JP2007042691A - Substrate treatment method and substrate treatment equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment method and substrate treatment equipment which can be improved in treatment performance by reducing the usage amount of a treatment liquid and can also successfully suppress corrosion and damages to a transfer robot. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate treatment method carries out a treatment on a wafer W by conducting (1) a transfer process, wherein the wafer W is transferred above a cleaning treatment bath WB by means of a transfer mechanism 3; (2) a delivery process, wherein the wafer W transferred above the cleaning treatment bath WB is delivered to a holding mechanism 4; (3) a chemical treatment process, wherein the holding mechanism 4 to which the wafer W has been delivered is moved above a chemical treatment bath CB, and then is dipped in the bath to apply a chemical treatment on the wafer W; (4) a cleaning treatment processing, wherein after the chemical treatment process is finished, the holding mechanism 4 is pulled out of the chemical treatment bath CB, and then is moved above a cleaning treatment bath WB and is dipped in it to cleanse the wafer W; and (5) a delivery process, wherein after the cleaning treatment process is finished, the holding mechanism 4 is pulled out of the cleaning treatment bath WB, and then the wafer W is delivered to the transfer mechanism 3. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus, and in particular, when each surface treatment is performed by immersing various substrates (hereinafter collectively referred to as wafers) such as a semiconductor substrate and a glass substrate for liquid crystal display in various processing solutions. The present invention relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus that can reduce the amount of processing liquid used.

  Substrate processing methods for surface treatment by immersing a wafer in various processing liquids usually use a substrate processing apparatus including a chemical processing tank storing a predetermined chemical liquid and a cleaning processing tank storing pure water. By sequentially immersing the wafer in the processing tank, contaminants adhering to the wafer surface, unnecessary oxide films, resist films, etc. are removed (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2 below).

FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 below, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the movement of the substrate holding member provided in the lifter head of FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate processing apparatus 50 includes a substrate take-out unit 51 that takes out wafers from a cassette C that contains a plurality of wafers W, a transfer robot TR that transfers the taken wafers W, and a transfer robot TR. Lifter head LH that receives and holds the wafer W transferred by the robot TR and immerses it in each processing tank, a chemical processing tank CB that processes the immersed wafer W with a chemical liquid such as sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid, and pure water or the like for the wafer W A cleaning processing tank WB for cleaning the wafer W, a drying processing tank 54 for drying the wafer W, and a substrate storage unit 55 for storing the processed wafer W. The transfer robot TR includes a substrate take-out unit 51 and a substrate storage unit 55. In the meantime, the lifter head LH can move between the chemical solution treatment tank CB and the cleaning treatment tank WB.

Substrate processing using this apparatus is performed by the following process. The wafer W accommodated in the cassette C is lifted by the pair of holders 56a and 56b and taken out of the cassette C, and is held by the pair of hands 58 and 59 of the transfer robot TR. The wafer W held by the pair of hands 58 and 59 is transferred in the horizontal direction and transferred to the substrate holding member 60 of the lifter head LH.
The wafer W held on the substrate holding member 60 is first immersed in the chemical processing tank CB of the chemical processing unit 52 and subjected to chemical processing, and then immersed in the processing tank WB of the water cleaning processing unit 53 to be washed with water. Applied. Next, the water-washed wafer W is transferred from the substrate holding member 60 side of the lifter head LH to the pair of hands 58 and 59 side of the transfer robot TR, transferred to the drying processing tank 54, and dried. Finally, the dried wafer W is transferred to the pair of hands 58 and 59 of the transfer robot TR, and then transferred to the pair of holders 57a and 57b of the substrate storage unit 55 and stored in the cassette C.

Explaining the movement of the lifter head LH in this processing process, the wafer W supported by the pair of hands 58 and 59 of the transfer robot TR is first the substrate holding member 60 of the lifter head LH in the first standby position above the chemical solution processing tank CB. (See FIG. 6A). Next, the lifter head LH descends from the first standby position to the first immersion position in the chemical treatment tank CB to perform the chemical treatment of the wafer (see FIG. 6B), and then the chemical treatment from the first immersion position. It rises to the first retracted position above the tank CB (see FIG. 6C). Subsequently, the lifter head LH moves laterally from the first retracted position above the chemical solution processing tank CB to the second retracted position above the cleaning process tank WB (see FIG. 6D), and the cleaning process tank from this second standby position. It falls to the 2nd immersion position in WB, and a water washing process is made | formed (refer FIG.6 (e)). After that, the wafer W moves up from the second immersion position to the second retreat position above the cleaning tank WB, and the wafer W is transferred to the pair of hands 58 and 59 of the transfer robot TR (see FIG. 6F).
According to the processing method using the substrate processing apparatus 50 of the prior art, since the pair of hands of the transfer robot do not directly touch the chemical solution, a cleaning device for cleaning the hands becomes unnecessary, and the chemical solution and The volume of each processing tank can be reduced by using the lifter head LH without immersing the wafer W in the cleaning processing tank.

FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 below.
The wafer cleaning tank 70 includes two first and second pure water washing tanks 71 and 73, a chemical solution washing tank 72, and a drying tank 74, and the wafer W is sequentially transported and immersed in these tanks and washed with water. Or a chemical | medical solution process is made | formed. That is, in the processing of the wafer by this apparatus, first, the wafer is cleaned in the first pure water processing tank 71. Next, the wafer subjected to pure water cleaning is immersed in the chemical cleaning tank 72 and subjected to chemical processing, then moved to the second pure water processing tank 73, cleaned, and finally dried in the drying tank 74. The

Japanese Patent No. 3559099 (FIGS. 5 and 6, paragraphs [0024] to [0026]) JP 2002-359219 A (FIG. 1, paragraphs [0012] to [0014])

  By the way, in recent years, due to environmental considerations, a substrate processing apparatus that has higher environmental performance is required. Conventionally, a wafer is transferred by a transfer robot and immersed in a processing tank. In this case, since the entire arm of the transfer robot must be immersed in the processing tank together with the wafer, it is necessary to enlarge the processing tank by the width of the arm itself and the clearance width of the arm.

  Therefore, as in the above-described substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, there is one using a lifter head that immerses a wafer in each processing tank while sandwiching only the lower end portion thereof. According to this, since the width of the processing tank only needs to be slightly larger than that of the wafer, the processing tank itself can be made smaller, thereby reducing the volume of various processing liquids such as chemicals or cleaning liquids stored in the processing tank. can do.

  However, in Patent Document 1, a transfer robot that transfers a wafer to a lifter head may be disposed on a chemical treatment tank during the transfer process. At this time, when acidic sulfuric acid, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, or the like is used as the chemical solution stored in the chemical treatment tank, the chemical solution volatilizes from the chemical treatment tank, and the chemical solution atmosphere may be formed above the tank. As a result, the transfer robot was exposed to this chemical, which could cause corrosion and damage.

  In addition, the wafer is usually manufactured through various processes such as a polishing process for polishing the surface and a scribing process for dicing after the polishing. Since foreign substances such as dust, metal pieces, and organic matter are attached to the wafer after these steps, if the wafer with such foreign substances attached is immediately immersed in the chemical solution in the chemical treatment tank, such foreign matter The amount of contamination increases in proportion to the number of wafers and the number of processings.

  As a result, the amount of foreign matter in the chemical treatment tank increases and the risk of reattachment to the wafer increases. In addition, a filter is usually attached to the chemical treatment tank, but if the number of washings increases, clogging occurs, the frequency of filter replacement increases, and the operation of the apparatus must be stopped for this replacement. As a result, the processing efficiency is greatly reduced.

  In order to solve this problem, when the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 is used, the wafer is cleaned in the first pure water rinsing tank before being immersed in the chemical processing tank. Is removed in advance, and the amount of foreign matter mixed into the chemical solution is reduced. However, since this substrate processing apparatus requires a first pure water rinsing tank separately, an additional processing tank and an accompanying mechanism such as a transport mechanism accompanying the addition of this processing tank are essential, and the apparatus becomes large and expensive. Further, since two cleaning water rinsing tanks are used, the amount of pure water to be used is increased, resulting in an increase in wafer processing costs.

  In view of the above problems, the present inventors have studied various methods for preventing corrosion / damage caused by the chemical solution of the transfer robot, and as a result, the stop position of the transfer robot, that is, the transfer position of the wafer to the lifter head is used as the processing step. Regardless of whether it is placed on the cleaning tank and not exposed to the chemical atmosphere, the above problems can be solved, and the wafer is transferred to the cleaning tank as described above, so that it is immersed in the chemical tank. In the case where it is desired to clean the substrate before it is performed, the present inventors have found that it is possible to easily perform a cleaning process performed before and after the process in the chemical processing tank in one cleaning process tank, and the present invention has been achieved. .

  That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus that can increase the processing capacity by reducing the amount of processing liquid used, and can satisfactorily suppress the corrosion and damage of the transfer robot.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus that do not require a separate cleaning processing tank for a cleaning process performed in a stage prior to the processing by the chemical processing tank.

In order to achieve the above object, the substrate processing method according to claim 1 is characterized in that a predetermined chemical solution is stored therein and at least one chemical treatment tank is provided for processing by immersing the substrate to be processed therein, and the chemical treatment. At least one cleaning processing tank disposed in a position adjacent to the tank, storing a predetermined cleaning liquid therein and immersing the substrate to be processed therein, and holding the substrate to be processed; A holding mechanism that is immersed in the cleaning treatment tank and can reciprocate between one chemical treatment tank and one cleaning treatment tank; and a transport mechanism that transports the substrate to be processed. ) To (5) to process the substrate to be processed.
(1) A transfer step of transferring the substrate to be processed onto the cleaning treatment tank by the transfer mechanism,
(2) a delivery step of delivering the substrate to be processed conveyed on the cleaning treatment tank to the holding mechanism;
(3) A chemical treatment process for treating the substrate to be treated by immersion by moving the holding mechanism that has passed the substrate to be treated onto the chemical treatment tank.
(4) After completion of the chemical treatment process, the holding mechanism is lifted from the chemical treatment tank, moved onto the cleaning treatment tank, and immersed in the cleaning treatment tank to wash the substrate to be treated;
(5) A delivery step of lifting the holding mechanism from the cleaning treatment tank and delivering the substrate to be processed to the transport mechanism after completion of the cleaning treatment step.

  Further, the invention according to claim 2 is the substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism is on the chemical treatment tank while the steps (2) to (5) are performed. It is located in other than.

  Further, the invention according to claim 3 is the substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the chemical treatment tank and the cleaning treatment tank are arranged adjacent to each other, and each of the chemical treatments is arranged. The steps (1) to (5) are repeated for each tank and cleaning treatment tank.

Further, the invention according to claim 4 is the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein after the step (2) is completed and before the chemical solution processing step (3) is performed. ,
(2 ′) A cleaning process step of cleaning the substrate to be processed by immersing the holding mechanism in the cleaning tank.
It is characterized by performing.

  Further, the invention according to claim 5 is the substrate processing method according to claim 4, wherein after the step (2 ′) is completed, the process proceeds to the step (4). The cleaning liquid stored in is replaced.

  Further, the invention according to claim 6 is the substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the chemical treatment tank includes a lid that covers an upper opening and an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the lid. The substrate is controlled to be opened only when the substrate to be processed is immersed in the chemical treatment tank and when the substrate to be treated is pulled out from the chemical treatment bath.

  The invention described in claim 7 is the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein after the last step (5), the substrate to be processed is dried by the drying processing mechanism. Features.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 stores at least one chemical processing tank for storing a predetermined chemical solution inside and immersing the substrate to be processed therein, and a position adjacent to the chemical processing tank. At least one cleaning treatment tank which is disposed and stores a predetermined cleaning liquid therein and immerses the substrate to be processed in the inside; and holds the substrate to be processed and is immersed in the chemical treatment tank and the cleaning treatment tank And a holding mechanism capable of reciprocating between one of the chemical solution processing tank and one of the cleaning processing tanks, and a transfer mechanism for transferring the substrate to be processed. The described substrate processing method is performed.

  Further, the invention according to claim 9 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a drying processing tank for drying the substrate to be processed, and after the series of substrate processing is completed, the drying processing tank And drying the substrate to be processed.

  The invention described in claim 10 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the substrate processing apparatus further supplies an air supply mechanism for supplying clean air or the like into the substrate processing apparatus, and the substrate. And an exhaust mechanism for exhausting a gas containing steam in the treatment tank.

  By providing the above-described configuration, the present invention has the following excellent effects. That is, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the transfer mechanism is transferred from the transfer mechanism of the substrate to be processed to the holding mechanism on the cleaning processing tank, so that the transfer mechanism is transferred to the chemical vapor vaporized from the chemical processing tank during the transfer. Without being exposed, it is possible to prevent the transport mechanism from being corroded or damaged by chemical vapor without providing a special transport mechanism cleaning device. In addition, since the transport mechanism is not located on the chemical treatment tank during the steps (2) to (5), the transport mechanism is not exposed to the chemical atmosphere during this time. Further, since the substrate to be processed to which the chemical solution is attached is not gripped, the chemical solution itself does not adhere to the transport mechanism.

  According to the invention of claim 3, even when a plurality of chemical treatment tanks and cleaning treatment tanks are provided, the effects of the inventions of claims 1 and 2 can be achieved.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the substrate to be processed can be cleaned by the cleaning processing tank before the chemical processing, it is not necessary to provide a separate cleaning processing tank to perform this processing, and the processing liquid to be used Can be reduced, and the size of the device itself can be reduced. This makes it possible to remove dirt adhering to the substrate to be processed to some extent before performing the chemical treatment, so that the chemical solution is difficult to get dirty, and the surface of the substrate to be processed becomes wet by this cleaning process. In such a state, the substrate is immersed in the chemical solution processing tank, that is, in the state where the wettability of the substrate to be processed is improved, so that the treatment with the chemical solution is performed better.

  According to the invention of claim 5, since the cleaning liquid in the cleaning treatment tank is replaced between the step (2 ′) and the step (4), the impurities cleaned in the step (2 ′) are (4 ) There is no fear of adhering to the substrate again in the process.

  Further, according to the invention of claim 6, since the chemical liquid treatment tank is provided with the lid, it is possible to prevent the chemical liquid from volatilizing to the outside and diverge, so that the conveyance mechanism and the like are more easily corroded and broken. Can be suppressed.

  According to the invention of claim 7, by providing the drying processing mechanism, the substrate to be processed can be dried in a series of steps.

  According to invention of Claim 8, the substrate processing apparatus which can implement | achieve each effect of the said Claims 1-6 can be provided.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of drying a substrate to be processed in a series of steps by providing a transfer processing tank.

  According to the invention of claim 10, since the substrate processing apparatus includes the air supply mechanism and the exhaust mechanism, the air in the substrate processing apparatus is replaced as needed, and the chemical vapor vaporized from the chemical processing tank is also exhausted. Therefore, the substrate processing apparatus itself can be prevented from entering a chemical atmosphere.

  Hereinafter, the best embodiment 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 the present invention is specified to the substrate processing method and the substrate processing apparatus. And other embodiments within the scope of the claims are equally applicable.

  1 is a schematic view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a series of wafers in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the movement process of. The cross-sectional view shown in FIG. 2 shows a state cut at a position where the cleaning tank WB is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a substrate take-out unit 2 that takes out a wafer W from a cassette C in which a plurality of wafers W are accommodated, and a transfer mechanism 3 that transfers the taken-out wafer W to a predetermined place. A holding mechanism 4 that receives and holds the wafer W transferred by the transfer mechanism 3, a cleaning treatment tank WB that cleans the wafer W held by the holding mechanism 4 with pure water, and the like, and performs chemical processing with various chemical solutions. A chemical treatment tank CB, a final cleaning tank FR for final cleaning of the processed wafer, a drying tank DRY for drying the cleaned wafer, and a substrate container 5 for storing the dried wafer, The transport mechanism 3 can move the distance L1 between the substrate take-out part 2 and the substrate storage part 5, and the holding mechanism 4 can move the distance L2 between the cleaning treatment tank WB and the chemical treatment tank CB. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, a transfer machine 2 </ b> A for transferring the wafer W is disposed in the substrate take-out unit 2, and the transfer machine 2 </ b> A, the transfer mechanism 3, the holding mechanism 4, and each processing tank (WB, CB, FR). , DRY) and the like are accommodated in the box-shaped housing 7. The box-shaped housing 7 has a predetermined height, a blower mechanism 8 and a filter 11 are disposed on a ceiling portion thereof, and a discharge duct 9 is connected to one side wall surface. An exhaust mechanism is configured. That is, clean air is supplied from the filter 11 into the box-shaped housing 7, and the gas containing the chemical vapor is discharged from the discharge duct 9.

  The transfer mechanism 3 includes a transfer robot 30 having a holding member 31 that holds the wafer W. The transfer robot 30 includes a vertically extending support 32 and a gripping member 31 provided at the tip of an arm 33 extending horizontally from the support 32. The support 32 is moved by an elevating / moving mechanism 34. It can move up and down and move in the horizontal direction (front-rear direction in FIG. 2). The holding member 31 includes a pair of hand members 31a and 31b (see FIG. 3), and the wafer W can be held by these hand members 31a and 31b.

  The holding mechanism 4 has a holding member 40 that holds the wafer W received from the transfer mechanism 3 and inserts it into each processing tank. The holding mechanism 40 moves up and down and moves horizontally (the front-rear direction in FIG. ) Can be moved to. The transfer robot 30, the holding member 40, and the elevating / moving mechanisms 34 and 42 are all controlled by control means (not shown) equipped with a microcomputer. In addition, since these mechanisms and control means use a well-known thing, detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

The chemical treatment tank CB is formed of a bottomed box-shaped container having a size capable of accommodating the holding member 40 holding a plurality of wafers W. This container has an opening for inserting the holding member 40 and the like above, and this opening can be covered with the lid 12. The lid body 12 is attached to the opposite side end portions of the chemical solution treatment tank CB by a hinge mechanism, and opens and closes with a double door. The opening / closing control is also performed by the control means.
The chemical treatment tank CB is connected to a chemical supply source (not shown), and various chemical solutions such as sulfuric acid, ammonia, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid and the like are supplied from the supply source. In addition, the chemical treatment tank CB is also connected to a chemical treatment facility (not shown) that discharges the chemical to the outside.

  The cleaning processing tank WB and the final cleaning processing tank FR have substantially the same size as the chemical processing tank CB, and are connected to a cleaning liquid supply source for supplying pure water and the like and a drainage facility (not shown), respectively. As the cleaning treatment tank WB, an overflow tank for continuously supplying a cleaning liquid is preferable.

Below, the substrate processing process of the wafer W using this substrate processing apparatus 1 is demonstrated with reference to FIG.
First, when the substrate processing apparatus 1 is in operation, the opening of the chemical solution processing tank CB is closed by the lid 12. In this state, a plurality of wafers W are accommodated in the cassette C and loaded into the substrate take-out unit 2. Next, the wafer W is transferred from the loaded cassette C to the transfer mechanism 3. The wafer W transferred to the transfer mechanism 3 is first transferred to the cleaning treatment tank WB (see “I” in FIG. 3), and then transferred to the holding member 40 of the holding mechanism 4 (“ II ”).

  The holding member 40 is immersed in pure water in the cleaning tank WB while the wafer W is held by the elevating / moving mechanism 42 to clean the wafer (see “III” in FIG. 3). This cleaning is performed by continuing to supply pure water from the cleaning liquid supply source to the cleaning treatment tank WB. The pure water overflowing from the cleaning treatment tank WB is discharged to the outside through the drainage facility. At this time, the transfer robot 30 is temporarily retracted (see “IV” in FIG. 3). This is to prevent the movement of the holding mechanism 4 and to retreat to a position away from the chemical treatment tank CB. If the movement of the holding mechanism 4 does not become an obstacle, the movement is not necessarily required. Absent.

  When the cleaning of the wafer W is completed, the lifting / moving mechanism 42 is operated to pull up the holding member 40 from the cleaning treatment tank WB, move it to the adjacent chemical treatment tank CB, and immerse the holding member 40 together with this chemical treatment tank CB. A chemical treatment is performed (see “V” in FIG. 3). At this time, the holding member 40 rises vertically, moves horizontally, and descends vertically. However, the moving direction is changed without changing the moving speed by drawing an arc at a position where the moving direction changes. Can do. A predetermined chemical solution, for example, hydrofluoric acid is stored in advance in the chemical solution treatment tank CB. The lid 12 is opened when the holding member 40 is positioned on the chemical solution treatment tank CB. If the wafer W is held in the chemical solution treatment tank CB, the lid 12 is closed. At this time, since the surface of the wafer W is already wet in the cleaning step and the wettability of the wafer W is improved, the chemical treatment can be performed more favorably.

  When the chemical treatment of the wafer W is completed, the lid 12 is opened and the lifting / moving mechanism 42 is operated to pull up the holding member 40 from the chemical treatment tank CB and move it again to the adjacent cleaning treatment tank WB. It is immersed in the tank WB and washed (see “VI” in FIG. 3). Also at this time, it is preferable to move the holding member 40 in an arc shape at a position where the moving direction is changed. This wafer cleaning is performed by overflowing the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank WB, or by replacing the previous cleaning liquid with a new cleaning liquid. By exchanging the cleaning liquid, it is possible to prevent the contaminants removed by the previous cleaning from attaching to the wafer W again. Further, when the holding member 40 is pulled up from the chemical solution treatment tank CB, the lid 12 is quickly closed to prevent the chemical solution from spreading to the outside. In this cleaning process, if the transfer robot 30 is retracted in “IV” in FIG. 3, it is moved again onto the cleaning tank WB (see “VII” in FIG. 3).

The wafer W cleaned in the above process is pulled up together with the holding member 40 from the cleaning processing tank WB by operating the lifting / lowering mechanism 42 (see “VIII” in FIG. 3), and delivered to the transfer robot 30. In this delivery, since the wafer W is cleaned with pure water, the hand members 31a and 31b of the transfer robot 30 are not contaminated with the chemical solution.
The transferred wafer W is transferred onto the final cleaning tank FR by the transfer robot 30, where it is transferred to another holding mechanism (not shown) for final cleaning, and then subjected to a drying process. It is conveyed to the storage unit 5. In the substrate storage unit 5, the processed wafer W held by the transfer robot 30 is received and stored in the cassette C.

  According to the substrate processing step, the transfer robot 30 does not stop on the chemical processing tank CB, and the lid 12 is provided on the chemical processing tank CB, so that the wafer W can be moved into and out of the chemical processing tank CB. Since the chemical solution does not volatilize and diverge to the outside except during movement, the inside of the box-shaped housing 7 can be prevented from becoming a chemical solution atmosphere, and the transfer robot 30 is not exposed to the chemical solution atmosphere. The corrosion / breakage of the transfer robot 30 can be satisfactorily suppressed.

  In addition, according to this series of substrate processing steps, the wafer W is first immersed and cleaned in a cleaning processing tank WB storing pure water and the like, and then immersed in a chemical processing tank CB storing chemicals to perform chemical processing. Then, since it is again immersed and washed in the washing treatment tank WB, the washing treatment tank WB for washing with water before and after the chemical treatment can be shared, and only one washing treatment tank is required, and two tanks are installed as in the prior art. As a result, the entire apparatus can be reduced in size, and the amount of cleaning liquid used can be reduced accordingly.

  Further, since the wafer W is immersed and cleaned in the cleaning treatment tank before being immersed in the chemical treatment tank, the foreign matter adhering to the substrate to be processed is removed in advance by washing with water, and the contamination of the foreign matter into the chemical solution is reduced. . For this reason, the amount of foreign matter mixed in the chemical solution is reduced, the frequency of chemical solution exchange can be reduced, and as a result, the amount of chemical solution used can be reduced.

  In the first embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1 having only one chemical treatment tank CB and one cleaning treatment tank WB has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the substrate surface treatment is performed using a plurality of chemical liquids. The same effect can be achieved with a plurality of treatment tanks provided in the same manner. Therefore, a substrate processing apparatus 1 ′ having two chemical processing tanks and two cleaning processing tanks as Example 2 will be described below.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. In this embodiment, only the chemical solution treatment tank and the washing treatment tank are added to the first embodiment one by one, and the other configurations are almost the same. The explanation is omitted, and only different points are explained.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 ′ of this embodiment includes a substrate take-out unit 2, a first chemical processing tank CB 1, a first cleaning processing tank WB 1, a second chemical processing tank CB 2, a second cleaning processing tank WB 2, and a final cleaning processing tank FR. The drying treatment tank DRY and the substrate housing part 5 are arranged in a row. The first chemical treatment tank CB1 and the first cleaning treatment tank WB1 are provided with a holding mechanism 4 that can be moved up and down between both treatment tanks, and the second chemical treatment tank CB2 and the second cleaning treatment tank WB2 Is provided with a holding mechanism 4 'that can be moved up and down between the processing tanks. In addition, two transport mechanisms 3 and 3 ′ that are movable up and down are provided between the substrate take-out unit 2 and the substrate storage unit 5. Since the holding mechanisms 4 and 4 ′ and the transport mechanisms 3 and 3 ′ have the same configuration as that of the first embodiment, the details thereof are omitted. However, since two transport mechanisms 3, 3 ′ are provided in order to improve the working efficiency, it is not always necessary to provide two, and only one or three or more may be provided.

Hereinafter, a substrate processing process of the wafer W using the substrate processing apparatus 1 ′ will be described.
First, during operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1, the openings of the first and second chemical solution processing tanks CB 1 and CB 2 are closed by the lid bodies 12 and 12. In this state, a plurality of wafers W are accommodated in the cassette C and loaded into the substrate take-out unit 2. Next, the wafer W is transferred from the loaded cassette C to the transfer mechanism 3. The wafer W transferred to the transfer mechanism 3 is first transferred to the first cleaning treatment tank WB1 and transferred to the holding member 40 of the holding mechanism 4 on the first cleaning process tank WB1.

  The holding member 40 is immersed in pure water in the first cleaning treatment tank WB1 while the wafer W is held by the elevating / moving mechanism 42 to clean the wafer. This cleaning is performed by continuing to supply pure water from the cleaning liquid supply source to the cleaning treatment tank WB. The pure water overflowing from the cleaning treatment tank WB is discharged to the outside through the drainage facility. At this time, the transport robot 30 of the transport mechanism 3 is temporarily retracted. This is to prevent the movement of the holding mechanism 4 and to retreat to a position away from the chemical treatment tank CB. If the movement of the holding mechanism 4 does not become an obstacle, the movement is not necessarily required. Absent.

  When the cleaning of the wafer W is completed, the elevating / moving mechanism 42 is operated to pull up the holding member 40 from the first cleaning treatment tank WB1, move it to the adjacent first chemical solution treatment tank CB1, and the first chemical solution together with the holding member 40. Immerse it in the treatment tank CB1 and perform chemical treatment. At this time, the holding member 40 rises vertically, moves horizontally, and descends vertically. However, the moving direction is changed without changing the moving speed by drawing an arc at a position where the moving direction changes. Can do. A predetermined chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid is stored in advance in the first chemical solution treatment tank CB1. The lid 12 is opened when the holding member 40 is positioned on the first chemical solution treatment tank CB1, but the lid 12 is closed if it is held in the first chemical solution treatment tank CB1. At this time, since the surface of the wafer W is already wet in the cleaning step and the wettability of the wafer W is improved, the chemical treatment can be performed more favorably.

  When the chemical treatment of the wafer W is completed, the lid 12 is opened again, the lifting / moving mechanism 42 is operated to pull up the holding member 40 from the first chemical treatment tank CB1, and again to the adjacent first cleaning treatment tank WB1. It is moved and immersed in the first cleaning tank WB1 for cleaning. Also at this time, it is preferable to move the holding member 40 in an arc shape at a position where the moving direction is changed. This wafer cleaning is performed by overflowing the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank, or by replacing the previous cleaning liquid with a new cleaning liquid. By exchanging the cleaning liquid, it is possible to prevent the contaminants removed by the previous cleaning from attaching to the wafer W again. Further, when the holding member 40 is pulled up from the first chemical solution treatment tank CB1, the lid body 12 is quickly closed to prevent the chemical solution from spreading to the outside. In this cleaning step, the transport mechanism 3 is moved onto the first cleaning processing tank WB1.

  The wafer W cleaned in the above process is pulled up together with the holding member 40 from the first cleaning tank WB1 by operating the elevating / moving mechanism 42 and transferred to the transfer robot 30. In this delivery, since the wafer W is cleaned with pure water, the hand members 31a and 31b of the transfer robot 30 are not contaminated with the chemical solution.

  The wafer W transferred to the transfer robot 30 is transferred to the second cleaning treatment tank WB2, where it is transferred to the holding member 40 ′ of the second holding mechanism 4 ′. The holding member 40 'is immersed in the second cleaning bath WB2 while holding the wafer W by the lifting / moving mechanism 42. At this time, cleaning liquid such as pure water is stored in the second cleaning bath WB2. Although it is not performed, if it takes time to switch between exhaust and supply of pure water and no problem occurs in the subsequent processes, the wafer W may be immersed while the pure water is placed in the second cleaning treatment tank WB2. . In this state where the holding mechanism 4 ′ is lowered into the second cleaning treatment tank WB2, the transfer of the transfer mechanism 3 is performed so as not to obstruct the movement of the holding mechanism 4 ′ and to prepare for the next lot process. The robot 30 is moved onto the substrate take-out unit 2.

  When the movement of the transfer robot 30 is completed, the lifting / moving mechanism 42 is operated to pull up the holding member 40 'from the second cleaning treatment tank WB2 and move it to the adjacent second chemical solution treatment tank CB2, and this holding member 40' Immerse it in the second chemical treatment tank CB2 to perform chemical treatment. In the second chemical solution treatment tank CB2, a chemical solution different from that stored in the first chemical solution treatment tank CB1 is stored. The lid 12 ′ is opened when the holding member 40 ′ moves to the second chemical liquid treatment tank CB2, but the lid 12 is closed when the holding member 40 is being held in the second chemical liquid treatment tank CB2. In addition, when the holding member 40 ′ is moved from the second cleaning treatment tank WB2, the storage of pure water is started when the second cleaning treatment tank WB2 is empty.

  When the chemical treatment of the wafer W is completed, the lid 12 'is opened, the lifting / moving mechanism 42 is operated to pull up the holding member 40' from the second chemical treatment tank CB2, and to the adjacent second cleaning treatment tank WB2. It is moved again and immersed in the second cleaning bath WB2 for cleaning. This wafer cleaning is performed by overflowing the cleaning liquid in the second cleaning processing tank WB2. Moreover, when holding member 40 'is pulled up from 2nd chemical | medical solution processing tank CB2, cover body 12' is closed quickly and the spreading | diffusion of the chemical | medical solution to the exterior is prevented. In this cleaning process, the transport mechanism 3 ′ is moved onto the second cleaning tank WB2.

  The wafer W cleaned in the above process is pulled up together with the holding member 40 ′ from the second cleaning processing tank WB2 and transferred to the transfer robot 30 ′. The transferred wafer W is transferred onto the final cleaning tank FR by the transfer robot 30 ′, and then transferred to another holding mechanism (not shown) for final cleaning, and then dried. It is conveyed to the substrate housing part 5. In the substrate storage unit 5, the processed wafer W held by the transfer robot 30 ′ is received and stored in the cassette C.

  As described above, even if a plurality of chemical solution treatment tanks and cleaning treatment tanks are provided, the inside of the box-shaped housing 7 does not become a chemical solution atmosphere, and the transport robots 30 and 30 ′ Since it does not stop on each chemical solution treatment tank CB1, CB2, corrosion and breakage due to exposure to the chemical solution atmosphere can be prevented well, and the wafer W is immersed in the treatment vessel by the holding mechanisms 4, 4 ′. Therefore, the volume of each processing tank can be reduced to the limit of the width of the wafer, and the amount of processing liquid used can be reduced.

  In each of the above embodiments, the wafer is cleaned in advance in the cleaning tank before the wafer is immersed in the chemical tank. However, the chemical processing may be performed without performing the cleaning process. . However, even in that case, delivery of the wafer from the transport mechanism to the holding mechanism is performed on the cleaning treatment tank.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2 is a partial longitudinal sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a series of wafer movement processes in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic view schematically showing a substrate processing apparatus according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the structure of a conventional substrate processing apparatus, 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the movement of the substrate holding member provided in the lifter head of FIG. FIG. 7 is a schematic configuration diagram showing another conventional substrate processing apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

W Wafer CB Chemical solution processing tank WB Cleaning processing tank FR Final cleaning processing tank DRY Drying processing tank 1 Substrate processing apparatus 2 Substrate take-out section 3 Transfer mechanism 4 Holding mechanism 5 Substrate storage section 7 Box-shaped housing 12 Cover 30 Transfer robot 31 Holding member 31a, 31b Hand member 40 Holding member

Claims (10)

A predetermined chemical solution is stored inside, at least one chemical solution processing tank for immersing and processing the substrate to be processed therein, and disposed at a position adjacent to the chemical solution processing tank, and storing a predetermined cleaning solution therein, At least one cleaning treatment tank that immerses and treats the substrate to be treated inside, and holds the substrate to be treated and is immersed in the chemical treatment tank and the cleaning treatment tank, and one chemical treatment treatment tank and one washing A holding mechanism capable of reciprocating between processing tanks and a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate to be processed are provided, and the substrate to be processed is processed by the following steps (1) to (5). Substrate processing method.
(1) A transfer step of transferring the substrate to be processed onto the cleaning treatment tank by the transfer mechanism,
(2) a delivery step of delivering the substrate to be processed conveyed on the cleaning treatment tank to the holding mechanism;
(3) A chemical treatment process for treating the substrate to be treated by immersion by moving the holding mechanism that has passed the substrate to be treated onto the chemical treatment tank.
(4) After completion of the chemical treatment process, the holding mechanism is lifted from the chemical treatment tank, moved onto the cleaning treatment tank, and immersed in the cleaning treatment tank to wash the substrate to be treated;
(5) A delivery step of lifting the holding mechanism from the cleaning treatment tank and delivering the substrate to be processed to the transport mechanism after the completion of the cleaning treatment step.   2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the transport mechanism is positioned other than on the chemical processing tank while the steps (2) to (5) are performed.   A plurality of the chemical solution treatment tanks and the cleaning treatment tanks are arranged adjacent to each other, and the steps (1) to (5) are repeated for each of the chemical solution treatment tanks and the cleaning treatment tanks. The substrate processing method according to claim 1 or 2. After the completion of the step (2) and before the chemical solution treatment step (3),
(2 ′) A cleaning process step of cleaning the substrate to be processed by immersing the holding mechanism in the cleaning tank.
The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing method is performed.   5. The substrate processing method according to claim 4, wherein after the step (2 ′) is completed, the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning processing tank is replaced before the process proceeds to the step (4). .   The chemical treatment tank includes a lid body that covers an upper opening and an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes the lid body. The lid body immerses the substrate to be treated in the chemical treatment tank, and the substrate to be treated. 2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing method is controlled so as to be opened only when the chemical solution processing tank is pulled up.   The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate to be processed is dried by a drying processing mechanism after the last step (5).   A predetermined chemical solution is stored inside, at least one chemical solution processing tank for immersing and processing the substrate to be processed therein, and disposed at a position adjacent to the chemical solution processing tank, and storing a predetermined cleaning solution therein, At least one cleaning treatment tank that immerses and treats the substrate to be treated inside, and holds the substrate to be treated and is immersed in the chemical treatment tank and the cleaning treatment tank, and one chemical treatment treatment tank and one washing A substrate characterized by comprising a holding mechanism capable of reciprocating between processing tanks and a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate to be processed, and performing the substrate processing method according to any one of claims 1 to 6. Processing equipment.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a drying tank that dries the substrate to be processed, wherein the substrate to be processed is dried by the drying tank after the series of substrate processing is completed. .   9. The substrate processing apparatus further includes an air supply mechanism that supplies clean air or the like into the substrate processing apparatus, and an exhaust mechanism that exhausts a gas containing vapor in the substrate processing tank. Or the substrate processing apparatus according to 9.

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