JP2009158565A - Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treatment apparatus which is compact and can treat a substrate surface in superior manner, and to provide a substrate treatment method. <P>SOLUTION: Since humidity in a treatment space 162 is lowered before a drying treatment, which is carried out in a low-humidity atmosphere, a watermark and the like, is effectively prevented from forming on the substrate surface due to the drying treatment. Furthermore, a substitution treatment is performed so as to enhance drying performance, but IPA liquid vaporizes in the treatment space wherein the humidity is lowered, so that drying defects due to heat of vaporization generated in the IPA drying can be effectively prevented and enables superior substrate drying. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for drying a substrate after supplying the substrate with a processing liquid and wet-treating the substrate with the processing liquid. The substrates to be processed include semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for plasma displays, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, and magnetic disks. And a magneto-optical disk substrate.

  In the manufacturing process of electronic components such as semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display devices, a chemical treatment with a chemical solution and a rinse treatment with a rinse solution such as pure water are performed, followed by a drying treatment to remove the rinse solution adhering to the substrate surface. Executed. For example, an apparatus described in Patent Literature 1 rotates a spin base that holds a substrate in a horizontal posture, a motor that rotates the spin base, an atmosphere blocking plate that is provided to face the spin base, and an atmosphere blocking plate. A motor and a cup that surrounds the periphery of the substrate W held on the spin base are provided, and chemical treatment, rinse treatment, and drying treatment are performed as follows. In this apparatus, the unprocessed substrate is transferred to the spin base and held by the transfer robot. Next, the atmosphere blocking plate is located close to the spin base and covers the upper part of the substrate, and the cup is positioned so as to surround the spin base and the atmosphere blocking plate. Thereafter, a chemical treatment with a chemical solution and a rinse treatment with pure water are performed on the substrate while rotating the spin base and the atmosphere blocking plate. Then, after the rinsing process with pure water is completed, the substrate is kept rotating as it is, and water droplets adhering to the substrate are shaken off by a centrifugal force (drying process).

JP 2002-273360 A (FIG. 1)

  As described above, in the prior art, the spin base and the atmosphere shielding plate rotate while the atmosphere shielding plate is close to the spin base to perform the drying process of the substrate. A driving force transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force of the motor is required, which has been a factor in increasing the manufacturing cost of the substrate processing apparatus. Further, in order to reduce the put print of the substrate processing system equipped with the substrate processing apparatus, a stack arrangement of the substrate processing apparatuses has been proposed. However, the presence of a drive motor and a driving force transmission mechanism for the atmosphere shielding plate It was one of the factors that hindered it. This is because the driving motor for the atmosphere blocking plate and the driving force transmission mechanism have to be disposed above the atmosphere blocking plate, and the apparatus tends to increase in size in the vertical direction.

  Therefore, it has been studied to perform substrate processing without rotating the atmosphere blocking plate. However, if the substrate processing is performed while the atmosphere blocking plate is stationary, a watermark or the like is generated on the surface of the substrate, and the substrate cannot be processed satisfactorily.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that are small in size and that can satisfactorily process the substrate surface.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention surrounds a substrate rotating in a horizontal posture with a cup to form a processing space, and supplies the processing liquid to the substrate while exhausting the processing space to wet the substrate with the processing liquid. A substrate processing apparatus for drying a substrate after processing, and for achieving the above object, a gas supply means for supplying a dry gas to the processing space, a switching means for switching the processing space between an open state and a semi-sealed state, and a processing And an exhaust adjustment means for adjusting the exhaust of the space, and the switching means switches the processing space to an open state during wet processing, while the switching means places the processing space in a semi-sealed state after the wet processing and before the drying processing. Switching, the gas supply means supplies dry gas to the processing space, and the exhaust adjustment means suppresses the exhaust of the processing space from that during wet processing, thereby reducing the humidity in the processing space. To have.

  In order to achieve the above object, the substrate processing method according to the present invention forms a processing space by surrounding a rotating substrate with a cup and supplies a processing liquid to the substrate while exhausting the processing space in an open state. The wet processing step of wet processing the substrate with the processing liquid, and the processing space is switched to a semi-sealed state after the wet processing step, and the exhaust of the processing space is supplied from the wet processing while supplying dry gas to the semi-sealed processing space. And a humidity reduction step for reducing the humidity in the processing space and a drying step for drying the substrate after the humidity reduction step.

  In the invention configured as described above (substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method), the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate in the processing space surrounded by the cup, and the substrate is subjected to wet processing with the processing liquid. In this wet processing, the processing space is exhausted in an open state, so that the processing liquid atmosphere generated in the processing space during the wet processing is efficiently discharged from the processing space. Further, after the wet processing and before the drying processing, the processing space is switched from the open state to the semi-sealed state. The dry gas is supplied to the semi-sealed processing space, and the exhaust of the processing space is suppressed as compared with the wet processing. For this reason, the humidity in the processing space is efficiently reduced, and the substrate is dried while the generation of the watermark on the substrate surface is suppressed by performing the drying process after the humidity reduction process. In addition, as a dry gas, it is desirable to employ a relative humidity of 10% or less.

  In order to improve the drying performance, the low surface tension liquid may be replaced with the low surface tension liquid by supplying the low surface tension liquid to the substrate after the wet processing and before the drying processing. When performing such a replacement process, it becomes easy to cause a drying failure due to the heat of vaporization generated when the low surface tension liquid is dried, as described later. Can be effectively suppressed.

  Further, it may be configured to supply the dry gas toward the processing space during the wet processing, thereby suppressing the mist of the processing liquid generated during the wet processing from scattering upward from the processing space. It is possible to effectively prevent the components disposed above the cup from being contaminated by the mist.

  The configuration of the switching means is arbitrary, but the following modes can be adopted. That is, as a first aspect, there is provided a blocking member that has a facing surface facing the opening and is movable in the vertical direction above the cup, and a blocking member lifting mechanism that moves the blocking member up and down in the vertical direction. The switching means can be used, and the switching means moves the blocking member close to the opening to cover the opening with the opposite surface and switch the processing space to a semi-sealed state, while the blocking member is moved from the opening. The processing space is switched to the open state by moving upwardly. When adopting the switching means configured in this way. A plurality of through holes may be formed on the facing surface, and the dry gas supplied from the gas supply unit may be discharged to the processing space through the plurality of through holes.

  Further, as a second mode of the switching means, a cylindrical member having a cylindrical shape corresponding to the opening and capable of moving up and down in the vertical direction along the processing space, and a cylindrical member for moving the cylindrical member up and down in the vertical direction A switching means provided with an elevating mechanism can be used, and the switching means moves the cylindrical member upward so that the upper end of the cylindrical member is brought close to or connected to the gas supply means and the processing space is semi-sealed. On the other hand, the processing member is switched to the open state by moving the tubular member downwardly away from the gas supply means.

  Further, as a third mode of the switching means, there is provided a bellows member having a bellows shape corresponding to the opening portion and capable of expanding and contracting vertically along the processing space while the upper end portion is connected and fixed to the gas supply means, and a bellows member. A switching means having an expansion / contraction mechanism that expands and contracts in the vertical direction can be used, and the switching means extends the bellows member downward to bring the lower end portion of the bellows member close to or connected to the opening, thereby reducing the processing space. While switching to the semi-sealed state, the processing space is switched to the open state by contracting the lower end portion upward from the opening.

  Furthermore, as an exhaust adjustment means, a bypass pipe having a smaller diameter than the exhaust pipe and branching from the exhaust pipe and communicating with the exhaust pipe again, a branch position where the bypass pipe branches from the exhaust pipe, and the bypass pipe are connected to the exhaust pipe. You may use what was provided with the on-off valve inserted in the exhaust pipe between the communicating positions to communicate. Then, the processing space can be exhausted with a relatively large exhaust amount by opening the on-off valve during wet processing, and the processing liquid atmosphere generated in the processing space during wet processing is efficiently discharged from the processing space. On the other hand, the humidity of the processing space can be reduced in a short time by closing the on-off valve during the humidity lowering process and suppressing the exhaust amount of the processing space as compared with the wet processing.

  According to the present invention, after the wet process and before the dry process, the dry gas is supplied to the semi-sealed process space and the exhaust of the process space is suppressed as compared with the wet process to reduce the humidity in the process space. Therefore, the drying process can be performed satisfactorily. Further, it is not necessary to rotate the atmosphere blocking plate, and the apparatus size in the vertical direction can be reduced.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a substrate processing system to which the present invention can be preferably applied. More specifically, FIG. 1A is a top view of the substrate processing system, and FIG. 1B is a side view of the substrate processing system. This substrate processing system is a processing system including a plurality of processing units as single-wafer type substrate processing apparatuses for performing processing with a processing liquid, processing gas, or the like on a disk-shaped substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer. The substrate processing system includes a substrate processing unit PP for processing a substrate W, an indexer unit ID coupled to the substrate processing unit PP, and a configuration for supplying / discharging a processing fluid (liquid or gas). The processing fluid boxes 11 and 12 are accommodated.

The indexer unit ID includes a cassette C for storing substrates W (FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) for storing a plurality of substrates W in a sealed state), SMIF (Standard
(Machine Interface) Pod, OC (Open Cassette), etc.) and a cassette holder 21 that holds a plurality of unprocessed substrates W. And an indexer robot 22 for taking out processed substrates and storing processed substrates in the cassette C.

  In each cassette C, a plurality of substrates W are accommodated in one unit called “lot”. A plurality of substrates W are transferred between various substrate processing apparatuses in units of lots, and the same type of processing is performed on each substrate W constituting the lot by each substrate processing apparatus. Each cassette C is provided with a plurality of shelves (not shown) for stacking and holding a plurality of substrates W in the vertical direction with minute intervals, and one substrate W is placed on each shelf. Can be held. Each shelf is configured to contact the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the substrate W and hold the substrate W from below. The substrate W has the front surface (pattern forming surface) facing upward and the back surface facing downward. The cassette C is accommodated in a substantially horizontal posture.

  The substrate processing unit PP includes a substrate transfer robot (substrate transfer device) 13 disposed substantially in the center in plan view, and a frame 30 to which the substrate transfer robot 13 is attached. As shown in FIG. 1A, a plurality (four in this embodiment) of processing units 1A, 2A, 3A, and 4A are mounted on the frame 30 so as to surround the substrate transfer robot 13. ing. In this embodiment, as the processing units 1 </ b> A to 4 </ b> A, processing units that perform predetermined processing on a substantially circular substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer are mounted on the frame 30. Further, as shown in FIG. 1B, another processing unit is installed at the lower stage of each processing unit. That is, the processing units 1B to 4B are respectively provided in the lower stage of the processing units 1A to 4A, and a two-tiered stacked structure is adopted.

  The substrate transport robot 13 can receive an unprocessed substrate W from the indexer robot 22 and can deliver the processed substrate W to the indexer robot 22. More specifically, for example, the substrate transfer robot 13 includes a base unit fixed to the frame 30 of the substrate processing unit PP, a lift base attached to the base unit so as to be lifted and lowered, A rotation base attached so as to be able to rotate about a vertical axis with respect to the base, and a pair of hands attached to the rotation base are provided. Each of the pair of substrate holding hands is configured to advance and retract in a direction approaching / separating from the rotation axis of the rotation base. With such a configuration, the substrate transport robot 13 can direct the substrate holding hand to any one of the indexer robot 22 and the processing units 1A to 4A and 1B to 4B, and can advance and retract the substrate holding hand in that state. Thereby, the delivery of the substrate W can be performed.

  The indexer robot 22 takes out the unprocessed substrate W from the cassette C designated by the control unit that controls the entire apparatus and delivers it to the substrate transfer robot 13, and also receives the processed substrate W from the substrate transfer robot 13 to receive the cassette. C. The processed substrate W may be stored in the cassette C that is stored when the substrate W is in an unprocessed state. In addition, the cassette C that stores the unprocessed substrate W and the cassette C that stores the processed substrate W are separated, and the cassette C is stored in a different cassette C from the cassette C stored in the unprocessed state. You may comprise so that the processed board | substrate W may be accommodated.

  Next, an embodiment of a processing unit mounted on the above substrate processing system will be described. In the substrate processing system of FIG. 1, eight processing units are mounted. However, these processing units can all have the same structure as the processing unit 100 described below.

  FIG. 2 is a view showing a first embodiment of a processing unit as a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 (a) is a bottom view of the blocking member as viewed from below, and FIG. 2 (b) is a configuration. It is a schematic diagram which shows. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration for controlling the processing unit of FIG. The processing unit 100 is a single-wafer type processing unit used for a cleaning process for removing unnecessary substances attached to the surface of a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer. More specifically, the substrate surface is subjected to a chemical treatment with a chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid and a rinsing treatment with pure water or DIW (deionized water), and the rinse solution on the substrate W This is an apparatus for drying the substrate W after replacement with an IPA (isopropyl alcohol) solution.

  In the processing unit 100, a fan filter unit (FFU) 104 is disposed on the ceiling portion of the processing chamber 102. The fan filter unit 104 includes a fan 104a and a filter 104b. Air taken in from the outside by the fan 104a is cleaned by the filter 104b and sent to the central space of the processing chamber 102 as “clean gas”. A spin chuck 106 is disposed in this central space. The spin chuck 106 rotates the substrate W while maintaining the substrate W in a substantially horizontal position with the substrate surface facing upward. The spin chuck 106 has a rotation support shaft 108 coupled to a rotation shaft of a chuck rotation mechanism 110 including a motor, and can rotate around a rotation shaft 112 (vertical axis) by driving the chuck rotation mechanism 110. Yes. The rotating support shaft 108 and the chuck rotating mechanism 110 are accommodated in a cylindrical casing 114. Further, a disc-shaped spin base 116 is integrally connected to the upper end portion of the rotation support shaft 108 by a fastening component such as a screw. Accordingly, the spin base 116 rotates around the rotation shaft 112 by driving the chuck rotation mechanism 110 in accordance with an operation command from the unit controller 118 that controls the entire processing unit. The unit controller 118 also controls the chuck rotation mechanism 110 to adjust the rotation speed of the spin base 116.

  Near the periphery of the spin base 116, a plurality of chuck pins 120 for holding the periphery of the substrate W are provided upright. Three or more chuck pins 120 may be provided to securely hold the circular substrate W, and are arranged at equiangular intervals along the peripheral edge of the spin base 116. Each of the chuck pins 120 includes a substrate support portion that supports the peripheral portion of the substrate W from below, and a substrate holding portion that holds the substrate W by pressing the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W supported by the substrate support portion. Yes. Each chuck pin 120 is configured to be switchable between a pressing state in which the substrate holding unit presses the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W and a released state in which the substrate holding unit is separated from the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W.

  When the substrate W is delivered to the spin base 116, the plurality of chuck pins 120 are released, and when performing substrate processing to be described later on the substrate W, the plurality of chuck pins 120 are pressed. State. By setting the pressing state in this manner, the plurality of chuck pins 120 can grip the peripheral edge portion of the substrate W and hold the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture at a predetermined interval from the spin base 116. As a result, the substrate W is supported with its front surface facing upward and the back surface facing downward. The substrate holding mechanism is not limited to the chuck pins 120, and a vacuum chuck that supports the substrate W by sucking the back surface of the substrate may be used.

  A nozzle arm 125 to which a chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122 and a rinse liquid discharge nozzle 124 are attached is disposed above the substrate W held by the spin chuck 106. Among these, the chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122 is connected to the chemical liquid supply unit 126 (FIG. 3). This chemical solution supply unit 126 can supply a chemical solution suitable for substrate cleaning such as hydrofluoric acid or BHF (Buffered Hydrofluoric acid) to the nozzle 122 side. When the chemical solution supply unit 126 pumps the chemical solution toward the chemical solution discharge nozzle 122 in accordance with a command from the unit control unit 118, the chemical solution is discharged from the nozzle 122 toward the substrate W. Similarly to the chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122, a rinse liquid supply unit 128 (FIG. 3) is also connected to the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 124, and the rinse liquid is discharged toward the substrate W that has been subjected to the chemical liquid treatment. It is executable. A nozzle arm moving mechanism 130 is connected to the nozzle arm 125 to which these nozzles 122 and 124 are attached, and the nozzle arm moving mechanism 130 is driven in accordance with an operation command from the unit control unit 118. The nozzles 122 and 124 are movable between the discharge area above the surface of the substrate W and the standby position retracted laterally from the discharge area. Further, also in the discharge region, the nozzle arm moving mechanism 130 allows the nozzles 122 and 124 to reciprocate between the upper center portion and the upper peripheral portion of the substrate surface. In this embodiment, the rotation support shaft 108 has a hollow tube structure, and is supplied to the upper end portion of the nozzle disposed in the inner space of the rotation support shaft 108 by supplying the rinse liquid from the rinse liquid supply unit 128. It is possible to discharge the rinse liquid from the formed nozzle hole (not shown) toward the back surface of the substrate.

  A receiving member 134 is fixedly attached around the casing 114. The receiving member 134 is provided with three cylindrical partition members. Three spaces are formed as drainage tanks 135a to 135c by the combination of the partition member and the casing 114. Further, above these drainage tanks 135a to 135c, a splash guard 136 corresponding to the “cup” of the present invention surrounds the periphery of the substrate W held in a horizontal posture by the spin chuck 106. It can be moved up and down along the rotation shaft 112. The splash guard 136 has a shape that is substantially rotationally symmetric with respect to the rotation shaft 112, and includes two guards arranged concentrically with the spin chuck 106 from the radially inner side toward the outer side. Then, the splash guard 136 is lifted and lowered stepwise by driving the guard lifting mechanism 138, whereby the chemical liquid and the rinse liquid scattered from the rotating substrate W can be separated and drained.

  In addition, one end of an exhaust pipe 160 is connected to the drainage tank 135a as shown in FIG. The other end of the exhaust pipe 160 is connected to an exhaust device (not shown). For this reason, the drainage tank 135a and the processing space 162 can be exhausted through the exhaust pipe 160. In addition, in this embodiment, the exhaust adjustment mechanism 164 is inserted in the exhaust pipe 160, and the exhaust adjustment mechanism 164 can adjust the exhaust amount from the processing space 162 in accordance with a command from the unit control unit 118. Yes. The processing space 162 described above is a space formed by surrounding the periphery of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 106 with the splash guard 136. In the processing space 162, chemical processing, rinsing processing, replacement processing, and A drying process is performed.

  A blocking member 166 is disposed between the processing space 162 thus formed and the fan filter unit (FFU) 104. As shown in FIG. 2, the blocking member 166 has a disk shape having a larger outer diameter than the opening 136a when the cylindrical inner space of the splash guard 136 is viewed from above, and the lower surface of the blocking member 166 has an opening 136a. It is the opposing surface 168 which opposes. A plurality of through holes 170 are formed in the facing surface 168. Further, the inside of the blocking member 166 is hollow, and dry nitrogen gas (for example, nitrogen gas whose relative humidity is adjusted to 10% or less) is supplied from the dry gas supply unit 172 (FIG. 3) to the hollow region. Is done. Therefore, when dry nitrogen gas is pumped from the dry gas supply unit 172 to the blocking member 166, the dry nitrogen gas is discharged toward the processing space 162 through the through hole 170. Thus, in this embodiment, the dry gas supply unit 172 corresponds to the “gas supply means” of the present invention.

  An IPA liquid discharge nozzle 174 is attached to the central portion of the blocking member 166. The front end 176 of the nozzle 174 is directed toward the center of the substrate W, while the rear end of the nozzle 174 is connected to the IPA liquid supply unit 178 (FIG. 3). Then, the IPA liquid can be supplied from the IPA liquid discharge nozzle 174 toward the center of the surface of the substrate W by pressure-feeding the IPA liquid from the IPA liquid supply unit 178 in accordance with a command from the unit control unit 118. Yes. Thus, in this embodiment, the IPA liquid discharge nozzle 174 and the IPA liquid supply unit 178 function as the “liquid supply means” of the present invention.

  The blocking member lifting mechanism 180 is connected to the blocking member 166 configured as described above. Therefore, when the blocking member 166 is lowered to a position directly above the splash guard 136 by driving the blocking member lifting mechanism 180, the facing surface 168 covers the opening 136a of the splash guard 136 and the processing space 162 is in a semi-sealed state. . On the contrary, when the blocking member 166 is moved upward above the splash guard 136, the facing surface 168 is separated from the opening 136a of the splash guard 136, and the processing space 162 is opened. Thus, in this embodiment, the blocking member 166 and the blocking member lifting mechanism 180 function as the “switching means” of the present invention.

  Next, the operation of the processing unit (substrate processing apparatus) 100 configured as described above will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the unit control unit 118 controls each part of the apparatus according to a program stored in a memory (not shown), and performs chemical liquid processing, rinsing processing, replacement processing, and drying processing on the substrate W. Among these, the chemical treatment and the rinse treatment correspond to the “wet treatment” of the present invention. In the chemical treatment, a chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid is used as the “treatment solution” of the present invention, and in the rinse treatment, a rinse solution such as DIW is used. It is used as the “treatment liquid” in the present invention.

  The unit controller 118 lowers the splash guard 136 so that the spin chuck 106 protrudes from the opening 136 a of the splash guard 136. At this time, the blocking member 166 has been moved to a position above the opening 136a. Both nozzles 122 and 124 are retracted outside the splash guard 136. In this state, an unprocessed substrate W is carried into the processing chamber 102 by the substrate transport robot 13. More specifically, the substrate W is carried into the apparatus with the substrate surface facing upward and held by the spin chuck 106. Following this, the splash guard 136 is raised by one step and the chemical liquid processing is started on the substrate W (FIG. 4A).

  In the chemical liquid processing, the nozzle arm moving mechanism 130 moves the nozzle arm 125 so that the chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122 is positioned above the center of the substrate surface, and the substrate W held on the spin chuck 106 by driving the chuck rotating mechanism 110. Is rotated at a rotation speed (for example, 800 rpm) determined within a range of 200 to 1200 rpm. Further, the chemical solution supply unit 126 feeds hydrofluoric acid as a chemical solution toward the chemical solution discharge nozzle 122 and supplies it from the nozzle 122 to the substrate surface. The hydrofluoric acid supplied to the central portion of the substrate surface in this way is expanded in the radial direction by centrifugal force, and etching processing (chemical solution processing) of the substrate surface with hydrofluoric acid is performed.

  When the chemical liquid processing is completed, the nozzle arm moving mechanism 130 moves the nozzle arm 125 so that the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 124 is replaced with the chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122 and positioned above the center of the substrate surface. Then, the rinse liquid is discharged from the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 124. Further, a rinsing liquid is discharged toward the back surface of the substrate from a nozzle hole (not shown) formed in the upper end portion of the rotation spindle 108. The rinse liquid discharged to the front and back surfaces of the substrate in this way spreads over the entire front and back surfaces of the substrate W due to the centrifugal force of the rotation of the substrate W, and rinse treatment with the rinse liquid is performed. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the substrate W is reduced to 300 rpm at the final point of the rinsing process.

  At the time of the above-described chemical treatment and rinsing treatment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the blocking member 166 moves to a position above the opening 136a (in this embodiment, a position spaced apart from the splash guard 136 by 208 mm). The processing space 162 is in an open state. Moreover, a relatively large volume of exhaust (in this embodiment, −200 Pa, wind speed of 5 m / sec) is performed from the processing space 162 by the exhaust adjustment mechanism 164. For this reason, the atmosphere formed with the processing liquid (chemical liquid and rinsing liquid), that is, the processing liquid atmosphere can be efficiently discharged from the processing space 162. Further, in this embodiment, the purpose of further increasing the discharge efficiency, and the mist of the processing liquid generated during the chemical processing and the rinsing processing scatters upward and adheres to the opposing surface (punching plate surface) 168 of the blocking member 166. For the purpose of preventing this, dry nitrogen gas (open arrow in the figure) is discharged from the blocking member 166 toward the opening 136a at, for example, 220 to 250 (L / min). Of course, when problems such as mist adhesion can be solved only by exhaust adjustment, the discharge of the dry nitrogen gas in the chemical solution and the rinsing process may be omitted.

When the rinsing process is completed, the blocking member lifting mechanism 180 is actuated to lower the blocking member 166 to a position directly above the splash guard 136 (for example, a height position of 10 mm from the opening 136a) as shown in FIG. The opening 136 a of the splash guard 136 is covered with the facing surface 168. As a result, the processing space 162 is in a semi-sealed state. Further, exhaust from the processing space 162 is suppressed by the exhaust adjustment mechanism 164 (in this embodiment, −20 Pa, wind speed 0.5 m / sec), and these settings effectively reduce the humidity in the processing space 162. be able to. In this embodiment, since dry nitrogen gas having a relative humidity of 10% or less is used as described above, the humidity in the processing space 162 can be reduced to the same level as the relative humidity of the dry nitrogen gas. Further, during the humidity reduction process, when the rotation speed of the substrate W is relatively high, the liquid film of the rinsing liquid on the substrate surface is partially dried, and a watermark is generated or formed on the substrate surface. There is a possibility that problems such as collapse of the pattern will occur. Therefore, it is desirable to reduce the rotation speed of the substrate W to 50 rpm or less during the actual humidity reduction process. In consideration of these points, in this embodiment, the rotational speed of the substrate W is 5 rpm under the following processing conditions.
Exhaust: -20 Pa, wind speed 0.5 m / sec Processing time: 1 minute Gap between blocking member 166 and splash guard 136: 10 mm
The humidity of the processing space 162 is reduced to 20% or less.

  Subsequently, the replacement process and the drying process are continuously performed in a semi-sealed state and in a state where dry nitrogen gas is supplied. That is, the IPA liquid is pumped from the IPA liquid supply unit 178, and the IPA liquid is supplied from the IPA liquid discharge nozzle 174 toward the center of the surface of the substrate W (FIG. 5A). As a result, the central portion of the surface of the substrate W is replaced with the IPA liquid at the central portion of the rinsing liquid film, and the replacement region is formed in the radial direction of the substrate W by continuing the supply of the IPA liquid. The entire surface of the substrate is enlarged and replaced with the IPA liquid. Further, after the replacement process, the substrate W is rotated at a high speed of 300 to 4000 rpm, and the drying process of the substrate W is executed.

  When the drying process of the substrate W is completed, the unit controller 118 controls the chuck rotating mechanism 110 to stop the rotation of the substrate W. Then, the blocking member 166 is moved upward to a position above the splash guard 136 and the splash guard 136 is lowered to cause the spin chuck 106 to protrude from above the splash guard 136. Thereafter, the substrate transfer robot 13 carries out the processed substrate W from the processing unit 100, and a series of substrate processing for one substrate W is completed. Then, the same processing as described above is performed for the next substrate W.

  As described above, according to this embodiment, the humidity of the processing space 162 is reduced before the drying process is performed, and the drying process is performed in a low humidity atmosphere. And the like can be effectively suppressed. In this embodiment, the replacement process is performed to improve the drying performance. However, since the IPA liquid evaporates in the processing space 162 where the humidity is reduced, the phenomenon shown in FIG. 6 is effectively suppressed. The substrate can be dried satisfactorily.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram schematically showing a mechanism of occurrence of poor drying due to evaporation of the IPA liquid. Thus, when a relatively highly volatile solvent such as the IPA liquid evaporates, the IPA liquid film moves along with the centrifugal force of the substrate rotation and the IPA evaporation. In addition, although the substrate surface is dried and exposed at the end of the IPA liquid film due to IPA evaporation, heat of vaporization is generated simultaneously with the IPA evaporation, and the ambient temperature in the exposed region is locally and rapidly decreased (see FIG. a)). At this time, if a large amount of water vapor component is present around the exposed area, it may aggregate in the exposed area and adhere as water droplets due to the temperature drop ((b) in the figure). Since such a phenomenon occurs sequentially as the IPA liquid film is dried and moved, a belt-like drying defect occurs. Since such a dry defect greatly depends on the ambient humidity around the substrate surface, the dry defect is effectively reduced by greatly reducing the humidity of the processing space 162 prior to the dry process as in this embodiment. In addition, it can be surely prevented. Therefore, it can be said that it is a very useful technique in an apparatus and method for performing a replacement process using an IPA solution or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the processing space 162 is exhausted with a relatively large capacity while the processing space 162 is set to an open state during the wet processing (chemical solution and rinsing processing). The generated processing liquid atmosphere can be efficiently discharged from the processing space 162, and the processing liquid (chemical liquid and rinsing liquid) can be effectively prevented from splashing around the splash guard 136. At the same time, since dry nitrogen gas is supplied toward the processing space 162 during the wet processing, it is possible to suppress the mist of the processing liquid generated during the wet processing from scattering upward from the processing space 162, The blocking member 166 can be effectively prevented from being contaminated by the mist.

  In addition, since the displacement is different between the wet process and the humidity reduction process, the following effects can be obtained. In the wet processing, the exhaust amount is increased in order to efficiently discharge the mist of the processing liquid from the processing space 162 as described above. However, the humidity reduction processing may be executed with the exhaust amount being maintained. However, in this case, it is necessary to supply an amount of dry nitrogen gas commensurate with the exhaust amount to the processing space 162, which increases the load on the dry gas supply unit 172, thereby increasing the size and output of the unit 172. I will invite you. On the other hand, the exhaust adjustment mechanism 164 is provided as in the present embodiment, and the exhaust gas is adjusted as described above, whereby the above problem can be solved and the dry gas supply unit 172 can be downsized. Moreover, the consumption of dry nitrogen gas can be suppressed, and the running cost is also excellent.

  Further, according to this embodiment, since the blocking member 166 is simply provided so as to be movable up and down at the position above the splash guard 136, it is compared with the conventional apparatus in which the atmosphere blocking plate needs to be lifted and rotated. The apparatus configuration can be simplified and the apparatus size in the vertical direction can be reduced. As a result, as shown in FIG. 1, the processing units can be stacked in the vertical direction, and the footprint of the substrate processing system can be greatly reduced.

  FIG. 7 is a view showing a second embodiment of a processing unit as a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 7 (a) shows an operation when performing a rinsing process, while FIG. The operation | movement at the time of performing a process, a substitution process, and a drying process is shown. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration for controlling the processing unit of FIG. This processing unit 100 is greatly different from that of the first embodiment in (1) configuration of switching means and (2) supply mode of dry nitrogen gas and IPA liquid, and other configurations are basically common. . Therefore, in the following description, differences will be mainly described, and the common configuration will be denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

  In the second embodiment, a dry gas supply unit 172 is disposed on the ceiling portion of the processing chamber 102, and dry nitrogen gas is discharged from the dry gas supply unit 172 toward the central space of the processing chamber 102. A punching plate 154 having a plurality of through holes is disposed in the vicinity of the lower side of the dry gas supply unit 172, and the dry nitrogen gas from the dry gas supply unit 172 is diffused in the horizontal direction by the punching plate 154. It is sent to the processing space 162. Thus, in the second embodiment, the dry gas supply unit 172 and the punching plate 154 function as the “gas supply means” of the present invention.

  An IPA liquid discharge nozzle 174 is attached to the center of the dry gas supply unit 172. Then, similarly to the first embodiment, the IPA liquid is pumped from the IPA liquid supply unit 178 in response to a command from the unit controller 118, so that the IPA liquid discharge nozzle 174 is directed toward the center of the surface of the substrate W. The IPA liquid can be supplied.

  In the second embodiment, the chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122 and the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 124 are configured to move independently of each other. That is, a chemical solution nozzle moving mechanism 182 is connected to the chemical solution discharge nozzle 122, and the chemical solution nozzle moving mechanism 182 is driven in accordance with an operation command from the unit control unit 118, thereby causing a discharge region above the surface of the substrate W. And the nozzle 122 can move between the standby position retracted laterally from the discharge region. Furthermore, also in the discharge region, the nozzle 122 can be reciprocated between the upper center portion and the upper peripheral portion of the substrate surface by the chemical nozzle moving mechanism 182.

  In addition, a rinse nozzle moving mechanism 184 is connected to the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 124, and the rinse nozzle moving mechanism 184 is driven in accordance with an operation command from the unit control unit 118, so The nozzle 124 is movable between the discharge area and the standby position retracted to the side from the discharge area. Also in the discharge region, the rinse nozzle moving mechanism 184 allows the nozzle 124 to reciprocate between the upper center portion and the upper peripheral portion of the substrate surface.

  In this embodiment, the splash guard 136 surrounds the periphery of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 106, and an annular space 140 is formed between the substrate W and the splash guard 136. The partition wall 142 is movable forward and backward with respect to the annular space 140. The partition wall 142 includes a cylindrical member 144 and an extended skirt member 146 that is connected to the lower end of the cylindrical member 144. That is, the inner diameter of the cylindrical member 144 is larger than the outer diameter of the spin base 116 having a disk shape, and the outer diameter of the cylindrical member 144 is larger than the inner diameter of the opening of the splash guard 136 as viewed from above. The annular space 140 is vertically movable in the vertical direction. On the other hand, the extended skirt member 146 has a shape expanded from the cylindrical member 144 into a skirt shape in the outer diameter direction of the cylindrical member 144, and together with the vertical movement of the cylindrical member 144, three drainage tanks It is possible to move up and down inside and above the innermost drainage tank 135a among 135a to 135c.

A partition lift mechanism 148 is connected to the partition section 142 configured as described above, and the partition lift mechanism 148 is driven in accordance with an operation command from the unit control unit 118, so that the partition section 142 is made vertical. Move up and down. The partition lifting mechanism 148 includes a motor 1481 and a ball screw 1482 connected to the motor 1481. The motor 1481 is disposed below the receiving member 134, and a ball screw 1482 is erected through the receiving member 134. By doing so, adhesion of the processing liquid to the motor 1481 can be prevented. The blanket attached to the ball screw 1482 is fixed to the side surface of the partition wall 142. The ball screw 1482 is rotated by the motor 1481 so that the blanket is moved up and down, and the partition wall 142 is driven up and down accordingly. The partition raising / lowering mechanism 148 is disposed at least three places around the partition 142, and can be moved up and down stably by being driven simultaneously. An air cylinder may be used instead of the motor and the ball screw.
In this embodiment, as the partition wall 142 moves upward, the cylindrical member 144 is positioned in the annular space 140 to separate the substrate W and the splash guard 136, and the expansion skirt member 146 is disposed above the drainage tank 135a. It is located at the side position (FIG. 7B). On the other hand, when the cylindrical member 144 moves to the retreat space (reference numeral 141 in FIG. 7B) separated downward from the annular space 140 by the downward movement of the partition wall 142, the partition wall 142 is separated between the substrate W and the splash guard 136. The processing liquid (chemical liquid or rinsing liquid) scattered from the substrate W and the spin chuck 106 can be collected by the splash guard 136, and the expansion skirt member 146 is located in the liquid draining tank 135a (FIG. 7A). ).

  In this embodiment, when the partition wall 142 is moved upward, the upper end of the cylindrical member 144 is close to or connected to the punching plate 154 and the processing space 162 is in a semi-sealed state. On the contrary, due to the downward movement of the partition wall 142, the upper end of the cylindrical member 144 is separated downward from the punching plate 154 and the processing space 162 is opened. Thus, in the second embodiment, the partition lifting mechanism 148 functions as the “cylindrical member lifting mechanism” of the present invention, and the cylindrical member 144 and the partition lifting mechanism 148 functions as the “switching means” of the present invention. Yes.

  Also in the second embodiment configured as described above, similarly to the first embodiment, after the unprocessed substrate W is carried into the processing chamber 102 by the substrate transfer robot 13, the wet processing (chemical solution processing and rinsing processing) is performed. ), Humidity reduction processing, replacement processing, and drying processing are performed. That is, in a state where the partition wall 142 is moved downward and the processing space 162 is in an open state, hydrofluoric acid is supplied as a chemical solution to the center of the surface of the rotating substrate W, and etching processing (chemical solution processing) of the substrate surface is performed. Executed. When the chemical liquid processing is completed, the chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122 is returned to the standby position, while the rinse liquid discharge nozzle 124 is replaced with the chemical liquid discharge nozzle 122 and is moved above the center of the substrate surface. Then, the rinsing liquid is discharged from the rinsing liquid discharge nozzle 124, and the rinsing process is executed (FIG. 7A).

  When the rinsing process is completed, the rinsing liquid discharge nozzle 124 is returned to the standby position as shown in FIG. 5B, while the partition lift mechanism 148 is operated to move the partition portion 142 up and move the cylindrical member 144. The upper end is brought close to or connected to the punching plate 154. As a result, the processing space 162 is in a semi-sealed state. Further, exhaust from the processing space 162 is suppressed by the exhaust adjustment mechanism 164 (in this embodiment, −20 Pa, wind speed 0.5 m / sec), and these settings effectively reduce the humidity in the processing space 162. be able to. Also in this embodiment, since dry nitrogen gas having a relative humidity of 10% or less is used as in the first embodiment, the humidity in the processing space 162 is reduced to the same level as the relative humidity of the dry nitrogen gas. Can do.

  Subsequently, as in the first embodiment, the replacement process and the drying process are continuously performed in a semi-sealed state and with the dry nitrogen gas supplied. Thereafter, the unit controller 118 controls the chuck rotating mechanism 110 to stop the rotation of the substrate W. Then, the partition wall 142 is moved downward to move the cylindrical member 144 to the retreat space (reference numeral 141 in FIG. 7B) separated downward from the annular space 140 and the splash guard 136 is moved down to move the spin chuck. 106 is projected from above the splash guard 136. Thereafter, the substrate transfer robot 13 carries out the processed substrate W from the processing unit 100, and a series of substrate processing for one substrate W is completed. Then, the same processing as described above is performed for the next substrate W.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment, the humidity of the processing space 162 is reduced before the drying process is performed, and the drying process is performed in a low humidity atmosphere. Generation of a watermark or the like on the substrate surface due to substrate drying can be effectively suppressed.

  In the second embodiment, the processing space 162 is switched between the open state and the semi-sealed state by moving the partition wall 142 up and down. However, instead of the partition wall portion 142, the processing space 162 is opened by another member. You may switch to a semi-sealed state. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a bellows member 186 having a bellows shape corresponding to the opening 136a may be used, and the same effect as the second embodiment can be obtained.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of a processing unit as a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, in which FIG. 9 (a) shows an operation when performing a rinsing process, while FIG. The operation | movement at the time of performing a process, a substitution process, and a drying process is shown. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration for controlling the processing unit of FIG. This embodiment is greatly different from the second embodiment in that a bellows member 186 is used instead of the partition wall 142, and other configurations are basically the same. Therefore, in the following description, differences will be mainly described, and the common configuration will be denoted by the same or corresponding reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

  In the third embodiment, the upper end of the bellows member 186 is connected to the punching plate 154, while the lower end is extendable. The bellows member 186 is connected to a bellows expansion / contraction mechanism 188 using an air cylinder, a motor, and a ball screw, and is driven to expand and contract by the bellows expansion / contraction mechanism 188. When the bellows expansion / contraction mechanism 188 is actuated by a command from the unit controller 118 and the bellows member 186 is contracted, the lower end of the bellows member 186 moves above the opening 136a as shown in FIG. 9A. Thus, the processing space 162 is opened. Conversely, when the bellows member 186 is extended by the bellows expansion / contraction mechanism 188 as shown in FIG. 5B, the lower end portion of the bellows member 186 approaches or contacts the opening 136a and the processing space 162 is in a semi-sealed state. . Thus, in 3rd Embodiment, the bellows member 186 and the bellows expansion-contraction mechanism 188 function as the "switching means" of this invention.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. In the above-described embodiment, the exhaust adjustment mechanism 164 is not particularly limited in its configuration and operation as long as the exhaust amount can be controlled, and is arbitrary. For example, the exhaust adjustment mechanism shown in FIG. A mechanism 164 can be employed.

  FIG. 11 is a view showing an exhaust adjustment mechanism that can be employed in the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The exhaust adjustment mechanism 164 has a narrower diameter than the exhaust pipe 160 and a branch pipe 164a branched from the exhaust pipe 160 and communicated with the exhaust pipe 160 again, and a branch position P1 where the bypass pipe 164a branches from the exhaust pipe 160. And an on-off valve 164b inserted between the bypass pipe 164a and a communication position P2 communicating with the exhaust pipe 160. At the time of wet processing (chemical solution and rinsing processing), the on-off valve 164b is opened in accordance with a command from the unit control unit 118, and the processing space 162 can be exhausted with a relatively large capacity. On the other hand, the opening / closing valve 164b is closed in accordance with a command from the unit control unit 118 during the humidity lowering process, and the exhaust amount of the processing space 162 is suppressed more than that during the wet process.

  In the replacement process of the above-described embodiment, a low surface tension liquid whose surface tension is lower than that of the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate in order to prevent problems such as collapse of the pattern formed on the substrate surface and improve the drying performance. The replacement treatment is performed using the IPA liquid as the low surface tension liquid. IPA 100% or a mixed solution of IPA and DIW may be used. In addition to the IPA liquid, various organic solvents such as ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol may be used as the low surface tension liquid. Also, various alcohol vapors may be dissolved in DIW as an organic solvent component to produce a low surface tension liquid. In addition, although the substitution process is performed before the drying process, this is not an essential process and may be omitted.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although dry nitrogen gas is used as "dry gas" of this invention, dry gas other than this, for example, dry air etc., can be used.

  In the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to an apparatus and a method for performing chemical treatment, rinse treatment, (substitution treatment), and drying treatment on a disk-shaped substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer. The processing content is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to a substrate processing apparatus and method for drying a substrate after supplying a processing liquid to the substrate and performing wet processing.

  The present invention is wet on all substrates including semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for photomasks, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for plasma displays, FED substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, etc. The present invention can be applied to a substrate processing apparatus and method for performing processing and drying processing.

It is a figure which shows the substrate processing system which can apply this invention suitably. It is a figure which shows 1st Embodiment of the processing unit as a substrate processing apparatus concerning this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution which controls the processing unit of FIG. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the processing unit of FIG. It is a figure which shows operation | movement of the processing unit of FIG. It is a figure which shows typically the generation | occurrence | production mechanism of the dry defect resulting from evaporation of an IPA liquid. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus concerning this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the electric constitution which controls the processing unit of FIG. It is a figure which shows 3rd Embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus concerning this invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration for controlling the processing unit of FIG. 9. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of an exhaust adjustment mechanism.

Explanation of symbols

1A to 4A, 1B to 4B, 100... Processing unit (substrate processing apparatus)
136 ... Splash guard (cup)
136a ... Opening 140 ... Annular space 144 ... Cylindrical member 148 ... Bulkhead lifting mechanism (tubular member lifting mechanism)
154 ... Punching plate 160 ... Exhaust pipe 162 ... Processing space 164 ... Exhaust adjustment mechanism 164a ... Bypass piping (exhaust adjustment mechanism)
164b ... On-off valve (exhaust adjustment mechanism)
166 ... Blocking member 168 ... Opposing surface 172 ... Dry gas supply unit (gas supply means)
174 ... IPA liquid discharge nozzle (liquid supply means)
178 ... IPA liquid supply unit (liquid supply means)
180 ... Blocking member lifting mechanism 186 ... Bellows member 188 ... Bellows expansion / contraction mechanism P1 ... Branch position P2 ... Communication position W ... Substrate

Claims (11)

A substrate is formed by surrounding a substrate rotating in a horizontal posture with a cup to form a processing space, and exhausting the processing space, supplying a processing liquid to the substrate, and wet-treating the substrate with the processing liquid. A substrate processing apparatus for drying
Gas supply means for supplying dry gas to the processing space;
Switching means for switching the processing space between an open state and a semi-sealed state;
An exhaust adjusting means for adjusting the exhaust of the processing space;
While the switching means switches the processing space to an open state during the wet processing,
After the wet processing and before the drying processing, the switching means switches the processing space to a semi-sealed state, the gas supply means supplies the dry gas to the processing space, and the exhaust adjustment means The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that exhaust is suppressed more than in the wet processing to reduce the humidity in the processing space. A liquid supply means for supplying a low surface tension liquid having a surface tension lower than that of the processing liquid to the substrate;
The liquid supply means supplies the low surface tension liquid to the substrate after the wet processing and before the drying processing, and replaces the processing liquid adhering to the substrate with the low surface tension liquid. Substrate processing equipment.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply unit supplies the dry gas toward the processing space during the wet processing. The cup has an opening opened upward;
The switching means has a facing surface facing the opening and is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction above the cup, and a blocking member lifting mechanism for moving the blocking member up and down in the vertical direction. With
The switching means moves the blocking member close to the opening to cover the opening with the facing surface and switch the processing space to the semi-sealed state, while moving the blocking member upward from the opening. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing space is switched to the open state by being moved apart.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a plurality of through holes are formed in the facing surface, and the dry gas supplied from the gas supply unit is discharged into the processing space through the plurality of through holes. The cup has an opening opened upward;
The gas supply means is disposed above the opening and discharges the dry gas downward.
The switching means has a cylindrical shape corresponding to the opening and is vertically movable along the processing space, and a cylindrical member lifting mechanism for moving the cylindrical member up and down in the vertical direction. And
The switching means switches the processing space to the semi-sealed state by moving the cylindrical member upward to bring the upper end portion of the cylindrical member close to or connected to the gas supply means. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing space is switched to the open state by moving downwardly from the gas supply means. The cup has an opening opened upward;
The gas supply means is disposed above the opening and discharges the dry gas downward.
The switching means has a bellows shape corresponding to the opening, and an upper and lower bellows member that can be expanded and contracted in the vertical direction along the processing space while the upper end portion is connected and fixed to the gas supply means. With an expansion and contraction mechanism that expands and contracts in the direction,
The switching means extends the bellows member downward so that the lower end portion of the bellows member is brought close to or connected to the opening portion to switch the processing space to the semi-sealed state, while the lower end portion is changed to the opening portion. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing space is switched to the open state by being contracted upward from the substrate. The processing space is exhausted through an exhaust pipe,
The exhaust adjusting means has a narrower diameter than the exhaust pipe and is branched from the exhaust pipe and communicated with the exhaust pipe again; a branch position where the bypass pipe branches from the exhaust pipe; and the bypass pipe Is provided with an on-off valve inserted into the exhaust pipe between a communication position communicating with the exhaust pipe, and the on-off valve is opened during the wet processing, and the on-off valve is closed during the humidity reduction processing. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an exhaust amount of the processing space is suppressed more than that during the wet processing.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a relative humidity of the dry gas is 10% or less. A wet processing step of forming a processing space by surrounding the periphery of the rotating substrate with a cup, and supplying a processing liquid to the substrate while exhausting the processing space in an open state to wet-treat the substrate with the processing liquid; ,
The processing space is switched to a semi-sealed state after the wet processing step, and the humidity in the processing space is reduced while supplying a dry gas to the semi-sealed processing space to suppress exhaust of the processing space than during the wet processing. A humidity reduction process to reduce
A substrate processing method comprising: a drying step of drying the substrate after the humidity reduction step.   After the wet processing step and before the drying step, a low surface tension liquid having a surface tension lower than that of the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate to replace the processing liquid adhering to the substrate with the low surface tension liquid. The substrate processing method according to claim 10, further comprising a replacing step.

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