JP2015149383A - Substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing device of surely preventing process liquid attached to the upper part of an opening from dropping down on a substrate passing through the opening.SOLUTION: A substrate processing device includes: a processing chamber in which a substrate is housed; a shutter 4 for closing an opening 3 for passage of a semiconductor wafer formed on a side wall 2 of the processing chamber; and a canopy member 31 annexed to the shutter 4. The canopy member 31 includes a contact part, a liquid receiving part, and a liquid drainage part that remove droplet D in contact with this droplet D attached to the upper part of the opening 3 in the chamber.

Description

  The present invention processes glass substrates for organic EL display devices, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, panel substrates for solar cells, glass substrates for plasma displays, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for optical disks, semiconductor wafers, etc. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing the substrate by supplying a liquid.

  For example, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, the processing is performed by supplying various processing liquids to a semiconductor wafer as a substrate. As a substrate processing apparatus for performing such processing, a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus is used in which substrates are transferred one by one into a processing chamber through an opening formed in a side wall of the processing chamber by a substrate transfer robot. ing. In this single wafer type substrate processing apparatus, a spin chuck that rotates while holding a substrate horizontally is disposed in a processing chamber. The processing liquid is supplied toward the main surface of the substrate rotated in a horizontal posture by the spin chuck. The processing liquid supplied to the surface of the substrate is spread over the entire surface of the substrate by centrifugal force, scattered from the edge of the substrate, and collected by the liquid receiving cup.

  In such a substrate processing apparatus, a part of the processing liquid splash scattered from the edge of the substrate, a processing liquid condensed with the processing liquid vapor, or the like may adhere to the processing chamber. In particular, when the processing liquid adheres to the upper part of the opening formed on the side wall of the processing chamber (the lower surface of the upper wall of the opening part), the processing liquid falls onto the substrate passing through the opening and the substrate is removed. There is a possibility of contamination.

  In Patent Document 1, a cleaning liquid discharge nozzle that discharges a cleaning liquid toward the vicinity of the upper part of the shutter in a state where the opening formed in the side wall of the processing chamber is closed, and a drying gas are discharged toward the vicinity of the upper part of the shutter. A substrate processing apparatus including a dry gas discharge nozzle is disclosed.

  According to the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the processing liquid adhering to the vicinity of the upper portion of the shutter is washed away by the cleaning liquid, and the cleaning liquid used for the cleaning is removed by the drying gas. For this reason, it becomes possible to remove the processing liquid and the cleaning liquid from the vicinity of the upper part of the closed shutter.

JP 2009-26948 A

  Although the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is excellent in that the processing liquid can be reliably removed from the shutter, the processing liquid adheres to the upper part (the lower surface of the upper wall) of the opening formed in the side wall of the processing chamber. There is a problem that it is impossible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from falling on the substrate passing through the opening.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a substrate processing apparatus capable of reliably preventing the processing liquid adhering to the upper portion of the opening from falling onto the substrate passing through the opening. The purpose is to provide.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate, and a processing chamber for storing the substrate, and an opening for passing the substrate formed in a side wall of the processing chamber. A shutter movable between a position for closing the opening and a position for opening the opening, and a liquid attached to the shutter and attached to the upper portion of the opening in the processing chamber as the shutter moves. And a scissors member that passes through a position where it can come into contact with the droplet.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the shutter includes a closed position that closes the opening, an intermediate position that moves laterally from the closed position, and a vertical position that is perpendicular to the intermediate position. The scissors member is movable between the retracted position retracted in the direction, and the scissors member adheres to the upper part of the opening in the chamber when the shutter moves between the closed position and the intermediate position. Remove the drops.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the scissors member is in contact with a liquid droplet adhering to an upper portion of the opening in the chamber to remove the liquid droplet. A contact portion, a liquid receiving portion disposed below the contact portion, and a drainage portion for discharging droplets received by the liquid receiving portion.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the upper surface of the liquid receiving portion is inclined toward the drainage portion.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, the contact portion is composed of a hygroscopic member.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, the droplet can be removed from the upper portion of the opening portion by the contact of the scissors member with the droplet attached to the upper portion of the opening portion. The term “removal” as used herein refers to a reduction from an amount that allows a droplet to drop downward due to its own weight to an amount that remains at the top of the opening. Hereinafter, the same phenomenon is referred to as “removal”. For this reason, it becomes possible to prevent reliably that the process liquid adhering to the upper part of an opening part falls on the board | substrate which passes an opening part.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to remove the droplets on which the scissors member adheres to the upper portion of the opening as the shutter moves between the closed position and the intermediate position.

  According to the invention described in claim 3, it is possible to receive the liquid droplets removed by the contact portion by the liquid receiving portion and discharge them to the discharge portion.

  According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to quickly send the liquid droplets received by the liquid receiving part to the liquid discharging part.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to absorb and remove the droplets by the hygroscopic member.

1 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a side view which shows the area | region near the opening part 3 in the process chamber 1 with the shutter 4 and its moving mechanism. It is a side view which shows the area | region near the opening part 3 in the process chamber 1 with the shutter 4 and its moving mechanism. It is a side view which shows the area | region near the opening part 3 in the process chamber 1 with the shutter 4 and its moving mechanism. It is a side view which shows the area | region near the opening part 3 in the process chamber 1 with the shutter 4 and its moving mechanism. FIG. 3 is a front view showing an arrangement relationship between an opening 3 and a ridge 53 in the processing chamber 1. 3 is a perspective view of a flange member 31. FIG. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the upper part 9 of the opening of the flange member 31 and the side wall 2. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the upper part 9 of the opening of the flange member 31 and the side wall 2. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the upper part 9 of the opening of the flange member 31 and the side wall 2. It is a side view which shows the shutter 4 provided with the collar member 31 which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  This substrate processing apparatus is a single wafer processing apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor wafer W as a substrate. A processing chamber 1 having a shape surrounded by a side wall 2 and a semiconductor wafer W in the processing chamber 1 A spin chuck 25 that holds the main surface in a horizontal state and rotates the semiconductor wafer W about a rotation axis that faces the vertical direction, and a surface of the semiconductor wafer W held by the spin chuck 25 is SPM (sulfur acid acid hydrogen). a SPM nozzle 18 for supplying a peroxide mixture, and a DIW nozzle 17 for supplying DIW (deionized water) to the surface of the semiconductor wafer W held by the spin chuck 25.

  In the side wall 2 of the processing chamber 1, an opening 3 for carrying in and out the semiconductor wafer W with respect to the processing chamber 1 is formed. A transfer robot 27 is disposed at a position facing the opening 3 outside the processing chamber 1. The transfer robot 27 accesses the holding portion of the semiconductor wafer W into the processing chamber 1 through the opening 3 and places an unprocessed semiconductor wafer W on the spin chuck 25 or from above the spin chuck 25. The processed semiconductor wafer W can be taken out. A shutter 4 for opening and closing the opening 3 is disposed inside the processing chamber 1.

  The spin chuck 25 is provided at substantially equal intervals at a plurality of locations on the peripheral portion of the spin base 23 and a spin-shaped spin base 23 that is rotated by driving of the motor 26. A plurality of clamping members 24 for clamping are provided. The spin chuck 25 rotates the spin base 23 by driving the motor 26 in a state where the semiconductor wafer W is clamped by a plurality of clamping members 24, so that the principal surface of the semiconductor wafer W becomes horizontal. In this state, it is configured to rotate around the axis facing the vertical direction together with the spin base 23.

  The SPM nozzle 18 is attached to the tip of an arm 22 that extends in the horizontal direction above the spin chuck 25. This arm 22 is driven by the nozzle moving mechanism 21, and the SPM supply position above the semiconductor wafer W on which the SPM nozzle 18 is supported by the spin chuck 25 and rotates, and the standby position retracted to the side of the spin chuck 25. Swing so that it can move between the two. An SPM supply pipe 16 is connected to the SPM nozzle 18 so that high-temperature SPM is supplied through the SPM supply pipe 16. The SPM supply pipe 16 is provided with an on-off valve 14 for switching between supply and stop of supply of SPM from the SPM supply unit 12 to the SPM nozzle 18.

  The DIW nozzle 17 is disposed above the spin chuck 25 with the discharge port directed toward the center of the semiconductor wafer W. A DIW supply pipe 15 is connected to the DIW nozzle 17 so that DIW as a rinsing liquid is supplied through the DIW supply pipe 15. The DIW supply pipe 15 is provided with an on-off valve 13 for switching between supply and stop of supply of DIW from the DIW supply unit 11 to the DIW nozzle 17.

  FIGS. 2 to 5 are side views showing a region near the opening 3 in the processing chamber 1 together with the shutter 4 and its moving mechanism. 2 shows a state where the shutter 4 is arranged at the retracted position, FIG. 3 shows a state where the shutter 4 has moved from the retracted position to the intermediate position, and FIG. 4 shows a state where the shutter 4 is arranged at the closed position. FIG. 5 shows a state in which the shutter 4 is moved from the closed position to the intermediate position. FIG. 6 is a front view showing the positional relationship between the opening 3 and the flange 53 in the processing chamber 1. FIG. 6 is a view of the opening 3 viewed from the inside of the chamber 1, and shows a state in which the shutter 4 is disposed at the closed position by a virtual line.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the opening 3 formed in the processing chamber 1 has a horizontally long rectangular shape whose upper side faces the horizontal direction. A seal member 51 is disposed around the entire periphery of the opening 3. On the other hand, the shutter 4 has a substantially rectangular shape larger than the opening 3 in a front view. The shutter 4 includes a protruding portion 41 that protrudes from the four sides of the main body toward the processing chamber 1 and a rising portion 42 that extends from the upper side of the main body toward the upper portion. The protruding portion 41 has a function of closing the opening 3 by contacting the seal member 51. The rising portion 42 has a function of preventing SPM and DIW scattered from the semiconductor wafer W from reaching the upper portion of the seal member 51. Further, the shutter 4 is provided with a collar member 31 which is a characteristic part of the present invention. The configuration of the flange member 31 will be described in detail later.

  The moving mechanism for moving the shutter 4 includes a horizontal moving air cylinder 61 for reciprocating the shutter 4 in the horizontal direction and an elevating air cylinder 64 for reciprocating the shutter 4 in the vertical direction. The shutter 4 is connected to the cylinder rod 62 of the horizontally moving air cylinder 61 via a connecting member 43 and a cylinder plate 63. The horizontally moving air cylinder 61 is supported by a support member 66. The support member 66 is connected to a cylinder rod 65 of an elevating air cylinder 64 fixed to the apparatus main body.

  For this reason, the shutter 4 is driven by the horizontally moving air cylinder 61 and the lifting air cylinder 64 that constitute the moving mechanism, and the shutter 4 is closed to close the opening 3 shown in FIG. It is possible to move between an intermediate position moved laterally from the position and a retracted position retracted downward from the intermediate position shown in FIG. The shutter 4 may be moved to a retracted position retracted upward from the intermediate position instead of moving to the retracted position retracted downward from the intermediate position.

  Above the opening 3, a liquid receiving member 52 for preventing SPM and DIW attached to the inner surface of the side wall 2 of the processing chamber 1 from flowing down toward the opening 3 is disposed. The liquid receiving member 52 is formed so as to protrude from the side wall 2 immediately above the upper side of the opening 3 toward the inside of the processing chamber 1. The liquid receiving member 52 is formed over the entire upper portion of the opening 3 along the upper side of the opening 3. For this reason, SPM and DIW adhering to the inner surface of the side wall 2 can be prevented from flowing down to the opening 3.

  Further, a flange 53 is disposed below the region of the seal member 51 disposed above the opening 3. As shown in FIG. 6, both ends of the flange 53 have a shape extending downward along both sides of the opening 3. SPM and DIW flowing down from the vicinity of the seal member 51 are received by the flange 53 and are prevented from flowing into the opening 3. In addition, the lower surface of the region extending in the horizontal direction in the flange 53 constitutes a part of the upper part (the lower surface of the upper wall of the opening 3) 9 of the opening 3 of the side wall 2.

  Next, the structure of the eaves member 31 which is a characteristic part of this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the collar member 31.

  This saddle member 31 is for removing the droplets by coming into contact with the droplets of SPM or DIW adhering to the upper portion 9 of the opening 3 in the side wall 2 of the processing chamber 1 as the shutter 4 moves. Surrounding the contact portion 32 and the liquid receiving portion 33, a pair of contact portions 32 for contacting the droplet and removing the droplet, a liquid receiving portion 33 disposed below the contact portion 32, An outer frame portion 36 and a drainage portion 35 for discharging droplets received by the liquid receiving portion 33 are provided. The pair of contact portions 32 are supported by a plurality of support portions 34 at positions separated from the upper surface of the liquid receiving portion 33. The upper surface of the liquid receiving portion 33 is inclined toward the drainage portion 35 in a state where the direction of the drainage portion 35 is lowered.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the gutter member 31 is disposed on the inner side of the processing chamber 1 in the shutter 4 in a state where the drainage part 35 faces the inner wall surface 49 of the shutter 4. And the lower end part of the drainage part 35 and the inner wall face 49 of the shutter 4 are arrange | positioned closely. Therefore, as will be described later, the liquid droplets that have flowed down from the liquid receiving portion 33 are guided toward the inner wall surface 49 of the shutter 4 and flow down along the inner wall surface 49.

  8 to 10 are enlarged views of the vicinity of the upper part 9 of the flange member 31 and the opening 3 of the side wall 2. 8 shows a state in which the shutter 4 has moved from the retracted position to the intermediate position, FIG. 9 shows a state in which the shutter 4 has been placed in the closed position and droplets D have been generated, and FIG. 10 shows the shutter 4 in the closed position. The state which moved to the intermediate position is shown.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, when the shutter 4 is arranged at a height position corresponding to the intermediate position or the closed position, the upper surface of the flange member 31 (the upper surfaces of the contact portion 32 and the outer frame portion 36) is The upper portion of the opening 3 formed on the side wall 2 (the lower surface of the upper wall of the opening 3) 9 is disposed in proximity. The distance L1 between the upper surface of the flange member 31 and the upper part 9 of the opening 3 on the side wall 2 is smaller than the distance L2 at which the SPM or DIW droplet D falls from the upper part 9 of the opening 3 by its own weight. Is set to

  A substrate processing operation for processing the semiconductor wafer W by the substrate processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described.

  When processing the semiconductor wafer W, the shutter 4 is moved to the retracted position shown in FIG. 2 by driving the horizontal moving air cylinder 61 and the lifting air cylinder 64. Thereby, the opening 3 formed in the side wall 2 of the processing chamber 1 is opened. Then, the semiconductor wafer W is carried into the processing chamber 1 by the transfer robot 27.

  The semiconductor wafer W is held on the upper surface of the spin chuck 25 with its surface facing upward. If the semiconductor wafer W is held by the spin chuck 25, the shutter 4 is moved to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 3 by driving the horizontally moving air cylinder 61 and the lifting air cylinder 64. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8, the upper surface of the collar member 31 attached to the shutter 4 is disposed close to the upper portion 9 of the opening 3 formed in the side wall 2 by a distance L1.

  Then, the shutter 4 is moved to the closed position shown in FIG. 4 by driving the horizontally moving air cylinder 61.

  In this state, the processing by the SPM of the semiconductor wafer W is started. In this case, by driving the nozzle moving mechanism 21 shown in FIG. 1, the SPM nozzle 18 is moved from the standby position set on the side of the spin chuck 25 to above the semiconductor wafer W held on the spin chuck 25. Move. Then, by opening the on-off valve 14, SPM is discharged from the SPM nozzle 18 toward the surface of the rotating semiconductor wafer W. Further, the arm 22 is swung within a predetermined angle range by the nozzle moving mechanism 21. As a result, the SPM discharged from the SPM nozzle 18 is supplied over the entire range from the rotation center of the semiconductor wafer W to the peripheral edge of the semiconductor wafer W. The SPM receives a centrifugal force due to the rotation of the semiconductor wafer W, spreads over the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer W, and is then shaken off from the surface of the semiconductor wafer W. When the predetermined processing by the SPM is completed, the on-off valve 14 is closed to stop the SPM discharge from the SPM nozzle 18, and the SPM nozzle 18 is returned to the side retracted position of the spin chuck 25.

  Next, the on-off valve 13 is opened while the rotation of the semiconductor wafer W is continued. Thus, DIW is discharged from the DIW nozzle 17 toward the center of the surface of the rotating semiconductor wafer W. The SPM on the surface of the semiconductor wafer W is washed away by the DIW supplied onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer W. Then, after stopping the discharge of DIW, the semiconductor wafer W is rotated at a high speed by the spin chuck 25 to execute a drying process for removing DIW from the semiconductor wafer W.

  In the processing step and the drying step of the semiconductor wafer W described above, a part of the SPM and DIW splashes scattered from the edge of the semiconductor wafer W, the liquid in which those vapors are condensed, etc., enter the side wall 2 of the processing chamber 1. A droplet D as shown in FIG. 9 may be generated by adhering to the upper part (the lower surface of the upper wall of the opening 3) 9 of the formed opening 3.

  In this state, when the drying process is completed, the shutter 4 is horizontally moved from the closed position shown in FIG. 4 to the intermediate position shown in FIG. 5 by driving the horizontally moving air cylinder 61. With the horizontal movement of the shutter 4, the upper surface of the flange member 31 attached to the shutter 4 moves in a region below the upper portion 9 of the opening 3 formed in the side wall 2. When the droplet D adheres to the upper part 9 of the opening 3 with the movement of the flange member 31, as shown in FIG. It is scraped off by the outer frame portion 36 and moves onto the liquid receiving portion 33. Then, after the liquid droplet D flows down the upper surface of the inclined liquid receiving portion 33, it further flows down along the drainage portion 35 and the inner wall surface 49 of the shutter 4 and moves to the lower end portion of the shutter 4. Then, as shown in FIG. 5, the droplet D falls into the processing chamber 1 when the protrusion 41 of the shutter 4 is separated from the seal member 51.

  Thereafter, the shutter 4 is moved to the retracted position shown in FIG. Thereby, the opening 3 formed in the side wall 2 of the processing chamber 1 is opened. Then, the processed semiconductor wafer W is unloaded from the processing chamber 1 by the transfer robot 27.

  Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 11 is a side view showing a shutter 4 provided with a flange member 31 according to another embodiment of the present invention. In addition, about the member similar to embodiment mentioned above, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  The scissors member according to this embodiment is provided with a contact portion 39 made of a hygroscopic member in place of the pair of contact portions 32 for contacting and removing the droplet D. As this contact part 39, porous members, such as sponge, can be used, for example. When such a configuration is adopted, the droplet D attached to the upper portion 9 of the opening 3 can be absorbed and removed by the hygroscopic contact portion 39.

  As described above, according to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, the droplet D is removed from the upper part 9 of the opening 3 by the contact of the scissors member 31 with the droplet D adhering to the upper part 9 of the opening 3. can do. For this reason, it is possible to reliably prevent the droplet D attached to the upper part 9 of the opening 3 from falling on the semiconductor wafer passing through the opening 3. At this time, since the droplet D can be removed with the movement of the shutter 4 by using the eaves member 31 attached to the shutter 4, the apparatus configuration for enabling the removal of the droplet is simplified. In addition, the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

  In the above-described embodiment, the opening 3 is opened and closed by the raising / lowering operation of the shutter 4 or the like, but a shutter mechanism that opens and closes the opening 3 by a rotating operation may be employed. Even when such a configuration is adopted, it is possible to remove the droplet D as the shutter moves.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Processing chamber 2 Side wall 3 Opening part 4 Shutter 9 Upper part 15 DIW supply pipe 16 SPM supply pipe 17 DIW nozzle 18 SPM nozzle 25 Spin chuck 27 Conveyance robot 31 ３２ member 32 Contact part 33 Liquid receiving part 34 Support part 35 Drain part 36 Outer frame portion 39 Contact portion 41 Projection portion 49 Inner wall surface 51 Seal member 52 Liquid receiving member 53 樋 61 Horizontal movement air cylinder 64 Elevating air cylinder D Droplet W Semiconductor wafer

Claims (5)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate,
A processing chamber for storing the substrate;
A shutter that is movable between a position for closing the opening for passing the substrate formed on the side wall of the processing chamber and a position for opening the opening;
A scissors member attached to the shutter and passing through a position where it can come into contact with a droplet attached to the upper part of the opening in the processing chamber as the shutter moves,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The shutter is movable between a closed position for closing the opening, an intermediate position moved laterally from the closed position, and a retracted position retracted vertically from the intermediate position,
The collar member is a substrate processing apparatus for removing droplets adhering to an upper portion of an opening in the chamber when the shutter moves between the closed position and the intermediate position. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2,
The flange member is
A contact portion for contacting and removing the droplet attached to the top of the opening in the chamber;
A liquid receiving portion disposed below the contact portion;
A drainage part for discharging droplets received by the liquid receiving part;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3,
A substrate processing apparatus in which an upper surface of the liquid receiving portion is inclined toward the drainage portion. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The contact portion is a substrate processing apparatus constituted by a hygroscopic member.