JP2009038210A - Vapor dryer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vapor dryer which not only forms vapor instantaneously with supplying the vapor on a substrate for drying, but also performs clean cleaning and clean drying without causing any corrosion. <P>SOLUTION: A vapor dryer comprises a cleaning device which supports a substrate W, a process liquid feeding unit 31 which selectively supplies two or more kinds of process liquid, a quartz glass tube 14 having one end connected to the process liquid feeding unit 31 and the other end having a vapor supply pipe 26 connected to the cleaning device and having a channel to circulate the process liquid supplied from the process liquid feeding unit 31, a rod heater 27 installed inside the quartz glass tube 14 separately from the channel, and a halogen lamp 28 installed outside the quartz glass tube 14 to heat the rod heater 27, serving as a heating means to heat or vaporize the process liquid circulating in the channel by radiant heat and supplying it to the vapor supply pipe 26. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a vapor drying apparatus that cleans a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal substrate, and the like and then dries.

  As a cleaning device for cleaning a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal substrate, etc., the present applicant generates hydrogen vapor containing oxygen, ozone, and radical oxygen by burning hydrogen and oxygen in a container, and uses the generated water vapor as a water vapor supply nozzle. Has developed a cleaning apparatus that sprays and cleans the surface of the substrate, and has obtained a patent as Patent Document 1.

  This cleaning device injects the water vapor after combustion onto the surface of the substrate by the water vapor supply nozzle, so that even if the piping from the generation of ozone to the substrate is long, high concentration ozone is supplied to the substrate without self-decomposition. This is advantageous in that the substrate can be installed at an arbitrary position.

Further, an IPA vapor supply pipe for supplying isopropyl alcohol (hereinafter referred to as IPA) as an organic solvent on the substrate for a predetermined time after water vapor is sprayed on the surface of the substrate is provided. The IPA vapor supply pipe has a proximal end connected to the IPA supply port and the pure water supply port, and a distal end facing the water vapor supply nozzle. Then, the IPA vapor supply pipe is heated by ozone water vapor H ₂ O + O _{3 of} several hundred degrees Celsius flowing inside the water vapor supply pipe, and the IPA vapor is injected from the water vapor supply nozzle without condensing in the IPA vapor supply pipe. it can.

  Conventionally, IPA vapor generators are commercially available. This IPA vapor generator is a heating element tube made of stainless steel. A work coil is provided on the outer periphery of the heating element tube. When a high frequency current flows through the work coil, a magnetic flux is generated and an induced current flows through the heating element tube. Thus, the IPA gas is heated.

Further, Patent Document 2 is known as a clean gas heating apparatus that performs dry oxidation treatment on a semiconductor substrate. This clean gas heating device is provided with a gas heating tube made of SiC that heats clean gas supplied from the gas supply side inside a quartz glass tube with one end connected to the gas supply side and the other end connected to the gas demand side. It has been. Then, a halogen lamp that heats the gas heating tube from the outside of the quartz glass tube is provided, and when the clean gas at normal temperature passes through the inside of the gas heating tube made of SiC, it is heated to a high temperature, and the semiconductor substrate on the gas demand side Thus, an oxide film is formed on the surface of the semiconductor substrate.
Japanese Patent No. 3910190 Japanese Patent No. 3253176

In the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, the IPA vapor supply pipe can be heated by ozone water vapor H ₂ O + O _{3 of} several hundred degrees Celsius flowing inside the water vapor supply pipe, but liquid IPA is instantaneously supplied as vapor. This is difficult and is not suitable as an apparatus for drying a substrate.

  In addition, since a commercially available IPA vapor generator employs a heating element tube made of stainless steel, there is a problem that the IPA vapor is contaminated in contact with the heated stainless steel.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to generate a vapor instantly and supply it onto the substrate to dry the substrate, and clean cleaning without being corroded. And providing a vapor drying apparatus capable of drying.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a cleaning apparatus that supports a substrate, a treatment liquid supply unit that selectively supplies a plurality of types of treatment liquids, and one end side of the treatment liquid supply unit. A quartz glass tube having a vapor supply pipe connected to the other end side and connected to the cleaning device, and having a flow path for flowing the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply unit; and an inner side of the quartz glass pipe A rod heater provided in a state isolated from the flow passage, and provided outside the quartz glass tube, heats the rod heater and heats or vaporizes the treatment liquid flowing through the flow passage by radiant heat. And a heating means that leads to the vapor supply pipe.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the cleaning apparatus according to the first aspect is a single wafer cleaning apparatus or a one-bus cleaning apparatus, and includes a pure water injection unit that injects pure water onto the substrate.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid supply unit according to the first aspect includes a plurality of supply valves for selectively supplying cleaning chemical liquid, IPA liquid, and nitrogen, and a quantitative supply means for supplying a fixed quantity to the quartz glass tube. It is characterized by.

  According to the present invention, vapor can be instantaneously generated and supplied onto the substrate to dry the substrate. Further, all the parts that come into contact with the treatment liquid are quartz glass, and there is an effect that the parts are not corroded and can be cleaned and dried.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows the overall configuration of the vapor drying apparatus according to the first embodiment, which includes an IPA vapor generating apparatus 11 as an organic solvent. First, the IPA vapor generating apparatus 11 will be described. The apparatus main body 12 is provided with a cylindrical hollow portion 13 in the lateral direction. The hollow portion 13 is provided with a cylindrical high-purity quartz glass tube 14. The quartz glass tube 14 has a double tube structure composed of an outer cylinder 15 and an inner cylinder 16, and an annular space is formed between the outer cylinder 15 and the inner cylinder 16, and high purity quartz glass is formed in the annular space. The partition pipe 17 made from is interposed. An outer flow passage 18 is provided outside the partition tube 17, and an inner flow passage 19 is provided inside. Furthermore, a folded portion 20 that connects the outer flow passage 18 and the inner flow passage 19 is provided at one end of the partition pipe 17. Then, the processing liquid flows from the outer flow passage 18 to the inner flow passage 19 through the folded portion 20.

  One end of the outer cylinder 15 in the axial direction is sealed by an inlet side end plate 21, and the other end is sealed by an outlet side end plate 22. The inlet side end plate 21 has a nitrogen supply pipe 23 and a processing solution. A supply pipe 24 is provided. Further, a central flow pipe 25 made of high-purity quartz glass is provided further inside the inner cylinder 16. One end of the central flow pipe 25 communicates with the inner flow passage 19, and the other end is connected to the vapor supply pipe 26. Communicate.

  A space between the inner cylinder 16 and the central flow pipe 25 is formed in a sealed annular space, and a rod heater 27 made of, for example, SiC or carbon is provided in the annular space in a sealed state. In addition, a plurality of straight tube halogen lamps 28 are provided inside the apparatus body 12 as heating means, and these halogen lamps 28 are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction so as to surround the quartz glass tube 14. . The rod heater 27 is irradiated with infrared rays, and the rod heater 27 is provided with a temperature sensor 29. A detection signal of the temperature sensor 29 is input to a heating control unit 30 provided outside the apparatus main body 12 so as to control the output of the halogen lamp 28. The heating control unit 30 is controlled so that the temperature of the rod heater 27 is always kept at 200 ° C., for example.

  On the other hand, a processing liquid supply unit 31 is provided outside the apparatus main body 11. The treatment liquid supply unit 31 is provided with a chemical liquid supply source 32, and the chemical liquid supply source 32 is connected to a chemical liquid supply valve 32b via a mass flow controller 32a. The treatment liquid supply unit 31 is provided with an IPA storage tank 33, and the supply port of the IPA storage tank 33 is connected to an IPA supply valve 33b via an IPA supply metering pump 33a. Further, the treatment liquid supply unit 31 is provided with a nitrogen supply source 34, and the nitrogen supply source 34 is connected to the first nitrogen supply valve 34b and the second nitrogen supply valve 34c via the mass flow controller 34a.

  The first nitrogen supply valve 34b is connected to the nitrogen supply pipe 23 via the first pipe 35a, and the chemical liquid supply valve 32b, the IPA supply valve 33b, and the second nitrogen supply valve 34c are connected to the second pipe 35b. To the processing liquid supply pipe 24.

  The vapor supply pipe 26 is connected to a chamber 36 of the single wafer cleaning apparatus. The single wafer cleaning apparatus is provided with a substrate mounting table 38 that is opposed to the chamber 36 and rotates about a rotation shaft 37. The substrate mounting table 38 includes a substrate W such as a semiconductor substrate or a liquid crystal substrate to be cleaned and dried. It is placed. Further, a pure water supply pipe 39 is inserted in the vapor supply pipe 26, and a pure water supply nozzle 40 provided at the outlet of the pure water supply pipe 39 is provided opposite to the central portion of the upper surface of the substrate W. Yes. A distance H between the substrate W and the pure water supply nozzle 40 is set to several mm, and an exhaust port 41 is provided around the substrate W. The base end side of the pure water supply pipe 39 is connected to a pure water supply source 42.

  Next, a method for cleaning and drying the substrate W mounted on the substrate mounting table 38 inside the chamber 36 using the vapor drying apparatus configured as described above will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate W to be cleaned and dried is placed on the substrate platform 38. Next, when the IPA vapor generating apparatus 11 is rotated and moved in the horizontal direction, the chamber 36 faces the substrate mounting table 38 on which the substrate W is mounted, as shown in FIG. At the same time, the pure water supply nozzle 40 of the pure water supply pipe 39 faces the central portion of the substrate W.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, when pure water is supplied from the pure water supply source 42 to the pure water supply pipe 39, pure water is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W through the pure water supply nozzle 40. At this time, since the substrate mounting table 38 is rotated about the rotation shaft 37, the substrate W is subjected to single wafer spin cleaning, and water droplets on the substrate W are scattered around by centrifugal force.

  After cleaning the substrate W, the chemical solution may be supplied from the IPA vapor generating device 11 to the substrate W after being washed, or the IPA vapor may be supplied to replace the water droplet and the chemical solution or the water droplet and the IPA on the substrate W. However, in the present embodiment, a case where IPA vapor is supplied after supplying a chemical solution will be described.

  First, when the chemical liquid supply valve 32b of the processing liquid supply unit 31 is opened, the chemical liquid is supplied from the chemical liquid supply source 32, and this chemical liquid is supplied to the IPA vapor generator 11 via the second pipe 35b and the processing liquid supply pipe 24. Supplied. At this time, the output of the halogen lamp 28 in the apparatus main body 12 is controlled by the heating control unit 30, and infrared rays from the halogen lamp 28 are irradiated toward the rod heater 27. The rod heater 27 is heated to 200 ° C. by a halogen lamp 28.

  Therefore, the chemical solution at room temperature flows through the outer flow passage 18 of the IPA vapor generating device 11, is turned back by the gas turn-back portion 20, flows to the inner flow passage 19, and further flows through the central flow pipe 25 to the vapor supply pipe 26. . At this time, the rod heater 27 is in a state of being sealed with quartz glass and is in a completely non-contact state with the chemical liquid, so that it is not corroded by the chemical liquid and no particles are generated. In addition, since the quartz glass tube 14 heated by the rod heater 27 and the central flow tube 25 are in contact with the chemical solution at room temperature, the chemical solution is instantaneously heated to become a heated chemical solution and sprayed onto the substrate W through the vapor supply tube 26. .

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 5, water droplets remain on the washed substrate W placed on the substrate platform 38, but when the heated chemical solution is supplied to the substrate W, The chemical solution is replaced. Next, when the chemical liquid supply valve 32b is closed and the first nitrogen supply valve 34b is opened, nitrogen is supplied from the nitrogen supply source 34 to the nitrogen supply pipe 23 via the first pipe 35a.

  Therefore, nitrogen at normal temperature flows through the outer flow passage 18 of the IPA vapor generator 11, is turned back by the gas turn-back portion 20, flows to the inner flow passage 19, and further flows through the central flow pipe 25 to the vapor supply pipe 26. . At this time, the rod heater 27 is in a state of being sealed with quartz glass, and is completely in a non-contact state with nitrogen, and the heated nitrogen is sprayed onto the substrate W through the vapor supply pipe 26.

  Next, when the first nitrogen supply valve 34b is closed and the IPA supply valve 33b is opened, IPA is supplied from the IPA storage tank 33, and IPA is set to 1 to 10 cc / min by the IPA supply metering pump 33a. Then, it is supplied to the processing liquid supply pipe 24 via the second pipe 35b. Nitrogen is supplied from the nitrogen supply source 34 to the nitrogen supply pipe 23 via the first pipe 35a. Accordingly, the liquid IPA flows through the outer flow passage 18 of the IPA vapor generating device 11, is turned back by the gas turn-back portion 20, flows to the inner flow passage 19, and further flows through the central flow pipe 25 to the vapor supply pipe 26. It becomes IPA vapor in between.

  At this time, the rod heater 27 is in a state of being sealed with quartz glass and completely in a non-contact state with the IPA, and the IPA vapor is sprayed onto the substrate W through the vapor supply pipe 26 as shown in FIG. Is done. When the IPA vapor is supplied to the substrate W, the nitrogen on the substrate W and the IPA vapor are replaced. Next, when the IPA supply valve 33b is closed and the second nitrogen supply valve 34c is opened, nitrogen is supplied from the nitrogen supply source 34 to the nitrogen supply pipe 23 via the second pipe 35b. Accordingly, nitrogen is supplied to the IPA vapor generator 11 and, as described above, the heated nitrogen is sprayed onto the substrate W through the vapor supply pipe 26. Therefore, as shown in FIG. The IPA is emitted by the heated nitrogen, and the cleaning and drying of the substrate W is completed.

  According to the present embodiment, IPA vapor can be instantaneously generated by the IPA vapor generator 11 and supplied onto the substrate W, and water droplets on the substrate W can be replaced with IPA and dried. In addition, the SiC rod heater 27 is covered with high-purity quartz glass, and all the portions in contact with the IPA vapor are high-purity quartz glass, and there is an effect that no particles are generated.

  FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment, and the same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. This embodiment shows an IPA vapor drying apparatus in which an IPA vapor generating apparatus 11 and a one-bus drying apparatus 45 are combined. The one-bath drying device 45 will be described. A cleaning tank 47 having an upper opening is provided at the upper portion of the base 46, and a drain pipe 49 having a drain valve 48 is provided at the bottom of the cleaning tank 47.

  A substrate support base 50 is provided inside the cleaning tank 47 to support a plurality of substrates W in an upright state with a space therebetween, and pure water supply nozzles 51 are provided on both sides of the substrate support base 50. Is provided. A pure water overflow tank 52 is provided on the outer periphery of the cleaning tank 47 so that pure water overflowing the cleaning tank 47 is accommodated therein. The upper opening of the pure water overflow tank 52 is closed by a lid 53, and the lid 53 is provided with a nozzle head 55 having a plurality of injection nozzles 54. A vapor supply pipe 26 of the IPA vapor generator 11 is connected to the nozzle head 55 so that IPA vapor and heated nitrogen can be sprayed from the spray nozzle 54 toward the substrate W.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 9A, in the standby state, if pure water is continuously supplied from the pure water supply nozzle 51, the cleaning tank 47 is filled with pure water, and the overflowed pure water is stored in the pure water overflow tank 52. Is housed. At this time, when nitrogen is supplied from the vapor supply pipe 26 of the IPA vapor generator 11, the nitrogen is injected from the injection nozzle 54 toward the water surface of the cleaning tank 47.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, the substrate W is carried into the cleaning tank 47, and a plurality of substrates W are supported in a standing state on the substrate support base 50. From the pure water supply nozzle 51, When pure water is supplied, the substrate W is washed with pure water. If pure water is continuously supplied from the pure water supply nozzle 51, the cleaning tank 47 is filled with pure water, and the overflowed pure water is stored in the pure water overflow tank 52.

  After cleaning the substrate W, as shown in FIG. 5C, when the drain valve 48 is opened, the pure water in the cleaning tank 47 is drained from the drain pipe 49. At the same time, when the IPA vapor generated by the IPA vapor generator 11 is supplied from the vapor supply pipe 26, the IPA vapor is injected from the injection nozzle 54 toward the cleaning tank 47. Accordingly, the cleaning tank 47 is in an IPA vapor atmosphere, and water droplets on the substrate W are replaced with IPA.

  Next, when the IPA supply valve 33b of the treatment liquid supply unit 31 is closed, the supply of IPA to the IPA vapor generator 11 is stopped, and only nitrogen is supplied to the IPA vapor generator 11, FIG. As shown, since the nitrogen is heated instantaneously and then sprayed onto the substrate W through the vapor supply pipe 26, the IPA on the substrate W is emitted. At this time, organic exhaust is performed from the lower part of the cleaning tank 47.

  After the cleaning and drying of the substrate W is completed in this way, the cleaning tank 47 is moved in the horizontal direction and the cleaning tank 47 is opened as shown in FIG. Take it out. In the present embodiment, nitrogen is supplied after the IPA vapor is supplied. However, after supplying the chemical solution, the IPA vapor may be supplied and finally nitrogen may be supplied.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment as it is, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, the constituent elements over different embodiments may be combined.

The schematic block diagram of the vapor drying apparatus which shows the 1st Embodiment of this invention. Action | operation explanatory drawing of the vapor drying apparatus of the embodiment. Action | operation explanatory drawing of the vapor drying apparatus of the embodiment. Action | operation explanatory drawing of the vapor drying apparatus of the embodiment. Action | operation explanatory drawing of the vapor drying apparatus of the embodiment. Action | operation explanatory drawing of the vapor drying apparatus of the embodiment. Action | operation explanatory drawing of the vapor drying apparatus of the embodiment. The schematic block diagram of the vapor drying apparatus which shows the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. The same embodiment is shown, (a)-(e) is an operation explanatory view of a vapor dryer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... IPA vapor production | generation apparatus, 14 ... Quartz glass tube, 26 ... Vapor supply pipe, 31 ... Chemical solution supply unit, 38 ... Substrate mounting base, W ... Substrate

Claims (3)

A cleaning device for supporting the substrate;
A treatment liquid supply unit that selectively supplies a plurality of kinds of treatment liquids;
A quartz glass tube having a vapor supply pipe connected to the processing liquid supply unit on one end side and a vapor supply pipe connected to the cleaning device on the other end side, and having a flow passage for circulating the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply unit When,
A rod heater provided inside the quartz glass tube so as to be isolated from the flow path;
A heating means provided outside the quartz glass tube, for heating the rod heater, heating or vaporizing the treatment liquid flowing through the flow path by radiant heat, and guiding the treatment liquid to the vapor supply pipe;
A vapor drying apparatus comprising:   2. The vapor drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is a single wafer cleaning device or a one-bath cleaning device, and includes pure water injection means for injecting pure water onto the substrate.   The said process liquid supply unit is provided with the fixed_quantity | feed_rate supply means which supplies a fixed quantity to the said quartz glass tube and the several supply valve which selectively supplies cleaning chemical | medical solution, IPA liquid, and nitrogen. Vapor dryer.

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