JP2015167161A - Liquid treatment device, liquid treatment method and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide liquid treatment device and method that are adaptable to different temperature requirements when diluted chemical liquid is prepared and supplied to plural treatment targets at the same time in response to a treatment liquid supply requirement.SOLUTION: A liquid treatment device has a first diluted liquid line (604) in which diluted liquid of first temperature flows, a second diluted liquid line (504) in which diluted liquid of second temperature higher than the first temperature flows, and a chemical liquid line (404, etc.). One of plural first diluted liquid branch lines (612) having a first diluted liquid flow amount adjusting unit (616) which is branched from the first diluted liquid line, one of plural second diluted liquid branch lines (512) having a second diluted liquid flow amount adjusting unit (516), and being branched from the second diluted liquid line, and one of plural chemical branch lines (412) having a chemical liquid flow amount adjusting unit (416), and being branched from the chemical liquid line are connected to a diluted chemical liquid supply line (820, etc.) for supplying the diluted chemical liquid to each liquid treatment unit.

Description

  The present invention relates to a temperature control technique for a diluted chemical solution when a predetermined liquid treatment is performed on an object to be processed using a diluted chemical solution obtained by diluting the chemical solution with a diluent.

  The manufacturing process of a semiconductor device includes a process of supplying a predetermined processing liquid to an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer and performing liquid processing such as cleaning or wet etching. An example of a processing liquid supply mechanism provided in a liquid processing apparatus that performs such liquid processing is described in Patent Document 1. In the treatment liquid supply mechanism described in Patent Document 1, a plurality of chemical liquid supply lines that supply different types of chemical liquids are connected in parallel to one pure water supply line. By supplying a chemical solution to the pure water supply line at a controlled flow rate from the selected one or a plurality of chemical solution supply lines, one or more types of chemical solutions are mixed with pure water flowing through the pure water supply line, Diluted drug solution is prepared. The generated diluted chemical liquid is supplied to the object to be processed as a processing liquid.

  In a liquid processing apparatus, it may be required to simultaneously supply a processing liquid composed of a diluted chemical liquid having the same composition to a plurality of objects to be processed at different temperatures. However, the processing liquid supply mechanism described in Patent Document 1 cannot meet such a requirement.

JP 2007-266554 A

  The present invention provides a technique capable of responding to different temperature requirements when preparing a processing liquid composed of a diluted chemical solution and supplying it to a plurality of objects to be processed at the same time when the processing liquid supply is required. Is.

  The present invention includes a plurality of liquid processing units that perform liquid processing on a target object by supplying a diluted chemical liquid to the target object, and a diluted chemical liquid supply mechanism that supplies the diluted chemical liquid to the liquid processing unit, The diluent supply mechanism includes a first diluent line through which a first temperature diluent flows, a second diluent line through which a second temperature diluent higher than the first temperature flows, and a chemical line through which a solution flows. And a plurality of first diluent branch lines branched from the first diluent line, wherein the first diluent flow rate adjustment adjusts the flow rate of the diluent flowing from the first diluent line on each path. A plurality of first diluent branch lines and a plurality of second diluent branch lines branched from the second diluent line, wherein the second diluent line is on each path. The flow rate of the diluent flowing in from A plurality of second dilution liquid branch lines provided with a second diluent flow rate adjustment unit and a plurality of chemical liquid branch lines branched from the chemical liquid line, which flow into the respective paths from the chemical liquid line. A plurality of chemical solution branch lines provided with a chemical solution flow rate adjusting unit for adjusting the flow rate of the diluted solution, and a plurality of diluted chemical solution supply lines for supplying the diluted chemical solution to the plurality of liquid processing units, respectively, A liquid processing apparatus having a plurality of dilution chemical supply lines to which one of the first dilution liquid branch line, the second dilution liquid branch line, and the chemical liquid branch line is connected.

  In addition, the present invention provides a liquid processing method in which a diluted chemical solution is supplied from a corresponding diluent supply line to each of a plurality of objects to be processed, and liquid processing is simultaneously performed on each object to be processed. On the other hand, a first temperature diluent is introduced from the first diluent line, a second temperature diluent higher than the first temperature is introduced from the second diluent line, and from at least one chemical solution line. Injecting the chemical solution and diluting the chemical solution so as to have a preset composition by mixing the diluted solution of the first temperature, the diluted solution of the second temperature, and the chemical solution in each of the diluted chemical solution supply lines And supplying the generated diluted chemical solution to the object to be processed, and the first from the first diluted solution line flowing into the respective diluted chemical solution supply lines according to a preset temperature of the diluted chemical solution Temperature diluent flow If, to provide a liquid processing method and a changing the ratio between the flow rate of the diluent in the second temperature from the second diluent line.

  Furthermore, the present invention provides a storage medium storing a program for causing the liquid processing apparatus to execute the liquid processing method.

  According to the present invention, since the temperature of the diluted chemical solution can be changed by changing the mixing ratio of the diluted solutions having different temperatures flowing into the respective diluted chemical solution supply lines, the diluted chemical solution is simultaneously supplied to a plurality of objects to be processed. In response, different temperature requirements can be met.

1 is a plan view schematically showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing system according to an embodiment of a liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention. It is a fluid circuit diagram of a part of the processing liquid supply mechanism of the substrate processing system. It is a fluid circuit diagram of another part of the processing liquid supply mechanism of the substrate processing system. It is a figure explaining the flow control in a processing liquid supply mechanism. It is a figure explaining the flow control in a processing liquid supply mechanism. It is a fluid circuit diagram explaining the structure for collect | recovering and reusing a used process liquid.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system according to the present embodiment. In the following, in order to clarify the positional relationship, the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis that are orthogonal to each other are defined, and the positive direction of the Z axis is the vertically upward direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 1 includes a carry-in / out station 2 and a processing station 3. The carry-in / out station 2 and the processing station 3 are provided adjacent to each other.

  The carry-in / out station 2 includes a carrier placement unit 11 and a transport unit 12. A plurality of carriers C that accommodate a plurality of wafers W in a horizontal state are placed on the carrier placement unit 11.

  The transport unit 12 is provided adjacent to the carrier placement unit 11 and includes a substrate transport device 13 and a delivery unit 14 inside. The substrate transfer device 13 includes a substrate holding mechanism that holds the wafer W. Further, the substrate transfer device 13 can move in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction and turn around the vertical axis, and transfers the wafer W between the carrier C and the delivery unit 14 using the substrate holding mechanism. Do.

  The processing station 3 is provided adjacent to the transfer unit 12. The processing station 3 includes a transport unit 15 and a plurality of processing units 16. The plurality of processing units 16 are provided side by side on the transport unit 15.

  The transport unit 15 includes a substrate transport device 17 inside. The substrate transfer device 17 includes a substrate holding mechanism that holds the wafer W. Further, the substrate transfer device 17 can move in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction and can turn around the vertical axis, and transfers the wafer W between the delivery unit 14 and the processing unit 16 using the substrate holding mechanism. I do.

  The processing unit 16 performs predetermined substrate processing on the wafer W transferred by the substrate transfer device 17.

  Further, the substrate processing system 1 includes a control device 4. The control device 4 is a computer, for example, and includes a control unit 18 and a storage unit 19. The storage unit 19 stores a program for controlling various processes executed in the substrate processing system 1. The control unit 18 controls the operation of the substrate processing system 1 by reading and executing the program stored in the storage unit 19.

  Such a program may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium, and may be installed in the storage unit 19 of the control device 4 from the storage medium. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk (CD), a magnetic optical disk (MO), and a memory card.

  In the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above, first, the substrate transfer device 13 of the loading / unloading station 2 takes out the wafer W from the carrier C placed on the carrier placement unit 11 and receives the taken-out wafer W. Place on the transfer section 14. The wafer W placed on the delivery unit 14 is taken out from the delivery unit 14 by the substrate transfer device 17 of the processing station 3 and carried into the processing unit 16.

  The wafer W loaded into the processing unit 16 is processed by the processing unit 16, then unloaded from the processing unit 16 by the substrate transfer device 17, and placed on the delivery unit 14. Then, the processed wafer W placed on the delivery unit 14 is returned to the carrier C of the carrier platform 11 by the substrate transfer device 13.

  Next, a processing liquid supply mechanism for supplying a processing liquid to each processing unit (liquid processing unit) 16 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. The processing liquid supply mechanism is divided and displayed in FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B due to the size restriction of the drawing. A first processing liquid supply line 810 and a second processing liquid line 820 (details will be described later) shown in FIG. 2A, and a first processing liquid supply line 810 and a second processing liquid line 820 shown in FIG. 2B are respectively at points 820a and 820b. Connected. 2B shows one of the plurality of processing units 16 shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2A shows a processing liquid supply mechanism that is involved in supplying the processing liquid to the processing unit 16 shown in FIG. 2B. Only the details are shown. Note that a processing liquid supply mechanism involved in supplying the processing liquid to the other processing units 16 is simplified (only a line is shown) at the right end of FIG. 2A.

The processing liquid supply mechanism is configured to be able to supply processing liquids for various processing such as SC-1 cleaning, SC-2 cleaning, pure water rinse,
-Hydrogen peroxide (H ₂ O ₂ ) supply mechanism-Hydrochloric acid (HCl) supply mechanism-Ammonia water (NH ₄ OH) supply mechanism-Heated pure water (HDIW) supply mechanism-Room temperature pure water (DIW) supply mechanism ing.

The hydrogen peroxide solution (H ₂ O ₂ ) supply mechanism has a main supply line 204 that is connected to a hydrogen peroxide solution supply source and supplies hydrogen peroxide solution to the treatment liquid supply mechanism of each processing unit 16. .

  The hydrochloric acid (HCl) supply mechanism has a main supply line 304 that is connected to a hydrochloric acid supply source and supplies hydrochloric acid to the processing liquid supply mechanism of each processing unit 16.

The ammonia water (NH ₄ OH) supply mechanism has a main supply line 404 that is connected to an ammonia water supply source and supplies ammonia water to the processing liquid supply mechanism of each processing unit 16.

  The heated pure water (HDIW) supply mechanism has a main supply line 504 that supplies heated pure water (heated pure water) from the heated pure water supply source to the treatment liquid supply mechanism of each processing unit 16.

  The room temperature pure water (DIW) supply mechanism has a main supply line 604 for supplying room temperature pure water (for example, having a temperature equal to the clean room temperature) from the room temperature pure water supply source to the processing liquid supply mechanism of each processing unit 16. Yes.

  The heating pure water supply source and the room temperature pure water supply source are usually prepared in a semiconductor device manufacturing factory in which the substrate processing system 1 is installed. The temperature of the heated pure water supplied from the heated pure water supply source varies depending on the semiconductor device manufacturing factory, but is, for example, about 70 ° C. to 80 ° C.

  The main lines 204, 304, 404, 504, 604 for each liquid are shared by a plurality of processing units 16.

  The substrate processing system 1 includes a first processing liquid supply line 810 and a second processing liquid line 820 for each processing unit 16. The first treatment liquid supply line 810 and the second treatment liquid line 820 can supply a diluted chemical solution as a treatment liquid to the first treatment liquid nozzle 21 and the second treatment liquid nozzle 22 provided in the treatment unit 16. This point will be described in detail later.

  In the following, first, a configuration for supplying pure water (heated pure water, room temperature pure water) to the first processing liquid supply line 810 and the second processing liquid line 820 will be described.

  A heated pure water line 512 branches at a branch point 511 on the main supply line 504 for supplying heated pure water. The heated pure water line 512 joins the first processing liquid supply line 810 at the connection point 522. In the heating pure water line 512, a flow meter 514, a constant pressure valve 516, and an on-off valve 520 are provided in this order from the upstream side. At a branch point 524 on the heated pure water line 512, a heated pure water line (also referred to as a “branched heated pure water line”) 526 is branched. The heated pure water line 526 joins the second processing liquid supply line 820 at the connection point 532. An opening / closing valve 530 is interposed in the heated pure water line 526.

  The room temperature pure water line 612 branches at a branch point 611 on the main supply line 604 for supplying room temperature pure water. The room temperature pure water line 612 joins the first processing liquid supply line 810 at the connection point 622. A flow meter 614, a constant pressure valve 616, and an on-off valve 620 are provided in the room temperature pure water line 612 in order from the upstream side. At a branch point 624 on the room temperature pure water line 612, a room temperature pure water line (also referred to as a “branched room temperature pure water line”) 626 is branched. The room temperature pure water line 626 joins the second processing liquid supply line 820 at the connection point 632. An open / close valve 630 is interposed in the room temperature pure water line 626.

  Here, with reference to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the operation when the liquid is caused to flow from at least one of the heating pure water line 512 and the room temperature pure water line 612 to the first processing liquid supply line 810 will be described. The pure water line 512 will be described as an example.

  The on-off valve 520 of the heated pure water line 512 is opened, and the on-off valve 530 of the heated pure water line 526 is closed. In this state, by controlling the constant pressure valve 516, the flow rate of the heated pure water flowing from the heated pure water line 512 to the first processing liquid supply line 810 is controlled.

  The constant pressure valve 516 has a function of performing pressure reduction control so as to maintain the secondary side pressure at a specified constant pressure regardless of the fluctuation of the primary side pressure. Since the pressure of the heated pure water supplied from the main supply line 504 varies depending on the operating status of each processing unit 16 and the like, it is preferable to use a constant pressure valve for accurate flow control. The constant pressure valve 516 used in the present embodiment is of a type that can change the set value of the secondary pressure by changing the pressure of the pressurized air (pilot pressure) introduced into the pilot port. It is. The pilot pressure is adjusted by an electropneumatic regulator (EPR) 515b (shown only in FIG. 3).

  By changing the secondary pressure of the constant pressure valve 516, the flow rate of the heated pure water flowing through the heated pure water line 512 can be adjusted. During operation, the target flow rate of heated pure water is given from the control device 4 (see FIG. 1) to a flow rate controller (CNTL) 515a (shown only in FIG. 3), which is a lower controller. The flow controller 515a adjusts the pilot pressure applied from the electropneumatic regulator 515b to the constant pressure valve 516 based on the detection value of the flow meter 514, and adjusts the secondary pressure of the constant pressure valve 516, thereby heating the pure water line. The flow rate of the heated pure water flowing through 512 is controlled to be a target value.

  The same devices as the flow controller 515a and electropneumatic regulator 515 described above are attached to the constant pressure valves 616, 216, 316, and 416, and these constant pressure valves are also controlled in the same manner as described above.

  The operation when the liquid is supplied from at least one of the heated pure water line 526 and the room temperature pure water line 626 to the second processing liquid supply line 820 will be described by taking the heated pure water line 526 as an example. At this time, the open / close valve 520 of the heated pure water line 512 is closed, and the open / close valve 530 of the heated pure water line 526 is opened. In this state, by controlling the constant pressure valve 516 in the same manner as described above, it is possible to control the flow rate of the heated pure water flowing from the heated pure water line 526 to the second processing liquid supply line 820.

  Even when the liquid is allowed to flow into the first processing liquid supply line 810 from the room temperature pure water line 612, the same flow control is performed as when the liquid is allowed to flow from the heated pure water line 512 into the first processing liquid supply line 810. be able to. Further, when the liquid is allowed to flow into the second processing liquid supply line 820 from the room temperature pure water line 626, the same flow rate control as that when the liquid is allowed to flow into the second processing liquid supply line 820 from the heated pure water line 526 is performed. It can be performed.

  Next, a configuration for supplying chemicals (hydrogen peroxide water, hydrochloric acid, ammonia water) to the first processing liquid supply line 810 and the second processing liquid line 820 will be described.

  At a branching point 211a on the main supply line 204 for supplying hydrogen peroxide solution, a large flow rate hydrogen peroxide solution line 212a is branched. At a branch point 211b on the main supply line 204, a hydrogen peroxide solution line 212b for small flow rate is branched. The hydrogen peroxide solution line 212a is provided with an on-off valve 213a and a flow meter 214a in order from the upstream side. The hydrogen peroxide solution line 212b is also provided with an on-off valve 213b and a flow meter 214b in order from the upstream side. The hydrogen peroxide solution line 212a and the hydrogen peroxide solution line 212b merge at a junction 215 to form one hydrogen peroxide solution line 212. The hydrogen peroxide solution line 212 branches again at a branching point 217 to a high flow rate hydrogen peroxide solution line 212aa and a small flow rate hydrogen peroxide solution line 212bb. An open / close valve 220a is interposed in the hydrogen peroxide water line 212aa. An open / close valve 220b is interposed in the hydrogen peroxide water line 212bb. The hydrogen peroxide solution line 212aa and the hydrogen peroxide solution line 212bb are connected to the first treatment liquid line 810 at connection points 222a and 222b, respectively.

  At the branch point 224, a hydrogen peroxide solution line 226 (also referred to as a “branched hydrogen peroxide solution line”) branches off from the hydrogen peroxide solution line 212. The hydrogen peroxide solution line 226 branches at a branch point 227 into a high flow rate hydrogen peroxide solution line 226a and a small flow rate hydrogen peroxide solution line 226b. An open / close valve 230a is interposed in the hydrogen peroxide solution line 226a. An open / close valve 230b is interposed in the hydrogen peroxide water line 226b. The hydrogen peroxide solution line 226a and the hydrogen peroxide solution line 226b are connected to the second treatment liquid line 820 at connection points 232a and 232b, respectively.

  The hydrochloric acid line 312 is branched at a branch point 311 on the main supply line 304 for supplying hydrochloric acid. In the hydrochloric acid line 312, a flow meter 314, a constant pressure valve 316, and an on-off valve 320 are provided in order from the upstream side. The hydrochloric acid line 312 is connected to the first treatment liquid line 810 at the connection point 322.

  An ammonia water line 412 branches at a branch point 411 on the main supply line 404 for supplying ammonia water. In the ammonia water line 412, a flow meter 414, a constant pressure valve 416, and an on-off valve 420 are interposed in order from the upstream side. The ammonia water line 412 is connected to the second treatment liquid line 820 at the connection point 422.

  The hydrochloric acid line 312 and the ammonia water line 412 may also be provided with two lines for a large flow rate and two for a small flow rate, like the hydrogen peroxide solution line 212.

  Next, regarding the action of supplying chemicals (hydrogen peroxide solution, hydrochloric acid, ammonia water) to the first treatment liquid supply line 810 and the second treatment liquid line 820, hydrogen peroxide is supplied to the first treatment liquid supply line 810. A case where water is supplied will be described as an example.

  When supplying hydrogen peroxide water at a large flow rate to the first treatment liquid supply line 810, the on-off valves 213a and 220a are opened, and the on-off valves 213b and 220b are closed. At this time, the on-off valves 230a and 230b are closed so that the hydrogen peroxide solution does not flow through the hydrogen peroxide solution 226 to the second treatment liquid supply line 820. In this state, the constant pressure valve 216 is controlled by a procedure similar to the procedure described above with reference to the constant pressure valve 516, whereby the hydrogen peroxide solution is supplied to the first treatment liquid supply line 810 at a predetermined large flow rate. Can be supplied to.

  On the other hand, when supplying the hydrogen peroxide solution to the first treatment liquid supply line 810 at a small flow rate, the on-off valves 213b and 220b are opened, and the on-off valves 213a and 220a are closed. In this state, the constant pressure valve 216 is similarly controlled, so that the hydrogen peroxide solution first treatment liquid supply line 810 can be supplied at a controlled small flow rate.

  The flow meter 214a provided in the hydrogen peroxide solution line 212a for large flow rate can measure a large flow rate with high accuracy, and the flow meter 214a provided in the hydrogen peroxide solution line 212a for small flow rate has a small flow rate. It can be measured with high accuracy. If the assumed flow rate range is relatively narrow, only one flow meter may be used. In this case, the hydrogen peroxide line for small flow rate and the hydrogen peroxide line for large flow rate may be integrated into one. it can. On the other hand, when the assumed flow rate range is relatively wide, the number of flow meters and three or more hydrogen peroxide lines can be provided. This also applies to other chemical liquid supply lines (hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide solution).

  When supplying the hydrogen peroxide solution to the second processing liquid supply line 820, the on-off valves 220a and 220b are closed. Similarly to the above, the flow rate control is performed by alternatively using a set of hydrogen peroxide water lines 212a and 212aa (at a high flow rate) or a set of 212b and 212bb (at a low flow rate) according to the required flow rate. Just do it.

  In performing the above control, as shown in FIG. 4, one constant pressure valve 216 is shared by both the flow control at a large flow rate and the flow control at a small flow rate. Further, a flow controller (CNTL) and an electropneumatic regulator (EPR) attached to the constant pressure valve 216 are shared by both the large flow control and the small flow control. Furthermore, in supplying hydrogen peroxide solution, one constant pressure valve 216 is shared both when supplying hydrogen peroxide solution to the first treatment liquid supply line 810 and when supplying hydrogen peroxide solution to the second treatment liquid supply line 820. The

  When supplying hydrochloric acid to the first processing liquid supply line 810 and ammonia water to the second processing liquid supply line 820, the constant pressure valves 316, 416 (and a flow controller (not shown) attached thereto) The flow rate may be controlled by an electropneumatic regulator. Since hydrochloric acid is supplied only to the first processing liquid supply line 810 and ammonia water is not supplied to the second processing liquid supply line 820, switching of the on-off valve for switching the processing liquid line to be supplied with liquid is performed. The operation is simpler than the above-described supply control of the hydrogen peroxide solution in that it is unnecessary.

  As briefly described above, the first processing liquid nozzle 21 provided in the processing unit 16 is connected to the first processing liquid supply line 810. The second processing liquid supply line 820 is connected to the second processing liquid nozzle 22 provided in the processing unit 16 (see FIG. 2B).

  An opening / closing valve 811 is interposed in the first processing liquid supply line 810. By opening the on-off valve 811, the processing liquid flowing through the first processing liquid supply line 810 can be discharged from the first processing liquid nozzle 21.

  An opening / closing valve 821 is interposed in the second processing liquid supply line 820. By opening the on-off valve 821, the processing liquid flowing through the second processing liquid supply line 820 can be discharged from the second processing liquid nozzle 22.

  A first processing liquid branch supply line 817 branches from a branch point 816 on the first processing liquid supply line 810. The first treatment liquid branch supply line 817 is provided with an on-off valve 818. A first treatment liquid branch supply line 827 branches from a branch point 826 on the second treatment liquid supply line 820. An opening / closing valve 828 is interposed in the second processing liquid branch supply line 827.

  The first processing liquid branch supply line 817 and the second processing liquid branch supply line 827 are connected to the back surface processing liquid supply line 830 at connection points 819 and 829. The back surface processing liquid supply line 830 is connected to the back surface nozzle 23 for supplying the processing liquid to the back surface of the wafer W. An open / close valve 831 is interposed in the back surface treatment liquid supply line 830.

  When supplying the processing liquid from the back surface nozzle 23 to the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W, the on-off valve 831 may be opened and one of the on-off valves 818 or 828 may be opened and the other closed. Then, the processing liquid flowing in the first processing liquid supply line 810 or the second processing liquid supply line 820 is transferred to the back surface processing liquid via the first processing liquid branch supply line 817 or the second processing liquid branch supply line 827. It flows into the supply line 830 and is discharged from the back nozzle 23.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 16 includes a chamber 20, a substrate holding mechanism 30, and a recovery cup 40. The chamber 20 accommodates the first and second processing liquid nozzles 21 and 22 described above and the arms 21A and 22A for moving these nozzles, the substrate holding mechanism 30, the recovery cup 40, and the like. A fan filter unit (FFU) (not shown) is provided on the ceiling of the chamber 20 to form a downflow in the chamber 20.

  The substrate holding mechanism 30 includes a holding unit 31, a support unit 32, and a driving unit 33. The holding unit 31 holds the wafer W horizontally. The support | pillar part 32 is a member extended in a perpendicular direction, a base end part is rotatably supported by the drive part 33, and supports the holding | maintenance part 31 horizontally in a front-end | tip part. The drive unit 33 rotates the column unit 32 around the vertical axis. The substrate holding mechanism 30 rotates the support unit 32 by rotating the support unit 32 using the drive unit 33, thereby rotating the wafer W held by the support unit 31. . Note that a pipe forming the back surface treatment liquid supply line 830 is provided in a cavity (not shown) formed inside the support column 32 so as not to rotate together with the support column 32.

  The collection cup 40 is disposed so as to surround the holding unit 31, and collects the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W by the rotation of the holding unit 31. A drain port 41 is formed at the bottom of the recovery cup 40, and the processing liquid collected by the recovery cup 40 is discharged from the drain port 41 to the outside of the processing unit 16. Further, an exhaust port 42 for discharging a gas supplied from an FFU (not shown) to the outside of the processing unit 16 is formed at the bottom of the recovery cup 40.

  A liquid receiver 44 is provided in the chamber 20 for receiving the liquid discharged from the nozzles when dummy dispensing is performed by the first and second processing liquid nozzles 21 and 22. A drain line 45 is connected to the liquid receiver 44. The arms 21A and 22A can position the first and second processing liquid nozzles 21 and 22 above the liquid receiver 44, respectively. One liquid receiver 44 may be provided at each of the home positions (standby positions retracted from the wafer W) of the first and second processing liquid nozzles 21 and 22.

  The “dummy dispense” means that the liquid is supplied from the nozzle to a position where the wafer W is not present. For example, the pipe connected to the nozzle is heated (cooled), and the processing liquid whose temperature or composition is not stable is used. It is performed for the purpose of discarding until it stabilizes.

  Next, a procedure for processing the wafer W using the processing unit 16 of the substrate processing system 1 will be described.

  The wafer W is carried into the chamber 20, the wafer W is held horizontally by the substrate holding mechanism 30, and the wafer W is rotated around the vertical rotation axis. Then, a predetermined processing liquid is supplied from any one or more of the first processing liquid nozzle 21, the second processing liquid nozzle 22, and the back surface nozzle 23 to the center of the front surface / back surface of the wafer W. . The supplied processing liquid spreads toward the periphery of the wafer W by centrifugal force, and the front / back surface of the wafer is covered with a liquid film of the processing liquid. In this state, the front / back surface of the wafer W is processed with the processing liquid. The processing liquid scattered outside the wafer W by the centrifugal force is recovered by the recovery cup 40 and discharged from the liquid discharge port 41. As the liquid treatment performed at this time, SC-1 cleaning (cleaning with a diluted chemical obtained by diluting ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide water with pure water) and SC-2 cleaning (diluting hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide water with pure water). Cleaning with a diluted chemical solution), pure water rinse, and the like.

  As an example, a case where SC-1 cleaning is performed will be described. In this case, the SC-1 solution having a predetermined composition (a mixture ratio of ammonia water, hydrogen peroxide solution, and pure water) and a predetermined temperature needs to flow through the second processing liquid line 820. The mixing ratio of ammonia water, hydrogen peroxide water, and pure water is variously changed depending on the processing, for example, 1: 1: 5, 1: 1: 100, 1: 4: 20, 1: 2: 50, and the like. The temperature may also be changed variously depending on the processing such as 35 ° C. and 60 ° C., for example. The composition and temperature are defined in advance by the process recipe.

  Ammonia water is fed into the second treatment liquid line 820 using the line 412 according to the procedure described above. Further, according to the required flow rate, the hydrogen peroxide solution is used in accordance with the procedure described above by using either the high flow rate line (212a, 226a) or the low flow rate line (212b, 226b). Feed into treatment liquid line 820. The flow rates of ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide water are controlled based on flow rate commands sent from the control device 4 to flow rate controllers (CNTL) (see FIG. 4) attached to the constant pressure valves 416 and 216, respectively. At this time, the control device 4 selects either the large flow rate line or the small flow rate line based on the required flow rate, and also performs open / close control of the associated on / off valve based on the selection result.

  Further, the heated pure water and the room temperature pure water are fed into the second treatment liquid line 820 using the lines 512 and 516 in accordance with the procedure described above. At this time, the control device 4 determines the total flow rate of heated pure water and room temperature pure water so that the above mixing ratio is achieved, and the temperature of the SC-1 solution obtained as a result of mixing is defined by the process recipe. The flow rate of heated pure water sent to the second treatment liquid line 820 and the flow rate of room-temperature pure water (the flow rate ratio between them) are determined so that the temperature becomes the same. When increasing the temperature of the SC-1 solution, while maintaining the sum of the flow rate of heated pure water and the flow rate of room temperature pure water, the flow rate of heated pure water is increased to decrease the flow rate of room temperature pure water. (Change the flow ratio). When the temperature of the SC-1 solution is lowered, the flow rate of the heated pure water is decreased to increase the flow rate of the room temperature pure water while keeping the sum of the flow rate of the heated pure water and the flow rate of the room temperature pure water constant. Let

  Based on the determined heating pure water flow rate and room temperature pure water flow rate, the control device 4 sends a flow rate command (CNTL) (see FIG. 4) flow rate command attached to each of the constant pressure valves 516 and 616 from the control device 4. Based on the flow rate command, the flow rate of the heated pure water and the flow rate of the room temperature pure water fed into the second processing liquid line 820 are controlled.

  In this case, as a matter of course, a necessary opening / closing valve of the irrelevant valve (in this case, hydrochloric acid) does not flow into the second processing liquid line 820 and does not flow through the first processing liquid line 810. Open / close control is performed.

  The temperature adjustment of the treatment liquid by changing the flow ratio of the heated pure water and the room temperature pure water can be used in any case where a diluted chemical liquid obtained by diluting the chemical liquid with pure water is used as the treatment liquid. For example, when performing SC-2 cleaning, an SC-2 solution having a predetermined composition (mixing ratio of hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide solution, and pure water) and a predetermined temperature is allowed to flow through the first processing liquid line 810. Can be used.

  If the type (composition) of the treatment liquid is the same and the designated temperature of the treatment liquid is the same, the control device 4 is configured to flow the heated pure water and the normal temperature pure water at the time of preparing the treatment liquid. May always be controlled to the same value. In this way, the control becomes simple, which is effective when the required temperature accuracy level of the processing liquid is relatively low.

  However, the temperature of the pure water supplied from the heating pure water supply source and the room temperature pure water supply source provided in the semiconductor device manufacturing factory, particularly the room temperature pure water, may vary slightly depending on the season. If the required accuracy level is relatively high, the above method may not be able to cope with it. In this case, for example, the flow rate of heated pure water and the flow rate of normal temperature pure water can be corrected by the method exemplified below.

  A thermometer 810t is provided as close as possible to the first treatment liquid nozzle 21 in the first treatment liquid line 810, and a thermometer 820t is provided as close as possible to the second treatment liquid nozzle 22 in the second treatment liquid line 820. For example, a dummy dispense of the treatment liquid is performed from the first treatment liquid nozzle 21 for a predetermined time, the detected value of the thermometer 810t at that time, and the target temperature of the first treatment liquid to be supplied from the first treatment liquid nozzle 21 to the wafer W The control device 4 changes the flow rate command value given to the flow rate controller (CNTL) (see FIG. 3) attached to the constant pressure valves 516 and 616, respectively. Specifically, if the detected value of the thermometer 810t is lower (higher) than the target temperature, the flow rate of heated pure water is increased (decreased) and the flow rate of room temperature pure water is decreased (increased). Correct the flow rate ratio of room temperature pure water. The same correction as described above can be performed for the diluted chemical flowing through the second processing liquid line 820.

  Such correction can be performed at times other than during dummy dispensing. For example, the temperature of the diluted chemical solution flowing through the first processing liquid line 810 and the second processing liquid line 820 may be constantly monitored so that the temperature correction is always performed (real time). Note that if the above correction is performed too frequently, it may cause a decrease in the life of the flow control device or generation of particles from the flow control device. Therefore, it is preferable to perform the correction periodically with a time interval. It is also preferable to provide an allowable range with a certain width with respect to the target temperature, and to perform correction only when the actual temperature is outside this allowable range.

  Instead of the above, thermometers 505 and 605 (see FIG. 2) are provided in the main line 504 for heated pure water and the main line 604 for room temperature pure water, respectively, and based on the measurement results of these thermometers 505 and 605 It is also possible to correct the flow ratio of heated pure water and room temperature pure water.

In addition, since the temperature of a dilution chemical | medical solution can be calculated with the following formula | equation, the mixing ratio of heating pure water and normal temperature pure water can be determined or changed based on this.
Dilution chemical temperature = [heating pure water temperature x heating pure water flow rate + room temperature pure water temperature x room temperature pure water flow rate + (temperature of chemical liquid for each chemical solution x sum of chemical flow rates)] / (heating pure Water flow + normal temperature pure water flow + chemical flow total) + (heat generation or endothermic contribution due to mixing reaction)-(heat dissipation contribution through piping after mixing)

  The exothermic or endothermic contribution due to the mixing reaction may be regarded as a constant if the composition of the diluted chemical solution is the same, and the exothermic contribution after mixing may be regarded as a constant if the target temperature of the diluted chemical solution is the same. It may be ignored in the calculation when changing the mixing ratio of heated pure water and normal temperature pure water while keeping the total flow rate of normal temperature pure water constant. The above two constants can be grasped in advance by experiments, and can be used when the mixing ratio of heated pure water and normal temperature pure water is first determined.

  By the way, many of the diluting chemical solutions can be reused, and it is not preferable from the viewpoint of resource saving to discard the diluting chemical solution once. Below, with reference to FIG. 5, the structure which enables reuse of a dilution chemical | medical solution is demonstrated.

  A drain line 900 is connected to the drain port 41 of the liquid receiving cup 40. The drainage line 900 branches at a branch point 900 into a recovery line 902 and a waste liquid line 904. On-off valves 903 and 905 are provided in the recovery line 902 and the waste liquid line 904, respectively. The collection line 902 is connected to the collection tank 906.

  Connected to the recovery tank 906 is a circulation line 907 that leaves the recovery tank 906 and returns to the recovery tank 906. In the circulation line 907, a pump 908, a heater 909, and a filter 910 are provided in order from the upstream side.

  At the branch point 911, the recovery liquid resupply line 912 branches from the circulation line 907. The recovered liquid resupply line 912 is provided with an on-off valve 913 and a flow rate adjusting device including a constant pressure valve 914 and an orifice 915 in order from the upstream side. A recovery liquid resupply nozzle 22 ′ is connected to the end of the recovery liquid resupply line 912.

  When a diluted chemical solution, for example, SC-1 solution is supplied to one wafer W, in the first half of the SC-1 supply period, no new SC-1 solution is supplied from the first processing solution nozzle 22, and the recovered solution is supplied. The used SC-1 solution is supplied to the wafer W from the resupply nozzle 22 ′. That is, the on-off valve 913 is opened, and the used SC-1 liquid circulating through the circulation line 907 is supplied to the wafer W. At this time, the on-off valve 903 is closed and the on-off valve 905 is opened. That is, the SC-1 solution used twice for processing the wafer W is discarded without being collected again.

  On the other hand, in the latter half of the SC-1 supply period, the used SC-1 solution is not supplied from the recovered solution resupply nozzle 22 ′, and a clean new SC-1 solution is supplied from the first processing solution nozzle 22. . This new SC-1 solution is supplied by the processing solution supply mechanism shown in FIG. At this time, the on-off valve 903 is opened, and the on-off valve 905 is closed. That is, the SC-1 solution discharged from the drain port 41 of the post-liquid receiving cup 40 subjected to the processing of the wafer W is recovered in the recovery tank 906. The SC-1 solution collected in the collection tank 906 is circulated through the circulation line 907 by the pump 908. During this circulation, the SC-1 solution is maintained at a temperature suitable for processing the wafer W by the heater 909.

  In FIG. 5, for simplification of the drawing, only the part related to the recovery and reuse of the SC-1 solution is shown. However, the configuration enabling the recovery and reuse of other chemical solutions such as the SC-2 solution is similarly applied. It may be provided.

  According to the above embodiment, the temperature of the diluted chemical solution can be changed by changing the mixing ratio of the same dilution liquid (pure water here) that differs only in temperature, so the same composition (mixing ratio of the dilution liquid and the chemical liquid) is different. A dilute chemical solution at a temperature can be easily supplied. Of course, various diluting chemical solutions having different compositions and different temperatures can be easily supplied. Further, even when the temperature of the diluent changes due to seasonal changes or the like, the actual temperature of the diluent can be easily adjusted to the target temperature by changing the mixing ratio.

  In the above embodiment, the liquid processing apparatus for processing the object to be processed is the substrate processing system 1 for processing a semiconductor wafer (silicon substrate). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and other materials such as a glass substrate and a ceramic substrate are used. The substrate may be used as an object to be processed.

4 Control Unit 16 Liquid Processing Unit 604 First Diluent Line (Main Line)
612 First diluent branch line 504 Second diluent line (main line)
512 Second dilution liquid branch line 204, 304, 404 Chemical liquid line (main line)
212, 312, 412 Chemical liquid branch line 810, 820 Diluted chemical liquid line (treatment liquid line)
614, 616, etc. First diluent flow rate adjuster 514, 516, etc. Second diluent flow rate adjuster 214a, 214b, 216, etc. Chemical solution flow rate adjuster 810t, 820t Thermometer

Claims (8)

A plurality of liquid processing units that perform liquid processing on the target object by supplying a diluted chemical to the target object;
A diluted chemical supply mechanism for supplying the diluted chemical to the liquid processing unit,
The dilution chemical supply mechanism is
A first diluent line through which a diluent at a first temperature flows;
A second diluent line through which a second temperature diluent that is higher than the first temperature flows;
A chemical line through which the chemical flows,
A plurality of first diluent branch lines branched from the first diluent line, and a first diluent flow rate adjusting unit that adjusts the flow rate of the diluent flowing from the first diluent line on each path A plurality of first diluent branch lines,
A plurality of second diluent branch lines branched from the second diluent line, and a second diluent flow rate adjusting unit that adjusts the flow rate of the diluent flowing from the second diluent line on each path A plurality of second diluent branch lines,
A plurality of chemical solution branch lines branched from the chemical solution line, each having a plurality of chemical solution branch lines provided with a chemical solution flow rate adjusting unit for adjusting the flow rate of the diluent flowing from the chemical solution line on each path; ,
A plurality of diluted chemical supply lines for supplying the diluted chemical liquid to the plurality of liquid processing units, respectively, each of the first diluted liquid branch line, the second diluted liquid branch line, and the chemical liquid branch line; A plurality of diluent supply lines connected to one another;
A liquid processing apparatus. A control unit for individually controlling the first diluent flow rate adjusting unit, the second diluent flow rate adjusting unit, and the chemical solution flow rate adjusting unit of each of the chemical solution lines;
In addition,
The controller is
Based on the preset composition of the diluted chemical solution supplied to the liquid processing unit, the total flow rate of the first temperature diluent and the second temperature diluted solution flowing through the diluted solution supply line, and the diluted solution supply line Determine the flow rate of the chemical solution to be flown,
Further, based on the preset temperature of the diluted chemical solution supplied to the liquid processing unit and the total flow rate, the flow rate of the first temperature diluted solution to be supplied to the diluted chemical solution supply line and the flow rate to the diluted chemical solution supply line Determine the flow rate of the second temperature diluent,
A liquid processing apparatus that controls the first diluent flow rate adjustment unit, the second diluent flow rate adjustment unit, and the chemical solution flow rate adjustment unit of the chemical solution line based on the determined flow rates.   The control unit adjusts the temperature of the diluent liquid from the first diluent branch line to the treatment liquid supply line and the first temperature diluent flow from the second diluent branch line to the treatment liquid supply line. The ratio of the flow rate of the first temperature diluent and the flow rate of the second temperature diluent is changed while keeping the sum of the flow rate of the second temperature diluent flowing into the processing liquid supply line constant. The liquid processing apparatus of Claim 2 which controls the said 1st dilution liquid flow volume adjustment part and the said 2nd dilution liquid flow volume adjustment part.   The dilution chemical supply mechanism further includes a thermometer provided in the processing liquid supply line for measuring the temperature of the diluted chemical after mixing, and the controller is configured to control the dilution chemical liquid measured by the thermometer. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the ratio of the flow rate of the diluent at the first temperature and the flow rate of the diluent at the second temperature is corrected so that the actual temperature matches the target temperature of the diluted chemical solution. In a liquid processing method of supplying a diluted chemical solution from a corresponding diluent supply line to each of a plurality of objects to be processed and simultaneously performing liquid processing on each object to be processed,
A dilution liquid having a first temperature is caused to flow from the first dilution liquid line, a dilution liquid having a second temperature higher than the first temperature is caused to flow from the second dilution liquid line to each dilution chemical liquid supply line, and Flowing a chemical from at least one chemical line;
In each of the dilution chemical supply lines, the dilution liquid of the first temperature, the dilution liquid of the second temperature, and the chemical liquid are mixed with each other to generate a diluted chemical liquid so as to have a preset composition. Supplying a diluted chemical to the object to be treated;
The flow rate of the diluent at the first temperature from the first diluent liquid flowing into the diluent liquid supply line and the second temperature from the second diluent liquid line in accordance with the preset temperature of the diluent liquid. Changing the ratio with the flow rate of the dilution liquid,
A liquid processing method comprising:   When changing the ratio of the flow rate of the first temperature diluent from the first diluent line flowing into each diluent liquid supply line and the flow rate of the second temperature diluent from the second diluent line 6. The substrate processing method according to claim 5, wherein the sum of the flow rate of the diluent at the first temperature and the flow rate of the diluent at the second temperature is not changed. Measuring the actual temperature of the diluent liquid flowing through each of the diluent liquid supply lines;
The ratio between the flow rate of the diluent at the first temperature and the flow rate of the diluent at the second temperature that flows into the corresponding diluent supply line is corrected so that the actual temperature of the measured diluted drug solution becomes the target temperature. And
The substrate liquid processing method according to claim 6, further comprising:   The misregistration correction according to any one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the computer controls the liquid processing apparatus by being executed by a computer as a control apparatus that controls the operation of the liquid processing apparatus. A storage medium storing a program for executing the method.

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