JP2007096103A - Method and apparatus for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for treating a substrate capable of excellently drying the surface of a substrate without causing oxide film growth; and also to provide an apparatus treating a substrate. <P>SOLUTION: When a wafer W is carried in by a wafer carrying robot RB, a gate valve shutter 35 is displaced to a closing position and a wafer passing port 16 is tightly sealed. Then, nitrogen gas is introduced from an upper introducing pipe 24 into a treating chamber 11, the atmosphere inside the treating chamber 11 is rapidly exhausted from a wafer peripheral exhaust port 26, and the atmosphere inside the treating chamber 11 is replaced with the atmosphere of the nitrogen gas introduced from the upper introducing pipe 24 in a short time. Thereafter, IPA vapor is introduced from the upper introducing pipe 24 into the treating chamber 11. Thus, the IPA vapor is supplied to the surface of the wafer W, pure water remaining in a trench or the like on the surface of the wafer W is turned to an IPA aqueous solution since the IPA vapor melts in and evaporates promptly by the volatility of IPA. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for plasma display, a glass substrate for FED (Field Emission Display), an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, and a photomask substrate. The present invention relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus applied to dry various substrates typified by the above.

For example, in a semiconductor device manufacturing process, processing using a processing liquid is performed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”). After the processing using this processing liquid, a rinsing process is performed in which the processing liquid adhering to the surface of the wafer is rinsed with pure water, and then a drying process for drying the surface of the wafer is performed.
A typical substrate processing apparatus used for such a series of processes is a spin chuck that holds and rotates a wafer horizontally, and faces a position close to the surface (upper surface) of the wafer held by the spin chuck. And a blocking plate to be disposed. In this substrate processing apparatus, after the rinsing process, the wafer is rotated at a high speed by the spin chuck in a state in which the shielding plate is brought close to the surface of the wafer and nitrogen gas is filled between the shielding plate and the surface of the wafer. As a result, the pure water adhering to the wafer is shaken off and removed (dried).

However, in such a substrate processing apparatus, pure water that enters between trenches and fine patterns formed on the surface of the wafer is not shaken off, and there is a risk that pure water droplets may remain at the bottom between the trenches and fine patterns. is there.
For this reason, the wafer after being shaken and dried is accommodated in a container, the inside of the container is evacuated and depressurized, and then vapor of an organic solvent such as IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is supplied into the container. Replace pure water that has entered between trenches and fine patterns with organic solvent vapor to dry the surface of the wafer, or evacuate and depressurize the container, and then heat the wafer in the container. A method for drying the surface of a wafer has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2004-207484 A

  However, when a wafer is carried into the container, an external atmosphere enters the container, and oxygen contained in the external atmosphere may adversely affect the surface of the wafer. For example, when a gate oxide film is formed on the surface of the wafer, the gate oxide film grows while the organic solvent vapor is supplied, and the thickness of the gate oxide film changes. Further, when a metal wiring film is formed on the surface of the wafer, an oxide film grows on the surface of the metal wiring film, and the electrical characteristics of the metal wiring film change.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing method and a substrate processing apparatus capable of satisfactorily drying the surface of a substrate without causing oxide film growth.

The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above object includes a reduced pressure processing step for executing a process for drying the substrate in a state where the inside of the processing chamber (11) containing the substrate (W) is decompressed, Prior to the depressurizing process, the substrate processing method includes an atmosphere replacing step of replacing the atmosphere in the processing chamber with an inert gas atmosphere.
In addition, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.

  According to this method, the atmosphere in the processing chamber is replaced with the inert gas atmosphere before the processing for drying the substrate is started in the processing chamber in a reduced pressure state. Therefore, even if a gate oxide film or a metal wiring film is formed on the surface of the substrate, it is possible to prevent the oxide film growth from occurring during the processing of the substrate. Therefore, the surface of the substrate can be satisfactorily dried without causing oxide film growth.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the substrate processing according to the first aspect is characterized in that the depressurizing step includes an organic solvent vapor supplying step of supplying an organic solvent vapor into the depressurized processing chamber. Is the method.
According to this method, by supplying the vapor of the organic solvent into the processing chamber that has been depressurized, the organic solvent dissolves in the moisture remaining on the surface of the substrate, and the moisture is quickly absorbed by the volatility of the organic solvent. Can be evaporated.

A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing method according to the first aspect, wherein the reduced pressure processing step includes a substrate heating step of heating the substrate in the reduced processing chamber.
According to this method, it is possible to quickly evaporate moisture remaining on the surface of the substrate by heating the substrate in the decompressed processing chamber.

The invention according to claim 4 further includes a substrate loading step of opening the substrate passage opening (16) formed in the processing chamber and loading the substrate into the processing chamber through the substrate passage opening. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing method is characterized by the following.
According to this method, the substrate passage opening formed in the processing chamber is opened, and the substrate can be carried into the processing chamber from the substrate passage opening.

The invention according to claim 5 further includes an airflow forming step of forming an airflow of an inert gas toward the substrate passage opening in the processing chamber in parallel with the substrate carry-in step. 4. The substrate processing method according to 4.
According to this method, when the substrate passage opening is opened, an inert gas flow toward the substrate passage is formed, so that the atmosphere outside the processing chamber is transferred from the substrate passage into the processing chamber. It is possible to prevent entry.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the air flow forming step includes a step of introducing an inert gas into the processing chamber from the side opposite to the substrate passage opening across the substrate holding position in the processing chamber. The substrate processing method according to claim 5, wherein the substrate processing method is characterized.
According to this method, by introducing an inert gas into the processing chamber from the side opposite to the substrate passage opening across the substrate holding position in the processing chamber, the inert gas flowing toward the substrate passage opening in the processing chamber is introduced. An air flow can be formed.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the air flow forming step, an atmosphere in the processing chamber is formed from a substrate passing port side exhaust port (27) formed on the substrate passing port side with respect to a substrate holding position in the processing chamber. The substrate processing method according to claim 5, further comprising a step of exhausting the substrate.
According to this method, the atmosphere in the processing chamber is exhausted from the substrate passing port side exhaust port formed on the substrate passing port side with respect to the substrate holding position in the processing chamber. An inert gas stream can be formed.

  At this time, if an inert gas is introduced into the processing chamber from the opposite side of the substrate passage opening across the substrate holding position in the processing chamber, an inert gas flow toward the substrate passage can be more reliably formed. Can do. That is, by combining the invention described in claim 6 and the invention described in claim 7, it is possible to achieve more reliable formation of an inert gas flow toward the substrate passage opening.

The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that the atmosphere replacement step includes a step of supplying an inert gas toward the substrate from a direction facing the surface of the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber. 8. A substrate processing method according to claim 1.
According to this method, the atmosphere around the substrate can be replaced with the inert gas atmosphere by supplying the inert gas toward the substrate from the direction facing the surface of the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber. .

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, the atmosphere replacement step includes a step of exhausting the atmosphere in the processing chamber from a substrate peripheral exhaust port (26) formed in an annular shape surrounding the substrate holding position in the processing chamber. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein:
According to this method, an inert gas is introduced into the processing chamber, and the atmosphere in the processing chamber is exhausted from an exhaust port around the substrate formed in an annular shape surrounding the holding position of the substrate in the processing chamber. Can be replaced with an inert gas atmosphere.

  At this time, if an inert gas is supplied from the direction facing the surface of the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber toward the substrate, the atmosphere around the substrate can be more efficiently replaced with the inert gas atmosphere. Can do. That is, by combining the invention described in claim 8 and the invention described in claim 9, more efficient replacement of the atmosphere around the substrate with the inert gas atmosphere can be achieved.

  According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing chamber (11) that accommodates the substrate (W), a decompression means (26, 28, 30) for decompressing the inside of the processing chamber, and an atmosphere in the processing chamber. An atmosphere replacement means (22, 24, 26, 28, 30) for replacing with an active gas atmosphere, the decompression means and the atmosphere replacement means are controlled in the processing chamber which is decompressed by the decompression means. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: control means (37) for replacing the atmosphere in the processing chamber by the atmosphere replacing means before the processing of the substrate is started.

According to this configuration, the invention described in claim 1 can be implemented, and the same effect as that described in relation to claim 1 can be achieved.
The invention according to claim 11 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising organic solvent vapor supply means (23) for supplying vapor of the organic solvent into the processing chamber.

According to this configuration, the invention described in claim 2 can be carried out, and an effect similar to the effect described in relation to claim 2 can be achieved.
A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect, further comprising substrate heating means (38) for heating the substrate in the processing chamber.
According to this configuration, the invention described in claim 3 can be carried out, and an effect similar to the effect described in relation to claim 3 can be achieved.

  According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a substrate passage opening (16) for carrying a substrate in and out of the processing chamber is formed on a side surface of the processing chamber, and the substrate is disposed in the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 12, further comprising an air flow forming means (18, 19, 27, 29, 31) for forming an air flow of an inert gas toward the passage port. is there.

According to this configuration, the inventions according to claims 4 and 5 can be implemented, and the same effects as those described in relation to claims 4 and 5 can be achieved.
According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the airflow forming means introduces an inert gas into the processing chamber from the opposite side of the substrate passage opening across the substrate holding position in the processing chamber (18, 19). 14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising:

According to this configuration, the invention described in claim 6 can be carried out, and an effect similar to the effect described in relation to claim 6 can be achieved.
According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the substrate passage side exhaust port (27) is formed in the bottom wall (12) of the processing chamber at a position closer to the substrate passage port than the substrate holding position in the processing chamber. 15. The airflow forming means comprises means (29, 31) for exhausting the atmosphere in the processing chamber from the substrate passage opening side exhaust port. A substrate processing apparatus.

According to this configuration, the invention described in claim 7 can be carried out, and an effect similar to the effect described in relation to claim 7 can be achieved.
According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the atmosphere replacement means includes means (22, 24) for supplying an inert gas toward the substrate from a direction facing the surface of the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that:

According to this configuration, the invention described in claim 8 can be carried out, and the same effect as the effect described in relation to claim 8 can be achieved.
According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, an annular substrate peripheral exhaust port (26) surrounding the substrate holding position in the processing chamber is formed in the bottom wall (12) of the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising means (28, 30) for exhausting an atmosphere in the processing chamber from the substrate peripheral exhaust port.

  According to this configuration, the invention described in claim 9 can be carried out, and an effect similar to the effect described in relation to claim 9 can be achieved.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a transverse sectional view thereof. This substrate processing apparatus is used for drying the wafer W (mainly, the surface of the wafer W on the device forming region side) after a series of cleaning processes. That is, in a series of cleaning processes, a cleaning liquid (for example, a chemical solution) is supplied to the surface of the wafer W, the surface of the wafer W is cleaned with the cleaning liquid, and then the cleaning liquid adhering to the surface of the wafer W is purified with pure water. A rinse process for washing out is performed, and then a spin dry process is performed in which pure water adhering to the wafer W is spun off and dried by rotating the wafer W at a high speed. There is a possibility that pure water may remain between trenches and fine patterns on the surface of the wafer W after the spin dry process. This substrate processing apparatus removes pure water from the surface of the wafer W after the spin dry process. Used for complete removal.

This substrate processing apparatus includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped processing chamber 11, a disk-shaped wafer holding table 13 provided on the bottom wall 12 of the processing chamber 11, and a wafer holding table 13. A plurality of (for example, eight) lift pins 14 for raising and lowering the wafer W are provided.
On the side wall 15 on one side of the processing chamber 11, a wafer passage port 16 is formed through which the wafer W loaded into and unloaded from the processing chamber 11 passes.

  Further, a side introduction pipe 19 for introducing nitrogen gas supplied through a nitrogen gas valve 18 into the processing chamber 11 is provided through the side wall 17 facing the side wall 15 of the processing chamber 11. . The end surface of the side introduction pipe 19 facing the processing chamber 11 is substantially flush with the inner surface of the side wall 17. A diffusion plate 20 is provided adjacent to the inside of the side wall 17 so as to cover almost the entire inner surface of the side wall 17. The diffusion plate 20 has a large number of discharge ports (not shown), and the nitrogen gas introduced from the side introduction pipe 19 is dispersed and discharged from the large number of discharge ports, whereby It is diffused in a shower shape having a substantially uniform flow rate in a plane parallel to the inner surface (in a plane perpendicular to the surface of the wafer W) and supplied into the processing chamber 11.

  An upper introduction pipe for introducing nitrogen gas supplied through the nitrogen gas valve 22 and IPA vapor (IPA vapor) supplied through the IPA valve 23 into the processing chamber 11 on the upper wall 21 of the processing chamber 11. 24 is provided penetrating. The end surface of the upper introduction pipe 24 facing the processing chamber 11 is substantially flush with the inner surface of the upper wall 21. A disc-shaped diffusion plate 25 having a larger diameter than the wafer W is provided adjacent to the inside of the upper wall 21. The diffusion plate 25 has a large number of discharge ports (not shown), and the nitrogen gas and IPA vapor introduced from the upper introduction pipe 24 are dispersed and discharged from the large number of discharge ports. It is diffused in a shower shape having a substantially uniform flow rate in a plane parallel to the inner surface of the wall 21 (in a plane parallel to the surface of the wafer W) and supplied into the processing chamber 11.

  On the bottom wall 12 of the processing chamber 11, an annular wafer peripheral exhaust port 26 that surrounds the periphery of the wafer holder 13, and between the wafer peripheral exhaust port 26 and the wafer passage port 16 (side wall 15), A wafer passing port side exhaust port 27 having a rectangular shape in plan view extending in a direction parallel to the side wall 15 is formed. The wafer passage port side exhaust port 27 is formed over substantially the entire width in a direction parallel to the side wall 15 of the bottom wall 12. Exhaust pipes 28 and 29 connected to an exhaust facility (not shown) are connected to the wafer peripheral exhaust port 26 and the wafer passing port side exhaust port 27, respectively. Exhaust valves 30 and 31 are interposed in the middle of the exhaust pipes 28 and 29, respectively. By selectively opening and closing these exhaust valves 30 and 31, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11 is exhausted from the wafer peripheral exhaust port 26, or the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11 is exhausted from the wafer passing port side exhaust port 27. Can be.

  Each lift pin 14 is inserted into a through hole 32 formed through the bottom wall 12 and the wafer holding table 13 of the processing chamber 11 in the vertical direction so that the lift pins 14 can move up and down with respect to the bottom wall 12 and the wafer holding table 13. Is provided. Each lift pin 14 is supported by a common support member 33, and the lift pin lifting mechanism 34 coupled to the support member 33 projects the tip of the lift pin 14 above the wafer holding table 13 and the wafer holding table 13. Are lifted and lowered integrally with the state of being immersed below.

  Further, this substrate processing apparatus is provided with a rectangular plate-like gate valve shutter 35 formed in a size capable of closing the wafer passage port 16 outside the side wall 15 where the wafer passage port 16 is formed. A gate valve opening / closing mechanism 36 is coupled to the gate valve shutter 35, and the gate valve opening / closing mechanism 36 allows the gate valve shutter 35 to be in close contact with the outer surface of the side wall 15 to seal the wafer passage port 16. As a result, the wafer 15 is lowered to the side of the side wall 15 and is moved to an open position where the wafer passage port 16 is largely opened.

  Further, the substrate processing apparatus includes a control unit 37 including a microcomputer including a CPU, a RAM, and a ROM. The control unit 37 controls the opening and closing of the nitrogen gas valves 18 and 22, the IPA valve 23 and the exhaust valves 30 and 31 in order to realize processing on the wafer W, and drives the lift pin lifting and lowering mechanism 34 and the gate valve opening and closing mechanism 36. To control.

  FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing the state of the wafer W during processing. The wafer W after the spin dry process is carried into the substrate processing apparatus by the wafer transfer robot RB. Prior to loading of the wafer W by the wafer transfer robot RB, the gate valve shutter 35 is displaced to the open position by the gate valve opening / closing mechanism 36 as shown in FIG. In addition, while the wafer passage port 16 is open, the nitrogen gas valve 18 and the exhaust valve 31 are opened, nitrogen gas is introduced into the processing chamber 11 from the side introduction pipe 19, and in the processing chamber 11. The atmosphere is exhausted from the wafer passing port side exhaust port 27. As a result, an air flow of nitrogen gas is formed in the processing chamber 11 from the side opposite to the wafer passing port 16 of the wafer holder 13, that is, from the side wall 17 side to the wafer passing port 16. An external atmosphere is prevented from flowing into the processing chamber 11. At this time, the nitrogen gas valve 22, the IPA valve 23, and the exhaust valve 30 are closed.

  When the wafer W is loaded by the wafer transfer robot RB, as shown in FIG. 3B, the lift pins 14 are lifted by the lift pin elevator port 34, and the wafer W is received on the lift pins 14 from the wafer transfer robot RB. . When the wafer transfer robot RB is retracted from the processing chamber 11, the gate valve shutter 35 is displaced to the closed position by the gate valve opening / closing mechanism 36, and the wafer passing port 16 is sealed. When the wafer passage port 16 is sealed, the nitrogen gas valve 18 and the exhaust valve 31 are closed, and the nitrogen gas valve 22 and the exhaust valve 30 are opened. As a result, nitrogen gas is introduced into the processing chamber 11 from the upper introduction pipe 24, and the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11 is rapidly exhausted from the wafer peripheral exhaust port 26. The atmosphere of nitrogen gas introduced from 24 is replaced in a short time. Further, since the flow rate of the nitrogen gas introduced into the processing chamber 11 from the upper introduction pipe 24 is set smaller than the exhaust flow rate from the wafer peripheral exhaust port 26, the inside of the processing chamber 11 is depressurized. The inside of the processing chamber 11 is finally depressurized to 0.5 kPa, for example.

  In parallel with the pressure reduction in the processing chamber 11 or after the pressure in the processing chamber 11 is reduced to the target pressure, the lift pins 14 are lowered by the lift pin elevator port 34, and the wafer W on the lift pins 14 is moved onto the wafer holder 13. To be transferred. Thereafter, the nitrogen gas valve 22 is closed and the IPA valve 23 is opened, whereby the IPA vapor is introduced into the processing chamber 11 from the upper introduction pipe 24 as shown in FIG. At this time, the exhaust valve 30 is opened, and the IPA vapor is introduced into the decompressed processing chamber 11 while the decompressed state in the processing chamber 11 is maintained. As a result, the IPA vapor is supplied to the surface of the wafer W, and the pure water remaining in the trench or the like on the surface of the wafer W becomes an IPA aqueous solution when the IPA vapor dissolves, and quickly evaporates due to the volatility of the IPA. .

  When the supply of IPA vapor into the processing chamber 11 is performed for a predetermined time, the lift pins 14 are lifted by the lift pin lift 34 as shown in FIG. 3D, and the wafer W on the wafer holder 13 is moved to the wafer. The wafer is lifted to a position where the transfer robot RB and the wafer W can be delivered. Then, the IPA valve 23 is closed, the nitrogen gas valve 22 is opened, and nitrogen gas is introduced into the processing chamber 11 from the upper introduction pipe 24. At this time, the exhaust valve 30 is opened. Therefore, the atmosphere including the IPA vapor in the processing chamber 11 is rapidly replaced with the atmosphere of nitrogen gas introduced from the upper introduction pipe 24. Further, since the flow rate of nitrogen gas introduced from the upper introduction pipe 24 into the processing chamber 11 is set larger than the exhaust flow rate from the wafer peripheral exhaust port 26, the inside of the processing chamber 11 is returned to the atmospheric pressure. To go.

  When the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11 is replaced with a nitrogen gas atmosphere and the inside of the processing chamber 11 returns to atmospheric pressure, the gate valve shutter 35 is opened by the gate valve opening / closing mechanism 36 as shown in FIG. The wafer passage port 16 is opened. When the wafer passage port 16 is opened, the nitrogen gas valve 22 and the exhaust valve 30 are closed, the nitrogen gas valve 18 and the exhaust valve 31 are opened, and nitrogen gas is introduced into the processing chamber 11 from the side introduction pipe 19. At the same time, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11 is exhausted from the wafer passing port side exhaust port 27. As a result, an air flow of nitrogen gas is formed in the processing chamber 11 from the side wall 17 side toward the wafer passage port 16, and this air flow prevents an atmosphere outside the processing chamber 11 from flowing into the processing chamber 11. The Then, with the air flow formed, the wafer transfer robot RB enters the processing chamber 11 from the wafer passage port 16, and the wafer W on the lift pins 14 is received by the wafer transfer robot RB, and the wafer transfer robot RB. Is carried out of the processing chamber 11.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11 is replaced with the nitrogen gas atmosphere before the processing for drying the wafer W in the processing chamber 11 in the reduced pressure state is started. . Therefore, since the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11 during the processing of the wafer W does not contain oxygen, even if a gate oxide film or a metal wiring film is formed on the surface of the wafer W, an oxide film grows during the processing of the wafer W. There is no risk. Therefore, the surface of the wafer W can be satisfactorily dried without causing oxide film growth.

  Further, while the wafer passage port 16 is open, a nitrogen gas flow toward the wafer passage port 16 is formed in the processing chamber 11, so that the atmosphere outside the processing chamber 11 is changed to the wafer passage port 16. Can be prevented from entering the processing chamber 11. Therefore, it is possible to more reliably prevent the wafer W from being processed in an atmosphere containing oxygen, and it is possible to reliably prevent oxide film growth from occurring during the processing of the wafer W.

  Note that the nitrogen gas flow toward the wafer passage port 16 in the processing chamber introduces nitrogen gas from a side introduction pipe 19 provided on the side wall 17 facing the wafer passage port 16, or The bottom wall 12 can be formed by exhausting from the wafer passing port side exhaust port 27 formed along the side wall 15. However, as in this embodiment, by performing both in parallel, the wafer passes through the wafer passing port side exhaust port 27. A more reliable formation of a nitrogen gas stream toward the mouth 16 can be achieved.

  Further, as in this embodiment, the nitrogen gas is introduced from the upper introduction pipe 24 provided on the upper wall 21 of the processing chamber 11, while the bottom wall 12 of the processing chamber 11 surrounds the periphery of the wafer holder 13 in a plan view. By evacuating from the wafer peripheral exhaust port 26 formed in an annular shape, the atmosphere in the processing chamber 11, particularly the atmosphere around the wafer W, can be efficiently replaced with a nitrogen gas atmosphere.

  Furthermore, as in this embodiment, by supplying IPA vapor into the processing chamber 11 that has been depressurized, moisture remaining on the surface of the wafer W can be evaporated quickly. The water remaining on the surface of the wafer W can be quickly evaporated also by heating the wafer W in the processing chamber 11 whose pressure is reduced. That is, as indicated by a broken line in FIG. 1, a heater 38 is embedded in the wafer holding table 13, and the processing chamber 11 is depressurized while being replaced with a nitrogen gas atmosphere. Thus, the water remaining on the surface of the wafer W may be evaporated by heating the wafer W placed on the wafer holder 13 to 100 to 400 ° C. In this case, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, a cooling device 39 is provided on the upper wall 21 of the processing chamber 11, and after the heat treatment of the wafer W in a reduced nitrogen gas atmosphere, the cooling device 39 The inside of the processing chamber 11 together with the wafer W is preferably cooled to 100 ° C. or lower. By doing so, the wafer W can be prevented from being unloaded from the processing chamber 11 at a high temperature, and the wafer transfer robot RB and the like can be prevented from being adversely affected by heat. Further, it is possible to prevent the high temperature atmosphere from leaking out of the processing chamber 11 when the wafer passage port 16 is opened.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can be implemented also in forms other than the form mentioned above. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the nitrogen gas is taken up as an example of the inert gas introduced into the processing chamber 11. These types of inert gases may be introduced into the processing chamber 11.

Further, the IPA vapor is introduced into the processing chamber 11 in order to dry the wafer W, but other types of organic solvents such as HFE (hydrofluoroether) are introduced into the processing chamber 11 in addition to the IPA vapor. Also good.
Furthermore, although the wafer W is taken up as an example of the substrate, the substrate to be processed is not limited to the wafer W, but a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display, a glass substrate for an FED, an optical disk substrate, It may be a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, or a photomask substrate.

  In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a cross-sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal section showing the appearance at the time of substrate processing.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Processing chamber 12 Bottom wall 14 Lift pin 16 Wafer passage port 18 Nitrogen gas valve 19 Side introduction tube 22 Nitrogen gas valve 23 IPA valve 24 Upper introduction tube 26 Wafer surrounding exhaust port 27 Wafer passage port side exhaust port 28 Exhaust tube 29 Exhaust tube 30 Exhaust Valve 31 Exhaust valve 37 Control unit 38 Heater W Wafer

Claims (17)

A reduced pressure processing step for performing a process for drying the substrate in a state where the pressure in the processing chamber containing the substrate is reduced;
A substrate processing method comprising: an atmosphere replacement step of replacing an atmosphere in the processing chamber with an inert gas atmosphere prior to the decompression processing step.   2. The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the depressurizing step includes an organic solvent vapor supplying step of supplying an organic solvent vapor into the depressurized processing chamber.   The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the depressurizing step includes a substrate heating step of heating the substrate in the processing chamber being depressurized.   4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate loading step of opening a substrate passage opening formed in the processing chamber and loading the substrate into the processing chamber through the substrate passage opening. A substrate processing method according to claim 1.   5. The substrate processing method according to claim 4, further comprising an air flow forming step of forming an air flow of an inert gas toward the substrate passage in the processing chamber in parallel with the substrate carry-in step.   6. The air flow forming step includes a step of introducing an inert gas into the processing chamber from a side opposite to the substrate passage opening across a substrate holding position in the processing chamber. Substrate processing method.   The air flow forming step includes a step of exhausting an atmosphere in the processing chamber from a substrate passage side exhaust port formed on the substrate passage side from a substrate holding position in the processing chamber. The substrate processing method according to claim 5 or 6.   8. The atmosphere replacement step according to claim 1, further comprising a step of supplying an inert gas toward the substrate from a direction facing the surface of the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber. The substrate processing method as described in 2.   9. The atmosphere replacing step includes a step of exhausting the atmosphere in the processing chamber from a substrate peripheral exhaust port formed in an annular shape surrounding a substrate holding position in the processing chamber. The substrate processing method according to any one of the above. A processing chamber containing a substrate;
Decompression means for decompressing the inside of the processing chamber;
Atmosphere replacement means for replacing the atmosphere in the processing chamber with an inert gas atmosphere;
Prior to starting the processing of the substrate in the processing chamber that has been depressurized by the depressurizing means by controlling the depressurizing means and the atmosphere replacing means, the atmosphere in the processing chamber is changed by the atmosphere replacing means. And a control means for replacing the substrate processing apparatus.   11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an organic solvent vapor supply means for supplying an organic solvent vapor into the processing chamber.   11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising substrate heating means for heating the substrate in the processing chamber. On the side surface of the processing chamber, there is formed a substrate passage for carrying the substrate in and out of the processing chamber,
13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, further comprising an air flow forming unit configured to form an inert gas flow toward the substrate passage in the processing chamber.   The airflow forming means includes means for introducing an inert gas into the processing chamber from a side opposite to the substrate passage opening across a substrate holding position in the processing chamber. 14. The substrate processing apparatus according to 13. On the bottom wall of the processing chamber, a substrate passing port side exhaust port is formed at a position closer to the substrate passing port than a holding position of the substrate in the processing chamber,
15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the air flow forming means includes means for exhausting the atmosphere in the processing chamber from the substrate passage port side exhaust port.   17. The atmosphere replacement unit according to claim 10, further comprising a unit for supplying an inert gas toward the substrate from a direction facing a surface of the substrate accommodated in the processing chamber. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the above. The bottom wall of the processing chamber is formed with an annular substrate peripheral exhaust port surrounding the holding position of the substrate in the processing chamber,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the atmosphere replacement unit includes a unit that exhausts the atmosphere in the processing chamber from the substrate peripheral exhaust port.

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