JP2007052300A - Cleaning device for mask substrate, and cleaning method for mask substrate using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cleaning device for mask substrates, with which the whole end surface of a mask substrate and even an area where a pellicle has been stuck can be surely cleaned in the same chamber. <P>SOLUTION: The cleaning device has a chamber 2 and in the chamber, at least a substrate supporting means 3 which can rotatably support a mask substrate 5, a substrate cleaning solution supplying means 6, 7 for supplying a cleaning solution to the substrate supported by the substrate supporting means 3, a cleaning brush 8 capable of being brought into sliding contact with the upper surface 5a and the end surface 5b of the substrate supported by the substrate supporting means 3 while being rotated or not rotated, and a waste liquid port 10 for discharging waste liquid of the cleaning solution from the chamber. The substrate supporting means 3 has a plurality of supporting pins 4 for supporting the periphery of the mask substrate 5 and can rotate the substrate supported by the pins relatively to the supporting pins so that the periphery of the substrate is supported by the pins at different positions. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a mask substrate used in photolithography in a semiconductor device manufacturing process or the like.

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, photolithography is performed using a mask substrate on which a desired pattern is formed in order to form a fine pattern on a silicon wafer, a glass substrate, or the like.
If particles or the like adhere to the mask substrate in the photolithography process, a pattern formation failure is caused. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, a pellicle 21 in which a transparent film (pellicle film) 22 is attached to an annular frame 23 is used. It is done. If the pellicle 21 is attached to the mask 5 via the adhesive layer 24, particles or the like adhere to the pellicle film 22, and adhesion to the pattern surface of the mask substrate 5 can be avoided.

  However, even when photolithography is performed by attaching the pellicle 21 to the mask substrate 5, it is necessary to keep the mask substrate clean, and it is necessary to clean not only both sides of the mask substrate but also the end surfaces. For example, when the mask substrate is used again after the pellicle is peeled off from the mask substrate, it is necessary to intensively clean the region where the pellicle has been attached.

  When cleaning the mask substrate, there is a method of performing megasonic cleaning by putting the substrate into a cleaning tank filled with pure water or a cleaning liquid. However, in this method, megasonic irradiation is not sufficiently applied partially, and cleaning unevenness may occur. In this case, it is necessary to polish and clean manually.

  On the other hand, as a cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate, an apparatus including a cleaning tank, a water-washing tank, and a drying tank has been proposed (see Patent Document 1). For example, after holding the corners of the mask substrate with arms, spraying pure water with ultrasonic waves on the substrate in the cleaning tank and rubbing it with a brush, the cleaning liquid contained in another cleaning tank Immerse in. Next, the substrate is transported to a water rinsing tank to remove the surface cleaning liquid, and further transported to a drying tank for drying.

  In such an apparatus, it is said that the side surface (end surface) of the substrate can also be cleaned. However, since the apparatus includes a large number of tanks, the apparatus becomes large, and the substrate is held between arms by holding the substrate with an arm. In order to convey, there exists a possibility that a particle etc. may adhere during conveyance. Further, with this apparatus, for example, an area where the pellicle has been attached (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a pellicle part) cannot be intensively cleaned.

On the other hand, a cleaning device that supports the periphery of the mask substrate with a rotary table, supplies cleaning liquid to both surfaces of the substrate from nozzles arranged above and below, and then performs drying (spin drying) by rotating the substrate is proposed. (See Patent Document 2).
As described above, in the apparatus that performs cleaning while supporting the mask substrate on the rotary table, the apparatus can be miniaturized and can be performed from cleaning to drying while being placed on the rotary table. However, there is a problem that the pellicle part cannot be cleaned intensively and the supported part of the substrate is not cleaned.

JP-A-5-259137 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-260522

  In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a cleaning device for a mask substrate that can reliably clean the entire end surface of the mask substrate and the region where the pellicle is attached, in the same chamber. The main purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for cleaning a mask substrate, comprising: a chamber; and a substrate support means capable of rotating at least supporting the mask substrate in the chamber; A substrate cleaning solution supply unit that supplies a cleaning solution to a substrate supported by the substrate support unit, and can be slidably contacted with or without rotating with respect to an upper surface and an end surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support unit. A cleaning brush, and a waste liquid port for discharging the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid from the chamber. The substrate support means includes a plurality of support pins that support the periphery of the mask substrate, and is supported by the support pins. After cleaning the substrate, the substrate is rotated relative to the support pins, and the periphery of the substrate can be re-supported at another position and cleaned. Cleaning device for a mask substrate that is provided (claim 1).

  With such a cleaning apparatus, the end surface of the substrate can be physicochemically cleaned with a cleaning brush and a cleaning liquid in a state where the periphery of the mask substrate is supported by the support pins in the same chamber. Since the periphery can be re-supported at another position, the entire end surface including the portion that was first supported by the support pin can be reliably cleaned. Further, since the upper surface of the substrate can be cleaned with the cleaning brush and the cleaning liquid, not only the entire upper surface but also the region where the pellicle has been attached can be intensively cleaned.

In this case, a plurality of support pins of the substrate support means may be arranged so as to support at different positions with respect to adjacent sides of the rectangular mask substrate.
Since a general mask substrate is rectangular, if the support pins are arranged corresponding to this shape, the support position of the substrate end surface is definitely different between the first time and the second time, so the entire substrate end surface is brush-cleaned. Can be a particularly useful cleaning device.

The cleaning brush is preferably cylindrical or columnar (Claim 3).
If it is a cylindrical or columnar cleaning brush, the upper surface of the substrate can be cleaned with the bottom surface of the brush, and the cleaning device can reliably clean the end surface of the substrate with the side surface of the brush.

In addition, it is preferable to include a brush cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the cleaning brush.
If the cleaning can be performed while the cleaning liquid is directly supplied to the cleaning brush by the brush cleaning liquid supply means, the cleaning effect is further enhanced, and the cleaning apparatus can clean the substrate more reliably.

The substrate support means raises the substrate supported by the substrate support means, rotates the support pins of the substrate or the substrate support means by 90 °, and then lowers the substrate to move around the substrate. It can be re-supported at another position (Claim 5).
In particular, when cleaning a rectangular mask substrate, the entire periphery of the substrate can be cleaned easily and reliably because the periphery of the substrate can be re-supported at another position by rotating the substrate or the support pins by 90 °. It becomes a cleaning device that can.

It is preferable that the substrate cleaning liquid supply means includes an upper surface cleaning nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support means, and a lower surface cleaning nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the lower surface of the substrate. Item 6).
If such upper and lower cleaning nozzles are provided, the cleaning apparatus can reliably prevent the bottom surface of the substrate from being dried and remaining contaminated or stained during cleaning.

It is preferable to include a cover unit that surrounds the substrate support unit and suppresses scattering of the cleaning liquid.
If such a cover means is provided, it is possible to prevent the cleaning liquid from splashing into the chamber, so that the cleaning apparatus can continuously perform the cleaning of the mask substrate.

An airflow adjusting plate may be provided inside the cover means (claim 8).
During cleaning, an air flow is generated by the rotation of the substrate support means. However, by providing an air flow adjusting plate inside the cover means, it is possible to suppress mist diffusion of the cleaning liquid.

Further, at least one of the substrate support means and the cover means can be moved up and down (Claim 9).
If the substrate support means and the cover means can move up and down, the cleaning apparatus can easily perform the transfer of the mask substrate to the substrate support means without interference.

A filter for purifying the atmosphere in the chamber may be provided (claim 10).
The inside of the chamber can be maintained in a clean atmosphere by the filter, and reattachment of particles or the like to the mask substrate can be reliably prevented.

  Furthermore, according to the present invention, there is provided a method for cleaning a mask substrate, wherein the cleaning device is used to support the mask substrate with a support pin of the substrate support means, and at least the cleaning brush supplies the cleaning liquid with the cleaning brush. After cleaning the end surface of the substrate, the substrate supported by the support pin is rotated relative to the support pin to re-support the periphery of the substrate at another position, and the end surface is again cleaned by the cleaning brush. There is provided a method for cleaning a mask substrate characterized by performing a cleaning step.

  By using the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, after cleaning the end surface of the substrate supported by the support pins with the supply of cleaning liquid and the cleaning brush, the periphery of the substrate is supported again at another position and the end surface is cleaned again. The entire end surface including the initially supported position can be reliably cleaned.

Further, the substrate may be rotated by the substrate support means, and the cleaning brush may be reciprocated from the center of the substrate to a corner while supplying the cleaning liquid to clean the upper surface of the substrate (claims). 12).
By cleaning the upper surface of the substrate by rotating the substrate and reciprocating the cleaning brush, the entire surface of the mask substrate can be reliably cleaned.

Further, as the mask substrate, the mask substrate after the pellicle is peeled off is supported by the support pins of the substrate support means with the surface on which the pellicle is attached facing upward, the cleaning liquid is supplied, and the pellicle of the substrate It is also possible to perform a step of cleaning the region by rotating the cleaning brush while making a sliding contact with the region where the material has been attached (claim 13).
The mask substrate after peeling off the pellicle needs to cleanly focus the area where the pellicle has been affixed in particular. By using the apparatus according to the present invention, the cleaning brush is rotated and brought into sliding contact with the area. It can be cleaned efficiently in a short time.

In addition, after cleaning the mask substrate, a step of rinsing the substrate with pure water and a step of rotating the substrate by the substrate support means and drying after rinsing can be performed.
By using the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, rinsing the substrate after the cleaning is supported by the substrate supporting means, and further drying the substrate, the entire substrate can be efficiently cleaned and dried in the same chamber.

  The cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate according to the present invention can perform physicochemical cleaning on the upper surface and the end surface of the substrate with a cleaning brush and a cleaning liquid in a state where the periphery of the mask substrate is supported by support pins in the same chamber. In addition, since the periphery of the substrate can be re-supported at other positions by the support pins, the entire end surface can be reliably cleaned. Further, since the upper surface of the substrate can be cleaned with the cleaning brush and the cleaning liquid, not only the entire upper surface but also the region where the pellicle has been attached can be intensively cleaned.

Hereinafter, as a preferred embodiment, a case where a rectangular mask substrate is cleaned using the mask substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 and 2 show an example of a cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate according to the present invention. The cleaning apparatus 1 includes a chamber 2, a substrate support unit 3, substrate cleaning liquid supply units 6 and 7, a cleaning brush 8, a waste liquid port 10, a cover unit 11 and the like.

  The substrate support means 3 includes a rotary table 14, six support pins 4 for supporting the periphery (side portions) of the mask substrate 5, and the like. The support pins 4 support the central part of each side for one pair of opposing sides of the mask substrate 5 with one, and support the vicinity of both corners with two for the other two opposing sides. Has been placed. By arranging the support pins 4 in this way, adjacent sides of the mask substrate 5 can be supported at different positions. In the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention, the arrangement of the support pins 4 is not limited to this, and may be arranged so as to be supported at different positions with respect to adjacent sides of the mask substrate 5.

Further, the substrate support means 3 includes a movable pin 16 that can move up and down as shown in FIG. 3A as means for rotating and supporting the substrate 5 relative to the support pins 4. ing. The substrate 5 supported by the support pins 4 is supported by the movable pins 16 and raised, and the substrate 5 or each support pin 4 is rotated by 90 °, and then the movable pins 16 are lowered. Thereby, each side of the substrate 5 can be re-supported at other positions by the support pins 4.
Further, a robot arm may be used as means for resupporting the substrate 5. For example, as shown in FIG. 3B, the substrate 5 supported by the substrate support means 3 is held by the robot arm 30 and raised. Then, after rotating the turntable 14 by 90 °, the substrate 5 is returned to the substrate support means 3 so that each side of the substrate 5 can be supported again at other positions by the support pins 4.

  The upper surface cleaning nozzle 6 and the lower surface cleaning nozzle 7 are arranged so that the cleaning liquid or pure water can be supplied to the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate 5, respectively. The nozzles 6 and 7 may be appropriately set in terms of the number of nozzles, installation positions, and the like according to the size of the apparatus 1 and the size of the mask substrate 5 to be cleaned. Further, each of the nozzles 6 and 7 can be a megasonic irradiation nozzle in order to enhance the cleaning effect.

As the cleaning brush 8, a mask that does not damage the mask substrate can be used. For example, a brush formed by a PVA sponge used for cleaning a semiconductor wafer or the like into a cylindrical or columnar shape is preferable. FIG. 4 shows the cleaning brush 8 in an enlarged manner. Such a PVA brush 8 is attached to the brush drive mechanism 17. The brush 8 can be rotated by the brush drive mechanism 17, and can be freely moved up and down, left and right, and back and forth in the chamber 2, and brush cleaning can be performed regardless of the shape of the substrate. Therefore, for example, the dirt can be physically removed by sliding the side surface 8b of the brush 8 on the end surface of the mask substrate 5 or by sliding the bottom surface 8a of the brush 8 on the upper surface of the substrate 5 while rotating. The number of cleaning brushes 8 is not particularly limited, and two or more cleaning brushes 8 may be provided.
Further, the brush drive mechanism 17 is provided with a brush cleaning liquid supply nozzle 9 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning brush 8. Note that the cleaning liquid may be supplied into the brush 8.

  The cover means 11 is provided so as to surround the substrate support means 3. Further, an air flow adjusting plate (such as a punching plate) 12 for rectifying the air flow generated by the rotation of the substrate support unit 3 is provided inside the cover unit 11. By providing such a cover means 11, it is possible to effectively prevent the cleaning liquid or mist from being scattered throughout the interior of the chamber 2 during cleaning, and recleaning of the cleaned substrate can be prevented.

  Furthermore, a cover up-and-down moving means 15 is attached to the cover means 11. The cover means 11 can be moved up and down by the three cover up and down movement means 15 moving up and down synchronously. During cleaning, the cover means 11 is raised to effectively prevent the cleaning liquid from scattering. Further, when the mask substrate 5 is delivered, the cover means 11 is lowered to prevent interference, and the mask substrate 5 can be easily delivered to the support pins 4. The substrate support means 3 (support pins 4) may be moved up and down to prevent interference between the substrate 5 and the cover means 11.

A waste liquid port 10 is provided at the center of the lower surface of the chamber 2, and a slope 18 that is inclined toward the waste liquid port 10 is provided on the lower surface of the chamber 2. By providing such a slope 18, the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid gathers at the waste liquid port 10, and the waste liquid can be recovered with little stagnation.
Further, by providing the clean unit 13 having a filter such as a HEPA filter or a ULPA filter on the ceiling of the chamber 2, the atmosphere in the chamber can always be purified.

  By using the cleaning apparatus 1 according to the present invention, the end face, the pellicle part, and the entire surface of the mask substrate 5 can be physically and chemically cleaned by supplying the cleaning liquid and the cleaning brush 8 respectively. Hereinafter, a method for suitably cleaning the end face, the pellicle portion, and the entire surface of the mask substrate 5 using the apparatus of the present invention will be described.

<End face cleaning>
The mask substrate to be cleaned is transferred to the cleaning apparatus 1 by a robot arm or the like, and the mask substrate 5 is transferred to the support means 3 and supported by the support pins 4 as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, a cleaning liquid such as pure water is supplied from the brush cleaning liquid supply nozzle 9 to the cleaning brush 8, and the side surface 8 b of the brush 8 is moved along the end surface 5 b of the substrate 5 while rotating the cleaning brush 8. Make sliding contact. In this way, an extremely high cleaning effect can be obtained by performing brush cleaning while directly supplying the cleaning liquid to the brush 8. During brush cleaning, it is preferable to supply pure water or the like from the upper and lower cleaning nozzles 6 and 7 as necessary to prevent drying and contamination of the upper and lower surfaces of the mask substrate.

As described above, the brush 8 is slidably contacted along the end surface 5b of the substrate 5 while supplying the cleaning liquid to the brush 8, so that the end surface 5b can be brush cleaned except for the portion supported by the support pins 4. .
Further, cleaning can be performed without bringing the brush 8 into contact with the end surface 5 b of the substrate 5. That is, by bringing the brush 8 close to the end face 5b of the substrate, supplying the cleaning liquid to the brush 8 and rotating the brush 8 at a high speed, an overflow occurs, and the cleaning effect can be exhibited. In this case, since the brush itself is not in contact with the substrate 5, the brush 8 is not accidentally scratched.

  Next, in order to clean the portion supported by the support pins 4 during the first end face cleaning, each side of the substrate 5 is supported again at other positions by the support pins 4. As shown in FIG. 6A, the substrate 5 supported by the support pins 4 is raised by, for example, the movable pin 16 or the robot arm 30 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. . Then, as shown in FIG. 6B, each support pin 4 is rotated clockwise. When the support pin 4 is rotated 90 °, the substrate 5 is lowered by the movable pin 16 or the robot arm 30, and each side of the substrate 5 is again supported by the support pin 4 as shown in FIG.

Since each support pin 4 is arranged so that it can be supported at different positions with respect to the adjacent sides of the rectangular mask substrate 5, the support pin 4 is relatively 90 with respect to the substrate 5 as described above. By rotating, each side of the substrate 5 is supported again at other positions. That is, the contact part between the mask substrate 5 and the support pin 4 changes before and after the relative rotation of the support pin 4. If the end surface of the substrate 5 is cleaned again with the cleaning brush 8 in this state, the portion that was initially supported by the support pins 4 can also be cleaned, and the end surface of the substrate 5 can be brush cleaned over the entire circumference.
The brush 8 may have any number of rounds around the substrate 5 and may be set as appropriate according to the degree of contamination.

After the entire end face is cleaned as described above, a rinsing liquid (for example, pure water) is supplied to the substrate 5 from the upper and lower nozzles 6 and 7 while the mask substrate 5 is rotated or stationary, and adheres to the substrate 5. Remove the cleaning solution.
Next, if necessary, the rotary table 14 of the substrate support means 3 is rotated at a high speed, and the liquid adhering to the mask substrate 5 is blown off by centrifugal force and dried.

<Pellicle part cleaning>
As shown in FIG. 7, the mask substrate 5 after the pellicle is peeled off is supported by the support pins 4 of the substrate support means 3 with the surface 5a on which the pellicle is attached facing up. As shown in FIG. 8, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the brush cleaning liquid supply nozzle 9 to the cleaning brush 8, and the brush 5 is rotated while rotating the cleaning brush 8 to the region (pellicle part) 19 where the pellicle of the substrate 5 is attached. 8 is brought into sliding contact with the bottom surface 8a. By moving the brush 8 along the pellicle part 19, brush cleaning can be performed over the entire circumference of the pellicle part 19. The cleaning of the pellicle portion 19 or the upper surface 5a of the substrate 5 is not limited to the brush cleaning by supplying the cleaning liquid from the brush cleaning liquid supply means, but the cleaning liquid may be supplied from the upper surface cleaning nozzle 6 to perform the brush cleaning. it can.

  Also, when cleaning the pellicle part 19, the brush 8 rotating at high speed may be brought close to the substrate 5 to perform cleaning by overflow. Further, the number of times the brush 8 travels along the pellicle part is not particularly limited. For example, the pellicle part 19 can be efficiently and intensively cleaned by numerically controlling the position of the pellicle part 19 and the number of times of cleaning. it can.

  Further, it is preferable to supply water or a cleaning liquid from the lower surface cleaning nozzle 7 to the lower surface side of the substrate 5 during the cleaning. When the cleaning liquid is supplied to the upper surface 5a (pellicle portion 19) of the substrate 5 for cleaning, the cleaning liquid may circulate to the end surface or the lower surface side of the substrate 5 and dry to cause contamination or stain. Therefore, if water or a cleaning liquid is supplied to the lower surface side, contamination and stain can be prevented.

  After cleaning the pellicle portion 19 as described above, a rinsing step and a drying step as necessary can be performed in the same manner as the end face cleaning.

<Surface cleaning>
As shown in FIG. 9, the mask substrate 5 is supported by the support pins 4 and rotated. The cleaning liquid is supplied from the brush cleaning liquid supply nozzle 9 to the cleaning brush 8, and the surface (upper surface) 5 a of the substrate 5 is cleaned by reciprocating the cleaning brush 8 from the center to the corner of the substrate 5. Also in this case, the bottom surface 8a of the brush 8 may be slid in contact with the top surface 5a of the substrate 5, or the brush 8 rotating at high speed may be brought close to the substrate 5 to perform cleaning by overflow.

  The number of times that the brush 8 reciprocates between the corners 20 from the center of the substrate is not particularly limited. And can be cleaned efficiently.

Further, when the surface (upper surface) of the substrate 5 is cleaned by the reciprocation of the brush 8 as described above, pure water or cleaning liquid is supplied from the lower surface cleaning nozzle 7 to the lower surface side of the substrate 5 during cleaning. It is preferable to prevent contamination of the end face and the lower face and generation of stains.
In addition, after washing | cleaning the upper surface 5a of the board | substrate 5, you may reverse the board | substrate 5 and wash | clean the lower surface side similarly.

  As described above, the mask substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention can selectively clean the entire end surface of the mask substrate, the region where the pellicle is attached, and the entire surface of the substrate. Of course, all of these portions can be cleaned sequentially, or the back surface can be cleaned by inverting the substrate.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The above-described embodiment is an exemplification, and any configuration that has substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the claims of the present invention and has the same operational effects can be used. It is included in the technical scope of the present invention.

In the above embodiment, the case of cleaning a square mask substrate has been described. However, the shape of the mask substrate to be cleaned by the cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is not particularly limited. For example, the support pins of the substrate support means are masks to be cleaned. What is necessary is just to arrange | position according to the shape of a board | substrate. That is, the periphery of the mask substrate can be supported by the support pins, and the substrate supported by the support pins is rotated relative to the support pins to resupport the periphery of the substrate at another position. What is necessary is just to arrange | position a support pin so that it can do. For example, when the mask shape is circular, it can be re-supported at an arbitrary position by rotating. Therefore, the support pins are not necessarily arranged unevenly and may be evenly arranged along the circumference. .
In the above embodiment, the case where the brush is rotated for cleaning has been described. However, depending on the shape of the mask substrate and the shape of the brush (for example, a prism), the cleaning may be performed without rotating the brush.

It is a top view which shows the outline of an example of the cleaning apparatus for mask substrates which concerns on this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the outline of an example of the cleaning apparatus for mask substrates which concerns on this invention. (A) It is the schematic which shows the state which raised the board | substrate with the movable pin. (B) It is the schematic which shows the state which raised the board | substrate with the robot arm. It is the schematic which expanded the washing brush. It is the schematic which shows the state which wash | cleans the end surface of a mask board | substrate with a brush. It is a figure which shows an example of the method of re-supporting a board | substrate with a support pin, when wash | cleaning the end surface of a board | substrate. It is the schematic which shows the area | region where the pellicle was affixed. It is the schematic which shows the state which wash | cleans a pellicle part with a brush. It is the schematic which shows the part to which the cleaning brush reciprocates in the case of cleaning the surface of a board | substrate. It is the schematic which shows the state which affixed the pellicle to the mask board | substrate.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mask substrate cleaning apparatus, 2 ... Chamber, 3 ... Substrate support means, 4 ... Support pin, 5 ... Mask substrate, 5a ... Mask substrate surface (upper surface), 5b ... Mask substrate end surface, 6 ... Upper surface cleaning nozzle 7 ... lower surface cleaning nozzle, 8 ... cleaning brush, 8a ... brush bottom surface, 8b ... brush side surface, 9 ... brush cleaning liquid supply means, 10 ... waste liquid port, 11 ... cover means, 12 ... airflow adjusting plate, 13 ... clean unit ( 14) a rotary table, 15 ... a cover vertical movement means, 16 ... a movable pin, 19 ... a region (pellicle part) where a pellicle was affixed, 30 ... a robot arm.

Claims (14)

  An apparatus for cleaning a mask substrate, comprising: a chamber; and at least a substrate support means capable of supporting and rotating the mask substrate in the chamber; and a cleaning liquid for the substrate supported by the substrate support means. A substrate cleaning liquid supply means for supplying the substrate, a cleaning brush which can be slidably contacted with or without rotating with respect to the upper and end surfaces of the substrate supported by the substrate supporting means, and a waste liquid of the cleaning liquid is discharged from the chamber. And the substrate support means has a plurality of support pins for supporting the periphery of the mask substrate, and after cleaning the substrate supported by the support pins, the substrate is removed from the support pins. A cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate, wherein the cleaning apparatus is capable of cleaning by rotating relative to the substrate and re-supporting the periphery of the substrate at another position.   2. The mask substrate according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of support pins of the substrate support means are arranged to support at different positions with respect to adjacent sides of the square mask substrate. 3. Cleaning equipment.   3. The cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning brush is cylindrical or columnar.   The cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising brush cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the cleaning brush.   The substrate support means raises the substrate supported by the substrate support means, rotates the support pins of the substrate or the substrate support means by 90 °, and then lowers the substrate to move around the substrate. 5. The cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate according to claim 1, wherein the mask substrate is re-supported at another position.   The substrate cleaning liquid supply means includes an upper surface cleaning nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the upper surface of the substrate supported by the substrate support means, and a lower surface cleaning nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the lower surface of the substrate. The cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 5.   The mask substrate cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, further comprising a cover unit that surrounds the substrate support unit and suppresses scattering of the cleaning liquid.   8. The cleaning device for a mask substrate according to claim 7, wherein an airflow adjusting plate is provided inside the cover means.   9. The cleaning apparatus for a mask substrate according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the substrate support means and the cover means can be moved up and down.   The mask substrate cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein a filter for purifying the atmosphere in the chamber is provided.   A method for cleaning a mask substrate, wherein the cleaning substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 10 is used, the mask substrate is supported by a support pin of the substrate support means, and at least a cleaning liquid is used. After cleaning the end surface of the substrate with the cleaning brush while supplying, the substrate supported by the support pin is rotated relative to the support pin to re-support the periphery of the substrate at another position. A method for cleaning a mask substrate, wherein the step of cleaning the end face again with the cleaning brush is performed.   12. The step of cleaning the upper surface of the substrate by rotating the substrate by the substrate support means and reciprocating the cleaning brush from the center of the substrate to a corner while supplying a cleaning liquid. 2. A method for cleaning a mask substrate according to 1.   As the mask substrate, the mask substrate after the pellicle is peeled off is supported by the support pins of the substrate support means with the surface on which the pellicle is attached facing up, supplying cleaning liquid, and the pellicle of the substrate is attached. 13. The method for cleaning a mask substrate according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the step of cleaning the region by rotating the cleaning brush in contact with the attached region is performed.   14. The step of rinsing the substrate with pure water after cleaning the mask substrate, and the step of rotating and drying the substrate by the substrate support means after rinsing. The method for cleaning a mask substrate according to any one of the above.

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