JP2009187996A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning a processing liquid adhering on a container with high cleaning effect and high efficiency in executing cleaning. <P>SOLUTION: A resist applying apparatus includes a cleaning tool 20 sucked and held on a spin chuck; a container surrounding the spin chuck and the cleaning tool 20; and a cleaning liquid jetting nozzle for jetting the cleaning liquid onto the rear surface of the cleaning tool 20. The cleaning tool 20 includes a body 50 having a flat front surface. On the outer circumference of the body 50, a protruding portion 51 protruding outward is formed and the body 50 and the protruding portion 51 are integrally formed. The protruding portion 51 is bent outward so as to continue from a front surface 50a and a rear surface 50b of the body 50. The position of the top T of the protruding portion 51 continuously changes in a thickness direction of the cleaning tool 20 along the outer periphery of the cleaning tool 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process by supplying a processing liquid to a substrate while rotating the substrate, and more particularly to a coating processing apparatus that can clean a container to which a processing liquid scattered by rotation adheres.

  For example, in a photolithography process in manufacturing a semiconductor device, for example, a resist coating process is performed in which a resist solution is formed on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as “wafer”) to form a resist film. As this coating treatment, a spin coating method is generally employed.

  In the spin coating method, a resist solution is supplied to the central portion of the wafer surface while the wafer is adsorbed and held on the spin chuck, and the spin chuck is rotated to spread the resist solution toward the outside in the radial direction of the wafer by centrifugal force. It is a technique. The surplus resist solution is scattered from the outer edge of the wafer by centrifugal force and is received by a cup-shaped container covering the periphery of the wafer. In this method, since the resist solution scattered from the wafer adheres to the inner surface of the container, it is necessary to clean the container as necessary.

  Therefore, conventionally, as shown in FIG. 14, it has been proposed to use a cleaning jig 102 held by a spin chuck 101 when cleaning the container 100. In this prior art, a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 103 that supplies a cleaning liquid onto the cleaning jig 102 is provided above the cleaning jig 102. As shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, the cleaning jig 102 includes a disk-shaped main body 110 and rising fins 111 provided on the main body 110 at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction. The fins 111 are formed so as to gradually increase in height toward the radially outer side. Then, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 103 onto the cleaning jig 102 and the cleaning jig 102 is rotated, so that the cleaning liquid on the cleaning jig 102 is diffused radially outward by centrifugal force. The cleaning liquid branches and flows into the fin 111 and the portion where the fin 111 is not provided, and the cleaning liquid guided to the fin 111 is guided in an obliquely upward direction along the fin 111, and the edge of the fin 111 It scatters in the diagonally upward direction. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid guided to the portion where the fins 111 are not provided scatters in the horizontal direction from the edge of the upper surface of the main body 110. Thus, the cleaning liquid splashed from the edge of the main body 110 or the fin 111 of the cleaning jig 102 is sprayed on the inner surface of the container 100, and the container 100 is cleaned (Patent Document 1).

JP 2000-315671 A

  However, when the container 100 is cleaned using the above-described cleaning jig 102, the portion to which the cleaning liquid is directly sprayed is the portion 120 to which the cleaning liquid scattered from the edge of the main body 110 is sprayed as shown in FIG. The cleaning liquid splashed from the edge of the fin 111 is divided into portions 121 to be sprayed, and the cleaning liquid is not sprayed directly into the region 122 therebetween. Therefore, the region 122 is cleaned by the cleaning liquid that falls along the inner surface of the container 100 by its own weight. However, in that case, the cleaning effect is low because of the cleaning solution that falls down, and it takes time to clean the inner surface of the container 100, and a large amount of cleaning solution is required. Further, when the cleaning liquid that has fallen along is linear, there is a portion in the region 122 where the cleaning liquid is not transmitted.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to perform cleaning with higher cleaning efficiency and higher efficiency than before when cleaning the treatment liquid adhering to the container.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides a rotation holding member that holds and rotates a substrate, covers the periphery of the substrate held by the rotation holding member, and supplies the processing liquid supplied on the substrate to the outside. A substrate processing apparatus having a container for preventing scattering, and is provided on the outer periphery of the cleaning jig, which is held by the rotation holding member and for cleaning the inner surface of the container. A scattering guide for scattering the cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning jig to the inner surface of the container by rotation of the cleaning jig, and the position of the scattering guide is at the position of the cleaning jig It is characterized by continuously changing in the thickness direction of the cleaning jig along the outer periphery.

  According to the present invention, since the cleaning jig is held by the rotation holding member, and the cleaning liquid splash guide is provided on the outer periphery of the cleaning jig, the cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning jig is It is diffused radially outward by the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of, and is scattered from the scattering guide portion to the inner surface of the container. And since the position of the scattering guide part continuously changes in the thickness direction of the cleaning jig along the outer periphery of the cleaning jig, the cleaning liquid scattered from the scattering guide part is perpendicular to the inner surface of the container. Sprayed continuously in the direction. As described above, since the cleaning liquid can be sprayed directly and evenly on the portion of the inner surface of the container where the processing liquid is adhered, it is necessary to wait for the cleaning liquid to travel down as in the past. In addition, the cleaning effect is higher than before, and the container can be cleaned in a short time. In addition, the amount of cleaning liquid consumed in cleaning can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, and the container can be cleaned efficiently.

  A cleaning liquid supply nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to at least the front surface or the back surface of the cleaning jig held by the rotation holding member is provided, and the outer periphery of the cleaning jig is continuously provided from the front and back surfaces of the cleaning jig. A protruding portion protruding outward may be formed, and the scattering guide portion may be a top portion of the protruding portion.

  A cleaning liquid supply nozzle is provided for supplying a cleaning liquid to a storage portion in the cleaning jig held by the rotation holding member, and a plurality of discharge holes communicating with the storage portion are formed on the outer periphery of the cleaning jig. The scattering guide portion may be the discharge hole.

  According to the present invention, the cleaning effect is higher than before, the container is cleaned in a short time, and the amount of cleaning liquid consumed is reduced, so that the container can be cleaned efficiently.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an outline of a configuration of a resist coating apparatus 1 as a substrate processing apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the resist coating apparatus 1 has a casing 10 that can seal the inside. As shown in FIG. 2, a loading / unloading port 11 for a cleaning jig 20 or a wafer as an object to be processed is formed on one side surface of the casing 10, and an opening / closing shutter 12 is provided at the loading / unloading port. .

  As shown in FIG. 1, a spin chuck 21 serving as a rotation holding member that sucks and holds a cleaning jig 20 or a wafer is provided on the upper surface of the casing 10. The spin chuck 21 has a horizontal upper surface, and a suction port (not shown) for sucking, for example, the cleaning jig 20 or the wafer is provided on the upper surface. By the suction from the suction port, the cleaning jig 20 or the wafer can be sucked and held on the spin chuck 21.

  The spin chuck 21 includes a drive mechanism 22 including, for example, a motor and can be rotated at a predetermined speed by the drive mechanism 22. Further, the drive mechanism 22 is provided with a lifting drive source such as a cylinder, and the spin chuck 21 can move up and down.

  A guide ring 23 having a mountain shape in cross section is provided on the lower side of the spin chuck 21, and the outer peripheral edge of the guide ring 23 is bent and extends downward. A container 24 is provided so as to surround the spin chuck 21, the wafer held by the spin chuck 21, or the cleaning jig 20 and the guide ring 23.

  The container 24 is formed with an opening larger than the cleaning jig 20 or the wafer so that the spin chuck 21 can move up and down on the upper surface, and a discharge path is formed between the side peripheral surface and the outer peripheral edge of the guide ring 23. A gap 25 is formed. A lower side of the container 24 forms a curved path together with an outer peripheral edge portion of the guide ring 23 to constitute a gas-liquid separation part. An exhaust port 26 is formed in the inner region of the bottom of the container 24, and an exhaust pipe 26 a is connected to the exhaust port 26. Further, a drain port 27 is formed in the outer region of the bottom of the container 24, and a drain tube 27 a is connected to the drain port 27.

  A resist solution supply nozzle 30 for supplying a resist solution to the center of the wafer surface is disposed above the spin chuck 21. The resist solution supply nozzle 30 is connected to a resist solution supply source 32 via a pipe 31.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the resist solution supply nozzle 30 is connected to a moving mechanism 34 via an arm 33. The arm 33 is moved by the moving mechanism 34 from the standby area 36 provided on the outer side of the one end side (right side in FIG. 2) of the container 24 along the length direction (Y direction) guide rail 35 of the casing 10 toward the one end side. It can move and move up and down.

  As shown in FIG. 1, cleaning liquid supply nozzles 40 and 40 for injecting cleaning liquid toward the back surface of the cleaning jig 20 or the wafer are provided below the spin chuck 21 and on the guide ring 22, for example, at two locations. It has been. The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 40 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source 42 via a pipe 41. As the cleaning liquid, for example, a solvent such as thinner is used.

  Next, the above-described cleaning jig 20 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the cleaning jig 20 has a disk-shaped main body 50 having a flat surface. On the outer periphery of the main body 50, a protrusion 51 protruding outward from the main body 50 is formed, and the main body 50 and the protrusion 51 are integrally formed. As shown in FIG. 5, the protruding portion 51 is curved outward so as to be continuous from the front surface 50 a and the back surface 50 b of the main body 50. And the position of the top part T of the protrusion part 51 is changing continuously in the thickness direction of the said cleaning jig 20 along the outer periphery of the cleaning jig 20, as shown in FIG.3 and FIG.5. 5A shows the side surface of the cleaning jig 20 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the line AA, and FIG. 5B shows the side of the cleaning jig 20 shown in FIG. Shows the side that was seen.

  The resist coating apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is configured as described above. Next, a wafer coating process and a container 24 cleaning process using the resist coating apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing the coating process and the cleaning process.

  First, the wafer W is loaded into the casing 10 from the loading / unloading port 11 and is sucked and held by the spin chuck 21. Next, the wafer W is rotated at a predetermined rotational speed by the spin chuck 21 and the resist solution R is supplied from the resist solution supply nozzle 30 to the center of the wafer W. The resist solution R is diffused over the entire surface of the wafer W by centrifugal force, and the resist solution R is applied to the surface of the wafer W. At this time, the surplus resist solution R is scattered from the outer edge of the wafer W and received by the container 24 (FIG. 6A). Then, the wafer W coated with the resist solution R is unloaded from the loading / unloading port 11.

  After the resist liquid R is applied to the wafer W a predetermined number of times, a cleaning process for cleaning the resist liquid R adhering to the inner surface of the container 24 is performed.

  In the cleaning process of the container 24, first, the cleaning jig 20 is carried into the casing 10 from the carry-in / out port 11 and is sucked and held by the spin chuck 21 (FIG. 6B). Thereafter, the cleaning jig 20 is rotated at a predetermined number of revolutions, and the cleaning liquid L is sprayed from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 10 to the back surface of the cleaning jig 10. The cleaning liquid L diffuses the back surface of the cleaning jig 20 radially outward by centrifugal force and scatters from the protrusion 51 toward the inner surface of the container 24 (FIG. 6C). At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, the cleaning liquid L flows along the curved portion of the protrusion 51 and scatters from the top T of the protrusion 51. Then, since the position of the top T continuously changes in the thickness direction of the cleaning jig 20 along the outer periphery of the cleaning jig 20, the cleaning liquid L scattered from the top T is, as shown in FIG. It is sprayed continuously in the vertical direction (Z direction in the figure) to the inner surface of the container 24. And the inner surface of the container 24 is wash | cleaned by the washing | cleaning liquid L sprayed directly. The region D where the cleaning liquid L is directly sprayed covers a portion where the resist liquid R adheres to the inner surface of the container 24.

  According to the above embodiment, the cleaning jig 20 is held by the spin chuck 21, and the protruding portion 51 that protrudes outward and curves in the thickness direction of the cleaning jig 20 is formed on the outer periphery of the cleaning jig 20. Therefore, the cleaning liquid L sprayed from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 40 to the back surface of the cleaning jig 20 is diffused radially outward by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the cleaning jig 20, and flows through the curved portion of the protrusion 51 and protrudes. Spatter from the top T of the part 51. And since the position of the top part T of the protrusion part 51 is changing continuously in the thickness direction of the said cleaning jig 20 along the outer periphery of the cleaning jig 20, the washing | cleaning liquid L which scattered from the top part T of the protrusion part 51 is shown. Are sprayed continuously in the vertical direction on the inner surface of the container 24. In this way, the cleaning liquid L can be directly sprayed evenly and uniformly on the portion of the inner surface of the container 24 where the resist liquid R adheres. Cleaning can be performed in a short time. Further, the amount of the cleaning liquid L consumed during cleaning can be reduced as compared with the conventional case, and the container 24 can be cleaned efficiently.

  Above the spin chuck 21 in the resist coating apparatus 1 of the above embodiment, another cleaning liquid supply nozzle 60 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the central portion of the cleaning jig 20 is provided as shown in FIG. It may be. The other cleaning liquid supply nozzle 60 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source 62 via a pipe 61. The other cleaning liquid supply nozzle 60 is connected to a moving mechanism 64 via an arm 63 as shown in FIG. The arm 63 can be moved by the moving mechanism 64 along the guide rail 35 from the standby area 65 provided outside the other end side (left side in FIG. 2) of the container 24 toward the other end side, and in the vertical direction. It is configured to be movable.

  When cleaning the container 24, first, as shown in FIG. 9, first, the resist solution supply nozzle 30 is moved to the standby area 36, and the other cleaning solution supply nozzle 60 is moved above the central portion of the cleaning jig 20. Let Next, the cleaning liquid L1 is sprayed from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 30 to the back surface of the cleaning jig 20, and the cleaning liquid L2 is supplied from the other cleaning liquid supply nozzle 60 to the center of the surface of the cleaning jig 20. The cleaning jig 20 is rotated by the spin chuck 21 simultaneously with the supply of the cleaning liquids L1 and L2. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, the cleaning liquids L <b> 1 and L <b> 2 are diffused outward in the radial direction of the cleaning jig 20 by centrifugal force and scattered from the protruding portion 51 toward the inner surface of the container 24. At this time, as shown in FIG. 11, the cleaning liquid L <b> 1 flowing on the surface of the cleaning jig 20 and the cleaning liquid L <b> 2 flowing on the back surface merge at the top portion T of the protruding portion 51 and scatter from the top portion T.

  In such a case, since the cleaning liquids L1 and L2 can be supplied to both surfaces of the cleaning jig 20, the amount of the cleaning liquid sprayed on the inner surface of the container 24 can be increased, and the cleaning process can be performed in a shorter time. It can be carried out.

  Further, instead of the cleaning jig 20 of the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12, a cleaning jig 70 having a storage portion 71 for storing the cleaning liquid may be used. In the central portion of the surface of the cleaning jig 70, an opening 72 for allowing the cleaning liquid L to flow into the storage portion 71 of the cleaning jig 70 from another cleaning liquid supply nozzle 60 is formed. On the side surface of the cleaning jig 70, a plurality of discharge holes 73 communicating with the storage portion 71 are formed. As shown in FIG. 13, the discharge holes 73 are formed along the outer periphery of the cleaning jig 70, and the positions of the plurality of discharge holes 73 are along the outer periphery of the cleaning jig 70. It changes continuously in the thickness direction. 13A is a side view of the cleaning jig 70 shown in FIG. 12 as viewed from the positive direction in the X direction, and FIG. 13B is a negative direction in the X direction of the cleaning jig 70 shown in FIG. It is the side view seen from.

  When cleaning the container 24, as shown in FIG. 12, the cleaning liquid L is supplied from the other cleaning liquid supply nozzle 60 into the storage portion 71 of the cleaning jig 20, and the cleaning jig 70 is attached to the spin chuck 21. Rotate by. At this time, the cleaning liquid L in the reservoir 71 is discharged from the discharge hole 73 toward the inner surface of the container 24 by centrifugal force. Then, since the position of the discharge hole 73 continuously changes along the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning jig 20 in the thickness direction of the cleaning jig 70, the cleaning liquid L discharged from the discharge hole 73 is not stored in the container 24. It is sprayed continuously in the vertical direction on the inner surface. Therefore, even when such a cleaning jig 70 is used, the inner surface of the container 24 can be efficiently cleaned.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious for those skilled in the art that various modifications or modifications can be conceived within the scope of the idea described in the claims, and these naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention. It is understood. The present invention is not limited to this example and can take various forms. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the resist solution coating process has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to the resist solution, but an antireflection film, an SOG (Spin On Glass) film, an SOD (SOD) film, and the like. The present invention can also be applied to a processing solution for forming a spin-on-dielectric film or the like, or a coating treatment of a developing solution. In the above embodiment, the coating process is performed on the wafer W. However, the present invention is applicable to other substrates such as an FPD (flat panel display) other than the wafer and a mask reticle for a photomask. It can also be applied to a coating process.

  INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful, for example, for a coating processing apparatus that performs a predetermined process by supplying a processing liquid to a substrate while rotating the substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. It is useful for a coating apparatus that can be used.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the resist coating device concerning this Embodiment. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the resist coating apparatus concerning this Embodiment. It is a perspective view of a cleaning jig. It is a top view of a cleaning jig. The side view of a cleaning jig is shown, (a) shows the side view seen from the AA line of the cleaning jig shown in FIG. 4, (b) shows B of the cleaning jig shown in FIG. It is the side view seen from the -B line. It is explanatory drawing which showed the mode of the application | coating process of a wafer, and the mode of the cleaning process of a container, (a) shows the mode of the coating process of a wafer, (b) shows a mode that the cleaning jig was adsorbed and hold | maintained at the spin chuck. (C) shows how the container is cleaned. It is explanatory drawing which showed the flow of the cleaning liquid in the protrusion part of a cleaning jig. It is explanatory drawing which showed the part to which a washing | cleaning liquid is sprayed on the inner surface of a container. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the resist coating apparatus concerning another form. It is a cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the resist coating apparatus concerning another form. It is explanatory drawing which showed the flow of the cleaning liquid in the protrusion part of a cleaning jig. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the outline of a structure of the resist coating apparatus concerning another form. It is a side view of a cleaning jig, (a) shows the side view seen from the X direction positive direction of the cleaning jig shown in FIG. 12, (b) shows the X direction negative of the cleaning jig shown in FIG. It is the side view seen from the direction. It is explanatory drawing which showed a mode that the container was wash | cleaned using the conventional cleaning jig | tool. It is a top view of the conventional cleaning jig. It is explanatory drawing which shows the part by which the cleaning liquid at the time of using the conventional cleaning jig is sprayed on the inner surface of a container.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Resist coating apparatus 20 Cleaning jig 21 Spin chuck 24 Container 30 Resist liquid supply nozzle 40 Cleaning liquid supply nozzle 50 Main body 51 Projection part 60 Other cleaning liquid supply nozzles 70 Cleaning jig 71 Storage part 73 Discharge hole L Cleaning liquid R Resist liquid T Top part W wafer

Claims (3)

A substrate having a rotation holding member that holds and rotates the substrate, and a container that covers the periphery of the substrate held by the rotation holding member and prevents the processing liquid supplied on the substrate from scattering to the outside. A processing device comprising:
A cleaning jig held on the rotation holding member for cleaning the inner surface of the container;
A scattering guide provided on the outer periphery of the cleaning jig for scattering the cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning jig to the inner surface of the container by rotation of the cleaning jig;
The position of the said scattering guide part is changing continuously in the thickness direction of the said cleaning jig along the outer periphery of the said cleaning jig, The substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. A cleaning liquid supply nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to at least the front surface or the back surface of the cleaning jig held by the rotation holding member;
On the outer periphery of the cleaning jig, a protruding portion that protrudes outward from the front and back surfaces of the cleaning jig is formed,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scattering guide part is a top part of the protruding part. Having a cleaning liquid supply nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid to a reservoir in the cleaning jig held by the rotation holding member;
On the outer periphery of the cleaning jig, a plurality of discharge holes communicating with the storage portion are formed,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scattering guide portion is the discharge hole.

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