JP2003306226A - Substrate processing device and processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a processing device which can prevent take-out of the peeling liquid from a peeling chamber by a substrate processed in the peeling chamber. <P>SOLUTION: This processing device for processing substrates with the processing liquid is equipped with carrying rollers 12 provided in carrying shafts 11 for carrying the substrates in the predetermined direction, and the peeling chamber 4 for processing the substrates to be carried by the carrying roller. The substrate is tilted so that a front side thereof in the carrying direction becomes higher than a rear side thereof when carrying out the substrates from the peeling chamber 4 to eliminate the processing liquid left in the top surface of the substrates. <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 and method for carrying a substrate into a chamber and processing it with a processing liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a circuit pattern is formed on a glass substrate used for a liquid crystal display device. A lithographic process is used to form a circuit pattern on a substrate. In the lithographic process, as is well known, a resist is applied to the substrate, and the resist is irradiated with light through a mask on which a circuit pattern is formed.

Next, a part of the resist which is not irradiated with light or a part which is irradiated with light is removed, a part of the substrate where the resist is removed is etched, and the resist is removed after etching. By repeating this, a circuit pattern is formed on the substrate.

In such a lithographic process, a step of treating the substrate with an etching liquid or a stripping liquid for removing the resist after etching and a treating liquid such as a cleaning liquid for cleaning the substrate after removing the resist is required. Becomes

When the plate surface of the substrate is treated with a treatment liquid, for example, an etching chamber for supplying the etching liquid to the substrate, a peeling chamber for removing the resist with the peeling liquid after etching, and a rinse chamber for rinsing the substrate after the resist is removed. A processing device in which the are sequentially connected is used.

The substrate is transported in a predetermined direction by a transport device. Then, when the substrate is carried into the chamber, the processing liquid is jetted toward the substrate. As a result, the substrate is processed in each chamber by a different type of processing liquid.

In the rinse chamber, a rinse liquid made of pure water is used as a processing liquid, and the rinse liquid is discarded after use. However, since the etching liquid as the processing liquid used in the etching chamber and the stripping liquid used as the processing liquid in the stripping chamber are relatively expensive, they are collected and reused after use.

In this case, the processing liquid injected into each chamber is recovered through the recovery pipe. However, a considerable amount of the stripping liquid supplied to the substrate in the stripping chamber remains on the upper surface of the substrate.

Therefore, when the substrate processed in the stripping chamber is transferred to the rinse chamber, the stripping liquid adhering to the upper surface of the substrate is taken out of the stripping chamber and is discarded together with the rinse liquid, which increases the running cost. Is to invite.

Even when the substrate is carried into the rinse chamber after the substrate is etched in the etching chamber provided on the upstream side of the stripping chamber, the etching liquid remains attached to the upper surface of the substrate. Will be taken out of the etching chamber. Not only that, when rinsing the substrate after etching and carrying the substrate into the stripping chamber, the rinse liquid remaining on the substrate is brought into the stripping chamber and mixed with the stripping liquid collected in the stripping chamber. The deterioration of the stripper may be accelerated.

[0011]

Therefore, in order to prevent the processing liquid used in each chamber and remaining on the upper surface of the substrate from being taken out of the chamber, an air knife is arranged at the outlet side of each chamber. Has been done. From this air knife, compressed air is jetted onto the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate while inclining toward the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate. Thereby, the processing liquid remaining on the upper surface of the substrate is blown to the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate, so that the processing liquid remaining on the substrate and the substrate can be prevented from being taken out from the chamber.

However, if the processing liquid remaining on the substrate is removed by an air knife, the air knife must be installed in each chamber. Therefore, since it is necessary to secure a place for installing the air knife in the chamber, the size of the chamber is increased, the configuration is complicated, and the cost is further increased, which is not preferable in practice.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a processing method capable of removing the processing liquid remaining on the upper surface of the substrate carried out from the chamber without using an air knife.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, in a processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing liquid, a carrying means for carrying the substrate in a predetermined direction, and a carrying-in of the substrate carried by the carrying means. And a processing chamber for processing the substrate with a processing liquid and a transfer height for inclining the substrate such that the front side in the transfer direction is higher than the rear side when the substrate is unloaded from a predetermined processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the substrate processing apparatus is provided with:

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a chemical solution processing chamber for processing the substrate with a chemical solution, and a cleaning chamber for supplying a rinse solution to the substrate processed in the chemical solution processing chamber to wash and remove the chemical solution. The transfer height lowering means is
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided on the outlet side of the chemical liquid processing chamber.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the carrying means comprises a carrying shaft having a plurality of carrying rollers arranged along the carrying direction of the substrate with their axes separated by a predetermined distance, and the carrying height lowering means. According to another aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus, the position of the transfer roller located on the unloading side of the processing chamber is set higher than that of the other transfer rollers.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the carrying means comprises a carrying shaft having a plurality of carrying rollers arranged along the carrying direction of the substrate with their axes separated by a predetermined distance, and the carrying height lowering means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outer dimension of the transfer roller located on the unloading side of the processing chamber is larger than the outer dimensions of the other transfer rollers.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the substrate is loaded in the chemical treatment chamber so as to be vertically movable and rotatably driven, and the substrate loaded into the chemical treatment chamber by the transport means is lifted from the transport means and rotated. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a rotary table is provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, when the substrate is carried into a predetermined processing chamber, a carrier height lowering means for tilting and carrying the substrate so that the front side in the carrying direction is lower than the rear side is provided. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in a processing method of processing a substrate with a processing liquid in a processing chamber, a carrying step of carrying the substrate in a predetermined direction, and if the substrate is carried into the processing chamber. A processing step of injecting a processing liquid onto the substrate, and a transfer height increasing step of inclining the substrate so that the front side in the transfer direction is higher than the rear side when the substrate is unloaded from the processing chamber after the processing step. And a substrate processing method characterized by comprising:

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, when the substrate is carried into the chamber, it is provided with a step of lowering the transfer height for inclining the substrate so that the front side in the transfer direction is lower than the rear side. The substrate processing method according to claim 7, wherein

According to the present invention, when the substrate processed in the processing chamber is unloaded from the processing chamber, the substrate is inclined so that the front side in the transport direction is higher than the rear side, so that the processing remaining on the upper surface of the substrate is performed. The liquid can be removed from this top surface and transported out of the processing chamber.

[0023]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of a processing apparatus of the present invention. This processing device comprises a main body 1. This body 1
The inside is divided by the partition wall 2 into the loading chamber 3,
A stripping chamber 4 as a processing chamber, a rinse chamber 5 as a cleaning chamber, a drying chamber 6 and an unloading chamber 7 are sequentially formed in series separately.

Inside the main body 1, the chambers 3 to 7 are arranged.
A plurality of transport shafts 11 forming a transport means are arranged rotatably at predetermined intervals with their axes parallel to each other. Each of the transport shafts 11 is provided with a plurality of transport rollers 12 having a diameter larger than that of the transport shafts 11 at predetermined intervals in the axial direction. The transport shafts 11 are rotationally driven by a drive mechanism (not shown).

Thus, for example, a rectangular glass substrate W for a liquid crystal display device is conveyed from the loading chamber 3 to the unloading chamber 7. That is, the transport shaft 11 and the transport roller 12 form a transport unit that transports the substrate W in a predetermined direction.

A shutter 1 is provided on each of the partition walls 2.
An opening 14 that is opened and closed by 3 is formed. The opening 14 is formed at a height position that allows the substrate W transported by the transport roller 12 to pass therethrough. As a result, the substrate W is transferred from the loading chamber 3 to the unloading chamber 7 through the opening 14.

As shown in FIG. 2, the peeling chamber 4 is provided with a rotary table 15. The rotary table 15 has a rectangular plate shape, and the upper end of the drive shaft 16 is fixed to the central portion of the lower surface. The lower end of the drive shaft 16 projects to the outside from a through hole 17 formed in the bottom wall of the stripping chamber 4.

The lower end of the drive shaft 16 protruding from the through hole 17 is connected to the rotary shaft 19 of the rotary motor 18. The rotary motor 18 is attached to the movable body 21. The movable body 21 is attached to a rod 23 of a vertical cylinder 22. On one side surface of the movable body 21, a pair of sliders 24 are provided at predetermined intervals along the vertical direction.

The slider 24 is slidably engaged with a guide rail 26 provided on a guide member 25. Therefore, when the movable cylinder 21 is vertically driven along the guide rail 26 by the operation of the vertical cylinder 22, the rotary table 15 is interlocked with the movement. The guide member 25 is fixed to a fixing portion (not shown).

The rotary table 15 has a plurality of through holes 27 into which the transport rollers 12 are inserted at the time of lowering at predetermined intervals along the transport direction of the substrate W and the width direction intersecting the transport direction.

FIG. 2 shows a state where the rotary table 15 is raised by a solid line. When the turntable 15 is lowered from this state as shown by a chain line, the conveying roller 12 enters the through hole 27,
The upper surface of the rotary table 15 is located lower than the upper surface of the transport roller 12. That is, the rotary table 15 is located at a position where it does not interfere with the substrate W transported by the transport rollers 12.

A substrate W is provided on the upper surface of the turntable 15.
Are provided with a plurality of conical support pins 28 for supporting the lower surface of the. Further, a plurality of rotatable support rollers 29 that support both ends in the width direction of the substrate W are provided on the upper surface of the turntable 15 in the width direction at predetermined intervals along the transport direction of the substrate W.

When the rotary table 15 is driven to the lowered position by the up / down cylinder 22, the substrate W transported by the transport rollers 12 above the rotary table 15 has both ends in the width direction thereof by the support rollers 29. Supported.

When the substrate W is conveyed to directly above the turntable 15, the turntable 15 is raised. As a result, the lower surface of the substrate W is supported by the support pins 28 and rises together with the rotary table 15, and the transport roller 12
Will emerge from.

Above the substrate W raised by the rotary table 15, a pipe-shaped nozzle 30 for injecting a stripping liquid as a processing liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate W is arranged.

When the stripping liquid is jetted from the pipe-shaped nozzle 30 toward the substrate W, the rotary table 15 is rotated by the rotary motor 18 at a predetermined rotational speed.
As a result, the stripping solution is uniformly supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W, and after the supply, the stripping solution quickly flows out from the upper surface of the substrate W.
Therefore, the stripping solution makes the top surface of the substrate W uniform, and the stripping solution flows on the top surface of the substrate W, so that the stripping action of the stripping solution is promoted.

As shown in FIG. 2, the upper end of the cover 31 is fixed to the central portion of the lower surface of the rotary table 15.
The cover 31 is formed in a cylindrical shape surrounding the outer peripheral surface of the drive shaft 16 located in the peeling chamber 4.

The through hole 1 in the inner bottom portion of the peeling chamber 4
A seal tank 32 is formed around the periphery of 7. The liquid L is stored in the seal tank 32. The cover 3
The lower end of No. 1 is immersed in the liquid L in the sealing tank 32.

As a result, the through hole 17 formed at the bottom of the peeling chamber 4 is liquid-tightly sealed by the cover 31, so that the atmosphere in the peeling chamber 4 is prevented from leaking to the outside through the through hole 17. To be done.

When the stripping solution is sprayed on the substrate W for a predetermined time and the stripping process is completed, the rotary table 15 is lowered.
As a result, the substrate W held on the rotary table 15 is transferred to the transport roller 12, so that the substrate W is transported from the peeling chamber 4 to the rinse chamber 5 by the transport roller 12.

As shown in FIG. 3, if the number of the transport shaft 11A in the stripping chamber 4 located at the end in the transport direction of the substrate W is 11A, this transport shaft 11 will be described.
A and the transfer shaft 11 positioned downstream of the transfer shaft 11A in the transfer direction of the substrate W, the peeling chamber positioned at the upstream side of the other transfer shaft 11, that is, the transfer shaft 11A in the transfer direction of the substrate W. 4 and the transport chamber 11 in the loading chamber 3 are arranged at a predetermined size above the axis of the transport shaft 11. The shift amount of the axes of the transport shafts 11A and 11 is indicated by h in the figure.

As a result, when the substrate W transferred from the rotary table 15 to the transport roller 12 is transported from the stripping chamber 4 to the rinse chamber 5, the substrate W is located at the end of the stripping chamber 4 in the transport direction. By being placed on the transport roller 12 of 11A, the front side in the transport direction of the substrate W is inclined higher than the rear side. That is, the transport shaft 11A constitutes a transport height raising means for transporting the substrate W with the front side in the transport direction being higher than the rear side.

When the substrate W is transported forward in the transport direction with a higher inclination than the rear, the stripping liquid remaining on the upper surface of the substrate W moves rearward in the transport direction of the substrate W as indicated by an arrow X in FIG. And flows into the peeling chamber 4 from the rear end of the substrate W in the transport direction. That is, the stripping liquid is removed from the upper surface of the substrate W and drops into the stripping chamber 4 to be collected.

Therefore, the stripping liquid hardly remains on the upper surface of the substrate W transported from the stripping chamber 4 to the rinsing chamber 5. That is, in the stripping chamber 4, the stripping liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W is not taken out to the rinse chamber 5 together with the substrate W.

The rinse chamber 5 and the drying chamber 6
And the transfer shaft 1 arranged in the unloading chamber 7.
The axis of No. 1 is set to the same height as the axis of the transport shaft 11A located at the end of the peeling chamber 4 as described above. Therefore, the stripping chamber 4 to the rinse chamber 5
The substrate W, which has been transported with a high inclination toward, is again transported horizontally in the rinse chamber 5.

In the rinse chamber 5, a first rinse portion 33, a second rinse portion 34 and a third rinse portion 35 are provided.
Are sequentially arranged along the transport direction of the substrate W. First
The rinsing section 33 of FIG. 3 has a container 36 having an open upper surface, and the rinsing liquid consisting of pure water supplied into the container 36 is shown in FIG.
As indicated by the arrow, the container 36 overflows from the upper end opening of the container 36 along one side surface and is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W.

The second rinsing portion 34 is the conveyance roller 1
The pipe-shaped nozzles 37 are arranged so as to face the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate W conveyed by 2, and the rinse liquid is jetted at high pressure from the respective pipe-shaped nozzles 37 toward the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate W. It is like this. The upper pipe-shaped nozzle 37 is covered with an upper cover 38, and the lower pipe-shaped nozzle 37 is covered with a lower cover 39. As a result, the rinse liquid containing dirt reflected from the substrate W is prevented from being scattered around.

The third rinse section 34 is composed of a plurality of pipe-shaped nozzles 41 arranged along the transport direction of the substrate W. From each pipe-shaped nozzle 41, the rinse liquid is low in pressure toward the upper surface of the substrate W. Is jetted at.

Therefore, the substrate W transferred from the stripping chamber 4 to the rinse chamber 5 is rinsed with the stripping liquid adhering to the upper and lower surfaces thereof by the rinse liquids supplied from the first to third rinse parts 33, 34 and 35. Will be.

The substrate W rinsed in the rinse chamber 5 is carried into the drying chamber 6. This drying chamber 6
In order to prevent the substrate W from being partially dried, a plurality of mist nozzles 42 for supplying deionized water to the upper surface of the substrate W and a mist nozzle 41 arranged downstream of the mist nozzle 41. A pair of upper and lower air knives 43 are provided.

From the pair of upper and lower air knives 43, compressed air is jetted toward the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate W toward the rear in the transport direction of the substrate W. As a result, the rinse liquid adhering to the upper surface and the lower surface of the substrate W is dried and removed.

Mist-like pure water is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W before reaching the air knife 42. Therefore, the entire surface of the substrate W is wet evenly and the air knife 42
Since it is transported to the substrate, it is possible to prevent unevenness in drying from occurring on the substrate W dried by the air knife 42.

The substrate W dried in the drying chamber 6 is transferred to the unloading chamber 7 and is delivered to the next step from here.

According to the processing apparatus having such a configuration, the substrate W supplied with the stripping solution for removing the resist in the stripping chamber 4 is transferred from the stripping chamber 4 to the rinsing chamber 5 when the substrate W is transferred. The front of the peeling chamber 4 in the conveying direction is inclined higher than the rear by the conveying roller 12 of the conveying shaft 11A, which is arranged at the end of the peeling chamber 4 with the axial center higher than the upstream side by the dimension h, and the peeling chamber 4 is inclined from the above. It is carried into the rinse chamber 5.

Therefore, when the substrate W is carried into the rinse chamber 5 from the peeling chamber 4, the peeling liquid remaining on the upper surface of the substrate W flows backward along the upper surface of the inclined substrate W in the carrying direction, and finally the substrate W. Since the rear end of the stripping liquid drops into the stripping chamber 4, the stripping solution is removed from the rinse chamber 5 together with the substrate W.
Rarely brought to

That is, it is possible to prevent the peeling liquid adhering to the substrate W from being brought into the rinse chamber 5 from the peeling chamber 4 without disposing an air knife in the peeling chamber 4 as in the conventional case. It is possible not only to simplify the structure such as reduction of the amount of water and the size of the stripping chamber 4 but also to improve the recovery rate of the stripping liquid.
It is also possible to reduce running costs.

FIG. 4 shows a modification of the height changing means according to the second embodiment of the present invention. In the height changing means of the second embodiment, the axes of the transfer shafts 11 provided in the chambers 3 to 7 have the same height, and are located at the end of the peeling chamber 4 in the transfer direction of the substrate W. One transport shaft 11
Also, the outer dimensions of the transport roller 12A provided on the transport shaft 11 located on the downstream side thereof are set to be larger than the outer dimensions of the upstream transport roller 12.

As a result, when the substrate W is carried into the rinsing chamber 5 from the peeling chamber 4, the carrying roller 1 is used.
Since the front side in the transport direction is inclined higher than the rear side by 2A, the stripping liquid remaining on the upper surface of the substrate W is caused to flow out from the rear end of the substrate W and brought into the rinse chamber 5 as in the first embodiment. Can be prevented.

FIG. 5 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, one transport shaft 11A located at the end of the peeling chamber 4 in the transport direction of the substrate W is replaced with another transport shaft 1A.
The transfer shaft 11a is arranged higher than the transfer shaft 11 by an axial center h ₁ , and the transfer shafts 11a located on both sides of the transfer shaft 11A are connected to other transfer shafts 11a.
It is arranged so as to be higher than that by h ₂ . Where h ₁ >
h ₂ .

According to this structure, when the substrate W is transferred from the peeling chamber 4 to the rinse chamber 5, the substrate W
Is curved in a mountain shape with the conveyance roller 11A having the highest axis as a boundary, the stripping liquid supplied to the substrate W in the stripping chamber 4 flows into the stripping chamber 4 as indicated by an arrow X in FIG. The rinse liquid supplied to the substrate W in the rinse chamber 5 flows into the rinse chamber 5 as indicated by an arrow Y in the figure.

Therefore, not only the processing solution in the upstream chamber 4 is prevented from being carried into the downstream chamber 5, but also the processing solution in the downstream chamber 5 is prevented from being carried into the upstream chamber 4. can do.

FIG. 6 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, only the carrying roller 12A at the end of the peeling chamber 4 in the carrying direction of the substrate W is replaced by the other carrying roller 12.
When the diameter is made larger than the above, the add-on roller 44 is brought into rolling contact with the upper side of the transport roller 12 upstream of the transport roller 12A. As a result, when the substrate W is transported and rides on the large-diameter transport roller 12A, the edge of the substrate W is prevented from being pushed up by the above-mentioned loading roller 44, and therefore the substrate W can be transported smoothly. Is possible.

FIG. 7 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the outer dimensions of the plurality of transport rollers 112 provided on the transport shaft 11 are maximized at the axial center,
The diameter gradually decreased toward both ends in the axial direction.

According to this structure, the transport roller 11
The substrate W conveyed by 2 is curved and conveyed in a state in which the central portion in the width direction is raised and both ends are inclined low. Accordingly, the fluidity of the processing liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W is increased, and thus the processing of the substrate W by the processing liquid is facilitated.

FIG. 8 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the axes of the plurality of transfer shafts 11 arranged in a predetermined chamber are maximized in the central portion of the chamber in the transfer direction, and are gradually lowered toward both ends.

As a result, the substrate W transferred into the chamber is curved in a mountain shape according to the arrangement state of the transfer shaft 11, and in this state, the rotation direction of the transfer shaft 11 is reversed every predetermined time, and the substrate W is rotated. When the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate W while reciprocating in a predetermined stroke in the chamber as indicated by an arrow, the fluidity of the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate W is increased, and thus the processing of the substrate W by the processing liquid is performed. Can be promoted.

FIG. 9 shows a seventh embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that in addition to the transfer height raising means that raises and conveys the substrate W when it is carried out from the stripping chamber 4 as a processing chamber, the substrate is placed in the stripping chamber 4. It is provided with a transport height lowering means for transporting the substrate W with the front side in the transport direction inclined lower than the rear side when the substrate W is loaded.

That is, the transport axis indicated by 11B located at the leading end of the substrate W in the loading direction in the peeling chamber 4 is
It is arranged at substantially the same height as the transport roller 11A located at the rear end in the transport direction.

The transfer shaft 11 in the loading chamber 3 provided on the upstream side of the peeling chamber 4 is arranged at substantially the same height as the transfer shaft 11B at the tip of the peeling chamber 4. That is, in the peeling chamber 4, the transport shaft 11B at the front end and the transport shaft 11A at the rear end of the substrate W in the transport direction are arranged with their axes higher than the other transport shafts 11 by a height indicated by h in FIG. ing.

The outer dimensions of the rollers 12 provided on the respective transport shafts 11A, 11B, 11 are set to be the same.

According to this structure, the substrate W is loaded into the peeling chamber 4, and the leading end of the substrate W in the transport direction is the transport shaft 1.
When moving from 1B to the transfer shaft 11, the front end side of the substrate W in the transfer direction is transferred with a lower inclination than the rear end side.

Therefore, even if the stripping liquid is sprayed from the pipe-shaped nozzle 30 onto the substrate W while the substrate W is straddling the loading chamber 3 and the stripping chamber 4, the stripping liquid is transported on the upper surface of the substrate W in the transport direction. It is possible to prevent the liquid from flowing backward and dropping from the rear end into the loading chamber 3.

That is, according to this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the stripping liquid from being taken out to the loading chamber 3 by the transport height lowering means composed of the transport roller 11B.
It is possible to prevent the stripping liquid from being taken out to the rinse chamber 5 by the transport height raising means including the transport roller 11A.

In the seventh embodiment, the height of the transfer shaft 11B is the same as that of the other transfer shafts 11, and the transfer shaft 11 of the loading chamber 3 is higher than the transfer shaft 11 of the peeling chamber 4. Then, the front end side in the transport direction of the substrate W loaded into the peeling chamber 4 may be inclined lower than the rear end side. Furthermore, although illustration of the rotary table 15 provided in the peeling chamber 4 is omitted, the rotary table 15 may or may not be provided in the peeling chamber 4.

Further, the peeling chamber 4 can be formed by increasing the outer dimensions of the rollers of the transport shaft 11B constituting the transport height lowering means and the transport shaft 11 in the loading chamber 3 without raising them. The front end side of the substrate W, which is carried in, may be inclined lower than the rear end side.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the first and second embodiments described above, in the stripping chamber 4, one transport shaft 11A located at the end of the substrate in the transport direction is set to have a high axis or one transport shaft 11 is provided. The substrate W is inclined by making the diameter of the transport roller 12A thus obtained larger than that of the other transport rollers 12.

However, the substrate W in the peeling chamber 4 is
Of the plurality of transfer shafts located on the terminal side in the transfer direction of the stripping chamber is made higher than the other transfer shafts in the stripping chamber, or the transfer rollers provided on the plurality of transfer shafts also located on the terminal side of the stripping chamber. The substrate may be tilted by making it larger in diameter than other transfer rows in the inside, and the arrangement interval of the transfer shaft 11, the size of the substrate W, and the height are changed. The curved state of the substrate at this time may be determined according to the thickness of the substrate, etc.

In the first and second embodiments, the case where the present invention is applied to the stripping process of the substrate W has been described. In the etching process, the substrate etched by the etching solution in the etching chamber is The present invention can be applied to the case where the substrate is transferred to the rinse chamber, and further, in the processing apparatus in which the etching step and the peeling step are continuously provided, when the rinsed substrate is carried into the peeling chamber after etching. Can also be applied.

In this case, since the rinse liquid adhered to the substrate is prevented from being brought into the stripping chamber, it is possible to prevent the stripping liquid collected in the stripping chamber from being diluted by the rinse liquid.

Further, according to the present invention, not only in the etching step and the stripping step, but also in the other steps of processing the substrate by using the processing liquid such as the chemical liquid or the rinse liquid, the processing liquid of the previous process can be brought into the next process. Any process that needs to be prevented can be applied.

In the present invention, the next step means the case where the substrate is substantially processed with the processing liquid, and the case where the substrate is unloaded from the processing chamber without carrying out the substantial processing. It is considered to be stored in.

In the stripping chamber, the substrate is rotated by a rotary table in order to make the treatment of the substrate with the stripping solution uniform. However, after the substrate is lifted by the table from the transport rollers, the table is moved to the substrate. By reciprocating in at least one of the conveyance direction and the width direction intersecting the conveyance direction, the dispersion of the stripping solution supplied to the upper surface of the substrate is made uniform and the flow of the dispersed stripping solution is smoothed. It may be designed.

[0084]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the substrate processed in the processing chamber is unloaded from the processing chamber, the substrate is inclined such that the front side in the transport direction is higher than the rear side. .

Therefore, the processing liquid remaining on the upper surface of the substrate can be removed from the upper surface of the substrate and carried out of the processing chamber without using an air knife as in the conventional case. That is, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid from being taken out from the processing chamber.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a processing apparatus showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a portion of the peeling chamber where a rotary table is provided.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a portion on the terminal side in the transport direction of the substrate in the peeling chamber.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a portion on the terminal side in the transport direction of the substrate in the peeling chamber showing the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of a disposition state of a transport shaft showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of an arrangement state of a transport shaft showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a front view of a transport shaft according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory view of the arrangement state of the conveyance shafts showing the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of an arrangement state of transport shafts showing a seventh embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 ... Stripping chamber 5 ... Rinse chamber 11, 11A ... Transport axis 12, 12A ... Conveyor roller 15 ... Rotary table 18 ... Rotary motor

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 2H088 FA17 FA21 FA30 HA01                 3B201 AA01 AB14 AB33 BB02 BB22                       BB90 BB92 CC01                 5F031 CA05 FA02 FA07 FA12 FA18                       GA53 HA33 HA48 HA58 HA59                       LA15 MA23 MA24 NA09

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing liquid, wherein a transfer means for transferring the substrate in a predetermined direction, the substrate transferred by the transfer means is loaded, and the substrate is processed with the processing liquid. And a transport height raising means for transporting the substrate while inclining it so that the front side in the transport direction is higher than the rear side when the substrate is unloaded from a predetermined process chamber. And substrate processing equipment. 2. A chemical treatment chamber for treating the substrate with a chemical, and a cleaning chamber for supplying a rinsing liquid to the substrate treated in the chemical treatment chamber to wash and remove the chemical. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means is provided on the outlet side of the chemical liquid processing chamber. 3. The transfer means comprises a transfer shaft having a plurality of transfer rollers arranged along the transfer direction of the substrate with their axes separated from each other at a predetermined interval, and the transfer height raising means is provided in the processing chamber. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the carrying roller located on the carry-out side is set higher than that of the other carrying rollers. 4. The transfer means comprises a transfer shaft having a plurality of transfer rollers arranged along the transfer direction of the substrate with their axes separated by a predetermined distance, and the transfer height raising means is provided in the processing chamber. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the outer dimension of the carrying roller located on the carry-out side is made larger than the outer dimensions of the other carrying rollers. 5. A rotary table is provided in the chemical liquid processing chamber so as to be vertically movable and rotatably driven, and a substrate is loaded into the chemical liquid processing chamber by the transport means to lift and rotate the substrate from the transport means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: 6. A transfer height lowering means is provided for inclining and transferring the substrate so that the front side in the transfer direction is lower than the rear side when the substrate is loaded into a predetermined processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. 7. A processing method of processing a substrate with a processing liquid in a processing chamber, comprising a transfer step of transferring the substrate in a predetermined direction, and a processing liquid applied to the substrate if the substrate is loaded into the processing chamber. And a conveying height increasing step of conveying the substrate while inclining it so that the front side in the conveying direction is higher than the rear side when the substrate is unloaded from the processing chamber after the processing step. A method for treating a substrate, comprising: 8. A carrying height lowering step of carrying the substrate while carrying it in the chamber while inclining the substrate such that the front side in the carrying direction is lower than the back side in the carrying direction. The substrate processing method according to claim 7.