JP2004342856A - Substrate processor - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processor in which the occurrence of particles due to consumption of a corona discharge electrode can directly be sensed and a processing can be continued even if the perticles are generated, in an electricity removal processing on a semiconductor wafer and liquid crystal glass. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate processor is provided with an electricity removal device 10 and a control unit. The electricity removal device 10 has an ion generator 17 generating ions by corona discharging in a processing tank 20 in which a substrate 1 is carried and it is processed and discharging the ions, a light emitting means 11 for transferring light to vicinity of an ion discharging port 34 of the ion generator 17 from a light emitting means 13 through an optical fiber 12, and a light receiving means for 14 receiving light radiated to the ion discharging port 34 from the optical fiber 12 of the light emitting means 11 with an optical fiber 15 and transferring it to a light receiving element 16. The control unit switches the two electricity removal devices 10A and 10B if the light emitting means 11 and the light receiving means 14 sense occurrence of the particles, when the corona discharging electrode of the ion generator 17 is consumed by installing the two electricity removal devices in the processing tank 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly, to a corona for preventing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal glass, a hard disk substrate, and a photomask substrate from being charged during a predetermined manufacturing process. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that discharges ions generated by electric discharge and removes electricity.
[0002]
[Prior art]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-277476 A [Patent Document 2]
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-78500
Conventionally, a substrate processing apparatus, for example, when manufacturing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass for liquid crystal, a substrate for a hard disk, and a substrate for a photomask, a cleaning process using a processing solution such as pure water or a chemical solution, an etching process, a rinsing process, Are performed, and various processes such as a drying process are also performed after the liquid process. In this case, the conventional substrate processing apparatus has a problem that the substrate is charged by friction between the substrate and the processing liquid flowing on the substrate during the liquid processing. When the substrate is charged, the particles in the atmosphere are attracted to the substrate, thereby contaminating the substrate or causing damage to elements formed on the substrate.
[0004]
Therefore, in a conventional substrate processing apparatus, a soft X-ray irradiation type static eliminator (for example, see Patent Document 1) or a corona discharge type ion generator (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). 2), the inside of the tank was neutralized. Here, a soft X-ray irradiation type static eliminator is well known as a method for effectively eliminating static electricity charged during the injection of a processing liquid in a processing tank by irradiating soft X-rays. On the other hand, a static eliminator using an ion generator is well known as a method for generating ions with an ion generator using corona discharge to eliminate static electricity. However, the ion collector is collected by a voltage applied to a corona discharge electrode of the ion generator. It is most important to suppress the contamination of the substrate by particles attracted to the corona discharge electrode due to the dust action. FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a conventional substrate processing apparatus for preventing contamination by the dust collecting action of such a corona discharge electrode.
[0005]
As shown in FIG. 8, one embodiment of a conventional substrate processing apparatus includes a standby unit 70 including a fork 72 that receives a substrate 1 that has been subjected to a liquid processing or a drying process from a flow direction and pulls out the substrate 1. It comprises a nitrogen 82, a filter 84, an ion generator 86 having a corona discharge electrode, a cassette 88 for accommodating the substrate 1, a power supply 81, and a table 89 on which the cassette 88 is set up and down while receiving the substrate 1 from the unit 70. An unloader section 80 is provided, and an ion generator 82 is provided at an end of the unloader section 80 opposite to one side where the substrate 1 is inserted or withdrawn from the cassette 88. Then, the substrate 1 is placed on the fork 72 and sequentially stored in the cassette 88, and at the same height as the ion generator 86 on the fork 72, the surface of the substrate 1 is ionized by the ions sprayed from the ion generator 86. Static electricity is removed from the back surface.
[0006]
As described above, in one embodiment of the conventional substrate processing apparatus, since the ion generator 86 is provided on the side opposite to the side where the substrate 1 is inserted or pulled out, the floating particles in the air collected by the ion generator 86 are removed. This prevents the circuit formed on the substrate 1 from falling onto the surface of the substrate 1 and preventing defects due to particles such as short circuits and disconnections.
[0007]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, the corona discharge type ion generator is provided with a defect that the corona discharge electrode is gradually consumed to directly generate particles from the electrode, and a function of detecting particle generation is provided. There was a problem that there was no. Particles generated from the exhausted corona discharge electrode adhere to the substrate and become particle contamination. However, means for directly detecting the generation of particles has not been developed. Further, there is a problem that, when particles are generated during the substrate charge removal processing, a method for coping with the particles has not been developed.
An object of the present invention is to solve such a problem and to provide a substrate processing apparatus which can directly detect that a corona discharge electrode has been consumed to generate particles, and can cope with prevention of generation of particles.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes an ion generator that generates and emits ions by corona discharge into a processing tank that carries in and processes a substrate, and an ion discharger of the ion generator. A light emitting means for transferring light from a light emitting element through an optical fiber near an outlet, and a light receiving means for receiving light emitted from the optical fiber of the light emitting means to the ion emitting port by a further optical fiber and transferring the light to a light receiving element. And, by installing a plurality of static eliminators comprising an ion generator, a light emitting means and a light receiving means in the processing tank, when the corona discharge electrode of the ion generator wears out, the light emitting means and the light receiving means sense the generation of particles and a plurality of And a control unit for switching the static elimination device.
[0009]
Here, the static eliminator is provided with at least one or more cases in which two sets of ion generator, light emitting means and light receiving means are partitioned and stored on the upper side surface of the processing tank, and penetrates into the processing tank from inside the case. It is preferable to have a discharge port for discharging ions from the ion generator, and to provide a shutter at the discharge port when not in use so as to be closed by control of the control unit. In addition, the static eliminator connects a pipe and a valve for supplying a carrier gas to the inside of the case, opens and closes the valve under the control of the control unit, and supplies the carrier gas into the case. Is preferably provided so as to jet. Further, in the static eliminator, the ends of the optical fiber of the light emitting means and the optical fiber of the light receiving means extend to the vicinity of the ion emission port of the ion generator and have a predetermined width and are separated from each other. It is preferable to set it to 5 to 3.5 mm. Further, it is preferable that the processing tank is provided with a processing unit such as a liquid processing unit for processing a substrate with a processing liquid, or a substrate standby unit for waiting a substrate before or after the liquid processing, or a single processing unit.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Next, an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing details of the static eliminators 10A and 10B shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is an electrical diagram showing an electrical configuration of the static elimination devices 10A and 10B shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a control flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a control flowchart showing a continuation of the operation shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a chart showing the operation timing of each component in the operation shown in FIGS. FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
[0011]
As shown in FIG. 1, one embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention holds and rotates a substrate 1 such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass for liquid crystal, a substrate for a hard disk, and a substrate for a photomask to spray a cleaning liquid. An ion generator 17 that generates and emits ions by corona discharge into a processing tank 20 that carries in and processes the substrate 1 is provided in the processing tank 20 that carries the substrate 1 for processing. The light emitting means 11 irradiates light to the vicinity of the ion emission port 34 of the ion generator 17, and the light receiving means 14 receives the light emitted from the light emission means 11 to the ion emission port 34. A plurality (two in FIG. 1: 10A, 10B) of the static eliminator 10 including the means 11 and the light receiving means 14 are provided on the side surface of the liquid processing unit 20. Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the corona discharge electrode of the ion generator 17 is worn during the processing of the substrate 1, the light emitting unit 11 and the light receiving unit 14 detect the generation of particles and control the plurality of static elimination devices 10A and 10B. 50 (see FIG. 3) so as to be switched.
[0012]
Here, a rotating table 42 for holding and rotating the substrate 1 therein, a nozzle 44 for spraying a cleaning liquid onto the front and back surfaces of the rotating substrate 1, and a cleaning liquid sprayed from the nozzle 44 are provided in the processing bath 20. And a drain cup 43 that covers the outside that comes into contact with the substrate 1 and scatters. Further, the processing tank 20 is provided with a carry-in port 22 through which the substrate 1 is held and taken in and out by a transfer means (not shown) from a side surface, and a clean air supply device which supplies clean air through a filter 24 above the carry-in port 22. 23 are arranged.
[0013]
In addition, the static eliminator 10 includes a light emitting unit 11 that transfers light from the light emitting element 13 to the vicinity of the ion emitting port 34 of the ion generator 17 through the optical fiber 12, and the light emitting unit 13 emits the light to the ion emitting port 34. And light receiving means 14 for receiving light by an additional optical fiber 15 and transferring the light to a light receiving element 16. Then, the static eliminator 10 has at least one or more cases 30 on the upper side surface of the processing tank 20 for partitioning and storing two sets (10A, 10B) of the ion generator 17, the light emitting means 11, and the light receiving means 14 (FIG. 1 has an ion discharge port 34 penetrating from inside the case 30 into the processing tank 20 to discharge ions from the ion generator 17, and a shutter 32 is provided in the ion discharge port 34 when not in use. It is provided so as to be closed by the control of the control unit 50 (see FIG. 3). Further, the static eliminator 10 connects the pipe 18 for supplying the carrier gas and the valve 19 inside the case 30, and opens and closes the valve 19 under the control of the control unit 50 (see FIG. 3) to supply the carrier gas into the case 30. It is provided so that ions are ejected from the ion discharge port 34 into the processing tank 20 by being supplied.
[0014]
That is, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, an ion generator 17a, an optical fiber 12a, 15a, a light emitting element 13a, a light receiving element 16a, a valve 19a, and a static eliminator 10A including a pipe 18a; 17b, optical fibers 12b and 15b, a light emitting device 13b, a light receiving device 16b, a valve 19b, and a static eliminator 10B including a pipe 18b. Have. As shown in FIG. 1, the two sets of static eliminators 10A and 10B are not limited to being provided at only one side surface of the processing tank 20. It is also possible to squirt from both sides evenly.
[0015]
Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the ends of the optical fibers 12a and 12b of the light emitting units 13a and 13b and the optical fibers 15a and 15b of the light receiving units 16a and 16b are the ion generators 17a and 10b. 17b, each of which extends to the vicinity of the ion emission ports 34 and 38 and has a width A shown in FIG. The width A is desirably set to 1.5 to 3.5 mm.
[0016]
Further, as shown in FIG. 3, all of the ion generators 17a and 17b, the light receiving means 16a and 16b, the light emitting means 13a and 13b, the shutters 32 and 36, and the valves 19a and 19b are controlled by the static eliminators 10A and 10B. It is connected to the control unit 50 and provided so as to operate under the control of the control unit 50. Here, the ion generator 17a is driven by being connected to the power supply 52, and is opened and closed by signals from the control unit 50, and breakers 54a and 54b for preventing an excessive current from flowing to the power supply 52. Electronic switches 56a and 56b for controlling the flow of current are connected to each other.
[0017]
In the embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention thus formed, first, the substrate 1 is loaded from the loading port 22 of the processing tank 20 shown in FIG. Installed in Then, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the static eliminator 10 opens the shutter 32 (S1), opens the valve 19a (S2), and opens the electronic switch 56a (see FIG. 3) to flow a current. The ion generator 17a is operated (S3). With the above control, ions are generated on one side (10A side) in the case 30 shown in FIG. 2 and a carrier gas is supplied through the pipe 18a, and the ions are ejected from the case 30 to the processing tank 20 to remove the electricity. Is performed. At this time, light from the light emitting element 13a shown in FIG. 2 is emitted to the vicinity of the ion emission port 34 of the ion generator 17a via the optical fiber 12a, and this light is received via the other optical fiber 15a. And monitor the generation of particles (S4). If no particles are detected (the light receiving element 16a is turned off), the process is continued (S5). When the static elimination process is normally terminated (NO during the process), the electronic switch 56a is shut off to stop the ion generator 17a (S6). Then, the supply of the carrier gas is stopped by closing the valve 19a (S7), and the shutter 32 is closed (S8).
[0018]
If particles are detected by the light receiving element 16a (S4) (the light receiving element 16a is ON), the electronic switch 56a is immediately shut off to stop the ion generator 17a (S9). Here, when the corona discharge electrode of the ion generator 17a wears and generates particles from the electrodes, the light receiving element 16a is moved along the optical path of the optical fibers 12a and 15a (width A shown in FIG. 2). Since the attenuation is observed in the light intensity detected after passing through, the generation of particles from the corona discharge electrode can be easily detected. Thereafter, the electronic switch 56a is shut off to stop the ion generator 17a, and at the same time, the valve 19a is closed to stop the supply of the carrier gas (S10), and the shutter 32 is closed (S11).
[0019]
On the other hand, the shutter 36 is opened (S13), the valve 19b is opened to supply the carrier gas into the case 30 (S14), and the electronic switch 56b is opened in order to operate the other ion generator 17b to continue the charge removal processing. The ion generator 17b is operated by opening (see FIG. 3) and passing a current (S15).
Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the light receiving element 16b monitors the generation of particles, similarly to the light receiving element 16a (S4 shown in FIG. 4) (S16). If no particles are detected (the light receiving element 16b is OFF), the process is continued (S17). When the charge elimination process is terminated normally (NO during the process), the electronic switch 56b is shut off to stop the ion generator 17b (S18), and the electronic switch 56b is closed to stop the supply of the carrier gas ( S19), the shutter 36 is closed (S20).
[0020]
On the other hand, when particles are detected by the light receiving element 16b (S16) (the light receiving element 16b is ON), the electronic switch 56b is shut off and the ion generator 17b is stopped (S21). Then, while closing the valve 19b (S22), the shutter 36 is closed (S23), and the electronic switch 56b is shut off to stop the ion generator 17b. Even if particles are generated by the above control, by switching to one of the ion generators and maintaining the other ion generator (S12, S24), the static elimination process can be continuously performed.
[0021]
That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, first, after opening the shutter 32, the valve 19a is opened to supply the carrier gas into the case 30, and then the electronic switch 56a is opened. The static elimination process is performed at the timing when the ion generator 17a is operated by supplying a current. During this time, the light receiving element 16a constantly monitors the generation of particles.
Here, when particles are detected, as shown in FIG. 6, the electronic switch 56a is first shut off to stop the operation of the ion generator 17a, and thereafter, the valve 19a is closed to discharge the carrier gas. The supply is stopped, and finally the shutter 32 is closed.
[0022]
When the particles are detected, the shutter 32 closes and the other shutter 36 opens at the same time as indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 6, and then the valve 19b is opened to supply the carrier gas into the case 30. I understand. After supplying the carrier gas, the electronic switch 56b is opened to operate the new ion generator 17b to continue the charge removal processing. At this time, the light receiving element 16a is driven at the same time as or slightly after the detection of the particles, and the generation of the particles is monitored.
When further particles are detected, the electronic switch 56b is shut off to stop the ion generator 17b, then the valve 19b is closed to stop the supply of the carrier gas, and finally the shutter 36 is closed. I have. Thereafter, by repeating this, even if particles are generated, static elimination processing can be continuously performed.
[0023]
Thus, according to one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, there is provided a static eliminator that senses particles by performing light scanning with a light emitting element and a light receiving element via an optical fiber in the vicinity of an ion emission port of an ion generator. Therefore, even if the corona discharge electrode is worn out and particles are generated, it can be easily detected. In addition, by installing multiple static eliminators and replacing them when the corona discharge electrode is worn out, ions can be released during substrate processing. Can be continuously performed without interruption.
[0024]
By the way, an embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus in which the static eliminators 10A and 10B are provided in the processing tank 20 for cleaning the substrate 1 by rotating the substrate 1 shown in FIG. 1 with the processing liquid has been described in detail, but is not limited thereto. For example, a static eliminator is provided in a processing tank in which a liquid processing unit that rotates a substrate and performs a cleaning process with a processing liquid and a substrate standby unit that waits for a substrate before or after the liquid processing are connected. Is also possible. As described above, another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, in which the static eliminator is provided in the processing tank provided with the liquid processing section and the substrate standby section, as shown in FIG. A substrate peripheral container 60a on which the substrate 1 is placed, a liquid processing unit 60c for holding and rotating the substrate 1 in a single-wafer manner, injecting a processing liquid from a nozzle 44 to perform a cleaning process, and a liquid processing unit 60c. A processing tank 60 is formed by a substrate standby section 60b for holding the substrate 1 before or after the liquid processing, and a static eliminator 10 is provided in each of the substrate standby section 60b and the liquid processing section 60c of the processing tank 60. The static eliminator 10 is the same as the static eliminators 10A and 10B shown in FIG. 2, and the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and overlapping description will be omitted. Further, the same components as those of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 are used in the liquid processing unit 60c, and the same reference numerals are described, and redundant description will be omitted.
[0025]
Here, a clean air supply unit 23 that supplies clean air via a filter 24 is disposed in the upper part of the substrate standby unit 60b and the liquid processing unit 60c. Further, the substrate standby unit 60b is provided with a plate transport mechanism 62 for holding the substrate 1 from the substrate container 60a in a single-wafer manner and transporting the substrate 1 to the liquid processing unit 60c. In another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention thus formed, the substrate 1 is taken out from the substrate container 60a and stored in the liquid processing unit 60c. It is stored in the container 60a. At this time, the substrate transport mechanism 62 is used to transport the substrate 1.
[0026]
The substrate 1 that has been subjected to the liquid treatment as described above may be charged and has a high possibility of particle adhesion. Therefore, the substrate 1 needs to be neutralized. However, if the substrate 1 is kept in the liquid processing unit 60c until the neutralization is completed, the number of substrates 1 processed per unit time decreases, and the productivity decreases. . For this reason, by providing the static eliminator 10 in both the liquid processing unit 60c and the substrate standby unit 60b, the static elimination process can be performed while the substrate is transported from the liquid processing unit 60c to the substrate standby unit 60b, and the productivity is improved. .
[0027]
As described above, according to another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the same effect as that of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. In addition to the unit 60c, the static eliminator 10 can be arranged in the processing tank 60 in which other processing units such as the substrate standby unit 60b are connected in series, so that a sufficient static elimination process can be performed in the manufacturing process of the substrate 1 and productivity is improved. .
[0028]
As described above, the embodiments of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention have been described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be changed without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, the embodiment of the case in which two sets of the ion generator, the light emitting means, and the light receiving means are partitioned and accommodated is described in detail. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and two or more sets can be provided. .
[0029]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, a corona discharge device is provided in the vicinity of the ion emission port of the ion generator to detect the particles by performing light scanning by the light emitting element and the light receiving element via the optical fiber. Even if the electrodes are worn out and particles are generated, it can be easily detected.In addition, by installing multiple static eliminators and replacing them when the corona discharge electrodes are worn out, ion emission is not interrupted during substrate processing. The static elimination process can be continuously performed.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing details of the static eliminator shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is an electric system diagram showing an electric configuration of the static eliminator shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a control flowchart showing the operation of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.
FIG. 5 is a control flowchart showing a continuation of the operation shown in FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a chart showing the operation timing of each component in the operation shown in FIGS. 4 and 5;
FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate 10 Static eliminator 11 Light emitting means 12 Optical fiber 13 Light emitting element 14 Light receiving means 15 Optical fiber 16 Light receiving element 17 Ion generator 18 Pipe 19 Valve 20 Processing tank 22 Loading port 23 Clean air supply unit 24 Filter 30 Case 32, 36 Shutter 34, 38 Ion emission port 42 Turntable 43 Drain cup 44 Nozzle

Claims (5)

An ion generator that generates and emits ions by corona discharge into the processing tank that carries in and processes the substrate,
Light emitting means for transferring light from a light emitting element through an optical fiber in the vicinity of an ion emission port of the ion generator,
Light receiving means for receiving light emitted from the optical fiber of the light emitting means to the ion emission port by a further optical fiber and transferring the light to a light receiving element,
By installing a plurality of static eliminators including the ion generator, the light emitting means and the light receiving means in the treatment tank, the light emitting means and the light receiving means sense the generation of particles when the corona discharge electrode of the ion generator is worn. And a controller for switching between the plurality of static elimination devices. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The static eliminator is provided with at least one or more cases in which two sets of the ion generator, the light emitting means, and the light receiving means are partitioned and stored on the upper side surface of the processing tank. A substrate processing apparatus having a discharge port through which ions are emitted from the ion generator, and a shutter provided at the discharge port when not in use so as to be closed under the control of the control unit. . The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The static eliminator connects a pipe and a valve for supplying a carrier gas to the inside of the case, opens and closes the valve under the control of the control unit, and supplies the carrier gas into the case. A substrate processing apparatus provided so that the ions are ejected into a processing tank. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
In the static eliminator, the tip of the optical fiber of the light emitting unit and the optical fiber of the light receiving unit extend to the vicinity of the ion emission port of the ion generator and have a predetermined width and are separated from each other. A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that it is set to 1.5 to 3.5 mm. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The processing tank is provided with a processing unit such as a liquid processing unit that processes the substrate with a processing liquid, or a substrate standby unit that waits for a substrate before or after the liquid processing, or a single processing unit. Substrate processing equipment.

Images