JP2003092344A - Substrate holding mechanism, substrate processor using the same and substrate holding method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide substrate holding mechanism/method without the occurrence of dust due to wear or the fluctuation of a substrate holding position and to provide a substrate processor using them. SOLUTION: An edge holding chuck holding and rotating a wafer W is provided with sandwiching members 311 to 314. The sandwiching members 311 to 314 are provided with a supporting part 321 supporting the lower face of the edge of the wafer W, and a cylindrical regulation part 322 regulating the end of the wafer W. The supporting part 321 is provided with a reception part 11 fixed at the upper end of the base 320, and a sphere 12 which is held by the reception part 11 so that it can freely rotate. The edge holding chuck is rotated and the wafer W is rotated. Processing liquid is supplied to the wafer W and the wafer W is processed. When the wafer W by the sandwiched by the members 311 to 314 is released or relieved in the process, the relative rotation of the wafer W with respect to the edge holding chuck is caused. The sphere 12 rotates in accordance with the relative rotation of the wafer W.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer,
Etching liquids and the like are applied to various types of substrates such as glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices and glass substrates for PDP (plasma display panel), optical disc substrates, magnetic disc substrates, magneto-optical disc substrates and photomask substrates The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing with a processing liquid, a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate holding method that can be used in such a substrate processing apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, after a metal thin film such as a copper thin film is formed on the entire surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as "wafer") and the peripheral end face (in some cases, the back face). In some cases, a process of removing an unnecessary portion of the metal thin film by etching is performed. For example, since the copper thin film for forming the wiring has only to be formed in the element formation region on the front surface of the wafer, the peripheral portion of the front surface of the wafer (for example, a portion having a width of about 5 mm from the peripheral edge of the wafer), the back surface and the peripheral portion. The copper thin film formed on the end face is unnecessary. Not only that, copper or copper ions on the back surface and the peripheral edge surface contaminate the hand of the substrate transfer robot provided in the substrate processing apparatus, and this contamination is transferred to another substrate held by the hand. Cause problems.

A substrate processing apparatus for etching and removing the copper thin film on the peripheral edge and the peripheral edge of the wafer is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-104171. In one substrate processing apparatus disclosed in this publication, the wafer is held and rotated by a vacuum adsorption type spin chuck in order to process the peripheral end surface of the wafer over the entire circumference, and the wafer is rotated toward the peripheral portion thereof. An etching solution is supplied. However, with this configuration, since the back surface of the wafer cannot be processed, it is necessary to transfer the wafer to another chamber and perform the back surface processing of the wafer afterwards.

Therefore, in another substrate processing apparatus disclosed in the above publication, the wafer is rotated by a sandwich type spin chuck that sandwiches the peripheral edge surface of the wafer by a plurality of substrate sandwiching members, and the surface and the peripheral edge of the wafer are rotated. The processing for the part and the back surface is achieved in one chamber. In this substrate processing apparatus, in order to realize the processing over the entire peripheral portion of the wafer, the clamping by the substrate clamping member is released or relaxed during the rotation of the spin chuck, whereby the wafer clamping position by the substrate clamping member is achieved. A configuration is adopted that shifts in the circumferential direction.

FIG. 10 is a front view showing a simplified structure of the substrate holding member. A plate-like arm 2 is horizontally fixed to the upper end of the support shaft 1. A support projection 3 for supporting the peripheral edge of the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W is provided on the rotation axis of the support shaft 1 in the arm 2, and the arm 2 is located at a position displaced from the rotation axis of the support shaft 1. Is provided with a contact pin 4 that abuts on the peripheral end surface of the wafer W.
By rotating the support shaft 1 around its axis,
The contact pin 4 can be pressed against the peripheral end surface of the wafer W, or the pressing force can be released. By arranging a plurality of such substrate holding members at different positions in the circumferential direction of the wafer, the wafer W can be held and the holding can be released or relaxed.

However, even if only one of the plurality of substrate holding members is driven and the remaining substrate holding members are fixed, the wafer W is held and the holding is released or relaxed. You can When the holding of the wafer W by the substrate holding member is temporarily released or alleviated during rotation of the spin chuck, particularly during acceleration or deceleration, the wafer W slides on the support protrusions 3 and moves relative to the spin chuck. Rotate to. As a result, the holding position of the wafer W by the substrate holding member changes.

[0007]

However, when the wafer W slides on the support protrusions 3, the support protrusions 3 are worn. As a result, dust is generated and the processing quality of the wafer W deteriorates, and the support height of the wafer W varies.
For example, by supplying the etching liquid from the back surface of the wafer W,
In some cases, the peripheral portion of the front surface of the wafer W is processed by the etching liquid that wraps around the peripheral edge surface of the wafer W to the upper surface.
In this structure, in addition, in order to control the amount of the etchant sneaking in, a blocking plate that covers almost the entire surface of the wafer W is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the upper surface of the wafer W, and an inert gas is passed from the central region toward the peripheral region. (Nitrogen gas etc.) may be ejected.

In such a case, if the supporting height of the wafer W changes, the amount of the etching solution that wraps around also changes, and the processing width of the peripheral portion of the front surface of the wafer W varies, so that good processing cannot be performed. There is a risk. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems, and to provide a substrate holding mechanism and a substrate holding method that do not cause dust generation or substrate holding position fluctuation due to wear, and a substrate processing apparatus using the same. Is to provide.

[0009]

The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object is a substrate holding mechanism (221) which rotates while holding a substrate (W), Substrate holding members (311 to 314) that come into contact with the peripheral end faces of the substrate and hold the substrate, and a holding member drive mechanism that releases or relaxes the holding of at least one substrate holding member of the plurality of substrate holding members. (34
5, 347) and at least three rolling supports (12) that are in contact with one surface of the substrate to support the substrate and can roll according to the movement of the substrate. . In addition, the alphanumeric characters in the parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies in this section below.

According to the above construction, when the holding member driving mechanism releases or relaxes the holding of the substrate to change the rotational position of the substrate with respect to the substrate holding mechanism, the rolling support member supporting the substrate is the substrate. Rolls with the movement of. That is, the rotational position of the substrate can be changed without causing wear of the rolling support. As a result, dust generation or substrate holding position fluctuation due to wear does not occur, so that the substrate can be favorably processed.

The rolling support may be a spherical body or a roller-like body that rolls along the moving direction (rotational direction) of the substrate. According to a second aspect of the present invention, the rolling support is a trifluorinated ethylene chloride resin (PCTF).
E), ethylene tetrafluoride resin (PTFE), polyether-etherketone resin (PEEK) and vinylidene difluoride (PVDF). Claim 1
It is the substrate holding mechanism described.

These resin materials may be used properly according to the type of processing liquid used for processing the substrate. According to a third aspect of the present invention, a substrate holding mechanism (221) according to the first or second aspect, a rotation drive mechanism (222) for rotating the substrate holding mechanism, and a substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism are processed. A substrate processing apparatus including a processing liquid supply mechanism (223, 225, 30) for supplying a liquid.

With this configuration, the substrate can be treated with the treatment liquid, and at that time, the entire peripheral edge surface can be treated by changing the clamping position of the peripheral edge surface of the substrate by the substrate clamping member. . Further, since dust generation or variation in the substrate holding position due to abrasion does not occur, the substrate can be favorably processed. According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the control for releasing or relaxing the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding member by controlling the holding member driving mechanism while the substrate holding mechanism is being rotated by the rotation driving mechanism. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means (400).

With this structure, the substrate holding position by the substrate holding member can be changed without stopping the rotation of the substrate. According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the control means controls the holding member drive mechanism so that the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding member is released or alleviated when the rotation of the substrate holding mechanism is accelerated or decelerated. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is a substrate processing apparatus.

In this structure, the clamping of the substrate clamping member is released or relieved when the rotation of the substrate holding mechanism is accelerated or decelerated, so that the inertial force acting on the substrate is utilized to adjust the rotational position of the substrate with respect to the substrate clamping member. Relative displacement can be generated. This makes it possible to effectively change the holding position of the board by the board holding member. The invention according to claim 6 is characterized in that the processing liquid supply mechanism supplies the processing liquid to the peripheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism. The described substrate processing apparatus.

With this configuration, the peripheral edge of the substrate can be processed (preferably the peripheral edge is selectively processed). For example, by supplying an etching solution to the peripheral portion of the substrate, it is possible to perform a bevel etching process for selectively removing the thin film on the peripheral portion of the substrate. The invention according to claim 7 further comprises a blocking plate (250) which can be arranged in the vicinity of the substrate held by the substrate holding member so as to cover substantially the entire region of the substrate in a non-contact state. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 3 to 6.

According to this structure, by disposing the blocking plate in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate in a non-contact state, it is possible to control the processing width of the peripheral portion of the substrate and to prevent the processing liquid droplets from adhering to the surface of the substrate. Alternatively, the space near the surface of the substrate can be limited. In this case, since there is no change in the substrate processing position due to wear of the member, it is possible to prevent a change in the distance between the substrate and the blocking plate. Therefore, the action of the blocking plate can be effectively exerted, and the substrate processing can be favorably performed.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding member (3) for holding the substrate by abutting the peripheral end surface of the substrate (W).
11-314), and a substrate holding mechanism (221) that holds the substrate by abutting one surface of the substrate and supporting the substrate, and a rolling support (12) capable of rolling along with the movement of the substrate. A method, wherein the substrate is sandwiched by the plurality of substrate sandwiching members, the substrate is supported by the plurality of rolling supports, and the substrate is sandwiched by the substrate sandwiching member, and A substrate holding method comprising: a step of rotating the substrate holding mechanism while supporting the substrate by a rolling support; and a step of temporarily releasing or relaxing the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding member. is there.

By this method, it is possible to obtain the same effect as that of the invention of claim 1. Further, the position where the substrate is clamped by the substrate clamping member can be changed by temporarily releasing or relaxing the clamping of the substrate by the substrate clamping member while rotating the substrate.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view for explaining the structure of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus is capable of simultaneously removing the thin film formed on the back surface of the wafer W and the thin films formed on the peripheral portion and the end surface of the front surface of the wafer W. This substrate processing apparatus is equipped with a wafer W
Edge holding chuck 2 which holds the wafer W substantially horizontally and rotates about a vertical axis passing through the substantially center of the held wafer W.
21 is provided in a processing cup (not shown).

The peripheral edge holding chuck 221 is adapted to rotate by being coupled to a drive shaft of a motor 222 as a rotary drive mechanism. A drive shaft of the motor 222 is a hollow shaft, and a back surface rinse nozzle 223 capable of supplying pure water or an etching liquid is inserted therein. The back surface rinse nozzle 223 is a back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221.
It has a discharge port at a position close to the center, and has a form of a central axis nozzle that supplies pure water or an etching solution from this discharge port toward the center of the back surface of the wafer W. Pure water or an etching solution is supplied to the back surface rinse nozzle 223 at a required timing via a pure water supply valve 201 connected to a pure water supply source or an etching solution supply valve 202 connected to an etching solution supply source. It has become so.

A swing drive mechanism 233 for swinging a swing arm 232 having an edge rinse nozzle 225 attached to its tip is provided on the side of the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. The swing arm 232 is a swing drive mechanism 233.
By being horizontally swung by the edge rinse nozzle 225 above the peripheral edge holding chuck 221.
Moves along an arc trajectory along a horizontal plane. As a result, the edge rinse nozzle 225 has a home position on the side of the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 and a processing position for supplying pure water or an etching solution to the surface (upper surface) of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Can be displaced between. When removing an unnecessary thin film on the peripheral portion of the surface of the wafer W, the edge rinse nozzle 225 is provided so that the etching liquid can be supplied to the boundary position between the central region where the thin film should be left and the peripheral region where the thin film should be removed. The position of is determined.

The edge rinse nozzle 225 is supplied with pure water or an etching solution at a required timing via a pure water supply valve 203 connected to a pure water supply source or an etching solution supply valve 204 connected to an etching solution supply source. It will be supplied by. The swing drive mechanism 233
A rotary lifting shaft 234 having a swing arm 232 fixed to the upper end.
And holds the rotary lifting shaft 234 so that it can be raised and lowered, and the rotational force from the motor 235 causes the timing belt 23 to rotate.
The rotary holding cylinder 237 provided via 6 and the like, and the lifting drive mechanism 240 for moving the rotary holding cylinder 237 up and down. The lifting drive mechanism 240 includes a link mechanism 241.
And a motor 24 that gives a driving force to the link mechanism 241.
2 and.

When the link mechanism 241 is driven by the motor 242, the rotary lift shaft 234 moves up and down, and the edge rinse nozzle 225 can move up and down with respect to the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. You can adjust the distance from W. In addition, the motor 235 is normally rotated /
By rotating in the reverse direction, the rotary elevating shaft 234 rotates about the vertical axis, so that the swing arm 232 can be horizontally swung.

A circle having a nozzle mechanism near the center of the lower surface above the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 and capable of supplying pure water or etching liquid toward the center of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Plate-shaped blocking plate 2
50 is provided horizontally. The blocking plate 250 is sized so as to cover substantially the entire upper surface of the wafer W, and is rotatable around the vertical axis near the tip of an arm 270 connected to the lifting drive mechanism 260. It is installed as it is.

The lifting drive mechanism 260 includes a support cylinder 261 and
The support cylinder 261 is provided with a hollow elevating shaft 262 held up and down, and a ball screw mechanism 263 for elevating the elevating shaft 262. Ball screw mechanism 263
The motor 263c connected to the screw shaft 263b of the
By reversing, the lifting shaft 262 moves up and down, and the arm 270 attached to the tip end of the lifting shaft 262 moves up and down. Reference numeral 267 is a bellows for preventing intrusion of pure water or an etching solution.

A rotating shaft 271 is inserted through the elevating shaft 262. The rotating shaft 271 is rotatably held by bearings 272 and 273 arranged at the upper end and the lower end of the elevating shaft 262, respectively. The lower end of the rotary shaft 271 is coupled to the rotary shaft of the motor 275 via the coupling 274. In addition, at the upper end of the rotating shaft 271,
The pulley 276 is fixed, and this pulley 276
A timing belt 277 arranged in the inner space of the arm 270 is wrapped around the belt. The timing belt 277 is also wound around a pulley 252 fixed to the rotary shaft 251 of the blocking plate 250. Therefore, when the motor 275 is rotationally driven, this rotation is transmitted to the blocking plate 250 via the rotary shaft 271 and the timing belt 277, and the blocking plate 250 rotates (rotates) around the vertical axis. In this way, the rotary drive mechanism for the blocking plate 250 is configured.

When the pure water or the etching liquid is supplied to the wafer W, the blocking plate 250 is stopped and is in the upper position shown in the drawing. Then, when the wafer W treated with pure water or the etching liquid is dried, the elevating and lowering drive mechanism 260 lowers the arm 270,
The blocking plate 250 is brought close to the surface (upper surface) of the wafer W held by the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, and covers almost the entire area of the wafer W in a non-contact state. Along with this, the motor 275
The blocking plate 250 is rotated in the same direction as the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 in the vicinity of the wafer W at substantially the same speed as the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. In this state, nitrogen gas is supplied to the limited space between the wafer W and the blocking plate 250 from near the center of the blocking plate 250. In this way, the peripheral edge holding chuck 221
The surface of the wafer W can be efficiently dried by forming a nitrogen atmosphere in the vicinity of the surface of the wafer W in parallel with the water draining by the rotation of. Further, since the blocking plate 250 is rotated in synchronization with the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, the turbulence of the air flow in the processing chamber is prevented.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the details of the configuration related to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. FIG.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of a drive mechanism for driving the peripheral portion holding chuck 221. In the right half of FIG. 2, a rotating portion rotated by the motor 222 is shown by a solid line, and a fixed portion that does not rotate is shown by a chain double-dashed line. The peripheral edge holding chuck 221 includes a disc-shaped upper cover 281 and a disc-shaped lower cover 28.
2, and these are superposed and fixed to each other by a bolt 283 provided on the peripheral portion, a bolt 284 provided on the inner side, and the like.

An insertion hole is formed in the central portion of each of the upper cover 281 and the lower cover 282, and the back surface rinse nozzle 223 penetrates through this insertion hole. That is, the back surface rinse nozzle 223 is used for the peripheral edge holding chuck 2
The wafer W held by the wafer 21 has a discharge part 226 having a discharge port 226a at a position close to the center (center of rotation), and a pipe part 227 to which the discharge part 226 is attached at the upper end. The upper surface of the ejection portion 226 is a conical surface that descends toward the periphery, and the ejection port 226a is provided at a position corresponding to the apex thereof. The upper part of the discharge part 226 projects outward, and prevents pure water or etching liquid from entering the insertion hole in the center of the upper cover 281. The pipe portion 227 is inserted into the hollow drive shaft 230 of the motor 222 while being held by the holding cylinder 228.

On the inner wall of the drive shaft 230 of the motor 222,
A protective tube 229 made of resin is arranged between the holding tube 228 and the holding tube 228. A rotary cylinder 231 arranged outside the protective tube 229 is fixed to the upper portion of the drive shaft 230 by a bolt 288. The upper end of the rotary cylinder 231 has a lower cover 2
It is in contact with the lower surface of the upper cover 281 through the insertion hole in the center of 82, and is fixed to the upper cover 281 by bolts 285. Reference numeral 286 is a cover for preventing the processing liquid (pure water or etching liquid) from entering. The rotary cylinder 231 and the protection tube 229 are fixed by an embedded bolt 287 so as not to rotate relative to each other. 289 is
It is the main body (non-rotating portion) of the motor 222.

The case 290 is the main body 28 of the motor 222.
9 and is fixed to the main body 289 with bolts 303 and the like. A lip seal 291 that is in sliding contact with the peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 231 is arranged at a position facing the rotary cylinder 231 in the upper part of the case 290. A first sliding member 301 fixed to the lower cover 282 and a second sliding member 302 fixed to the upper portion of the case 290 are slidably contacted between the lower cover 282 and the upper portion of the case 290. The shaped seal 300 is interposed, which prevents the processing liquid from entering the mechanical portion inside the seal 300.

The lip seal 291 is in contact with the entire circumference of the rotary cylinder 231 and forms an annular space 292 with the peripheral surface of the rotary cylinder 231. An air passage 29 extending in the vertical direction (axial direction) is formed in the thick portion of the rotary cylinder 231.
3 is formed, and the air passage 293 is formed in the rotary cylinder 2
The annular space 292 of the lip seal 291 communicates with the through hole 294 extending in the radial direction of 31. This communication state is maintained regardless of the rotational position of the rotary cylinder 231.

An air supply passage 295 for supplying air to the space 292 is formed inside the lip seal 291. The air supply passage 295 is connected to the air supply pipe 296. An air supply valve 297 is interposed in the air supply pipe 296 so that compressed air from an air supply source can be supplied as needed. On the other hand, in the rotary cylinder 231, a through hole 298 extending in the radial direction is formed at a position facing the lower cover 282.
The through hole 298 is provided in the air passage 293 of the rotary cylinder 231.
And the air passage 299 formed in the lower cover 282. This air passage 299 is provided with an air cylinder 347.
(See FIG. 4).

The peripheral edge of the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 is
As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of (four in this embodiment) holding members 311, 312, are provided at intervals in the circumferential direction.
313 and 314 are arranged. Of these, three sandwiching members 311, 312, 31 arranged at substantially equal angular intervals.
Reference numeral 3 denotes a position regulating holding member that regulates the end surface of the wafer W at a fixed position during processing of the wafer W, and the remaining one holding member 314 is pressed against the end surface of the wafer W during processing of the wafer W. It is a pressing clamping member that applies a force and cooperates with the position regulating clamping members 311 to 313 to clamp the wafer W. In addition, in FIG. 4, the upper cover 281 is shown.
The lower cover 282 is seen through.

As shown in the enlarged view of FIG. 5 (a), the holding members 311 to 314 support the wafer W on the plate-shaped base 320 and support 321 for supporting the lower surface of the peripheral edge of the wafer W.
And a columnar regulating portion 322 for regulating the end face of the. The support portion 321 has the receiving portion 11 fixed to the upper end of the base portion 320, and the spherical body 12 rotatably held by the receiving portion 11. Each of the receiving portion 11 and the sphere 12 is made of, for example, the same or different resin material having chemical resistance. Specifically, PC
One or more chemical-resistant resin materials such as TFE, PTFE, PEEK, and PVDF may be used depending on the chemical solution used.

As shown in a further enlarged view in FIG. 5B, the receiving portion 11 has a frustoconical recess 100, which is opposed to the wafer W and has an upwardly opening truncated cone shape. The recess 100 is formed such that the diameter D of the opening 101 is smaller than the diameter d of the spherical body 12 and the depth H from the upper surface is shallower than the diameter d of the spherical body 12. The spherical body 12 is housed in the recess 100 in a non-removable manner by elastically deforming the receiving portion 11 by pressing it strongly against the opening 101 of the receiving portion 11. In this state, the sphere 12 has the recess 10 of the receiving portion 11.
You can roll freely within 0.

Base portion 320 of the holding members 311 to 314
A round shaft 323 is integrally provided on a lower surface of the round shaft 323. The round shaft 323 is provided on the upper cover 281 and the lower cover 282.
It is rotatably attached (see FIG. 2). As a result, the sandwiching members 311 to 314 are rotatable about the vertical axis passing through the center of the support portion 321. Position regulating clamping members 311 to 313 and pressing clamping member 314
Have almost the same configuration, but the lever 32 is attached to the base portion 320 of the position regulating holding members 311 to 313.
4 (see FIG. 4) is integrally provided,
No such lever is provided on the base portion 320 of the pressing holding member 314. This lever 324
When the wafer W is handed over, it is operated by an air cylinder (not shown), and also used when the operator manually releases the holding of the wafer W.

The round shaft 323 formed on the lower surface of the base portion 320 of the position regulating sandwiching members 311 to 313 has a substantially L-shape in plan view in the accommodation space 310 between the upper cover 281 and the lower cover 282. Lever 331 is fixed. One end of this lever 331 has a link 33
This link 33 is rotatably connected to one end of
The other end of 2 is rotatably connected to the free end of the lever 333. The base end portion of the lever 333 is fixed to a rotating shaft 335 (see FIG. 2) that penetrates the lower cover 282 in a freely rotatable state. The link mechanism 330 including the levers 331 and 333 and the link 332 is housed in the housing space 310 between the upper and lower covers 281 and 282.

Another lever 336 is further fixed to the lower surface of the rotating shaft 335. The tip of the lever 336 is attached to the donut plate-shaped connecting member 337 and the pin 338.
It is rotatably connected by. This connecting member 33
7, the distal end portions of the levers 336 corresponding to the three position regulating sandwiching members 311 to 313 are commonly connected at positions spaced in the circumferential direction. Then, the connecting member 337
Is an annular guide groove 3 formed on the lower surface of the lower cover 282.
39 (see FIG. 2), it can be rotationally displaced in the circumferential direction.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view in which the structure in the vicinity of the connecting member 337 is extracted and drawn. One end of each of the three tension coil springs 340 is hooked on each of the three pins 338 provided upright on the lower surface of the connecting member 337. The other ends of these coil springs 340 are hooked on three spring hooking pins 341 provided upright on the lower surface of the lower cover 282. As a result, the lever 336 is
It is biased clockwise. This direction corresponds to the direction in which the restricting portion 322 of the position restricting sandwiching members 311 to 313 faces the end surface of the wafer W.

Further, the rotation of the lever 336 in the clockwise direction in FIG. 6 is restricted by the stopper 342. As a result, the restricting portion 322 of the position restricting sandwiching members 311 to 313 restricts the end surface of the wafer W at the fixed position in the normal state in which the external force is not applied to the lever 324 of the base part 320. When an external force is applied to the lever 324 of the base portion 320 of any one of the position regulating sandwiching members 311 to 313 to rotate the lever 324 against the spring force of the coil spring 340, the link mechanism 330 and the coupling member 337 work. The three position regulating sandwiching members 311 to 313 are interlocked with each other, and the respective regulating portions 322 are retracted from the end surface of the wafer W. At this time, the support portion 321 is located at the center of rotation and holds the support state of the lower surface of the wafer W. In addition, in FIG.
One lever 336 drawn on the lower side is the lever 324 of the base portion 320 of the position regulating holding members 311 to 313.
It is drawn in the state when it is rotated. However, in reality, the three levers 336 around the connecting member 327 are
They are interlocked by the connecting member 327, and always assume substantially the same state.

When the unprocessed wafer W is loaded into the substrate processing apparatus or the processed wafer W is unloaded from the substrate processing apparatus, the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 and the substrate transfer robot (not shown) are used. It is necessary to transfer the wafer W between them. In this case, the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 is stopped at a predetermined rotation position. At this time, any one of the position regulating holding members 311 to 311
A lever 324 of 333 faces a rod of an air cylinder (not shown) for driving the lever. In this state,
By the rod of the air cylinder, the lever 324 of any one of the position regulating holding members 311 to 313 facing the rod is pushed inward. As a result, the position regulating holding members 311 to 313 are rotated, and the regulating portion 322 is displaced to a position largely retracted from the end surface of the wafer W.
In this state, the transfer robot moves the peripheral part holding chuck 221.
The wafer W is transferred to and from.

The base portion 32 of the pressing holding member 314.
The round shaft 323 on the lower surface of 0 is rotatably attached to the upper cover 281, and as shown in FIG. 4, the lower part thereof has a substantially L-shape so that a large moment is not generated by centrifugal force during rotation. The molded lever 345 is fixed. One end of this lever 345 is attached to the attachment member 34.
6 is connected to the rod 348 of the air cylinder 347. The air cylinder 347 is a so-called single-acting type cylinder, and the compressed air is supplied to the rod 348.
Goes out from the main body 349, and with the release of compressed air,
Due to the action of the built-in spring, the rod 348 moves the main body 34
It is something that you can immerse in 9.

In this embodiment, when the rod 348 is retracted into the main body 349, the base portion 320 of the pressing pinching member 314 is rotated counterclockwise in FIG. 4, and the regulating portion 322 is moved to the end surface of the wafer W. Pressed against.
Further, when the rod 348 advances from the main body 349, the restricting portion 322 of the pressing sandwiching member 314 retracts from the end surface of the wafer W (this state occurs when the wafer W is delivered). The advance of the rod 348 from the main body 349 is
The attachment member 346 is regulated by contacting the stopper 350.

The front end of the main body 349 of the air cylinder 347 is fixed by a bracket 351 and the rear side of the main body 349 is provided with a mounting recess 35 for the holder 352.
It is fitted in 3. An air inlet (not shown) is formed at the rear end of the main body 349, and the holder 352 has an air supply passage 354 so as to communicate with the air inlet.
Are formed. The air supply passage 354 is provided with the above-mentioned air passage 299 formed in the lower cover 282 (see FIG. 2).
Is combined with. Therefore, the compressed air supplied from the air supply source via the air supply valve 297 includes the air supply pipe 296, the air supply passage 295 of the lip seal 291 and the annular space 292, the air passage 293 of the rotary cylinder 231.
The air passage 299 of the lower cover 282 and the holder 35
The air cylinder 347 is sequentially passed through the second air supply passage 354.
Is supplied to. The communication state between the annular space 292 of the lip seal 291 and the air passage 293 of the rotary cylinder 231 is always established regardless of the rotational position of the rotary cylinder 231.
It is possible to supply the compressed air for driving to the air cylinder 347 even while the peripheral portion holding chuck 221 is rotating.

When the compressed air is not supplied to the air cylinder 347, the restricting portion 322 of the pressing pinching member 314 is pressed.
Are pressed against the end surface of the wafer W. At this time, the pressing clamping member 314 clamps the wafer W in cooperation with the position regulating clamping members 311 to 313 that regulate the end surface of the wafer W at a fixed position. In this pinched state, compressed air is supplied to the air cylinder 347 to press the pinching member 31.
The restriction part 322 of No. 4 is released by retreating from the end surface of the wafer W. In the state where the wafer W is released from the holding state, the relative rotation position of the wafer W with respect to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 can be shifted by accelerating or decelerating the rotation of the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Even when the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 is rotating at a constant speed, some liquid such as pure water or an etching liquid is supplied to the front surface (upper surface) or the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W to rotate the wafer W. The wafer W with respect to the peripheral portion holding chuck 221 is also provided by applying a resistance to the wafer W.
The relative rotational position of can be shifted. Therefore, by utilizing these phenomena, the holding members 311 to 311-
If the holding position of the wafer W by 314 is changed during rotation, etching processing or the like can be performed on the entire end surface of the wafer W.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the blocking plate 250. The pulley 252 to which the driving force from the timing belt 277 is applied is fixed to the hollow rotating shaft 251. The rotating shaft 251 is composed of an outer cylinder 255 rotatably held by a holder portion 254 via a pair of bearings 253 and the like, and an inner cylinder 256 fitted in the outer cylinder 255. The holder portion 254 is fixed to the arm 270,
It hangs from its lower surface.

The lower end of the inner cylinder 256 projects downward from the outer cylinder 255 and forms a flange 257 that extends outward of the outer cylinder 255. The blocking plate 250 is fixed to the flange 257 using bolts 258.
An opening 259 communicating with the inner space of the inner cylinder 256 is formed in the center of the blocking plate 250. A mounting block 360 having a through hole 361 formed in the center thereof is fixed to the upper surface of the arm 270 while covering the thinned upper end of the inner cylinder 256 over the entire circumference in a non-contact state.
The mounting block 360 includes a through hole 36 from the side.
A gas passage 362 penetrating to 1 is formed, and a step portion 363 is formed between the gas passage 362 and the through hole 361 on the upper surface thereof. A pipe fitting 364 is provided in the gas passage 362.
Thus, the nitrogen gas supply pipe 365 is connected. Nitrogen gas is supplied to the nitrogen gas supply pipe 365 from a nitrogen gas supply source via a nitrogen gas supply valve 366 at a required timing.

On the other hand, the treatment liquid supply nozzle 370 is inserted into the inner cylinder 256 in a state of not contacting the inner cylinder 256.
More specifically, the treatment liquid supply nozzle 370 is provided in the inner cylinder 25.
6, a pipe portion 371 through which the pipe 6 is inserted, a flange portion 372 formed at the upper end of the pipe portion 371, and the flange portion 372.
Has a step portion 373 formed on the lower surface and a pure water pipe attachment portion 374 formed on the upper surface of the flange portion 372. Then, the step portion 373 is attached to the block 360.
The flange portion 372 is fixed to the upper surface of the mounting block 360 by the bolt 375 in a state in which the flange portion 372 is fitted to the step portion 363 of the inner cylinder 256 and is aligned with the inner cylinder 256, so that the attachment can be achieved. There is. The lower end of the pipe portion 371 has an opening 2 at the center of the blocking plate 250.
59, which is located slightly above 59 and holds the peripheral edge holding chuck 2
The processing liquid (pure water or etching liquid) can be supplied toward the center of the wafer W held by the wafer 21.

One end of a pure water supply pipe 378 is attached to the pure water pipe attaching portion 374. Pure water from a pure water supply source can be supplied to the pure water supply pipe 378 through a pure water supply valve 379, and an etching solution from an etching solution supply source can be supplied through an etching solution supply valve 380. You can do it. The nitrogen gas from the nitrogen gas supply pipe 365 is guided from the gas passage 362 of the mounting block 360 to the gas passage 381 formed between the inner cylinder 256 and the pipe portion 371 of the treatment liquid supply nozzle 370, and is further cut off. Aperture 2 in the center of plate 250
It is blown out from 59 toward the surface of the wafer W.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram for explaining the configuration of the control system of the above substrate processing apparatus. The control device 400 including a microcomputer includes a motor 222 for rotationally driving the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 and an air supply valve 297 for switching the supply of compressed air to the air cylinder 347 incorporated in the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Control. Further, the control device 400 includes a motor 235 for horizontally moving the edge rinse nozzle 225,
Motor 24 for raising and lowering edge rinse nozzle 225
2, pure water supply valve 203 for supplying pure water to the edge rinse nozzle 225, and the edge rinse nozzle 225
The etching solution supply valve 204 for supplying the etching solution to the substrate is controlled. Further, the control device 400 uses the blocking plate 2
The motor 263c of the ball screw mechanism 263 is controlled to raise and lower 50, and the motor 275 is controlled to drive the blocking plate 250 to rotate. Further, the control device 400 controls the pure water supply valve 3 to supply pure water to the treatment liquid supply nozzle 370.
It is controlled by opening / closing 79, and the supply of the etching liquid to the processing liquid supply nozzle 370 is controlled by opening / closing the etching liquid supply valve 380. Further, the control device 400 controls the supply of nitrogen gas to the wafer W by opening and closing the nitrogen gas supply valve 366. Further, the control device 400 includes a pure water supply valve 201 and an etching solution supply valve 202.
Is controlled to control the supply of pure water and the etching liquid to the back surface rinse nozzle 223.

An example of the wafer processing process is as follows. That is, first, a bevel etching process for removing unnecessary thin films on the peripheral portion and the end surface of the wafer W is performed. Simultaneously with or before or after this, the unnecessary thin film on the back surface of the wafer W may be etched. After this bevel etching step, a double-sided cleaning step of cleaning the front surface (upper surface) and the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W with an etching liquid may be performed. Then
A water washing step of washing the front and back surfaces of the wafer W with pure water is performed. Then, finally, a drying process for drying the surface of the wafer W is performed.

In the bevel etching process, the controller 40
0 energizes the motor 222 to hold the peripheral edge holding chuck 22.
1 is rotationally driven, and the wafer W held by this is rotated. On the other hand, the controller 400 controls the motor 235 and the motor 242 to control the edge rinse nozzle 2
25 is guided from the wafer W to a position where the processing liquid is ejected toward a peripheral portion of the wafer W at a predetermined height. After the edge rinse nozzle 225 is properly placed, the controller 4
00 opens the etching solution supply valve 204 to discharge the etching solution from the edge rinse nozzle 225.
At the same time as or just before this, the control device 400
Opens the pure water supply valves 379 and 201 to supply pure water to the center of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W.

In this way, the central region of the surface of the wafer W is protected from corrosion due to the attachment of the mist of the etching liquid. When removing the unnecessary thin film on the back surface of the wafer W, the deionized water supply valve 201 is closed and the etching solution supply valve 202 is opened so that the etching solution is discharged from the back surface rinse nozzle 223 to the center of the back surface of the wafer W. It may be ejected toward Further, when the double-sided cleaning process is performed after the bevel etching process, in the double-sided cleaning process, the control device 400 urges the motor 222 to rotationally drive the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 to hold the wafer W held thereon. Rotate. In this state, the control device 400 opens the etching liquid supply valves 380 and 202. As a result, the etching solution is supplied to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W from the respective centers, and the etching solution is centrifugally applied to the wafer W.
It will spread to the entire front and back. Thus, the double-sided cleaning process is achieved. At this time, the valve 29
7, 203, 204, 379, 366 and 201 are closed. Further, the blocking plate 250 is at an upper position (position shown in FIG. 1) separated from the wafer W.

Here, the bevel etching process will be further described. When the etching liquid is supplied from the edge rinse nozzle 225 for a certain period of time, the controller 40 is operated.
0 opens the air supply valve 297 to open the air cylinder 3
Compressed air for driving is supplied to 47. As a result, the restricting portion 322 of the pressing holding member 314 retracts from the end surface of the wafer W, and the holding state of the wafer W is released. The control device 400 controls the motor 222 in a state where the wafer W is released from the holding state, so that the peripheral portion holding chuck 22 is held.
One rotation is accelerated or decelerated, for example, in the range of 1000 to 1500 rpm. As a result, the wafer W, which is going to continue rotating at a constant speed due to inertia, rotates slower or faster than the peripheral portion holding chuck 221. Therefore, the control device 400 opens the air supply valve 297 only for a fixed time (for example, 1 second), and thereafter, the air supply valve 29
Close 7. As a result, the wafer W rotates relative to the peripheral portion holding chuck 221 and the holding members 311 to 314 are held.
Since the holding position (contact position) of the wafer W is changed from the initial position, the entire area of the end surface of the wafer W can be treated with the etching liquid.

The sphere 1 supporting the wafer W when the wafer W rotates relative to the peripheral portion holding chuck 221.
2 (see FIG. 5) rolls in accordance with the relative rotation of the wafer W. Therefore, since friction does not occur between the sphere 12 and the wafer W, there is no problem of dust generation due to wear of the sphere 12. Further, since the sphere 12 is not worn, the wafer W can be held at a constant height on the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, so that the process can be stabilized and the wafer W can be processed well. it can.

When the holding of the wafer W is released while the etching liquid or pure water is being supplied to the front surface or the back surface of the wafer W, the liquid supplied to the wafer W is the wafer W.
Therefore, the rotational position of the wafer W with respect to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 can be changed without accelerating or decelerating the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Therefore, if either one of the pure water supply to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W and the etching liquid supply to the peripheral portion of the front surface of the wafer W is continued, the peripheral portion holding chuck 221 is accelerated or decelerated. Even if it does not have to, the clamping of the wafer W is only released by the operation of the air cylinder 347.
The holding position of the wafer W can be changed.

In the subsequent water washing step, the control device 400 closes the etching liquid supply valve 204 to stop the etching liquid from the edge rinse nozzle 225, and drives the motors 235 and 242 to make the edge rinse nozzle 225 a peripheral edge. The part holding chuck 221 is evacuated to the side. Then, control device 400 opens the pure water supply valves 379 and 201 to supply pure water to the center of the front and back surfaces of wafer W.

When the washing step is completed in this way, the pure water supply valves 379 and 201 are closed, and the control device 400
The motor 263c is driven to lower the blocking plate 250 to a height near the wafer W, and the motor 275 is driven to rotate the blocking plate 250 at a high speed in the same direction as the rotation direction of the peripheral portion holding chuck 221. At this time, the control device 40
0 rotates the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 at high speed by controlling the motor 222, and the rotation and the blocking plate 25
The rotation of 0 is almost synchronized. Further, the control device 400
Opens the nitrogen gas supply valve 366 to open the shutoff plate 25.
The limited space between 0 and the wafer W is filled with nitrogen gas.

In this way, the water draining and drying by the high speed rotation of the wafer W is efficiently performed in the space filled with nitrogen gas and containing a small amount of oxygen. In this case, the blocking plate 250 is rotated almost in synchronization with the wafer W, so that the turbulence of the air flow in the processing chamber can be prevented, and the processing of the wafer W can be favorably performed. FIG. 9 is an illustrative view for explaining the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 9, portions corresponding to the respective portions shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in those figures.

In this embodiment, the peripheral edge holding chuck 2
In relation to 21, a processing liquid supply nozzle 30 for supplying a processing liquid (mainly an etching liquid) toward the peripheral portion of the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W held and rotated by the peripheral portion holding chuck 221 is provided. Has been. The processing liquid supplied to the peripheral portion of the back surface of the wafer W by the processing liquid supply nozzle 30 is subjected to a centrifugal force, is guided to the peripheral end surface of the wafer W, wraps around the peripheral end surface, and then the upper surface of the wafer W. To the periphery of. At this time, nitrogen gas is ejected from the center of the blocking plate 250, which causes the wafer W and the blocking plate 250.
An air flow that is directed toward the outside of the wafer W is generated between and.

Therefore, the processing liquid that has contributed to the processing of the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W is removed to the outside of the wafer W by the blowing force and the centrifugal force of the nitrogen gas. In this way, the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W can be selectively processed with a desired processing width. Since the pure water is not necessarily supplied to the central portion of the wafer W, the device region on the wafer W is not adversely affected by the supply of the pure water.

While the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the wafer W is being processed, the peripheral edge holding chuck 221 is accelerated or decelerated, and in parallel with this, the clamping of the wafer W by the clamping members 311 to 314 is released for a certain period of time. It As a result, the wafer W rotates relative to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, so that the holding position of the wafer W by the holding members 311 to 314 changes. In this way, the entire area of the peripheral end surface of the wafer W can be processed equally well.

When the wafer W rotates relative to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221, the spherical body 12 (see FIG. 5) supporting the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the wafer W rolls along with the movement of the wafer W. Therefore, since the sphere 12 is not worn, the problem of dust generation and the problem of fluctuation of the holding height of the wafer W do not occur. The processing width at the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W is the processing liquid supply amount from the processing liquid supply nozzle 30,
It is defined by adjusting factors such as the rotation speed of the peripheral portion holding chuck 221, the supply flow rate of nitrogen gas, and the distance between the blocking plate 250 and the wafer W. Among them, the distance between the blocking plate 250 and the wafer W is an important factor, but according to this embodiment, since the holding height of the wafer W does not vary, the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the wafer W is stabilized. It can be processed with a processing width.

Although the two embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be implemented in other forms. For example, in the above embodiment, the lower surface of the wafer W is supported by the sphere 12, but the wafer W
Is relatively rotatable with respect to the peripheral edge holding chuck 221. Therefore, the rollable rolling support member that supports the wafer W only needs to be able to roll along the rotation direction of the wafer W. Therefore, the lower surface of the wafer W may be supported by a roller-shaped member that is arranged so that the axis of rotation of the wafer W is along the axis of rotation and is capable of rolling around the axis. Further, even when the sphere is used as the rolling support, the rolling direction of the sphere may be limited only to the rotation direction of the wafer W.

Further, in the above embodiment, the holding member 314 for pressing is retracted from the end surface of the wafer W to release the holding of the wafer W during the rotation, and the holding position of the wafer W by the holding members 311 to 314. However, the same purpose can be achieved by relaxing the clamping of the wafer W. In this case, for example, a double-acting air cylinder is used instead of the single-acting air cylinder 347 so that the pressing force against the end surface of the wafer W can be adjusted, and the pressing force is weakened. The holding of the wafer W may be relaxed.

Further, in the above embodiment, the blocking plate 250 is used.
It was decided to rotate the wafer with the wafer W.
50 need not be rotated. That is, the blocking plate 250
Does not necessarily have to be rotatable. further,
In the above embodiment, the apparatus for performing the process using the etching liquid on the semiconductor wafer is taken as an example, but the present invention is not limited to the glass substrate for the liquid crystal display device, the glass substrate for the plasma display panel, and the photomask. It can also be applied to an apparatus for performing a peripheral edge etching process on another substrate to be processed (especially in the case of a substantially circular shape) such as a glass substrate for use.

In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view for explaining details of a configuration related to a peripheral edge holding chuck.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view for explaining a configuration of a drive mechanism for driving a peripheral edge holding chuck.

FIG. 4 is a perspective plan view for explaining an internal structure of a peripheral edge holding chuck.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged view for explaining the structure of a holding member.

FIG. 6 is a bottom view in which a configuration in the vicinity of a connecting member is extracted and drawn.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration near a blocking plate.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a control system of the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 9 is an illustrative view for explaining a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a front view schematically showing a conventional example of a substrate holding member.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Receiver 12 spheres 30 Processing liquid supply nozzle 100 recess 101 opening 201 Pure water supply valve 202 Etching liquid supply valve 203 Pure water supply valve 204 Etching liquid supply valve 221 Perimeter holding chuck 222 motor 223 Back rinse nozzle 225 Edge rinse nozzle 226 Discharge part 226a outlet 242 motor 250 blocking plate 251 rotation axis 291 lip seal 292 annular space 293 Air passage 294 through hole 295 Air supply path 296 Air supply pipe 297 Air supply valve 298 through hole 299 air passage 311 to 313 Position Control Clamping Member 314 Clamping member for pressing 320 Base 321 Support 322 Regulatory Department 323 round shaft 345 lever 347 air cylinder 348 rod 349 body 354 Air supply path 364 pipe fitting 365 nitrogen gas supply pipe 366 Nitrogen gas supply valve 370 Processing liquid supply nozzle 378 Pure water supply pipe 379 Pure water supply valve 380 Etching liquid supply valve 381 gas passage 400 control device d Sphere diameter D diameter H depth W wafer

Continued front page    F-term (reference) 4D075 AC78 AC88 AC94 CA47 DB13                       DB14 DC22 DC24 DC27                 4F042 AA02 AA07 AA08 BA05 DF07                       DF11 DF32 EB08 EB11 EB17                 5F031 CA01 CA02 CA05 HA02 HA08                       HA09 HA24 HA27 HA30 HA48                       HA58 HA59 KA02 KA03 LA12                       LA13 LA15 LA16 MA24 PA26                 5F043 AA26 BB18 DD13 EE07 EE35                       FF10 GG02

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A substrate holding mechanism that rotates while holding a substrate, comprising: a plurality of substrate holding members that come into contact with a peripheral end surface of the substrate to hold the substrate; and at least one of the plurality of substrate holding members. A holding member driving mechanism for releasing or relieving the holding of one substrate holding member; and at least three rolling supports that support the substrate by abutting one surface of the substrate and can roll according to the movement of the substrate. Characteristic substrate holding mechanism. 2. The rolling support is formed of one or more resin materials selected from the group including trifluoroethylene chloride resin, tetrafluoroethylene resin, polyether-etherketone resin and vinylidene difluoride. The substrate holding mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the substrate holding mechanism is provided. 3. A substrate holding mechanism according to claim 1, a rotation drive mechanism for rotating the substrate holding mechanism, and a processing liquid supply mechanism for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: 4. A control means for canceling or relaxing the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding member by controlling the holding member driving mechanism while the substrate holding mechanism is being rotated by the rotation driving mechanism. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: 5. The control means controls the holding member drive mechanism so that the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding member is released or eased when the rotation of the substrate holding mechanism is accelerated or decelerated. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided. 6. The substrate according to claim 3, wherein the processing liquid supply mechanism supplies the processing liquid to a peripheral portion of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism. Processing equipment. 7. A blocking plate which can be arranged in the vicinity of the substrate held by the substrate holding member so as to cover substantially the entire region of the substrate in a non-contact state, further comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of 1. 8. A substrate sandwiching member for abutting a peripheral end face of a substrate to sandwich the substrate, and a rolling support member abutting on one surface of the substrate for supporting the substrate and capable of rolling along with the movement of the substrate. A method of holding a substrate by a substrate holding mechanism including: a step of holding the substrate by the plurality of substrate holding members; a step of supporting the substrate by the plurality of rolling supports; A step of holding the substrate by a holding member and rotating the substrate holding mechanism in a state where the substrate is supported by the rolling support, and a step of temporarily releasing or relaxing the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding member. A method for holding a substrate, comprising: