JP2016149480A - Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method, which can inhibit accumulation of air inside a chamber to favorably process a substrate.SOLUTION: According to the present embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus (1) comprises: a chamber (19) which surrounds a substrate (9); air supply parts (43, 44) for forming in the chamber (19) an air current (46) flowing from top to bottom; air outlets (34, 49, 50) for discharging the air current from the chamber (19); and a rectifier (39) which is provided inside the chamber (19) and inclined from top to bottom. The air current (46) flowing from top to bottom is formed inside the chamber (19) and air currents (51, 52) flowing from top to bottom in an inclined manner along the rectifier (39) are formed inside the chamber (19).SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing a substrate inside a chamber.

  Conventionally, when manufacturing a semiconductor component, a flat panel display, or the like, a substrate processing apparatus is used to perform various processes such as a cleaning process and a drying process on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal substrate.

  In this substrate processing apparatus, in order to process a substrate satisfactorily, it is required to keep the air inside the chamber clean. Therefore, an air supply device is connected to the chamber at the ceiling and an exhaust device is connected to the bottom of the chamber. Then, at the time of substrate processing or the like, clean air is supplied from the air supply device to the inside of the chamber, and is exhausted to the outside of the chamber by the exhaust device. Thereby, inside the chamber, clean air flows vertically from above to below.

  Thus, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, the air inside the chamber is kept clean by causing clean air to flow vertically from above to below.

JP 2013-254904 A

  However, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, air flows vertically from the upper side to the lower side on the center side of the chamber due to the structure of the chamber, but air stays on the peripheral side (particularly, the four corners) of the chamber.

  Since various cleaning chemicals and chemicals such as dry gas are used in the substrate processing apparatus, if retention occurs inside the chamber, the chemicals remain inside the chamber or the chamber is in a high humidity state. Become. And there exists a possibility that the chemical | medical agent etc. which remain | survived inside the chamber may adhere again to the board | substrate processed after that. Further, if the air inside the chamber is in a high humidity state, the substrate may not be dried well.

  As described above, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, there is a possibility that the substrate cannot be satisfactorily processed due to the staying in the chamber.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus, a chamber that surrounds the substrate, an air supply unit that forms an airflow that flows from above to below in the chamber, an exhaust port that discharges the airflow from the chamber, And a rectifier body provided inside the chamber and inclined from above to below.

  Further, the rectifying body is provided outside the outer peripheral edge of the substrate.

  Further, the rectifying body is formed in a bowl shape.

  Further, the rectifying body is formed in a spiral shape.

  In addition, the chamber is formed in a cylindrical shape.

  In addition, the exhaust port discharges a first exhaust port that discharges an airflow that flows vertically above the substrate and an airflow that flows in an inclined manner from the upper side to the lower side along the rectifier. And a second exhaust port.

  In addition, the air supply unit includes a first air supply unit that forms an airflow that flows vertically above the substrate, and an airflow that flows in an inclined manner from the upper side to the lower side of the substrate along the rectifier. The second air supply unit that forms

  In addition, a cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the rectifier is further provided.

  Further, according to the present invention, in the substrate processing method, an air flow flowing from the upper side to the lower side is formed inside the chamber surrounding the substrate, and a rectifying body formed in an inclined shape from the upper side to the lower side inside the chamber. It was decided to form an airflow flowing along.

  In the present invention, air can be prevented from staying inside the chamber, and the substrate can be processed satisfactorily.

The top view which shows a substrate processing system. Side surface sectional drawing which shows a substrate processing apparatus. The perspective view which shows a rectifier. The perspective view which shows airflow. The perspective view which shows another rectifier. The schematic diagram which shows the change of the temperature distribution of the board | substrate before and behind process liquid supply.

  A specific configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention and a substrate processing method used in the substrate processing apparatus will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided in a substrate processing system 2. The substrate processing system 2 includes a carry-in / out unit 3, a transfer unit 4, and a processing unit 5. Each unit of the substrate processing system 2 is controlled by the control unit 6.

  The carry-in / out unit 3 forms a substrate carry-in / out table 7 at the top. A plurality of (here, four) carriers 8 are placed side by side on the substrate carry-in / out table 7. Each carrier 8 accommodates a plurality (for example, 25) of substrates 9.

  The transfer unit 4 has a substrate transfer device 10 disposed on the front side and a substrate delivery table 11 disposed on the rear side. In the transport unit 4, the substrate 9 is transported between the carrier 8 and the substrate delivery table 11 by the substrate transport device 10.

  The processing unit 5 arranges the first substrate transfer device 12 at the center (behind the substrate delivery table 11). Substrate cleaning devices (substrate processing device 1) for cleaning the substrate 9 are arranged side by side on the left and right sides of the first substrate transfer device 12 in between. A substrate heating device 13 for heating the substrate 9 and a substrate drying device 14 for drying the substrate 9 are arranged on one side of the first substrate transfer device 12, and on the other side of the first substrate transfer device 12. Two substrate drying apparatuses 14 are arranged. A substrate cooling device 15 for cooling the substrate 9 is disposed on the rear side of the first substrate transfer device 12. A second substrate transfer device 16 is disposed between the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the substrate heating device 13 or the substrate drying device 14. Further, a third substrate transfer device 17 is disposed outside the substrate processing apparatus 1. In the processing unit 5, the substrate 9 is transported between the substrate delivery table 11 and each device (substrate processing device 1, substrate heating device 13, substrate drying device 14, substrate cooling device 15) mainly by the first substrate transport device 12. The substrate 9 is transferred between the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the substrate heating apparatus 13 or the substrate drying apparatus 14 mainly by the second substrate transfer apparatus 16, and each apparatus (substrate processing apparatus) is mainly transferred by the third substrate transfer apparatus 17. 1. The substrate 9 is transported between the substrate heating device 13 and the substrate drying device 14).

  As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate processing apparatus 1 arranges a substrate processing unit 18 for cleaning the substrate 9 inside a chamber 19.

  The substrate processing unit 18 includes a substrate rotation holding unit 20 for holding and rotating the substrate 9, a processing liquid supply unit 21 for supplying a processing liquid for cleaning to the substrate 9, and a process supplied to the substrate 9. And a processing liquid recovery unit 22 for recovering the liquid.

  The substrate rotation holding unit 20 has a rotation shaft 23 vertically extended at the center. A disk-shaped turntable 24 is attached to the upper part of the rotary shaft 23. A substrate holder 25 is attached to the upper part of the outer peripheral edge of the turntable 24 at intervals in the circumferential direction. The substrate holder 25 holds the substrate 9 from below. In addition, a rotating mechanism 26 and an elevating mechanism 27 are connected to the rotating shaft 23.

  The processing liquid supply unit 21 arranges a nozzle 28 above the substrate 9 held on the turntable 24. A supply mechanism 29 for supplying the processing liquid is connected to the nozzle 28. The supply mechanism 29 discharges the processing liquid from the nozzle 28 toward the upper surface of the substrate 9. The nozzle 28 is connected to a moving mechanism 30 for moving the nozzle 28 horizontally. With this moving mechanism 30, the nozzle 28 is moved between the start position at the center upper part of the substrate 9 and the standby position at the upper outer periphery of the substrate 9.

  The processing liquid recovery unit 22 arranges a cylindrical cup 31 outside the outer periphery of the substrate 9 held on the turntable 24. An opening for carrying in / out the substrate 9 is formed in the upper part of the cup 31. A cylindrical partition wall 32 is formed inside the cup 31. Further, at the lower part of the cup 31, a liquid outlet 33 for discharging a liquid such as a processing liquid from the outside of the partition wall 32 to the outside of the chamber 19, and a gas such as air from the inside of the partition wall 32 to the outside of the chamber 19 And a first exhaust port 34 for discharging the gas.

  The chamber 19 has a hollow cylindrical shape composed of a disk-shaped ceiling wall 35 and bottom wall 36 and a cylindrical side wall 37. The side wall 37 is provided with an opening / closing door 38 for loading / unloading the substrate 9.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the chamber 19 is provided with a rectifier 39 on the inner surface of the side wall 37. The rectifier 39 includes a spiral first rectifier 40 that slopes in an arc shape in plan view from the upper left to the lower right of the chamber 19 and from the upper right to the lower left of the chamber 19. It comprises a spiral second rectifying body 41 that inclines in an arc shape in plan view continuously from above. These first and second rectifiers 40 and 41 have a circular arc cross section, are attached to the inner side of the side wall 37, and are formed in a bowl shape with the inner side positioned higher than the outer side. .

  The chamber 19 is connected to an air supply unit 42 for supplying clean air to the inside. The air supply unit 42 replaces the inside of the chamber 19 with the clean air by forming an air flow in the chamber 19 in which clean air flows from the top to the bottom. The air supply unit 42 includes a first air supply unit 43 and a second air supply unit 44.

  The first air supply unit 43 connects a first air supply mechanism 45 for supplying clean air into the chamber 19 to the ceiling wall 35. The first air supply portion 43 is perpendicular to the center portion of the chamber 19 from above to below by discharging the air supplied to the ceiling portion of the chamber 19 by the first air supply mechanism 45 from the first exhaust port 34. The airflow 46 that flows in the shape is formed.

  The second air supply unit 44 connects the second and third air supply mechanisms 47 and 48 for supplying clean air into the chamber 19 to the upper end of the side wall 37. Second exhaust ports 49 and 50 for exhausting air from the inside of the chamber 19 are formed at the lower end of the side wall 37 of the chamber 19. Here, the second air supply mechanism 47 is connected to the upper end of the first rectifier 40, and the second exhaust port 49 is connected to the lower end of the first rectifier 40. The third air supply mechanism 48 is connected to the upper end of the second rectifier 41, and the second exhaust port 50 is connected to the lower end of the second rectifier 41. The second air supply unit 44 discharges the air supplied to the upper end side portion of the chamber 19 by the second air supply mechanism 47 from the second exhaust port 49 on the lower end side portion of the chamber 19, thereby An airflow 51 that flows in an inclined manner (spiral) while rotating from above to below along the first rectifying body 40 is formed in the portion (inner peripheral portion). The second air supply unit 44 discharges the air supplied to the upper end side portion of the chamber 19 by the third air supply mechanism 48 from the second exhaust port 50 on the lower end side portion of the chamber 19, thereby An air flow 52 that flows in an inclined manner (spiral) while rotating from above to below along the second rectifying body 41 is formed in the portion (inner peripheral portion). The second and third air supply mechanisms 47 and 48 discharge the air, for example, toward the tangential direction of the first and second rectifiers 40 and 41, thereby causing the air to flow into the first and second rectifiers 40 and 41. It is preferable to feed along 41 slopes. Similarly, the second exhaust ports 49 and 50 are also opened in the tangential direction of the first and second rectifiers 40 and 41, for example, so that air is discharged along the inclination of the first and second rectifiers 40 and 41. It is preferable.

  The second air supply unit 44 is provided with a cleaning liquid supply unit 53 for supplying a cleaning liquid to the rectifier 39. The cleaning liquid supply unit 53 supplies the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply mechanism 54 above the upper ends of the first rectifying body 40 and the second rectifying body 41, respectively. The supplied cleaning liquid cleans the first rectifier 40 and the second rectifier 41 and also cleans the inner surface of the side wall 37 of the chamber 19. Note that the cleaning liquid supply unit 53 may spray the cleaning liquid toward the inside of the chamber 19. The cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit 53 is discharged to the outside at the lower end of the chamber 19. After the cleaning liquid is discharged from the second exhaust ports 49 and 50, the gas and liquid may be separated.

  Thus, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, the first air supply portion 43 (first exhaust port 34) that forms (discharges) the airflow 46 that flows vertically above the substrate 9, and the substrate 9 along the rectifier 39. The second air supply portion 44 (second exhaust ports 49, 50) that forms (discharges) the airflows 51, 52 that flow in an inclined manner from the upper side toward the lower side. An airflow 46 that flows vertically from above to below is formed in the central portion of the chamber 19, and the peripheral portion of the chamber 19 (the inner portion of the side wall 37: the outer portion of the airflow 46) is upward along the rectifier 39. Airflows 51 and 52 flowing in an inclined manner from the bottom are formed.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the air inside the chamber 19 is formed with airflows 46, 51, 52 in which clean air flows downward from above, so that the inside of the chamber 19 is replaced with clean air to replace the substrate 9. Can be processed in a clean atmosphere. In particular, by forming the airflow 46 that flows vertically above the substrate 9, a downflow is formed above the substrate 9, and scattering of processing liquid and dust can be prevented. Further, by forming the airflows 51 and 52 that flow in an inclined manner from the upper side to the lower side along the rectifying body 39, it is possible to suppress the retention of air inside the chamber 19. By forming the airflows 51, 52 flowing in an inclined manner outward from the substrate 9, interference with the airflow 46 formed above the substrate 9 can be suppressed, and the airflows 46, 51, 52 are disturbed. It can flow smoothly without.

  The second air supply unit 44 may be configured to flow air along the rectifier 39. Therefore, the second and third air supply mechanisms 47 and 48 and the second exhaust ports 49 and 50 are not provided, and the first air supply mechanism 45 and the first exhaust port 34 not only provide air to the center of the chamber 19 but also to the surroundings. A part of the air supplied from the first air supply mechanism 45 may be made to flow along the rectifier 39. The rectifier 39 protrudes from the side wall 37 of the chamber 19 toward the inside (center side). However, it is more preferable that the rectifier 39 is provided outside the outer peripheral edge of the substrate 9 to be processed by the substrate processing unit 18. The substrate 9 can be satisfactorily processed in the substrate processing unit 18 without affecting the vertical air flow 46 above the substrate. Further, the rectifying body 39 can smoothly flow the air and the cleaning liquid along the rectifying body 39 by forming the cross section into a concave bowl shape. Furthermore, the air rectifier 39 can be smoothly flowed along the rectifier 39 by forming the rectifier 39 in a spiral shape that is gradually inclined downward in an arc shape. Further, even if the chamber 19 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a circular horizontal cross section, the corners are not formed, and the air and the cleaning liquid can flow smoothly along the rectifier 39.

  In the substrate processing apparatus 1, the spiral first continuous rectifier 40 and the second rectifier 41 having a bowl-shaped cross section are provided inside the cylindrical chamber 19, but this configuration is limited. Is not to be done. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of flat plate rectifiers 56 are linearly inclined from above to below inside a rectangular box-shaped chamber 55 having a rectangular horizontal cross section. Also good. Also by this, it is possible to form an airflow that flows in an inclined manner from the upper side to the lower side along the rectifier 56 in the inner peripheral portion of the chamber 55. The rectifiers 39 and 56 are not limited to being directly attached to the inside of the chambers 19 and 55, and may be attached to another support member.

  In the air supply unit 42, the supply air flow rate and the exhaust gas flow rate are controlled by the control unit 6 for each of the first air supply unit 43 and the second air supply unit 44. Note that the total air supply amount and the total exhaust amount of the air supply unit 42 are the same. The control unit 6 is a computer, for example, and includes a computer-readable storage medium 57. The storage medium 57 stores a program for controlling various processes executed in the substrate processing system 2. The control unit 6 controls the operation of the substrate processing system 2 by reading and executing a program stored in the storage medium 57. Note that the program may be stored in the computer-readable storage medium 57 and may be installed in the storage medium 57 of the control unit 6 from another storage medium. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium 57 include a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk (CD), a magnetic optical disk (MO), and a memory card.

  The substrate processing system 2 having the substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured as described above, and the substrate 9 is processed by controlling the operation of each unit by the control unit 6.

  Then, before processing the substrate 9 in the substrate processing unit 18 of the substrate processing apparatus 1, during processing, or after processing, the control unit 6 controls the air supply unit 42 to enter the chamber 19 from above. Airflows 51 and 52 that flow in an inclined manner from the upper side to the lower side are formed along the airflow 46 that flows vertically downward and the rectifier 39.

  The airflows 51 and 52 along the rectifier 39 may be formed as necessary. For example, only the vertical airflow 46 is formed while the substrate 9 is processed by the substrate processing unit 18, and the inclined airflows 51 and 52 are formed before and after the substrate 9 is processed by the substrate processing unit 18. It may be. Before and after the substrate 9 is processed by the substrate processing unit 18, the cleaning liquid may be supplied from the cleaning liquid supply unit 53 into the chamber 19 and the inner surface of the chamber 19 may be cleaned with the cleaning liquid. At that time, the airflows 51 and 52 may be formed together with the supply of the cleaning liquid.

  Further, the airflows 51 and 52 along the rectifier 39 may be flowed during the processing of the substrate 9. As schematically shown in FIG. 6, when the rotating substrate 9 is subjected to a liquid treatment with a treatment liquid, the substrate 9 before the treatment liquid is supplied has a uniform temperature distribution (in FIG. 6A). (Temperature distribution indicated by dotted lines) After the treatment liquid is supplied, the temperature at the outer peripheral portion is lower than the central portion of the substrate 9 (temperature distribution indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 6B). For this reason, when the airflows 51 and 52 formed during the processing of the substrate 9 are too strong, there is a possibility that the temperature of the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 9 is significantly lowered after the processing liquid is supplied. Thus, if a temperature difference occurs between the central portion and the outer peripheral portion of the substrate 9, the substrate 9 cannot be uniformly processed with the processing liquid. Therefore, in anticipation of the temperature drop (change in temperature distribution) of the substrate 9, the temperature distribution of the substrate 9 is heated by the substrate heating device 13 so that the temperature in the outer peripheral portion is higher than that in the central portion (FIG. 6 (a). ) (Temperature distribution indicated by a solid line)), and then the substrate 9 is treated with a treatment liquid. Thereby, the temperature distribution during processing of the substrate 9 can be made uniform (temperature distribution shown by a solid line in FIG. 6B), and the substrate 9 can be processed uniformly with the processing liquid.

  As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the substrate processing method performed by the substrate processing apparatus 1, the rectifying body 39 inclined from the upper side to the lower side is provided inside the chamber 19, and the upper side along the rectifying body 39. Since the airflows 51 and 52 that flow in an inclined direction from the bottom to the bottom are formed, air can be prevented from staying inside the chamber 19 and the substrate 9 can be processed satisfactorily.

  In the above description, the substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning the substrate 9 has been described as the substrate processing apparatus 1. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the substrate heating apparatus 13, the substrate drying apparatus 14, the substrate cooling apparatus 15, etc. Can also be applied. When the present invention is applied to a substrate cleaning apparatus, it is possible to prevent chemicals and the like from remaining inside the chamber and reattaching to the substrate. In addition, when the present invention is applied to the substrate heating device 13 or the substrate cooling device 15, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being heated or cooled uniformly due to high temperature or low temperature air remaining in the chamber. it can. Further, when the present invention is applied to the substrate drying apparatus 14, it is possible to prevent air in a high humidity state from remaining inside the chamber and preventing the substrate from being dried.

1 Substrate processing device 9 Substrate
19 chamber
34 First exhaust
39 Rectifier
42 Air supply part
43 1st air supply part
44 Second air supply section
49,50 Second exhaust port
46,51,52 Airflow

Claims (9)

A chamber surrounding the substrate;
An air supply unit that forms an airflow that flows downward from above into the chamber;
An exhaust port for discharging the airflow from the chamber;
A rectifier provided inside the chamber and inclined from above to below;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectifying body is provided outside the outer peripheral edge of the substrate.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectifier is formed in a bowl shape.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rectifier is formed in a spiral shape.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the chamber is formed in a cylindrical shape.   The exhaust port discharges a first exhaust port that discharges an airflow that flows vertically above the substrate and an airflow that flows in an inclined manner from the upper side to the lower side of the substrate along the rectifier. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising two exhaust ports.   The air supply unit forms a first air supply unit that forms an airflow that flows vertically above the substrate, and an airflow that flows in an inclined manner from the upper side to the lower side along the rectifier. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a second air supply unit that performs the operation.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply unit that supplies a cleaning liquid to the rectifier.   An air flow that flows from above to below is formed inside a chamber surrounding the substrate, and an air flow that flows along a rectifying body formed in an inclined shape from above to below is formed inside the chamber. Substrate processing method.

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