JP2013077597A - Nozzle, substrate processing apparatus, and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce variations of the film thickness at collision positions in a substrate where droplets collide, thereby improving the uniformity of the processing.SOLUTION: A cleaning nozzle 5 includes: an injection part 6 where multiple injection ports 31 are formed; and a discharge part 7 where a discharge port 36 is formed. The multiple injection ports 31 are formed so that multiple droplets collide with multiple collision positions P1 in a substrate W. The discharge port 36 is formed so that a protection liquid is applied to an application position P2 in the substrate W, the application position P2 being away from each of the collision positions P1 at an equal distance D. The cleaning nozzle 5 causes the multiple droplets injected from the multiple injection ports 31 to collide with the substrate W coated by a liquid film of the protection liquid discharged by the discharge port 36.

Description

  The present invention relates to a nozzle for causing droplets to collide with a substrate covered with a liquid film, and 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 collision 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 collision positions. Thereby, a liquid film of the cover rinse liquid is formed on the substrate, and a plurality of collision 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 from each collision position to the liquid deposition position is not constant, the film thickness at each collision position (the thickness of the liquid film of the cover rinse liquid) varies. Therefore, the impact applied to the substrate due to the collision of the droplets varies. Specifically, a large impact may be applied to a position in a certain substrate, and a small impact may be applied to a position in another substrate. For this reason, a region where the pattern collapses and a region where the foreign matter is not sufficiently removed may occur in the same substrate, and the processing uniformity may be reduced.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a nozzle, a substrate processing apparatus, and a substrate processing method capable of improving processing uniformity by reducing variations in film thickness at a collision position in a substrate where a droplet collides. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a plurality of injection ports are formed on the substrate (W) covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid discharged from the discharge ports (36, 236, 336, 436). (31, 431) is a nozzle that collides a plurality of droplets ejected from the plurality of droplets so that the plurality of droplets ejected from the plurality of ejection ports respectively collide with a plurality of collision positions (P1) in the substrate. The discharge port (6) having the plurality of spray ports formed therein and the discharge port so that the protective liquid is deposited at the liquid landing position (P2) in the substrate having the same distance (D) from each collision position. It is a nozzle (5, 205, 305, 405) including the discharge part (7) formed.

  According to this configuration, a protective liquid film is formed to cover the substrate by discharging the protective liquid from the discharge port formed in the discharge portion. Then, a plurality of liquid droplets are ejected from an ejecting section in which a plurality of ejection ports are formed, so that the plurality of liquid droplets collide with the substrate covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid. The liquid droplets ejected from each ejection port collide with a collision position in the substrate having the same distance from the liquid deposition position in the substrate where the protective liquid is deposited. The thickness of the liquid film on the substrate changes according to the distance from the liquid landing position. Therefore, by making the distance from each collision position to the liquid landing position equal, variations in film thickness (thickness of the liquid film of the protective liquid) at each collision position can be reduced. Therefore, variation in impact applied to the substrate at each collision position can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

The invention according to claim 2 vibrates in the supply part (6) in which the processing liquid flow passage (30) for supplying the processing liquid to the plurality of injection ports is formed, and the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid flow path. The nozzle according to claim 1, further comprising: a vibration applying unit (17) that divides the processing liquid supplied to the plurality of injection ports by applying the pressure.
According to this configuration, the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid flow path to the plurality of ejection ports is divided by the vibration from the vibration applying unit. Thereby, the liquid column of the process liquid which has a diameter substantially equal to the diameter of an injection port is injected from an injection port. The liquid column changes into a spherical shape due to the surface tension and becomes a spherical droplet. For example, when a plurality of droplets are generated by colliding a liquid and a gas, the diameters and velocities of the droplets are not uniform and the variation is large. Therefore, droplets having a uniform particle size and velocity are formed as compared with the case where a plurality of droplets are generated by colliding liquid and gas. That is, in addition to reducing the variation in film thickness at each collision position, the variation in droplet kinetic energy can be reduced. Therefore, variation in impact applied to the substrate due to droplet collision can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

A third aspect of the present invention is the nozzle according to the first or second aspect, wherein the distances (for example, the shortest distance) from each ejection port to the discharge port are equal.
According to this configuration, since the distance from each ejection port to the ejection port is equal, each droplet collides with a position (collision position) in the substrate having the same distance from the liquid landing position. Therefore, variations in film thickness at each collision position can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

  The plurality of injection holes may include a plurality of annular array injection holes (31) arranged at a distance equal to the reference point (X) when viewed from the reference direction (D1). In this case, the plurality of annular array injection ports may be arranged on the same plane or may be arranged on different planes. In other words, as long as the distance from the reference point to each annular array nozzle is equal when viewed from the reference direction, the plurality of annular array nozzles may be arranged on the same plane or arranged on different planes. It may be.

  When the plurality of injection ports include the plurality of annular array injection ports, as in the invention according to claim 4, the discharge ports are arranged to be positioned at the reference point when viewed from the reference direction. The central discharge port (36) may be included. In this case, since the distance from each annular array ejection port to the ejection port when viewed from the reference direction is equal, each droplet collides with a position (collision position) in the substrate having the same distance from the liquid deposition position. Therefore, variations in film thickness at each collision position can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

  Further, in the case where the plurality of injection ports include the plurality of annular array injection ports, as in the invention according to claim 5, the discharge port is coaxial with the reference point when viewed from the reference direction. An annular discharge port (236, 336) that surrounds and is continuous over the entire circumference may be included. The annular discharge port coaxially surrounds the reference point inside the plurality of annular array injection ports when viewed from the reference direction, and an inner annular discharge port (236) continuous over the entire circumference. Or the outer annular discharge port (336) which is coaxially surrounding the reference point outside the plurality of annular array injection ports when viewed from the reference direction, and which is continuous over the entire circumference. May be included. In any case, since the shortest distance from each annular array ejection port to the annular ejection port when viewed from the reference direction is the same, each droplet is positioned within the substrate at the same distance from the landing position (collision position). ). Therefore, variations in film thickness at each collision position can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

In addition, the plurality of injection ports may include a plurality of linear array injection ports (431) arranged so as to be arranged in a straight line when viewed from the reference direction. In this case, similarly to the annular array injection port, the plurality of linear array injection ports may be arranged on the same plane or may be arranged on different planes.
When the plurality of injection ports include the plurality of linear array injection ports, as in the invention according to claim 6, when the discharge ports are viewed from the reference direction, the plurality of linear array injection ports. May include a slit-like linear discharge port (436) parallel to the. In this case, since the shortest distance from each linear array ejection port to the linear ejection port when viewed from the reference direction is the same, each droplet is positioned in the substrate at the same distance from the landing position (collision position). Collide with. Therefore, variations in film thickness at each collision position can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

  According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the nozzle according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, a treatment liquid supply pipe (13) for supplying a treatment liquid to the ejection part, and a protection to the discharge part. By moving at least one of the protective liquid supply pipe (26) for supplying liquid, the substrate holding means (2) for holding the substrate, and the substrate held by the nozzle and the substrate holding means, The substrate processing apparatus (1) includes a relative moving means (20) for relatively moving the nozzle and the substrate in a state where the positional relationship between the ejection port and the ejection port is kept constant.

  According to this configuration, the protective liquid supplied from the protective liquid supply pipe to the discharge unit is discharged from the discharge port, so that a liquid film of the protective liquid covering the substrate held by the substrate holding unit is formed. And the process liquid supplied to the injection part from the process liquid supply pipe is ejected from the plurality of ejection ports, so that the plurality of liquid droplets collide with the substrate covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid. The relative movement means moves the nozzle and the substrate relative to each other by moving at least one of the nozzle and the substrate held by the substrate holding means. As a result, the substrate is scanned with the droplets of the processing liquid, and the plurality of droplets collide with a wide area of the substrate. Therefore, a wide area of the substrate is cleaned. Further, since the relative movement means relatively moves the nozzle and the substrate in a state where the positional relationship between the plurality of ejection ports and the ejection ports is kept constant, the positional relationship between the collision position and the liquid landing position is kept constant. Be drunk. Therefore, variation in impact applied to the substrate at each collision position can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

The relative moving means may be a substrate moving means for moving the substrate, a nozzle moving means for moving the nozzle, or a substrate / nozzle moving means for moving the substrate and the nozzle. .
The invention according to claim 8 further includes substrate rotating means (2) for rotating the substrate around a rotation axis (L1) intersecting a central portion of the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, The relative movement means is arranged so that the center position (Pc) where the nozzle faces the central portion of the main surface of the substrate and the distance between the nozzle and the substrate are shorter than the distance at the center position. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the nozzle is moved between peripheral positions (Pe 1, Pe 2) facing the peripheral surface of the main surface of the substrate. The main surface of the substrate may be the surface of the substrate that is the device forming surface, or may be the back surface opposite to the front surface.

  According to this configuration, in the state in which the substrate rotating means rotates the substrate around the rotation axis intersecting the central portion of the main surface of the substrate, the relative moving means has a center where the nozzle faces the central portion of the main surface of the substrate. The nozzle is moved between the position and the peripheral position where the nozzle faces the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate. As a result, the entire main surface of the substrate is scanned with droplets of the processing liquid, and a plurality of droplets collide with the entire main surface of the substrate. Therefore, the cleanliness of the substrate is increased. Further, since the distance between the nozzle and the substrate at the peripheral position is shorter than the distance between the nozzle and the substrate at the central position, the impact applied to the central portion of the main surface of the substrate is applied to the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate. Smaller than impact. Since the central portion of the main surface of the substrate has a smaller area than the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate, droplets are supplied at a higher density than the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate. Therefore, by reducing the impact applied to the central portion of the main surface of the substrate, the difference between the total amount of impact applied to the central portion of the main surface of the substrate and the total amount of impact applied to the peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate can be reduced. Thereby, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

  According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ejection step of ejecting liquid droplets of the processing liquid from a plurality of ejection openings toward a plurality of collision positions in the substrate, respectively, and in parallel with the ejection step, from each collision position. A liquid film forming step of forming a liquid film of the protective liquid covering the plurality of collision positions by discharging the protective liquid from the discharge port toward the liquid landing position in the substrate having the same distance. is there. According to this method, an effect similar to the effect described in regard to the invention of claim 1 can be obtained.

  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.

It is a mimetic diagram showing a schematic structure of a substrate processing apparatus concerning a 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the washing nozzle concerning a 1st embodiment of this invention, and the composition relevant to this. It is a typical longitudinal section of the washing nozzle concerning a 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a typical bottom view of the washing nozzle concerning a 1st embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a process of the board | substrate performed by the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a process of the board | substrate performed by the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a process of the board | substrate performed by the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a process of the board | substrate performed by the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a typical bottom view of the washing nozzle concerning a 2nd embodiment of this invention. It is a typical bottom view of the washing nozzle concerning a 3rd embodiment of this invention. It is a typical side view of the washing nozzle concerning a 4th embodiment of this invention. It is a typical bottom view of the washing nozzle concerning a 4th 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 cleaning 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 the upper surface of W, a cleaning nozzle 5 (nozzle) for causing a droplet of the processing liquid to collide with the upper surface of the substrate W covered with a protective liquid film, a spin chuck 2 and the like And a control device 8 for controlling the operation of the apparatus and the opening / closing of the valve. The cleaning nozzle 5 includes an injection nozzle 6 (injection unit and supply unit) that causes a droplet of the processing liquid to collide with the upper surface of the substrate W, and a protection liquid nozzle 7 (discharge unit) that supplies a protective liquid (cover rinse liquid) to the substrate W. ). As shown in FIG. 2, the injection nozzle 6 has, for example, a cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction, and the protective liquid nozzle 7 is disposed along the central axis L <b> 3 of the injection nozzle 6. The injection nozzle 6 and the protective liquid nozzle 7 may be an integral nozzle or may be separate nozzles connected to each other.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the spin chuck 2 holds a substrate W horizontally and can rotate about a vertical rotation axis L1 passing through the center C1 of the substrate W, and the spin base 9 is rotated about the rotation axis. And a spin motor 10 that rotates around L1. 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 12 in which a rinse liquid valve 11 is interposed. When the rinse liquid valve 11 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 11 is closed, the discharge of the rinse liquid from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 is stopped. As the rinsing liquid supplied to the rinsing liquid nozzle 4, pure water (deionized water), carbonated water, electrolytic ionic water, hydrogen water, ozone water, hydrochloric acid water having a diluted concentration (for example, about 10 to 100 ppm), etc. It can be illustrated.

The ejection nozzle 6 is an inkjet nozzle that ejects a large number of droplets by an inkjet method. As shown in FIG. 1, the spray nozzle 6 is connected to a processing liquid supply mechanism 14 via a processing liquid supply pipe 13. Further, the injection nozzle 6 is connected to a treatment liquid discharge pipe 16 in which a discharge valve 15 is interposed. The processing liquid supply mechanism 14 is a mechanism including a pump, for example. The processing liquid supply mechanism 14 always supplies the processing liquid to the injection nozzle 6 at a predetermined pressure (for example, 10 MPa or less). Examples of the processing liquid supplied to the injection nozzle 6 include pure water, carbonated water, and SC-1 (mixed liquid containing NH ₄ OH and H ₂ O ₂ ). The control device 8 can change the pressure of the processing liquid supplied to the ejection nozzle 6 to an arbitrary pressure by controlling the processing liquid supply mechanism 14.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the injection nozzle 6 includes a piezoelectric element 17 (piezo element: vibration applying means) disposed inside the injection nozzle 6. The piezoelectric element 17 is connected to a voltage application mechanism 19 via a wiring 18. The voltage application mechanism 19 is a drive circuit including an inverter, for example. The voltage application mechanism 19 applies an alternating voltage to the piezoelectric element 17. When an AC voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 17, the piezoelectric element 17 vibrates at a frequency corresponding to the frequency of the applied AC voltage. The control device 8 can change the frequency of the AC voltage applied to the piezoelectric element 17 to an arbitrary frequency (for example, several hundred KHz to several MHz) by controlling the voltage application mechanism 19. Therefore, the frequency of vibration of the piezoelectric element 17 is controlled by the control device 8.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 further includes a nozzle moving mechanism 20 (relative moving means). The nozzle moving mechanism 20 includes a nozzle arm 21 that holds the cleaning nozzle 5 (the spray nozzle 6 and the protective liquid nozzle 7), a rotating mechanism 22 connected to the nozzle arm 21, and an elevating mechanism connected to the rotating mechanism 22. 23. The rotation mechanism 22 is a mechanism including a motor, for example. The elevating mechanism 23 is a mechanism including a ball screw mechanism and a motor that drives the ball screw mechanism. The rotation mechanism 22 rotates the nozzle arm 21 around a vertical rotation axis L <b> 2 provided around the spin chuck 2. The cleaning nozzle 5 rotates around the rotation axis L <b> 2 together with the nozzle arm 21. Thereby, the washing nozzle 5 moves in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the elevating mechanism 23 moves the rotating mechanism 22 up and down in the vertical direction D1 (reference direction). The cleaning nozzle 5 and the nozzle arm 21 move up and down in the vertical direction D1 together with the rotation mechanism 22. Thereby, the washing nozzle 5 moves in the vertical direction D1.

  The rotation mechanism 22 moves the cleaning nozzle 5 horizontally in a horizontal plane including the upper side of the spin chuck 2. As shown in FIG. 2, the rotation mechanism 22 moves the cleaning nozzle 5 horizontally along an arc-shaped locus X <b> 1 extending along the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 2. The locus X1 connects two positions that do not overlap the upper surface of the substrate W when viewed from the vertical direction (vertical direction D1) perpendicular to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 2, and is viewed from the vertical direction D1. It is a curve that sometimes passes through the center C1 of the upper surface of the substrate W. When the lifting mechanism 23 lowers the cleaning nozzle 5 with the cleaning nozzle 5 positioned above the substrate W held by the spin chuck 2, the cleaning nozzle 5 comes close to the upper surface of the substrate W. When the droplets of the processing liquid collide with the substrate W, the control device 8 controls the rotation mechanism 22 in a state where the cleaning nozzle 5 is close to the upper surface of the substrate W, thereby along the locus X1. The cleaning nozzle 5 is moved.

  The protective liquid nozzle 7 is held by the nozzle arm 21. When at least one of the rotation mechanism 22 and the lifting mechanism 23 moves the nozzle arm 21, the spray nozzle 6 and the protective liquid nozzle 7 move in a state where the positional relationship between the spray nozzle 6 and the protective liquid nozzle 7 is kept constant. To do. Therefore, when the rotation mechanism 22 rotates the nozzle arm 21, the protective liquid nozzle 7 moves horizontally along the locus X <b> 1 together with the spray nozzle 6. As shown in FIG. 1, the protective liquid nozzle 7 is connected to a protective liquid supply pipe 26 in which a protective liquid valve 24 and a flow rate adjustment valve 25 are interposed. When the protective liquid valve 24 is opened, the protective liquid is discharged from the protective liquid nozzle 7 toward the upper surface of the substrate W. On the other hand, when the protective liquid valve 24 is closed, the discharge of the protective liquid from the protective liquid nozzle 7 is stopped. The discharge speed of the protective liquid from the protective liquid nozzle 7 is changed by the control device 8 adjusting the opening degree of the flow rate adjusting valve 25. Examples of the protective liquid supplied to the protective liquid nozzle 7 include a rinse liquid and a chemical liquid such as SC-1.

FIG. 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view of the cleaning nozzle 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a schematic bottom view of the cleaning nozzle 5 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.
As described above, the cleaning nozzle 5 includes the ejection nozzle 6 that causes the droplet of the processing liquid to collide with the upper surface of the substrate W, and the protective liquid nozzle 7 that supplies the protective liquid to the substrate W. As shown in FIG. 3, the injection nozzle 6 is, for example, a cylindrical shape extending in the vertical direction, and the protective liquid nozzle 7 is disposed along the central axis L3 of the injection nozzle 6 (the central axis L3 of the cleaning nozzle 5). ing. The outer diameter of the injection nozzle 6 is smaller than the diameter of the substrate W. The spray nozzle 6 and the protective liquid nozzle 7 are connected by a stay (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, the injection nozzle 6 includes a cylindrical main body 27 extending in the vertical direction and the above-described piezoelectric element 17 disposed inside the main body 27. An end portion of the wiring 18 is connected to the piezoelectric element 17 inside the main body 27. The main body 27 is formed of a chemical resistant material having chemical resistance. The main body 27 is made of, for example, quartz. The main body 27 is strong enough to withstand high pressure.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the main body 27 connects the supply port 28 to which the processing liquid is supplied, the discharge port 29 for discharging the processing liquid supplied to the supply port 28, and the supply port 28 and the discharge port 29. The processing liquid flow passage 30 and a plurality of injection ports 31 (annular array injection ports) connected to the processing liquid flow passage 30 are included. The processing liquid flow passage 30 includes an upper flow path 32 connected to the supply port 28, a lower flow path 33 connected to the discharge port 29, two branch paths 34 connecting the upper flow path 32 and the lower flow path 33, and a branch. A plurality of connection paths 35 connected to the path 34. The upper flow path 32 and the lower flow path 33 extend in the vertical direction D 1, and the branch path 34 extends horizontally from the lower end of the upper flow path 32 to the lower end of the lower flow path 33. As shown in FIG. 4, the two branch paths 34 are arranged along a circle C having a center point X (reference point) on the center axis L <b> 3 of the injection nozzle 6. As shown in FIG. 3, the plurality of connection paths 35 extend downward from the respective branch paths 34. Each of the plurality of injection ports 31 is connected to a plurality of connection paths 35. Therefore, the injection port 31 is connected to the processing liquid flow passage 30 via the connection path 35. The flow area of the injection port 31 and the connection path 35 is smaller than the flow area of the branch path 34.

  The injection port 31 is a fine hole having a diameter of several μm to several tens of μm, for example. As shown in FIG. 3, the lower surface 27 a of the main body 27 is, for example, a horizontal flat surface, and the plurality of injection ports 31 are opened at the lower surface 27 a of the main body 27. Accordingly, the plurality of injection ports 31 are arranged at the same height. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the plurality of injection ports 31 are arranged at equal intervals along a horizontal circle C having a center point X on the center axis L <b> 3 of the injection nozzle 6 (center axis L <b> 3 of the cleaning nozzle 5). Has been. The discharge port 36 (center discharge port) of the protective liquid nozzle 7 is disposed on a vertical axis (center axis L3 of the injection nozzle 6) passing through the center point X. Accordingly, the discharge port 36 is surrounded by the plurality of injection ports 31 over the entire circumference. The distance (shortest distance) from each injection port 31 to the discharge port 36 is equal. The discharge ports 36 may be disposed at the same height as the plurality of ejection ports 31 or may be disposed at a height different from the plurality of ejection ports 31. The discharge port 36 is, for example, a circular opening. The protective liquid nozzle 7 discharges the protective liquid vertically downward from the discharge port 36. Similarly, the ejection nozzle 6 ejects droplets vertically downward from each ejection port 31. Accordingly, the spray nozzle 6 and the protective liquid nozzle 7 discharge liquid in directions parallel to each other.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the processing liquid supply pipe 13 and the processing liquid discharge pipe 16 are connected to a supply port 28 and a discharge port 29, respectively. Therefore, the processing liquid supply mechanism 14 (see FIG. 1) is connected to the supply port 28 via the processing liquid supply pipe 13. The processing liquid supply mechanism 14 always supplies the processing liquid to the jet nozzle 6 at a high pressure. The processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply mechanism 14 to the supply port 28 is supplied to the processing liquid flow passage 30. In a state where the discharge valve 15 is closed, the pressure (fluid pressure) of the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid flow passage 30 is high. Therefore, in this state, the processing liquid is ejected from each ejection port 31 by the fluid pressure. Further, in this state, when an AC voltage is applied to the piezoelectric element 17, the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid flow passage 30 is divided by vibration from the piezoelectric element 17 and has a diameter that is approximately equal to the diameter of the ejection port 31. A liquid column of liquid is ejected from the ejection port 31. And this liquid column changes to a spherical shape by surface tension. Therefore, spherical droplets having a diameter (for example, 15 μm to 200 μm) larger than the diameter of the ejection port 31 are scattered toward the substrate W.

  On the other hand, when the discharge valve 15 is open, the processing liquid supplied to the processing liquid flow passage 30 is discharged from the discharge port 29 to the processing liquid discharge pipe 16. That is, in the state where the discharge valve 15 is opened, the liquid pressure in the processing liquid flow passage 30 is not sufficiently increased. Since the injection port 31 is a fine hole, in order to inject the processing liquid from the injection port 31, it is necessary to increase the liquid pressure in the processing liquid flow passage 30 to a predetermined value or more. However, in a state where the discharge valve 15 is opened, the liquid pressure in the processing liquid flow passage 30 is low, so that the processing liquid in the processing liquid flow passage 30 is not injected from the injection port 31 but from the discharge port 29. It is discharged to the processing liquid discharge pipe 16. As described above, the injection of the processing liquid from the injection port 31 is controlled by opening and closing the discharge valve 15. The control device 8 (see FIG. 1) opens the discharge valve 15 while the cleaning nozzle 5 is not used for processing the substrate W (while the cleaning nozzle 5 is on standby). Therefore, even when the cleaning nozzle 5 is on standby, the state in which the processing liquid is circulating inside the injection nozzle 6 is maintained.

  The control device 8 moves the cleaning nozzle 5 by the nozzle moving mechanism 20 (see FIG. 1) when causing the droplet of the processing liquid to collide with the upper surface of the substrate W, whereby the lower surface of the injection nozzle 6 (the lower surface of the main body 27). 27a) is brought close to the upper surface of the substrate W. And the control apparatus 8 is the protection liquid valve | bulb in the state in which the several injection port 31 provided in the injection nozzle 6 and the discharge port 36 provided in the protection liquid nozzle 7 are facing the upper surface of the board | substrate W. 24 is opened, and the protective liquid is discharged from the discharge port 36. Further, in this state, the control device 8 closes the discharge valve 15 to increase the pressure of the processing liquid flow passage 30 and drives the piezoelectric element 17 to vibrate the processing liquid in the processing liquid flow passage 30. Add. Thereby, a large number of droplets of the treatment liquid having a uniform particle size are simultaneously ejected at a uniform speed. Specifically, uniform droplets having a particle size and speed variation of 10% or less with respect to the average value are ejected toward the upper surface of the substrate W.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the droplets of the processing liquid are ejected from the plurality of ejection ports 31 toward the plurality of collision positions P <b> 1 in the upper surface of the substrate W, respectively. Further, the protective liquid is discharged from the discharge port 36 toward the liquid landing position P2 in the upper surface of the substrate W. The positional relationship between the collision position P1 and the liquid landing position P2 is equal to the positional relationship between the ejection port 31 and the ejection port 36 when the ejection port 31 and the ejection port 36 are viewed from the vertical direction D1. As described above, the distances from the ejection ports 31 to the ejection ports 36 are equal. Therefore, the distance D (shortest distance) from each collision position P1 to the liquid landing position P2 is equal.

5A to 5D are views 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. 5A to 5D will be referred to as appropriate.
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 8 holds the substrate W by the spin chuck 2. Thereafter, the control device 8 controls the spin motor 10 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 8 opens the rinse liquid valve 11 while rotating the substrate W by the spin chuck 2, and the substrate held on the spin chuck 2 from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 as shown in FIG. 5A. Pure water is discharged toward the center of the upper surface of 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 11 is opened, the control device 8 closes the rinsing liquid valve 11 and stops the discharge of pure water from the rinsing liquid nozzle 4.

  Next, a cleaning step of cleaning the substrate W by supplying droplets of carbonated water, which is an example of the processing liquid, from the spray nozzle 6 to the substrate W, and SC-1, which is an example of the protective liquid, from the protective liquid nozzle 7 to the substrate. A second cover process is performed in parallel with the process of supplying W to cover the upper surface of the substrate W with SC-1. Specifically, the control device 8 controls the nozzle moving mechanism 20 to move the cleaning nozzle 5 (injection nozzle 6 and protective liquid nozzle 7) above the spin chuck 2, and the lower surface of the cleaning nozzle 5 ( The lower surface 27a) of the main body 27 is brought close to the upper surface of the substrate W. Thereafter, the control device 8 opens the protective liquid valve 24 while rotating the substrate W by the spin chuck 2, and discharges SC-1 from the protective liquid nozzle 7 as shown in FIG. 5B. Thereby, the SC-1 liquid film covering the upper surface of the substrate W is formed.

  On the other hand, the control device 8 ejects droplets of carbonated water from the ejection nozzle 6 in parallel with the discharge of SC-1 from the protective liquid nozzle 7. Specifically, the control device 8 closes the discharge valve 15 in a state where the lower surface of the cleaning nozzle 5 is close to the upper surface of the substrate W and SC-1 is discharged from the protective liquid nozzle 7, and the voltage An AC voltage having a predetermined frequency is applied to the piezoelectric element 17 by the applying mechanism 19. Further, the control device 8 reciprocates the cleaning nozzle 5 along the locus X1 by the nozzle moving mechanism 20 while rotating the substrate W at a constant rotation speed. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5B, a plurality of droplets are ejected from the ejection nozzle 6, and these droplets collide with the upper surface of the substrate W covered with the liquid film of SC-1. Then, after the droplet ejection is performed for a predetermined time, the control device 8 opens the discharge valve 15 to stop the droplet ejection from the ejection nozzle 6. Further, the control device 8 closes the protective liquid valve 24 and stops the discharge of SC-1 from the protective liquid nozzle 7. Thereafter, the control device 8 retracts the cleaning nozzle 5 from above the substrate W by the nozzle moving mechanism 20.

  In the cleaning process, the control device 8 uses a peripheral position Pe2 (see FIG. 5B) where the cleaning nozzle 5 faces the upper peripheral edge of the substrate W to a peripheral position Pe2 (see FIG. 5B) where the cleaning nozzle 5 faces the upper peripheral edge of the substrate W. The cleaning nozzle 5 may be moved along the trajectory X1 until the cleaning is performed, or the cleaning nozzle 5 is cleaned from the center position Pc (see FIG. 5B) facing the center of the upper surface of the substrate W to the peripheral position Pe1. You may perform the half scan which moves the nozzle 5 along the locus | trajectory X1. Further, regardless of whether full scan or half scan is performed, the control device 8 may move the cleaning nozzle 5 while keeping the distance between the cleaning nozzle 5 and the substrate W in the vertical direction D1 constant. The cleaning nozzle 5 may be moved while changing the distance between the cleaning nozzle 5 and the substrate W. For example, as shown in FIG. 5B, the control device 8 causes the distance between the cleaning nozzle 5 and the substrate W at the peripheral position Pe1 and the peripheral position Pe2 to be shorter than the distance between the cleaning nozzle 5 and the substrate W at the central position Pc. As such, the cleaning nozzle 5 may be moved.

  A large number of carbonated water droplets are sprayed downward from the spray nozzle 6, whereby a large number of carbonated water droplets are sprayed onto the upper surface of the substrate W covered with the SC-1 liquid film. In addition, regardless of whether full scan or half scan is performed, since the cleaning nozzle 5 passes through the center position Pc and the peripheral position Pe1, the entire upper surface of the substrate W is scanned by the carbonated water droplets, and the carbonated water is scanned. The droplet collides with the entire upper surface of the substrate W. Accordingly, foreign matters such as particles adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W are physically removed by the collision of the droplet with the substrate W. Further, the adhesion force of foreign matter to the substrate W is weakened by the SC-1 melting the substrate W. Therefore, foreign matters are more reliably removed. Moreover, since the carbonated water droplets are sprayed onto the upper surface of the substrate W in a state where the entire upper surface of the substrate W is covered with the liquid film, the reattachment of 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.

  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 8 opens the rinse liquid valve 11 while rotating the substrate W by the spin chuck 2, and the substrate held on the spin chuck 2 from the rinse liquid nozzle 4 as shown in FIG. 5C. Pure water is discharged toward the center of the upper surface of 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 11 is opened, the control device 8 closes the rinsing liquid valve 11 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 8 controls the spin motor 10 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. 5D. In this way, pure water is removed from the substrate W, and the substrate W is dried. Then, after the drying process is performed for a predetermined time, the control device 8 controls the spin motor 10 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 present embodiment, a protective liquid film covering the substrate W is formed by discharging the protective liquid from the discharge port 36. A plurality of liquid droplets are ejected from the plurality of ejection ports 31, so that the plurality of liquid droplets collide with the substrate W covered with the liquid film of the protective liquid. The liquid droplets ejected from the ejection ports 31 collide with the collision position P1 in the substrate W where the distance D from the liquid deposition position P2 in the substrate W where the protective liquid is deposited is equal. The thickness of the liquid film on the substrate W changes according to the distance from the liquid landing position P2. Therefore, by making the distance from each collision position P1 to the liquid landing position P2 equal, it is possible to reduce the variation in the film thickness (the thickness of the liquid film of the protective liquid) at each collision position P1. Therefore, variation in impact applied to the substrate W at each collision position P1 can be reduced. Further, since the droplets ejected toward the substrate W have a uniform particle size and velocity, the droplets having uniform kinetic energy collide with the substrate W. Thereby, the variation in the impact applied to the substrate W by the collision of the droplets can be further reduced. Therefore, the uniformity of processing can be improved.

Although the description of the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the contents of the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the discharge port 36 has a circular shape and is disposed on the central axis L3 of the cleaning nozzle 5 when viewed from the vertical direction D1. However, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the discharge port 36 has a continuous annular shape over the entire circumference, and coaxially surrounds the central axis L3 of the cleaning nozzle 5 when viewed from the vertical direction D1. It may be arranged. In this case, the discharge port 36 may be disposed inside the plurality of injection ports 31 like the inner annular discharge port 236 (annular discharge port) of the cleaning nozzle 205 shown in FIG. 6A, or as shown in FIG. 6B. Like the outer annular discharge port 336 (annular discharge port) of the cleaning nozzle 305, it may be disposed outside the plurality of ejection ports 31.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which the plurality of injection ports 31 are arranged along the horizontal circle C having the center point X on the central axis L3 of the cleaning nozzle 5. However, the plurality of injection ports 31 may be arranged along a horizontal arc having a center on the central axis L <b> 3 of the cleaning nozzle 5. That is, the plurality of ejection ports 31 may not surround the ejection port 36 over the entire circumference.

  Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the plurality of injection ports 31 are arranged in an annular shape has been described. However, the plurality of injection ports 31 may be arranged in a straight line. Specifically, as in the cleaning nozzle 405 shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, a plurality of injection ports 431 (linear array injection ports) are linearly arranged at equal intervals, and the discharge ports 436 (linear discharge nozzles) are arranged. The exit may be in the form of a slit parallel to the plurality of injection ports 431. The length of the discharge port 436 (length in the longitudinal direction) is equal to the length from one end of the plurality of ejection ports 431 to the other end. In this case, the discharge direction of the protective liquid from the discharge port 436 may not be parallel to the discharge direction of the droplets from the discharge port 431.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the plurality of injection ports 31 are arranged at the same height has been described. However, the plurality of injection ports 31 may be arranged at different heights. That is, it is only necessary that the plurality of injection ports 31 be arranged at the same distance from the central axis L3 of the cleaning nozzle 5 when viewed from the vertical direction D1.
In the above-described embodiment, the case where the cleaning nozzle 5 includes the inkjet nozzle (ejection nozzle 6) that ejects a large number of droplets by the inkjet method has been described. However, the cleaning nozzle 5 may include a two-fluid nozzle that generates liquid droplets by colliding liquid and gas. For example, the cleaning liquid nozzle 5 may include a plurality of two-fluid nozzles arranged in an annular shape and a protective liquid nozzle 7 arranged at the center of the plurality of two-fluid nozzles.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the substrate W is processed using one cleaning nozzle 5 has been described. However, the substrate W may be processed using a plurality of cleaning nozzles 5. That is, a plurality of cleaning nozzles 5 corresponding to the common spin chuck 2 may be provided.
Moreover, although the above-mentioned embodiment demonstrated the case where the substrate processing apparatus 1 was an apparatus which processes the disk-shaped board | substrate W, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is a polygonal board | substrate, such as a board | substrate for liquid crystal display devices. It may be a device for processing.

  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: Cleaning nozzle (nozzle)
6: Injection nozzle (injection unit, supply unit)
7: Protective liquid nozzle (discharge part)
13: Treatment liquid supply pipe 17: Piezoelectric element (vibration applying means)
20: Nozzle movement mechanism (relative movement means)
26: Protection liquid supply pipe 30: Treatment liquid flow passage 31: Injection port (annular array injection port)
36: Discharge port (central discharge port)
205: Cleaning nozzle (nozzle)
236: Inner annular discharge port (annular discharge port)
305: Cleaning nozzle (nozzle)
336: Outer annular discharge port (annular discharge port)
405: Cleaning nozzle (nozzle)
431: injection port (linear arrangement injection port)
436: Discharge port (straight discharge port)
D1: Vertical direction (reference direction)
Pc: Center position Pe1: Perimeter position Pe2: Perimeter position L1: Rotation axis X: Center point (reference point)

Claims (9)

A nozzle that causes a plurality of droplets ejected from a plurality of ejection ports to collide with a substrate covered with a liquid film of a protective liquid ejected from an ejection port,
An injection unit in which the plurality of injection ports are formed such that a plurality of liquid droplets injected from the plurality of injection ports respectively collide with a plurality of collision positions in the substrate;
A nozzle including a discharge portion in which the discharge port is formed so that the protective liquid is deposited at a liquid deposition position in the substrate having the same distance from each collision position. A supply section in which a processing liquid flow passage for supplying a processing liquid to the plurality of ejection ports is formed;
The nozzle according to claim 1, further comprising vibration applying means for dividing the processing liquid supplied to the plurality of ejection ports by applying vibration to the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid flow passage.   The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein a distance from each ejection port to the ejection port is equal. The plurality of injection holes include a plurality of annular array injection holes arranged at equal distances from a reference point when viewed from a reference direction;
The nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the discharge port includes a central discharge port arranged to be positioned at the reference point when viewed from the reference direction. The plurality of injection holes include a plurality of annular array injection holes arranged at equal distances from a reference point when viewed from a reference direction;
The said discharge outlet is arrange | positioned so that the said reference point may be surrounded when it sees from the said reference direction, and contains the cyclic | annular discharge outlet continuous over the perimeter. Nozzle. The plurality of injection holes include a plurality of linear array injection holes arranged so as to be arranged in a straight line when viewed from a reference direction,
The nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the discharge port includes a slit-shaped linear discharge port parallel to the plurality of linear array injection ports when viewed from the reference direction. The nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A treatment liquid supply pipe for supplying a treatment liquid to the ejection unit;
A protective liquid supply pipe for supplying a protective liquid to the discharge unit;
Substrate holding means for holding the substrate;
By moving at least one of the nozzle and the substrate held by the substrate holding means, the nozzle and the substrate are moved in a state where the positional relationship between the plurality of ejection ports and the ejection port is kept constant. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a relative movement means for relative movement. A substrate rotating means for rotating the substrate around a rotation axis intersecting a central portion of the main surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means;
The relative movement means is configured so that the nozzle is positioned so that the distance between the nozzle and the substrate is shorter than the distance between the center position where the nozzle faces the central portion of the main surface of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the nozzle is moved between a peripheral position facing a peripheral portion of the main surface of the substrate. An ejection step of ejecting droplets of the processing liquid from a plurality of ejection openings toward a plurality of collision positions in the substrate,
In parallel with the jetting step, a protective liquid film is formed to cover the plurality of collision positions by discharging the protective liquid from the discharge port toward the liquid landing position in the substrate having the same distance from each collision position. And a liquid film forming step.

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