JP2006210598A - Apparatus and method for processing substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a processing apparatus which can appropriately remove organic substances stuck to a substrate by cleaning. <P>SOLUTION: The processing apparatus is used to clean a substrate, and it is provided with a steam processor 1 which uses heated steam to peel off/remove organic substances, a chemicals processor 21 which processes the substrate processed in the steam processor and dissolves/removes the organic substances on the substrate, and a rinsing section 31 to rinse the substrate processed in the chemicals processor. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and processing method effective for cleaning and removing organic substances adhering to a substrate.

  For example, in a manufacturing process of a liquid crystal display device or a semiconductor device, a resist is applied to a substrate such as a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer, which is an object, and a development process is performed before an etching process. A circuit pattern is precisely formed. When the circuit pattern is formed on the substrate, a cleaning process is performed to remove organic substances such as a resist film and a resist residue adhering to the surface of the substrate.

  When removing the resist film by washing, an amine-based stripping solution is used. However, the stripping solution is expensive. Moreover, recently, glass substrates for liquid crystals have become larger. Therefore, a large amount of stripping solution is used for cleaning the substrate, which may increase the cost.

  The resist film is altered during the etching process. In order to remove the altered resist film, a plasma ashing process using oxygen plasma, ozone plasma or the like is required as a previous process.

If plasma ashing is performed before the resist film is removed by the stripping solution, an expensive vacuum chamber is required for the ashing apparatus, which greatly increases the equipment cost.
In order to solve such problems, it has been proposed to remove the resist film using superheated steam (dry steam) as disclosed in Patent Document 1.
JP 2003-332288 A

  In patent document 1, it has a steam supply unit and a water supply unit, and it removes a resist film efficiently by cheaply compared with the case where stripping solution is used by supplying superheated steam and water in an appropriate combination. It can be done.

  Since superheated water vapor permeates organic substances such as a resist film, the resist film can be peeled off from the surface of the substrate. However, if the resist film is simply washed with superheated steam or superheated steam mixed with water in a single step, fine particulate resist may remain firmly attached to the surface of the substrate as a residue. In other words, the substrate cannot be reliably cleaned.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a processing method capable of cleaning a substrate without leaving an organic substance on the substrate.

The present invention is a processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate,
A steam treatment unit for treating the substrate with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A chemical processing unit that processes the substrate processed by the vapor processing unit with a processing solution to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
There is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a rinse processing unit that rinses a substrate processed by the chemical processing unit.

The present invention is a processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate,
A chemical processing unit that processes the substrate with a processing solution to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A vapor treatment unit that treats the substrate treated by the chemical treatment unit with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
There is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a rinse processing unit that rinses a substrate processed by the vapor processing unit.

The present invention is a processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate,
A first vapor treatment unit for treating the substrate with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A chemical processing unit that processes the substrate processed by the vapor processing unit with a processing solution to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A second vapor treatment unit that treats the substrate treated by the chemical treatment unit with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a cleaning processing unit configured to clean the substrate processed by the second vapor processing unit.

The steam processing unit has a superheated steam generation mechanism that creates superheated steam from water,
The superheated steam generation mechanism is
The water supply pipe,
A first heating means provided in the water supply pipe to heat the water into steam;
It is preferable that the apparatus further comprises a second heating unit provided on the downstream side of the first heating unit of the water supply pipe to further heat the water vapor produced by the first heating unit into superheated water vapor.

The present invention is a processing method for cleaning a substrate,
Treating the substrate with heated steam to peel and remove organic matter on the substrate;
Treating the substrate with a treatment liquid to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
And a step of treating the substrate treated with the superheated steam and the treatment liquid with a rinsing liquid.

The present invention is a processing apparatus for making superheated steam from water and treating a substrate with the superheated steam,
The water supply pipe,
A first heating means provided in the water supply pipe to heat the water into steam;
Second heating means provided on the downstream side of the first heating means of the water supply pipe to further heat the steam produced by the first heating means to superheated steam;
There is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: an injection unit configured to inject superheated steam produced by the second heating unit onto the substrate to process the substrate.

  It is preferable that a chemical liquid supply pipe for mixing the chemical liquid with the water is connected to the water supply pipe.

  According to the present invention, since the substrate is processed with the superheated steam and the processing liquid, the substrate can be efficiently and reliably cleaned without leaving fine organic matter as well as film-like organic matter on the substrate. Is possible.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a schematic configuration of a processing apparatus, and this processing apparatus includes a steam processing unit 1. The steam processing unit 1 has a first chamber 2 as shown in FIG. A carry-in port 3 is formed at one end of the first chamber 2, and a carry-out port 4 is formed at the other end.

  In the first chamber 2 and before and after the first chamber 2, a plurality of transport rollers 5 constituting a transport unit are arranged at predetermined intervals with the axes parallel to each other. The transport roller 5 is rotationally driven in a predetermined direction by a drive source (not shown). The conveyance roller 5 conveys a substrate W such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device to be cleaned from the carry-in port 3 into the first chamber 2 and carries it out from the carry-out port.

  The substrate W transferred to the first chamber 2 is, for example, etched in the previous step, and the resist film f remaining on the plate surface remains as shown in FIG. 5A. The chamber 2 is cleaned and removed as will be described later.

  A plurality of spray nozzles 7 are arranged in the first chamber 2 at a predetermined interval along the transport direction of the substrate W. The injection nozzle 7 has a slit 8 that extends over the entire length in the width direction intersecting the transport direction of the substrate W, and sprays superheated steam (dry steam) supplied from the slit 8 toward the upper surface of the substrate W as described later. It has become.

  The superheated steam is produced by an inline-type superheated steam generation mechanism 11 and supplied to the spray nozzle 7. The superheated steam generation mechanism 11 has a water supply pipe 12 for supplying water such as pure water. The water supply pipe 12 is provided with a first heating means 13 for heating water using a heat source such as gas or electricity to produce water vapor (wet steam) at 100 ° C.

  The water supply pipe 12 is provided with a second heating means 14 on the downstream side of the first heating means 13. The second heating means 14 further heats the steam produced by the first heating means 13 to produce steam that does not contain mist, that is, superheated steam (dry steam).

  The 2nd heating means 14 heats 100 degreeC water vapor | steam more than that, for example, 140-160 degreeC, and makes heating water vapor | steam. Then, the superheated steam produced by the second heating unit 14 is jetted from the jet nozzle 7 toward the substrate W.

  As the second heating means 14, for example, a known structure for heating water vapor to 100 ° C. or higher, such as a structure in which water vapor heated to 100 ° C. is heat-exchanged with a radiator heated to a temperature higher than that, is used. Technology is used.

  The water supply pipe 12 is provided with a first flow rate adjustment valve 16 at a location upstream of the first heating means 13. The amount of water supplied from the water supply pipe 12 to the first heating means 13 can be adjusted by the first flow rate adjusting valve 16.

  One end of a chemical liquid supply pipe 17 is connected to the water supply pipe 12 between the first flow rate adjusting valve 16 and the first heating means 13. The chemical liquid supply pipe 17 is provided with a second flow rate adjusting valve 18 and a liquid supply pump 19, and the other end is connected to a first chemical liquid supply tank 20.

  By adjusting the opening degree of the second flow rate adjusting valve 18, a predetermined amount of chemical solution can be mixed with the water flowing through the water supply pipe 12. In this embodiment, a stripping solution effective for removing the resist film on the substrate W is supplied as a chemical solution.

  It should be noted that the superheated water vapor generating mechanism 11 is in contact with the water supply pipe 12, the first and second superheating means 13 and 14, the chemical liquid supply pipe 17, and the stripping liquid and pure water such as the spray nozzle 7. The wetted part is preferably formed of a material having heat resistance and chemical resistance, such as stainless steel, Teflon (registered trademark) resin, or quartz.

  The substrate W processed by the vapor processing unit 1 is transferred to the chemical processing unit 21. The chemical solution processing unit 21 has a second chamber 22 as shown in FIG. A carry-in port 23 is formed at one end of the second chamber 22, and a carry-out port 24 is formed at the other end. A substrate W processed by the vapor processing unit 2 is carried in by a carrying roller 5 constituting a carrying unit. .

  In the second chamber 22, a plurality of injection nozzles 25 that inject a stripping liquid as a chemical solution onto the upper surface of the substrate W transported in the chamber 22 are arranged at predetermined intervals along the transport direction of the substrate W. ing.

  Each injection nozzle 25 is connected to one end of a liquid supply pipe 26. A flow rate adjusting valve 27 and a pump 28 are sequentially provided in the middle of the liquid supply pipe 26, and the other end is connected to a second chemical liquid supply tank 29. The second chemical solution supply tank 29 contains a stripping solution as a chemical solution. Therefore, the stripping solution can be sprayed from the spray nozzle 25 onto the upper surface of the substrate W transported in the second chamber 22.

  The substrate W carried out from the chemical treatment unit 21 is carried into the rinse treatment unit 31. As shown in FIG. 4, the rinse processing unit 31 has a third chamber 32, and a plurality of injection nozzles 33 are arranged in the third chamber 32 at predetermined intervals along the transport direction of the substrate W. Yes.

  One end of a liquid supply pipe 34 is connected to the injection nozzle 33. A flow rate control valve 35 and a pump 36 are provided in the middle of the liquid supply pipe 34, and the other end is connected to a pure water supply tank 37.

  A carry-in port 38 is formed at one end of the chamber 32 and a carry-out port 39 is formed at the other end. The substrate W cleaned by the chemical solution processing unit 21 is transferred into the chamber 32 by the transfer roller 5. Pure water as a rinsing liquid is jetted from the jet nozzle 33 onto the substrate W transported into the chamber 32.

  The rinsing unit 31 is provided with an air knife 41 that injects compressed air for drying onto the substrate W that has been subjected to the rinsing process by the spray nozzle 33, and is inclined at a predetermined angle toward the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate W. ing. As a result, the rinsing liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate W that has been rinsed with pure water is dried and removed by compressed air.

Next, a description will be given of a case where the substrate W etched in the previous process is cleaned by the cleaning processing apparatus having the above configuration.
As shown in FIG. 5A, when the substrate W on which the resist film f remains adhered is carried into the first chamber 2 of the steam processing unit 1, the temperature of 140 to 160 ° C. created by the superheated steam generating mechanism 11 is increased. The superheated steam having a temperature is jetted from the jet nozzle 7 toward the substrate W.

  The superheated water vapor penetrates the resist film f which is an organic substance and reaches the bonding surface between the substrate W and the resist film f. Thereby, the resist film f is peeled and removed from the plate surface of the substrate W in the film state.

  Although the film-like resist does not remain on the plate surface of the substrate W from which the resist film f has been peeled off by the superheated steam, the fine particle-like resist p remains as shown in FIG. May have. That is, it is difficult to clean the plate surface of the substrate W with high cleanliness only by spraying superheated steam onto the substrate W.

  However, the substrate W processed by the vapor processing unit 1 is then processed by the chemical processing unit 21. The chemical solution processing unit 21 injects a peeling solution as a chemical solution onto the plate surface of the substrate W. The stripping solution dissolves and removes the resist. Therefore, the particulate resist p adhering and remaining on the plate surface of the substrate W is dissolved and removed by the stripping solution.

  The substrate W processed with the stripping solution in the chemical processing unit 21 is carried into the rinse processing unit 31. In the rinse treatment unit 31, pure water that is a rinse liquid is sprayed onto the plate surface of the substrate W. Thereby, the stripping solution containing the resist dissolved by the chemical solution in the chemical solution processing unit 21 is washed and removed from the plate surface of the substrate W. As a result, the plate surface of the substrate W is cleaned with high cleanliness.

  As described above, the resist film f adhered and remaining on the substrate W was peeled and removed by superheated steam, and thereafter the particulate resist p adhered and remained on the plate surface of the substrate W was dissolved and removed with a stripping solution. Therefore, since the amount of expensive stripping solution used can be significantly reduced as compared with the case where the resist film f is removed only by the stripping solution, the cost required for the cleaning processing operation can be greatly reduced.

  The superheated water vapor is removed by peeling the resist film f from the plate surface of the substrate W. Therefore, the removal can be performed much faster than the case of dissolving and removing with the stripping solution, so that the efficiency of the cleaning processing operation can be improved.

  The superheated steam generation mechanism 11 supplies superheated steam to the steam processing unit 2 by an in-line method. That is, the first superheating means 13 and the second superheating means 14 are provided in the water supply pipe 12 so that the water flowing through the water supply pipe 12 is heated to produce superheated steam and supplied to the injection nozzle 7 of the steam processing unit 1. I have to.

  Therefore, since water for producing superheated steam can be continuously flowed through the water supply pipe 12, superheated steam can be continuously produced by the second heating means 14. In other words, even when a large number of substrates W are continuously cleaned, there is no possibility that heated water vapor cannot be produced due to the loss of water on the way, so a large amount of superheated water vapor is used continuously. It is suitable for the case.

  That is, conventionally, water is stored in a tank, and the water is supplied to heating means to produce superheated steam. For this reason, if the cleaning operation is continuously performed, the water in the tank is not used for a predetermined time, so that the processing of the substrate W has to be interrupted for water supply. However, according to the in-line method, since water for producing superheated steam can be continuously supplied, it is possible to continuously perform the cleaning process operation without being limited by the amount of superheated steam used.

  Since the chemical liquid supply pipe 17 capable of supplying the stripping liquid at a predetermined rate is connected to the water supply pipe 12 of the superheated steam generating mechanism 11, the stripping liquid is included in the heated steam produced by the second heating means 14. Is possible.

  If the superheated steam sprayed onto the substrate W contains a stripping solution, the heated steam not only penetrates the resist film f and peels off the resist film f attached to the substrate W from the plate surface of the substrate W, An effect of dissolving the particulate resist p adhering and remaining on the plate surface of the substrate W is exhibited. Therefore, the cleaning effect can be enhanced as compared with the case of simply injecting superheated steam.

  In addition, the amount of the stripping liquid supplied from the first chemical liquid supply tank 20 to the water supply pipe 12 can be adjusted by the second flow rate adjusting valve 18 provided in the chemical liquid supply pipe 17, so that the adjustment leaves the substrate W. The amount of the particulate resist p to be reduced can be reduced.

  FIG. 6 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the substrate W is first cleaned with a stripping solution in the chemical processing unit 21. Then, after carrying in the steam processing unit 1 and washing with superheated steam, it is carried into the rinsing unit 31 and rinsed with pure water.

  According to such a cleaning process, most of the resist film f adhering to the substrate W can be dissolved and removed by the chemical solution processing unit 21, but a part of the resist film f that has deteriorated during, for example, the etching process in the previous process is hardly dissolved. Therefore, it may remain on the substrate W.

  In such a case, after the substrate W is cleaned by the chemical processing unit 21 and then processed by the vapor processing unit 1, the superheated water vapor penetrates into the resist film f remaining on the substrate W, and the resist film f is peeled and removed. It becomes possible.

  FIG. 7 shows a third embodiment of the present invention. In the third embodiment, the substrate W is first processed by superheated steam in the first steam processing unit 1A. Next, after the treatment with the stripping solution in the chemical treatment unit 21, the treatment is performed again with the superheated steam in the second steam treatment unit 1 </ b> B, and then the rinse treatment unit 31 performs the rinse treatment.

  According to such a cleaning process, as in the first embodiment, most of the resist film f attached to the substrate W can be peeled and removed by the first vapor processing unit 1A, and then the chemical processing unit 21 The particulate resist p remaining on the substrate W can be dissolved and removed.

  If a part of the resist film f is altered during the etching process before the cleaning process, the resist film f remains on the substrate W without being removed by the first vapor processing unit 1A or the chemical processing unit 21. Sometimes. Therefore, the resist film f remaining on the substrate W can be peeled and removed by processing the substrate W processed by the chemical processing unit 21 with the superheated steam by the second vapor processing unit 1B.

  In the second and third embodiments, the same parts as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted. In the third embodiment, since the first and second steam processing units have the same configuration as the steam processing unit of the first embodiment, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be variously modified. For example, in each of the above embodiments, the case where the resist film is peeled from the substrate as the organic substance to be cleaned has been described. However, the cleaning target is not limited to the resist film, and may be a polyimide film or the like. Any organic substance provided in the form of a film is a target for cleaning and removal.

The schematic block diagram of the processing apparatus which shows 1st Embodiment of this invention. The block diagram of a steam processing part. The block diagram of a chemical | medical solution processing part. The block diagram of the rinse process part. Explanatory drawing which expands and shows a part of board | substrate. The schematic block diagram of the processing apparatus which shows 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The schematic block diagram of the processing apparatus which shows the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A, 1B ... Steam processing part, 11 ... Superheated steam generation mechanism, 12 ... Water supply pipe, 13 ... 1st heating means, 14 ... 2nd heating means, 17 ... Chemical solution supply pipe, 21 ... Chemical solution processing part, 31 ... Rinse processing part.

Claims (7)

A processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate,
A steam treatment unit for treating the substrate with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A chemical processing unit that processes the substrate processed by the vapor processing unit with a processing solution to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a rinse processing unit that rinses a substrate processed by the chemical processing unit. A processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate,
A chemical processing unit that processes the substrate with a processing solution to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A vapor treatment unit that treats the substrate treated by the chemical treatment unit with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a rinse processing unit that rinses a substrate processed by the vapor processing unit. A processing apparatus for cleaning a substrate,
A first vapor treatment unit for treating the substrate with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A chemical processing unit that processes the substrate processed by the vapor processing unit with a processing solution to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A second vapor treatment unit that treats the substrate treated by the chemical treatment unit with superheated steam to peel and remove organic substances on the substrate;
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a cleaning processing unit configured to clean the substrate processed by the second vapor processing unit. The steam processing unit has a superheated steam generation mechanism that creates superheated steam from water,
The superheated steam generation mechanism is
The water supply pipe,
A first heating means provided in the water supply pipe to heat the water into steam;
And a second heating means provided on the downstream side of the first heating means of the water supply pipe, and further heating the water vapor produced by the first heating means into superheated steam. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1. A processing method for cleaning a substrate,
Treating the substrate with heated steam to peel and remove organic matter on the substrate;
Treating the substrate with a treatment liquid to dissolve and remove organic substances on the substrate;
And a step of treating the substrate treated with the superheated steam and the treatment liquid with a rinse liquid. A processing apparatus for making superheated steam from water and processing a substrate with the superheated steam,
The water supply pipe,
A first heating means provided in the water supply pipe to heat the water into steam;
Second heating means provided on the downstream side of the first heating means of the water supply pipe to further heat the steam produced by the first heating means to superheated steam;
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: an injection unit configured to inject superheated steam produced by the second heating unit onto the substrate to process the substrate.   7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein a chemical liquid supply pipe for mixing the chemical liquid with the water is connected to the water supply pipe.

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