JP2005243812A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus in which a piping structure is simple and a sufficient processing is realized on a surface and a backside of a substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A plurality of screw pins 13 are arranged on a periphery corresponding to the outer shape of a wafer W at almost equal intervals in the upper face peripheral edge of a spin base 12, and they are disposed so that they can rotate around center axes along a vertical direction. Grooves 131 in width corresponding to thickness of the wafer W are spirally formed on peripheral faces of the screw pins 13. The wafer W is lowered or raised, and the wafer W can be immersed in processing liquid stored in a processing liquid storage 23 of a cup 2 or can be extracted from processing liquid. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate. Examples of substrates to be processed include semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, glass substrates for plasma displays, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, photomask substrates, and the like. .

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates one by one in order to perform processing with a processing liquid on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. Sometimes used.
The single wafer type substrate processing apparatus includes, for example, a spin chuck that rotates while holding the substrate substantially horizontally, and a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate rotated by the spin chuck. . The processing liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate receives a centrifugal force due to the rotation of the substrate, flows outward in the rotational radial direction of the substrate, and flows down from the periphery of the upper surface of the substrate along the end surface. As a result, the processing liquid spreads over the upper surface of the substrate, and the processing with the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate is achieved.
JP 2002-75943 A

However, in the configuration as described above, it is not possible to perform processing on the lower surface of the substrate held by the spin chuck.
Therefore, in Patent Document 1, a cylindrical weir member and a plurality of substrate support members for supporting a substrate inside thereof are provided on the upper surface of the disk-shaped base member, and the plurality of substrate support members horizontally The processing liquid (pure water) is supplied to the upper surface (front surface) of the substrate held by the upper nozzle disposed above the substrate, and the base member and the substrate are disposed from the lower nozzle disposed below the substrate. There has been proposed a substrate processing apparatus having a configuration in which a processing liquid is supplied to the lower surface of the substrate. The base member is coupled to the upper end of a rotating shaft arranged along the vertical direction, and the lower nozzle is inserted into the rotating shaft in the form of a central axis nozzle. The processing liquid supplied from the lower nozzle is stored on the base member to form a liquid layer of the processing liquid between the base member and the lower surface of the substrate. As a result, the processing liquid is supplied to the lower surface of the substrate, and the lower surface of the substrate is processed by the processing liquid.

However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, there are two lines for supplying the processing liquid, that is, for the upper nozzle and for the lower nozzle, and it takes time to install these pipes.
Further, in the configuration in which the processing liquid is supplied from the nozzle to the upper surface of the substrate, there is a portion where the processing liquid is not sufficiently supplied on the upper surface of the substrate, which may cause processing unevenness due to such non-uniform supply of processing liquid. .

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus having a simple piping configuration and capable of achieving good processing on the front and back surfaces of the substrate.

  In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a rotating member (12) that rotates about a predetermined rotation axis, and a substrate that is provided on the rotating member and supports a peripheral portion of the substrate (W). A supporting member (13), a processing liquid storage tank (23) for storing the processing liquid, a processing liquid supply pipe (28) for supplying the processing liquid to the processing liquid storage tank, and the substrate support An elevating mechanism (15) for moving the substrate supported by the member and the processing liquid storage tank relatively up and down so as to immerse / escape the substrate from the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage tank; A substrate processing apparatus including the substrate processing apparatus.

In addition, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.
According to this invention, the substrate can be immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage tank by moving the substrate and the processing liquid storage tank relatively up and down, and the substrate can be removed from the processing liquid. Can escape.

  Since the peripheral portion of the substrate is supported by the substrate support means, for example, if the substrate supported by the substrate support means is separated from the rotating member, the front and back surfaces of the substrate are immersed by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid. The processing liquid can be supplied uniformly. Therefore, there is no risk of uneven processing due to unevenness in the supply amount of processing liquid on the front and back surfaces of the substrate, and good processing with the processing liquid can be performed uniformly on the front and back surfaces of the substrate.

Furthermore, while the substrate is immersed in the processing liquid, the processing liquid in contact with the front surface and the back surface of the substrate can be replaced by rotating the rotating member. As a result, an unreacted processing liquid (a processing liquid that has not yet contributed to the processing) can be supplied to the front surface and the back surface of the substrate, and a good process can be uniformly applied to the entire surface of the substrate and the back surface. .
Further, according to the above configuration, the processing liquid supply pipe to the substrate is only one system of the processing liquid supply piping, so that compared to the conventional configuration in which two systems of processing liquid supply piping are required. The piping configuration is simple, and the labor required for piping installation can be reduced.

A second aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the substrate support member supports the substrate at a position away from the rotating member at a predetermined interval.
According to this invention, since the substrate supported by the substrate support means is separated from the rotating member, the processing liquid can be supplied uniformly to the front and back surfaces of the substrate by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid. . Therefore, there is no risk of uneven processing due to unevenness in the supply amount of processing liquid on the front and back surfaces of the substrate, and good processing with the processing liquid can be performed uniformly on the front and back surfaces of the substrate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, each of the substrate support members is disposed on a circumference corresponding to the outer shape of the substrate, and a circumferential surface on which a groove (131) for guiding the peripheral edge of the substrate is formed in a spiral shape is provided. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lift mechanism is configured to rotate the plurality of screw pins synchronously around a central axis. 4. .

According to the present invention, when the plurality of screw pins are synchronously rotated, the peripheral edge of the substrate is guided while being supported by the groove of each screw pin, and as a result, the substrate supported by the plurality of screw pins is supported with respect to the rotating member. Can be moved up and down.
The invention according to claim 4 further includes a drainage pipe (25) for draining the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage tank. A substrate processing apparatus.

When such a drainage pipe is provided, the treatment liquid can be supplied from the treatment liquid supply pipe to the treatment liquid storage tank through the drainage pipe by branching the treatment liquid supply pipe to the drainage pipe. .
The invention according to claim 5 further includes a drainage groove (24) provided so as to surround the processing liquid storage tank and collecting and draining the processing liquid overflowing from the processing liquid storage tank. A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

According to this invention, the processing liquid overflowing from the processing liquid storage tank can be collected in the drain groove and drained.
In addition, while the substrate is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage tank, a flow is formed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage tank by causing the processing liquid to overflow from the processing liquid storage tank. In this flow, the processing liquid in contact with the front surface and the back surface of the substrate can be replaced. Therefore, the unreacted processing liquid can be supplied to the front surface and the back surface of the substrate, and a favorable process can be uniformly applied to the entire surface of the substrate and the back surface.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view conceptually showing the structure of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus is an apparatus for performing processing with a processing liquid on a semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer W”) which is an example of a substrate, and rotates while holding the wafer W substantially horizontally. A spin chuck 1 for holding the cup, a cup 2 containing the spin chuck 1, and a splash guard 3 provided above the cup 2.

As long as the process for the wafer W is a process using a processing solution, for example, a cleaning process using a chemical solution such as sulfuric acid may be used, or SPM (sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide mixture) may be used. The resist stripping process used may be used.
The spin chuck 1 includes a spin shaft 11 disposed substantially vertically, a spin base 12 coupled to the upper end of the spin shaft 11, and a plurality of screw pins 13 disposed on the upper surface of the spin base 12. .

The spin base 12 is formed in a planar circular shape, and is provided so that the center axis of the spin axis 11 passes through the center along the horizontal plane.
The plurality of screw pins 13 are arranged at substantially equal intervals on the circumference corresponding to the outer shape of the wafer W at the periphery of the upper surface of the spin base 12, and are provided so as to be rotatable around a central axis along the vertical direction. Yes. A groove 131 having a width corresponding to the thickness of the wafer W is spirally formed on the peripheral surface of each screw pin 13. In addition, a wafer receiving portion 132 for receiving the peripheral portion of the lower surface of the wafer W is formed at the upper end portion of each screw pin 13 so as to be continuous with the groove 131.

  Accordingly, when the wafer W is placed in a state where the peripheral edge portion of the wafer W straddles the wafer receiving portion 132 of the plurality of screw pins 13 and the plurality of screw pins 13 are synchronously rotated in a predetermined direction, the peripheral edge portion of the wafer W is obtained. Enters the groove 131 of each screw pin 13, and the wafer W is supported substantially horizontally by the plurality of screw pins 13. When the plurality of screw pins 13 are further rotated, the peripheral edge of the wafer W is guided while being supported by the groove 131 of each screw pin 13 and moves downwardly close to the upper surface of the spin base 12. Further, when the plurality of screw pins 13 are synchronously rotated in the reverse direction, the wafer W is guided while the peripheral portion thereof is supported by the groove 131 of each screw pin 13 and separated upward from the upper surface of the spin base 12. Moving.

  A rotation drive mechanism 14 including a drive source such as a motor is coupled to the spin shaft 11. By inputting a rotational force to the spin shaft 11 from the rotational drive mechanism 14, the spin shaft 11 can be rotated about its central axis. Accordingly, when the wafer W is supported by the plurality of screw pins 13, a rotational force is input from the rotational drive mechanism 14 to the spin shaft 11, whereby the wafer W is rotated around the central axis of the spin shaft 11 together with the spin base 12. Can be made.

  A pin drive mechanism 15 including an electric motor for rotating the plurality of screw pins 13 is accommodated inside the spin base 12. The operating power of the pin driving mechanism 15 may be supplied from the outside through the spin shaft 11 or may be generated in the spin base 12. For example, when a plurality of power generation coils are disposed inside the spin base 12 and a plurality of permanent magnet pieces are appropriately disposed on the bottom surface of the cup 2, an induced electromotive force is generated in the power generation coil as the spin base 12 rotates. The induced electromotive force can be used as the operating power of the pin driving mechanism 15.

  The cup 2 includes a planar circular bottom surface 21, a cylindrical outer partition wall 221 that rises from the periphery of the bottom surface 21, and an inner side of the outer partition wall 221 on the bottom surface 21 and between the outer partition wall 221. And a cylindrical inner partition wall 222 provided at regular intervals. As a result, a treatment liquid reservoir 23 surrounded by the inner partition wall 222 is formed in the cup 2, and the drainage groove 24 is formed outside the treatment liquid reservoir 23 with the inner partition wall 222 and the outer partition wall 221. Are formed so as to surround the processing liquid reservoir 23.

  The treatment liquid storage unit 23 accommodates the spin base 12 of the spin chuck 1, and the inner partition wall 222 is formed at a height higher than the upper surface of the spin base 12 and lower than the upper end of the screw pin 13. ing. Further, in the treatment liquid reservoir 23, the spin shaft 11 of the spin chuck 1 passes through the bottom surface 21 so as to freely rotate. A space between the bottom surface 21 and the spin shaft 11 is sealed in a liquid-tight manner by a seal member.

  Drainage pipes 25 and 26 are connected to the processing liquid reservoir 23 and the drainage groove 24 on the bottom surface 21, respectively. The drainage pipes 25 and 26 extend to a drainage line (not shown). In the middle of the drainage pipe 25, a drainage valve 27 made of, for example, an air valve is interposed. Further, a processing liquid supply pipe 28 extending from a processing liquid supply source (not shown) is connected to the middle of the drainage pipe 25 at a position closer to the processing liquid storage section 23 than the drainage valve 27. In the middle of the processing liquid supply pipe 28, a processing liquid supply valve 29 made of, for example, an air valve is interposed.

  Accordingly, when the processing liquid supply valve 29 is opened with the drain valve 27 closed, the processing liquid flows from the processing liquid supply pipe 28 into the drain pipe 25, and the processing liquid is stored through the drain pipe 25. Supplied to the unit 23. Then, the processing liquid supplied to the processing liquid storage unit 23 is stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23 until the liquid level reaches the inner partition wall 222, and if it is supplied more than that, it passes over the inner partition wall 222. Then, it overflows into the drainage groove 24 and is drained from the drainage groove 24 through the drainage pipe 26. Further, by closing the processing liquid supply valve 29 and opening the drainage valve 27, the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23 can be drained through the drainage pipe 25.

  The splash guard 3 has a substantially rotationally symmetric shape with respect to the rotational axis of the spin chuck 1 (the central axis of the spin shaft 11), and is a substantially cylindrical outer cylinder having the rotational axis of the spin chuck 1 as the central axis. A portion 31, an inclined portion 32 inclined obliquely upward so as to approach the rotation axis of the spin chuck 1 from the upper end edge of the outer cylindrical portion 31, and a substantially cylindrical inner cylindrical portion 33 suspended from the lower surface of the inclined portion 32, have. The outer cylindrical portion 31 and the inner cylindrical portion 33 are opposed to each other with a space therebetween, and the upper end portion of the outer partition wall 221 enters between the outer cylindrical portion 31 and the inner cylindrical portion 33. In addition, the upper end edge of the inclined portion 32 is located at an appropriate interval with respect to the upper end edge of the inner partition wall 222, whereby the upper end edge of the inner partition wall 222 and the upper end edge of the inclined portion 32 are In the meantime, an opening 34 for guiding the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W to the drainage groove 24 is formed.

2 to 4 are schematic sectional views for explaining processing in the substrate processing apparatus.
As shown in FIG. 2, first, the processing liquid is supplied from the drainage pipe 25 to the processing liquid reservoir 23 by opening the processing liquid supply valve 29 with the drainage valve 27 closed. In addition, a wafer W to be processed is carried in by a transfer robot (not shown), for example, a state where the surface which is a device forming surface is directed upward and straddles the wafer receiving portions 132 of the plurality of screw pins 13 Set to

  After the processing liquid supply valve 29 is opened, when a sufficient time has passed for the liquid level of the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage section 23 to reach the vicinity of the upper end of the inner partition wall 222, a plurality of screw pins 13 is rotated synchronously, and the wafer W is lowered to a position close to the upper surface of the spin base 12 at a predetermined interval. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23, and is spread over the entire upper surface (front surface), lower surface (back surface), and end surface of the wafer W. The processing liquid comes into contact with each other, and the upper surface, the lower surface, and the end surface of the wafer W are processed with the processing liquid.

  While the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid, the spin chuck 1 (wafer W) is rotated at a predetermined rotation speed (for example, 0 to 100 rpm, preferably 50 rpm). By the rotation of the spin chuck 1, the processing liquid in contact with the upper surface, the lower surface, and the end surface of the wafer W is always replaced. Further, while the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid, the processing liquid is continuously supplied from the drainage pipe 25 to the processing liquid storage unit 23. By supplying the processing liquid, a flow is formed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23, and the processing liquid in contact with the upper surface, the lower surface, and the end surface of the wafer W is always replaced by this flow. Therefore, it is possible to always supply unreacted processing liquid (processing liquid that has not yet contributed to processing) to the upper surface, the lower surface, and the end surface of the wafer W, and to perform good processing on the entire upper surface, lower surface, and end surface of the wafer W. It can be applied uniformly.

  When a predetermined time elapses after the wafer W is immersed in the processing solution, the rotation of the spin chuck 1 is temporarily stopped, and then a plurality of screw pins 13 are rotated synchronously, as shown in FIG. The wafer W supported by the pins 13 escapes from the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage part 23, and the end surface of the wafer W is the upper edge of the inner partition wall 222 of the cup 2 and the inclined part 32 of the splash guard 3. It is raised to a position facing the opening 34 between the upper edge of the first and second edges. Further, the processing liquid supply valve 29 is closed, the drainage valve 27 is opened, and the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23 is drained through the drainage pipe 25.

  Thereafter, the spin chuck 1 is rotated at a high speed at a predetermined high rotation speed (for example, 1000 to 5000 rpm, preferably 3000 rpm). As a result, the processing liquid adhering to the wafer W pulled up from the processing liquid receives the centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the wafer W by the spin chuck 1 and scatters outward of the rotation radius of the wafer W. At this time, since the end surface of the wafer W faces the opening 34, most of the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W passes through the opening 34 and is collected in the drain groove 24 and connected to the drain groove 24. The drainage pipe 26 is drained.

  As described above, when the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23, the processing liquid is uniformly supplied to the front surface, the back surface, and the end surface of the wafer W. Therefore, there is no risk of uneven processing due to unevenness in the supply amount of the processing liquid on the front surface, back surface, and end surface of the wafer W, and good processing with the processing liquid is uniformly performed on the front surface, back surface, and end surface of the wafer W. it can.

In addition, since there is only one line for supplying the processing liquid to the wafer W including the processing liquid supply pipe 28 and the drainage pipe 25, compared to the conventional configuration in which two lines for processing liquid supply are required. Therefore, the piping configuration is simple, and the labor required for piping installation can be reduced.
In this embodiment, while the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid, the spin chuck 1 (wafer W) is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed. However, the predetermined rotational speed includes zero. May be. That is, the rotation of the spin chuck 1 may be stopped while the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid.

  As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form. For example, in the above embodiment, the configuration in which the wafer W is moved up and down with respect to the spin base 12 by the rotation of the screw pin 13 is taken as an example. However, the spin chuck 1 (spin base 12) is configured to be movable up and down. The wafer W may be lowered or raised together with the spin chuck 1 so that the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23 or pulled up from the processing liquid. . Further, the cup 2 is configured to be movable up and down, and the cup 2 is raised or lowered, so that the wafer W is immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage unit 23 or pulled up from the processing liquid. You may make it do.

  In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

It is sectional drawing which shows notionally the structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining processing in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and shows a state before a wafer is immersed in a processing solution. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining processing in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and shows a state in which a wafer is immersed in a processing solution. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining processing in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 and shows a state where the substrate is rotated at a high speed in order to remove the processing liquid from the wafer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Spin chuck 2 Cup 12 Spin base 13 Screw pin 15 Pin drive mechanism 23 Process liquid storage part 24 Drain groove 25 Drain pipe 131 Groove W Semiconductor wafer

Claims (5)

A rotating member that rotates about a predetermined axis of rotation;
A substrate support member provided on the rotating member and supporting the peripheral edge of the substrate;
A processing liquid storage tank for storing the processing liquid;
A treatment liquid supply pipe for supplying the treatment liquid to the treatment liquid storage tank;
An elevating mechanism for elevating and lowering the substrate supported by the substrate support member and the processing liquid storage tank relative to the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage tank; A substrate processing apparatus including the substrate processing apparatus.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate support member supports the substrate at a position away from the rotating member at a predetermined interval. The substrate support member is a plurality of screw pins that are arranged on the circumference corresponding to the outer shape of the substrate and each have a circumferential surface in which a groove for guiding the peripheral edge of the substrate is formed in a spiral shape,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elevating mechanism rotates the plurality of screw pins synchronously around a central axis.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a drain pipe for draining the processing liquid stored in the processing liquid storage tank.   5. The liquid discharge device according to claim 1, further comprising a drainage groove that is provided so as to surround the processing liquid storage tank and collects and discharges the processing liquid that overflows from the processing liquid storage tank. The substrate processing apparatus as described.

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