JP2003347266A - Apparatus and method for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a treatment apparatus capable of preventing the leakage of mist-like treatment liquid from a treatment chamber for treating a substrate to the outside, and preventing the invasion of outside air to the treatment chamber. <P>SOLUTION: This apparatus is provided with: an inner case 2 having a treatment chamber 5 therein; an outer case 3 housing the inner case inside; a treatment tank 1 formed with an adjusting space 6 between the inner peripheral surface of the outer case and the outer peripheral surface of the inner case; a rotary table 12 provided in the treatment chamber for rotating the substrate; a nozzle body for supplying the treatment liquid to the substrate and treating; a fan filter unit 14 for supplying clean air to the treatment chamber and the adjusting space; a first discharge pipe 16 for discharging the atmosphere of the treatment chamber; a second discharge pipe 19 for discharging the atmosphere of the adjusting space section; and a controller for controlling the pressure of the adjusting space according to the pressure of the treatment chamber. <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 a processing method for processing a substrate with a processing liquid in a processing bath.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device is manufactured, there is a lithography process for forming a circuit pattern on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate. In this lithography 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. The circuit pattern is formed on the substrate by repeating a series of steps such as removing the removed portion and etching the removed portion a plurality of times.

In the above-described series of steps, if the substrate is contaminated, the circuit pattern cannot be precisely formed, which causes defective products. Therefore, when forming a circuit pattern in each step, the substrate is cleaned in a clean state in which fine particles such as resist and dust do not remain.

[0004] A spin processing apparatus is known as an apparatus for cleaning the substrate. The spin processing apparatus has a processing tank, and a cup body is provided in the processing tank.
A rotary table is provided in the cup body, and the substrate is detachably held on the rotary table.

When the substrate is held on the rotary table and the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate while rotating the rotary table and the processing is performed, the rotary table is rotated at a higher speed than in the processing with the processing liquid. The substrate is dried.

[0006] ULPA or HEPA is placed above the processing tank.
A fan / filter unit is provided to supply clean air into the processing tank when processing a substrate. A discharge pipe is connected to the bottom of the cup body. An exhaust pump is connected to this exhaust pipe. Thereby, the clean air supplied from the fan / filter unit into the processing tank passes through the inside of the cup and is discharged from the discharge pipe.

As described above, by supplying clean air from the fan / filter unit into the processing tank during processing of the substrate, and passing the clean air through the cup to discharge the mist, mist generated when the substrate is subjected to the drying process is reduced. And floating in the treatment tank. This prevents mist from adhering to the substrate during the drying process and causing contamination.

An access port for loading and unloading a substrate is provided on one side of the processing tank, and the access port can be opened and closed by a shutter. When supplying an unprocessed substrate to the rotating table or removing a dried substrate from the rotating table, the opening is opened and the substrate is loaded and unloaded by a robot or the like.

[0009] The pressure in the processing tank is set to prevent mist generated during the drying processing from floating in the processing tank.
For example, a negative pressure may be set. In other words, by setting the amount of clean air supplied from the fan / filter unit into the processing tank to be slightly smaller than the amount of exhaust discharged from the discharge pipe, the mist in the processing tank can be efficiently discharged. I have to.

[0010]

However, when a negative pressure is applied to the inside of the processing tank, the outside air may flow into the processing tank because the processing tank does not have an airtight structure. Even if the processing bath is installed in a clean room, the gas in the clean room, that is, the outside air flowing into the processing bath contains particles, and therefore, the substrate may be contaminated by the particles flowing into the processing bath.

In order to prevent outside air from flowing into the processing tank, it is conceivable to maintain the pressure in the processing tank at a positive pressure. However, in that case, there is a possibility that the atmosphere in the processing tank flows out. The atmosphere in the processing tank contains a mist-like processing liquid. Harmful chemicals may be used for the treatment liquid. Therefore, when the gas containing the mist-like processing liquid flows out of the processing tank, the working environment of the clean room may be deteriorated, which is not preferable.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a processing method capable of preventing outside air from entering a processing tank and preventing the atmosphere in the processing tank from flowing out.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing liquid, comprising: an internal housing having an internal processing chamber; and an external housing housing the internal housing. A processing tank having an adjustment space formed between an inner peripheral surface of the outer housing and an outer peripheral surface of the inner housing; and a processing liquid provided to the processing chamber for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate for processing. Processing means, clean air supply means for supplying clean air to the processing chamber and the adjustment space, first discharging means for discharging the atmosphere in the processing chamber, and discharging the atmosphere in the adjustment space. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a second discharge unit; and a control unit that controls a pressure in the adjustment space according to a pressure in the processing chamber.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means includes: a first pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in the processing chamber; a second pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in the adjustment space; According to a detection signal from the second pressure sensor, the supply amount of the clean air or the first
2. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control device for controlling at least one of the exhaust amount of said second discharge means and said exhaust means.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the clean air supply means is a fan / filter unit for supplying clean air from above the processing chamber and the adjustment space, wherein the first discharge means and the first discharge means are provided. The second unloading means includes first and second ends each having one end communicating with the processing chamber and the bottom of the adjustment space.
A second exhaust pipe and a first exhaust pipe provided in each exhaust pipe.
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a second exhaust fan.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the processing method of processing a substrate with a processing liquid, the step of supplying the substrate to the processing chamber and the adjusting space surrounding the processing chamber and the periphery of the processing chamber are performed. A step of supplying clean air, and controlling a supply amount of clean air to the processing chamber and the adjustment space and an exhaust amount from the processing chamber and the adjustment space to apply pressure to the processing chamber and the adjustment space. A method for processing a substrate, comprising: a step of providing a difference; and a step of processing the substrate in the processing chamber with the processing chamber and the adjustment space having a pressure difference.

According to the present invention, an adjustment space to which clean air is supplied is provided outside the processing chamber to which clean air is supplied, and the pressure in the adjustment space is adjusted according to the pressure in the processing chamber. Thus, it is possible to prevent the outside air from entering the processing chamber and the atmosphere in the processing chamber from flowing out.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The processing apparatus has a processing tank 1. The processing tank 1 includes an inner housing 2 and an outer housing 3 that houses the inner housing 2 therein.

The inner housing 2 and the outer housing 3 are formed in a cylindrical shape or a rectangular tube shape whose upper and lower surfaces are open, and the opening at the lower end surface is closed by a bottom plate 4. Internal housing 2
The inside is a processing chamber 5 for processing a substrate W, as will be described later. Between the outer peripheral surface of the inner housing 2 and the inner peripheral surface of the outer housing 3, an adjustment space 6 extends over the entire length in the circumferential direction. Are formed.

A cup body 8 is provided in the internal space 2. The cup body 8 includes a lower cup 8a fixed to the bottom plate 4 and an upper cup 8b provided to be vertically movable with respect to the lower cup 8a. The upper cup 8b is vertically moved by a first cylinder 9. It has become.

A rotary table 12 which is driven to rotate by a drive source 11 is provided in the cup body 7. The substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device is detachably held on the upper surface of the turntable 12.

An annular seal wall 4a having a labyrinth structure is provided at a central portion of the bottom plate 4 so that an upper end thereof is inserted into an annular groove (not shown) formed on a lower surface of the rotary table 12 in a non-contact state. ing. And the driving source 1
Is disposed inside the seal wall 4a.

A fan / filter unit 14 as a clean air supply means is provided on the open upper end surface of the inner casing 2 and the outer casing 3. The fan / filter unit 14 is made of ULPA, HEPA, or the like.
Clean air is supplied to the processing chamber 5 and the adjustment space 6.

A plurality of first discharge pipes 16 are connected to the bottom plate 4 such that one end thereof communicates with the inside of the lower cup 8a. In this embodiment, for example, 180
2 first discharge pipes 1 at 90 degree intervals or 4 at 90 degree intervals
6 are connected. The plurality of first discharge pipes 16 extend toward the upper side of the processing tank 1, and the other ends thereof are the first collecting pipes 17.
Are gathered by This first collecting pipe 17 is
Is connected to the suction side of the exhaust fan 18.

Therefore, the clean air supplied from the fan / filter unit 14 to the processing chamber 5 passes through the cup body 8 and is discharged from the first discharge pipe 16 through the first collecting pipe 17. It is supposed to be.

The bottom of the adjustment space 6 is 18
A plurality of second discharge pipes 19 are provided at intervals of 0 degrees or 90 degrees.
Are connected at one end. The second discharge pipe 19 extends upward from the processing tank 1, and the other end is collected by a second collecting pipe 20. This second collecting pipe 20
Is connected to the suction side of the second exhaust fan 21. Thereby, the clean air supplied from the fan / filter unit 14 to the adjustment space 6 is discharged through the second exhaust pipe and the second collecting pipe 20.

As shown in FIG. 2, the amount of clean air supplied to the processing chamber 5 and the adjustment space 6 by the fan / filter unit 14, that is, the number of revolutions of the motor 15, can be controlled by a control unit 23. I can do it.

The discharge amount of the clean air supplied to the supply section 5 and the adjustment space section 6 is determined by the first exhaust fan 18.
And the second exhaust fan 21 are controlled by the controller 23
It is performed by controlling by.

Therefore, by controlling the supply amount of clean air by the fan / filter unit 14 and the discharge amount of clean air by the first and second exhaust fans 18 and 21, the processing chamber 5 and the adjustment are adjusted. The pressure with the space 6 can be set.

The pressure in the processing chamber 5 is the first pressure sensor 2
4, and the pressure in the adjustment space 6 is detected by the second pressure sensor 25. Each pressure sensor 2
The detection signals 4 and 25 are input to the control device 23, where the detection signals are compared with preset values, and the cleaning from the fan / filter unit 14 is adjusted to a pressure set based on the comparison result. The amount of air and the amount of exhaust by the first and second exhaust fans 18 and 21 are controlled.

On one side of the processing tank 1, a communication part 26 for communicating the outside with the inside of the processing chamber 5 is formed airtight with respect to the adjustment space part 6. Processing tank 1 of this communication part 26
The shutter 27 opens and closes one end opened to the outer surface of the shutter. The shutter 27 is driven up and down by a second cylinder 28.

The communication part 26 is opened, and the cup body 8 is opened.
By lowering the upper cup 8b, an unprocessed substrate W can be supplied to the turntable 12 in the cup body 8 or a processed substrate W can be carried out by a robot (not shown).

At the upper end of the upper cup 8b, a nozzle body 29 for supplying a processing liquid toward the substrate W held on the turntable 12 is provided. In the present invention, the nozzle body 29 constitutes a processing unit for processing the substrate W.

Next, a procedure for processing the substrate W by the processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

First, the pressure in the processing chamber 5 and the adjustment space 6 is set by the control device 23. For example, the processing chamber 5 is set at a negative pressure of about -5.0 Pa, and the adjustment space 6 is set at about +5.0 Pa in order to prevent the processing liquid for processing the substrate W from becoming a mist and leaking to the outside. Set to positive pressure.

By starting the operation of the processing apparatus, the supply amount of the clean air from the fan / filter unit 14 and the first and second exhaust fans 18 and 2 are set based on the above set values.
The number of rotations of the motor 15 of the fan / filter unit 14 and the first and second exhaust fans 18 and 21 is controlled so that the amount of exhaust from the processing chamber 5 and the adjustment space 6 by the first unit 1 becomes a predetermined amount. Being driven.

If the pressures in the processing chamber 5 and the adjustment space 6 are detected by the first pressure sensor 24 and the second pressure sensor 25 and controlled by the detected values to reach a set value, The processing liquid is supplied from the nozzle body 29 toward the substrate W. Thereby, the substrate W is processed by the processing liquid.

After the processing of the substrate W with the processing liquid is completed, pure water is supplied to the substrate W from a rinsing nozzle (not shown) to perform a rinsing process, and then the rotary table 12 is rotated at a higher speed than in the rinsing process. Thus, the substrate W is dried.

When the substrate W is processed in this manner, the processing liquid or pure water containing the processing liquid may form a mist and float in the processing chamber 5, and may flow out of the processing chamber 5 to the outside. However, the processing chamber 5 is controlled at a negative pressure, and the adjustment space 6 formed surrounding the processing chamber 5 is controlled at a positive pressure.

Therefore, the inner casing 2 forming the processing chamber 5
Even if the airtightness of the processing chamber 5 is not sufficiently ensured, the adjusting chamber 6 formed on the outer periphery of the processing chamber 5 is provided in the processing chamber 5 under the negative pressure.
The clean air supplied to the air flows in. Therefore, the processing room 5
Can be prevented from leaking from the processing chamber 5 to the outside of the processing tank 1.

The gas flowing into the processing chamber 5 from the adjustment space 6 is clean air supplied from the fan / filter unit 14. Therefore, even if clean air flows into the processing chamber 5 under negative pressure from the adjustment space 6, the substrate W
Is not contaminated.

When the cleaning, rinsing, and adjustment processes for the substrate W are completed in this manner, the rotating table 1
2 is stopped, and the pressure is adjusted so that at least the processing chamber 5 of the processing chamber 5 and the adjustment space 6 has the atmospheric pressure. Next, the shutter 27 is slid upward by the second cylinder 28 to open the communication portion 26, the processed substrate W is taken out of the turntable 12 via the communication portion 26, and the unprocessed substrate W is rotated by the rotation. Supply to the table 12.

If the communication section 26 is opened after the processing chamber 5 is set to the atmospheric pressure, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 5 flows out to contaminate the working space, or the outside air flows into the processing chamber 5 to perform processing. The inside of the room 5 can be prevented from being dirty.

In the above embodiment, the processing chamber 5 is set to a negative pressure,
Although the substrate W is processed with the adjustment space 6 at a positive pressure, the processing is performed by controlling the processing chamber 5 to a positive pressure in order to surely prevent dirty outside air from flowing into the processing chamber 5. Sometimes. In that case, the adjustment space 6 is set to a negative pressure.

By setting the processing chamber 5 to a positive pressure, the outside air can be surely prevented from flowing into the processing chamber 5, but the atmosphere in the processing chamber 5 may flow out to the outside.
However, since the adjustment space 6 surrounding the periphery of the processing chamber 5 is set to a negative pressure, the atmosphere leaking from the processing chamber 5 flows into the adjustment space 6 and is discharged. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the atmosphere in the processing chamber 5 from flowing out.

That is, in order to prevent outside air from entering the processing chamber 5, even if the processing chamber 5 is processed at a positive pressure and the substrate W is processed, the atmosphere containing the mist-like processing liquid in the processing chamber 5 is not exposed to the outside. Outflow can be reliably prevented.

In the above-described embodiment, one fan / filter unit is used to supply clean air to the processing chamber and the adjustment space. You may make it supply clean air by a filter unit. By doing so, it becomes possible to separately control the supply amount of clean air to the processing chamber and the adjustment space.

Further, the amount of exhaust from the first exhaust pipe and the second exhauster is controlled by the first and second exhaust fans. Each exhaust pipe has a flow control valve such as a butterfly valve. May be provided, and the opening degree of the valve may be adjusted to control the displacement.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention, an adjustment space to which clean air is supplied is provided outside the processing chamber to which clean air is supplied, and the inside of the adjustment space is adjusted according to the pressure in the processing chamber. Pressure was adjusted.

Therefore, by providing a pressure difference between the processing chamber and the adjustment space, it is possible to reliably prevent the outside air from entering the processing chamber and the atmosphere in the processing chamber from flowing out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control system for controlling the pressure between the processing chamber and the adjustment space.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Treatment tank 2. Internal housing 3: External housing 5 Processing room 6. Adjustment space 12 ... Rotary table 14. Fan / filter unit 16 First discharge pipe 18 First exhaust fan 19: second exhaust pipe 21 ... second exhaust fan 23 ... Control device 24 first pressure sensor 25 ... second pressure sensor 29 ... Nozzle body

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI theme coat ゛ (Reference) G02F 1/1333 500 G02F 1/1333 500 F term (Reference) 2H090 HC18 JC06 JC19 3B201 AA01 AB33 AB47 BB22 BB92 BB98 CD11 CD33 CD41 4G059 AA08 AB09 AC24 AC30

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A processing apparatus for processing a substrate with a processing liquid, comprising: an internal housing having an internal processing chamber; and an external housing housing the internal housing therein, and an inner peripheral surface of the external housing. A processing tank in which an adjustment space is formed between the processing chamber and the outer peripheral surface of the internal housing; a processing unit provided in the processing chamber for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate to perform processing; Clean air supply means for supplying clean air to the space, first discharge means for discharging the atmosphere in the processing chamber, second discharge means for discharging the atmosphere in the adjustment space, Control means for controlling the pressure in the adjustment space according to the pressure. 2. The control means includes a first pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in the processing chamber, a second pressure sensor for detecting a pressure in the adjustment space, and the first and second pressure sensors. The supply amount of clean air by the clean air supply means or the first discharge means and the second discharge means
2. A substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a control device for controlling at least one of the exhaust amount by said discharge means. 3. The fan / filter unit for supplying clean air from above the processing chamber and the adjustment space, wherein the first air discharging means and the second discharging means are provided. Comprises first and second exhaust pipes each having one end communicating with the processing chamber and the bottom of the adjustment space, and first and second exhaust fans respectively provided in the exhaust pipes. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. 4. A processing method for processing a substrate with a processing liquid, comprising: supplying the substrate to a processing chamber; and supplying clean air to the processing chamber and an adjustment space surrounding the processing chamber. Controlling the supply amount of clean air to the processing chamber and the adjustment space and the amount of exhaust air from the processing chamber and the adjustment space to provide a pressure difference between the processing chamber and the adjustment space; Processing the substrate in the processing chamber with the processing chamber and the adjustment space having a pressure difference.