JP2007019238A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve in-plane uniformity of processing and to process with high cleanliness by making a fluid smoothly flow in a substrate holding guide. <P>SOLUTION: A processing liquid LQ passes through slit-like apertures 56, 57 and 61 of a second lateral guide 45, passes a periphery of a substrate W located on the left of the guide 45, and also passes the entire periphery of the substrate W. Therefore, the processing liquid LQ spreads entirely over a surface of the substrate W, thereby improving in-plane uniformity of the processing. Since, as a result, the processing liquid spreads entirely over the surface of the substrate W during the processing by the processing liquid, in-plane uniformity of the processing can be improved. Particles and unnecessary substances releasing from the substrate W flow down from the substrate holding guide 31 into a processing reservoir, thereby smoothly discharging them out of the processing reservoir for processing the substrate W with high cleanliness. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate), and the like, and in particular, a state in which the substrate is held in an upright position. It is related with the technology processed.

  Conventionally, as this type of apparatus, there is a substrate processing apparatus provided with a processing tank for storing a processing liquid, and a substrate holding unit having a holding member that can be raised and lowered over and inside the processing tank (for example, Patent Documents). 1). The solid holding member has a groove for abutting and supporting the substrate, and abuts the lower portion of the substrate and supports it in an upright position.

In this apparatus, when a substrate is processed, the substrate is supported by the holding member, and the substrate holding unit lowers the holding member into the processing tank and immerses the substrate in the processing liquid for a predetermined time. Treatment with the treatment solution. When the predetermined time elapses, the substrate holding unit raises the holding member above the processing tank and finishes the processing on the substrate.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-294353 (FIG. 4)

However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, in the conventional apparatus, the solid holding member causes the liquid flow to the lower part of the substrate held by the solid holding member, and the liquid flow is generated inside the holding member, particularly at the peripheral portion of the lower part of the substrate. Will be cut off and itching will occur. Therefore, the replacement efficiency of the processing liquid is deteriorated, and the uniformity of processing within the substrate surface is deteriorated. In addition, particles and unnecessary substances that have detached from the substrate stay in the stagnation portion of the processing liquid, and the discharge efficiency to the outside of the tank deteriorates. Therefore, the cleanliness of the substrate may decrease.

  Also, in the case of performing so-called pulling drying, in which a dry gas is supplied from the side toward the substrate exposed from the processing liquid while pulling up the substrate from the processing tank, a solid holding member is supplied in the same manner as described above. This is the cause of hindering the partial flow of gas. Therefore, in particular, there is a problem in that drying failure occurs in the peripheral portion corresponding to the lower portion of the substrate, and the uniformity of processing in the substrate surface is deteriorated as described above.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by smoothing the flow of fluid in the guide of the substrate holding mechanism, it is possible to improve the in-plane uniformity of processing of the substrate, An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of processing with high cleanliness.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates, and includes a substrate holding mechanism having a pair of guides for holding the plurality of substrates in an upright posture, And a slit formed in a lower side of the contact groove and communicated between the inner side and the outer side of the guide.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 1, since the slit-like opening is formed in the guide of the substrate holding mechanism, the fluid passes smoothly through the guide of the substrate holding mechanism toward the lower peripheral side of the substrate. To reach. Therefore, since the fluid spreads over the entire surface of the substrate, the in-plane uniformity of processing can be improved. As a result, during processing with the processing liquid, since the processing liquid spreads over the entire surface of the substrate, it is possible to improve the in-plane uniformity of the processing, and particles and unnecessary substances that have detached from the substrate are removed from the guide of the substrate holding mechanism to the processing tank. Since it flows down inward, discharge | emission out of a processing tank is performed smoothly and it can process a board | substrate with high cleanliness. Further, at the time of pulling and drying, the supplied dry gas passes through the slit-shaped opening and reaches the lower peripheral edge of the substrate without being hindered by the guide of the substrate holding mechanism. Accordingly, since the dry gas is distributed over the entire surface of the substrate, the in-plane uniformity of the processing during the pulling drying can be improved, and the guide of the substrate holding mechanism can be sufficiently dried.

  In the substrate processing apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates, the invention described in claim 2 stores a processing liquid and stores a substrate, a processing position in the processing tank, and an upper side of the processing tank. And a substrate holding mechanism having a pair of guides that hold a plurality of substrates in a standing posture, and the guides have contact grooves that contact the end portions of the substrates, A slit-like opening formed below the contact groove and communicated between the inner side and the outer side of the guide is provided.

  [Operation and Effect] According to the invention described in claim 2, the substrate holding mechanism is moved to the processing position, and the substrate supported by the pair of guides is immersed in the processing liquid in the processing tank. Since the slit-shaped opening is formed in the guide of the substrate holding mechanism, the processing liquid smoothly reaches the peripheral side of the substrate through the guide of the substrate holding mechanism. Accordingly, since the processing liquid spreads over the entire surface of the substrate, the in-plane uniformity of processing can be improved. In addition, particles and unnecessary substances that have detached from the substrate flow down from the guide of the substrate holding mechanism into the processing tank through the opening, so that they are smoothly discharged out of the processing tank. Therefore, the substrate can be processed with high cleanliness.

  Further, in the present invention, the processing liquid supply for supplying the processing liquid into the processing tank in a state of being immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank and the substrate holding mechanism that holds a plurality of substrates in a standing posture. It is preferable to further include a section (claim 3). By supplying the treatment liquid from the treatment liquid supply unit to the treatment tank, the substrate in the treatment tank can be processed.

  Further, in the present invention, the plurality of substrates exposed from the processing liquid in the processing tank when the substrate holding mechanism that holds the plurality of substrates in a standing posture is moved from the processing position to the standby position. It is preferable to further comprise a gas supply unit that supplies dry gas to the gas and a gas discharge unit that discharges the gas supplied from the gas supply unit. By supplying a dry gas from the gas supply unit and discharging the gas from the gas discharge unit, the substrate can be dried while being pulled up.

  In the present invention, the guide is provided in a direction in which a plurality of substrates are aligned, and is provided inside the base member, and has an upper end higher than the base member and is V-shaped. Preferably, the base member is provided with a through-hole serving as the slit-like opening on the lower side of the contact groove. . The substrate is abutted and supported by the abutting groove of the abutting plate disposed on the inner side of the base member. Since the base member has a through-hole, fluid flows between the base member and the abutting member. There is no hindrance.

  According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, since the slit-shaped opening is formed in the guide of the substrate holding mechanism, the fluid spreads over the entire surface of the substrate, and the in-plane uniformity of processing can be improved. Therefore, when processing with the processing liquid, the processing liquid spreads over the entire surface of the substrate, so that in-plane uniformity of the processing can be improved, and particles or unnecessary substances detached from the substrate are transferred from the guide of the substrate holding mechanism into the processing tank. Therefore, the substrate can be processed with high cleanliness. In addition, during drying, the supplied dry gas passes through the slit-shaped opening and reaches the lower peripheral edge of the substrate, and the dry gas reaches the entire surface of the substrate. In addition, the guide of the substrate holding mechanism can be sufficiently dried.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 is an overall view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a substrate holding guide, and FIG. 3 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the substrate holding guide. 4 is a side view of the first contact plate, and FIG. 5 is a side view of the second contact plate.

  The substrate processing apparatus in the present embodiment is an apparatus for performing, for example, chemical processing, cleaning processing, and drying processing on the substrate W, and includes a processing tank 1 and a chamber 3 that covers the periphery of the processing tank 1. ing. The chamber 3 covers and covers the space above and around the processing tank 1, and has an opening 5 for loading and unloading the substrate W thereon. The processing tank 1 is a tank for storing a processing liquid and immersing the substrate W to perform a cleaning process or an etching process.

  The processing tank 1 includes an inner tank 7 that stores the processing liquid and accommodates the substrate W, and an outer tank 9. The inner tank 7 is provided with a pair of injection pipes 11 for supplying a processing liquid on both sides of the bottom surface. The outer tank 9 is provided so as to surround the side of the upper opening of the inner tank 7, and collects and discharges the processing liquid overflowing from the inner tank 7. At the center of the bottom of the inner tank 7, a discharge port 13 that can be opened and closed and discharges the processing liquid is formed. A discharge port 15 is formed at the bottom of the chamber 3 to discharge the processing liquid, dry gas, and the like to the outside.

  One end of a processing liquid supply pipe 17 is connected to the injection pipe 11 of the processing tank 1 in communication. A pure water supply source 19 is connected in communication with the other end. A control valve 21 and a mixing valve 23 are attached to the processing liquid supply pipe 17 in order from the downstream side. The mixing valve 23 is connected to a chemical liquid pipe communicating with a plurality of types of chemical liquid supply sources, and injects an appropriate chemical liquid into the processing liquid supply pipe 17 according to processing.

  The substrate holding mechanism 25 includes a back plate 27 and a substrate holding guide 31. The back plate 27 includes a plate-like member, is attached to a transfer mechanism (not shown) in a suspended posture, and can be raised and lowered along the inner wall surface of the processing tank 1. A substrate holding guide 31 for holding a plurality of substrates W in a standing posture is attached horizontally on the front side of the lower end portion in the longitudinal direction. The substrate holding mechanism 25 is moved up and down the inner tank 7 and inside the chamber 3 by a lifting mechanism (not shown), indicated by a solid line in FIG. It can be moved over a “drying position” corresponding to this position and a “standby position” corresponding to the upper side of the chamber 3 indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG.

  The chamber 3 is located below the opening 5 on the side surface facing the substrate W loading / unloading path, at a supply hole 33 corresponding to the gas supply part in the present invention, and an exhaust hole corresponding to the gas discharge part. 35. A supply pipe 37 communicated with a dry air supply source is connected to the supply hole 33. An open / close valve 39 is attached to the supply pipe 37. When the on-off valve 39 is opened, the air flowing from the supply hole 33 is exhausted from the chamber 3 through the exhaust hole 35.

  The substrate holding guide 31 includes a center guide 41, a first side guide 43, and a second side guide 45, and the distal end portions (the front side in FIG. 2) are connected by a connecting member 47. Among these guides, the first side guide 43 and the second side guide 45 have the same configuration, and therefore the second side guide 45 will be described below as an example.

  The second side guide 45 includes a base member 49 disposed in the direction in which the substrates W are aligned, a first contact plate 51 disposed on the right side surface of the base member 49, and a left side surface of the base member 49. And a second contact plate 53 provided. A plurality of V-shaped contact grooves 55 for guiding and positioning the substrate W are formed in the upper portion of the first contact plate 51 in contact with the periphery and front and back surfaces of the substrate W. Below each contact groove 55, a slit-like opening 57, which is a through hole, is formed in a rectangular shape according to each position of the plurality of slit-like openings 56 formed in the base member 49. . The first contact plate 51 has an upper end formed higher than the upper end of the base member 49, and the first contact plate 51 located on the outer side is formed higher than the second contact plate 53. Yes.

  Similar to the first contact plate 51, the second contact plate 53 has a plurality of V-shaped contact grooves 59, and a base member 49 is formed below each contact groove 59. A slit-shaped opening 61 that is a through hole is formed in accordance with each position of the plurality of slit-shaped openings 56. The first contact plate 51 and the second contact plate 53 are fixed to the base member 49 by a mounting screw 63 at a height at which the lower end portions coincide. Therefore, of the respective contact grooves 55 and 59, the lower edge 55 a of the contact groove 55 of the first contact plate 51 is positioned higher than the lower edge 59 a of the contact groove 59 of the second contact plate 53. Become.

  The openings 57 and 61 formed in the first contact plate 51 and the second contact plate 53 described above are, for example, a substrate W having a diameter of 300 mm and a thickness of 775 μm. In the case of 5 mm, the opening width may be set in the range of 1 to 3 mm.

  The center guide 41 is provided on both sides of the base member 49 with substantially the same shape as the second contact plate 53 described above. However, the slit-shaped opening is not formed in the base member 49 and the second contact plate 53.

  The substrate holding guide 31 configured as described above includes a central guide 41, a first side guide 43, and a second side guide 45, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. The lower edge portion of W is abutted and supported, and a plurality of substrates W are held in a standing posture. Since the first side guide 43 and the second side guide 45 are formed with the slit-shaped openings 56, 57, and 61 as described above, the substrate W from the side is held in a state where the substrate W is held. The peripheral side of can be seen.

  Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus having the above-described configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of the treatment liquid, and FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating the flow of the dry air.

<Cleaning with pure water>
It is assumed that the control valve 21 is opened in advance, pure water is supplied from the pure water supply source 19 at a predetermined flow rate, and is supplied as the processing liquid to the inner tank 7 of the processing tank 1 through the injection pipe 11. . In this example, the treatment is only pure water cleaning. For example, the chemical solution is mixed with pure water via the mixing valve 23, and the treatment with the treatment solution containing the chemical solution (for example, the etching with the treatment solution containing hydrofluoric acid) is performed. The treatment) may be performed before the cleaning treatment with pure water.

  The substrate holding mechanism 25 receiving the substrate W descends from the “standby position” into the processing tank 1 through the opening 5. Specifically, the substrate W is lowered to the “processing position” in the inner tank 1, and the substrate holding mechanism 25 maintains its height position. When the substrate W reaches the “processing position” (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 1), the lid member (not shown) is closed to close the chamber 3. Then, this state is maintained for a predetermined time, and a predetermined cleaning process is performed on the substrate W.

  At this time, the processing liquid LQ supplied from the injection pipe 11 and circulating inside the inner tank 7 passes through the slit-shaped opening of the second side guide 45 and is on the left side of the second side guide 45. It passes through the peripheral edge of the substrate W that is positioned and passes through the entire peripheral edge of the substrate W. Similarly, the processing liquid LQ passes through the slit-like openings 56, 57, 61 of the first side guide 43 and passes through the peripheral edge of the substrate W located on the right side of the first side guide 43. , Passing through the entire periphery of the substrate W. Accordingly, since the processing liquid LQ spreads smoothly over the entire surface of the substrate W, the in-plane uniformity of processing of the substrate W can be improved. As a result, since the processing liquid spreads over the entire surface of the substrate W during the processing with the processing liquid, the in-plane uniformity of the processing can be improved, and particles and unnecessary substances detached from the substrate W are processed from the substrate holding guide 31. Since it flows down into the tank 1, the discharge to the outside of the processing tank 1 is performed smoothly, and the substrate W can be processed with a high degree of cleanliness.

  When the predetermined time has elapsed, the control valve 21 is closed to stop the supply of the processing liquid to the processing tank 1 and the discharge ports 13 and 15 are opened. Thereby, the processing liquid stored in the inner tank 7 is discharged, and the cleaning process for the substrate W is completed.

<Drying process>
When the cleaning process is completed as described above, the on-off valve 39 is opened, dry air is supplied from the supply hole 33, and is discharged through the exhaust hole 35. Then, the substrate holding mechanism 25 rises from the “processing position” and rises toward the “drying position” (position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 1) in the chamber 3.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the dry air DA from the side passes through the slit-like openings 56, 57, 61 of the second side guide 45 and is positioned on the left side of the second side guide 45. It passes through the peripheral edge of the substrate W and passes through the entire peripheral edge of the substrate W. Further, the dry air DA that has passed through the central portion of the substrate W passes through the slit-like openings 56, 57, 61 of the first side guide 43, thereby being positioned on the right side of the first side guide 43. It passes through the periphery of W and passes through the entire periphery of substrate W.

  Therefore, the dry air DA supplied from the supply hole 33 passes through the slit-like openings 56, 57, 61 and reaches the lower peripheral edge of the substrate W without being blocked by the substrate holding guide 31. Accordingly, since the dry air DA is spread over the entire surface of the substrate W, the in-plane uniformity of processing during the pulling and drying can be improved. Further, the treatment liquid droplets traveling along the side edge of the substrate W toward the lower edge can sufficiently dry the substrate holding guide 31.

  When the drying process is completed, the opening 5 is opened and the substrate holding mechanism 25 rises from the “drying position” and rises toward the “standby position” above the chamber 3.

  The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and can be modified as follows.

(1) In the above-described embodiment, the first contact plate 51 and the like are provided with the slit-like opening 57 having a rectangular shape, but may be configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a side view showing a modification of the contact plate.
That is, an elliptical slit-shaped opening 61A may be employed. Thereby, it is possible to maintain the mechanical strength while increasing the opening area. Further, a plurality of slit-shaped openings may be formed around one contact groove 55.

  (2) In the embodiment described above, the center guide 41, which is the substrate holding guide 31, the first side guide 43, and the second side guide 45, the base member 49, and the first contact plate 51, respectively. The second contact plate 53 and the second contact plate 53 may be configured as shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a modified example of the substrate holding guide.

  That is, each member of the center guide 41A, the first side guide 43A, and the second side guide 45A of the substrate holding guide 31A may be configured as a single member. The first side guide 43A and the second side guide 45A are formed with a plurality of contact grooves 65 having a V shape when viewed from the side and a plurality of openings 67 having a slit shape when viewed from the side. The central guide 41A may be formed with a plurality of contact grooves 65 having a V shape when viewed from the side. Even if it is such a structure, while having the same effect as the Example mentioned above, a number of parts can be reduced and a part cost reduction and assembly man-hour can be reduced.

  (3) In the above-described embodiments and modifications, the central guides 41 and 41A are not formed with through holes, but this member is also formed with through holes so that the fluid flows near the lower edge of the substrate W. You may make it smooth.

  (4) In the above-described embodiment, a configuration in which the chamber 3 is provided and the substrate W is pulled up from the processing tank 1 and the drying process is performed is adopted, but the present invention does not necessarily require this configuration. That is, the present invention can be applied even when the processing tank 1 is configured to perform only the processing with the processing liquid.

  (5) In the above description, the gas supply unit supplies dry air. However, for example, a configuration of supplying other gas such as dry nitrogen may be adopted.

1 is an overall view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a board | substrate holding guide. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which expanded the board | substrate holding guide. It is a side view of a 2nd contact plate. It is a side view of a 2nd contact plate. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of a process liquid. It is a schematic diagram which shows the flow of dry air. It is a side view which shows the modification of a contact plate. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the modification of a board | substrate holding guide.

Explanation of symbols

W ... Substrate 1 ... Processing tank 3 ... Chamber 7 ... Inner tank 9 ... Outer tank 11 ... Injection pipe 25 ... Substrate holding mechanism 31 ... Substrate holding guide 33 ... Supply hole (gas supply part)
35 ... Exhaust hole (gas exhaust part)
41 ... Center guide 43 ... 1st side guide 45 ... 2nd side guide 49 ... Base member 51 ... 1st contact plate 53 ... 2nd contact plate 56 ... Slit-like opening (through-hole)
57 ... Slit-like opening (through hole)
55, 59 ... Contact groove 61 ... Slit-like opening (through hole)

Claims (5)

In a substrate processing apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates,
A substrate holding mechanism having a pair of guides for holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture,
The guide includes a contact groove that contacts a substrate end, and a slit-shaped opening that is formed below the contact groove and communicates between the inside and the outside of the guide. Substrate processing equipment. In a substrate processing apparatus for processing a plurality of substrates,
A processing tank for storing the processing liquid and containing the substrate;
A substrate holding mechanism having a pair of guides capable of moving up and down between a processing position in the processing tank and a standby position above the processing tank, and holding a plurality of substrates in a standing posture;
The guide includes a contact groove that contacts a substrate end, and a slit-shaped opening that is formed below the contact groove and communicates between the inside and the outside of the guide. Substrate processing equipment. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The substrate holding mechanism that holds a plurality of substrates in a standing posture and a processing liquid supply unit that supplies the processing liquid into the processing tank in a state of being immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank. A substrate processing apparatus. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 2 or Claim 3,
When the substrate holding mechanism that holds a plurality of substrates in an upright position is moved from the processing position to the standby position, dry gas is supplied to the plurality of substrates exposed from the processing liquid in the processing tank. A gas supply unit;
A substrate processing apparatus, further comprising: a gas discharge unit that discharges the gas supplied from the gas supply unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 4,
The guide includes a base member disposed in a direction in which a plurality of substrates are aligned,
A contact plate provided inside the base member, having a higher upper end than the base member and having the V-shaped contact groove formed thereon;
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the base member is formed with a through-hole serving as the slit-shaped opening below the contact groove.

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