JP2010109118A - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus that can prevent liquid, when processing one surface and end surface part (edge part) of a substrate with the liquid, from sneaking in the other surface, and to provide a substrate processing method. <P>SOLUTION: When supplying a rotating substrate W with a processing liquid 28 to process the substrate W, the substrate processing apparatus 1 has a physical cleaning tool 15 for supplying the processing liquid 28 to one surface 31 of the substrate W and to the end surface part 33 of the substrate W and a sneak-in prevention supply nozzle 53 for supplying a protective liquid 55 to the other surface 32 of the substrate W to prevent the processing liquid from sneaking in the other surface of the substrate W, wherein the sneak-in prevention supply nozzle 53 is at least fixed at one place in a rotation direction of the substrate W. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, and more particularly to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing one surface which is a processing target surface of a substrate and an end surface portion (edge portion) of the substrate.

  When the substrate processing apparatus cleans the semiconductor wafer or the liquid crystal substrate, it may be performed while rotating the substrate. In such a substrate processing apparatus, only one surface of the substrate is processed using liquid, and the other surface is processed in a dry state without supplying liquid (for example, Patent Document 1). See).

In addition to this type of substrate processing apparatus, there is a substrate processing apparatus that processes only an end surface portion of a substrate using a physical cleaning tool (a brush or a two-fluid nozzle).
JP 2007-103825 A

  However, conventionally, the processing of one surface of the substrate and the processing of the end surface portion of the substrate cannot be performed by the same substrate processing apparatus, and the processing of the one surface of the substrate and the processing of the end surface portion of the substrate are as follows: Separate substrate processing apparatuses were prepared and performed individually.

  As described above, the reason why the processing of one surface of the substrate and the processing of the end surface portion of the substrate cannot be performed by the same substrate processing apparatus is that when the substrate is processed by the physical cleaning tool, the other surface of the substrate ( This is because the processing liquid wraps around the non-processing surface and the other surface is contaminated with the liquid (processing liquid).

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to prevent the liquid from flowing into the other surface when processing one surface and the end surface portion (edge portion) of the substrate with the liquid. The present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that can be used.

  The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to a rotating substrate, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is applied to one surface of the substrate and an end surface portion of the substrate. A physical cleaning tool for supplying the processing liquid, and a wraparound for supplying a protective fluid to the other surface of the substrate to prevent the processing liquid from flowing to the other surface side of the substrate A supply nozzle for prevention, and the supply nozzle for wraparound prevention is fixed in at least one place in the rotation direction of the substrate.

  The substrate processing method of the present invention is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to a rotating substrate, wherein the physical cleaning tool includes a surface of the substrate and the substrate. The processing liquid is supplied to the end face portion, and the supply nozzle for preventing wraparound is fixed at least at one place in the rotation direction of the substrate, and the protective fluid is supplied to the other surface of the substrate. It is characterized by supplying.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of preventing a liquid from flowing to the other surface side when processing one surface and an end surface portion (edge portion) of the substrate with a liquid. can do.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a preferred embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

  A substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a cassette station 2, a robot 3, and a plurality of processing units 4 and 4.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus that performs single-wafer processing, and the cassette station 2 has a plurality of cassettes 5 and 5, and each cassette 5 accommodates a plurality of substrates W. An example of the substrate W is a semiconductor wafer substrate.

  The robot 3 is disposed between the cassette station 2 and the plurality of processing units 4 and 4. The robot 3 transports the substrate W accommodated in each cassette 5 to the processing unit 4 side. Further, the robot 3 transports the processed substrate W on the processing unit 4 side to another cassette 5 and returns it. Each processing unit 4 is used for cleaning the substrate W by holding and rotating the substrate W, for example.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the processing unit 4 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG.

  A single wafer processing unit 4 shown in FIG. 2 includes a substrate holding unit 11, a moving operation unit 12, a fan 13 with a filter for downflow, a cup 14, a physical cleaning tool 15, a processing chamber 16, A wraparound prevention unit 40 is provided.

  The substrate holding unit 11 includes a disk base member 17, a rotating shaft 18, and a motor 19. A substrate W is detachably fixed on the base member 17 by, for example, vacuum suction. A cup 14, a physical cleaning tool 15, a base member 17, and a rotating shaft 18 of a motor 19 are accommodated in the processing chamber 16. A base member 17 is fixed to the tip of the rotating shaft 18. When the motor 19 operates according to a command from the control unit 20, the substrate W on the base member 17 together with the base member 17 continuously rotates in the R direction during the cleaning process.

  The physical cleaning tool 15 shown in FIG. 2 is arranged on the upper part of the substrate W, and the physical cleaning tool 15 operates in the Z direction (vertical direction) and the X direction (substrate) when the movement operation unit 12 is operated according to a command from the control unit 20. (In the radial direction of W).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the physical cleaning tool 15 is, for example, a two-fluid cleaning tool (two-fluid nozzle). The physical cleaning tool 15 is connected to the liquid supply unit 21 via a valve 22 and a pipe 23, and the physical cleaning tool 15 is connected to the gas supply unit 24 via a valve 25 and a pipe 26.

  The physical cleaning tool 15 supplies liquid and gas to one surface 31 of the substrate W and an end surface portion (edge portion) 33 of the substrate W. One surface 31 of the substrate W is a processing target surface and an upper surface. The other surface 32 of the substrate W is a non-processed surface and is a lower surface, and is a surface to be protected from being attached with a processing liquid during processing.

  FIG. 3 shows in detail a structural example of the wraparound prevention unit 40 shown in FIG. 2 and a structural example of the physical cleaning tool 15.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the physical cleaning tool 15 has an inner cylinder 15B and an outer cylinder 15C, the outer cylinder 15C is disposed outside the inner cylinder 15B, and the inner cylinder 15B and the outer cylinder 15C are concentrically formed. Has been placed. The liquid 28 for processing is supplied from the central passage 15D of the inner cylinder 15B, and the gas 29 is supplied through the outer ring-shaped passage 15F of the outer cylinder 15C. The treatment liquid 28 is atomized by the generated negative pressure. The atomized processing liquid 28 is supplied to one surface 31 of the substrate W.

  The processing liquid 28 supplied by the liquid supply unit 21 shown in FIG. 3 is, for example, a cleaning chemical, and the gas 29 supplied by the gas supply unit 24 is an inert gas such as nitrogen gas. As shown in FIG. 2, the opening / closing amounts of the valves 22 and 25 can be controlled by commands of the control unit 20.

  Next, referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, in order to prevent the atomized processing liquid 28 supplied from the physical cleaning tool 15 from wrapping around the other surface 32 side of the substrate W, the wraparound is performed. A prevention unit 40 is provided.

  Here, a structural example of the wraparound prevention unit 40 will be described.

  2 and 3 is disposed in the cup 14 shown in FIG. 2, and is atomized with the processing liquid 28 and the gas 29 supplied from the physical cleaning tool 15, and is used for processing. The liquid 28 reliably prevents the atomized processing material from entering the other surface 32 side of the substrate W through the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W.

  The protective fluid supplied by the wraparound prevention unit 40 prevents the atomized processing liquid 28 from the physical cleaning tool 15 from flowing into the other surface 32 side of the substrate W through the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W. Further, it is an example of a fluid that protects the other surface 32 of the substrate W.

  This protective fluid is, for example, the substrate protective gas 55. The substrate protective gas 55 is stored in the fluid supply unit 50 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and is supplied from the fluid supply unit 50 to the supply nozzle 53 via the valve 51 and the pipe 52. Yes. As the substrate protection gas 55, for example, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or dry air can be employed.

  The wraparound prevention unit 40 shown in FIG. 3 includes a main body 59 having a supply nozzle 53, a guide unit 56 for guiding the substrate protection gas 55, and a discharge unit 57. The main body 59 is formed by an upper surface portion 58, a bottom surface portion 59B, and an outer peripheral surface portion 60, and the supply nozzle 53 is formed by an inclined portion 58C of the upper surface portion 58, an inclined portion 60C of the outer peripheral surface portion 60, and side walls 60D and 60F. The supply nozzle 53 is formed obliquely upward toward the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W.

  The substrate W rotates in the R direction. The physical cleaning nozzle 15 is a moving nozzle that can move in the X direction and the Z direction. On the other hand, the supply nozzle 53 shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is not formed in the direction in which the substrate W rotates (the entire circumferential direction), but is provided at one location in the direction in which the substrate W rotates. Since it is fixed at the position P, the supply nozzle 53 is a fixed nozzle. That is, the supply nozzle 53 is fixed along the diameter direction passing through the rotation center axis CL as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the supply nozzle 53 is formed obliquely upward at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal line T. In the illustrated example, the angle θ is an angle smaller than 45 degrees, for example. The horizontal line T is orthogonal to the rotation center axis CL.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the wraparound prevention unit 40 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, as already described, the supply nozzle 53 is provided at one set position P with respect to the entire circumferential direction S with respect to the rotation center axis CL of the substrate W. That is, the supply nozzle 53 is not formed over the entire circumferential direction S, but is provided only at one position toward the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W.

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the adjusting device 70 that adjusts the opening area of the supply nozzle 53.

  In the example illustrated in FIG. 5, the cross-sectional shape of the opening 73 of the supply nozzle 53 is, for example, a rectangular shape. The opening area adjustment device 70 includes an actuator 71 and an opening / closing adjustment plate 72. An opening / closing adjustment plate 72 is fixed to the actuator 71, and the opening / closing adjustment plate 72 is moved and positioned in the M direction when the actuator 71 operates according to a command from the control unit 20, thereby opening the opening area of the opening 73. Can be adjusted arbitrarily. Moreover, the opening / closing amount of the valve 51 of the fluid supply unit 50 shown in FIG. 3 can be adjusted by a command from the control unit 20.

  In this manner, the opening area of the supply nozzle 53 can be adjusted by the opening / closing adjustment plate 72 to adjust the opening / closing amount of the valve 51 of the fluid supply unit 50, and one of the adjustment of the opening area and the opening / closing amount of the valve 51 can be adjusted. Alternatively, by performing both, the supply flow rate for supplying the substrate protection gas 55 to the other surface 32 side of the substrate W depends on the supply amount of the processing liquid and gas supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W. In order to prevent the supplied processing liquid and gas from entering the other surface 32 of the substrate W, adjustment is possible.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the discharge portion 57 is provided at a position corresponding to the supply nozzle 53, and the substrate protection gas 55 supplied toward the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W is supplied to the main body portion 57 and the guide portion 56. It is provided to discharge outside.

  Next, processing of the substrate W by the substrate processing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described.

  In the processing described below, a cleaning chemical is used as the processing liquid 28, and nitrogen gas is used as the gas 29. At least one of the one surface 31 and the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W is cleaned. An example will be described.

  First, as shown in FIG. 2, the substrate W is fixed on the base member 17 by, for example, vacuum suction, with one surface 31 of the substrate W as an upper surface. Then, the motor 19 is operated, and the substrate W together with the base member 17 is continuously rotated in the R direction. In addition, when the moving operation unit 12 is operated, the physical cleaning tool 15 has a central axis CL that is near the center of the substrate W and a position CB in the vicinity of the supply nozzle 53 at the peripheral portion of the substrate W as shown in FIG. And moved between.

  By opening the valve 22 according to the command of the control unit 20 shown in FIG. 3, the processing liquid 28 is supplied from the liquid supply unit 21 through the pipe 23 from the central passage 15D of the physical cleaning tool 15 and the valve 25 is opened. Thus, the gas 29 is supplied from the gas supply unit 24 through the pipe 26 through the outer ring-shaped passage 15F of the physical cleaning tool 15. As a result, the processing liquid 28 is atomized by the gas 29 using the spraying principle, and is supplied uniformly to the one surface 31 and the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W. In this example, one surface 31 and the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W can be simultaneously cleaned by the same substrate processing apparatus, but only one surface 31 of the substrate W may be cleaned.

  Thus, when simultaneously cleaning the one surface 31 and the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W, the valve 51 is opened by the command of the control unit 20 shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. A certain substrate protection gas 55 is supplied from the fluid supply unit 50 through the valve 51 and the pipe 52 from the supply nozzle 53 toward the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W in an obliquely upward direction.

  As a result, the atomized processing liquid 28 supplied from the physical cleaning tool 15 to the one surface 31 and the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W does not enter the other surface 32 side which is the non-processing surface of the substrate W. In this way, the phenomenon of being supplied to the other surface 32 can be prevented.

  Moreover, since the substrate protective gas 55 is supplied obliquely upward from the supply nozzle 53 toward the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W, the substrate protective gas 55 reliably covers the other surface 32 of the substrate W. Thus, the atomized processing liquid 28 can be prevented from entering the other surface 32 side which is the non-processing surface of the substrate W. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from entering around the end face portion of the substrate.

  For this reason, one surface 31 and the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W that is the processing surface can be cleaned with the chemical solution, and this chemical solution does not adhere to the other surface 32 of the substrate W that is the non-processing surface. Only the one surface 31 and the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W can be wet-treated, and the other surface 32 can be held in a dry state. Further, only the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W can be subjected to physical processing (for example, cleaning processing).

  In particular, the embodiment of the present invention is fixed at one place as compared to adopting a structure in which the substrate protective gas 55 that is outside the scope of the present invention can be simultaneously supplied over the entire circumference of the substrate W. Since the supply nozzle 53 can supply the substrate protection gas 55, the amount of the substrate holding gas 55 used can be reduced.

  As shown in FIG. 5, by adjusting the opening area of the supply nozzle 53 and adjusting the opening / closing degree of the valve 51, the supply amount of the substrate protective gas 55 to the end surface portion 33 of the substrate W can be adjusted appropriately. . That is, the usage amount of the substrate protective gas 55 can be adjusted to such an extent that the processing liquid 28 does not enter the other surface 32 side of the substrate W.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, the physical cleaning tool 15 used for cleaning the substrate W is movable, and the substrate W rotates. However, since the supply nozzle 53 does not rotate and is a fixed nozzle, the supply nozzle 53 does not protect the substrate protection gas with respect to one position of the substrate W to which the processing liquid 28 atomized from the physical cleaning tool 15 is sprayed. 55 can be concentrated and sprayed.

  In the structure in which the substrate protection gas outside the scope of the present invention can be supplied simultaneously over the entire circumference of the substrate W, the gas pressure is reduced because the gas is supplied in the entire circumference of the substrate W. It is difficult to prevent the atomized processing liquid 28 that wraps around the other surface 32.

  However, as in the embodiment of the present invention, the supply nozzle 53 for supplying the substrate protection gas 55 is fixed and arranged at at least one place, so that the substrate protection gas 55 can be supplied to the substrate W in a concentrated manner. Therefore, it can supply stably, without the gas pressure of the board | substrate protective gas 55 falling.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, since the substrate protection gas 55 is not supplied in the entire circumferential direction of the substrate W, the supply amount of the substrate protection gas 55 can be reduced, and a small amount of the substrate protection gas 55 can be reduced. With the supply amount, it is possible to prevent the atomized processing liquid 28 from going around the other surface 32 of the substrate W from going around.

  For this reason, the discharge amount of the substrate protection gas 55 can be reduced, and the liquid and gas sprayed by the physical cleaning tool 15 can be prevented from entering the other surface 32 side which is the non-processed surface of the substrate W.

  FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the present invention.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the supply nozzle 53 is provided at one position P. However, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the supply nozzle 53 is provided at two positions P and P1. ing. The other elements of the embodiment shown in FIG. 6 are substantially the same as the corresponding elements of the embodiment shown in FIGS.

  These two supply nozzles 53 and 53 are formed at positions P and P1 opposite by 180 degrees. As shown in FIG. 6, the physical cleaning tool 15 includes a position CB in the vicinity of the supply nozzle 53 at the periphery of the substrate W, a center axis CL (in the vicinity) of the substrate W, and a vicinity of the supply nozzle 53 in the periphery of the substrate W. Moved between positions CD.

  Since each supply nozzle 53 is a fixed nozzle without rotating, the supply nozzle 53 concentrates the substrate protective gas 55 on the two positions P and P1 of the substrate W where the physical cleaning tool 15 blows liquid and gas. Can be sprayed. For this reason, the discharge amount of the substrate protection gas 55 can be reduced, and the liquid and gas sprayed by the physical cleaning tool 15 can be prevented from flowing around to the other surface 32 side of the substrate W.

  FIG. 7 is a graph showing an example of the relationship between the gas flow rate of the substrate protection gas 55 and the opening area of the supply nozzle 53. Referring to FIG. 7, since the opening area of the supply nozzle 53 is increased, the gas flow rate is increased.

  The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to a rotating substrate, and is used for processing one surface of the substrate and an end surface portion of the substrate. A physical cleaning tool for supplying a liquid, and a sneak-proof supply nozzle for supplying a protective fluid to the other surface of the substrate to prevent the processing liquid from flowing to the other surface of the substrate. The wraparound prevention supply nozzle is fixed at least at one place in the rotation direction of the substrate. Thereby, when one surface and end surface portion (edge portion) of the substrate are processed with the processing liquid, it is possible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from flowing to the other surface side. For this reason, when one surface of the substrate is wet-treated with the processing liquid, the other surface side of the substrate can be kept in a dry state. Further, the supply nozzle for preventing wraparound can reduce the amount of fluid used that is fixed in at least one place in the rotation direction of the substrate.

  The supply nozzles for preventing sneaking are fixed at two positions opposite to each other by 180 degrees in the rotation direction of the substrate. Thereby, the processing fluid can be prevented from flowing into the other surface of the substrate by the protective fluid supplied from the two supply preventing nozzles.

  The supply nozzle for preventing wraparound supplies a protective fluid toward the end surface portion of the substrate. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from flowing around particularly at the end face portion of the substrate.

  The physical cleaning tool is a two-fluid nozzle having an inner cylinder that supplies a processing liquid and an outer cylinder that supplies a gas to atomize the processing liquid. Thereby, the processing liquid can be atomized and reliably supplied to one surface and the end surface portion of the substrate.

  The protective fluid is an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or dry air (dry air). Thereby, the other surface of the substrate can be held in a dry state.

The substrate processing method of the present invention is a substrate processing method for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to a rotating substrate,
The physical cleaning tool supplies processing liquid to one side of the substrate and the end surface of the substrate,
The supply nozzle for wraparound prevention is fixed at least at one place in the rotation direction of the substrate, and supplies the protective fluid to the other surface of the substrate. Thereby, when one surface and the end surface portion (edge portion) of the substrate are treated with the liquid, it is possible to prevent the liquid from entering the other surface side. Therefore, when one surface of the substrate is wet-treated with a liquid, the other surface side of the substrate can be kept in a dry state. In addition, the supply nozzle for preventing wraparound can reduce the amount of liquid used that is fixed at least in one place in the rotation direction of the substrate.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be adopted.

  For example, the physical cleaning tool may supply vapor so that one surface and the end surface portion of the substrate can be cleaned with vapor. That is, as the physical cleaning tool, instead of the two-fluid cleaning nozzle, a vapor processing tool that can supply and process vapor to one surface of the substrate W and the end surface of the substrate may be employed. The cross-sectional shape of the supply nozzle 53 may be a rectangular shape, a circular shape, or an elliptical shape.

  Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments of the present invention. For example, you may delete some components from all the components shown by embodiment of this invention. Furthermore, you may combine the component covering different embodiment suitably.

It is a top view which shows preferable embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the processing unit of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows in detail the structure of the wraparound prevention part shown in FIG. It is a top view which shows the wraparound prevention part shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the adjustment apparatus which adjusts the opening area of a supply nozzle. It is a figure which shows another embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of relationship between the gas flow rate of board | substrate protective gas, and the opening area of a supply nozzle.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 4 Processing unit 11 Substrate holding | maintenance part 12 Movement operation part 15 Physical cleaning tool 15B Inner cylinder 15C Outer cylinder 20 Control part 21 Liquid supply part 24 Gas supply part 50 Fluid supply part 31 One side 32 of a board | substrate The other side of a board | substrate Surface 33 End surface portion (edge portion) of substrate W
40 wraparound prevention part 53 supply nozzle (supply nozzle for wraparound prevention)
55 Substrate protective gas (an example of a protective fluid)
W substrate

Claims (8)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to a rotating substrate,
A physical cleaning tool for supplying the processing liquid to one surface of the substrate and an end surface portion of the substrate;
A wraparound prevention supply nozzle that supplies a protective fluid to the other surface of the substrate to prevent the processing liquid from wrapping around the other surface of the substrate;
With
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the wraparound prevention supply nozzle is fixed in at least one place in the rotation direction of the substrate.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wraparound prevention supply nozzle is fixed at two positions opposite to each other by 180 degrees in the rotation direction of the substrate.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the wraparound prevention supply nozzle supplies the protective fluid toward the end surface portion of the substrate.   The physical cleaning tool is a two-fluid nozzle having an inner cylinder that supplies the processing liquid and an outer cylinder that supplies a gas to atomize the processing liquid. The substrate processing apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the physical cleaning tool supplies steam.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective fluid is an inert gas.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protective fluid is dry air. A substrate processing method for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to a rotating substrate,
The physical cleaning tool supplies the processing liquid to one surface of the substrate and an end surface portion of the substrate,
A substrate processing method characterized in that a wraparound prevention supply nozzle is fixed in at least one place in the rotation direction of the substrate and supplies a protective fluid to the other surface of the substrate.