JP2013051286A - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce variations of the film thickness in each position of a substrate where droplets collide and improve the process quality of the substrate.SOLUTION: Droplets of a process liquid are respectively injected from multiple injection ports 28 to multiple injection positions on an upper surface of the substrate. Concurrently with the injection of the process liquid, a protection liquid is discharged from multiple discharge ports 35 to multiple liquid adhering positions on the upper surface of the substrate. The protection liquid discharged from the multiple discharge ports 35 form multiple liquid films. The multiple liquid films respectively cover the different injection positions. The droplets of the process liquid are injected to the injection positions covered by the liquid films of the protection liquid.

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing a substrate. Examples of substrates to be processed include semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal display substrates, plasma display substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, and photomasks. Substrate, ceramic substrate, solar cell substrate and the like.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device is used. A substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a spin chuck that holds a substrate horizontally, a head that ejects droplets of a processing liquid from a plurality of ejection holes toward the upper surface of the substrate, and a cover rinse liquid on the upper surface of the substrate. And a cover rinse nozzle for supplying.

  The head ejects treatment liquid droplets toward a plurality of ejection positions in the upper surface of the substrate. Similarly, the cover rinse liquid nozzle discharges the cover rinse liquid toward the liquid landing position in the upper surface of the substrate. The cover rinse liquid discharged from the cover rinse liquid nozzle spreads on the substrate from the liquid landing position toward a plurality of ejection positions. As a result, a liquid film of the cover rinse liquid is formed on the substrate, and a plurality of ejection positions are covered with the liquid film of the cover rinse liquid. The liquid droplets of the processing liquid are ejected toward the upper surface of the substrate covered with the liquid film of the cover rinse liquid.

JP 2011-29315 A

  The thickness of the liquid film of the cover rinse liquid formed on the substrate decreases as the distance from the liquid landing position increases. In the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the distance between each injection position and the liquid landing position is not constant, the film thickness at each injection position varies. Further, the cover rinse liquid traveling toward the downstream injection position with respect to the flow direction of the cover rinse liquid on the substrate is prevented from proceeding by the droplets sprayed to the upstream injection position, so the supply flow rate of the cover rinse liquid is Different in the upstream injection position and the downstream injection position, a greater variation in film thickness occurs. Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to control the film thickness at each injection position to a certain size.

  If the liquid film covering the ejection position is thin, a large impact is applied to the substrate due to the collision of the droplets, so that the pattern formed on the substrate may be damaged. In order to prevent the occurrence of damage, it is conceivable to increase the film thickness at each injection position by increasing the discharge flow rate of the cover rinse liquid from the cover rinse nozzle. However, if the liquid film covering the ejection position is thick, the impact applied to the particles adhering to the substrate is reduced, and the particle removal rate may be reduced. Therefore, there is an optimum value for the thickness of the liquid film covering the ejection position.

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is difficult to control the film thickness at each injection position to a constant size. It is difficult to form. Therefore, it is difficult to perform optimal processing at each injection position.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of reducing variations in film thickness at each position of a substrate on which droplets collide and improving the processing quality of the substrate. .

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 includes a substrate holding means (2) for holding the substrate (W) and a substrate held by the substrate holding means from a plurality of ejection ports (28). An ejection means (5, 205, 305) for ejecting treatment liquid droplets toward a plurality of ejection positions (P1) in the main surface and a plurality of ejection ports (35) are respectively held by the substrate holding means. Liquid film forming means (5, 5) for forming a plurality of protective liquid films covering the different spray positions by discharging the protective liquid toward a plurality of liquid landing positions (P2) in the main surface of the substrate 205, 305). The main surface of the substrate may be a surface that is a device forming surface, or may be a back surface opposite to the front surface.

  According to this configuration, a plurality of treatment liquid droplets are ejected from a plurality of ejection ports toward a plurality of ejection positions in the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit. In parallel with this, the protective liquid is discharged from a plurality of discharge ports toward a plurality of liquid landing positions in the main surface of the substrate. Accordingly, the droplets of the processing liquid are ejected toward the main surface of the substrate protected by the protective liquid. Since the protective liquid is discharged from the plurality of discharge ports toward the plurality of liquid landing positions, a plurality of liquid films of the protective liquid covering the plurality of regions in the main surface of the substrate are formed. The plurality of liquid films cover different ejection positions. Accordingly, it is possible to make the supply state of the processing liquid at each ejection position more uniform than when all the ejection positions are covered with one liquid film. Therefore, the variation in film thickness at each injection position can be reduced. Thereby, the thickness of the liquid film at each ejection position can be brought close to an optimum value, and the processing quality of the substrate can be improved.

  The liquid film forming means is configured so that the plurality of liquid films do not overlap on the substrate held by the substrate holding means, that is, the plurality of liquid films are arranged at intervals on the substrate. The plurality of liquid films may be formed. The liquid film forming unit may form the plurality of liquid films such that the plurality of liquid films partially overlap on the substrate held by the substrate holding unit. In this case, it is preferable that the liquid film forming unit forms the plurality of liquid films so that the ejection position is covered by a non-interference portion of the liquid film that does not interfere with other liquid films.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the ejection means imparts vibrations to the processing liquid supply means (12) for supplying a processing liquid to the plurality of ejection openings and the processing liquid ejected from the plurality of ejection openings. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a vibration applying unit (15) that divides the processing liquid ejected from the plurality of ejection ports.
According to this configuration, the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply unit to the plurality of ejection ports is divided by the vibration from the vibration applying unit, whereby the droplets of the processing liquid are ejected from each ejection port. Since droplets are formed by the vibration from the vibration applying means, variations in droplet size (particle diameter) and velocity can be reduced as compared with the two-fluid nozzle that forms droplets by collision between liquid and gas. That is, in addition to reducing the variation in film thickness at each ejection position, the variation in droplet kinetic energy can be reduced. Therefore, the impact applied to the substrate by the collision of the droplets can be stabilized at each ejection position, and the processing quality of the substrate can be improved.

A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect, further comprising a nozzle (5, 205, 305) in which the plurality of ejection ports and the plurality of ejection ports are formed.
According to this configuration, the injection port and the discharge port are formed in a common member (nozzle). That is, the nozzle is shared by the ejecting unit and the liquid film forming unit. Therefore, the number of parts can be reduced as compared with the case where the injection port and the discharge port are formed on different members. Furthermore, since the change in the positional relationship between the ejection port and the ejection port (the position of the ejection port and the ejection port relative to a certain reference point) can be prevented, the position where the protective liquid film is formed moves relative to the ejection position. Can be prevented. Therefore, the spray position can be reliably covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid. Furthermore, since a change in the positional relationship between the ejection port and the ejection port can be prevented, maintenance work for adjusting the positional relationship between the two is unnecessary.

  When viewed from a direction perpendicular to the substrate held by the substrate holding means, the size of the nozzle may be equal to the substrate, larger than the substrate, or smaller than the substrate. Moreover, the ejection port and the ejection port may be disposed at the same height or may be disposed at different heights. Moreover, the injection port and the discharge port may be opened in a common plane. In this case, the flat surface may be a facing surface (22a) of the nozzle facing the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means.

The invention according to claim 4 is the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising nozzle moving means (18) for moving the nozzle along the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. .
According to this configuration, the plurality of ejection positions can be moved within the main surface of the substrate by moving the nozzle by the nozzle moving means. Thereby, the main surface of the substrate can be scanned (scanned) by a plurality of ejection positions. Therefore, the processing liquid droplets collide with the entire main surface of the substrate, and the main surface of the substrate can be cleaned evenly. Furthermore, since the ejection port and the ejection port are formed on a common member (nozzle), even if the nozzle moving means moves the nozzle, the positional relationship between the ejection port and the ejection port does not change. Therefore, the liquid droplets of the processing liquid can be ejected toward the ejection position while reliably protecting the ejection position with the liquid film of the protective liquid.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate rotation means (2) for rotating the substrate in the substrate rotation direction (Dr) around the rotation axis (A1) intersecting the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. Furthermore, the said liquid deposition position is set to the said rotation axis line side from the said injection position, and the upstream from the said injection position regarding the said board | substrate rotation direction. A substrate processing apparatus.

  According to this configuration, the substrate rotating means rotates the substrate in the substrate rotation direction around the rotation axis intersecting the main surface of the substrate. The liquid on the substrate in the rotating state moves downstream in the substrate rotation direction while moving in a direction away from the rotation axis. The liquid landing position is set on the rotation axis side from the ejection position and upstream from the ejection position in the substrate rotation direction. Therefore, the protective liquid supplied to the rotating substrate spreads from the liquid landing position toward the injection position. Therefore, the protective liquid is reliably supplied to the ejection position, and the ejection position is reliably covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid. As a result, it is possible to eject the treatment liquid droplets toward the ejection position while reliably protecting the ejection position with the liquid film of the protective liquid.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the ejection position is on an extension line (L) extending in the direction of the resultant force (F3) acting on the protective liquid on the liquid deposition position as the substrate is rotated by the substrate rotating means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, which is set.
Centrifugal force outward (in a direction away from the rotation axis) and Coriolis force in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the liquid act on the liquid on the rotating substrate. The liquid on the rotating substrate moves mainly in the direction of the resultant force of these two forces. The injection position is set on an extension line extending in the direction of the resultant force. Therefore, the protective liquid supplied to the liquid landing position flows mainly toward the injection position and is efficiently supplied to the injection position. Therefore, a liquid film having a predetermined thickness can be formed while reducing the discharge flow rate of the protective liquid. Thereby, the consumption of a protective liquid can be reduced.

In the invention according to claim 7, the plurality of liquid landing positions respectively correspond to the plurality of jetting positions, and the liquid film forming means is respectively disposed from the plurality of discharge ports to the plurality of liquid landing positions. It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6 which forms the liquid film of the several protective liquid which respectively covers these several injection positions by discharging a protective liquid toward.
According to this configuration, the plurality of discharge ports respectively corresponding to the plurality of injection ports are provided, and the plurality of liquid landing positions correspond to the plurality of injection positions, respectively. When the protective liquid is discharged from the plurality of discharge ports, a plurality of liquid films that respectively cover the plurality of ejection positions are formed. Each of the plurality of liquid films is formed by a protective liquid discharged from a plurality of discharge ports. That is, one liquid film is formed for one ejection position, and the ejection position is covered by this liquid film. Therefore, it is possible to control the film thickness at the injection position with higher accuracy than when covering a plurality of injection positions with one liquid film. Thereby, the dispersion | variation in the film thickness in each injection position can be reduced further.

In the invention according to claim 8, each liquid landing position corresponds to a plurality of the jetting positions, and the plurality of jetting positions corresponding to a common liquid landing position have a center at the common liquid landing position. It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6 set along the circular arc (arc).
According to this configuration, one liquid landing position corresponds to a plurality of ejection positions, and the plurality of ejection positions are covered with the protective liquid supplied to the common liquid deposition position. The thickness of the liquid film of the protective liquid decreases with increasing distance from the landing position. In other words, if the distance from the landing position is constant, the film thickness at that position is generally constant. The plurality of ejection positions corresponding to the common liquid deposition position are set along an arc having a center at the common liquid deposition position. Therefore, variations in film thickness at these injection positions can be further reduced.

  The invention according to claim 9 further includes substrate rotation means for rotating the substrate in a substrate rotation direction around a rotation axis intersecting with a main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, The plurality of spraying positions corresponding to a plurality of spraying positions correspond to a common liquid landing position, and the plurality of spraying positions have a resultant force acting on the protective liquid on the liquid landing position as the substrate is rotated by the substrate rotating means. It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6 set so that it may not overlap when it sees from the direction of the said resultant force along the extension line extended in a direction.

  According to this configuration, one liquid landing position corresponds to a plurality of ejection positions, and the plurality of ejection positions are covered with the protective liquid supplied to the common liquid deposition position. The plurality of ejection positions corresponding to the common liquid landing position are extended lines extending to a resultant force (a resultant force of centrifugal force and Coriolis force) acting on the protective liquid on the liquid landing position as the substrate is rotated by the substrate rotating means. It is set along. Accordingly, the protective liquid is efficiently supplied to a plurality of injection positions corresponding to a common liquid landing position. Furthermore, the plurality of injection positions corresponding to the common liquid landing positions are set so as not to overlap when viewed from the direction of the resultant force. Therefore, it is possible to suppress or prevent the protection liquid to be supplied to the downstream injection position with respect to the direction of the resultant force from being blocked by the treatment liquid droplets injected toward the upstream injection position. Thereby, a protective liquid can be reliably supplied to each injection position.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ejection step of ejecting treatment liquid droplets from a plurality of ejection openings toward a plurality of ejection positions in a main surface of a substrate, respectively, and a plurality of ejections in parallel with the ejection step. And a liquid film forming step of forming a plurality of liquid films of the protective liquid covering the different spray positions by discharging the protective liquid from the outlet toward the plurality of liquid deposition positions in the main surface of the substrate, respectively. The substrate processing method. According to this configuration, it is possible to achieve an effect similar to the effect described with respect to the invention of claim 1.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the injection step, a processing liquid supply step for supplying a processing liquid to the plurality of injection ports, and a process for injecting from the plurality of injection ports in parallel with the processing liquid supply step. The substrate processing method according to claim 10, further comprising a vibration applying step of dividing the processing liquid ejected from the plurality of ejection ports by imparting vibration to the liquid. According to this configuration, it is possible to achieve the same effect as the effect described with respect to the invention of claim 2.

  In this section, alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent reference numerals of corresponding components in the embodiments described later, but the scope of the claims is not limited by these reference numerals.

1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a top view of the nozzle concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention, and the composition relevant to this. It is a typical side view of the nozzle which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical top view of the nozzle concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram for demonstrating the flow path of the nozzle which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is typical sectional drawing of the nozzle which follows the VI-VI line of FIG. It is a top view for demonstrating the positional relationship of the injection outlet and discharge outlet which concern on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a process of the board | substrate performed with the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view for demonstrating the positional relationship of the injection outlet and discharge outlet which concern on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view for demonstrating the positional relationship of the injection outlet and discharge outlet which concern on 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the injection nozzle 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the configuration related thereto.
The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus that processes a disk-shaped substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer one by one. As shown in FIG. 1, a substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a spin chuck 2 (substrate holding means, substrate rotating means) that horizontally holds and rotates a substrate W, a cylindrical cup 3 that surrounds the spin chuck 2, and a substrate. A rinsing liquid nozzle 4 for supplying a rinsing liquid to W, a spray nozzle 5 (jetting means, liquid film forming means) for causing a droplet of a processing liquid to collide with the substrate W, and a substrate processing apparatus 1 such as a spin chuck 2 are provided. And a control device 6 for controlling the operation of the device and the opening and closing of the valve.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the spin chuck 2 holds a substrate W horizontally and can rotate about a vertical rotation axis A1 passing through the center C1 of the substrate W, and the spin base 7 is rotated about the rotation axis. And a spin motor 8 that rotates in the substrate rotation direction Dr around A1. The spin chuck 2 may be a holding chuck that horizontally holds the substrate W while holding the substrate W in a horizontal direction, or by adsorbing the back surface (lower surface) of the substrate W that is a non-device forming surface. A vacuum chuck that holds the substrate W horizontally may be used. 1 and 2 show a case where the spin chuck 2 is a clamping chuck.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the rinse liquid nozzle 4 is connected to a rinse liquid supply pipe 10 in which a rinse liquid valve 9 is interposed. When the rinse liquid valve 9 is opened, the rinse liquid is discharged from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 toward the center of the upper surface of the substrate W. On the other hand, when the rinse liquid valve 9 is closed, the discharge of the rinse liquid from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 is stopped. Examples of the rinsing liquid supplied to the rinsing liquid nozzle 4 include pure water (deionized water), carbonated water, electrolytic ionic water, hydrogen water, ozone water, and hydrochloric acid having a diluted concentration (for example, about 10 to 100 ppm). Water can be exemplified.

The ejection nozzle 5 is an inkjet nozzle that ejects a large number of droplets by an inkjet method. As shown in FIG. 1, the spray nozzle 5 is connected to a processing liquid supply mechanism 12 (processing liquid supply means) via a processing liquid supply pipe 11. Further, the injection nozzle 5 is connected to a treatment liquid discharge pipe 14 in which a discharge valve 13 is interposed. The processing liquid supply mechanism 12 is a mechanism including a pump, for example. The processing liquid supply mechanism 12 always supplies the processing liquid to the injection nozzle 5 at a predetermined pressure (for example, 10 MPa or less). Examples of the treatment liquid supplied to the spray nozzle 5 include pure water, carbonated water, and SC-1 (mixed liquid containing NH ₄ OH and H ₂ O ₂ ). The control device 6 can change the pressure of the processing liquid supplied to the ejection nozzle 5 to an arbitrary pressure by controlling the processing liquid supply mechanism 12.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the injection nozzle 5 includes a piezoelectric element 15 (piezo element, vibration applying means) disposed inside the injection nozzle 5. The piezoelectric element 15 is connected to the voltage application mechanism 17 through the wiring 16. The voltage application mechanism 17 is a mechanism including an inverter, for example. The voltage application mechanism 17 applies an alternating voltage to the piezoelectric element 15. When an AC voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 15, the piezoelectric element 15 vibrates at a frequency corresponding to the frequency of the applied AC voltage. The control device 6 can change the frequency of the AC voltage applied to the piezoelectric element 15 to an arbitrary frequency (for example, several hundred KHz to several MHz) by controlling the voltage application mechanism 17. Therefore, the frequency of vibration of the piezoelectric element 15 is controlled by the control device 6.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes a nozzle moving mechanism 18 (nozzle moving means). The nozzle moving mechanism 18 includes a nozzle arm 19 that holds the ejection nozzle 5, a turning mechanism 20 connected to the nozzle arm 19, and an elevating mechanism 21 connected to the turning mechanism 20. The rotation mechanism 20 is a mechanism including a motor, for example. The elevating mechanism 21 is a mechanism including a ball screw mechanism and a motor that drives the ball screw mechanism. The rotation mechanism 20 rotates the nozzle arm 19 around a vertical axis provided around the spin chuck 2. The injection nozzle 5 rotates around a vertical axis together with the nozzle arm 19. Thereby, the injection nozzle 5 moves in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the raising / lowering mechanism 21 raises / lowers the rotating mechanism 20 in the vertical direction. The injection nozzle 5 and the nozzle arm 19 move up and down together with the rotation mechanism 20 in the vertical direction. Thereby, the injection nozzle 5 moves in the vertical direction.

  The rotation mechanism 20 moves the spray nozzle 5 horizontally in a horizontal plane including the upper side of the spin chuck 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation mechanism 20 moves the spray nozzle 5 horizontally along an arcuate locus X1 extending along the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 2. The locus X1 is a curve that connects two positions that do not overlap the substrate W when viewed from the vertical direction (vertical direction) perpendicular to the substrate W, and passes through the center C1 of the substrate W when viewed from the vertical direction. When the lifting mechanism 21 lowers the spray nozzle 5 in a state where the spray nozzle 5 is positioned above the substrate W, the spray nozzle 5 comes close to the upper surface of the substrate W. The control device 6 controls the rotation mechanism 20 in a state where the ejection nozzle 5 is close to the upper surface of the substrate W and a large number of droplets of the processing liquid are ejected from the ejection nozzle 5, thereby causing the locus X1. The spray nozzle 5 is moved horizontally along Thereby, the injection nozzle 5 moves along the upper surface of the substrate W.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of the injection nozzle 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view of the injection nozzle 5. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram for explaining the flow path of the injection nozzle 5. In FIG. 4, only the lower surface of the injection nozzle 5 (the lower surface 22a of the main body 22) is shown.
As shown in FIG. 3, the ejection nozzle 5 includes a main body 22 that ejects droplets of the processing liquid, a cover 23 that covers the main body 22, a plurality of piezoelectric elements 15 that are covered by the cover 23, and the main body 22 and the cover 23. And a seal 24 interposed therebetween. The main body 22 and the cover 23 are both formed of a material having chemical resistance. The main body 22 is made of, for example, quartz. The cover 23 is made of, for example, a fluorine resin. The seal 24 is made of, for example, an elastic material. The main body 22 is strong enough to withstand high pressure. A part of the main body 22 and the piezoelectric element 15 are accommodated in the cover 23. The end of the wiring 16 is connected to the piezoelectric element 15 inside the cover 23 by, for example, solder. The inside of the cover 23 is sealed with a seal 24. The main body 22 has a horizontal lower surface 22 a that faces the upper surface of the substrate W. The treatment liquid droplets are ejected from the lower surface 22 a of the main body 22.

  Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, the main body 22 includes a processing liquid supply port 25 to which a processing liquid is supplied, a processing liquid discharge port 26 for discharging the processing liquid supplied to the processing liquid supply port 25, A treatment liquid flow passage 27 that connects the treatment liquid supply port 25 and the treatment liquid discharge port 26 and a plurality of injection ports 28 that are connected to the treatment liquid flow passage 27 are included. The processing liquid flow passage 27 includes a processing liquid upper flow path 29 connected to the processing liquid supply port 25, a processing liquid lower flow path 30 connected to the processing liquid discharge port 26, a processing liquid upper flow path 29, and a processing liquid lower flow path 30. And a plurality of processing liquid branch paths 31 connected to the plurality of processing liquid branch paths 31.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the processing liquid upper flow path 29 and the processing liquid lower flow path 30 extend in the vertical direction. The processing liquid branch path 31 extends horizontally from the lower end of the processing liquid upper flow path 29 to the lower end of the processing liquid lower flow path 30. The processing liquid connection path 32 extends vertically downward from the processing liquid branch path 31. The plurality of injection ports 28 are connected to the plurality of processing liquid connection paths 32, respectively. Accordingly, the ejection port 28 is connected to the processing liquid branch path 31 via the processing liquid connection path 32. The injection port 28 is a fine hole having a diameter of several μm to several tens of μm, for example. The plurality of injection ports 28 are opened at the lower surface 22 a of the main body 22.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the main body 22 further includes a protective liquid supply port 33 to which a protective liquid for protecting the substrate W is supplied, a protective liquid flow passage 34 connected to the protective liquid supply port 33, and a protective liquid flow. A plurality of discharge ports 35 connected to the passage 34. The protective liquid flow passage 34 is connected to the protective liquid upper flow path 36 connected to the protective liquid supply port 33, a plurality of protective liquid branch paths 37 connected to the protective liquid upper flow path 36, and a plurality of protective liquid branch paths 37. And a plurality of protective liquid connection paths 38.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the protective liquid upper flow path 36 extends in the vertical direction. The protective liquid branch 37 extends horizontally from the lower end of the protective liquid upper flow path 36. The protective liquid connection path 38 extends vertically downward from the protective liquid branch path 37. The plurality of discharge ports 35 are connected to a plurality of protective liquid connection paths 38, respectively. Accordingly, the discharge port 35 is connected to the protective liquid branch path 37 via the protective liquid connection path 38. The discharge port 35 is an opening having a larger area than the ejection port 28. The plurality of discharge ports 35 are opened at the lower surface 22 a of the main body 22. Therefore, the injection port 28 and the discharge port 35 are open on the same plane.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of injection ports 28 constitute a plurality (for example, two) of rows L1. Each row L1 is configured by a large number (for example, 10 or more) of injection ports 28. The plurality of injection ports 28 constituting the common row L1 are arranged at regular intervals, for example. Each row L1 extends linearly along the horizontal longitudinal direction D1. The two rows L1 are arranged in parallel with an interval in a horizontal direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction D1. Each row L1 is not limited to a linear shape, and may be a curved shape. The plurality of piezoelectric elements 15 are respectively arranged along the plurality of rows L1. The piezoelectric element 15 is attached to the main body 22 at a position where the vibration of the piezoelectric element 15 is transmitted to the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid branch path 31. The piezoelectric element 15 may be disposed above the main body 22 or may be disposed on the side of the main body 22.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the ejection port 35 is provided for each ejection port 28. That is, the same number of ejection ports 35 as the ejection ports 28 are provided in the main body 22. The plurality of ejection ports 35 correspond to the plurality of ejection ports 28, respectively. The positional relationship between the pair of ejection ports 28 and the ejection ports 35 is common to any pair. Accordingly, the plurality of discharge ports 35 constitute a plurality of (for example, two) rows L2 in the same manner as the plurality of ejection ports 28. Each of the two rows L2 extends in the longitudinal direction D1 along the two rows L1. One column L2 (lower column L2 in FIG. 4) is arranged inside (between) the two columns L1, and the other column L2 (upper column L2 in FIG. 4) is two Arranged outside the row L1.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the processing liquid supply pipe 11 and the processing liquid discharge pipe 14 are connected to a processing liquid supply port 25 and a processing liquid discharge port 26, respectively. Therefore, the processing liquid supply mechanism 12 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the processing liquid supply port 25 via the processing liquid supply pipe 11. The processing liquid supply mechanism 12 constantly supplies a high-pressure processing liquid to the processing liquid supply port 25. In a state where the discharge valve 13 is closed, the liquid pressure in the processing liquid flow passage 27 is maintained at a high pressure. Therefore, in this state, the processing liquid is ejected in a continuous flow from each ejection port 28 by the fluid pressure. Further, in this state, when an alternating voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 15, the vibration of the piezoelectric element 15 is imparted to the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid flow path 27, and the processing liquid ejected from each ejection port 28 is Divided by vibration. Thereby, a droplet of the treatment liquid is ejected from each ejection port 28. In this way, a large number of treatment liquid droplets having a uniform particle size are simultaneously ejected at a uniform speed.

  On the other hand, in a state where the discharge valve 13 is opened, the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid flow passage 27 is discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 26 to the processing liquid discharge pipe 14. Therefore, in this state, the liquid pressure in the processing liquid flow passage 27 does not rise sufficiently. Since the injection port 28 is a fine hole, in order to inject the processing liquid from the injection port 28, it is necessary to increase the liquid pressure in the processing liquid flow passage 27 to a predetermined value or more. However, in this state, since the liquid pressure in the processing liquid flow passage 27 is low, the processing liquid in the processing liquid flow passage 27 is not injected from the injection port 28 but from the processing liquid discharge port 26 to the processing liquid discharge pipe 14. To be discharged. In this way, the ejection of the processing liquid from the ejection port 28 is controlled by opening and closing the discharge valve 13. The control device 6 opens the discharge valve 13 while the spray nozzle 5 is not used for processing the substrate W (while the spray nozzle 5 is on standby). Therefore, even when the spray nozzle 5 is on standby, the state in which the processing liquid is circulating inside the spray nozzle 5 is maintained.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the protective liquid supply port 33 is connected to a protective liquid supply pipe 41 having a protective liquid valve 39 and a flow rate adjusting valve 40 interposed therebetween. When the protective liquid valve 39 is opened, the protective liquid is supplied to the protective liquid supply port 33 at a flow rate corresponding to the opening degree of the flow rate adjusting valve 40. Thereby, the protective liquid is discharged from each discharge port 35. Examples of the protective liquid supplied to the discharge port 35 include a rinse liquid and a chemical liquid (for example, SC-1). The control device 6 (see FIG. 1) discharges the protective liquid from each discharge port 35 in a state where the lower surface of the injection nozzle 5 (the lower surface 22a of the main body 22) faces the upper surface of the substrate W. As a result, the protective liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W, and a plurality of liquid films of the protective liquid covering the plurality of regions in the upper surface of the substrate W are formed. As will be described below, the droplets of the processing liquid are ejected toward the upper surface of the substrate W covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the injection nozzle 5 taken along line VI-VI in FIG. FIG. 7 is a plan view for explaining the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35.
As shown in FIG. 6, the ejection port 28 ejects droplets in the ejection direction Q1 toward the ejection position P1 in the upper surface of the substrate W. The injection direction Q1 is a direction from the injection port 28 toward the injection position P1. The ejection direction Q1 is set according to the direction of the processing liquid connection path 32. In the first embodiment, since the treatment liquid connection path 32 extends in the vertical direction, the injection direction Q1 is the vertical direction. Accordingly, the ejection port 28 ejects droplets vertically downward toward the ejection position P1.

  Similarly, as shown in FIG. 6, the discharge port 35 discharges the protective liquid in the discharge direction Q2 toward the liquid landing position P2 in the upper surface of the substrate W. The discharge direction Q2 is a direction from the discharge port 35 toward the liquid landing position P2. The discharge direction Q2 is set according to the direction of the protective liquid connection path 38. In the first embodiment, since the protective liquid connection path 38 extends in the vertical direction, the discharge direction Q2 is the vertical direction. Accordingly, the discharge port 35 discharges the protective liquid vertically downward toward the liquid landing position P2.

  Thus, since the processing liquid and the protective liquid are discharged in the vertical direction from the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35, the positional relationship between the ejection position P1 and the liquid landing position P2 is the same as the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35. The same. An angle (center angle) formed by a line segment connecting the center C1 of the substrate W and the injection position P1 and a line segment connecting the center C1 of the substrate W and the liquid landing position P2 is 90 degrees or less, for example. The position P2 is set on the rotation axis A1 side with respect to the corresponding injection position P1 and on the upstream side with respect to the corresponding injection position P1 with respect to the substrate rotation direction Dr.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the control device 6 is such that the lower surface of the injection nozzle 5 (the lower surface 22a of the main body 22) faces the upper surface of the substrate W, and the substrate W is rotating in the substrate rotation direction Dr. The protective liquid is discharged from the plurality of discharge ports 35. The protective liquid discharged from the plurality of discharge ports 35 is deposited on the plurality of liquid landing positions P2, respectively. As a result, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of liquid films of the protective liquid that respectively cover the plurality of regions in the upper surface of the substrate W are formed. The plurality of liquid films are respectively formed by protective liquid discharged from the plurality of discharge ports 35.

  Since the protective liquid is supplied to the substrate W in the rotating state, the protective liquid on the substrate W moves outward (in the direction away from the rotation axis A1) in the rotational radial direction by centrifugal force. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, an outward centrifugal force F1 and a Coriolis force F2 in a direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the protective liquid are applied to the protective liquid on the substrate W. The protective liquid on the liquid landing position P2 spreads outward along the upper surface of the substrate W while moving in the direction of the resultant force F3 of the two forces (centrifugal force F1 and Coriolis force F2). Therefore, a fan-shaped liquid film centered on the liquid landing position P2 is formed by the protective liquid. Furthermore, since the protective liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W flows downstream in the substrate rotation direction Dr, a fan-shaped liquid film is formed wider on the downstream side than on the upstream side in the direction of the resultant force F3. Formed by the protective liquid.

  The rotational speed of the substrate W, the positional relationship between the ejection ports 28 and the ejection ports 35, and the discharge flow rate of the protective liquid from the ejection ports 35 are set so that the plurality of ejection positions P1 are covered with a plurality of liquid films, respectively. . The rotation speed or the like of the substrate W may be set so that the plurality of liquid films partially overlap on the substrate W, or may be set so as not to overlap on the substrate W. As shown in FIG. 7, the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35 is set so that the ejection position P1 is positioned on an extension line L extending in the direction of the resultant force F3. Since the protective liquid that has landed at the liquid landing position P2 moves mainly in the direction of the resultant force F3, the flow rate of the protective liquid is highest on the extension line L if the distance from the liquid landing position P2 is constant. Therefore, by positioning the ejection position P1 on the extension line L, a liquid film having a predetermined thickness can be formed at the ejection position P1 while reducing the discharge flow rate of the protective liquid.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a processing example of the substrate W performed by the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the following, reference is made to FIG. 1 and FIG.
The unprocessed substrate W is transported by a transport robot (not shown), and placed on the spin chuck 2 with the surface, which is a device formation surface, facing upward, for example. Then, the control device 6 holds the substrate W by the spin chuck 2. Thereafter, the control device 6 controls the spin motor 8 to rotate the substrate W held on the spin chuck 2.

  Next, the 1st cover process which supplies the pure water which is an example of the rinse liquid from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 to the board | substrate W, and covers the upper surface of the board | substrate W with a pure water is performed. Specifically, the control device 6 opens the rinse liquid valve 9 while rotating the substrate W by the spin chuck 2, and is held by the spin chuck 2 from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 as shown in FIG. Pure water is discharged toward the center of the upper surface of the substrate W. The pure water discharged from the rinsing liquid nozzle 4 is supplied to the central portion of the upper surface of the substrate W, and spreads outward along the upper surface of the substrate W under the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the substrate W. Thus, pure water is supplied to the entire upper surface of the substrate W, and a liquid film of pure water is formed to cover the entire upper surface of the substrate W. When a predetermined time elapses after the rinsing liquid valve 9 is opened, the control device 6 closes the rinsing liquid valve 9 and stops the discharge of pure water from the rinsing liquid nozzle 4.

  Next, a cleaning process for supplying a droplet of carbonated water, which is an example of a processing liquid, to the substrate W from the injection port 28 of the injection nozzle 5 and cleaning the substrate W, and SC-1, which is an example of a protective liquid, are used as the injection nozzle. The second cover step of supplying the substrate W from the five discharge ports 35 to cover the upper surface of the substrate W with SC-1 is performed in parallel. Specifically, the control device 6 controls the nozzle moving mechanism 18 to move the injection nozzle 5 above the spin chuck 2 and bring the lower surface 22 a of the injection nozzle 5 close to the upper surface of the substrate W. Thereafter, the control device 6 opens the protective liquid valve 39 while rotating the substrate W by the spin chuck 2, and discharges SC-1 from the discharge port 35 of the injection nozzle 5, as shown in FIG. 8B. . Thus, a plurality of liquid films that respectively cover the plurality of injection positions P1 are formed by SC-1.

  On the other hand, the control device 6 causes the carbonated water droplets to be ejected from the ejection port 28 of the ejection nozzle 5 in parallel with the SC-1 ejection from the ejection port 35 of the ejection nozzle 5. Specifically, the control device 6 controls the discharge valve 13 in a state where the lower surface 22a of the injection nozzle 5 is close to the upper surface of the substrate W and SC-1 is discharged from the discharge port 35 of the injection nozzle 5. At the same time, the voltage application mechanism 17 applies an AC voltage having a predetermined frequency to the piezoelectric element 15. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, the control device 6 rotates the substrate W and discharges SC-1 from the discharge port 35 of the injection nozzle 5, while the nozzle moving mechanism 18 sets the center position Pc. The injection nozzle 5 is reciprocated a plurality of times between the peripheral position Pe (half scan). As shown by a solid line in FIG. 2, the center position Pc is a position where the injection nozzle 5 and the central portion of the substrate W overlap in a plan view, and as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. This is a position where the injection nozzle 5 and the peripheral edge of the substrate W overlap each other as viewed.

  A large number of carbonated water droplets are ejected downward from the ejection port 28 of the ejection nozzle 5, whereby a large number of carbonated water droplets are sprayed to the ejection position P <b> 1 covered with the liquid film of SC- 1. Further, since the control device 6 moves the ejection nozzle 5 between the center position Pc and the peripheral position Pe while rotating the substrate W, the upper surface of the substrate W is scanned by the ejection position P1, and the ejection position P1 is the substrate. It passes through the entire upper surface of W. Accordingly, carbonated water droplets are sprayed over the entire upper surface of the substrate W. Foreign substances such as particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W are physically removed by the collision of the droplets with the substrate W. Further, the bonding force between the foreign matter and the substrate W is weakened by the SC-1 melting the substrate W. Therefore, foreign matters are more reliably removed. Further, since the carbonated water droplet is sprayed to the ejection position P1 in a state where the entire upper surface of the substrate W is covered with the liquid film, the reattachment of the foreign matter to the substrate W is suppressed or prevented. In this way, the cleaning process is performed in parallel with the second cover process. When the cleaning process and the second cover process are performed for a predetermined time, the control device 6 opens the discharge valve 13 and stops the ejection of droplets from the ejection nozzle 5. Further, the control device 6 closes the protective liquid valve 39 and stops the discharge of SC-1 from the injection nozzle 5.

  Next, a rinsing process is performed in which pure water, which is an example of a rinsing liquid, is supplied from the rinsing liquid nozzle 4 to the substrate W to wash away liquids and foreign matters adhering to the substrate W. Specifically, the control device 6 opens the rinse liquid valve 9 while rotating the substrate W by the spin chuck 2, and is held by the spin chuck 2 from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 as shown in FIG. 8C. Pure water is discharged toward the center of the upper surface of the substrate W. The pure water discharged from the rinsing liquid nozzle 4 is supplied to the central portion of the upper surface of the substrate W, and spreads outward along the upper surface of the substrate W under the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the substrate W. Thereby, pure water is supplied to the entire upper surface of the substrate W, and the liquid and foreign matters adhering to the substrate W are washed away. When a predetermined time elapses after the rinsing liquid valve 9 is opened, the control device 6 closes the rinsing liquid valve 9 and stops the discharge of pure water from the rinsing liquid nozzle 4.

  Next, a drying process (spin drying) for drying the substrate W is performed. Specifically, the control device 6 controls the spin motor 8 to rotate the substrate W at a high rotation speed (for example, several thousand rpm). Thereby, a large centrifugal force acts on the pure water adhering to the substrate W, and the pure water adhering to the substrate W is shaken off around the substrate W as shown in FIG. In this way, pure water is removed from the substrate W, and the substrate W is dried. After the drying process is performed for a predetermined time, the control device 6 controls the spin motor 8 to stop the rotation of the substrate W by the spin chuck 2. Thereafter, the processed substrate W is unloaded from the spin chuck 2 by the transfer robot.

  As described above, in the first embodiment, the protective liquid is ejected from the plurality of ejection ports 35 in parallel with the ejection of the treatment liquid droplets from the plurality of ejection ports 28. Accordingly, the droplets of the processing liquid are ejected toward the upper surface of the substrate W protected by the protective liquid. Since the protective liquid is discharged from the plurality of discharge ports 35 toward the plurality of liquid deposition positions P2, respectively, a plurality of liquid films of the protective liquid covering the plurality of regions in the upper surface of the substrate W are formed. The plurality of ejection positions P1 are each covered with a plurality of liquid films. Therefore, it is possible to make the supply state of the processing liquid at each ejection position P1 more uniform than when all the ejection positions P1 are covered with one liquid film. Therefore, the variation in film thickness at each injection position P1 can be reduced. Thereby, the thickness of the liquid film at each ejection position P1 can be brought close to an optimum value, and the processing quality of the substrate W can be improved.

[Second Embodiment]
FIG. 9 is a plan view for explaining the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. 9, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 8 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and the description thereof is omitted.
The main difference between the second embodiment and the first embodiment described above is that one discharge port 35 corresponds to a plurality of injection ports 28.

  Specifically, the injection nozzle 205 (injection unit, liquid film forming unit) includes a plurality of injection ports 28 and a plurality of discharge ports 35. As in the first embodiment, the injection direction Q1 (see FIG. 6) and the discharge direction Q2 (see FIG. 6) are parallel directions, the positional relationship between the injection port 28 and the discharge port 35, the injection position P1, and The positional relationship of the liquid landing position P2 is the same. The plurality of injection positions P1 are set so as to be arranged along an arc arc centered on the liquid landing position P2. The intermediate injection port 28 with respect to the substrate rotation direction Dr is disposed on the arc arc. The injection position P1 upstream from the intermediate injection port 28 is arranged inside the arc arc, and the injection port 28 downstream from the intermediate injection port 28 is arranged outside the arc arc. The liquid landing position P2 is set on the rotation axis A1 (see FIG. 1) side from the plurality of injection positions P1 and upstream from the plurality of injection positions P1 with respect to the substrate rotation direction Dr.

  The control device 6 (see FIG. 1) causes the protective liquid to be supplied to the upper surface of the rotating substrate W by discharging the protective liquid from each discharge port 35. As a result, a plurality of liquid films of the protective liquid covering the plurality of regions in the upper surface of the substrate W are formed. The rotational speed of the substrate W, the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35, and the discharge flow rate of the protective liquid from the ejection port 35 are covered by the protective liquid ejected from the single ejection port 35 at a plurality of ejection positions P1. It is set to be. The control device 6 ejects droplets of the processing liquid from the ejection port 28 toward the ejection position P1 covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid. Thereby, particles are removed while the occurrence of damage is suppressed or prevented.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, one liquid landing position P2 corresponds to a plurality of injection positions P1, and the plurality of injection positions P1 are covered by the protective liquid supplied to the common liquid landing position P2. Is called. The thickness of the protective liquid film decreases with increasing distance from the liquid landing position P2. In other words, if the distance from the liquid landing position P2 is a constant position, the film thickness at that position is generally constant. A plurality of injection positions P1 corresponding to the common liquid landing position P2 are set along an arc arc having a center at the common liquid landing position P2. Therefore, variations in film thickness at these injection positions P1 can be further reduced. Thereby, the processing quality of the substrate W can be further improved.

[Third Embodiment]
FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining the positional relationship between the injection port 28 and the discharge port 35 according to the third embodiment of the present invention. 10, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 9 are given the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and the description thereof is omitted.
The main difference between the third embodiment and the second embodiment described above is that the positional relationship between the injection port 28 and the discharge port 35 is different.

  Specifically, the ejection nozzle 305 (ejection means, liquid film forming means) includes a plurality of ejection ports 28 and a plurality of ejection ports 35. Similar to the second embodiment, in the third embodiment, one ejection port 35 corresponds to a plurality of ejection ports 28. As in the first embodiment, the injection direction Q1 (see FIG. 6) and the discharge direction Q2 (see FIG. 6) are parallel directions, the positional relationship between the injection port 28 and the discharge port 35, the injection position P1, and The positional relationship of the liquid landing position P2 is the same. The plurality of injection positions P1 are set so as to be arranged along the extension line L extending in the direction of the resultant force F3. The innermost injection position P1 (the liquid landing position P2 side) is disposed upstream of the extension line L with respect to the substrate rotation direction Dr, and the outermost injection position P1 is downstream of the extension line L with respect to the substrate rotation direction Dr. Arranged on the side. The intermediate injection position P1 is disposed on the extension line L. The plurality of injection positions P1 are set so as not to overlap when viewed from the direction of the resultant force F3. Furthermore, the liquid landing position P2 is set on the rotation axis A1 (see FIG. 1) side from the plurality of injection positions P1 and upstream from the plurality of injection positions P1 with respect to the substrate rotation direction Dr.

  The control device 6 (see FIG. 1) causes the protective liquid to be supplied to the upper surface of the rotating substrate W by discharging the protective liquid from each discharge port 35. As a result, a plurality of liquid films of the protective liquid covering the plurality of regions in the upper surface of the substrate W are formed. The rotational speed of the substrate W, the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35, and the discharge flow rate of the protective liquid from the ejection port 35 are covered by the protective liquid ejected from the single ejection port 35 at a plurality of ejection positions P1. It is set to be. The control device 6 ejects droplets of the processing liquid from the ejection port 28 toward the ejection position P1 covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid. Thereby, particles are removed while the occurrence of damage is suppressed or prevented.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, one liquid landing position P2 corresponds to a plurality of ejection positions P1, and the plurality of ejection positions P1 are covered by the protective liquid supplied to the common liquid deposition position P2. Is called. The plurality of ejection positions P1 corresponding to the common liquid deposition position P2 has a resultant force F3 (the resultant force of the centrifugal force F1 and the Coriolis force F2) acting on the protective liquid on the liquid deposition position P2 as the substrate W rotates. It is set along the extended line L that extends. Therefore, the protective liquid is efficiently supplied to the plurality of injection positions P1 corresponding to the common liquid landing position P2. Further, the plurality of injection positions P1 corresponding to the common liquid landing position P2 are set so as not to overlap when viewed from the direction of the resultant force F3. Therefore, it is possible to suppress or prevent the protective liquid to be supplied to the downstream injection position P1 with respect to the direction of the resultant force F3 from being blocked by the treatment liquid droplets injected toward the upstream injection position P1. Thereby, a protective liquid can be reliably supplied to each injection position P1.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the contents of the first to third embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. is there.
For example, in the first embodiment described above, the case where the ejection nozzle 35 that ejects the protective liquid is provided in the ejection nozzle 5 has been described. However, the discharge port 35 may be provided in a member different from the injection nozzle 5. For example, a protective liquid nozzle (liquid film forming means) in which the discharge port 35 is formed may be provided, and the protective liquid supply pipe 41 (see FIG. 1) may be connected to the protective liquid nozzle. In this case, a plurality of protective liquid nozzles may be provided, or a plurality of discharge ports 35 may be formed in one protective liquid nozzle.

  Further, in the first embodiment described above, the case where the positional relationship between the pair of ejection ports 28 and the ejection ports 35 is common to any pair has been described. However, a pair of injection ports 28 and discharge ports 35 having a different positional relationship from the other pair of injection ports 28 and discharge ports 35 may be provided in the injection nozzle 5. Accordingly, the flow direction of the protective liquid on the substrate W (the direction from the liquid landing position P2 toward the ejection position P1) may not be constant.

  In the first embodiment described above, the droplet ejection direction Q1 and the protective liquid ejection direction Q2 are parallel directions, and the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35, the ejection position P1, and the liquid landing. The case where the positional relationship of the position P2 is the same has been described. However, the ejection direction Q1 and the ejection direction Q2 are not parallel directions, and the positional relationship between the ejection port 28 and the ejection port 35 and the positional relationship between the ejection position P1 and the liquid landing position P2 may be different. For example, the injection direction Q1 may be a vertical direction, and the discharge direction Q2 may be a direction inclined with respect to the vertical direction. In this case, the spread of the protective liquid on the substrate W can be changed by changing the inclination angle of the ejection direction Q2 with respect to the vertical direction.

  In the first embodiment described above, the case where the protective liquid supplied to the substrate W receives the force (centrifugal force and Coriolis force) generated as the substrate W rotates and spreads on the substrate W has been described. . However, if the discharge direction Q2 of the protective liquid is a direction inclined with respect to the vertical direction, the protective liquid supplied to the substrate W is in a substantially constant direction on the substrate W even if the substrate W is not rotating. spread. Therefore, the protective liquid may be supplied to the non-rotating substrate W if the discharge direction Q2 is a direction inclined with respect to the vertical direction.

Further, in the first embodiment described above, a case has been described in which the plurality of injection ports 28 configure a plurality of rows L1 and the plurality of rows L1 are arranged in parallel. However, the plurality of rows L1 may not be arranged in parallel. Further, the plurality of injection ports 28 may not constitute a plurality of rows L1.
Further, in the first embodiment described above, the control device 6 ejects between the center position Pc and the peripheral position Pe by the nozzle moving mechanism 18 in a state where the ejection nozzle 5 ejects the droplet of the processing liquid. The case where the nozzle 5 is moved along the locus X1 has been described. That is, the case where the half scan is performed has been described. However, a full scan may be performed. Specifically, the control device 6 uses the nozzle moving mechanism 18 between the two positions above the peripheral edge of the substrate W in a state where the spray nozzle 5 is spraying a droplet of the processing liquid. May be moved along the trajectory X1.

In the first embodiment described above, the case where the substrate processing apparatus 1 is an apparatus for processing a disk-shaped substrate W has been described. However, the substrate processing apparatus 1 may be an apparatus that processes a polygonal substrate such as a substrate for a liquid crystal display device.
In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

1. Substrate processing apparatus 2. Spin chuck (substrate holding means, substrate rotating means)
5 Injecting nozzle (injecting means, liquid film forming means, nozzle)
12 Treatment liquid supply mechanism (treatment liquid supply means)
15 Piezoelectric element (vibration applying means)
18 Nozzle moving mechanism (nozzle moving means)
28 Ejection port 35 Ejection port 205 Ejection nozzle (Ejection means, liquid film formation means, nozzle)
305 spray nozzle (spraying means, liquid film forming means, nozzle)
A1 Axis of rotation arc arc Arc Dr direction of substrate rotation F3 resultant force L extension line P1 injection position P2 liquid landing position W substrate

Claims (11)

Substrate holding means for holding the substrate;
Spray means for spraying droplets of the processing liquid from a plurality of spray ports toward a plurality of spray positions in the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, respectively;
A plurality of protective liquids covering the different ejection positions by discharging the protective liquid from a plurality of discharge ports toward a plurality of liquid landing positions in the main surface of the substrate respectively held by the substrate holding means. A substrate processing apparatus including a liquid film forming means for forming a film.   The jetting unit is jetted from the plurality of jetting ports by applying vibration to the processing liquid supply unit that feeds the processing liquid to the plurality of jetting ports and the processing liquid jetted from the plurality of jetting ports. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a vibration applying unit that divides the processing liquid.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a nozzle having the plurality of ejection ports and the plurality of ejection ports.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising nozzle moving means for moving the nozzle along a main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. Substrate rotation means for rotating the substrate in a substrate rotation direction around a rotation axis intersecting the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means;
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the liquid deposition position is set on the rotation axis side from the ejection position and upstream from the ejection position in the substrate rotation direction. .   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the ejection position is set on an extension line extending in a direction of a resultant force acting on the protective liquid on the liquid deposition position as the substrate is rotated by the substrate rotating unit. The plurality of liquid landing positions respectively correspond to the plurality of injection positions,
The liquid film forming means forms a plurality of protective liquid films covering the plurality of ejection positions by discharging protective liquid from the plurality of discharge ports toward the plurality of liquid landing positions, respectively. The substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6.   Each liquid landing position corresponds to a plurality of the jetting positions, and the plurality of jetting positions corresponding to a common liquid landing position are set along an arc having a center at the common liquid landing position. The substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-6. Substrate rotation means for rotating the substrate in a substrate rotation direction around a rotation axis intersecting the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means;
Each liquid deposition position corresponds to a plurality of the ejection positions, and the plurality of ejection positions corresponding to a common liquid deposition position are protected on the liquid deposition position as the substrate is rotated by the substrate rotating means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, which is set so as not to overlap when viewed from the direction of the resultant force along an extension line extending in a direction of the resultant force acting on the liquid. An ejection step of ejecting droplets of the processing liquid from a plurality of ejection openings toward a plurality of ejection positions in the main surface of the substrate,
In parallel with the ejection step, a plurality of protective liquids covering the different ejection positions by ejecting the protective liquid from the plurality of ejection openings toward the plurality of liquid deposition positions in the main surface of the substrate, respectively. And a liquid film forming step of forming a film.   In the injection step, in parallel with the processing liquid supply step for supplying the processing liquid to the plurality of injection ports and the processing liquid supply step, vibration is applied to the processing liquid injected from the plurality of injection ports. The substrate processing method of Claim 10 including the vibration provision step which divides | segments the process liquid injected from these several injection openings.

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