problem that it cannot be accessed from one side surface and must be accessed from a plurality of side surfaces.

As described above, the problems of requiring a large installation space and having to access maintenance such as replacement and cleaning of parts from a plurality of sides are
This is inconvenient because a large space is required when the cleaning device is installed, for example, in a clean room where the floor surface cost is high.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and eliminates the above-mentioned problems, can be downsized, requires a small installation area, and can be used for replacement and cleaning of parts and the like. An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning device that is easy to maintain.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 comprises a cleaning unit having a substrate holding mechanism for holding a substrate and a driving mechanism for driving the substrate holding mechanism, and the cleaning unit is provided in two upper and lower stages. The substrate cleaning apparatus is characterized in that

Since the cleaning units are arranged in the upper and lower two stages as described above, the entire apparatus can be downsized and the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced. Also,
The transfer distance of the transfer robot for transferring the substrate to each cleaning unit can be reduced.

The invention described in claim 2 is the same as claim 1.
In the substrate cleaning apparatus described in (1), the upper cleaning unit and the lower cleaning unit are cleaning units that perform different cleaning methods.

As described above, since the upper cleaning unit and the lower cleaning unit are cleaning units that perform different cleaning methods, the substrate cleaning apparatus having a small size can clean the substrate through different cleaning steps.

Further, in the substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 2, one of the upper and lower cleaning units is a roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit including two roll type cleaning tools for cleaning both surfaces of the substrate respectively. And the other is a pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit that includes a pencil type cleaning tool and spin-drys the cleaned substrate by the drive mechanism.

In the above substrate cleaning apparatus, the upper cleaning unit is a roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit, and the lower cleaning unit is a pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit.

As described above, by using one as the roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit and the other as the pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit, the pencil / scrubber cleaning is performed by the pencil / scrubber cleaning device with a compact substrate cleaning apparatus. After scrub cleaning and after the pencil scrub cleaning is completed, spin drying can be performed.

The invention described in claim 3 is the same as claim 1
In the substrate cleaning apparatus described in (1), the upper cleaning unit has a driving mechanism arranged above the substrate holding mechanism, and the lower cleaning unit has a driving mechanism arranged below the substrate holding mechanism.

As described above, the drive mechanism of the upper cleaning unit is arranged above the substrate holding mechanism, and the drive mechanism of the lower cleaning unit is arranged below the substrate holding mechanism. Since the substrates are arranged close to each other, the moving distance of the substrate can be short, and the small transfer robot having a small hand stroke can transfer the substrate between both cleaning units.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect, a transfer robot is provided, and the substrate is carried into one of the upper and lower cleaning units by the transfer robot. When the cleaning is completed, the carrier robot carries it into the other cleaning unit.

As described above, the transfer robot carries the substrate into one of the upper and lower cleaning units,
When the cleaning is completed, the carrier robot carries the cleaning solution into the other cleaning unit, so that a small substrate cleaning apparatus can automatically perform cleaning through the upper and lower cleaning units.

Further, in the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a hoisting mechanism for hoisting the upper cleaning unit upward.

By providing the hoisting mechanism as described above, maintenance such as parts replacement and washing of the upper and lower washing units is facilitated in a state where the upper washing unit is flipped up.

The invention described in claim 5 is the same as claim 2
2. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one of the upper and lower cleaning units is a roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit including two roll type cleaning tools for cleaning both surfaces of the substrate, and the other is a pencil type cleaning tool. And a pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit for spin-drying a cleaned substrate by a driving mechanism.

In the substrate cleaning apparatus, the upper cleaning unit is a roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit, and the lower cleaning unit is a pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit.

As described above, by using one as the roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit and the other as the pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit, after the roll / roll scrubber cleaning is performed with the substrate cleaning apparatus having a small size, the pencil is used. After scrubbing and after washing, spin drying can be performed.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 are views showing a configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is an overall configuration of the substrate cleaning apparatus, FIG. 2 is an upper stage cleaning unit configuration of the substrate cleaning apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a lower stage of the substrate cleaning apparatus. Cleaning unit configuration, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the configuration of the transfer robot. As shown in the figure, the present substrate cleaning apparatus has an upper cleaning unit 10 and a lower cleaning unit 50 arranged vertically, and a cleaning liquid drain pan 41 arranged in the middle to partition the upper cleaning unit 10 and the lower cleaning unit 50 into separate parts. . Further, the upper cleaning unit 10 can be flipped up and rotated by a hinge 51 as shown in FIG. When the upper cleaning unit 10 is lowered and lowered via the hinge 51, the upper cleaning unit 10 is positioned by a positioning stopper 83 attached to the casing 54 of the lower cleaning unit 50.

The upper cleaning unit 10 comprises a substrate holding mechanism 11 for holding the substrate W and a drive mechanism 12 for driving the substrate holding mechanism 11. A portion of the upper cleaning unit 10 excluding the drive mechanism 12 is covered with a casing 13. The casing 13 is provided with an intake port 14 and an exhaust duct 15, and a loading / unloading port 16 for loading / unloading the substrate W. . A gate 17 that is opened and closed by a cylinder 17a is provided at the carry-in / out port 16. The drive mechanism 12 is mounted on the casing 13 and is covered with the casing 40.

As shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of substrate holding mechanisms 11 are arranged at equal intervals on the outer peripheral portion of the substrate W (4 in the figure).
Individual) chuck rollers 18, each of which is fixed to the lower end of a spindle 19,
Each spindle 19 is rotated by a motor 20 of the drive mechanism 12. Further, each spindle 19 can be moved in the radial direction of the substrate W by a cylinder 21, the substrate W is nipped by a plurality of chuck rollers 18 by the operation of the cylinder 21, and the rotation of the motor 20 causes
The substrate W is adapted to rotate as shown by arrow A. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

Reference numerals 22 and 23 denote an upper roll sponge and a lower roll sponge, which are roll type cleaning jigs for cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W, respectively. A bevel gear 25 fixed to the lower end of the spindle 24 is attached to the end of the upper roll sponge 22.
A bevel gear 26 that meshes with is fixed, and is rotated by the rotation of the motor 27 as shown by an arrow D.
The spindle 28 is also attached to the end of the lower roll sponge 23.
A bevel gear 30 meshing with a bevel gear 29 fixed to the lower end of the is fixed, and is rotated by the rotation of the motor 31 as shown by an arrow E.

The spindle 24 can be moved by the cylinder 32 in the radial direction of the substrate W and by the cylinder 33 in the vertical direction, so that the upper roll sponge 2 can be moved.
2 can be moved in the radial direction and the vertical direction of the substrate W. Similarly, the spindle 28 can be moved in the radial direction of the substrate W by a cylinder (not shown) and in the vertical direction by the cylinder 34, whereby the lower roll sponge 23 can be moved.
Can be moved in the radial and vertical directions. Reference numeral 35 is a cleaning tank for self-cleaning the upper roll sponge 22. Although not shown, a cleaning tank for self-cleaning the lower roll sponge 23 is also provided.

Reference numeral 36 is an upper cleaning liquid nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate W, and 37 is a lower cleaning liquid nozzle for spraying the cleaning liquid onto the lower surface of the substrate W. The outer periphery of the substrate holding mechanism 11 is surrounded by an upper cleaning cup 38, and the upper cleaning cup 38 can be moved up and down by a cylinder 39.

The lower cleaning unit 50 comprises a substrate holding mechanism 52 for holding the substrate W and a drive mechanism 53 for driving the substrate holding mechanism 52. The lower cleaning unit 50 is entirely covered with a casing 54. The casing 54 is provided with an intake port 55 and an exhaust port 56. Casing 5
The downflow air nozzle duct 57 arranged on the lower surface of the cleaning liquid drain pan 41 at the upper part of 4 communicates with the intake port 55, and the exhaust duct 58 communicates with the exhaust port 56. Further, the casing 54 is provided with a loading / unloading port 60 for loading / unloading the substrate W, and the loading / unloading port 60 is provided with a gate 61 which is opened and closed by a cylinder 61a.

As shown in FIG. 7, the substrate holding mechanism 52 includes a wafer chuck wheel 62 having a plurality of (four in the figure) claws 63 on the outer peripheral portion. The claw 63 is a fixed claw 63
The fixed claw 63b is fixed to the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion of the wafer chuck wheel 62, and the movable claw 63a is rotatably supported by the fixed claw 63b by a shaft 63c. The movable claw 63a is supported at one end of a rod 63e, and is normally urged in one direction (direction of closing the claw 63) about the shaft 63c by the elastic force of a spring 63d to operate the claw drive cylinder 64. Thus, it rotates in the opposite direction (the direction in which the claw 63 is opened). That is, the pawl drive cylinder 64 is operated to open the pawl 63 (the movable pawl 6
3a is rotated around the shaft 63c), the substrate W is placed on the fixed claw 63b, and the claw drive cylinder 64 is deactivated, so that the fixed claw 63b and the movable claw 63a are used to move the substrate W.
The outer peripheral part of the is clamped. 7. Note that FIG. 7 is a view as seen from the arrow FF of FIG.

The wafer chuck wheel 62 is a motor 6
It is designed to rotate at 5. The motor 65 and the claw driving cylinder 64 are the driving mechanism 5 for driving the substrate holding mechanism 52.
Make up 3. Further, the wafer chuck wheel 62 is surrounded by a lower cleaning cup 66 arranged on the outer periphery thereof, and the lower cleaning cup 66 can be moved up and down by a cylinder 78. A cleaning drain pan 67 is arranged below the wafer chuck wheel 62.

Reference numeral 68 is a pencil sponge serving as a pencil-type cleaning jig for cleaning the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W. The pencil sponge 68 is a spindle 69, a pulley 70, and a belt 7.
1, the motor 72 through the pulley 72 and the spindle 73
, And is rotated by the rotation of the motor 86 as shown by an arrow G. Pulley 70, belt 7
1, the pulley 72 and the spindle 73 are housed in the cleaning arm 74. The cleaning arm 74 is connected to a motor 75 via a belt 77 and a pulley 76, and is indicated by an arrow H in FIG.
You can turn as shown in. Further, the cleaning arm 74 can be moved up and down by a cylinder 79.

Reference numeral 80 is a cleaning tank for self-cleaning the pencil sponge 68. Reference numeral 81 is an upper cleaning liquid nozzle that sprays a cleaning liquid onto the upper surface of the substrate W held by the substrate holding mechanism 52, and 82 is a lower cleaning liquid nozzle that sprays a cleaning liquid onto the lower surface of the substrate W. Reference numeral 90 denotes a transfer robot disposed adjacent to the substrate cleaning apparatus. The transfer robot 90 has two hands, an upper hand 91 and a lower hand 92, as shown in FIG. Move and swivel in the vertical direction to move the respective hands 91, 9
2 can be expanded and contracted in a horizontal radial pattern for positioning.

In the substrate cleaning apparatus having the above structure, the air 101 sucked from the air inlet 14 of the upper cleaning unit 10
Is exhausted through the exhaust duct 15. Further, the air 102 sucked from the intake port 55 of the lower cleaning unit 50 is
Nozzle port 57a of the downflow air nozzle duct 57
Is discharged as a downflow from the exhaust duct 58. In the upper cleaning unit 10, the cleaning liquid 103 used for cleaning the substrate is the cleaning liquid drain pan 41.
And is discharged through the drainage duct 84. Also,
In the lower cleaning unit 50, the cleaning liquid 104 used for cleaning the substrate flows down to the cleaning liquid drain pan 67 and is discharged through the liquid discharge duct 85.

In cleaning the substrate W, first, the lower hand 92 of the transfer robot 90 receives the substrate W from the previous step of cleaning. Next, the operation of the cylinder 17a raises (opens) the gate 17 of the upper cleaning unit 10, and the operation of the cylinder 39 raises the cleaning cup 38. Next, the transfer robot 90 inserts the lower hand 92 from the carry-in / out port 16, transfers the substrate W to be held to the chuck roller 18 of the substrate holding mechanism 11, and retracts the upper hand 92. In this state, the operation of the cylinder 17a lowers (closes) the gate 17, and the operation of the cylinder 39 lowers the cleaning cup. As a result, the substrate holding mechanism 11 holding the substrate W is surrounded by the upper cleaning cup 38, and the cleaning liquid does not scatter. As described above, the operation of the cylinder 21 causes the plurality of chuck rollers 1
The substrate W is sandwiched by 8, and the substrate W is rotated by the rotation of the motor 20.

Upper cleaning liquid nozzle 36 and lower cleaning liquid nozzle 3
While spraying the cleaning liquid from 7 to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W, the upper roll sponge 22 is applied to the upper surface of the substrate W and the lower roll sponge 23 is applied.
Are brought into contact with the lower surface of the substrate W and are rotated to clean the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W. After the cleaning is completed, the gate 17 is raised and the upper washing cup 38 is raised. The transfer robot 90 inserts its lower hand 92 into the inside of the carry-in / out port 16, receives the substrate W after the cleaning is completed, retracts, and descends to the position of the carry-in / out port 60 of the lower cleaning unit 50.
Next, the gate 61 is lowered (opened) by the operation of the cylinder 61a, and the lower cleaning cup 66 is lowered by the operation of the cylinder 78, so that the lower hand 92 from the carry-in / out port 60.
And insert the substrate W into the lower cleaning unit 50.
To the substrate holding mechanism 52. After that, the upper hand 91 retracts and rises to receive the substrate W from the previous step of cleaning, and by the same operation as described above, the substrate W is passed to the chuck roller 18 of the substrate holding mechanism 11 of the upper cleaning unit 10 to clean. I do.

Substrate holding mechanism 52 of lower cleaning unit 50
After receiving the substrate W after the cleaning is finished in the upper cleaning unit 10, the fixed claw 63b of the claw 63 and the movable claw 63a sandwich the outer peripheral portion of the substrate W to hold the substrate W. Then, the lower washing cup 66 is raised and the gate 61 is raised (closed). As a result, the substrate holding mechanism 52 holding the substrate W is surrounded by the lower cleaning cup 66 and the like, and the cleaning liquid does not scatter. In this state, the motor 65 is activated to rotate the substrate W in the low speed region (for example,
About 200 rpm or less). The cleaning liquid is sprayed from the upper cleaning liquid nozzle 81 and the lower cleaning liquid nozzle 82 onto the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W held by the substrate holding mechanism 52, and the pencil sponge 68 is rotated and brought into contact with the upper surface of the substrate W to clean the substrate W.

A motor 86 is used to rotate the pencil sponge 68.
The contact with the upper surface of the substrate W is performed by lowering the cleaning arm 74 with the cylinder 79. Further, by rotating the cleaning arm 74 with the motor 75, the pencil sponge 68 rotates while rotating on the upper surface of the substrate W. The pencil sponge 68 passes through the rotation center of the substrate W and rocks to the outer end of the substrate W to clean the substrate W. At this time, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the pencil sponge 68 itself or the cleaning liquid by ultrasonic energy applying means (not shown) to improve the cleaning effect, or to improve the cleaning effect due to the cavitation breaking action by the means for causing cavitation in the cleaning liquid. In some cases. After the cleaning is completed, the cleaning arm 74 is swung to the outside of the substrate W, the pencil sponge 68 is inserted into the cleaning tank 80, and self-cleaning is performed. Also, the substrate W
After the cleaning is completed, the substrate W is rotated at a high speed by the motor 65 (for example, 1,000 rpm to 4,000 rpm), and the cleaning liquid adhering to the surface is scattered by centrifugal force to dry the substrate W.
So-called spin drying is performed.

After the completion of spin drying, the gate 61 is lowered and the lower cleaning cup 66 is lowered. In this state, the upper hand 91 of the transfer robot 90 is inserted into the lower cleaning unit 50 from the carry-in / out port 60, and the substrate W held by the substrate holding mechanism 52 is received and retracted.
Is stored in a cassette (not shown). After the upper hand 91 is retracted, the gate 61 is raised and the lower washing cup 66 is raised. Of course, subsequently, the upper cleaning unit 10
In the case of carrying in the substrate W that has been cleaned in step 1, after the substrate W is carried in by the lower hand 92, the gate 61 is raised and the lower stage cleaning cup 66 is raised to perform cleaning and spin drying, as in the above.

In the above example, the upper cleaning unit 10 is a roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit having two roll type cleaning tools, and the lower cleaning unit 50 is a pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit having a pencil type cleaning tool. However, in the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, both the upper cleaning unit 10 and the lower cleaning unit 50 may be constituted by a roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit as shown in FIG.

[0040]

As described above, according to the invention described in each claim, the following excellent effects can be obtained.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning units are arranged in the upper and lower stages, so that the entire apparatus can be downsized and the installation area of the apparatus can be reduced. Further, the transfer distance of the transfer robot for transferring the substrate to each cleaning unit can be reduced.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the upper cleaning unit and the lower cleaning unit are cleaning units that carry out different cleaning methods, different cleaning steps can be performed in a substrate cleaning apparatus having a small size. The substrate can be cleaned via the.

According to the invention of claim 3, in the upper cleaning unit, the drive mechanism is arranged above the substrate holding mechanism,
Since the drive mechanism of the lower cleaning unit is arranged below the substrate holding mechanism, the substrate holding mechanisms of the upper and lower cleaning units are arranged close to each other, which reduces the moving distance of the substrate and the stroke of the hand. It is possible to transfer the substrate between both cleaning units with a small transfer robot having a small size.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the substrate is carried into one of the upper and lower cleaning units by the transfer robot, and when the cleaning is completed, the substrate is transferred into the other cleaning unit. With this substrate cleaning apparatus, cleaning can be automatically performed through the upper and lower cleaning units.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, one of the upper and lower cleaning units is a roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit and the other is a pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit, thereby cleaning the substrate compactly constructed. After the roll / roll scrubber cleaning with an apparatus, the pencil scrub cleaning can be performed, and after the cleaning is completed, spin drying can be performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an upper stage cleaning unit of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of a lower stage cleaning unit of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a transfer robot of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state where the upper cleaning unit of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is flipped up.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG.

7 is a sectional view taken along line FF of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an overall configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Upper cleaning unit 11 Substrate holding mechanism 12 Drive mechanism 16 entrance / exit 17 open / close gate 18 Chuck Roller 22 Upper roll sponge 23 Lower roll sponge 36 Top cleaning liquid nozzle 37 Lower cleaning liquid nozzle 38 Upper wash cup 41 Cleaning liquid drain pan 50 Lower cleaning unit 51 hinge 52 Substrate holding mechanism 53 Drive mechanism 60 entrance / exit 61 Open / close gate 62 Wafer chuck wheel 63 nails 64 claw drive cylinder 66 Lower Wash Cup 67 Drain pan for cleaning liquid 68 pencil sponge 74 Washing arm 81 Top cleaning liquid nozzle 82 Lower cleaning liquid nozzle 83 Positioning stopper 84 Drainage duct 90 transfer robot

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification code FI theme code (reference) H01L 21/68 H01L 21/68 A

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning unit having a substrate holding mechanism for holding a substrate and a drive mechanism for driving the substrate holding mechanism, which are arranged in two stages, upper and lower. 2. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper cleaning unit and the lower cleaning unit are cleaning units that perform different cleaning methods. 3. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper cleaning unit arranges the driving mechanism above the substrate holding mechanism, and the lower cleaning unit lowers the driving mechanism below the substrate holding mechanism. A substrate cleaning apparatus characterized in that the substrate cleaning apparatus is arranged in. 4. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a transfer robot, wherein the transfer robot carries the substrate into one of the cleaning units of the upper and lower cleaning units and, when cleaning is completed, the transfer robot. The substrate cleaning apparatus is characterized in that it is carried into the other cleaning unit by. 5. The roll / roll scrubber cleaning unit according to claim 2, wherein either one of the upper and lower cleaning units includes two roll-type cleaning tools for cleaning both surfaces of the substrate, respectively. The other is a pencil scrub cleaning / spin dry unit that includes a pencil type cleaning tool and spin-drys the cleaned substrate by the drive mechanism.