JP2009164226A - Substrate processing apparatus and alignment method of substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus holding a substrate while it is precisely aligned to a substrate holding/rotating mechanism and to provide an aligning method of the substrate for precisely aligning the substrate to the substrate holding/rotating mechanism. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate W is transferred from a substrate transfer hand 60 to a positioning guide 55 and a substrate support pin for positioning time. Then, (refer to figure (a) and figure (b)), the substrate transfer hand 60 moves toward a substrate delivery direction X1-side. A coil spring 54 is compressed with movement of the substrate transfer hand 60 and an abutting member 52 depresses the substrate W toward the positioning guide 55. Thus, the substrate W is positioned in an initial position (refer to figure (c)). A rod 75 advances (refer to figure (f)). An advance amount of the rod 75 is decided based on a diameter of the substrate W, which is previously measured before it is delivered to a spin chuck. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that holds and processes a substrate on a substrate holding and rotating mechanism, and a substrate alignment method for the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. Examples of substrates to be processed or centered include semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal display substrates, plasma display substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, and magneto-optical disks. Substrates, photomask substrates and the like are included.

  A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer includes a spin chuck that rotates while holding the substrate, and a processing liquid nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate held by the spin chuck. The spin chuck includes a disk-shaped base member and a plurality of sandwiching pins erected on the periphery of the base member, and sandwiches the substrate by bringing the plurality of sandwiching pins into contact with the end surface of the substrate.

However, in such a configuration, a processing residue is generated at a portion where the pin is in contact with the end face of the substrate. In particular, in the bevel etching process and the bevel cleaning process for removing unnecessary copper film and copper ions on the peripheral edge and end face of the substrate after the copper film is formed on the substrate surface, the remaining processing becomes a problem.
Such processing residue causes metal contamination of the substrate holding hand when the substrate is subsequently transferred by the substrate transfer robot, which is further transferred to another substrate and diffuses the metal contamination to each part of the substrate processing apparatus. May cause this.

In order to solve this problem, in the prior art shown in Patent Document 1 below, the substrate support member is provided on the rotating base member to support the substrate from the lower surface, while gas is supplied from the upper surface of the substrate to support the substrate. A configuration has been proposed in which a substrate is pressed against the substrate and rotated while holding the substrate by friction between the substrate support member and the substrate.
In this configuration, it is important that the substrate is accurately aligned and supported on the substrate support member. If there is a deviation between the rotation axis of the rotating base member and the center of the substrate, the substrate tends to move in the horizontal direction due to the centrifugal force that accompanies the rotation. It is.

Therefore, as in the prior art shown in Patent Document 2 below, in order to align the substrate with the spin chuck, a positioning guide for positioning the substrate at a predetermined substrate holding position is provided in the spin chuck, and this positioning guide A configuration has been proposed in which the substrate is positioned by pressing the substrate against the substrate.
JP 2006-32891 A JP 2007-266287 A

  However, since there is a dimensional tolerance (for example, ± 0.2 mm for a 300 mm diameter substrate), the center of the substrate that is positioned corresponds to the dimensional tolerance even if a positioning member is provided based on the standard diameter of the substrate. Therefore, it is unavoidable that the rotation axis of the spin chuck is shifted by the error. In particular, when the back surface of the substrate has been subjected to an etching process in advance, the substrate diameter may be reduced by a minute amount due to a reduction in the thickness of the peripheral edge of the substrate (for example, −0. The center of the positioned substrate may deviate from the rotation axis by more than the dimensional tolerance.

  Such an alignment error is acceptable from the standpoint of holding the substrate, but avoids the problem that the cleaning width at the peripheral edge of the substrate in the bevel etching process or the bevel cleaning process is not uniform in each circumferential part of the substrate. Can not. That is, if the center of the substrate is eccentric from the rotation axis of the spin chuck, the ring-shaped cleaning region in the bevel etching process or the bevel cleaning process is also eccentric from the rotation axis of the spin chuck. As a result, the cleaning width varies in each part of the peripheral edge of the substrate.

  For example, the cleaning width in the bevel etching process or the bevel cleaning process is required to have a high accuracy less than the dimensional tolerance of the substrate diameter (for example, about ± 0.1 mm for a substrate having a diameter of 300 mm). Therefore, the same accuracy is required for the alignment of the substrate with respect to the spin chuck. This is because if there is a large variation in the cleaning width, the central device region must be set narrow in view of this.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can hold a substrate in a state in which the substrate holding and rotating mechanism is precisely aligned.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate alignment method capable of precisely aligning a substrate with a substrate holding and rotating mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a substrate holding rotation mechanism (4) for holding a circular substrate (W) and rotating it around a predetermined rotation axis (J), and the substrate holding rotation. A substrate diameter measuring means (88, 90; 93; 96, 97) for measuring the diameter of the substrate held by the mechanism, a regulating member (75) for contacting the end surface of the substrate and regulating the position of the substrate, Restricting member moving means (20, 78) for moving the restricting member based on the measurement result of the substrate diameter measuring means so that the center of the substrate whose position is restricted by the restricting member is located on the rotation axis. Is a substrate processing apparatus (100; 200; 300).

In addition, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.
According to this invention, the position of the substrate is regulated by the regulating member that contacts the end surface of the substrate, whereby the substrate is aligned with the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. The diameter of the substrate is measured in advance by the substrate diameter measuring means, and the regulating member is moved based on the measurement result. The position of the restricting member after the movement is such that the center of the substrate whose position is restricted by the restricting member is located on the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. Since the movement of the regulating member is performed based on the diameter of the substrate measured by the board diameter measuring means, the substrate regulated by the regulating member is centered on the substrate holding and rotating mechanism regardless of the dimensional tolerance of the substrate diameter. It will be located on the rotation axis. Accordingly, the substrate can be held in a state where the substrate is accurately aligned with the substrate holding and rotating mechanism.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a positioning member (55) provided in the substrate holding and rotating mechanism for positioning the substrate at a predetermined initial position by contacting the end surface of the substrate, and the substrate at the initial position. In order to position, it further includes pressing means (51, 67) for pressing the substrate toward the positioning member, and the restricting member moving means is positioned at the initial position based on a measurement result of the substrate diameter measuring means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member is moved so that the substrate moves toward the rotation axis by a distance between the center of the substrate and the rotation axis.

  According to this invention, the substrate is positioned at the initial position by being pressed against the positioning member in contact with the end surface. When the regulating member comes into contact with the end surface of the substrate at the initial position and the regulating member is moved, the substrate is moved toward the rotation axis. The movement distance of the substrate at this time is a distance between the center of the substrate at the initial position and the rotation axis, and this movement distance corresponds to the diameter of the substrate measured by the substrate diameter measuring means. Therefore, the center of the substrate can be accurately aligned on the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. Accordingly, the substrate can be held in a state where the substrate is accurately aligned with the substrate holding and rotating mechanism.

  The invention according to claim 3 further includes a substrate transfer hand (60) for transferring the substrate to the substrate holding and rotating mechanism by holding the substrate and moving it in a predetermined substrate carry-in direction (X1), and the positioning member 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the substrate is positioned at the initial position determined so that a center is located downstream of the rotation axis in the substrate loading direction.

According to this invention, the substrate is positioned by the positioning member at the initial position determined so that the center is located downstream of the rotation axis with respect to the substrate loading direction. And a board | substrate is moved toward the direction opposite to a board | substrate carrying-in direction with the movement of a control member. Thereby, the center of the substrate can be aligned with the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the third aspect, wherein the pressing means includes a hand drive mechanism (67) for moving the substrate transport hand in the substrate transport direction.

According to the present invention, by moving the substrate holding hand in the substrate loading direction by the hand driving mechanism for loading the substrate, the substrate can be pressed against the positioning member and positioned at the initial position. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a dedicated means for pressing the substrate against the positioning member.
The pressing means is provided in the substrate transport hand, and a contact member (52) that contacts the end surface of the substrate, and a bias that elastically biases the contact member toward the substrate end surface along the substrate loading direction. Means (54). In this case, since the contact member elastically contacts the end surface of the substrate, it is possible to prevent the end surface of the substrate from being deformed or crushed when pressing the substrate toward the positioning member. This urging means may be, for example, a spring or other elastic member.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a pair of the regulating members are provided in a line-symmetrical positional relationship with a straight line (Q) passing through the center of the substrate positioned at the initial position and the rotation axis as a symmetry axis. The regulating member moving means is configured to advance and retract the pair of regulating members with respect to the substrate held by the substrate holding and rotating mechanism so as to follow the advancing and retreating directions symmetric with respect to the symmetry axis. It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of 2-4.

  According to this invention, the position of the substrate is regulated by the pair of regulating members coming into contact with the end surface of the substrate. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being displaced in an unexpected direction when the substrate and the regulating member come into contact with each other. For this reason, the center of the substrate can be accurately aligned on the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. The pair of regulating members are provided in a line-symmetrical positional relationship with a straight line passing through the center of the substrate positioned at the initial position and the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism as a symmetry axis, and with respect to the symmetry axis. Advancing and retreating along the target advance and retreat directions respectively. Therefore, by moving the pair of restricting members, the substrate positioned at the initial position can be displaced toward the rotation axis along the straight line forming the symmetry axis.

The invention according to claim 6 includes the holding substrate diameter measuring means (90, 93) for measuring the diameter of the substrate held by the substrate holding hand (70) for transferring the substrate. It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-5.
According to the present invention, the diameter of the substrate held by the substrate holding hand for carrying the substrate is measured by the substrate diameter measuring means. Therefore, the diameter of the substrate can be measured during the substrate transport operation. Therefore, it is not necessary to interrupt the transfer operation of the substrate W in order to measure the diameter of the substrate. Thereby, the throughput can be kept good.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the holding substrate diameter measuring means includes an abutting member (88) provided on the substrate holding hand so as to be able to advance and retreat toward an end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding hand. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, further comprising position detection means for detecting a position of the contact member.
According to this invention, the diameter of the substrate is measured based on the detection of the position of the contact member that contacts the end surface of the substrate. For this reason, the diameter of the substrate can be measured with a simple configuration.

  More specifically, for example, it is preferable that a substrate end surface regulating member (83, 84) for regulating the substrate end surface on the side opposite to the contact member with respect to the substrate center is provided on the substrate holding hand. In this case, the contact member is advanced to contact the substrate end surface, and the substrate is sandwiched between the contact member and the substrate end surface regulating member. The position of the contact member in the sandwiched state corresponds to the diameter of the substrate held by the substrate holding hand.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the restriction member is movable between a restriction processing position for restricting a position of the substrate held by the substrate holding and rotating mechanism and a retreat position retracted from the restriction processing position. It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-7 provided in.
According to this invention, when the end surface of the substrate is regulated, the regulating member is moved to the regulation processing position, and when the end surface of the substrate is not regulated, the regulating member is moved to the retracted position. Thereby, when a process is performed on the substrate, it is possible to prevent the regulating member from interfering with members around the substrate holding and rotating mechanism.

  The substrate processing apparatus includes, for example, a guard (98) that is provided around the substrate holding and rotating mechanism and receives a processing liquid (liquid for processing the substrate surface) that jumps out of the substrate due to a centrifugal force accompanying the rotation of the substrate. May be. The guard is provided, for example, so as to be movable along a direction parallel to the rotation axis of the substrate holding / rotating mechanism. When the substrate is loaded into / unloaded from / to the substrate holding / rotating mechanism, the guard is provided on the side of the substrate holding / rotating mechanism. Is disposed at a processing position opposite to the side of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism during substrate processing for supplying the processing liquid to the substrate.

  In the case of such a configuration, the centering of the substrate with respect to the substrate holding and rotating mechanism is performed in a state where the guard is disposed at the guard retracted position. At this time, the restricting member is disposed at the restricting processing position. When the substrate is aligned and the substrate is processed, the restricting member is retracted to the retracted position. When the guard is disposed at the processing position, interference between the guard and the regulating member can be avoided.

  The invention according to claim 9 is a method for aligning the substrate with respect to the substrate holding and rotating mechanism (4) for holding and rotating the circular substrate (W) around a predetermined rotation axis (J). A substrate diameter measuring step (S1) for measuring the diameter of the substrate held by the substrate holding and rotating mechanism, and a regulating member (75) for contacting the end surface of the substrate to regulate the position of the substrate. A substrate centering method including a regulating member moving step (S2, S3) that moves based on a measurement result of the substrate diameter so that the center of the substrate that is regulated by the regulating member is positioned on the rotation axis. is there.

  According to this method, the position of the substrate is regulated by the regulating member that comes into contact with the end surface of the substrate, whereby the substrate is aligned with the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. The diameter of the substrate to be aligned is measured in advance, and the regulating member is moved based on the measurement result. The position of the restricting member after the movement is such that the center of the substrate whose position is restricted by the restricting member is located on the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. Since the regulating member is moved based on the actually measured diameter of the substrate, the center of the substrate regulated by the regulating member is the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism regardless of the dimensional tolerance of the substrate diameter. It will be located on the line. Accordingly, the substrate can be precisely aligned with the substrate holding and rotating mechanism.

  The invention according to claim 10 further includes the step of positioning the substrate at a predetermined initial position by bringing the positioning member (55) provided in the substrate holding and rotating mechanism into contact with an end surface of the substrate, and The member moving step is based on the measurement result of the substrate diameter, so that the substrate moves toward the rotation axis by a distance between the center of the substrate positioned at the initial position and the rotation axis. The substrate centering method according to claim 9, comprising a step of moving the member.

  According to this method, the substrate is positioned at the initial position by being pressed against the positioning member in contact with the end surface thereof. When the regulating member comes into contact with the end surface of the substrate at the initial position and the regulating member is moved, the substrate is moved toward the rotation axis. The movement distance of the substrate at this time is a distance between the center of the substrate at the initial position and the rotation axis, and this movement distance corresponds to the actually measured diameter of the substrate. For this reason, the center of the substrate regulated by the moved regulating member is positioned on the rotation axis of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. Accordingly, the substrate can be held in a state where the substrate is accurately aligned with the substrate holding and rotating mechanism.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing a layout of a substrate processing apparatus 100 according to one embodiment (first embodiment) of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 100 applies a processing solution such as a chemical solution or a rinsing solution (for example, pure water (deionized pure water)) to the surface of a circular substrate W typified by a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. It is a single-wafer type device.

  The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a processing unit PC that performs processing on a substrate W with a processing liquid, an indexer unit IND coupled to one side of the processing unit PC, and a processing unit PC opposite to the processing unit PC of the indexer unit IND. A plurality of (three in FIG. 1) cassette mounting parts CS arranged side by side are provided. Each cassette mounting section CS has a cassette C (FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod) for storing a plurality of substrates W in a sealed state), SMIF for storing and holding a plurality of substrates W in a stacked state. (Standard Mechanical Inter Face) pod, OC (Open Cassette), etc.) are placed.

In the indexer section IND, a transport path IP extending in the arrangement direction of the cassette mounting section CS is formed. An indexer robot IR is disposed on the transport path IP.
The indexer robot IR is provided so as to be able to reciprocate along the transport path IP, and can face the cassette C placed on each cassette placement section CS. Further, the indexer robot IR includes an arm and a substrate holding hand 70 (see FIG. 2) coupled to the tip of the arm for holding the substrate W. It is possible to access the substrate holding hand 70 to C and take out the unprocessed substrate W from the cassette C, or store the processed substrate W in the cassette C. Further, the indexer robot IR allows the processing unit PC to access the substrate holding hand 70 in a state where the indexer robot IR is located at the center of the transfer path IP, and delivers an unprocessed substrate W to the shuttle transfer mechanism S described later. The processed substrate W can be received from the shuttle transport mechanism S.

  The processing section PC is formed with a transport path TP extending from the center of the transport path IP of the indexer section IND in a direction orthogonal to the transport path IP. A main transfer robot MR is arranged in the center of the transfer path TP. In the processing unit PC, a plurality (four in FIG. 1) of substrate processing units U are arranged so as to surround the main transfer robot MR. The transport path TP is provided with a shuttle transport mechanism S that mediates the delivery of the substrate W between the indexer robot IR and the main transport robot MR. The shuttle transport mechanism S includes a pair of rails 68 arranged along the transport path TP, and a shuttle main body 69 that reciprocates while holding the substrate W on the rails 68. The shuttle transport mechanism S can receive an unprocessed substrate W from the indexer robot IR and can deliver the processed substrate W to the indexer robot IR.

  The main transfer robot MR includes a substrate transfer hand 60 (see FIG. 4) for holding the substrate W. The substrate transfer hand 60 is accessed by the shuttle S, and an unprocessed substrate W is transferred from the shuttle transfer mechanism S. The substrate W that has been received or processed can be transferred to the shuttle transport mechanism S. In addition, the main transfer robot MR can access the substrate transfer hand 60 to a plurality of substrate processing units U, and can transfer the substrate W to and from each substrate processing unit U. Yes.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing a part of the configuration of the indexer robot IR. The indexer robot IR includes a substrate holding hand 70 that holds and transports the substrate W, and a hand drive mechanism 71 that moves the substrate holding hand 70 up, down, left, and right. The hand drive mechanism 71 is controlled by the control unit 20.
The substrate holding hand 70 has a base portion 80 and a pair of arms 81 and 82 that extend from the base portion 80 and are substantially parallel to each other, and is formed in a bifurcated fork shape. Restricting members 83 and 84 having restricting surfaces 83b and 84b that abut against the end surface of the substrate W and restrict the horizontal movement of the substrate W are fixed to the tip portions of the pair of arm portions 81 and 82, respectively. On the other hand, the base 80 is provided with a pair of substrate support members 87 that support the peripheral edge of the substrate W from below. Each substrate support member 87 has a regulating surface 87 b that abuts the end surface of the substrate W and regulates the horizontal movement of the substrate W.

  A contact member 88 capable of contacting the end surface of the substrate W is provided on the base portion 80 so as to be able to advance and retract toward the center of the substrate W. The contact member 88 is attached to the tip of the rod 86 of the cylinder 85 fixed to the base 80. The cylinder 85 advances / retreats the rod 86 substantially along the radial direction of the substrate W. When the cylinder advances, the contact member 88 also advances. By the abutting member 88 that advances, the substrate W is pressed toward the regulation surfaces 83b and 84b. Accordingly, the substrate holding hand 70 of the indexer robot IR can hold the substrate W by holding it between the contact member 88 and the regulating surfaces 83b and 84b of the regulating members 83 and 84. .

  The substrate holding hand 70 is provided with a linear scale (position detecting means) 90 for measuring the diameter (diameter) of the substrate W. The linear scale 90 is arranged on the detected portion 88a protruding from the contact member 88 and the upper surface of the substrate holding hand 70, and a main scale 91 for detecting position information of the contact member 88 (detected portion 88a). And. The main scale 91 is a belt-like scale along the advancing / retreating direction of the contact member 88.

  When the substrate W in the cassette C is scooped with the substrate holding hand 70, the rod 86 of the cylinder 85 is controlled to the retracted state. After the substrate W is supported from below by the regulation members 83 and 84 and the substrate support member 87, the rod 86 of the cylinder 85 is advanced, and the contact member 88 is advanced accordingly. Accordingly, the substrate W slides on the substrate support surfaces 83a and 84a and the substrate support member 87 of the restriction members 83 and 84 and is pressed against the restriction surfaces 83b and 84b. Thus, the substrate W is transported in a state of being sandwiched between the contact member 88 and the regulating surfaces 83b and 84b. The position information of the detected portion 88a is detected by the main scale 91 in the sandwiched state of the substrate W. The position information of the detected part 88 a detected by the main scale 91 is given to the control part 20. As will be described later, the control unit 20 measures the diameter of the substrate W based on the position information of the detected portion 88a.

Thereafter, the rod 86 of the cylinder 85 is controlled to the retracted state, the clamping of the substrate W is released, and the substrate W is transferred to and from the shuttle transport mechanism S.
FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the substrate processing unit U shown in FIG. The plurality of substrate processing units U all have the same configuration. Therefore, the configuration of one substrate processing unit U will be described with reference to the drawings.

  The substrate processing unit U can supply a processing liquid to the lower surface of the substrate W and perform processing on the lower surface. In addition, by supplying the processing liquid to the lower surface of the substrate W, the processing liquid flows from the lower surface of the substrate W to the upper surface (device formation surface) through the end surface of the substrate W, and Processing (bevel processing) can be performed. Furthermore, the processing liquid can be supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W to perform processing on the upper surface.

  In the substrate processing unit U, a hollow rotating shaft 1 is connected to a rotating shaft of a motor 3, and by driving the motor 3, the substrate processing unit U can rotate around a rotating axis J along the vertical direction. A spin base 5 is integrally connected to the upper end of the rotating shaft 1. Therefore, the spin base 5 can rotate around the rotation axis J by driving the motor 3. In addition, a plurality of support portions 7 that support the substrate W while being in contact with the periphery of the lower surface of the substrate W are provided in the vicinity of the periphery of the spin base 5 so as to protrude upward from the spin base 5. Then, the substrate W is horizontally supported by the plurality of support portions 7 while being separated from the spin base 5 by a predetermined distance. The support 7 and the spin base 5 constitute a spin chuck 4 as a substrate holding and rotating mechanism that holds and rotates the substrate W.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of the spin chuck 4 and shows a state where the substrate W is carried in by the substrate transport hand 60 of the main transport robot MR. The substrate transport hand 60 holds the substrate W, moves in a predetermined substrate loading direction X1, and delivers the substrate W to the spin chuck 4.
The spin base 5 has an opening at the center thereof, and a plurality of support portions 7 (12 in this embodiment) are provided in the vicinity of the peripheral edge thereof. The twelve support portions 7 are arranged radially at equiangular intervals of 30 degrees around the rotation axis J.

  In order to horizontally support the substrate W, the number of the support portions 7 may be at least three or more. However, in order to process a portion where the support portion 7 abuts on the lower surface of the substrate W, the support portion 7 is attached to the substrate. It is desirable that the lower surface of W be configured to be able to contact / separate from the lower surface of W and that each support portion 7 is separated from the lower surface of substrate W at least once during processing. Therefore, in order to process the entire lower surface of the substrate W including the portion where the support portion 7 contacts the lower surface of the substrate W, at least four or more support portions 7 are required.

In this embodiment, for example, when the twelve support portions 7 are divided into two groups of every other six, and the substrate W is processed with the processing liquid, the substrate W is alternately used by the support portions 7 of the two groups. Operate to support.
In addition, the substrate processing unit U is disposed opposite to the spin base 5 as shown in FIG. 3, and includes an atmosphere blocking plate 9 for blocking the atmosphere on the upper surface side of the substrate W, and the atmosphere blocking plate 9 and the substrate. A gas supply unit 21 that supplies an inert gas such as nitrogen gas to the space SP formed between the upper surface of W is provided. Then, by supplying an inert gas to the space SP from the gas supply unit 21 toward the upper surface of the substrate W, it is possible to press the substrate W against the support unit 7 and hold the substrate W on the spin chuck 4. It has become. Thereby, the rotational force of the spin chuck 4 is transmitted to the substrate W through the support portion 7 due to the frictional force between the support portion 7 and the lower surface of the substrate W.

  The atmosphere blocking plate 9 is attached to the lower end portion of the hollow cylindrical support shaft 11 so as to be integrally rotatable. An unillustrated shut-off drive mechanism is connected to the support shaft 11, and the atmosphere shut-off plate 9 along with the support shaft 11 and the rotary shaft 1 of the spin chuck 4 are coaxial with the support shaft 11 by driving a motor of the shut-off drive mechanism. It is configured to rotate around J. The control unit 20 can drive the atmosphere blocking plate 9 to rotate at the same rotation direction and the same rotation speed as the spin chuck 4 by controlling the motor of the blocking drive mechanism to synchronize with the motor 3. In addition, the atmosphere blocking plate 9 can be brought close to the spin base 5 or can be separated from the spin base 5 by operating a lifting drive actuator (for example, an air cylinder) of the blocking drive mechanism.

  The atmosphere blocking plate 9 is slightly larger than the diameter of the substrate W and has an opening at the center thereof. The atmosphere blocking plate 9 is disposed above the spin chuck 4, and its lower surface (bottom surface) is a facing surface 9 a that faces the upper surface of the substrate W. A plurality of gas ejection ports 9b are opened on the facing surface 9a. The plurality of gas ejection ports 9b are located at positions corresponding to the support portion 7 provided on the spin base 5, more specifically on the rotation locus of the support portion 7 along the circumference around the rotation axis J. They are arranged at equal intervals. These gas outlets 9 b communicate with the gas circulation space 9 c inside the atmosphere blocking plate 9. The gas outlet 9b is not limited to a plurality of openings, and may be a single opening, for example, a concentric circle-shaped opening around the entire circumference around the rotation axis J. However, it is advantageous to obtain a plurality of gas ejection ports 9b in that the gas ejection pressure is uniform.

  In order to supply gas to the gas circulation space 9 c formed inside the atmosphere blocking plate 9, the gas circulation space 9 c is connected to the gas supply unit 21 through the pipe 25. An opening / closing valve 23 that is controlled to be opened and closed by the control unit 20 is interposed in the pipe 25. For this reason, when the control unit 20 opens the on-off valve 23, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is supplied from the gas supply unit 21 to the gas circulation space 9c, and the plurality of gas ejection ports 9b are supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W. Inert gas is spouted out. The plurality of gas ejection ports 9b are provided on the opposing surface 9a of the atmosphere shielding plate 9 so as to be arranged on the rotation locus of the support portion 7, and are formed so as to eject inert gas in a substantially vertical direction. Yes. In addition, the inert gas from the plurality of gas ejection ports 9b is not limited to the case where the inert gas is supplied on the rotation locus of the support portion 7, but may be supplied radially inside or outside the rotation locus of the support portion 7. .

The inert gas is uniformly ejected from each of the plurality of gas ejection ports 9b, whereby the substrate W is evenly pressed by the support portions 7 provided to protrude upward from the spin base 5. As a result, the substrate W is held horizontally by the spin chuck 4.
An upper cleaning nozzle 12 is coaxially provided in the opening at the center of the atmosphere blocking plate 9 and the hollow portion of the support shaft 11, and the upper surface of the substrate W that is pressed and held by the spin base 5 from the nozzle port 12 a at the lower end thereof is rotated. A treatment liquid such as a chemical liquid or a rinsing liquid can be supplied near the center. The upper cleaning nozzle 12 is connected in communication with the pipe 13. The pipe 13 is branched at the base end, and a chemical liquid supply source 31 is connected to one branch pipe 13a, and a rinse liquid supply source 33 is connected to the other branch pipe 13b. On / off valves 15 and 17 are interposed in the branch pipes 13a and 13b, respectively, and the chemical solution is supplied from the upper cleaning nozzle 12 to the upper surface of the substrate W by the on / off control of the on / off valves 15 and 17 by the control unit 20 that controls the entire apparatus. The rinsing liquid can be selectively switched and supplied.

  Further, a gap between the inner wall surface of the hollow portion of the support shaft 11 and the outer wall surface of the upper cleaning nozzle 12 serves as a gas supply path 18. The gas supply path 18 is continuously connected to a gas supply source 35 via pipes 2 and 7 with an on-off valve 19 interposed. And after performing the chemical | medical solution process and the rinse process by the upper washing nozzle 12, the upper surface of the board | substrate W and the opposing surface 9a of the atmosphere interruption | blocking board 9 are controlled via the gas supply path 18 by the opening / closing control of the on-off valve 19 by the control part 20. The substrate W can be dried by supplying clean air or inert gas to the space SP.

  A lower cleaning nozzle 41 is coaxially provided in the hollow portion of the rotating shaft 1 and is configured so that the processing liquid can be supplied from the nozzle port 41a at the upper end portion to the vicinity of the rotation center on the lower surface of the substrate W. The lower cleaning nozzle 41 is connected in communication with the pipe 43. The pipe 43 is branched at the base end, the chemical liquid supply source 31 is connected to one branch pipe 43a, and the rinse liquid supply source 33 is connected to the other branch pipe 43b. On / off valves 45 and 47 are interposed in the branch pipes 43a and 43b, respectively, and the chemical solution is transferred from the lower cleaning nozzle 41 to the lower surface of the substrate W by the opening and closing control of the on-off valves 45 and 47 by the control unit 20 that controls the entire apparatus. The rinsing liquid can be selectively switched and supplied.

  Further, a gap between the inner wall surface of the rotating shaft 1 and the outer wall surface of the lower cleaning nozzle 41 forms a cylindrical gas supply path 48. The gas supply path 48 is continuously connected to the gas supply source 35 via a pipe 50 having an opening / closing valve 49 interposed therebetween, and the substrate W is connected via the gas supply path 48 by the opening / closing control of the opening / closing valve 49 by the control unit 20. A gas such as clean air or an inert gas can be supplied to the space between the lower surface of the substrate and the opposite surface of the spin base 5.

FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the support portion 7. Since the plurality of support portions 7 all have the same configuration, only the configuration of one support portion 7 will be described with reference to the drawings.
The support part 7 is provided inside an extension part 5a in which a part of the spin base 5 extends in a convex shape upward. The support portion 7 includes a film 28 embedded in the upper surface of the extension portion 5a of the spin base 5 so as to be able to contact / separate from the lower surface peripheral portion of the substrate W, and a lower surface of the film 28 supported so as to be movable in the vertical direction. A movable rod 29 that is capable of abutting / separating to the side to push up the center of the upper surface of the film 28 and a drive unit 30 such as a motor that moves the movable rod 29 up and down are provided. The drive unit 30 is not limited to a motor, and may be an actuator such as an air cylinder.

  When the drive unit 30 raises the movable rod 29 via a drive connection unit (not shown) by a drive signal from the control unit 20, the tip of the movable rod 29 comes into contact with the upper bottom surface of the cylindrical recess of the film 28. The upper center of the film 28 is pushed up as it is. Thereby, the upper surface of the film 28 embedded on the upper surface side of the spin base 5 protrudes from the upper surface of the extending portion 5 a of the spin base 5. Therefore, by projecting the films 28 (at least three or more) of the plurality of support portions 7, the substrate W is separated from the upper surface of the extension portion 5 a of the spin base 5 while the film 28 is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate W. It is possible to support horizontally (for example, about 1 mm).

  On the other hand, when the drive unit 30 drives the movable rod 29 to move downward, the tip of the movable rod 29 is separated from the upper bottom surface of the cylindrical recess of the film 28, and the upper surface of the film 28 is moved to the extension portion 5 a of the spin base 5. Store in the same plane as the top surface. For this reason, it is possible to separate the lowered film 28 from the lower surface of the substrate W by leaving at least three of the projected films 28 of the plurality of support portions 7 and lowering a part thereof. . The film 28 is formed of a resin having flexibility and corrosion resistance to the processing liquid. Preferably, a fluororesin such as PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene) is used.

  Here, a case where the processing liquid is supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W, is transmitted along the end surface of the substrate W, and the processing liquid is introduced into the upper surface of the substrate W, so that the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the substrate W is processed (bevel processing) will be described. The inert gas ejected in a substantially vertical direction from the gas ejection port 9b toward the upper surface of the substrate W is supplied to the non-processing region NTR inside the upper surface processing region TR where the processing liquid wraps around the upper surface peripheral edge and is processed. Is done. On the other hand, the support portion 7 is provided on the peripheral portion of the spin base 5 so as to contact and support the lower surface side of the substrate W corresponding to the non-processing region NTR to which the inert gas is supplied. With this configuration, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid from entering the non-processing region NTR. Here, the peripheral surface of the opposing surface 9a of the atmosphere blocking plate 9 is retreated upward in a stepped manner corresponding to the upper surface processing region TR so as not to hinder the flow of the processing liquid.

  In the system in which the substrate W is pressed and supported by the support portion 7 that is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate W, an inert gas is supplied to the space SP formed between the upper surface of the substrate W and the facing surface 9a of the atmosphere blocking plate 9 to provide a space. The substrate W is pressed against the support portion 7 by increasing the internal pressure of the SP. That is, if there is no holding member such as a chuck pin that holds and holds the outer peripheral end of the substrate W, and the centrifugal force acting on the substrate W exceeds the frictional force between the substrate W and the support portion 7, the substrate W has a diameter. There is a risk of jumping outward in the direction. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to align the substrate W with the spin chuck 4 with high accuracy in advance.

Further, if the substrate W is not aligned with the spin chuck 4 with high accuracy, the wraparound width of the substrate W cannot be made uniform, and the cleaning width at the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the substrate W cannot be defined with high accuracy. There is also a problem.
Then, in order to align the substrate W with the spin chuck 4, a pair of positioning guides as positioning members for positioning the substrate W at the initial position is provided on the upper surface of the spin base 5 as shown in FIG. 55 is provided. Similarly, in order to align the substrate W with the spin chuck 4, a pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 for moving the substrate W positioned at the initial position are arranged on the side of the spin chuck 4. ing.

  The pair of positioning guides 55 are arranged in a line-symmetrical relationship with a carry-in reference axis Q (described later) as an axis of symmetry. Further, the pair of positioning guides 55 are arranged on the substrate loading direction X1 side with respect to the rotation axis J on the upper surface of the spin base 5. As shown in an enlarged perspective view in FIG. 6, each positioning guide 55 includes a truncated cone-shaped substrate support portion 56 that supports the lower surface of the peripheral portion of the substrate W by point contact, and the substrate W more than the substrate support portion 56. A positioning surface 57 that is located on the radially outer side and faces the end surface of the substrate W is provided. The positioning surface 57 faces the end surface of the substrate W carried into the substrate W. The pair of positioning guides 55 is erected on the upper surface of the spin base 5 at a position where the substrate W can be positioned at a predetermined initial position when the end surface of the substrate W comes into contact with the positioning surface 57. Specifically, the initial position of the substrate W is such that the center (center of gravity) of the substrate W is a minute distance (for example, 0.3 mm from the rotation axis J of the spin base 5. This distance is a dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the substrate W. It is preferable that it is a position closer to the downstream side in the substrate loading direction X1.

Further, the positioning surface 57 is an inclined surface inclined about 5 degrees from the vertical in order to reduce rubbing when the substrate W is raised and lowered. However, when rubbing is not particularly problematic, a vertical surface may be used.
Further, in this embodiment, a pair of positioning substrate support pins 58 are erected at positions symmetrical to the pair of positioning guides 55 with respect to the rotation axis J of the spin base 5. Each of the positioning substrate support pins 58 has a hemispherical substrate support portion 59 that supports the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the substrate W by point contact.

  The substrate support portions 56 and 59 of the positioning guide 55 and the positioning substrate support pin 58 are positioning substrate support portions that support the substrate W by contacting the lower surface peripheral edge of the substrate W when the substrate W is positioned. The upper surface of the base 5 is in contact with the lower surface of the substrate W at a constant substrate support height. The aforementioned support unit 7 that supports the substrate W during processing of the substrate W includes a processing position higher than the substrate support height by the positioning guide 55 and the positioning substrate support pins 58, and a retracted position lower than the substrate support height. The height of the substrate support (the height of the upper surface of the film 28) can be changed. The substrate support height of the support portion 7 is controlled to the processing position when processing the substrate W, and is controlled to the retracted position when aligning the substrate W.

The substrate transport hand 60 plays a role of pressing the substrate W against the positioning surface 57 of the positioning guide 55. The substrate transport hand 60 includes a pair of cantilever beams 61 extending in a horizontal direction substantially parallel to each other, and a transverse beam 62 spanned between the base end portions of the pair of cantilever beams 61.
A drop guide 64 for dropping and holding the substrate W is provided at the tip of the cantilever 61. The drop guide 64 includes a regulation surface 64b that abuts the end surface of the substrate W and regulates the horizontal movement of the substrate W, and a support claw 65 that protrudes from the vicinity of the lower edge of the regulation surface 64b toward the center of the substrate W. ing. The regulation surface 64b is, for example, a vertical surface along the tangential direction of the end surface of the substrate W. The upper surface of the support claw 65 can support the lower edge of the substrate W by point contact.

  A dropping guide 66 for dropping and holding the substrate W is provided at the base of the cantilever 61. The drop guide 66 has a regulating surface 66b that abuts the end surface of the substrate W and regulates the horizontal movement of the substrate W. The regulation surface 66b is, for example, a vertical surface along the tangential direction of the end surface of the substrate W. Further, support claws (not shown) are arranged on both sides of the contact member 51 so that the lower edge of the substrate W can be supported by point contact.

  The transverse beam 62 is provided with a pressing member 51 for pressing the substrate W toward the positioning guide 55 on the spin chuck 4. The pressing member 51 includes a contact member 52 that can contact the end surface of the substrate W. The contact member 52 is held by a bottomed cylindrical holding member 53 while being allowed to slide along the substrate loading direction X1. A coil spring 54 is interposed between the contact member 52 and the bottom of the holding member 53.

  In a state where the substrate W is held by the drop guides 64 and 66, the coil spring 54 is fully extended, and the contact member 52 does not elastically press the substrate W. On the other hand, when the substrate W is detached from the drop guides 64 and 66 and is relatively displaced toward the pressing member 51, the coil spring 54 is compressed, and the contact member 52 is directed toward the end surface of the substrate W along the substrate carrying-in direction X1. And elastically biased. At this time, the elastic deformation of the coil spring 54 can prevent the end face of the substrate W from being deformed or crushed.

The pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 extend along the substrate loading direction X1 and are arranged so as to have a line-symmetric positional relationship with a loading reference axis Q passing through the rotation axis J as an axis of symmetry.
Each of the push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 includes a main body 74 and a columnar rod (regulating member) 75 that is provided so as to be able to advance and retreat relative to the main body 74 and abuts against the end surface of the substrate W. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 7, a small-diameter portion 77 that is slightly smaller in diameter than the rod 75 is formed at the distal end portion of the rod 75 via a taper portion 76. The tip surface 77a of the small diameter portion 77 is formed by a vertical surface.

  Each of the push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 is provided so as to be rotatable around a vertical axis K passing through the main body 74, and the posture of the push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 is restricted so that the rod 75 can come into contact with the end surface of the substrate W (see FIG. 4, and a retracted posture (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) in which the rod 75 is rotated about 90 ° around the vertical axis K from the regulation processing posture and the rod 75 is retracted from the spin chuck 4. Can be switched between. When the substrate W is loaded (when the end surface of the substrate W is regulated), the push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 are set to the regulation processing posture. At other times (for example, during processing of the substrate W), the push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 are in the retracted posture. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from interfering with members around the spin chuck 4 when the substrate W is processed.

  A guard 98 is disposed around the spin chuck 4 to receive the processing liquid that surrounds the spin chuck 4 and scatters from the spin chuck 4. The guard 98 has, for example, a cylindrical side wall (not shown) whose central axis is the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4. The guard 98 is provided so as to be movable up and down, and is arranged at a processing position facing the side of the spin chuck 4 during substrate processing for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate W. When the substrate W is loaded into or unloaded from the spin chuck 4, the spin chuck 4 is lowered and disposed at a retreat position where the spin chuck 4 is retreated downward from the side of the spin chuck 4.

  Each push-out mechanism 72, 73 has a built-in motor 78 composed of a pulse motor. The motor 78 is connected to the control unit 20. When the control unit 20 performs pulse control of the motor 78, the motor 78 is driven and the rod 75 is moved forward and backward. By making the number of pulses given from the control unit 20 to the motor 78 equal, the forward / backward movement amount of the rod 75 can be made equal between the pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73.

  The rod 75 of the push-out mechanism 72 has its tip end surface 77a facing the end surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 4, and is directed toward the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 and the angle θ (for example, the carry-in reference axis Q). , 45 degrees), it is possible to advance and retreat in the intersecting direction. When the rod 75 is advanced by driving the motor 78, the tip surface 77a of the rod 75 comes into contact with the end surface of the substrate W, and the position of the substrate W is regulated. When the rod 75 is further advanced by driving the motor 78, the substrate W moves as the rod 75 advances.

  The rod 75 of the push-out mechanism 73 has a tip end surface 77a facing the end surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 4, and is directed toward the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 and an angle θ (for example, the carry-in reference axis Q). , 45 degrees), it is possible to advance and retreat in the intersecting direction. When the rod 75 is advanced by driving the motor 78, the tip surface 77a of the rod 75 comes into contact with the end surface of the substrate W, and the position of the substrate W is regulated. When the rod 75 is further advanced by driving the motor 78, the substrate W moves as the rod 75 advances.

  The pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 are in a line-symmetrical positional relationship with the carry-in reference axis Q as the axis of symmetry, and the advancing and retreating direction of the rod 75 of the pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 has the carry-in reference axis Q as the symmetrical axis. Therefore, the substrate W pushed out by the rod 75 of the pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 moves on the carry-in reference axis Q in the direction opposite to the substrate carry-in direction X1.

In this way, the rods 75 of the pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 abut against the end surface of the substrate W at two points, and the position of the substrate W is regulated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the substrate W from being displaced in an unexpected direction when the substrate W and the rod 75 come into contact with each other. For this reason, the center of the substrate W can be accurately moved toward the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4.
Note that the origin position of the rod 75 when the end surface 77a of the rod 75 comes into contact with the end surface of the substrate W aligned with the initial position is desirably corrected by teaching performed in advance. The origin position of the rod 75 may be a position retracted by a predetermined distance from the end face of the substrate W aligned with the initial position.

FIG. 8A to FIG. 8H are illustrative views sequentially showing operations when the substrate W is aligned with the spin chuck 4.
When the substrate W is loaded into the spin chuck 4, the guard 98 is located at the retracted position. The push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 are in the restriction processing posture.
When the substrate transport hand 60 is transporting the substrate W, the substrate W is held by the drop guides 64 and 66 on the substrate transport hand 60. At this time, the coil spring 54 is in an uncompressed state, and the contact member 52 faces the end surface of the substrate W.

  The control unit 20 controls the hand driving mechanism 67 to move the substrate transport hand 60 in the substrate loading direction X1 and guide it to the delivery position on the spin chuck 4. This state is shown in FIG. At this time, the substrate transport hand 60 holds the substrate W at a position higher than the upper end of the positioning guide 55. In addition, the control unit 20 controls the height of the support unit 7 to a retracted position lower than the substrate support heights of the substrate support units 56 and 59 of the positioning guide 55 and the positioning substrate support pins 58.

  Subsequently, the control unit 20 controls the hand drive mechanism 67 to lower the substrate transport hand 60 as shown in FIG. As a result, the substrate W is detached from the drop guides 64 and 66 and transferred to the positioning guide 55 and the substrate support portions 56 and 59 of the positioning substrate support pins 58. The substrate transport hand 60 is controlled to a height at which the upper surface of the front positioning guide 55 is positioned below the lower surface of the substrate W and the end surface of the substrate W and the abutting member 52 are kept facing each other.

  Thereafter, the control unit 20 controls the hand driving mechanism 67 to move the substrate transport hand 60 in the substrate loading direction X1 as shown in FIG. 8C. As the substrate transport hand 60 moves, the substrate W slides on the positioning guide 55 and the substrate support portions 56 and 59 of the positioning substrate support pins 58 and moves toward the positioning surface 57 of the positioning guide 55. As the substrate transport hand 60 moves, the coil spring 54 is compressed, and the contact member 52 presses the substrate W toward the positioning guide 55. Thus, the substrate W is positioned at the initial position.

  Thereafter, the control unit 20 controls the hand drive mechanism 67 to move the substrate transport hand 60 in the direction opposite to the substrate loading direction X1 as shown in FIG. Evacuate. In this state, the distal end surface 77a of the rod 75 of the extrusion mechanisms 72 and 73 faces the end surface of the substrate W as shown in FIG. The push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 are in the restriction processing posture before the substrate W is loaded into the spin chuck 4, but may be in the retracted posture when the substrate W is loaded. However, at the latest, when the substrate transport hand 60 is retracted from the spin chuck 4, it is necessary to be in the regulation processing posture.

Thereafter, the controller 20 drives the motor 78 to advance the rod 75 toward the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 as shown in FIG. As a result, the tip surface 77 a of the rod 75 comes into contact with the end surface of the substrate W.
FIG. 9 is a float chart showing the flow of the advancing operation of the rod 75 of the extrusion mechanisms 72 and 73.

  The control unit 20 calculates the diameter of the substrate W carried into the spin chuck 4 based on the position information of the detected portion 88a input from the main scale 91 (step S1). If the relative position of the main scale 91 with respect to the regulating surfaces 83 b and 84 b of the regulating members 83 and 84 is measured in advance, the diameter of the substrate W can be calculated based on the measurement result and the detection result by the main scale 91. Then, the control unit 20 calculates the distance between the center of the substrate W at the initial position and the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 based on the calculated diameter of the substrate W, and based on this calculated distance, the rod 75 The advance amount d is calculated (step S2).

The advance amount d is a distance to which the rod 75 should be advanced from a state where it abuts on the end surface of the substrate W at the initial position. If the origin of the rod 75 is determined to be a position that contacts the end face of the substrate W at the initial position, the center of the substrate W is made to coincide with the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 by advancing the rod by the advancing amount d. Can do.
Specifically, the distance Δ between the center of the substrate W at the initial position and the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 is calculated as a distance Gr from the positioning guide 55 (positioning surface 57) to the rotation axis J. Using the diameter φ of the substrate W, the following formula (1) is used.
Δ = Gr−φ / 2 (1)
The advance amount d of each rod 75 is calculated using the following equation (2).
d = Δ / cos θ (2)
The control unit 20 drives the pair of motors 78 so that the advance amount d of the rod 75 becomes a value obtained by the equation (2) (step S3). Thus, the substrate W moves in the direction opposite to the substrate loading direction X1, and the center of the substrate W is positioned on the rotation axis J. Thereby, the alignment of the substrate W to the spin chuck 4 is completed.

And the control part 20 controls the drive part 30 (refer FIG. 5), and raises the board | substrate support height of the support part 7, as shown in FIG.8 (h). As a result, the substrate W is delivered from the positioning guide 55 and the positioning substrate support pins 58 to the support portion 7.
Thus, after the substrate W is aligned with the spin chuck 4, the substrate W is transferred to the support portion 7, whereby the substrate W is supported in a state where the center is aligned with the rotation axis J of the spin base 5. It will be. As the alignment of the substrate W is completed, the postures of the push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 are switched from the restriction processing posture to the retracted posture.

Then, after the guard 98 is raised to the processing position, the processing with the processing liquid is performed while rotating the spin base 5, and the shake-off drying processing by high-speed rotation is further performed.
As described above, according to this embodiment, the substrate W is positioned at the initial position by being pressed against the positioning guide 55 in contact with the end surface thereof. The rod 75 comes into contact with the end face of the substrate W at the initial position, and the rod 75 is moved, whereby the substrate W is moved toward the rotation axis J. The movement distance of the substrate W at this time is a distance between the center of the substrate W at the initial position and the rotation axis J, and this movement distance corresponds to the diameter of the substrate W measured by the linear scale 90. Therefore, the center of the substrate W can be accurately aligned on the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 regardless of the diameter of the substrate W. Thereby, the substrate W can be held in a state in which the spin chuck 4 is precisely aligned. Therefore, when the upper surface periphery of the substrate W is processed (beveled), the cleaning width at the upper surface periphery of the substrate W can be defined with high accuracy.

  In addition, the diameter of the substrate W held by the substrate holding hand 70 of the indexer robot IR is measured by the linear scale 90. Therefore, the diameter of the substrate W can be measured during the transfer operation of the substrate W. Therefore, it is not necessary to interrupt the transfer operation of the substrate W in order to measure the diameter of the substrate W. Therefore, the diameter of the substrate W can be measured while maintaining a good throughput.

Further, the diameter of the substrate W is measured based on the detection of the position of the contact member 88 that contacts the end surface of the substrate W held by the substrate holding hand 70. For this reason, the diameter of the substrate W can be measured with a simple configuration.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of a substrate holding hand 70 in a substrate processing apparatus 200 according to another embodiment (second embodiment) of the present invention. In this embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 9 are assigned to the portions corresponding to the respective portions shown in the embodiment (first embodiment) of FIGS. The description is omitted.

A pair of line sensors 93 as a holding substrate diameter measuring means for measuring the diameter of the substrate W held by the substrate holding hand 70 is provided in the transport path IP of the indexer unit IND. The pair of line sensors 93 are disposed so as to face both end portions (both end portions in the direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction X2) of the substrate W transported by the substrate holding hand 70.
The line sensor 93 is, for example, a transmission type sensor configured by a pair of a light emitting element that generates a light beam along a vertical optical path and a light receiving element that receives the light beam from the light emitting element. Each light emitting element emits a strip-shaped light beam having a length in a direction orthogonal to the substrate transport direction X2. The output signal of the line sensor 93 at this time is given to the control unit 20. The control unit 20 calculates the length of the substrate W passing on a straight line connecting the pair of line sensors 93 based on the output signal (light receiving range or light shielding range) of the light receiving element. Then, the control unit 20 obtains the largest value among the lengths of the substrates W calculated while the substrate W passes over the line sensor 93 as the diameter of the substrate W. Thereby, the diameter of the substrate W can be measured.

FIG. 11 is a schematic plan view showing a layout of a substrate processing apparatus 300 according to still another embodiment (third embodiment) of the present invention. In this embodiment, the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 9 are assigned to the portions corresponding to the respective portions shown in the embodiment (first embodiment) of FIGS. The description is omitted.
In the substrate processing apparatus 300, unlike the first embodiment, the shuttle transport mechanism S is omitted from the transport path TP. A length measuring stage MD for measuring the diameter of the substrate is arranged in the transport path TP.

  The indexer robot IR accesses the substrate holding hand 70 to the processing unit PC in a state where the indexer robot IR is located at the center of the transfer path IP, and delivers an unprocessed substrate W to the main transfer robot MR, which will be described later, The processed substrate W can be received from the robot MR. Further, the main transport robot MR makes the substrate transport hand 60 access the shuttle S to the substrate transport hand 60 to receive an unprocessed substrate W from the length measurement stage MD, or receives a processed substrate W from the length measurement stage MD. Can be handed over.

FIG. 12 is a schematic plan view for explaining the configuration of the length measurement stage MD.
The length measuring stage MD is provided with a substrate rotating unit 94 for holding and rotating the substrate W. The substrate rotating unit 94 includes an adsorption base 95 that adsorbs and holds the back surface (lower surface) of the substrate W in a substantially horizontal posture, and can rotate the substrate W around the rotation axis P together with the adsorption base 95. It is like that.

  The substrate rotating unit 94 is provided with a line sensor (substrate diameter measuring means) 96 for detecting the end position of the substrate W at a position facing the end of the substrate W held on the suction base 95. . The line sensor 96 is, for example, a transmission type sensor configured by a pair of a light emitting element that generates a light beam along a vertical optical path and a light receiving element that receives the light beam from the light emitting element. Each light emitting element emits a strip-shaped light beam having a length in the radial direction of the substrate W. The output signal of the light receiving element of the line sensor 96 is given to the control unit 20. The controller 20 can detect the distance from the rotation axis P to the end surface of the substrate W based on the output signal of the light receiving element. Then, the control unit 20 can obtain the diameter (radius) of the substrate W by calculating the average value of the distances during one rotation of the substrate W.

FIG. 13 is a schematic plan view for explaining a modification of the length measuring stage MD. In FIG. 13, portions corresponding to the respective portions shown in FIG. 12 are given the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 12, and description thereof is omitted.
A length measuring device (substrate diameter measuring means) 97 for detecting the distance to the end surface of the substrate W is disposed on the substrate rotating portion 94 so as to face the end surface of the substrate W held on the suction base 95. . The length measuring device 97 is a reflective sensor configured by a pair of a light emitting element that generates a light beam and a light receiving element that receives a light beam from the light emitting element reflected by the end face of the substrate W. The output signal of the light receiving element of the length measuring device 97 is given to the control unit 20. The controller 20 can detect the distance from the rotation axis P to the end surface of the substrate W based on the output signal of the light receiving element. Then, the control unit 20 can obtain the diameter (radius) of the substrate W by calculating the average value of the distances during one rotation of the substrate W.

Although three embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be implemented in other forms.
For example, in the second embodiment, the configuration in which the pair of line sensors 93 is disposed in the transport path IP of the indexer unit IND is described as an example. However, the pair of line sensors 93 is disposed in the transport path TP of the processing unit PC. It may be arranged. In this case, the line sensor 93 may detect the end position of the substrate W held by the shuttle main body 69 of the shuttle transfer mechanism S, or may be held by the substrate transfer hand 60 of the main transfer robot MR. Alternatively, the end position of the substrate W may be detected.

Further, in the second embodiment, the configuration in which the length measurement stage MD is disposed in the transport path TR of the processing unit PC is shown, but the length measurement stage MD may be disposed in the transport path IP of the indexer unit IND. However, it may be arranged at other locations.
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the substrate W is slid on the substrate support portions 56 and 59 of the positioning guide 55 and the positioning substrate support pins 58 to position the substrate W. Alternatively, the slide of the substrate W may be performed in a state where the slide is supported by the support portion 7. In this case, the positioning substrate support pins 58 are unnecessary, and the positioning guide 55 does not need to have the substrate support portion 56.

Further, one motor 78 may drive the forward and backward movement of the rod 75 of the pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73.
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the configuration in which the substrate W is moved using the pair of extrusion mechanisms 72 and 73 is adopted. However, the end portion of the substrate W can be moved by one extrusion mechanism. In this case, it is desirable that the push-out mechanism is arranged on the carry-in reference axis Q, and the rod 75 is advanced in the direction opposite to the substrate carry-in direction X1 when the substrate W is moved.

The pair of push-out mechanisms 72 and 73 may be provided on the spin chuck 4.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the initial position of the substrate W has been described as being determined so that the center of the substrate W is positioned on the substrate loading direction X1 side with respect to the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4. However, this initial position is not limited to this position, and it may be determined so that the center of the substrate W is positioned on the substrate loading direction X1 side with respect to the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 or on the loading reference axis Q. It may be determined so that the center of the substrate W is located at a non-existing position.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the substrate transport hand 60 moved in the substrate carry-in direction X1 is used to position the substrate W at the initial position by pressing the substrate W toward the positioning guide 55. A member other than that may be used to press the substrate W toward the positioning guide 55.
Further, for example, in each of the above-described embodiments, the configuration in which the substrate W positioned at the initial position by the positioning guide 55 is moved by the advance amount (movement distance) calculated based on the measured diameter of the substrate W is an example. However, the rod 75 has advanced to a position corresponding to the measured diameter of the substrate W before the substrate W is carried in by the substrate carrying hand 60, and the substrate W carried by the substrate carrying hand 60 is moved to the tip of the rod 75. The structure pressed against the surface 77a may be sufficient. In this case, the center of the substrate W pressed against the rod 75 is positioned on the rotation axis J of the spin chuck 4 regardless of the dimensional tolerance of the diameter of the substrate W. Thereby, the substrate W can be accurately aligned with the spin chuck 4 by the operation of loading the substrate W by the substrate transport hand 60.

  In the above-described embodiment, the spin chuck 4 configured to support the substrate W by contacting only the peripheral edge of the lower surface of the substrate W is taken as an example of the substrate holding and rotating mechanism. The present invention can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus provided with another form of spin chuck such as a mechanical chuck that clamps the end surface with a plurality of clamping members and a vacuum chuck that vacuum-sucks the lower surface of the substrate W.

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

1 is an illustrative plan view showing a layout of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view which expands and shows a part of structure of an indexer robot. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the configuration of the substrate processing unit shown in FIG. 1. It is a top view of a spin chuck. It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the structure of a support part. It is an expansion perspective view of a positioning guide. It is an expansion perspective view of the rod of an extrusion mechanism. It is an illustration figure which shows the operation | movement at the time of the center alignment to the spin chuck of a board | substrate in order. It is a float chart which shows the flow of the advance operation | movement of the rod of an extrusion mechanism. It is a top view of the substrate holding hand in the substrate processing apparatus concerning a 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is an illustrative top view which shows the layout of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical top view for demonstrating the structure of a length measurement stage. It is a typical top view for demonstrating the modification of a length measurement stage.

Explanation of symbols

100, 200, 300 Substrate processing equipment 4 Spin chuck (substrate holding and rotating mechanism)
20 Control unit (regulating member moving means)
51 Pressing member (pressing means)
55 Positioning guide (positioning member)
60 Substrate transport hand 67 Hand drive mechanism 70 Substrate holding hand 72, 73 Extrusion mechanism 75 Rod (regulating member)
88 Contact member 90 Linear scale (position detection means)
93 Line sensor (holding board diameter measuring means)
96 Line sensor (Substrate diameter measuring means)
97 Length measuring device (Substrate diameter measuring means)
J Rotation axis Q Loading reference axis W Substrate X1 Substrate loading direction

Claims (10)

A substrate holding and rotating mechanism for holding a circular substrate and rotating it around a predetermined rotation axis;
A substrate diameter measuring means for measuring the diameter of the substrate held by the substrate holding rotation mechanism;
A regulating member for abutting the end face of the substrate to regulate the position of the substrate;
A substrate processing unit including a regulating member moving unit configured to move the regulating member based on a measurement result of the substrate diameter measuring unit so that a center of the substrate regulated by the regulating member is positioned on the rotation axis. apparatus. A positioning member provided in the substrate holding and rotating mechanism, for positioning the substrate at a predetermined initial position by contacting the end surface of the substrate;
A pressing means for pressing the substrate toward the positioning member to position the substrate at the initial position;
The restricting member moving means moves the substrate toward the rotation axis by a distance between the center of the substrate positioned at the initial position and the rotation axis based on the measurement result of the substrate diameter measuring means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the regulating member is moved. A substrate transfer hand for transferring the substrate to the substrate holding and rotating mechanism by holding the substrate and moving in a predetermined substrate carry-in direction;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the positioning member positions the substrate at the initial position determined so that a center is located downstream of the rotation axis in the substrate loading direction.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the pressing unit includes a hand drive mechanism that moves the substrate transport hand in the substrate carry-in direction. A pair of the regulating members are provided in a line-symmetrical positional relationship with a straight line passing through the center of the substrate positioned at the initial position and the rotation axis as a symmetry axis,
3. The restricting member moving means is configured to advance and retract the pair of restricting members with respect to the substrate held by the substrate holding and rotating mechanism so as to follow an advancing and retreating direction symmetric with respect to the symmetry axis. The substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of -4.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate diameter measuring unit includes a holding substrate diameter measuring unit that measures a diameter of a substrate held by a substrate holding hand for transferring a substrate. .   The holding substrate diameter measuring means is a contact member provided in the substrate holding hand so as to be able to advance and retreat toward the end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding hand, and a position detection means for detecting the position of the contact member. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 6 containing these.   The restriction member is provided to be movable between a restriction processing position for restricting a position of the substrate held by the substrate holding rotation mechanism and a retreat position retracted from the restriction processing position. The substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of 1-7. A method for centering a substrate with respect to a substrate holding rotation mechanism for holding a circular substrate and rotating it around a predetermined rotation axis,
A substrate diameter measuring step for measuring the diameter of the substrate held by the substrate holding rotation mechanism;
A restricting member for restricting the position of the substrate by contacting the end surface of the substrate is moved based on the measurement result of the substrate diameter so that the center of the substrate whose position is restricted by the restricting member is located on the rotation axis. And a regulating member moving step for causing the substrate to be aligned. Further including the step of positioning the substrate at a predetermined initial position by contacting the end surface of the substrate with a positioning member provided in the substrate holding and rotating mechanism,
The regulating member moving step is based on the measurement result of the substrate diameter so that the substrate moves toward the rotation axis by a distance between the center of the substrate positioned at the initial position and the rotation axis. The substrate centering method according to claim 9, comprising a step of moving the regulating member.

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