JP2003100853A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate holder which has a high anti-chemical property, strength, and dimensional accuracy, and can be easily manufactured at a low cost. SOLUTION: The substrate holder 4 comprises a support board 11, a back board 19, and a holding section 10. The holding section 10 comprises side arms 12 and 13, a center arm 14, and an arm holding section 18. A core of the side arms 12 and 13, center arm 14, arm holding section 18, and back board 19 is formed of SUS as a base material. The surface of SUS is formed with an alumina ceramic film by flame-coating of alumina ceramic. PFA is molded on the surface of the core of the side arms 12 and 13, center arm 14, arm holding section 18, and back board 19 which is formed with the alumina ceramic film. On the top surface of the side arms 12 and 13 and center arm 14, substrate supporting recesses 15, 16, and 17 are formed of the molded PFA to hold a substrate 100.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A substrate processing apparatus is used to perform various processes on substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, glass substrates for photomasks, and substrates for optical disks.

As one of the substrate processing apparatuses, there is a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate using a cleaning liquid. In the substrate cleaning device, a plurality of substrates are cleaned at one time. Therefore, the substrate cleaning apparatus is provided with a substrate holder that holds a plurality of substrates at once.

This substrate holder is used for holding one or a plurality of substrates in an upright posture and parallel to each other and immersing them in a cleaning liquid filled in a processing bath. As described above, since the substrate holder has to hold a plurality of substrates at once and soak it in the cleaning liquid, the substrate holder provided in the substrate cleaning apparatus generally has chemical resistance and strength (rigidity). Quartz materials, which are high in quality, are mainly used.

However, since this quartz material has a low chemical resistance to chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid and sulfuric acid used as a cleaning liquid, Teflon (registered trademark) (PTFE; Fluorine (ethylene) film is coated, and the surface of the quartz material is PF with high chemical resistance.
A (tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) film is often coated.

Further, when the strength (rigidity) is allowed as a material for the substrate holder, PEEK (polyetheretherketone) or the like, which is inferior in strength to quartz material but is superior in chemical resistance, is used. Muku wood (bare wood) may also be used.

[0007]

However, in a conventional substrate holder made of a quartz material, the machinability of the quartz material is very poor, and baking and heat treatment are required, so that dimensional accuracy must be maintained. Is very difficult. Further, since the quartz material has a property of being easily broken due to its high brittleness, it needs to be handled carefully.

Further, when the surface of the quartz material is coated with the Teflon film, the Teflon film is not formed uniformly, so that it becomes difficult to secure the dimensional accuracy of the substrate holder. Then, in order to secure the dimensional accuracy of the substrate holder, it may be necessary to add a step of correcting the thickness of the Teflon film.

Further, when a substrate holder made of a quartz material coated with a Teflon film is used, the Teflon film may be separated from the quartz material by coming into contact with a high temperature cleaning liquid.

In a substrate holder made of PEEK (polyether ether ketone), the strength (rigidity) of PEEK is low, so that the number of substrates to be transported or the substrate weight is limited. Attempting to remove this restriction increases the size of the substrate holder itself and the foot space of the substrate cleaning apparatus.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate holder that has high chemical resistance, strength and dimensional accuracy and can be easily manufactured at low cost.

[0012]

A substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, and includes a processing liquid storage section for storing a processing liquid and a substrate for holding the processing liquid. A substrate holder that is immersed in the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid storage portion, wherein the substrate holder has a core formed of a metal material, and at least the portion of the core that comes into contact with the treatment liquid is covered with a fluororesin layer. It was done.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the processing liquid is stored in the processing liquid storage portion, the substrate is held by the substrate holder, and the substrate is immersed in the processing liquid in the processing liquid storage portion.

In this case, since the core of the substrate holder is made of a metal material, high strength can be obtained. This improves the handleability of the substrate holder itself, and relaxes the restrictions on the substrate weight and the number of substrates when holding the substrates. Further, since the metal material has high workability, the dimensional accuracy is high and the processing cost can be reduced. Further, since the portion that comes into contact with the treatment liquid is covered with the fluororesin layer, the chemical resistance becomes high. Further, since the adhesion of the fluororesin layer to the metal material is good, the fluororesin layer does not peel off from the core. Further, since the fluororesin layer can be uniformly formed on the surface of the metal material, the step of correcting the film thickness of the fluororesin layer is not necessary. Further, since the surface of the metal material is covered with the fluororesin layer, it is possible to prevent damage to the substrate and generation of particles when the substrate is held.

As a result, a substrate processing apparatus having a substrate holder having high chemical resistance, strength, and dimensional accuracy and which can be easily manufactured at low cost is realized.

A substrate processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, in which a ceramic coating is formed on the surface of the core.

In this case, even when the substrate holder comes into contact with the processing liquid, since the ceramic coating is formed on the surface of the core of the substrate holder, the metallic material is not contained in the processing liquid from the core of the substrate holder. It can be prevented from eluting.

A substrate processing apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the ceramic coating contains alumina.

In this case, even when the substrate holder comes into contact with the processing liquid, since the alumina ceramic coating is formed on the surface of the core of the substrate holder, the metal core is added to the processing liquid from the core of the substrate holder. Can be sufficiently prevented from eluting.

A substrate processing apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the second or third aspect of the present invention, wherein the ceramic coating is formed by thermal spraying.

In this case, the ceramic coating can be easily formed on the surface of the core made of a metal material.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention is the first to the first aspects.
In the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the fourth invention, the fluororesin layer has a substrate holding groove for holding the substrate.

In this case, the substrate is held by inserting the edge of the substrate into the substrate holding groove of the fluororesin layer. Since the fluororesin layer is non-adhesive and has a low friction coefficient, it is possible to sufficiently prevent damage to the substrate and generation of particles even when the substrate is held.

A substrate processing apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the first to the first aspects.
In the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the fifth invention, the fluororesin layer is formed of tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer or polytetrafluoroethylene.

In this case, the tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer or polytetrafluoroethylene has semipermanent weather resistance, heat resistance, high chemical resistance to inorganic and organic chemicals, and surface energy. It is small, non-adhesive, and has a low coefficient of friction, so it has sufficient chemical resistance against various chemicals, and even when the substrate is held, it may damage the substrate and generate particles. It can be sufficiently prevented.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention is the first to the third aspects.
In the structure of the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the sixth invention, the metal material contains one or more metals selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, iron, aluminum and titanium.

In this case, the substrate holder has sufficient strength. In particular, when aluminum or titanium is used as the metal material, the weight of the substrate holder can be reduced. Thereby, the force for driving the substrate holder in the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced, so that the running cost of the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced.

[0028]

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line XX of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. The substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment is a substrate processing apparatus that performs a cleaning process using a cleaning liquid on a substrate.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the substrate processing apparatus includes a processing tank 1, a substrate holder 4, a lifting shaft 5, a drive robot 6 and a housing 7.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the processing tank 1 is filled with the cleaning liquid 2. As the cleaning liquid 2, hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid or the like is used. A substrate holder 4 that holds one or a plurality of substrates 100 in an upright posture and in parallel is disposed above the processing bath 1 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. The substrate holder 4 is attached to the drive robot 6 via the lifting shaft 5. The drive robot 6 is
The substrate holder 4 is driven in the up-down direction via the lifting shaft 5 as shown by an arrow Y. The drive robot 6 is housed in the housing 7.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus, the driving robot 6 immerses the substrate 100 in the cleaning liquid 2 to perform the cleaning process. When performing this cleaning process, the substrate holder 4
Contact the cleaning liquid 2. Next, details of the substrate holder 4 that comes into contact with the cleaning liquid 2 will be described.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the substrate holder 4 of the substrate processing apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The substrate holder 4 shown in FIG.
A back plate 19 and a holder 10 are provided. The holding unit 10 includes side arms 12 and 13, a center arm 14, and an arm holding unit 18.

As shown in FIG. 3, a support plate 11 is horizontally attached to the upper end of a vertically movable shaft 5.
A back plate 19 is attached to one end surface of the support plate 11 so as to extend vertically downward. At the lower end of this back plate 19,
The holding unit 10 is attached. The side arm 12 of the holding portion 10 extends horizontally from one side of the lower end of the back plate 19, the side arm 13 extends horizontally from the other side of the lower end of the back plate 19, and the center arm 14 extends from the back plate 19. Extends horizontally from the center of the bottom edge of the. The side arms 12 and 13 and the center arm 14 are arranged parallel to each other, and an arm holding portion 18 is attached to the tips of the side arms 12 and 13 and the center arm 14. A plurality of substrate holding grooves 15, 16 and 17 are formed on the upper surfaces of the side arms 12 and 13 and the center arm 14 at equal intervals to hold the substrate. Then, the outer peripheral ends of the substrates 100 are inserted into the substrate holding grooves 15, 16 and 17, and the plurality of substrates 100 are held in an upright posture and in parallel.

FIG. 4 shows a substrate holder 4 of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.
5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cross section in a direction along the center arm 14 of FIG. 5, and FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cross section in a direction perpendicular to the center arm 14 of the substrate holder 4 of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. is there.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cores of the side arms 12 and 13, the center arm 14, the arm holder 18 and the back plate 19 which form the substrate holder 4 are SU.
It is formed by using S (stainless steel) 60 as a base material.
An alumina ceramic coating (not shown) is formed on the surface of these SUS 60 by CVD (chemical vapor deposition) spraying of alumina ceramic (Al ₂ O ₃ ).

Here, the CVD spraying means that a raw material gas which does not react at room temperature is flown on a high temperature base material and a reaction product is formed into a film on the surface of the base material by a chemical reaction such as decomposition reduction, oxidation and substitution. It is a vapor deposition method of depositing or condensing.

Next, PF is formed on the surfaces of the side arms 12 and 13, the center arm 14, the arm holding portion 18 and the back plate 19 on which the alumina ceramic coating is formed.
A (tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer) 50 is molded. PF
A has semipermanent weather resistance, heat resistance, chemical resistance to inorganic and organic chemicals, has a small surface energy, is non-adhesive, and has a low friction coefficient.

Further, on the upper surface of the side arm 12, a substrate holding groove 15 for holding the substrate 100 by the molded PFA 50 is formed.
On the upper surface of 3, the substrate 1 is formed by the molded PFA 50.
A substrate holding groove 16 for holding 00 is formed, and a substrate holding groove 17 for holding the substrate 100 by the molded PFA 50 is formed on the upper surface of the center arm 14. A plurality of holes for reducing the weight of the substrate holder 4 itself are formed in the back plate 19, and the PFA 50 is also embedded in some holes.

As described above, since the alumina ceramic coating is formed on the surface of SUS60, which is the core material of the substrate holder 4 by CVD of alumina ceramic, the substrate holder 4 is a cleaning liquid containing hydrofluoric acid or the like. Even when it comes into contact with liquid 2, it is possible to prevent metal ions from being eluted from the SUS 60 of the substrate holder 4 into the cleaning liquid 2. Also, SUS
Since 60 has high workability, dimensional accuracy is high and processing cost can be reduced. Furthermore, PFA for SUS60
Since the adhesion of 50 is good, the PFA 50 does not peel off from the core of the substrate holder 4. Also, SUS60
Since the PFA 50 can be uniformly formed on the surface of, the step of correcting the film thickness of the PFA 50 is unnecessary.

Furthermore, the edge of the substrate 100 is inserted into the holding grooves 15, 16 and 17 of the PFA 50 so that the substrate 1
00 is held. PFA50 is semi-permanent weather resistance,
High heat resistance, high chemical resistance to inorganic and organic chemicals, low surface energy, non-adhesiveness, and low friction coefficient, so sufficient chemical resistance can be obtained against chemicals such as hydrofluoric acid. Even when the substrate 100 is held, the substrate 100
It is possible to sufficiently prevent damage to the particles and generation of particles. Further, the substrate holder 4
Since the inner core is made of SUS60 as the base material,
The substrate holder 4 itself has sufficient strength. As a result, the handleability of the substrate holder 4 is improved, and the restrictions on the number of substrates 100 to be transported and the substrate weight can be relaxed.

As a result, a substrate processing apparatus provided with a substrate holder having high chemical resistance, strength and dimensional accuracy, which can be easily manufactured at low cost, is realized.

In the above embodiment, the alumina ceramic film is formed on the surface of the SUS (stainless steel) 60, which is the core of the substrate holder 4, by CVD thermal spraying of alumina ceramic, but the present invention is not limited to this. not,
Other ceramic coatings that can prevent metal elution from SUS60 when contacted with the cleaning liquid 2 may be used. Further, when there is no problem even if the metal is eluted from the SUS 60 into the cleaning liquid 2, the ceramic coating may not be formed.

Further, in the above embodiment, SUS (stainless steel) is used as the base material of the substrate holder 4, but the present invention is not limited to this, and iron is used as the base material of the substrate holder 4. Metals such as aluminum, aluminum and titanium may be used.

As a result, the substrate holder 4 has sufficient strength. In particular, when aluminum or titanium is used as the base material of the core of the substrate holder 4, the weight of the substrate holder 4 can be reduced. Thereby, the force for driving the substrate holder 4 in the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced, so that the running cost of the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the substrate 100
Although the PFA is molded on the portion of the substrate holder 4 that comes into contact with, the invention is not limited to this, and it has chemical resistance.
In addition, another fluororesin which is less likely to generate particles (fine powder) due to contact with the substrate 100 may be used. For example, PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) or the like having chemical resistance may be molded.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the substrate processing apparatus that performs the cleaning process on the substrate using the cleaning liquid has been described. However, the present invention applies to the substrate using the processing liquid other than the cleaning liquid. It can also be applied to other substrate processing apparatuses that perform processing.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line XX of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2.

4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cross section in a direction along a center arm of a substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cross section in a direction perpendicular to the center arm of the substrate holder of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 processing tank 2 cleaning liquid 4 substrate holder 5 Lifting axis 6 Drive robot 7 housing 11 Support plate 12,13 Side arm 14 Center arm 15, 16, 17 Substrate holding groove 18 Arm holding part 19 backboard 100 substrates

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Toshimitsu Namba             4-chome Tenjin, which runs up to Teranouchi, Horikawa-dori, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto             1 Kitamachi No. 1 Dai Nippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             Inside the company F term (reference) 3B201 AA02 AA03 AB08 AB42 BB02                       BB96                 5F031 CA01 CA05 CA07 FA01 FA02                       FA09 FA12 FA19 GA32 GA33                       HA72 MA23

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: a processing liquid container for containing a processing liquid; and a substrate holder for holding the substrate and immersing the substrate in the processing liquid in the processing liquid container. The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the substrate holder has a core formed of a metal material, and at least a portion of the core that comes into contact with the processing liquid is covered with a fluororesin layer. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a ceramic coating is formed on the surface of the core. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ceramic coating contains alumina. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the ceramic coating is formed by thermal spraying. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fluororesin layer has a substrate holding groove for holding a substrate. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fluororesin layer is formed of tetrafluoroethylene perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer or polytetrafluoroethylene. 7. The substrate processing according to claim 1, wherein the metallic material includes one or more metals selected from the group consisting of stainless steel, iron, aluminum and titanium. apparatus.