JP2011086881A - Device and method for removing coating material - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a coating material removing device for removing a coating material from an end face of a substrate after forming the coating material on the substrate. <P>SOLUTION: The coating material removing device includes a holding mechanism 1 holding a substrate 2 on which a coating material is formed, a removing member 4 having a wetted surface 4b opposite to a coating material removal region 2a of the substrate 2 held by the holding mechanism, and a liquid supplying mechanism supplying a cleaning liquid or an etchant to a gap 4c between the wetted surface 4b and the coating material removal region 2a of the substrate 2. The gap 4c is a gap for causing capillary action, and is filled up owing to the capillary action, with the cleaning liquid or the etchant supplied by the liquid supplying mechanism. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a coating material removing apparatus and a coating material removing method for removing a coating material on a substrate end face.

  After coating materials such as photoresist, photosensitive polyimide resin, and various interlayer insulating film materials used in the photolithography process are formed on the surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate, the coating material is spread from the outer edge of the substrate to a predetermined width. The following two methods are generally used as the method for cleaning the substrate end face that is removed by the amount of the substrate.

(Cleaning method using a nozzle)
This cleaning method is a method in which a coating liquid is dissolved by discharging a cleaning liquid onto a substrate end surface by a cleaning nozzle (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  In this cleaning method, since the boundary line between the cleaning region and the non-cleaning region depends on the range of the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning nozzle, the boundary line is likely to vary. As a result, the boundary line tends to be a jagged line like a sawtooth, and the thickness of the coating material near the boundary line often varies. For this reason, when the substrate is heat-treated, cracks may occur in the coating material, and eventually peeling may occur.

  In addition, due to the variation in the cleaning range where the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning nozzle spreads, the coating material may ooze out again into the area where the cleaning has already been completed and the coating material has been removed during the cleaning process. For this reason, when the coating material is a positive photosensitive material, it is necessary to perform exposure and development processing to remove the coating material that has oozed again. However, even if such exposure and development processing is performed, the coating material is often not completely removed, and as a result, there may be a conveyance failure or device contamination when transporting to the device used in the next step. .

  Further, the above-described cleaning method has a problem that the amount of the cleaning liquid used increases because the cleaning liquid is continuously discharged during the cleaning process.

(Washing method using brush)
This cleaning method is a cleaning method in which a brush or the like is physically brought into contact with the substrate end surface while discharging a cleaning liquid onto the substrate end surface to remove the coating material (see, for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4).

  This cleaning method has a problem that the amount of the cleaning liquid used increases because the cleaning liquid is continuously discharged during the cleaning process.

JP 2004-8876 A JP 2003-86556 A JP 2007-273612 A JP 2003-197592 A

  An object of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a coating material removing apparatus and a coating material removing method for removing a coating material on a substrate end surface after forming a coating material on a substrate.

One embodiment of the present invention is a holding mechanism that holds a substrate on which a coating material is formed;
A removal member having a wetted surface facing the coating material removal region of the substrate held by the holding mechanism;
A liquid supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to a gap between the liquid contact surface and the coating material removal region of the substrate;
Comprising
The gap is a gap for causing capillary action,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material in the coating material removal region,
The etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material in the coating material removal region until etching reaches a desired film thickness.
In the coating material removing apparatus, the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid supplied by the liquid supply mechanism is spread over the entire gap by a capillary phenomenon.

  According to the above aspect of the present invention, the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid is supplied to the gap between the coating material removal region of the substrate held by the holding mechanism and the liquid contact surface of the removing member by the liquid supply mechanism, and the cleaning liquid or the etching is performed. By spreading the liquid over the entire gap by capillary action, the coating material in the coating material removal region can be removed.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the coating material removal region of the substrate can be an end surface of a substrate upper surface, a substrate lower surface, or a substrate side surface along an outer edge of the substrate.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the coating material removal region of the substrate may be an upper surface of the substrate along an outer edge of the substrate and an end surface of the side surface of the substrate.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that the coating material removal region of the substrate is an end surface of the upper surface of the substrate or an end surface of the lower surface of the substrate located in a region of a predetermined width from the outer edge of the substrate.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the planar shape of the substrate may be a quadrangle, a circle, or an ellipse.

One embodiment of the present invention is a holding mechanism for holding a rectangular substrate on which a coating material is formed;
A removal member having a liquid contact surface facing the end surface of the substrate held by the holding mechanism;
A liquid supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to a gap between the liquid contact surface and the end surface of the substrate;
A rotation mechanism for rotating the holding mechanism;
Comprising
The gap is a gap for causing capillary action,
The end surface of the rectangular substrate is an end surface of a substrate upper surface, a substrate lower surface or a substrate side surface along the four sides of the substrate,
The liquid supply mechanism has a mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to a gap located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material on the end face of the substrate,
The etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material on the end face of the substrate until the film has a desired film thickness,
In the coating material removing apparatus, the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid supplied by the liquid supply mechanism is filled in the entire gap by a centrifugal force and a capillary phenomenon by the rotation mechanism.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the liquid supply mechanism may include a mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to gaps located at four corners of the substrate.

  Further, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the amount of the cleaning liquid or etching liquid supplied to the gaps located at the four corners of the substrate is greater than the cleaning liquid or etching liquid supplied to the gaps located at the centers of the four sides of the substrate. Less is preferred.

  One embodiment of the present invention includes a gas supply mechanism that supplies gas to the gap, and the gas supply mechanism introduces gas into the gap from the inside of the substrate and exhausts gas to the outside of the substrate. It is preferable that this mechanism be used.

  One embodiment of the present invention preferably includes a mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid to a substrate lower surface, a substrate upper surface, or a substrate side surface that is a substrate surface opposite to the substrate surface on which the removing member is disposed.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, it is preferable that a gap positioned at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate is larger than a gap positioned at a position other than the center.

  Further, one embodiment of the present invention preferably includes a fine groove formed on the liquid contact surface, and the groove is formed by polishing in a direction along the outer edge of the substrate.

In one embodiment of the present invention, a coating material is formed over a substrate,
The liquid contact surface of the removal member is opposed to the coating material removal region of the substrate, and a gap that causes capillary action is provided between the coating material removal region of the substrate and the liquid contact surface,
A coating material removal method for removing the coating material in the coating material removal region by supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to the gap and spreading the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid by capillary action over the entire gap,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material in the coating material removal region,
In the coating material removal method, the etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material in the coating material removal region and performing etching until a desired film thickness is obtained.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a silicon wafer, an SOI substrate, or a glass substrate can be used as the substrate.

One embodiment of the present invention is to form a coating material on a rectangular substrate,
The liquid contact surface of the removal member is opposed to the end surface of the substrate along the four sides of the substrate, and a gap that causes capillary action is provided between the end surface and the liquid contact surface,
While rotating the substrate and the removing member, a cleaning solution or an etching solution is supplied to the gap located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate, and from the gap located at the center by the centrifugal force and capillary phenomenon due to the rotation. A coating material removal method for removing the coating material on the end face by spreading the cleaning liquid or etching liquid in the gaps located at the four corners of the substrate and filling the cleaning liquid over the entire gap,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material on the end face of the substrate,
In the coating material removing method, the etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material on the end face of the substrate until the film has a desired film thickness.
In one embodiment of the present invention, a glass substrate can be used as the substrate.

Further, according to one embodiment of the present invention, after the coating material on the end surface is removed by filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid, the supply of the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid to the gap is stopped, and the substrate and the removal member are While rotating, it is possible to dry the end face by introducing gas into the gap from the inside of the substrate and exhausting the gas to the outside of the substrate.
One embodiment of the present invention is to form a coating material on a rectangular substrate,
The liquid contact surface of the removal member is opposed to the end surface of the substrate along the four sides of the substrate, and a gap that causes capillary action is provided between the end surface and the liquid contact surface,
While rotating the substrate and the removing member at a first substrate rotation speed, a cleaning liquid to which pure water is added is supplied to the gap located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate, and centrifugal force and capillary action due to the rotation are applied. Spreading the cleaning liquid from the gap located at the center to the gap located at the four corners of the substrate, filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid,
While rotating the substrate and the removing member at a second substrate rotation speed lower than the first substrate rotation speed, a cleaning liquid is supplied to the gaps located at the centers of the four sides of the substrate, and the centrifugal force due to the rotation And spreading the cleaning liquid from the gap located at the center to the gap located at the four corners of the substrate by capillary action, filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid,
While rotating the substrate and the removal member at a third substrate rotation speed higher than the second substrate rotation speed, a cleaning liquid is supplied to the gaps located at the centers of the four sides of the substrate, and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation And spreading the cleaning liquid from the gap located at the center to the gap located at the four corners of the substrate by capillary action, filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid,
The supply of the cleaning liquid to the gap is stopped, and the substrate and the removing member are rotated at a fourth substrate rotation speed higher than the first substrate rotation speed to dry the end surface of the substrate. This is a material removal method.

  By applying one embodiment of the present invention, the coating material on the substrate end surface can be removed.

Sectional drawing which shows typically the coating material removal apparatus which concerns on 1 aspect of this invention. The top view of the coating material removal apparatus shown in FIG. Sectional drawing which expanded the vicinity of the cleaning member 4 and the end surface of the board | substrate 2 in the coating material removal apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 2 is a top view of the coating material removing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when the planar shape of the substrate is circular. FIG. 2 is a top view of the coating material removing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 when the planar shape of the substrate is circular.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following description, and it will be easily understood by those skilled in the art that modes and details can be variously changed without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention should not be construed as being limited to the description of the embodiments below.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a coating material removing apparatus according to an aspect of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a top view of the coating material removing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the cleaning member 4 (also referred to as a removal member) and the end face of the substrate 2 in the coating material removing apparatus shown in FIG. The coating material removing apparatus is an apparatus that removes the coating material from the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 (a predetermined width from the outer edge of the substrate 2) after forming the coating material on the surface of the substrate 2. An apparatus for completely removing the coating material on the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 with a cleaning liquid to clean the end surface of the substrate 2, and a coating material for removing the surface of the coating material on the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 with an etching solution. Includes both devices to etch until thick.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the coating material removing apparatus has a rotating shaft 1a, and a rotating mechanism (for example, a motor) (not shown) for rotating the rotating shaft 1a is attached to the lower end portion of the rotating shaft 1a. . A holding member 1 is provided on the rotating shaft 1a. The holding member 1 holds the substrate 2 substantially horizontally, holds the cup body 3 on the substantially horizontally held substrate 2, and holds the cleaning member 4 attached to the cup body 3. It has a function. In the present embodiment, the substrate 2 having a square planar shape is used, but a substrate having a planar shape of a circle, a shape close to a circle or an ellipse may be used. For example, a glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer (typically Alternatively, a silicon wafer), an SOI (Silicon On Insulator) substrate, or the like may be used.

The holding member 1 will be described in detail.
The holding member 1 is provided with a plurality of substrate fixing portions 1b, and the substrate 2 is held substantially horizontally by these substrate fixing portions 1b. The holding member 1 is provided with a plurality of cup fixing portions 1c, and one end of each of the plurality of cup body holding members 3a is fixed to the cup fixing portions 1c. The cup body 3 is attached to the other end of the plurality of cup body holding members 3a. The cup body 3 held by the holding member 1 is positioned so as to cover the surface of the substrate 2 held by the holding member 1, and a slight gap is provided between the cup body 3 and the surface of the substrate 2. It is like that. In the present embodiment, a slight gap is provided between the cup body 3 and the surface of the substrate 2. However, even if the cup body 3 and the surface of the substrate 2 are brought into contact with each other without providing the slight gap, good. In this case, it is preferable to form a cushioning material film such as a fluororesin film on the contact surface of the cup body 2 with the substrate. Thereby, it can suppress that a board | substrate is damaged.

  A plurality of attachment portions 4 a are attached to the cup body 3 via the cleaning member 4. As shown in FIG. 2, the cleaning member 4 is attached to the cup body 3 so as to cover the periphery of the cup body 3. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the cleaning member 4 is an end surface 2a of the substrate 2 that is a coating material removal region (that is, the end surface 2a of the upper surface of the substrate along the outer edge of the substrate, and a predetermined width from the outer edge of the substrate). It has a liquid contact surface 4b facing the end surface 2a) located in the region 2b. The liquid contact surface 4b is a surface in contact with the cleaning liquid. The cleaning member 4 is held on the holding member 1 by the mounting portion 4a so that a gap 4c (see FIG. 3) for causing a capillary phenomenon is provided between the liquid contact surface 4b and the end surface 2a of the substrate 2. It has become. For this reason, the attachment part 4a has a height adjustment mechanism for appropriately maintaining the gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b so as to cause a capillary phenomenon. The gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b depends on the process conditions for removing the coating material (for example, the type and viscosity of the cleaning liquid, the wettability of the cleaning member 4 and the liquid contact surface of the substrate 2, the substrate In consideration of the number of rotations), it may be appropriately designed within a range in which capillary action can be caused. Further, in order to prevent the region 2c (non-cleaning region 2c) provided inside the region 2b having a predetermined width from the outer edge of the substrate from being cleaned, the distance between the cleaning member 4 and the substrate 2 in the non-cleaning region 2c. It is preferable to design 4d at an interval that does not cause capillary action. For this reason, it is necessary to arrange the cleaning member 4 so that at least 4c <4d. As a specific example, the gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b may be set to 0.3 mm or less, and preferably 0.2 mm or less. Although details will be described later, if the interval is too small, there is a possibility that it becomes difficult to waste the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid. For this reason, the gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b is preferably 0.05 mm or more, and more preferably 0.1 mm or more. In addition, the distance 4d between the cleaning member 4 and the substrate 2 in the non-cleaning region 2c may be 0.5 mm or more, and preferably 1.0 mm or more.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coating material removing apparatus has a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 5 that supplies a cleaning liquid to a cleaning liquid reservoir 3 b provided on the upper part of the cup body 3. One end of the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 5 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown), and the other end of the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 5 is connected to the cleaning liquid reservoir 3b. The cup body 3 is provided with first to eighth cleaning nozzles 6 to 13, and one end of each of the first to eighth cleaning nozzles 6 to 13 is connected to the cleaning liquid reservoir 3b. The other end of each of the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9 is connected to a gap 4c located at the center of each of the four sides of the square substrate 2. The other ends of the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13 are connected to gaps 4 c located at the four corners (corners) of the rectangular substrate 2.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the coating material removing apparatus has a gas supply mechanism (not shown) that supplies gas (for example, rare gas, nitrogen gas, air) to the cup body 3. The gas supplied by this gas supply mechanism is supplied from the upper part of the cup body 3 downward to the center of the surface of the substrate 2 as indicated by the arrow 14, and the gap between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b is supplied. The air is exhausted from the outer edge of the substrate 2 through 4c.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the coating material removing apparatus has a back rinse nozzle 16 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the back surface of the substrate 2, and a cleaning liquid supply source (see FIG. (Not shown) is connected.

  In addition, the coating material removing apparatus includes a control unit (not shown) that controls the rotating mechanism that rotates the rotating shaft 1a, the cleaning liquid supply source to the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 5, and the gas supply mechanism that supplies gas to the cup body 3. have. The control unit controls the rotation speed, rotation time, and rotation timing of the rotation mechanism as described later, and controls the supply amount, supply time, supply timing, and the like of the cleaning liquid supply source as described later. The supply amount, supply time, supply timing, etc. of the gas supply mechanism are controlled as will be described later.

  Next, a method for removing the coating material on the end face of the substrate 2 by the coating material removing apparatus will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, a substrate 2 having a coating material (not shown) formed on the surface is prepared. Various material films can be used as the coating material. For example, a photoresist film used in a photolithography process, a resin material such as polyimide, acrylic, or epoxy, which is often used as an interlayer film, or an insulating film containing siloxane, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride An inorganic insulating film such as silicon nitride oxide, aluminum oxide, or aluminum nitride can be used. Note that in this specification, silicon oxynitride refers to a substance having a higher oxygen content than nitrogen as the composition, and silicon nitride oxide has a nitrogen content as compared to oxygen as the composition. Refers to many substances. In this specification, siloxane means a material in which a skeleton structure is formed by a bond of silicon and oxygen and includes at least hydrogen as a substituent, or at least a fluorine, an alkyl group, or an aromatic hydrocarbon as a substituent. A material having one kind.
The method for forming these material films is not particularly limited. For example, an inorganic material may be formed using a CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) method, a sputtering method, or the like. Further, in the case of an organic material, it can be formed by appropriately using a vapor deposition method, a droplet discharge method, an ink jet method, a spin coating method, a roll coating method, a slot coating method, or the like depending on the physical properties of the material.

  Next, the substrate 2 is held substantially horizontally by the plurality of substrate fixing portions 1 b of the holding member 1. Next, the cup body 3 is held on the holding member 1 by the plurality of cup fixing portions 1c and the plurality of cup body holding members 3a, the surface of the substrate 2 is covered by the cup body 3, and the cleaning member 4 is held by the mounting portion 4a. Hold at 1. A slight gap is provided between the cup body 3 and the surface of the substrate 2, and a gap 4 c (see FIG. 3) is provided between the liquid contact surface 4 b of the cleaning member 4 and the end surface 2 a of the substrate 2. At this time, the height is adjusted by the mounting portion 4a so that the gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b causes a capillary phenomenon.

  Next, the substrate 2 is rotated together with the holding member 1 by rotating the rotating shaft 1a by the rotation mechanism, and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 5 by the cleaning liquid supply source. As a result, the cleaning liquid of the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 5 is stored in the cleaning liquid reservoir 3b as indicated by the arrow 15, and the cleaning liquid stored in the cleaning liquid reservoir 3b is centrifuged in the first to eighth cleaning nozzles 6 to 13, respectively. Distributed by force. As a result, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the gap 4c located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate 2 through the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9, and the substrate through the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13. 2 is supplied to the gaps 4c located at the four corners. The cleaning liquid 17 shown in FIG. 3 supplied to the gap 4c is spread and filled in the entire gap 4c by capillary action. The cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4 c located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate 2 is caused to flow in the directions of the four corners of the substrate 2 by centrifugal force due to the rotation of the substrate 2.

  The inner diameters of the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9 are preferably larger than the inner diameters of the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13, respectively. For example, the inner diameter of each of the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9 is 2.5 mm, and the inner diameter of each of the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13 is 1.5 mm. Thereby, the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4 c located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate 2 can be made larger than the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4 c located at each of the four corners of the substrate 2.

The reason why this is preferable is as follows.
If the inner diameters of the first to eighth cleaning nozzles 6 to 13 are the same, the cleaning liquid supplied to the gaps located at the center of the four sides of the substrate 2 by the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9 is used. Even if the amount is appropriate, the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gaps located at the four corners of the substrate 2 by the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13 becomes too large, and the waste liquid outside the substrate is not in time. While there is a possibility that the cleaning liquid may enter the non-cleaning region at the four corners, even if the cleaning liquid supplied to the gaps positioned at the four corners of the substrate 2 by the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13 is an appropriate amount, This is because the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap located at the center of the four sides of the substrate 2 by the fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9 is so small that the cleaning performance may be deteriorated. These phenomena are considered to be caused by the fact that the distance from the center of the substrate is longer at the four corners than at the center, and the centrifugal force (flow velocity) at the four corners and the center is different.

  The cleaning liquid is a solvent for dissolving the coating material, and for example, thinner, MEK (methyl ethyl ketone), acetone or butyl acetate water-soluble EBR agent PK-CRD (manufactured by Parker) can be used. When a tungsten film is used as the coating material, only the end face 2a of the substrate can be etched by using a TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide) aqueous solution. In this case, exposure, etching, and resist stripping steps using a resist are not necessary, so that manufacturing costs can be reduced.

  Further, while supplying the cleaning liquid to the gap 4c as described above, the gas is supplied from the upper part of the cup body 3 downward to the center of the surface of the substrate 2 by the gas supply mechanism, and is supplied from the center to the gap 4c. The cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4 c by this gas can be prevented from entering the inside of the substrate 2 from the liquid contact surface 4 b of the cleaning member 4.

  As described above, the cleaning liquid is spread and filled in the entire gap 4c, and the coating material is dissolved by the cleaning liquid. Thereafter, the dissolved coating material and cleaning liquid are discarded from the end surface 2 a of the substrate 2 to the outside by centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the substrate 2. In this way, the cleaning process is performed, and the coating material on the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 can be removed.

  Next, the supply of the cleaning liquid to the gap 4c is stopped, and the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 is dried by increasing the rotation speed of the substrate 2. At this time, the substrate 2 is rotated at high speed while the gas (noble gas, nitrogen gas, air, etc.) introduced into the gap 4c from the inside of the substrate 2 by the gas supply mechanism is exhausted from the outer edge of the substrate 2 to the outside. It is preferable to quickly dry the second end face 2a. Since the gap 4c is of a level that causes capillary action, the gas is pressurized and the drying rate can be increased. Thus, a drying process is performed. In addition, it is possible to dry without using a gas supply mechanism.

In addition, you may repeat said washing | cleaning process and drying process in multiple times.
Moreover, you may use the washing | cleaning liquid which mixed the pure water.

  In addition to cleaning the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 as described above, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the back rinse nozzle 16 by the cleaning liquid supply source, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the back rinse nozzle 16 to the back surface of the substrate 2. Thus, the back surface of the substrate 2 may be cleaned. Thereby, the coating material adhering to the back surface of the substrate 2 can be removed.

  Further, when the coating material is a material sensitive to ultraviolet rays (UV) such as photoresist or photosensitive polyimide, UV irradiation is applied to the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 while cleaning the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 as described above. The coating material may be exposed. By developing and removing the exposed coating material after the cleaning step and the drying step, the coating material remaining on the end surface 2a of the substrate after the cleaning can be completely removed. However, in this case, the cleaning member 4, the cup body holding member 3a, the mounting portion 4a, and the like positioned on the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 must be made of a transparent material that transmits UV.

  Further, the gap 4c located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate 2 to which the other ends of the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9 are connected is a gap 4c located at a position other than the center (for example, of the substrate 2). It may be formed larger than the gap 4c) located at each of the four corners. Specifically, by providing a groove on the liquid contact surface 4b of the cleaning member 4 located at the center, the gap 4c located at the center is made larger than the gap 4c located at other than the center, and is obtained from the gap. The resulting cross-sectional area may be increased. Accordingly, since the cleaning liquid is supplied into the groove from the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9, the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4c located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate 2 is appropriately adjusted. can do. Specifically, by forming the groove, the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4c located at the center is excessively larger than the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4c located at the four corners. Can be suppressed.

  The reason why the amount of the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap 4c located at the center is excessively large is as follows. Centrifugal force is directed perpendicular to the four sides of the substrate at the center of the four sides of the substrate. Therefore, the cleaning liquid supplied to the gap located at the center is difficult to flow toward the four corners of the substrate and is likely to accumulate. Therefore, by forming the groove, the cleaning liquid at the center of the four sides that does not easily flow toward the four corners can be taken into the groove, thereby making it easy to create a flow of the cleaning liquid from the center to the four corners.

  Further, by polishing the liquid contact surface 4b of the cleaning member 4 from the center of the four sides of the substrate 2 to the four corners as shown by arrows in FIG. 2, fine grooves may be formed on the liquid contact surface 4b. . Thereby, even when the wettability of the liquid contact surface 4b is poor, the cleaning liquid can be controlled to spread (flow) from the center of the four sides of the substrate 2 to the four corners in the gap 4c. As a result, the cleaning performance can be improved. In addition, in order to acquire this effect, the groove | channel should just be formed in the direction along a board | substrate outer periphery, and the direction of grinding | polishing at the time of forming a groove | channel is not limited to the direction shown in FIG. For example, the grooves may be formed by polishing from the four corners of the substrate toward the center of each side of the four sides.

  Further, when the substrate 2 is held almost horizontally by the holding member 1, the substrate 2 may be held by vacuum suction. Thereby, the curvature of the board | substrate 2 can be corrected and the effect which can wash | clean more uniformly is acquired.

  In the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid is discarded from the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 to the outside by the centrifugal force caused by the rotation of the substrate 2. However, the substrate 2 is not rotated and is directed from the center of the surface of the substrate 2 toward the end surface 2a. By supplying gas, the cleaning liquid may be discarded from the outer edge of the substrate 2 through the gap 4c between the end surface 2a and the liquid contact surface 4b, or the cleaning liquid in the gap 4 is sucked from the outer edge of the substrate 2. Can be discarded. By using air supply or cleaning liquid suction (vacuum), the cleaning liquid can be discarded from the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 to the outside without rotating the substrate 2.

  In this embodiment, the cleaning member 4 is disposed on the substrate upper surface and the side surface end surface 2a along the outer edge of the substrate 2 to remove the coating material on the substrate upper surface and substrate side surface 2a. It is also possible to dispose the cleaning member below the end surface of the substrate and remove the coating material on the end surface of the lower surface of the substrate. In this case, the surface of the substrate 2 may be cleaned by disposing a back rinse nozzle on the upper surface side of the substrate and supplying a cleaning liquid to the upper surface (surface) of the substrate. Thereby, the coating material adhering to the surface of the substrate 2 can be removed.

  In the present embodiment, the cleaning member 4 is disposed on the end surface 2a on the upper surface and the side surface of the substrate to remove the coating material on the end surface 2a on the upper surface and the side surface of the substrate. It is also possible to dispose the coating material on the end surfaces of the substrate upper surface, the substrate lower surface, and the substrate side surface by disposing a cleaning member on each of the end surfaces. In addition, the cleaning member 4 may be disposed along the outer edge of the substrate 2, but when a square substrate such as a glass substrate is used as the substrate 2, the cleaning member 4 is removed except for the regions near the four corners. It is preferable to arrange.

  Further, in this embodiment, the coating material removing apparatus has the first to eighth cleaning nozzles 6 to 13, but the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13 are not necessarily included. Also good. Even with the coating material removing apparatus that does not have the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13, the coating material on the end face of the substrate can be satisfactorily removed depending on the state of the coating material. Further, it is not essential to provide all four of the first to fourth cleaning nozzles 6 to 9, and the number may be changed as appropriate. Similarly, the fifth to eighth cleaning nozzles 10 to 13 do not have to be provided at all four corners, and the number may be changed as appropriate. For example, only the fifth cleaning nozzle 10 and the seventh cleaning nozzle 12 which are two corners facing each other among the four corners may be provided.

  2 shows a top view of the coating material removing apparatus corresponding to the case where the planar shape of the substrate is square, but when the planar shape of the substrate is circular, for example, as shown in FIGS. A cleaning nozzle may be disposed on the surface. 4 shows a top view of a coating material removing apparatus having three cleaning nozzles 101, 102, 103, and FIG. 5 shows a coating material removing apparatus having four cleaning nozzles 104, 105, 106, 107. FIG. The number of cleaning nozzles provided in this way does not depend on the shape of the substrate, and may be one or more as appropriate.

According to this embodiment, since the apparatus structure can be simpler than that of a conventional cleaning apparatus, the manufacturing cost of the apparatus can be reduced. In addition, higher cleaning performance can be obtained as compared with conventional cleaning apparatuses.
Further, in the present embodiment, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b, and the entire gap 4c is filled by the capillary phenomenon, so that the coating material for the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 is obtained. Since it is removed, the amount of cleaning liquid used can be drastically reduced as compared with the prior art.

  The gap 4c between the liquid contact surface 4b of the cleaning member 4 and the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 may be a gap that causes a capillary phenomenon. However, the narrower the gap 4c, the smaller the amount of cleaning liquid used. At the same time, capillary action can be caused stably. Further, by reducing the amount of the cleaning liquid used when removing the coating material on the end surface 2a of the substrate 2, it is possible to suppress the cleaning liquid from being sucked into the coating material in the non-cleaning region of the substrate 2, and as a result, The rise of the end portion of the coating material left in the non-cleaning region can be reduced. However, if the gap 4c is too small, it may be difficult to perform waste liquid due to centrifugal force. Therefore, the gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 and the liquid contact surface 4b may be 0.05 mm or more and 0.30 mm or less, and preferably 0.10 mm or more and 0.20 mm or less.

  An embodiment in which the coating material on the end surface 2a of the square substrate 2 is removed using the coating material removing apparatus shown in FIGS. Table 1 shows an example of the cleaning recipe. In this example, a resist is used as a coating material, a 5-inch glass substrate is used, and OK73 thinner (70% by weight of propylene glycol monomethyl ether, propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate 30 manufactured by Tokyo Ohka Kogyo Co., Ltd.) is used as a cleaning liquid. % By weight). Note that the resist is formed on the substrate by a spin coating method (wet method).

  When the coating material (resist) on the end surface 2a of the substrate 2 is removed, if the conditions of the cleaning recipe are inappropriate, the cleaning liquid is applied to the non-cleaning region 2c of the coating material near the boundary with the cleaning region (end surface 2a) on the substrate surface. May infiltrate and swell the area. Therefore, in this embodiment, as shown in Table 1, in steps 1 and 2, the substrate is rotated at a higher speed than in steps 3 and 4, while the gap 4c between the end surface 2a of the substrate and the liquid contact surface 4b of the cleaning member is pure. A cleaning solution to which water has been added is supplied for processing. Thereby, the rising of the coating material can be reduced to half at the boundary line between the cleaning region (end surface 2a) and the non-cleaning region on the substrate surface. The cause is that the volatility of the cleaning liquid is reduced by adding pure water to the cleaning liquid, the dissolution rate with respect to the coating material is decreased, and the supply flow rate is increased by adding pure water to the cleaning liquid, It is considered that the substrate can be processed at a high rotation, and the dissolved coating material can be extended by centrifugal force.

  Next, in steps 5 and 6, cleaning is performed at a higher substrate rotation speed than in steps 3 and 4. The reason is that the centrifugal force is weakened at a low rotation, and the cleaning liquid is likely to spread toward the center of the substrate, so that the cleaning range is expanded. Using this phenomenon, in steps 3 to 6, the coating material is dissolved by the cleaning liquid that suddenly protrudes into the non-cleaning area due to variations in the supply amount of the cleaning liquid by gradually reducing the cleaning range toward the substrate periphery. It is possible to prevent the coating material from remaining in the cleaning region (end surface 2a) after cleaning.

  Next, in Steps 7 and 8, the supply of the cleaning liquid to the end surface 2a of the substrate and the supply of the cleaning liquid to the back surface of the substrate are stopped, and the substrate is rotated at a very high speed of 1000 rpm to once perform a drying process. As a result, the coating material can be extended to the outer periphery of the substrate by centrifugal force, and as a result, the boundary line between the cleaning region (end surface 2a) on the substrate surface and the non-cleaning region is extended to the outer periphery of the substrate.

  Next, finishing cleaning is performed in steps 9 and 10, and the substrate is dried in steps 11 to 13, and the process is terminated.

  In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the substrate in steps 9 and 10 is the same as that in steps 5 and 6. However, the rotation speed of the substrate in steps 9 and 10 may be higher than that in steps 5 and 6. .

  In addition, with regard to the time for cleaning the back surface of the substrate, the performance of the coating device applied with the coating material (whether or not the coating agent wraps around the back surface of the substrate and the area of the coating device), the coating material film thickness, and the coating material pre-bake time In consideration of the pre-baking temperature of the coating material, etc., it is preferable to set the time appropriately.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Holding member 1a Rotating shaft 1b Substrate fixing | fixed part 1c Cup fixing | fixed part 2 Substrate 2a End surface 2b Area | region (cleaning area | region) for predetermined width from the outer edge of a board | substrate
2c Non-cleaning area 3 Cup body 3a Cup body holding member 3b Cleaning liquid reservoir 4 Cleaning member 4a Mounting part 4b Liquid contact surface 4c Clearance 5 Cleaning liquid supply nozzle 6 First cleaning nozzle 7 Second cleaning nozzle 8 Third Cleaning nozzle 9 Fourth cleaning nozzle 10 Fifth cleaning nozzle 11 Sixth cleaning nozzle 12 Seventh cleaning nozzle 13 Eight cleaning nozzles 14 and 15 Arrow 16 Back rinse nozzle 17 Cleaning liquid

Claims (17)

A holding mechanism for holding the substrate on which the coating material is formed;
A removal member having a wetted surface facing the coating material removal region of the substrate held by the holding mechanism;
A liquid supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to a gap between the liquid contact surface and the coating material removal region of the substrate;
Comprising
The gap is a gap for causing capillary action,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material in the coating material removal region,
The etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material in the coating material removal region until etching reaches a desired film thickness.
The coating material removing apparatus, wherein the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid supplied by the liquid supply mechanism is spread over the entire gap by a capillary phenomenon. In claim 1,
The coating material removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating material removal region of the substrate is an end surface of a substrate upper surface, a substrate lower surface, or a substrate side surface along an outer edge of the substrate. In claim 1,
The coating material removal area of the substrate is an end surface of the upper surface of the substrate or an end surface of the lower surface of the substrate located in a region of a predetermined width from the outer edge of the substrate. In any one of Claims 1 thru | or 3,
The coating material removing apparatus, wherein the planar shape of the substrate is a quadrangle, a circle or an ellipse. A holding mechanism for holding a rectangular substrate on which a coating material is formed;
A removal member having a liquid contact surface facing the end surface of the substrate held by the holding mechanism;
A liquid supply mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to a gap between the liquid contact surface and the end surface of the substrate;
A rotation mechanism for rotating the holding mechanism;
Comprising
The gap is a gap for causing capillary action,
The end surface of the rectangular substrate is an end surface of a substrate upper surface, a substrate lower surface or a substrate side surface along the four sides of the substrate,
The liquid supply mechanism has a mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to a gap located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material on the end face of the substrate,
The etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material on the end face of the substrate until the film has a desired film thickness,
The coating material removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid supplied by the liquid supply mechanism is filled in the entire gap by a centrifugal force and a capillary phenomenon by the rotation mechanism. In claim 5,
The coating material removing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid supply mechanism includes a mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to gaps located at four corners of the substrate.   7. The amount of cleaning liquid or etching liquid supplied to the gaps located at each of the four corners of the substrate is less than that of cleaning liquid or etching liquid supplied to the gaps located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate. A coating material removing device. In any one of Claims 5 thru | or 7,
It has a gas supply mechanism for supplying gas to the gap, and the gas supply mechanism is a mechanism for introducing gas into the gap from the inside of the substrate and exhausting the gas to the outside of the substrate. Coating material removal device. In any one of Claims 5 thru | or 8,
An apparatus for removing a coating material, comprising: a mechanism for supplying a cleaning liquid to a substrate lower surface, a substrate upper surface, or a substrate side surface that is a substrate surface opposite to the substrate surface on which the removing member is disposed. In any one of Claims 5 thru | or 9,
The coating material removing apparatus, wherein a gap located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate is larger than a gap located at a position other than the center. In any one of Claims 5 thru | or 10,
An apparatus for removing a coating material, comprising fine grooves formed on the liquid contact surface, wherein the grooves are formed by polishing in a direction along an outer edge of the substrate. A coating material is formed on the substrate,
The liquid contact surface of the removal member is opposed to the coating material removal region of the substrate, and a gap that causes capillary action is provided between the coating material removal region of the substrate and the liquid contact surface,
A coating material removal method for removing the coating material in the coating material removal region by supplying a cleaning liquid or an etching liquid to the gap and spreading the cleaning liquid or the etching liquid by capillary action over the entire gap,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material in the coating material removal region,
The coating material removing method, wherein the etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material in the coating material removal region until etching is performed to a desired film thickness. In claim 12,
A coating material removing method using a silicon wafer, an SOI substrate, or a glass substrate as the substrate. A coating material is formed on a rectangular substrate,
The liquid contact surface of the removal member is opposed to the end surface of the substrate along the four sides of the substrate, and a gap that causes capillary action is provided between the end surface and the liquid contact surface,
While rotating the substrate and the removing member, a cleaning solution or an etching solution is supplied to the gap located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate, and from the gap located at the center by the centrifugal force and capillary phenomenon due to the rotation. A coating material removal method for removing the coating material on the end face by spreading the cleaning liquid or etching liquid in the gaps located at the four corners of the substrate and filling the cleaning liquid over the entire gap,
The cleaning liquid is a liquid for cleaning the substrate by completely removing the coating material on the end face of the substrate,
The coating material removing method, wherein the etching solution is a solution for removing the surface of the coating material on the end face of the substrate until etching is performed to a desired film thickness. In claim 14,
A coating material removing method, wherein a glass substrate is used as the substrate. In claim 14 or 15,
After removing the coating material on the end face by filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid, the supply of the cleaning liquid or etching liquid to the gap is stopped, and while rotating the substrate and the removing member, from the inside of the substrate A coating material removing method, wherein the end face is dried by introducing a gas into the gap and exhausting the gas to the outside of the substrate. A coating material is formed on a rectangular substrate,
The liquid contact surface of the removal member is opposed to the end surface of the substrate along the four sides of the substrate, and a gap that causes capillary action is provided between the end surface and the liquid contact surface,
While rotating the substrate and the removing member at a first substrate rotation speed, a cleaning liquid to which pure water is added is supplied to the gap located at the center of each of the four sides of the substrate, and centrifugal force and capillary action due to the rotation are applied. Spreading the cleaning liquid from the gap located at the center to the gap located at the four corners of the substrate, filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid,
While rotating the substrate and the removing member at a second substrate rotation speed lower than the first substrate rotation speed, a cleaning liquid is supplied to the gaps located at the centers of the four sides of the substrate, and the centrifugal force due to the rotation And spreading the cleaning liquid from the gap located at the center to the gap located at the four corners of the substrate by capillary action, filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid,
While rotating the substrate and the removal member at a third substrate rotation speed higher than the second substrate rotation speed, a cleaning liquid is supplied to the gaps located at the centers of the four sides of the substrate, and the centrifugal force generated by the rotation And spreading the cleaning liquid from the gap located at the center to the gap located at the four corners of the substrate by capillary action, filling the entire gap with the cleaning liquid,
The supply of the cleaning liquid to the gap is stopped, and the substrate and the removing member are rotated at a fourth substrate rotation speed higher than the first substrate rotation speed to dry the end surface of the substrate. Material removal method.

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