JP2003282516A - Substrate treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide substrate treatment equipment wherein a substrate-holding part for holding a substrate is cleaned by a cleaning fluid and the cleaning fluid is hard to deviate from a prescribed collection path when the cleaning fluid which has been used for cleaning is collected. <P>SOLUTION: This substrate treatment equipment includes a cylindrical chamber 1, a spin base 2 which is arranged in the chamber 1, has an upper surface 2a and is rotated while holding a wafer W almost horizontally, and a collection cup 3 which is arranged so as to surround the spin base 2 in a plan view. A cleaning nozzle 12 is fixed above the collection cup 3. In the cleaning nozzle 12, a discharge opening 12a whose aperture area is at most 8 mm<SP>2</SP>is formed, and the cleaning fluid for chucking can be discharged from the discharge opening 12a forward the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 at a flow rate of at least 0.9 liter/min. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

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 capable of cleaning a substrate holding portion for holding a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate or a glass substrate for liquid crystal display device with a cleaning liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing the structure of a conventional substrate processing apparatus. This substrate processing apparatus can supply a processing liquid to the lower surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as “wafer”) W to perform processing. This substrate processing apparatus includes a cylindrical chamber 51, a spin base 52 disposed inside the chamber 51, which holds a wafer W substantially horizontally and rotates.
It includes a recovery cup 53 arranged so as to surround the spin base 52 in a plan view.

The chamber 51 is arranged so that its central axis is oriented in the vertical direction, and a filter 54 is attached to the upper end of the chamber 51 so as to close the opening. Chamber 5
An exhaust pipe 55 is provided penetrating the lower part of the exhaust pipe 1, and a pump P is attached to an end of the exhaust pipe 55.
By operating the pump P, the air outside the chamber 51 is introduced into the chamber 51 after foreign substances are removed by the filter 54, and is discharged from the pump P to the outside of the chamber 51.

The spin base 52 has a disk shape and is arranged substantially horizontally. The upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 is a substantially horizontal surface, and a plurality of chuck pins 56 are provided upright in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the upper surface 52a. The chuck pin 56 has a support portion 56a that supports the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the wafer W, and a holding portion 56b that holds the end surface (peripheral surface) of the wafer W. A rotating shaft 57 is attached to the lower center of the spin base 52. A rotation drive mechanism 58 that rotates the rotation shaft 57 around the rotation shaft 57 is coupled to the rotation shaft 57. The rotation drive mechanism 58 can rotate the wafer W held by the spin base 52. The rotary shaft 57 has a tubular shape, and the treatment liquid pipe 64 is inserted into the rotary shaft 57. A treatment liquid supply path 59 is provided inside the treatment liquid pipe 64. The processing liquid supply path 59 has a processing liquid discharge port 63 that opens near the center of the upper surface 52 a of the spin base 52.

The lower end of the processing liquid pipe 64 is branched into a chemical liquid pipe 66 and a cleaning liquid pipe 67. The chemical liquid pipe 66 is connected to a chemical liquid supply source containing a chemical liquid such as an etching liquid, and the cleaning liquid pipe 67 is connected to a wafer cleaning liquid supply source containing a wafer cleaning liquid such as pure water. A valve 66A is provided in the chemical liquid pipe 66, and a valve 67A is provided in the cleaning liquid pipe 67. Valve 66
By opening / closing A and 67A, the chemical liquid and the wafer cleaning liquid are switched between the chemical liquid supply source and the wafer cleaning liquid supply source, introduced into the processing liquid supply passage 59, and can be discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 63.

The recovery cup 53 includes a plurality of recovery ports 61a to 61c arranged vertically. The recovery port 61a is arranged at the highest position, and the recovery port 6a
1c is arranged at the lowest position. Recovery port 61a
On top of the spin nozzle, the cleaning nozzle 62 is almost horizontal.
It is attached facing to 2. The cleaning nozzle 62 has a discharge port, and the opening area of the discharge port is, for example,
It is 12 mm ² . The cleaning nozzle 62 has a cleaning liquid pipe 68.
Is connected to a chuck cleaning liquid supply source containing a chuck cleaning liquid such as pure water. Cleaning liquid pipe 68
A valve 68A is interposed between the cleaning nozzle 62 and the cleaning nozzle 62, and the chuck cleaning liquid can be discharged from the cleaning nozzle 62 toward the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 and the chuck pin 56.

An elevating mechanism 60 is coupled to the recovery cup 53 so that the recovery cup 53 and the cleaning nozzle 62 can be moved up and down at the same time. Valve 66A-68A
The opening and closing of the, and the operations of the rotation drive mechanism 58 and the elevating mechanism 60 are controlled by the control unit 65. When processing the wafer W with this substrate processing apparatus, first, the elevation mechanism 60 is controlled by the control of the control section 65 so that the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 and the recovery port 61a are substantially at the same height. The recovery cup 53 is moved.

Then, the rotation drive mechanism 58 is controlled by the control unit 65 to rotate the wafer W held on the spin base 52, the valve 66A is opened, and the chemical liquid of the chemical liquid supply source is discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 63. To be done. Wafer W
Flows outward along the underside of the. As a result, the lower surface of the wafer W is processed (for example, when the chemical solution is an etching solution, etching processing). At this time, the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 and the chuck pin 56 are soiled with the chemical liquid.

The chemical solution that has reached the outer peripheral portion of the spin base 52 is shaken off laterally by the centrifugal force of the rotating wafer W and the spin base 52, enters the recovery port 61a, and is recovered below the cup 53. After such an operation is continued for a certain time, the valve 66 is controlled by the control unit 65.
A is closed. Then, the controller 65 controls the lifting mechanism 6
When 0 is controlled, the recovery cup is moved so that the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 and the recovery port 61b have almost the same height. The rotation of the wafer W by the rotation drive mechanism 58 is maintained. Then, the valve 67A is opened by the control of the control unit 65, and the wafer cleaning liquid is supplied with the processing liquid discharge port 6.
3 is discharged. The wafer cleaning liquid flows outward along the lower surface of the wafer W. As a result, the lower surface of the wafer W is cleaned, but the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 and the chuck pins 56 are not sufficiently cleaned, and the chemical liquid remains.

The rotating wafer W and spin base 52
Wafer cleaning liquid that has been shaken off laterally by the centrifugal force of
It enters the recovery port 61b and is recovered below the recovery cup 53. As described above, this substrate processing apparatus can separately collect the chemical liquid used for processing the wafer W and the wafer cleaning liquid. After such an operation is continued for a fixed time, the valve 67A is closed under the control of the control unit 65. When the chemical liquid remaining on the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 or the chuck pin 56 is dried, a part of the chemical liquid component is crystallized and becomes particles, which causes contamination.
Are washed. The controller 65 controls the elevating mechanism 60 to move the recovery cup 53 so that the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 is located between the cleaning nozzle 62 and the recovery port 61a in the height direction. Rotation drive mechanism 5
The rotation of the spin base 52 by 8 continues.

The valve 6 is controlled by the control unit 65.
8A is opened, the cleaning liquid for chuck is discharged from the cleaning nozzle 62, and the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 and the chuck pin 56 are cleaned. At this time, the flow rate of the chuck cleaning liquid is set to 1.3 to 1.8 liters / minute. The chuck cleaning liquid supplied to the upper surface 52a of the spin base 52 and the chuck pins 56 flows, for example, on the upper surface 52a toward the side opposite to the side on which the cleaning nozzle 62 is arranged, and is shaken off laterally by the centrifugal force. The inner wall of the chamber 51 (shown by an arrow B1 in FIG. 4), the chamber 51
And the collecting cup 53, and is collected below.

Thereafter, the rotation drive mechanism 5 is controlled by the control unit 65.
8 is controlled, the wafer W is rotated at a high speed for a fixed time, the wafer W is shaken off and dried, and the processing of one wafer W is completed.

[0013]

However, not all the chuck cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning nozzle 62 flows on the spin base 52 to the side opposite to the side where the cleaning nozzle 62 is arranged, and the chuck cleaning liquid A part is repelled by the rotating spin base 52 and chuck pin 56 to the side where the cleaning nozzle 62 is arranged. A part of the chuck cleaning liquid hits the inner wall of the chamber 51 and flows down between the chamber 51 and the recovery cup 53 to be recovered downward (indicated by an arrow B2), but a part thereof is slanted downward. Recovery port 61a and recovery port 61b
Enter (indicated by arrows B3 and B4, respectively). The chuck cleaning liquid also enters the recovery port 61c.

As a result, the chuck cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning nozzle 62 is mixed with the chemical liquid or the wafer cleaning liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 63 and collected below the recovery cup 53. When the cleaning liquid for chucks is mixed with the collected chemical liquid, the concentration of the active ingredient becomes thin and the processing ability of the chemical liquid is lowered. Therefore, even if the recovered chemical liquid is originally reusable, it becomes unsuitable for reuse due to mixing of the chuck cleaning liquid. The same problem occurs when another type of chemical solution or the like is recovered via the recovery port 61c.

Further, by increasing the rotation speed of the spin base 52,
The cleaning liquid for the chuck on the spin base 52 is efficiently shaken off to the side by the centrifugal force, and the chamber 51 and the recovery cup 5
It is conceivable to put it between 3 and 4. But,
In this case, the chuck cleaning liquid becomes mist (fog) from the spin base 52 and the chuck pin 56 and is scattered at a wide angle. As a result, the mist of the chuck cleaning liquid adheres to the lower surface of the filter 54 and the inner wall of the chamber 51 (indicated by arrows B5 and B6, respectively). Since such a cleaning liquid for chucks dissolves the chemical liquid, when dried, the chemical liquid component is crystallized and causes particles. further,
The mist-like chuck cleaning liquid may adhere to the wafer W and contaminate the wafer W.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus in which a cleaning liquid used for cleaning is not likely to come off from a predetermined recovery path when cleaning the substrate holding portion which holds the substrate with the cleaning liquid and recovering the cleaning liquid used for cleaning. That is.

[0017]

The invention according to claim 1 for solving the above-mentioned problems has a substantially horizontal upper surface (2a) and a substrate (W) on the upper surface. A substrate holding part (2) for holding it horizontally, a rotation drive mechanism (8) for rotating the substrate holding part, and an opening area of 8
A cleaning nozzle (1) having a discharge port (12a) of mm ² or less
2) is provided, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle at a flow rate of 0.9 liter / min or more substantially horizontally toward the upper surface of the substrate holding portion to clean a region including the upper surface of the substrate holding portion. Cleaning liquid discharging means (12, 18, 18)
A) and a cleaning liquid recovery means (1, 3, 24) for recovering the cleaning liquid which has been shaken off to the side of the upper surface by the centrifugal force of rotation by the rotation drive mechanism. .

The alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies in this section below. This substrate processing apparatus may be one that supplies a chemical solution to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit to process the substrate. In this case, the substrate holder (especially the top surface)
Is contaminated with chemicals. According to the present invention, the thus-contaminated substrate holding portion can be cleaned by discharging the cleaning liquid by the cleaning liquid discharging means. By cleaning while rotating the substrate holding unit by the rotation drive mechanism, the region including the entire upper surface of the substrate holding unit can be cleaned.

At this time, the cleaning liquid is discharged substantially horizontally from the cleaning nozzle at a flow rate of 0.9 l / min or more. The cleaning liquid having such a flow rate is discharged at a large linear velocity by passing through a small discharge port having an opening area of 8 mm ² or less. That is, the cleaning liquid has a large kinetic energy per unit volume. Therefore, most of the discharged cleaning liquid flows on the upper surface of the substrate holding portion to the side opposite to the side where the cleaning nozzles are arranged, and is shaken off to the side of this upper surface by centrifugal force to be recovered by the cleaning liquid recovery means. . That is, in such a substrate processing apparatus, when the cleaning liquid used for cleaning is recovered, it is difficult for the substrate processing apparatus to leave the predetermined recovery path.

When the existing cleaning liquid ejecting means cannot eject the cleaning liquid at a sufficiently high linear velocity, it is sufficient to replace the cleaning nozzle with one having an ejection opening having a small opening area, and the ejection pressure of the processing liquid can be reduced. There is no need to change the price. The invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the discharge port of the cleaning nozzle is a slit shape extending in the vertical direction. The substrate holding part may hold the substrate, for example, via a chuck pin provided upright on the upper surface of the substrate holding part. In this case, when the substrate is treated with the chemical liquid, the chuck pins are also soiled with the chemical liquid.

According to the present invention, since the opening of the cleaning nozzle has a slit shape extending in the vertical direction, the cleaning liquid is spread in the vertical direction and discharged from the cleaning nozzle. As a result, even if the substrate holding unit has the chuck pin,
The chuck pin can be cleaned well.

[0022]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, referring to the accompanying drawings,
Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail. Figure 1
FIG. 1 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus can supply and process a chemical solution on the lower surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as “wafer”) W.

This substrate processing apparatus has a cylindrical chamber 1
And a spin base 2 which is disposed inside and rotates while holding the wafer W substantially horizontally, and a recovery cup 3 which is arranged so as to surround the spin base 2 in a plan view. The chamber 1 is arranged so that its central axis is oriented in the vertical direction, and a filter 4 is attached to the upper end of the chamber 1 so as to close the opening. A drainage / exhaust pipe 5 is provided penetrating the lower portion of the chamber 1. The drainage / exhaust pipe 5 is connected to the pump P for exhausting outside the chamber 1 via a gas-liquid separating unit (not shown). By operating the pump P, the air outside the chamber 1 is filtered by the filter 4
The foreign matter is removed by means of, is introduced into the chamber 1, and is discharged from the chamber 1 from the pump P.

The spin base 2 has a disc shape and is arranged substantially horizontally. The upper surface 2 of the spin base 2
a is a substantially horizontal surface, and a plurality of chuck pins 6 are provided upright in the vicinity of the peripheral edge of the upper surface 2a. The chuck pin 6 is a supporting portion 6 a that supports the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the wafer W.
And a holding portion 6b for holding the end surface (peripheral surface) of the wafer W. At the lower center of the spin base 2, a rotating shaft 7
Is attached. A rotary drive mechanism 8 that rotates the rotary shaft 7 around the rotary shaft 7 is coupled to the rotary shaft 7. The rotation drive mechanism 8 can rotate the wafer W held by the spin base 2. The rotary shaft 7 is tubular, and the treatment liquid pipe 14 is inserted into the rotary shaft 7. A treatment liquid supply passage 9 is provided inside the treatment liquid pipe 14. The processing liquid supply passage 9 has a processing liquid discharge port 13 that opens near the center of the upper surface 2 a of the spin base 2.

The lower end of the processing liquid pipe 14 has the first chemical liquid pipe 1
6, the second chemical liquid pipe 19, and the cleaning liquid pipe 17 are branched. The first chemical liquid pipe 16 is connected to a first chemical liquid supply source containing the first chemical liquid, and the second chemical liquid pipe 19 is connected to a second chemical liquid supply source containing the second chemical liquid. There is. The cleaning liquid pipe 17 is connected to a wafer cleaning liquid supply source containing a wafer cleaning liquid such as pure water. First
One or both of the second chemical liquid and the second chemical liquid may be, for example, an etching liquid.

The first chemical liquid pipe 16 is provided with a valve 16A, the second chemical liquid pipe 19 is provided with a valve 19A, and the cleaning liquid pipe 17 is provided with a valve 17A. By closing the valves 19A and 17A and opening the valve 16A, the first chemical liquid can be introduced into the treatment liquid supply passage 9. Close valves 16A and 17A, and valve 1
By opening 9A, the second chemical liquid can be introduced into the treatment liquid supply passage 9. By closing the valves 16A and 19A and opening the valve 17A, the wafer cleaning liquid can be introduced into the processing liquid supply passage 9. Therefore, by opening / closing the valves 16A, 19A, 17A, the first chemical liquid, the second chemical liquid, and the wafer cleaning liquid can be switched and discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 13.

The recovery cup 3 includes a plurality of recovery ports 11a to 11c arranged vertically. The recovery port 11a is arranged at the highest position, and the recovery port 1
1c is arranged at the lowest position. Each of the recovery ports 11a to 11c is inclined so that the bottom portion thereof becomes lower from the inside toward the outside. The recovery port 11a communicates with the first chemical liquid recovery tank 21 arranged below the recovery cup 3. The recovery port 11 b communicates with the second chemical liquid recovery tank 22 arranged below the recovery cup 3. The recovery port 11 c communicates with the wafer cleaning liquid recovery tank 23 arranged below the recovery cup 3. The space between the recovery cup 3 and the chamber 1 communicates with the chuck cleaning liquid recovery tank 24 disposed below the recovery cup 3 via a gas-liquid separation unit (not shown).

The cleaning nozzle 12 is mounted substantially horizontally on the uppermost recovery port 11a. Figure 2
It is a schematic front view of the cleaning nozzle 12. Cleaning nozzle 1
2 has a discharge port 12a for discharging the chuck cleaning liquid. The shape of the discharge port 12a is, for example, a circle (see FIG.
(A)) or a slit shape extending in the vertical direction (FIG. 2 (b)). The opening area of the discharge port 12a is, for example, 7.9 mm ² .

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of the spin base 2 and the cleaning nozzle 12. The discharge port 12a of the cleaning nozzle 12 is oriented so that the chuck cleaning liquid is discharged in a direction slightly deviated from the center of the spin base 2. This prevents the chuck cleaning liquid from entering the processing liquid discharge port 13. Referring to FIG. 1, the cleaning nozzle 12 is connected via a cleaning liquid pipe 18 to a chuck cleaning liquid supply source containing a chuck cleaning liquid such as pure water. When the wafer cleaning liquid and the chuck cleaning liquid are of the same kind (for example, pure water), the wafer cleaning liquid supply source and the chuck cleaning liquid supply source may be the same.

A valve 18A is provided in the cleaning liquid pipe 18. By opening the valve 18A, the cleaning liquid for chuck can be discharged from the cleaning nozzle 12 toward the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 and the chuck pin 6. ing. A lifting mechanism 10 is connected to the collection cup 3,
The recovery cup 3 and the cleaning nozzle 12 can be moved up and down at the same time. The opening and closing of the valves 16A to 19A and the operations of the rotary drive mechanism 8 and the elevating mechanism 10 are controlled by
Controlled by.

When the wafer W is processed by this substrate processing apparatus, first, all valves 16A to 19A are closed by the control of the controller 15. After that, the control unit 15 controls the elevating mechanism 10 to move the spin base 2
The recovery cup 3 is moved so that the upper surface 2a of the same and the recovery port 11a have substantially the same height. And the control unit 1
The rotation drive mechanism 8 is controlled by 5 to control the spin base 2
The wafer W held by is rotated, the valve 16A is opened, and the first chemical liquid is discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 13. The first chemical liquid flows outward along the lower surface of the wafer W. As a result, the lower surface of the wafer W is processed (for example, when the chemical solution is an etching solution, etching processing).

The first chemical liquid reaching the outer peripheral portion of the wafer W is
The wafer W that is rotating and the spin base 2 are shaken off to the side by the centrifugal force, enter the recovery port 11 a, and are recovered in the first chemical liquid recovery tank 21 below the recovery cup 3. After such an operation is continued for a certain period of time, the valve 16A is closed under the control of the control unit 15. Wafer W to be processed
Depending on the type, the lower surface of the wafer W is treated with the second chemical solution instead of the first chemical solution. In that case, first
The elevating mechanism 10 is controlled by the control unit 15, and the recovery cup 3 is moved so that the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 and the recovery port 11b have substantially the same height. The rotation of the wafer W by the rotation drive mechanism 8 is maintained. Then, the valve 19A is opened under the control of the control unit 15, and the second chemical liquid is discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 13. The second chemical liquid flows outward along the lower surface of the wafer W. As a result, the lower surface of the wafer W is processed with the second chemical liquid.

The second chemical liquid laterally shaken off by the centrifugal force of the rotating wafer W or spin base 2 enters the recovery port 11b and is recovered in the second chemical liquid recovery tank 22 below the recovery cup 3. It After such an operation is continued for a certain period of time, the valve 19A is closed under the control of the control unit 15. After the treatment of the wafer W with the first or second chemical liquid, the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 and the chuck pins 6 are formed.
Is in a state of being soiled with the first or second chemical liquid.

After that, the control unit 15 controls the elevating mechanism 10 to move the recovery cup 3, and the spin base 2
The upper surface 2a and the recovery port 11c are set to have substantially the same height. The rotation of the wafer W by the rotation drive mechanism 8 is maintained. Then, the valve 1 is controlled by the control unit 15.
7A is opened, and the wafer cleaning liquid is discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 13. The wafer cleaning liquid flows outward along the lower surface of the wafer W. As a result, the lower surface of the wafer W is cleaned, but the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 and part of the chuck pins 6 are not sufficiently cleaned, and the first or second chemical liquid remains.

The wafer cleaning liquid that has been shaken off laterally by the centrifugal force of the rotating wafer W or spin base 2 enters the recovery port 11c and is recovered in the wafer cleaning liquid recovery tank 23 below the recovery cup 3. . After such an operation is continued for a certain time, the valve 1 is controlled by the control unit 15.
7A is closed. When the first or second chemical liquid remaining on the upper surface of the spin base 2 or the chuck pins 6 is dried, a part of the chemical liquid component is crystallized and becomes particles, which causes contamination. The chuck pin 6 is washed. Lifting mechanism 10 by control unit 15
Is controlled to move the recovery cup 3 so that the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 is located between the cleaning nozzle 12 and the recovery port 11a in the height direction. The rotation of the spin base 2 by the rotation drive mechanism 8 is continued.

Then, the valve 1 is controlled by the control unit 15.
8A is opened, the chuck cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle 12, and the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 and the chuck pin 6 are cleaned. At this time, the flow rate of the chuck cleaning liquid is 0.9 liter / min or more (for example, 1.1 to 1.
5 liters / minute). Discharge port 1 of cleaning nozzle 12
When 2a has a slit shape extending in the vertical direction as shown in FIG. 2B, the chuck cleaning liquid spreads in the vertical direction and is discharged from the discharge port 12a. In this case, the chuck pin 6 erected on the spin base 2 can be cleaned well.

If such an operation is continued for a certain period of time,
The first or second chemical liquid remaining on the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 or the chuck pin 6 is removed. After that, the control unit 15
The valve 18A is closed under the control of. Most of the chuck cleaning liquid supplied to the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 and the chuck pins 6 flows, for example, on the upper surface 2a toward the side opposite to the side on which the cleaning nozzle 12 is arranged, and is laterally moved by centrifugal force. It is shaken off to hit the inner wall of the chamber 1 (indicated by an arrow A1 in FIGS. 1 and 3), flows down between the chamber 1 and the recovery cup 3, and is recovered in the chuck cleaning liquid recovery tank 24. That is, the chuck cleaning liquid is recovered along a predetermined recovery path.

As described above, this substrate processing apparatus has the wafer W
The first and second chemicals used in the above process, and the wafer cleaning liquid and the chuck cleaning liquid used for cleaning the wafer W and the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 can be individually recovered. Thereafter, the rotation drive mechanism 8 is controlled by the control unit 15, the wafer W is rotated at a high speed for a certain period of time, shaken off and dried, and the processing of one wafer W is completed. In the above-described embodiment, during cleaning by the cleaning nozzle 12, the chuck cleaning liquid is discharged substantially horizontally at a flow rate of 0.9 liter / min or more. The chuck cleaning liquid having such a flow rate is discharged at a large linear velocity by passing through the small discharge port 12a having an opening area of 7.9 mm ² . That is, the chuck cleaning liquid per unit volume has a large kinetic energy. Therefore, most of the discharged chuck cleaning liquid can flow on the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 to the side opposite to the side where the cleaning nozzle 12 is arranged, against the centrifugal force of the spin base 2. Then, the chuck cleaning liquid is shaken off laterally from the spin base 2 on the side opposite to the side where the cleaning nozzle 12 is arranged, and is introduced between the chamber 1 and the recovery cup 3 to be recovered.

That is, the cleaning liquid for chucks does not easily flow obliquely downward and enter the recovery ports 11a to 11c. Therefore, the chuck cleaning liquid is unlikely to be mixed with any of the first chemical liquid, the second chemical liquid, and the wafer cleaning liquid individually recovered by the recovery cup 3. So, for example,
When the first and second chemicals are reused, it is possible to prevent the processing ability of the chemicals from being deteriorated due to the mixing of the chuck cleaning liquid. Thereby, the consumption of the first and second chemicals can be reduced.

Further, the chuck cleaning liquid on the upper surface 2a of the spin base 2 is shaken off by the centrifugal force and introduced between the inner wall of the chamber 1 and the recovery cup 3, so that the rotation speed of the spin base 2 is increased. There is no need. For this reason,
The chuck cleaning liquid in which the first or second chemical liquid is dissolved by cleaning adheres to the lower surface of the filter 4 or the inner wall of the chamber 1 in the form of mist, and the components of the first or second chemical liquid crystallize to cause particle contamination. It is less likely to cause.
Further, the chuck cleaning liquid in which the first or second chemical liquid is dissolved is less likely to adhere to the wafer W.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus, when the cleaning liquid for the chuck used for cleaning is recovered, it is difficult for the substrate processing device to be removed from the predetermined recovery path. In the existing substrate processing apparatus, when the existing cleaning liquid ejecting mechanism for ejecting the chuck cleaning liquid cannot eject the chuck cleaning liquid at a sufficiently high linear velocity, the cleaning nozzle 12 has a small opening area. It need only be replaced with one having 12a.
At this time, it is not necessary to change the discharge pressure of the second processing liquid.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, the opening area of the discharge port 12a is 7.
When the chuck cleaning liquid is not discharged at a sufficiently high linear velocity at 9 mm ² , the opening area of the discharge port 12a can be further reduced. The discharge flow rate of the chuck cleaning liquid may be changeable, for example, by using the valve 18A as a flow rate adjusting valve. In this case, within the scope of the present invention, the discharge flow rate of the chuck cleaning liquid and the discharge port 12a.
It is possible to adjust the opening area of the chuck so that the chuck cleaning liquid is discharged at an appropriate linear velocity.

Besides, various modifications can be made within the scope of the matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a cleaning nozzle.

FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view of a spin base and a cleaning nozzle.

FIG. 4 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 chamber 2 spin base 2a upper surface 3 collection cups 8 rotation drive mechanism 12 Washing nozzle 12a outlet 15 Control unit 18 Cleaning liquid piping 18A valve 24 Cleaning liquid recovery tank for chucks W wafer

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor, Kaoru Asano             4 Horikawa-dori Teranouchi, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture             No. 1 at Tenjin Kitamachi             Manufacturing Co., Ltd. F term (reference) 3B201 AA01 AB33 AB47 BB22 BB32                       BB92 CD22 CD31

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A substrate holder having a substantially horizontal upper surface for holding a substrate substantially horizontally on the upper surface, a rotation drive mechanism for rotating the substrate holder, and an opening area of 8 mm ² or less. A cleaning nozzle having a discharge port is provided, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle at a flow rate of 0.9 liter / min or more substantially horizontally toward the upper surface of the substrate holding portion, and includes the upper surface of the substrate holding portion. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a cleaning liquid ejecting unit that cleans an area; and a cleaning liquid collecting unit that collects the cleaning liquid that has been shaken off to the side of the upper surface by the centrifugal force of rotation by the rotation driving mechanism. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shape of the discharge port of the cleaning nozzle is a slit shape extending in the vertical direction.