JP2008187004A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus which keeps a dew point of atmosphere on a processing tank in a low state and fully restrains increase in size. <P>SOLUTION: A space WU immediately above a processing tank 4 is enclosed with a lower surface of an upper lid part 71, first to fourth shielding side boards 72a to 72d of a tube part 72, a dry air supply opening 621 of a dry air supply duct 62 and an exhaust opening 631 of a dry air exhaust duct 63. Consequently, atmosphere inside the space WU is shielded from external atmosphere. The upper lid part 71 opens and closes the space WU immediately above the processing tank 4 by revolution around a hinge part 73. The tube part 72 is integrally formed with the upper lid part 71 to extend from a lower surface of the upper lid part 71. Consequently, when the upper lid part 71 opens, the tube part 72 also rotates around the hinge part 73. According to this constitution, the tube part 72 is not located in a region on the processing tank 4 when the upper lid part 71 is opened. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs various processes on a substrate.

  Conventionally, in order to perform various processes on substrates such as semiconductor wafers, photomask glass substrates, liquid crystal display glass substrates, plasma display glass substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, etc. A substrate processing apparatus is used.

  There is a substrate processing apparatus that performs a cleaning process by immersing a plurality of substrates in a processing solution stored in a processing tank (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, the surface of the substrate is cleaned with a chemical solution and pure water in a processing tank. The substrate subjected to the cleaning process is pulled up from the processing tank.

  If pure water adheres to the substrate after the cleaning process, particles are likely to adhere to the substrate. Further, when the pure water adhering to the substrate is naturally dried, a watermark is formed on the substrate. Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus of Patent Document 1, dry air is supplied to the substrate pulled up from the processing tank. Thereby, the pure water adhering to the substrate is replaced by dry air, and the surface of the substrate is dried.

In Patent Document 1, dry air refers to a gas having a very low dew point, and the dew point of dry air supplied to the substrate is, for example, about -70 ° C.
JP 2006-310759 A

  By the way, in said patent document 1, the structure for equalizing the dew point distribution of the atmosphere around the board | substrate pulled up from the inside of a processing tank at the time of a drying process is proposed.

  As described above, when the substrate pulled up from the processing tank is dried, it is necessary to sufficiently manage the dew point of the atmosphere around the substrate. In particular, when supplying dry air to the substrate, it is important to keep the dew point of the atmosphere around the substrate low so that the drying efficiency does not decrease.

  In order to keep the dew point of dry air low, it is preferable to prevent contact between dry air and outside air. In view of this, it is conceivable to provide a cylindrical blocking member for blocking dry air and outside air immediately above the processing tank in which the substrate is pulled up.

  However, in practice, since the substrate is carried into and out of the processing tank by the transport device, if the closing member is provided on the processing tank, the closing member and the transport device interfere with each other. Therefore, a mechanism for moving the closing member is required when the substrate is carried in and out.

  Further, in this substrate processing apparatus, an upper lid having an opening / closing mechanism is provided on the processing tank in order to prevent deterioration of the chemical liquid in the processing tank and to prevent contamination from entering the chemical liquid in the processing tank. . Therefore, if a mechanism for moving the closing member is provided together with such an upper lid, the substrate processing apparatus is increased in size.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus in which the dew point of the atmosphere on the processing tank is maintained in a low state and the enlargement is sufficiently suppressed.

  (1) The substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention is a substrate processing apparatus which performs a predetermined process to the board | substrate carried in by the conveyance mechanism which conveys a board | substrate, Comprising: The processing tank which stores a processing liquid, and the process in a processing tank The substrate is raised and lowered between the liquid and the upper position of the processing tank, and the substrate lifting mechanism capable of transferring the substrate to and from the transfer mechanism at the upper position of the processing tank, and the substrate lifting mechanism lifts the substrate from the processing tank. A gas supply unit that supplies a gas to the substrate, a gas discharge unit that is disposed opposite to the gas supply unit and discharges the gas supplied to the substrate, and a gas supply path and a gas discharge unit by the gas supply unit A shielding member provided so as to surround the periphery and upper part of the space on the processing tank except for the gas discharge path, and an opening / closing mechanism for opening and closing at least the upper part of the shielding member around a substantially horizontal axis A.

  In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the periphery and upper part of the space on the processing tank are surrounded by the shielding member. When the substrate is carried in, at least the upper part of the shielding member is opened by the opening / closing mechanism. In this state, the substrate carried in by the transport mechanism is transferred to the substrate lifting mechanism at a position above the processing tank. Then, at least the upper part of the shielding member is closed by the opening / closing mechanism.

  The substrate lifting mechanism lowers the transferred substrate from the upper position of the processing tank into the processing liquid in the processing tank. Thereby, a board | substrate is processed with the process liquid in a processing tank.

  Next, the substrate is lifted from the processing tank by the substrate lifting mechanism. A gas is supplied to the substrate pulled up from the processing tank by the gas supply unit, and the gas supplied to the substrate is discharged by the gas discharge unit. Thereby, the substrate is dried.

  In this case, since the atmosphere around the substrate is blocked from the outside air by the shielding member, an increase in the dew point due to the outside air entering the atmosphere around the substrate is sufficiently prevented. As a result, the dew point of the atmosphere on the treatment tank can be kept low.

  Subsequently, at least the upper part of the shielding member is opened again by the opening / closing mechanism by the opening / closing mechanism. In this state, the substrate pulled up to the upper position of the processing tank by the substrate lifting mechanism is received by the transport mechanism.

  As described above, when the substrate is transferred between the transport mechanism and the substrate lifting mechanism, at least the upper part of the shielding member is opened, so that at least the upper part of the shielding member is retracted from the upper part of the space on the processing tank. This prevents the transport mechanism from interfering with the shielding member. Therefore, a moving mechanism for retracting the shielding member from the processing tank is unnecessary.

  Moreover, since the upper part of the shielding member opens and closes around an axis substantially parallel to the horizontal direction, the increase in the size of the substrate processing apparatus is sufficiently suppressed as compared with the case where the upper part of the shielding member moves horizontally.

  (2) The substrate processing apparatus further includes a processing tank and a shielding duct provided so as to surround the upper position of the processing tank, and a lid member provided at an upper end portion of the shielding duct so as to be openable and closable. The lid member may include a peripheral wall portion provided on the lower surface of the lid member so as to surround the upper space, and the opening / closing mechanism may open and close the lid member together with the peripheral wall portion around a substantially horizontal axis.

  In this case, the lid member closes the upper end portion of the shielding duct, whereby the processing tank and the upper position of the processing tank are surrounded by the shielding duct and the lid member. Thereby, the atmosphere around the substrate pulled up from the processing tank is blocked from the outside air by the shielding duct and the lid member.

  Furthermore, the periphery of the space on the treatment tank is surrounded by a peripheral wall provided on the lower surface of the lid member inside the shielding duct. Thereby, since the atmosphere around the substrate pulled up from the processing tank is blocked from the outside air by the shielding duct and the peripheral wall portion, an increase in the dew point due to the entry of the outside air into the atmosphere around the substrate is more sufficiently prevented. As a result, the dew point of the atmosphere on the treatment tank can be maintained in a sufficiently lower state.

  The opening / closing mechanism opens and closes the lid member around the axis parallel to the substantially horizontal direction together with the peripheral wall portion. Thereby, both a cover member and a surrounding wall part are evacuated from the circumference | surroundings and upper part of the space on a processing tank. This prevents the transport mechanism from interfering with the lid member and the peripheral wall.

  Furthermore, it is not necessary to provide a moving mechanism for retracting the lid member and the peripheral wall portion from the periphery and the upper part of the space on the processing tank. Thereby, the enlargement of a substrate processing apparatus is suppressed more fully.

  (3) The shielding member includes a peripheral wall provided so as to surround the space on the processing tank, and a lid provided in the upper opening of the peripheral wall so as to be opened and closed around a substantially horizontal axis. The opening / closing mechanism may open / close the lid around a substantially horizontal axis.

  In this case, when the lid portion closes the upper opening of the peripheral wall portion, the periphery and the upper portion of the space on the processing tank are surrounded by the peripheral wall portion and the lid portion. Thereby, the atmosphere around the substrate pulled up from the processing tank is blocked from the outside air by the peripheral wall portion and the lid portion. Thereby, an increase in dew point due to the intrusion of outside air into the atmosphere around the substrate can be sufficiently prevented, and the dew point of the atmosphere on the treatment tank can be kept sufficiently low.

  The opening / closing mechanism opens and closes the lid portion around a substantially horizontal axis. Thereby, a cover part is evacuated from the upper part of the space on a processing tank. This prevents the transport mechanism from interfering with the lid.

  Further, the shielding member includes a peripheral wall portion and a lid portion, and the structure is simple. Thereby, manufacture of a substrate processing apparatus becomes easy.

  (4) The lid portion is divided into a first portion and a second portion, and the opening / closing mechanism includes the first portion and the second portion so that the first portion and the second portion open outward. Each portion may be opened and closed about a substantially horizontal axis.

  In this case, the first part and the second part of the lid part are opened outward from each other, whereby the first part and the second part are retracted from the upper part of the space on the processing tank. Thereby, compared with the case where the whole cover part is opened and closed by the opening and closing mechanism, the space required for opening and closing the first part and the second part can be reduced. Therefore, the enlargement of the substrate processing apparatus is more sufficiently suppressed.

  (5) The gas supply unit may include a gas supply duct that is disposed on one side of the processing tank and supplies gas from one side to the other side of the processing tank along the upper end of the processing tank.

  In this case, gas is supplied to the substrate from one side along the upper end of the processing tank to the other side of the processing tank from the gas supply unit arranged on one side of the processing tank. Thereby, the processing liquid adhering to the substrate is efficiently dried by the gas flowing from one side of the processing tank to the other side.

  (6) The substrate processing apparatus may further include an adjustment unit that adjusts the gas supply amount to the substrate by the gas supply unit and the exhaust amount of the internal atmosphere of the shielding member by the gas discharge unit.

  In this case, the adjustment unit adjusts the gas supply amount to the substrate by the gas supply unit and the exhaust amount of the internal atmosphere of the shielding member by the gas discharge unit.

  Thereby, by making the gas supply amount to the substrate larger than the exhaust amount of the internal atmosphere of the shielding member, the space on the processing tank surrounded by the shielding member can be made positive with respect to the outside. Thereby, it is possible to sufficiently and reliably prevent the outside air from entering the atmosphere around the substrate pulled up from the processing tank.

  According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, the dew point of the atmosphere on the processing tank is maintained at a low state, and the enlargement is sufficiently suppressed.

  A substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the following description, the substrate refers to a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, and the like.

(1) First Embodiment (1-a) Configuration and Operation of Substrate Processing Apparatus FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment includes a processing tank 4, a duct 20, an elevating mechanism 30, a processing liquid mixing apparatus 50, a dry air generator 60, an outside air shielding member 70, a control unit 80, A transport drive unit 300, a transport robot 310, and an opening / closing drive unit 700 are provided.

  The duct 20 has a rectangular cylindrical shape, and is erected so as to be along a vertical axis. An outside air shielding member 70 is attached to the upper end portion of the duct 20 so as to be freely opened and closed.

  The outside air shielding member 70 includes an upper lid part 71, a cylinder part 72, and a hinge part 73. The upper cover portion 71 of the outside air shielding member 70 has a rectangular flat plate shape, and can rotate around the hinge portion 73.

  The outside air shielding member 70 is driven by the opening / closing drive unit 700. In this case, the upper lid portion 71 rotates around the hinge portion 73. Thereby, the upper end of the duct 20 is opened or closed.

  The cylinder portion 72 has a substantially rectangular shape that is smaller than the duct 20. The cylindrical portion 72 is formed on the lower surface of the upper lid portion 71 with the upper lid portion 71 closing the upper end portion of the duct 20. Details of the structure of the outside air shielding member 70 will be described later.

  A treatment tank 4 is provided inside the duct 20. The processing tank 4 is formed of an inner tank 40 capable of accommodating a plurality of substrates W and an outer tank 43 provided so as to surround the upper outer periphery of the inner tank 40. The inner tank 40 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape.

  Connected to the bottom of the inner tank 40 are one end of a processing liquid supply pipe 41 for supplying the processing liquid into the inner tank 40 and one end of a processing liquid discharge pipe 42 for discharging the processing liquid in the inner tank 40. ing. In the present embodiment, the cleaning process of the substrate W is performed by the processing liquid in the inner tank 40. The processing liquid supplied into the inner tank 40 during the cleaning process is a cleaning liquid or a rinsing liquid.

  That is, the surface of the substrate W is cleaned by supplying the cleaning liquid into the inner tank 40 and immersing the substrate W in the inner tank 40 in which the cleaning liquid is stored. Thereafter, the cleaning liquid in the inner tank 40 is replaced with a rinsing liquid.

  A chemical solution such as BHF (buffered hydrofluoric acid), DHF (dilute hydrofluoric acid), hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid or ammonia is used as the cleaning liquid. As the rinsing liquid, pure water, carbonated water, hydrogen water, electrolytic ion water or the like is used.

  In the present embodiment, the other end of the processing liquid supply pipe 41 is connected to the processing liquid mixing apparatus 50. For example, chemical liquid and pure water are supplied to the processing liquid mixing apparatus 50. The processing liquid mixing apparatus 50 can mix the supplied chemical solution and pure water at a predetermined ratio. Therefore, the processing liquid mixing apparatus 50 supplies chemical liquid, pure water, or a mixed liquid thereof into the inner tank 40 through the processing liquid supply pipe 41 as a processing liquid or a rinsing liquid.

  One end of a processing liquid discharge pipe 44 is connected to the bottom of the outer tank 43 to discharge the processing liquid that overflows from the upper part of the inner tank 40 and flows into the outer tank 43.

  An elevating mechanism 30 that is movable in the vertical direction between the inside of the duct 20 and a position above the duct 20 is provided. The elevating mechanism 30 moves the holding unit 31 that holds the plurality of substrates W in the vertical direction between the inside of the inner tank 40 and the upper position thereof. Thereby, the some board | substrate W can be immersed in the process liquid in the inner tank 40, and can be pulled up from a process liquid.

  In the portion of the duct 20 located in the vicinity of the upper end of the processing tank 4, a dry air supply duct 62 and a dry air exhaust duct 63 are attached to two opposing side surfaces, respectively.

  In the present embodiment, the dry air supply duct 62 is provided with a plurality of ventilation guides 62a. The dry air exhaust duct 63 is provided with a plurality of ventilation guides 63a. The dry air supply duct 62 is connected to the dry air generator 60 via a pipe 61.

  The dry air DF generated by the dry air generator 60 is sent to the dry air supply duct 62 through the pipe 61. Thereby, the dry air DF is sprayed on the substrate W pulled up from the inner tank 40 by the elevating mechanism 30, and the substrate W is dried. The dry air DF blown to the substrate W and the atmosphere around the substrate W are exhausted from the dry air exhaust duct 63.

  In the present embodiment, the dry air DF refers to a gas having a very low dew point. The dew point of the dry air DF supplied from the dry air supply duct 62 into the downflow duct 20 is, for example, about −70 ° C.

  A transfer area TE is provided above the outside air shielding member 70. A transfer robot 310 is movably provided in the transfer area TE.

  The transfer robot 310 includes an arm hinge portion 311 and two arms 312. The transfer robot 310 is driven by the transfer drive unit 300. In this case, the two arms 312 rotate in symmetrical directions about the arm hinge portion 311, and the lower end portion of the transfer robot 310 opens and closes. As a result, the transfer robot 310 can hold the holding unit 31 holding the plurality of substrates W by sandwiching them between the two arms 312. Further, the transfer robot 310 moves in the transfer area TE by being driven by the transfer driving unit 300.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 80 is connected to the elevating mechanism 30, the processing liquid mixing device 50, the dry air generating device 60, the transport driving unit 300, and the opening / closing driving unit 700. The control unit 80 controls the operation of these components, so that the holding unit 31 that holds the plurality of substrates W is moved up and down, the substrate W is cleaned, the substrate W is dried, and the substrate W is loaded into the processing tank 4. The carry-out operation and the opening / closing operation of the upper end portion of the duct 20 are controlled.

(1-b) Outside Air Shielding Member 70 Here, the details of the structure of the outside air shielding member 70 will be described. FIG. 2 is a perspective view for explaining details of the structure of the outside air shielding member 70 of FIG. In FIG. 2, the outer tank 43 and the duct 20 of the processing tank 4 are not shown in order to clearly show the structure of the outside air shielding member 70.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cylindrical portion 72 of the outside air shielding member 70 includes a first blocking side plate 72a, a second blocking side plate 72b, a third blocking side plate 72c, and a fourth blocking side plate 72d. The first blocking side plate 72a and the second blocking side plate 72b face each other, and the third blocking side plate 72c and the fourth blocking side plate 72d face each other.

  In a state where the upper end portion of the duct 20 (FIG. 1) is closed by the upper lid portion 71, the first cutoff side plate 72 a is positioned on the top of the dry air supply duct 62, and the second cutoff side plate 72 a is the top of the dry air exhaust duct 63. Located in. The width W1 of the first and second blocking side plates 72a and 72b is substantially equal to the width W2 of the dry air supply duct 62 and the dry air exhaust duct 63.

  The first and second blocking side plates 72 a and 72 b extend from the lower surface of the upper lid 71 to the upper ends of the dry air supply duct 62 and the dry air exhaust duct 63. On the other hand, the third and fourth blocking side plates 73 a and 73 b extend from the lower surface of the upper lid portion 71 to the upper end portion of the processing tank 4.

  Thereby, when the upper end part of the duct 20 (FIG. 1) is obstruct | occluded by the upper cover part 71, the space WU just above the processing tank 4 becomes the lower surface of the upper cover part 71, the 1st-4th of the cylinder part 72. It is surrounded by the blocking side plates 72 a to 72 d, the dry air supply port 621 of the dry air supply duct 62, and the exhaust port 631 of the dry air exhaust duct 63. Thereby, the atmosphere in the space WU is blocked from the external atmosphere.

  As a result, when the dry air DF is supplied from the dry air supply duct 62 to the substrate W pulled up from the inner tank 40 of the processing tank 4, the dew point of the atmosphere around the substrate W can be kept sufficiently low.

  In particular, when the supply amount of dry air DF into the space WU and the exhaust amount of the atmosphere in the space WU are adjusted so that the inside of the space WU is positive with respect to the outside, the atmosphere in the space WU is surely secured from the outside air. Can be blocked. In this case, the dew point of the atmosphere around the substrate W can be kept sufficiently lower. Thereby, the substrate W can be dried more efficiently during the drying process.

  In FIG. 1, an example in which the valve CB is provided downstream of the dry air exhaust duct 63 is indicated by a dotted line. By controlling the valve CB by the controller 80, the exhaust amount of the atmosphere in the space WU can be easily adjusted. Further, by controlling the dry air generator 60 by the control unit 80, the supply amount of the dry air DF into the space WU can be easily adjusted. Thereby, the pressure in the space WU can be easily adjusted.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, the cylindrical portion 72 is formed integrally with the upper lid portion 71 so as to extend from the lower surface of the upper lid portion 71. Thereby, when the upper cover part 71 opens, the cylinder part 72 also rotates around the hinge part 73. Thereby, the cylinder part 72 is not located in the area | region on the processing tank 4. FIG.

  As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 100, the cylindrical portion 72 moves together with the opening / closing operation of the upper lid portion 71. This prevents interference between the transfer robot 310 and the cylindrical portion 72 when the substrate W is carried into and out of the processing tank 4.

  In addition, since a new mechanism for moving the cylindrical portion 72 is not required, an increase in the size of the substrate processing apparatus 100 is suppressed.

  Further, the cylindrical portion 72 is retracted upward with respect to the duct 20 when the transport robot 310 carries in and carries out the substrate W. Thereby, since it is not necessary to move the cylinder part 72 horizontally within the duct 20, it is not necessary to enlarge the duct 20. As a result, the increase in size of the substrate processing apparatus 100 is sufficiently suppressed.

(1-c) Series of Operations of Substrate Processing Apparatus 100 FIGS. 3 to 5 are diagrams showing a series of operations in the substrate processing apparatus 100 of FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, pure water PW is stored in the inner tank 40 in a state where the outside air shielding member 70 closes the upper end portion of the duct 20.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, the upper lid portion 71 of the outside air shielding member 70 rotates around the hinge portion 73 (arrow A1). Thereby, the upper end part of the duct 20 is open | released.

  Then, the transfer robot 310 that transfers the holding unit 31 that holds the plurality of substrates W moves to a position above the duct 20 in the transfer area TE (arrow A2).

  Further, the transfer robot 310 descends from the upper position of the duct 20 and carries the holding unit 31 holding the plurality of substrates W into the duct 20 (arrow A3).

  Subsequently, the elevating mechanism 30 lowers the holding unit 31 carried into the duct 20. Thereby, the plurality of substrates W held by the holding unit 31 are lowered and accommodated in the inner tank 40.

  After the transfer robot 310 is retracted from the duct 20, the upper lid portion 71 of the outside air shielding member 70 is rotated again about the hinge portion 73 (arrow A4). Thereby, the upper end part of the duct 20 is obstruct | occluded.

  The processing liquid mixing apparatus 50 supplies, for example, a mixed liquid of a chemical liquid CL and pure water PW into the inner tank 40 as a cleaning liquid. Accordingly, the plurality of substrates W are immersed in the cleaning liquid in the inner tank 40, and the surface of each substrate W is cleaned.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4C, the treatment liquid mixing apparatus 50 supplies the pure water PW as the rinse liquid into the inner tank 40 and replaces the cleaning liquid in the inner tank 40 with the pure water PW. As a result, the plurality of substrates W are immersed in the pure water PW in the inner tank 40. Thereby, the cleaning process of each substrate W is completed.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, the elevating mechanism 30 raises the holding unit 31. As a result, the plurality of substrates W held by the holding unit 31 rises. At this time, the dry air generator 60 (FIG. 1) supplies the dry air DF to the plurality of substrates W pulled up from the inner tank 40. Thereby, the pure water PW adhering to each substrate W is replaced by the dry air DF, and the surface of each substrate W is dried (drying process).

  It should be noted that the dry air generator 60 (FIG. 1) reduces the amount of dry air DF supplied into the duct 20 (slow leak) except during the drying process.

  At the time of pulling up the plurality of substrates W from the inner tank 40, the processing liquid mixing device 50 continues to supply a small amount of pure water PW into the inner tank 40. Therefore, when pulling up the plurality of substrates W from the inner tank 40, pure water PW overflows from the upper opening of the inner tank 40. The pure water PW overflowing from the inner tank 40 flows into the outer tank 43 of FIG. 1 and is discharged from the processing liquid discharge pipe 44 of FIG.

  Finally, as shown in FIG. 5E, the upper lid portion 71 of the outside air shielding member 70 rotates around the hinge portion 73 (arrow B1). Thereby, the upper end part of the duct 20 is open | released.

  Then, the transport robot 310 receives and holds the holding unit 31 that holds the plurality of substrates W, and carries the holding unit 31 out of the duct 20 (arrow B2). Thereafter, the transfer robot 310 moves from the position above the duct 20 (arrow B3).

  After the transfer robot 310 is retracted from the duct 20, the upper lid portion 71 of the outside air shielding member 70 rotates about the hinge portion 73 (arrow B4). Thereby, the upper end part of the duct 20 is obstruct | occluded.

(1-d) Modification In the present embodiment, the cylindrical portion 72 of the outside air shielding member 70 has a rectangular cylindrical shape, but may have a circular cylindrical shape or an elliptical cylindrical shape. May be.

  In the vertical direction, the vertical lengths (heights) of the first to fourth blocking side plates 72a to 72d of the cylindrical portion 72 may be equal. Even in this case, the space WU (FIG. 2) immediately above the processing tank 4 is the lower surface of the upper lid portion 71, the first to fourth blocking side plates 72 a to 72 d of the cylindrical portion 72, and the dry air supply port 621 of the dry air supply duct 62. And it is surrounded by the exhaust port 631 of the dry air exhaust duct 63. Thereby, the atmosphere in the space WU can be blocked from the external atmosphere.

  In this case, the duct 20 is preferably formed so as to be close to both side surfaces of the dry air supply duct 62 and the dry air exhaust duct 63. That is, it is preferable that the width of the duct 20 is formed to be substantially equal to the width W1 of the first and second blocking side plates 72a and 72b shown in FIG.

  Thereby, when supplying the dry air DF from the dry air supply duct 62 to the substrate W pulled up from the processing tank 4, the dew point of the atmosphere around the substrate W can be maintained in a sufficiently low state.

In the present embodiment, the drying process is performed by supplying the dry air DF to the substrate W, but the gas supplied to the substrate W is not limited to the dry air DF. Instead of the dry air DF, for example, IPA (isopropyl alcohol) vapor may be used, or low-temperature N ₂ (nitrogen) gas may be used.

  The cleaning process is not necessarily performed using the chemical solution and the rinse solution, and may be performed using only the chemical solution or may be performed using only the rinse solution.

(2) Second Embodiment The substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described while referring to differences from the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

(2-a) Configuration and Operation of Substrate Processing Apparatus FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the substrate processing apparatus 100 </ b> A according to the present embodiment replaces the outside air shielding member 70 and the opening / closing drive unit 700 in the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. A lid opening / closing drive unit 400, an outside air shielding member 430, a slide opening / closing drive unit 500, a slide plate 510, and a slide mechanism 511 are provided.

  A slide plate 510 is attached to the upper end portion of the duct 20. A slide mechanism 511 is attached to one side of the upper end of the duct 20. The slide mechanism 511 is connected to the slide opening / closing drive unit 500.

  The slide mechanism 511 is driven by the slide opening / closing drive unit 500. In this case, the slide plate 510 moves in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the upper end of the duct 20 is opened or closed.

  An outside air shielding member 430 is provided in the duct 20. The outside air shielding member 430 has a substantially box shape with an open bottom.

  Inner lids 410 a and 410 b are provided at the upper end opening of the outside air shielding member 430. The inner lids 410a and 410b are rectangular plate members having the same shape, and one side thereof is connected to a side plate (FIG. 7) of an outside air shielding member 430 described later via a hinge part 420. Thereby, the upper end part of the external air shielding member 430 has a double door structure.

  The inner lids 410 a and 410 b are driven by the inner lid opening / closing drive unit 400. In this case, the inner lids 410a and 410b open and close around the hinge part 420, respectively. Thereby, the upper end part of the external air shielding member 430 is opened or closed.

  As shown in FIG. 6, in this example, the control unit 80 performs operations of the elevating mechanism 30, the processing liquid mixing device 50, the dry air generation device 60, the transport driving unit 300, the inner lid opening / closing driving unit 400, and the slide opening / closing driving unit 500. Control. Accordingly, the lifting / lowering operation of the holding unit 31 that holds the plurality of substrates W, the cleaning process of the substrate W, the drying process of the substrate W, the loading / unloading operation of the substrate W with respect to the substrate processing apparatus 100A, and the opening / closing operation of the upper end of the duct 20 And the opening / closing operation | movement of the upper end part of the external air shielding member 430 is controlled.

(2-b) Outside Air Shielding Member 430 Here, the details of the structure of the outside air shielding member 430 will be described. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the details of the structure of the outside air shielding member 430 of FIG. In FIG. 7, the illustration of the outer tank 43 and the duct 20 of the processing tank 4 is omitted in order to clearly show the structure of the outside air shielding member 430.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the outside air shielding member 430 includes a first blocking side plate 430a, a second blocking side plate 430b, a third blocking side plate 430c, and a fourth blocking side plate 430d extending in the vertical direction. The first blocking side plate 430a and the second blocking side plate 430b face each other, and the third blocking side plate 430c and the fourth blocking side plate 430d face each other.

  The first cutoff side plate 430 a is connected to the upper end portion of the dry air supply port 621 of the dry air supply duct 62, and the second cutoff side plate 430 b is connected to the upper end portion of the exhaust port 631 of the dry air exhaust duct 63.

  The third blocking side plate 430 c and the fourth blocking side plate 430 d are connected to the side of the dry air supply port 621 of the dry air supply duct 62 and the exhaust port 631 of the dry air exhaust duct 63.

  An inner lid 410a is attached to the upper end of the first blocking side plate 430a via a hinge part 420, and an inner lid 410b is attached to the upper end of the second blocking side plate 430b via a hinge part 420.

  Thereby, when the upper end part of the external air shielding member 430 is obstruct | occluded by the inner lid | cover 410a, 410b, the space WU just above the processing tank 4 becomes inner lid | cover 410a, 410b, the 1st-4th interruption | blocking side plate 430a-. 430d, surrounded by a dry air supply port 621 of the dry air supply duct 62 and an exhaust port 631 of the dry air exhaust duct 63. Thereby, also in the present embodiment, the atmosphere in space WU is blocked from the external atmosphere.

  In addition, in the present embodiment, the slide plate 510 and the slide mechanism 511 are provided at the upper end of the duct 20 (FIG. 6) as described above. The slide mechanism 511 supports the slide plate 510 so as to be movable in the horizontal direction.

  Thereby, when the upper end portion of the duct 20 (FIG. 6) is closed by the slide plate 510, the space inside the duct 20 is blocked from the space outside the duct 20. Thereby, the atmosphere in the space WU surrounded by the outside air shielding member 430 is surely cut off from the outside atmosphere.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in the present embodiment, the upper end of the duct 20 is opened by the slide plate 510 moving in the horizontal direction. Further, the inner lids 410a and 410b are opened and closed around the hinge part 420, whereby the upper end part of the outside air shielding member 430 is opened. Accordingly, the inner lids 410 a and 410 b and the slide plate 510 are not positioned in the region above the processing tank 4 when the upper end of the outside air shielding member 430 is opened.

  This prevents the transfer robot 310 from interfering with the outside air shielding member 430 and the slide plate 510 when the substrate W is loaded and unloaded. In the present embodiment, the upper end portion of the outside air shielding member 430 is opened while rotating. Thereby, since the external air shielding member 430 does not move horizontally, it is not necessary to enlarge the duct 20. As a result, the increase in size of the substrate processing apparatus 100A is sufficiently suppressed.

(2-c) Operation of Substrate Processing Apparatus 100A Here, a series of operations in the substrate processing apparatus 100A are substantially the same as those of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, but the holding unit 31 by the transfer robot 310. The carrying-in operation into the duct 20 is performed as follows.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a carry-in operation of the holding unit 31 into the duct 20 by the transfer robot 310 of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8, first, the slide plate 510 moves in the horizontal direction (arrow C1). Thereby, the upper end part of the duct 20 is open | released.

  Subsequently, the inner lids 410a and 410b rotate around the hinge part 420 (arrow C2), and the upper end of the outside air shielding member 430 is opened.

  Then, the transfer robot 310 moves to an upper position of the duct 20 in the transfer area TE (arrow C3). At this time, the transfer robot 310 holds the holding unit 31 that holds a plurality of substrates W.

  Therefore, the transfer robot 310 descends from the upper position of the duct 20 and carries the holding unit 31 holding the plurality of substrates W into the duct 20 (arrow C4).

  After the transport robot 310 is retracted from the duct 20, the slide plate 510 moves again in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the upper end part of the duct 20 is obstruct | occluded. Further, the inner lids 410a and 410b rotate around the hinge part 420. Thereby, the upper end part of the external air shielding member 430 is obstruct | occluded.

  Subsequently, the elevating mechanism 30 lowers the holding unit 31 carried into the duct 20. Thereby, the plurality of substrates W held by the holding unit 31 are lowered and accommodated in the inner tank 40. Thereafter, similarly to the first embodiment, the cleaning process and the drying process are performed on the substrate W accommodated in the inner tank 40.

  When the plurality of substrates W are pulled up from the processing tank 4, the outside air shielding member 430 and the upper ends of the ducts 20 are opened in the same procedure as described above. Then, the holding unit 31 that holds the plurality of processed substrates W is transferred by the transfer robot 310.

  Also in this example, an example in which the valve CB is provided downstream of the dry air exhaust duct 63 is shown by a dotted line in FIG. By controlling the valve CB, the exhaust amount of the atmosphere in the space WU can be easily adjusted. Further, by controlling the dry air generator 60 by the control unit 80, the supply amount of the dry air DF into the space WU can be easily adjusted. Thereby, the pressure in the space WU can be easily adjusted.

(3) Correspondence between each component of claim and each part of embodiment The following describes an example of a correspondence between each component of the claim and each part of the embodiment. It is not limited.

  In the above embodiment, the transport driving unit 300 and the transport robot 310 are examples of transport mechanisms, the lifting device 30 is an example of a substrate lifting mechanism, a dry air generator 60, a pipe 61, a dry air supply duct 62, and a dry air exhaust duct. 63 is an example of a gas supply part.

  Further, the outside air shielding members 70 and 430 are examples of shielding members, the inner lid opening / closing drive unit 400 and the opening / closing drive unit 700 are examples of opening / closing mechanisms, the duct 20 is an example of a shielding duct, and the upper lid 71 is a lid. It is an example of a member and the 1st interception side plates 72a and 430a, the 2nd interception side plates 72b and 430b, the 3rd interception side plates 72c and 430c, and the 4th interception side plates 72d and 430d are examples of a peripheral wall part.

  Furthermore, the inner lids 410a and 410b are examples of lids, the inner lid 410a is an example of a first part, the inner lid 410b is an example of a second part, and the dry air supply duct 62 is a gas supply duct. It is an example.

  Moreover, the dry air exhaust duct 63 is an example of a gas discharge part, and the dry air generator 60, the control part 80, and valve | bulb CB are examples of an adjustment part.

  In addition, as each component of a claim, the other various element which has the structure or function described in the claim can also be used.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is a semiconductor wafer, a photomask glass substrate, a liquid crystal display glass substrate, a plasma display glass substrate, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, and the like. Can be used effectively.

It is typical sectional drawing which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the detail of the structure of the external air shielding member of FIG. It is a figure which shows a series of operation | movement in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows a series of operation | movement in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows a series of operation | movement in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. It is typical sectional drawing which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a perspective view for demonstrating the detail of the structure of the external air shielding member of FIG. It is a figure which shows carrying-in operation in the duct of the holding | maintenance part by the conveyance robot of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 4 Processing tank 20 Duct 30 Elevating mechanism 60 Dry air generator 61 Piping 62 Dry air supply duct 63 Dry air exhaust duct 70,430 Outside air shielding member 71 Upper lid part 72a, 430a 1st interruption | blocking side board 72b, 430b 2nd interruption | blocking side board 72c, 430c Third blocking side plate 72d, 430d Fourth blocking side plate 80 Control unit 100 Substrate processing device 300 Transfer drive unit 310 Transfer robot 400 Inner lid opening / closing drive unit 410a, 410b Inner lid 700 Opening / closing drive unit CB Valve DF Dry air W Substrate

Claims (6)

A substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a substrate carried by a transport mechanism for transporting a substrate,
A treatment tank for storing the treatment liquid;
A substrate lifting mechanism capable of moving the substrate up and down between the processing liquid in the processing tank and an upper position of the processing tank, and capable of transferring the substrate to and from the transfer mechanism at an upper position of the processing tank;
A gas supply unit for supplying gas to the substrate pulled up from the processing tank by the substrate lifting mechanism;
A gas discharger disposed opposite to the gas supply unit, for discharging the gas supplied to the substrate;
A shielding member provided so as to surround the periphery and upper part of the space on the processing tank except for the gas supply path by the gas supply section and the gas discharge path by the gas discharge section;
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: an opening / closing mechanism that opens and closes at least an upper portion of the shielding member around a substantially horizontal axis. A shielding duct provided so as to surround the processing tank and an upper position of the processing tank;
A lid member provided at the upper end of the shielding duct so as to be openable and closable,
The shielding member includes a peripheral wall portion provided on a lower surface of the lid member so as to surround a space on the processing tank, and the lid member,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing mechanism opens and closes the lid member together with the peripheral wall portion around a substantially horizontal axis. The shielding member is
A peripheral wall provided to surround the space on the treatment tank;
A lid portion provided at the upper opening of the peripheral wall portion so as to be openable and closable around a substantially horizontal axis;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing mechanism opens and closes the lid portion around a substantially horizontal axis. The lid is divided into a first part and a second part;
The opening / closing mechanism opens and closes the first portion and the second portion around a substantially horizontal axis so that the first portion and the second portion open outward from each other. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein: The gas supply unit
The gas supply duct is disposed on one side of the processing tank and supplies a gas from the one side to the other side of the processing tank along an upper end of the processing tank. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of 4 above. The adjustment part which adjusts the gas supply amount to the board | substrate by the said gas supply part, and the exhaust_gas | exhaustion amount of the internal atmosphere of the said shielding member by the said gas discharge part is further provided, The adjustment part which adjusts in any one of Claims 1-5 The substrate processing apparatus as described.

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