JP2005244130A - Method and apparatus for processing substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for processing a substrate capable of efficiently and uniformly performing surface treatment of a plurality of substrates. <P>SOLUTION: The method for processing the substrate comprises the steps of (1) performing chemical treatment of a plurality of upright substrates W held in an equally spaced state, (2) pulling up the substrates W from the chemical bath and transferring it to a cleaning bath 30, (3) forming a rinse liquid shower zone above the substrate receiving port of the cleaning bath 30 by nearly horizontally jetting the rinse liquid from second jet nozzles 41, 42 having a plurality of jets with predetermined spacing between them installed above the substrate receiving port, (4) passing the transferred substrate W through the shower zone so that the substrate surface is brought into contact in parallel with the jetted rinse liquid and is immersed in the cleaning bath 30, and (5) cleaning the substrate W by further jetting the rinse liquid from the first jet nozzles 35<SB>1-4</SB>after the substrate W is immersed in the cleaning bath 30. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus, and more particularly to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus that enable surface treatment of a plurality of substrates to be performed efficiently and uniformly.

Various substrates (hereinafter referred to as substrates) such as semiconductor substrates, liquid crystal display substrates, recording disk substrates, and mask substrates are treated with various chemical solutions in order to make the surfaces clean and uniform. After that, the substrate is washed with pure water and further dried using an organic solvent.
Such substrate processing methods are generally roughly classified into a single wafer method and a batch method. Of these, the single-wafer method processes each substrate individually, so it can perform fine cleaning even though the production efficiency is low. The batch method can process a large number of substrates at a time and has a high processing capacity. Respectively.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a known substrate processing apparatus employing a batch method.
The substrate processing apparatus 10 includes a plurality of substrate processing tanks (hereinafter referred to as processing tanks) 11 to 17, in which different types of chemicals A to C and a rinsing liquid are stored in each processing tank. A series of processes such as removal of contaminants on the substrate surface, removal of the oxide film, or stripping of the resist film are performed by sequentially immersing in the first treatment tank 11 to the sixth treatment tank 16.
That is, first, the substrate W is immersed in the first processing tank 11 in which the chemical solution A is stored for a predetermined time, and a predetermined surface treatment is performed. After this chemical processing is completed, the substrate W is pulled up from the processing tank 11 and transferred to the second processing tank 12 in which the rinsing liquid is stored by, for example, a transfer mechanism using a robot (not shown). 12 is washed for a predetermined time.
After this cleaning is completed, the substrate W is pulled up from the processing tank 12, and is transferred to the third processing tank 13 in which the chemical solution B is stored by the transfer mechanism, and is immersed in the processing tank 13 for a predetermined time and is subjected to a predetermined surface treatment. Is done.
Thereafter, the substrate W is sequentially immersed in the fourth to sixth treatment tanks in the same order, and the cleaning with the rinse liquid and the treatment with the chemical liquid C are repeatedly performed. Processing is performed.
For the chemical liquids A to C, for example, a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, hydrofluoric acid (HF, DHF), a mixture of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, or the like is used. Moreover, pure water is used for the rinse liquid.

However, in the substrate processing apparatus adopting the batch method, when the processing of the substrate is completed in one processing tank, the substrate is pulled up from the processing tank and sequentially transferred to the next processing tank adjacent by the transfer mechanism. . At this time, the substrate is transported while being exposed to air with a chemical solution or pure water (hereinafter referred to as a processing solution) attached thereto.
For this reason, when the substrate W to which the processing liquid is attached is exposed to air, the processing liquid and oxygen in the air react to change the surface of the substrate. For example, when a substrate made of silicon is exposed to air with pure water attached, silicon and oxygen in the air react to form an unnecessary natural oxide film at the boundary between the pure water droplet and the substrate. As a result, even if the pure water adhering to the substrate is removed by a drying process, a trace of the adhering pure water remains as a watermark.
Accordingly, various substrate cleaning apparatuses that are free from the generation of watermarks have been developed and introduced in patent literature. (For example, refer to Patent Documents 1 and 2 below.)

FIG. 12 is a schematic front view of a cleaning apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below.
This cleaning apparatus includes a substrate cassette 111 that accommodates a substrate 110, a chemical treatment tank 112 that performs chemical treatment, a flowing water washing tank 114 that performs running water cleaning after chemical treatment, and a substrate cassette 111 in a state in which the substrate 110 is stored. It comprises a transfer arm 115 for transferring from the treatment tank 112 to the running water cleaning tank 114 and a shower nozzle 116 for discharging shower water 117 for preventing drying.
In the surface treatment of the substrate by this cleaning apparatus, first, the substrate 110 is accommodated in the substrate cassette 111 and immersed in the chemical solution treatment tank 112 to remove organic matter or metal contamination. Next, the substrate 110 processed in the chemical solution processing tank 112 is transferred to the running water cleaning tank 114 by the transfer arm 115. At this time, shower water 117 is discharged from the shower nozzle 116 simultaneously with the conveyance, and is conveyed to the running water washing tank 114 while the surface of the substrate 110 is wetted with the shower water.

Moreover, the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 described below is configured such that when the processing liquid is drained from the processing tank, the rinsing liquid is sprayed onto the substrate.
Furthermore, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 3 below, pure water is jetted toward the substrate on the way of transfer between at least two processing units among the plurality of processing units.

Among these substrate processing apparatuses, according to the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below, shower water 117 is discharged from the shower nozzle 116 at the moment when the substrate comes out of the processing tank 112, so that the surface of the substrate 110 is dried. Therefore, foreign substances adhering to the substrate can be reduced.
Further, according to the apparatus described in Patent Document 2 below, when the processing liquid is drained from the processing tank, the rinse liquid is sprayed onto the substrate, so that foreign substances adhering to the substrate can be reduced and dried. Also, the surface will not be stained.
Furthermore, according to the apparatus described in Patent Document 3, since the substrate is transported while being washed by flowing pure water down, the substrate does not adhere to the surface of the substrate with pure water droplets in a steady state. Water marks are no longer generated on the surface.

However, all of these substrate processing apparatuses dry the substrate during the transfer of the substrate and prevent the generation of watermarks by this drying. No consideration is given to the uniformization of the substrate surface after the chemical processing. .
There is also known a substrate processing method in which the processing tank is made uniform. For example, since the treatment liquid does not smoothly circulate in the treatment tank and stays in a part, a so-called stagnation phenomenon occurs, the supply of the treatment liquid into the treatment tank is selectively switched, and various treatment liquids are used. Substrate processing methods are known that suppress the occurrence of stagnation by forming a flow. (For example, refer to Patent Document 4).
In addition, since the flow of the processing liquid supplied from the supply nozzle into the processing tank becomes non-uniform, the processing liquid in the processing tank is rectified using a plate-like member having a plurality of slit holes, A substrate processing method for suppressing non-uniformity such as a cleaning process is also known. (For example, refer to Patent Document 5).
However, these substrate processing methods are not sufficient to efficiently and uniformly perform surface treatment of a plurality of substrates. Hereinafter, this point will be described in detail.

  Currently, a QDR (quick dump rinse) type cleaning method is known as the most efficient cleaning method in the cleaning process. This method is used in a batch type substrate processing process. After a plurality of substrates carried in the cleaning tank are cleaned in the cleaning tank for a certain period of time, the rinse liquid in the cleaning tank is quickly discharged and discharged. After completion, the rinse liquid is stored again in the cleaning tank and cleaning is performed. When this method is used, the chemical liquid that adheres to the substrate during transport and is brought into the cleaning tank in large quantities is discharged simultaneously with the rinse liquid. In this cleaning method, the substrate surface can be efficiently cleaned by performing this process a plurality of times.

  However, when cleaning the substrate by this QDR method, if a hydrofluoric acid chemical solution is used, the rinse solution (for example, pure water) is an insulator when the rinse solution in the cleaning tank is quickly discharged. Friction may occur, thereby causing static electricity on the substrate surface. When static electricity is generated on the substrate surface, a dust collection phenomenon occurs, and there is a risk that fine dust adheres to the substrate surface, thereby contaminating the substrate surface. Furthermore, since the rinse liquid stored in the cleaning tank is quickly discharged from the lower discharge port, the liquid surface of the rinse liquid passes through the substrate surface during the discharge, and a large number of dusts and the like floating on the liquid surface are discharged during the discharge process. There is also a possibility of adhering to the substrate surface. Therefore, when substrate cleaning by the QDR method cannot be performed, generally, rapid discharge is not performed, and the rinsing liquid is circulated by continuously supplying the rinsing liquid into the processing tank and overflowing the rinsing liquid mixed with the chemical liquid in the processing tank. To be cleaned. However, when cleaning is performed by this method, the rate of decrease in the chemical concentration in the processing solution is extremely slow compared to the QDR method. In particular, when a plurality of substrates are loaded and the substrate surface is cleaned, each substrate is cleaned. The gap between the substrates is very narrow, and the rinsing liquid does not circulate sufficiently through the gap. Therefore, the rinsing liquid and the chemical liquid stay in the gap between the substrates, and the surface treatment of the substrate becomes uneven.

FIG. 13 is a front view schematically showing the state of the etched substrate surface. For example, when the substrate surface is etched using a hydrofluoric acid-based etchant, the processing speed increases in proportion to the concentration of hydrofluoric acid, and the substrate surface has a central portion X as shown in FIG. Etching progresses more than the intermediate portion Y, and etching of the outer peripheral portion Z is suppressed compared to the intermediate portion Y. That is, the higher the concentration of the etching solution, the more uniformly the substrate surface is not processed.
One of the causes of this non-uniformity is that the chemical solution adheres unevenly on the substrate surface, and this non-uniformly attached chemical solution is not quickly removed in the cleaning process, but remains locally on the substrate surface. There is to be.

In particular, if a large number of substrates are to be cleaned at a time, the rinse liquid stays in the gap between the substrates placed at a predetermined interval without smoothly passing through the circulating flow of the rinse liquid in the cleaning tank. In short-time cleaning, since the chemical solution adhering to the gap between the substrates, particularly near the central portion X, is not washed away, a long-time treatment is required. In the meantime, since the chemical solution stays in the gap, the chemical reaction at the center of the substrate proceeds during this time even if a large amount of rinse solution is supplied to the cleaning tank and cleaning is performed. When the chemical treatment of the central portion X is performed longer than the intermediate portion Y and the outer peripheral portion Z, and the treatment is etching, the substrate surface cut by the etching is etched deeper than necessary. On the other hand, in the outer peripheral portion Z of the substrate, the cleaning tank is formed larger than the substrate in order to carry in, etc., so that the interval between the substrate placed in the processing tank and the side wall of the processing tank is Since the gap between the substrates is wider than the gap between the substrates, the chemical solution adhering to the outer peripheral portion Z close to the interval portion between the substrate where the rinse liquid is circulated well and the sidewall of the cleaning tank is short. For example, in the case of an etching process, the substrate surface cut by etching tends to be etched shallower than the central part X and the intermediate part Y.
Such non-uniformity of the surface treatment that occurs on individual substrates is not limited to the etching treatment, and similarly occurs in the treatment with other chemicals.

However, recently, since the gap between the substrates has become extremely narrow in order to process a large amount of substrates at once, it is increasingly difficult to remove the chemical solution adhering to the gap, and the non-uniformity of the substrate surface increases. Tend to. Further, the chemical solution adhering to the substrate flows down from the upper part of the substrate to the lower region during transportation, and concentrates in the lower region. Therefore, the lower region where the amount of the chemical solution is large causes chemical reaction to proceed more than other regions, that is, the upper region or the middle region, and also causes the substrate surface to be uneven.
Furthermore, this non-uniformity problem also exists in a substrate row in which a plurality of substrates are provided. For example, there is a difference in the degree of chemical treatment on the substrate surface even between the substrates located at the center and the end of the substrate row.

Regarding the above-described problems, the substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method described in the following patent documents do not recognize these problems and do not show countermeasures.
Of these substrate processing apparatuses, the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below is configured such that shower water is discharged from the shower nozzle at the moment when the substrate comes out of the processing tank. Shower water is only for the purpose of preventing drying of the substrate surface, and spray water for drying prevention is usually sprayed in a mist, and a large amount of chemical solution is washed away by such shower water for prevention of drying. In the end, this apparatus will bring a large amount of chemical into the washing tank.

JP-A-4-259222 (FIG. 2, paragraphs [0024] to [0027]) JP-A-4-336430 (FIG. 1, paragraphs [0013] to [0015]) JP 2000-1000076 (FIG. 1, paragraphs [0043] and [0044]) JP 2001-274133 A (FIG. 3, paragraphs [0039] to [0042]) JP 2001-110607 A (FIG. 1, paragraphs [0022] to [0027])

In recent years, higher density and higher definition of semiconductor devices have been developed. On the other hand, in substrate processing, improvement of processing performance and efficiency, and downsizing and cost reduction of processing apparatuses are required.
Therefore, the present inventor, in view of such a situation, in response to demands for improving processing performance and efficiency, reducing the price of the apparatus, etc., in the conventional substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus, for example, in the processing tank Suppressing the stagnation phenomenon of the processing solution cannot meet these requirements, and we need to take measures including the substrate transfer process, and as a result of examining various countermeasures, the process including the transfer process In the process, the present inventors have completed the present invention by ascertaining that each of the above-mentioned requirements, in particular, higher-precision homogenization, can be achieved by quickly replacing the chemical liquid with the rinse liquid.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing method capable of efficiently and uniformly performing surface treatment of a plurality of substrates.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of efficiently and uniformly performing surface treatment of a plurality of substrates with a simple configuration.

The substrate processing method of the invention according to claim 1 of the present application is characterized by including the following steps (1) to (5).
(1) A chemical solution processing step of immersing and processing a plurality of substrates held in an upright posture with substantially equal gaps in a chemical solution in a chemical solution tank.
(2) After the process is completed, the substrate is lifted from the chemical solution tank, rinsed with the rinse liquid in advance, and further supplied with the rinse liquid from the first injection nozzle in the tank, so that the rinse liquid overflows. The conveyance process conveyed to a tank.
(3) The rinsing liquid is supplied in a substantially horizontal direction from a second spray nozzle having a plurality of spray ports provided at predetermined intervals above the substrate storage port of the cleaning tank in conjunction with the transport of the substrate. A shower zone forming step of forming a rinsing liquid shower zone above the substrate accommodation opening.
(4) A bath outside shower cleaning process in which the transported substrate is passed through the shower zone so that the surface of each substrate is in contact with the spray rinse liquid and immersed in the rinse liquid in the cleaning tank.
(5) A tank cleaning process in which the substrate is immersed in a rinse liquid in the cleaning tank and then rinsed with a rinse liquid from the first spray nozzle.

  The invention according to claim 2 of the present application relates to the substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein each of the injection ports of the second injection nozzle is on a plurality of horizontal lines having a predetermined interval, and substantially the same interval as the gap of the substrate. It is provided in.

  The invention according to claim 3 of the present application relates to the substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second spray nozzle is provided to face both upper side portions of the substrate storage port of the cleaning tank, and the both sides A shower zone is formed by the rinsing liquid sprayed from the second spray nozzle of the section.

  The invention according to claim 4 of the present application relates to the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and is formed between the upper part of the substrate accommodation port of the cleaning tank and the second injection nozzle. The width in the vertical direction in the shower zone is less than one-half of the substrate diameter.

  The invention of claim 5 of the present application relates to the substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the inner tank of the cleaning tank includes an inner peripheral wall surface between the substrate receiving port and the bottom of the cleaning tank, A third injection nozzle that injects a rinsing liquid toward the gap between the substrates is provided opposite to the third injection nozzle, and the lower end of the substrate is the rinsing liquid in the cleaning tank in the step (4). The rinsing liquid is sprayed toward the substrate from the time of being immersed in the substrate.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing method according to the first aspect, wherein the chemical solution is a hydrofluoric acid-based etching solution.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing method according to the first aspect, wherein the conveyance speed in the step (2) is 240 mm / sec or more.

  The invention according to claim 8 of the present application relates to the substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of first injection nozzles are provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank, and from these injection nozzles to substantially the center of the substrate. The rinsing liquid is sprayed toward the head.

The substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 9 of the present application is capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates held in a standing posture with a substantially equal gap therebetween, and has an inner tank having a first injection nozzle at the bottom, In the substrate processing apparatus provided with a cleaning tank that is provided around the upper part of the inner tank and that includes an outer tank that receives the rinse liquid overflowing from the inner tank,
A second spray nozzle is provided on the upper side of the substrate receiving port of the cleaning tank, and the second spray nozzle is formed into a hollow tubular body having a predetermined thickness and length in the longitudinal axis direction of the substrate. The second injection nozzle includes a plurality of injection holes each having a plurality of injection holes each having a small hole formed at substantially the same interval as the gap, and each of the injection nozzles has the substrate. When the substrate is lowered to a position immediately before being accommodated in the cleaning tank, a processing solution in a substantially horizontal direction is ejected from each of the ejection ports toward the gap of the substrate. And

  A tenth aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the second spray nozzle is disposed opposite to both upper side portions of the substrate receiving port of the cleaning tank. It is characterized by.

  An eleventh aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing apparatus according to the ninth or tenth aspect, wherein the second injection nozzle has a length corresponding to about one half of the diameter of the substrate from an upper portion of the outer tub. It is installed in the position away upwards.

  A twelfth aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the ninth to eleventh aspects, wherein the second injection nozzle is rotatably supported so that the direction of the injection port can be changed. It is characterized by.

  A thirteenth aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein the inner tank of the cleaning tank has an inner peripheral wall surface between a substrate receiving port and a bottom of the cleaning tank, A third spray nozzle that sprays the rinsing liquid toward the gap between the substrates is arranged to face the gap.

  A fourteenth aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing apparatus according to the ninth aspect, wherein each of the first spray nozzles sprays a rinsing liquid toward a substantially central portion of the substrate.

  A fifteenth aspect of the present invention relates to the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourteenth aspect, wherein the first injection nozzle is rotatably supported so that the direction of the injection port can be changed. .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, a large amount of the chemical liquid is attached to the substrate that is pulled up from the chemical tank and transported to the cleaning tank, but is injected from the second injection nozzle when passing through the rinse liquid shower zone. Most of the chemical solution adhered to the substrate passes through the gaps between the substrates, especially the large-sized chemical solution is washed away. Is discharged.
As a result, the amount of the chemical solution brought into the cleaning tank becomes extremely small, and the concentration change of the rinsing liquid in the cleaning tank becomes small. For this reason, since the substrate in which the amount of the attached chemical solution is reduced can be cleaned in an ideal state in the cleaning tank, the cleaning time for washing off the chemical solution can be shortened, and the substrate surface can be processed uniformly at the same time. .

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, the rinse liquid sprayed from the plurality of spray ports smoothly enters the gap between the substrates, and the substrate can be efficiently shower-cleaned.

  According to the invention of claim 3, since the shower zone is formed by the rinsing liquid sprayed from the second spray nozzle provided facing both upper side portions of the substrate storage port of the cleaning tank, a plurality of substrates are formed. When passing through this shower zone, the rinsing liquid sprayed from the jet ports on both sides collides on the substantially vertical center line of the substrate between the substrates, and the rinsing liquid becomes a radial scattered flow due to this collision. It is possible to efficiently wash away the chemical solution adhering to the substrate. In addition, in the shower zone formed outside this cleaning tank, more rinsing liquid flows down to the center of the substrate where the rinsing liquid is difficult to circulate in the cleaning tank. Thus, a more uniform cleaning process can be performed in combination with the cleaning process in the cleaning tank.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently wash off the chemical solution adhering to the substrate. That is, a large amount of chemical liquid is attached to the substrate that is pulled up from the chemical tank and transported to the cleaning tank, but if the rinse liquid is sprayed with a predetermined width in the process of transporting to the cleaning tank, the rinse liquid is Since it touches the substrate surface and flows to the lower part along the substrate, the chemical solution that is concentrated on the lower end due to gravity during the transfer process can be washed off well, and the width of the rinse solution is 2 minutes the diameter of the substrate. 1 or less, the shower cleaning in the shower zone can be performed satisfactorily, and there is no need to spray a large amount of rinse liquid.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the substrate can be cleaned following the shower cleaning described above, it is possible to efficiently wash away the chemical remaining in the shower cleaning by cleaning the third spray nozzle.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, for example, even when a hydrofluoric acid type etching solution having a high etching speed is used as the chemical solution, most of the etching solution is washed away before being immersed in the rinsing solution in the cleaning tank. As a result, the non-uniformity of the surface of each substrate is reduced, and uniform processing is possible with little variation between the substrates.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the chemical solution adhering to the substrate flows down to the lower end portion of the substrate due to gravity and accumulates at the lower end portion, and the adhesion amount of the chemical solution is different between the upper portion and the lower portion of the substrate. However, by making the substrate transport speed faster than 230 mm / sec in the conventional apparatus, the chemical reaction difference between the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate surface can be reduced. Accordingly, the reaction speed of the chemical solution on the substrate surface becomes substantially the same, the non-uniformity of the individual substrate surfaces is eliminated, and uniform processing is possible without variation between the substrates.

  According to the invention of claim 8, the rinse liquid stored in the cleaning tank in advance is efficiently circulated in the tank by the rinse liquid sprayed from the first spray nozzle provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank, and a plurality of sheets The substrate can be efficiently cleaned. In other words, the rinse liquid is sprayed toward the center of the substrate where the circulation of the rinse liquid is delayed during the cleaning process in the cleaning tank, thereby promoting the circulation of the rinse liquid at the center of the substrate and enabling more uniform processing of the substrate surface. .

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the substrate can be efficiently cleaned before being accommodated in the cleaning tank by a simple configuration in which the second injection nozzle is provided on the upper side portion of the substrate storing port of the cleaning tank. Therefore, the chemical reaction on the substrate surface caused by the chemical solution adhering to the substrate can be suppressed before being stored in the cleaning tank. Further, since the chemical solution is cleaned before being stored in the cleaning tank, the chemical solution brought into the cleaning tank is reduced, and it is possible to perform uniform processing in a short time while the processing solution is stable.
Further, the second injection nozzle can be formed by processing a hollow tubular body having a predetermined thickness and length, so that the structure is simple and can be manufactured at low cost, and can be easily incorporated into an existing substrate processing apparatus. Can do. In addition, there has been a need to provide a predetermined gap due to the problem of stagnation in the conventional cleaning tank by washing off the chemical solution adhering to the surface of each substrate before carrying it into the cleaning tank by the second injection nozzle. The gap between the substrates can be narrowed, and the apparatus can be miniaturized.
As a result, by adding the second injection nozzle to the existing substrate processing apparatus, it is possible to easily improve the cleaning performance at a low cost.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to spray the rinsing liquid from both ends of the substrate toward the center of the substrate substantially horizontally from both ends. As a result, the sprayed rinsing liquid enters the gap between the substrates and collides with the substrate near the center line. This collision causes the rinsing liquid to form a radially scattered flow that contacts the substrate surface and adheres to the substrate. It is possible to efficiently wash away the chemicals that are being used.

  According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to efficiently wash off the chemical solution adhering to the substrate. That is, a large amount of chemical liquid is attached to the substrate that is pulled up from the chemical tank and transported to the cleaning tank, but if the rinse liquid is sprayed with a predetermined width in the process of transporting to the cleaning tank, the rinse liquid is Since it touches the substrate surface and flows to the lower part along the substrate, the chemical solution that is concentrated on the lower end due to gravity during the transfer process can be washed off well, and the width of the rinse solution is 2 minutes the diameter of the substrate. 1 or less, the shower cleaning in the shower zone can be performed satisfactorily, and there is no need to spray a large amount of rinse liquid.

  According to the invention of claim 12, since the injection port of the injection nozzle can be changed according to the position where the substrate is accommodated in the cleaning tank, the holding state of the substrate, etc., it can be promptly dealt with even if the cleaning conditions are different, and the cleaning process It can be done efficiently.

  According to the invention of claim 13, by providing the third spray nozzle, cleaning can be performed from the initial stage when the substrate is accommodated in the cleaning tank by the sprayed rinse liquid. Can be washed out efficiently and quickly. Further, in order to help the overflow of the rinsing liquid in the cleaning tank, the rinsing liquid or chemical liquid that comes into contact with the substrate passing through the shower zone and falls to the cleaning tank can be more efficiently flowed out of the tank. .

  According to the invention of claim 14, the rinse liquid stored in the cleaning tank in advance is efficiently circulated in the tank by the rinse liquid supplied from the first spray nozzle provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank, and the substrate is supported. A plurality of substrates held in the mechanism can be efficiently cleaned. In other words, the rinse liquid is sprayed toward the central part of the substrate where the circulation of the rinse liquid is delayed during the cleaning process in the cleaning tank, thereby promoting the circulation of the rinse liquid in the central part of the substrate and enabling more uniform processing of the substrate surface. .

  According to the invention of claim 15, since the injection port of the injection nozzle can be changed according to the state of the substrate accommodated in the cleaning tank, it can be promptly dealt with even if the cleaning conditions are different, and the cleaning process can be performed efficiently. It becomes possible.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment described below exemplifies a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus for embodying the technical idea of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention to these. Other embodiments within the scope of the claims are equally applicable.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the overall configuration of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. This figure is the same as the substrate processing apparatus used in the description of the background art.
2 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between one cleaning tank and the substrate assembly in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship of FIG. 2 from another angle, and FIG. 4 is an upper view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view, FIG. 5 shows an injection nozzle, FIG. 5 (a) is a perspective view, FIG. 5 (b) is a front view, and FIG. 5 (c) is an AA cross section of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process in which a substrate is accommodated in the processing tank, FIG. 7 is a timing chart illustrating the timing of supplying the rinsing liquid to the processing tank, and FIG. 8 is a plurality of units provided in the processing tank. It is sectional drawing explaining the injection direction of the rinse liquid injected from this nozzle.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 10 includes a plurality of processing tanks 11 to 17 that are provided side by side with a predetermined interval, and an attached mechanism. The attachment mechanism includes, for example, a processing liquid supply mechanism to each processing tank, a discharge mechanism that discharges the processing liquid stored in each processing tank, and a transfer robot that transfers the substrate. Since these attachment mechanisms are already known in this type of substrate processing apparatus, illustration and description thereof are omitted.
Among these processing tanks, chemical liquids A, B, and C are stored in the processing tanks 11, 13, and 15, respectively, and rinse liquids are stored in the other processing tanks 12, 14, and 16, respectively.
The substrate W is immersed in the processing tanks 11 to 16 in order, and a series of processes such as removal of contaminants on the substrate surface, removal of the oxide film, or peeling of the resist film is performed.

Transfer and immersion of the substrate W between the processing tanks are performed by a transfer robot (not shown). It is preferable to use a robot that can produce a higher speed than the conventional robot. Incidentally, since the transfer robot used in the conventional apparatus is approximately 230 mm / sec, a robot faster than this, for example, 240 mm / sec or more is used.
Supply of the chemical | medical solution, rinse solution, etc. to each processing tank 11-16 is supplied through the supply pipe | tube from a chemical | medical solution and a rinse solution supply source. Moreover, discharge | emission of the chemical | medical solution and rinse liquid which were stored by each processing tank 11-16 is performed through a discharge pipe. In FIG. 1, these supply pipes and discharge pipes are omitted. The processing tank 17 is a processing tank for drying the substrate W.
For the chemical solutions A, B, and C, a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide, hydrofluoric acid (HF), a mixture of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide, or the like is used. The rinse liquid is pure water. Each of the treatment tanks 11 to 16 stores these chemical solutions and rinse solutions, and performs a series of processes such as removal of contaminants on the substrate surface, removal of oxide films, or resist film peeling. In the following description, these chemical solutions A, B, and C are simply referred to as chemical solutions.

  The substrate W is held by the substrate support mechanism 20 in each of the processing tanks 11 to 17 and is transferred by the transfer robot R. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate support mechanism 20 includes a chuck 21 for holding both sides of a plurality of substrates W by two opposing arms and transporting them to each processing tank, and a guide 22 provided in each processing tank. The chuck 21 and the guide 22 hold a plurality of substrates W in an upright posture at an equal interval at a predetermined pitch. The substrate support mechanism 20 holds, for example, a substrate having a diameter of 200 mm or 300 mm, 50 sheets or 52 sheets, with a pitch of about 5 mm. The chuck 21 of the substrate support mechanism 20 is connected to an elevating mechanism (not shown), and is inserted into or raised from each processing tank. This lifting mechanism is connected to the transport robot R.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, each of the plurality of treatment tanks 11 to 17 has a size that can accommodate the plurality of substrates W and the substrate support mechanism 20 in a state where the chemical solution or the rinse solution is stored. Yes. The shape is formed by an elongated box-like container in accordance with the outer shape of the substrate support mechanism 20. As shown in FIG. 3, the container has a rectangular accommodation port formed at the top, has a bottom, and has a bottom portion with a slightly deep bottom.
Among these processing tanks, the processing tanks 12, 14, and 16 in which the rinse liquid is stored all have the same shape, and one of the processing tanks is shown as a cleaning tank 30 in the following drawings. In addition, the processing tanks 11, 13, and 15 in which the chemical liquid is stored are referred to as chemical liquid tanks.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning tank 30 includes an inner tank 31 that stores the rinse liquid, and an outer tank 32 that is provided around the upper part of the inner tank 31 and receives the rinse liquid overflowing from the upper end of the inner tank. It consists of.
The inner tank 31 has an accommodation opening of a size that can accommodate a substrate or the like in the upper part. Further, the bottom portion 31 ₁ of the bottom depth Do central and bottom 32 ₁ of the bottom deep of the outer tub 32 of the inner tank 31, drain port 31 2 for discharging the rinsing liquid, _{respectively,} 32 ₂ are formed. Further, the bottom portion 31 ₁ of the inner tank 31, the first discharge nozzle ₃₅ 1-35 ₄ plurality supplying rinse liquid is formed. The first injection nozzles 35 _{1 to} 354 ₄ have a plurality of injection ports through which the rinse liquid can be injected in a predetermined direction, and supply the rinse liquid to the cleaning tank 30. The first spray nozzle ₃₅ 1-35 _4, it is preferable to use a freely rotating. By making it turnable, it becomes possible to eject the rinsing liquid accurately in accordance with the state of the accommodated substrate.
These drain port ₃₁ 2, 32 ₂ and the first spray nozzle ₃₅ 1-35 _4, respectively discharge pipe 34 and supply pipe (not shown) is connected, these drainage pipes 34 and the supply pipe, shown It is connected to a waste liquid treatment facility and a treatment liquid supply source that are not provided.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, second spray nozzles 41 and 42 are disposed on both sides of the storage port at the top of the cleaning tank 30, respectively.
These second injection nozzles 41 and 42 are provided in a direction orthogonal to the substrate surface of the substrate W to be transported, the substrate W is lowered by the lifting mechanism, and the lower end portion of the substrate W is the second injection nozzle. When approaching the vicinity of 41, 42, rinsing liquid injection is started, and a shower zone is formed in the upper portion of the cleaning tank 30. For example, when the diameter of the substrate W is 200 mm, the position where each of the second injection nozzles 41 and 42 is provided is preferably 100 mm away from the tip of the upper opening of the outer tub 32. The position 20-20 mm away from the front-end | tip part of opening may be sufficient.

The width of the shower zone, that is, the gap between the cleaning tank 30 and each of the second injection nozzles 41 and 42 is relatively narrow, but the B position immediately before the substrate W is accommodated in the processing tank (see FIG. 6). ), Since the chemical solution adhering to the surface of the substrate W is concentrated at the lower end due to gravity during transportation, if there is a width of the region where the chemical solution is concentrated, the chemical solution adhering to the substrate is efficiently washed away. As a result, a sufficient effect can be achieved even with a narrow width. However, the width is determined in consideration of the size of the substrate, the gap between the substrates, and the processing efficiency.
Moreover, each 2nd injection | spray nozzle 41,42 is fixed to a support mechanism (illustration omitted) so that rotation is possible. This pivotal fixation facilitates adjustment with the gap between the substrates, change of the injection position on the substrates, and the like.

Each of the second injection nozzles 41 and 42 has the same shape, and one of the second injection nozzles 41 (42) is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5A, the second injection nozzle 41 (42) is formed of a tubular body having a predetermined diameter, and a plurality of small holes are provided on the outer peripheral surface so as to be aligned in a plurality of stages in the longitudinal axis direction. .
As shown in FIG. 5B, the plurality of small holes 45 _{11 to} 45 _mn are formed at least one more than the number of the substrates W at the same interval as the gaps of the substrates W in the longitudinal axis direction, that is, the row direction. . For example, when carrying 50 substrates into the cleaning tank, the number m of small holes provided in the row direction is set to 51 or more. The interval in the row direction is the same as the interval between the substrates W, for example, 5.0 mm. A plurality of small holes 45 _{11 to} 45 _mn provided in the row direction are also provided in the direction orthogonal to the longitudinal axis direction, that is, the column direction. Incidentally, the number n of the small holes 45 _{11 to} 45 _mn provided in the row direction is preferably 3 to 5.

The small holes in the row direction are provided at a position that forms a predetermined angle θ from the center of the tubular body. The angle θ is preferably approximately 20 °. The size of each of the small holes 45 _{11 to} 45 _mn is preferably about 1.0 mm in diameter. Incidentally, FIG. 5 shows a case in which a total of four small holes are formed at intervals of 20 ° in the vertical direction with respect to the horizontal direction as shown in FIG. Yes. However, the angle and diameter are not limited to these values, and the second spray nozzles are preferably disposed on both sides of the cleaning tank, but one may be provided on one side.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process in which the substrate W is immersed in the cleaning tank 30 in which the rinse liquid is stored. In this figure, the transfer robot, the substrate support mechanism, and the like are omitted.
Before the substrate W that has been processed with the chemical solution is transferred to the cleaning tank 30, the cleaning tank 30 is preliminarily supplied with the rinsing liquid to fill the inner tank 31, and the rinsing liquid is continuously supplied to the first tank. rinsing liquid from the inner tank 31 is supplied from the injection nozzle 35 _{1-35 4} is prepared in a state of overflow. Therefore, the rinse liquid overflows in a state where the substrate accommodation opening of the cleaning tank 30 is full.
Supply of the rinse liquid is supplied rinse liquid supply source (not shown) to the first discharge nozzle ₃₅ 1-35 _4. The supply amount is, for example, about 11 L / min when the volume of the inner tank 31 of the cleaning tank 30 is 40 L (see FIG. 6). This supply amount is smaller than the amount (50 L / min) at the time of the cleaning process, but even if the amount is small, the chemical liquid falling from the substrate can be discharged out of the inner tank 31 well.

Hereinafter, the cleaning process of the present invention will be described in an easy-to-understand manner with reference to FIGS. The substrate W that has been processed with the chemical solution in the chemical solution tank is pulled up from the chemical solution tank, and is transported by the transport robot to almost right above the cleaning tank 30 where the rinse liquid overflows (position A in FIG. 6). The conveyance speed is preferably about 340 mm / sec.
By increasing the transport speed, cleaning with pure water in the next process can be accelerated, and at the same time, the substrate surface can be made uniform. In other words, the chemical solution adheres to the substrate being transported, and the treatment of the substrate surface is progressing by the adhered chemical solution. Therefore, if the transport speed is increased, the chemical solution and pure water adhering to the substrate are increased. It becomes possible to perform replacement with. In addition, the attached chemicals flow down from the top to the bottom of the substrate during transportation and concentrate to the bottom, and the amount of chemicals attached differs between the top and bottom, so there is a difference in the progress of the chemical treatment between the top and bottom of the substrate. Although there is a risk of occurrence, by increasing the conveyance speed, the difference in adhesion amount is reduced, the difference in the progress of processing is reduced between the upper and lower portions, and the substrate surface is averaged and made uniform.

  Next, the substrate W is lowered from the A position to the B position. This B position is a position where the lower end portion of the substrate W does not come into contact with the rinse liquid, and is a position slightly above the position where the second injection nozzles 41 and 42 are provided. When the substrate W is transported to the B position, the second spray nozzles 41 and 42 start spraying the rinse liquid. Incidentally, at this time, the chemical solution attached to the substrate during the transfer of the substrate is concentrated and attached to the lower end portion by gravity on the surface of the substrate W.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the spraying direction of the rinsing liquid sprayed from a plurality of nozzles provided in the treatment tank. When the substrate is further lowered after being lowered to the B position, the linear rinsing liquid sprayed from the second spray nozzles 41 and 42 on both sides of the cleaning tank 30 in the substantially horizontal direction is the substrate accommodation port 31 _3. Are introduced into a zone where several rinsing liquids flow continuously between the second jet nozzles 41 and 42, that is, a so-called rinsing liquid shower zone. Incidentally, the amount of the rinse liquid ejected from both the second ejection nozzles 41 and 42 is preferably about 30 L / min, for example.
Since the small holes 45 _{11 to} 45 _mn provided in the second injection nozzles 41 and 42 are provided in the gap positions of the plurality of substrates W to be transported, the rinse liquid flow injected from the second injection nozzles 41 and 42 Cleans the substrate surface through the gaps between the substrates. As shown in FIG. 8, the rinsing liquid sprayed from the two second spray nozzles 41 and 42 facing each other collides at the substantially central portion of each substrate in the vertical direction. , It flows down while contacting the substrate surface by being diffused radially. Due to this action, the plurality of substrates W carried into the shower zone are sufficiently in contact with the central portion as well as the outer peripheral portion of each substrate, and the relatively large chemical solution adhering to the substrate surface Most of it is washed away in the process of transporting the shower zone. In addition, since a large amount of the rinsing liquid flows down in the central portion of the substrate where the rinsing liquid is difficult to circulate in the cleaning tank 30, the adhesive chemical solution in the central part is reduced from the periphery (intermediate part and outer peripheral part). Combined with the cleaning process, a total more uniform cleaning process is possible.

From the time when the substrate W is transferred to the A position to the time when the substrate W is transferred into the cleaning tank 30, the chemical liquid or a mixed liquid containing the chemical liquid and the rinsing liquid falls from the substrate W to the cleaning tank 30. However, the cleaning bath 30, since the rinsing liquid is overflowing from the substrate receiving port 31 ₃ of the cleaning tank 30, without these chemical solution from penetrating deep layer of the cleaning tank 30 also drops, overflowing The rinsing liquid flows from the inner tank 31 to the outer tank 32 of the processing tank. Therefore, even if the chemical liquid or the mixed liquid of the chemical liquid and the rinsing liquid falls from above the cleaning tank 30, the components and concentration of the rinsing liquid in the inner tank 31 hardly change, and there is no concern that the subsequent processing will be hindered.

Next, when the substrate reaches the position C in FIG. 6, the injection of the rinse liquid from the second injection nozzles 41 and 42 is finished. The subsequent processing is performed with the rinsing liquid supplied from the first discharge nozzle ₃₅ 1-35 _4.
Then, the substrate W transferred is gripped by the chuck 21 lowers the substrate W to D position is placed on the guide 22, the cleaning of the substrate W by the rinsing liquid supplied from the first discharge nozzle 35 _{1-35 4} Is done. Although the rinse liquid is always supplied from the first injection nozzles 35 _{1 to} 35 ₄ attached in the interior 31 of the cleaning tank 30, the amount of the supplied rinse liquid is increased. The increase amount is, for example, about 50 L / min.

In this case, the rinse liquid to be injected from the first injection nozzle 35 _{1-35 4} is provided toward the gap between the substrate W placed on the guide 11, towards the center of the substrate W which is further placed The rinsing liquid is sprayed, and thereby the circulation of the rinsing liquid around the central portion of the substrate W, which is normally poorly circulated and the rinsing liquid tends to stay, is promoted and mixed with the rinsing liquid in the central portion of the substrate. Can be immediately removed from the cleaning tank 30 and the uniformity of the substrate surface can be improved.

  According to the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment, even when a substrate to which a large amount of chemical solution is attached is transported to the cleaning tank, when passing through the rinsing liquid shower zone, the rinsing liquid is horizontally moved in the rinsing liquid shower zone. When the substrate passes through this shower zone, the sprayed rinse liquid enters the gap between the substrates and washes off the adhered chemical solution, and most of the chemical solution adhering to the substrate, especially large chemical solutions, Almost washed away. Further, the washed chemical solution does not enter the inner tank of the cleaning tank, but is immediately discharged to the outer tank of the cleaning tank together with the rinse liquid overflowed.

  As a result, the amount of the chemical solution brought into the cleaning tank becomes extremely small, and the change in the concentration of the rinse liquid in the cleaning tank becomes small. For this reason, it is possible to clean the substrate with a reduced amount of chemical solution in the cleaning tank in an ideal state, so the cleaning time for washing off the chemical solution can be shortened, and at the same time, the amount of chemical solution brought into the cleaning tank is extremely small. In addition, since the high concentration chemical solution does not stay between the substrates, the uniformity of the surface of each substrate is improved.

Further, when cleaning a plurality of substrates W at a time, there is also a problem in that there is a difference in chemical processing depending on the position placed in the cleaning tank due to the flow path of the rinsing liquid formed in the cleaning tank. Since most of the chemical solution is washed and carried in the shower zone before being carried into the tank, the difference in the chemical treatment for each substrate can be reduced.

  FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing a cleaning tank used in the substrate processing apparatus of the second embodiment, and FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing the timing of supplying the rinsing liquid to the processing tank of the second embodiment. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the spraying direction of the rinsing liquid sprayed from a plurality of nozzles provided in the treatment tank of the second embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention is characterized in that the third spray nozzles 43 and 44 are formed in the cleaning tank 30 </ b> A, and the other structure is the same as that of the cleaning tank 30. Therefore, the same reference numerals as those in the cleaning tank 30 are assigned to the common components, and the description thereof is omitted, and different configurations will be described below.

  In the cleaning tank 30A, third spray nozzles 43 and 44 are formed so as to face the inner wall surface above the middle part of the height of the processing tank. The third spray nozzles 43 and 44 are each provided with a plurality of small holes in the same manner as the second spray nozzles 41 and 42. Each of the third injection nozzles 43 and 44 is preferably provided at a location where the inner wall surface is processed and recessed so as not to disturb the substrate accommodation. In addition, you may comprise these 3rd injection nozzles 43 and 44 with the substantially same structure as the said 2nd injection nozzle, for example, a tubular body different from a processing tank.

In the processing using the cleaning tank 30A, the same processing as the cleaning tank 30 is performed in the processing at the A position and the B position.
Next, the substrate W descends and is accommodated in the cleaning tank 30A. When the substrate W reaches the position B ′ where the substrate W is immersed to about one third, the rinse liquid from the third spray nozzles 43 and 44 is supplied. Injection starts. When the substrate reaches the position C where the substrate is completely immersed in the rinse liquid, the spray of the rinse liquid from the second spray nozzles 41 and 42 is stopped. Incidentally, at this time, the rinse liquid continues to be ejected from the third ejection nozzles 43 and 44. (See FIG. 10).
The injection of the rinsing liquid from the third injection nozzles 43 and 44 is stopped at the position where the substrate W reaches the bottom of the cleaning tank 30A, that is, the position D where the substrate W is placed on the guide 22, and the first injection by supplying a rinse liquid mass from the nozzle ₃₅ 1-35 ₄ (e.g. 50L / min), performs the processing by the rinsing liquid.
According to this substrate processing apparatus, since the substrate surface is cleaned by the third spray nozzles 43 and 44 subsequent to the cleaning in the shower zone formed by the second spray nozzles 41 and 42, the substrate surface remains by the cleaning in the shower zone. The liquid chemical can be washed off by cleaning the third spray nozzles 43 and 44. At the same time, since the third spray nozzles 43 and 44 are located close to the substrate accommodation opening, even if the chemical liquid and the rinse liquid washed away in the shower zone fall on the upper part of the cleaning tank, the inner tank for the chemical liquid and the rinse liquid is used. It is possible to promote discharge from the outer tank to the outer tank and further reduce the amount of the chemical liquid mixed in the inner tank 31.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining the outline of the overall configuration of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing the relationship between one cleaning tank and the substrate assembly in FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the relationship of FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 5 shows an injection nozzle, FIG. 5 (a) is a perspective view, FIG. 5 (b) is a front view, and FIG. 5 (c) is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the AA cross section of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a process in which a substrate is accommodated in a processing tank. FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the timing of supplying the rinsing liquid to the treatment tank, FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the spraying direction of the rinse liquid sprayed from a plurality of nozzles provided in the treatment tank, FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a cleaning tank used in the substrate processing apparatus of the second embodiment, FIG. 10 is a timing chart showing the timing of supplying the rinsing liquid to the treatment tank of the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view for explaining the spraying direction of the rinse liquid sprayed from a plurality of nozzles provided in the treatment tank of the second embodiment, FIG. 12 is a schematic front view of the cleaning apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below, FIG. 13 is a front view schematically showing the state of the etched substrate surface.

Explanation of symbols

10 substrate processing apparatus 20 substrate support mechanism 21 chuck 22 Guide 30 cleaning tank 31 within tank 32 outer tub ₃₅ 1-35 ₄ first injection nozzle 41 second injection nozzle 43 third injection nozzles ₄₅ 11 _{to 45 mn} Small Hole

Claims (15)

A substrate processing method comprising the following steps (1) to (5):
(1) A chemical solution processing step of immersing and processing a plurality of substrates held in an upright posture with substantially equal gaps in a chemical solution in a chemical solution tank.
(2) After the process is completed, the substrate is lifted from the chemical solution tank, rinsed with the rinse liquid in advance, and further supplied with the rinse liquid from the first injection nozzle in the tank, so that the rinse liquid overflows. The conveyance process conveyed to a tank.
(3) The rinsing liquid is supplied in a substantially horizontal direction from a second spray nozzle having a plurality of spray ports provided at predetermined intervals above the substrate storage port of the cleaning tank in conjunction with the transport of the substrate. A shower zone forming step of forming a rinsing liquid shower zone above the substrate accommodation opening.
(4) Out-of-vessel shower cleaning in which the transported substrate passes through the shower zone so that the surface of each substrate is in contact with the sprayed rinse liquid and is immersed in the rinse liquid in the cleaning tank. Process.
(5) A tank cleaning process in which the substrate is immersed in a rinse liquid in the cleaning tank and then rinsed with a rinse liquid from the first spray nozzle.   2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein each of the injection ports of the second injection nozzle is provided on a plurality of horizontal lines with a predetermined interval at substantially the same interval as the gap of the substrate.   The second spray nozzle is provided opposite to both upper side portions of the substrate storage port of the cleaning tank, and a shower zone is formed by the rinse liquid sprayed from the second spray nozzles on the both side portions. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2.   The width in the vertical direction in the shower zone formed between the upper part of the substrate receiving port of the cleaning tank and the second spray nozzle is not more than one-half of the substrate diameter. The substrate processing method of any one of Claims 1-3.   In the inner tank of the cleaning tank, a third injection nozzle that injects a rinsing liquid toward the gap between the substrates is provided on the inner peripheral wall surface between the substrate receiving port and the bottom of the cleaning tank. In the step (4), the third spray nozzle sprays the rinse liquid toward the substrate from the time when the lower end of the substrate is immersed in the rinse liquid in the cleaning tank. The substrate processing method according to claim 1.   The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the chemical solution is a hydrofluoric acid-based etching solution.   The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the conveyance speed in the step (2) is 240 mm / sec or more.   2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of first spray nozzles are provided at a bottom portion of the cleaning tank, and a rinse liquid is sprayed from these spray nozzles toward a substantially central portion of the substrate. . A plurality of substrates that are held in an upright posture with almost equal gaps between them can be accommodated, an inner tank having a first spray nozzle at the bottom, and an overflow from the inner tank provided around the upper part of the inner tank In the substrate processing apparatus provided with a cleaning tank comprising an outer tank for receiving the rinse liquid to be
A second spray nozzle is provided on the upper side of the substrate receiving port of the cleaning tank, and the second spray nozzle is formed into a hollow tubular body having a predetermined thickness and length in the longitudinal axis direction of the substrate. The second injection nozzle includes a plurality of injection holes each having a plurality of injection holes each having a small hole formed at substantially the same interval as the gap, and each of the injection nozzles has the substrate. When the substrate is lowered to a position immediately before being accommodated in the cleaning tank, a processing solution in a substantially horizontal direction is ejected from each of the ejection ports toward the gap of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second spray nozzle is disposed opposite to both upper side portions of the substrate storage port of the cleaning tank.   11. The substrate according to claim 9, wherein the second injection nozzle is installed at a position spaced apart from the upper portion of the outer tank by a length corresponding to one-half of the diameter of the substrate. Processing equipment.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the second injection nozzle is rotatably supported so that the direction of the injection port can be changed.   In the inner tank of the cleaning tank, a third injection nozzle that injects a rinsing liquid toward the gap between the substrates is disposed on the inner peripheral wall surface between the substrate receiving port and the bottom of the cleaning tank. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is provided.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein each of the first spray nozzles sprays a rinsing liquid toward a substantially central portion of the substrate.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 14, wherein the first injection nozzle is rotatably supported so that the direction of the injection port can be changed.

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