JP2016157811A - 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 keep stably holding a liquid film of a chemical solution on an upper surface of a substrate so as to process the upper surface of the substrate while saving the amount of the chemical solution.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus 1 includes: a spin chuck 5 which holds a substrate W in a horizontal posture; an etchant supply unit 6 which supplies an etchant onto an upper surface of the substrate W so as to form an etchant liquid film 45 entirely covering the upper surface; and a facing plate 8 which has a facing surface 8a facing the upper surface of the substrate W. The facing plate 8 is held by the etchant liquid film 45, with the facing surface 8a coming into contact with the etchant liquid film 45 formed on the upper surface of the substrate W.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

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

In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a liquid crystal display device or the like, a single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device one by one is used. The single-wafer substrate processing apparatus includes, for example, a spin chuck that horizontally holds and rotates a substrate, and a nozzle that supplies a chemical to the upper surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding mechanism.
In order to reduce the consumption of the chemical solution necessary for processing one sheet, for example, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, the chemical solution is applied to the upper surface of the substrate by maintaining the rotation speed of the substrate by the spin chuck at zero or low speed. A chemical liquid paddle process is known in which a liquid film is held, and the surface of the substrate is subjected to a chemical liquid process using the chemical liquid film. In the chemical liquid paddle processing, after the chemical liquid film is formed on the substrate, the supply of the processing liquid to the substrate can be stopped, so that the consumption of the chemical liquid can be suppressed to the minimum. The processing cost can be reduced.

JP 2013-214157 A

In the chemical liquid paddle process, the chemical liquid covering the entire upper surface of the substrate is held on the substrate for a predetermined processing period (a period necessary for completing the process using the chemical liquid), whereby the upper surface of the substrate is Is processed.
However, since the upper surface of the chemical liquid film is in contact with the surrounding atmosphere, the chemical liquid film is easily affected by the surrounding atmosphere. There is a risk that a part of the chemical solution may be lost (disappeared / outflowed) from the upper surface of the substrate due to the influence of the surrounding atmosphere (evaporation / spill). When the amount of the chemical liquid contained in the chemical liquid film decreases, it becomes difficult to cover the entire upper surface of the substrate with the chemical liquid film.

In addition, depending on the type of the chemical solution, the upper surface of the substrate may become hydrophobic as the treatment using the liquid film of the chemical solution progresses. In this case, the chemical solution is difficult to wet on the upper surface of the substrate. As a result, the chemical liquid film is cracked, making it difficult to keep the chemical liquid film on the upper surface of the substrate.
That is, in the chemical liquid paddle process, it is difficult to stably hold the chemical liquid film covering the entire upper surface of the substrate.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus capable of stably holding a liquid film of a chemical solution on the upper surface of the substrate, and thereby processing the upper surface of the substrate while saving the liquid of the chemical solution. Is to provide a method.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is characterized in that a substrate holding means for holding the substrate in a horizontal posture and a liquid film of a chemical solution covering the entire upper surface of the substrate are formed on the upper surface. A counter member having a chemical liquid supply means for supplying a chemical liquid and an opposed surface facing the upper surface of the substrate, wherein the opposed surface is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical solution formed on the upper surface of the substrate, There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including the liquid film of the chemical solution or an opposing member held by the substrate holding means.

According to this configuration, the facing member is held by the liquid film of the chemical solution or the substrate holding unit while the facing surface of the facing member is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical solution covering the entire upper surface of the substrate.
In this state, the upper part of the liquid film of the chemical solution is covered with the facing member. Therefore, the liquid film of the chemical solution is blocked from the surrounding atmosphere. Thereby, it can avoid that the liquid film of a chemical | medical solution receives influence from the surrounding atmosphere.

Further, the opposite surface comes into contact with the liquid film of the chemical solution. In other words, the liquid film of the chemical solution is in contact with the opposing surface. For this reason, surface tension acts between the facing surface and the upper surface of the liquid film of the chemical solution, and the chemical solution tends to maintain a film shape. Therefore, a liquid film of a chemical solution can be held on the upper surface of the substrate regardless of the properties of the upper surface of the substrate.
As described above, the liquid film of the chemical liquid can be stably held on the upper surface of the substrate, and therefore, the upper surface of the substrate can be processed while saving the liquid of the chemical liquid.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the counter member is a counter plate, and the counter plate is held on the upper surface of the liquid film of the chemical liquid while the counter surface is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical liquid. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.
According to this configuration, the counter plate is held on the upper surface of the liquid film of the chemical solution. Since the counter plate is held by the chemical liquid film, the thickness of the chemical liquid film held on the top surface of the substrate is reduced by reducing the amount of chemical liquid contained between the counter plate and the top surface of the substrate. This makes it possible to further reduce the consumption of the chemical solution.

As described in claim 3, the counter plate may be formed using a low-rigidity material.
If the opposing member has high rigidity, the substrate or the opposing member may be damaged when the opposing member hits the substrate. However, in claim 3, since the counter plate is formed using a low-rigidity material, there is no possibility that the substrate is damaged even if the counter member hits the substrate.
As described in claim 4, the counter plate may be formed using a material having a specific gravity smaller than that of the etching solution. In this case, the counter plate floats on the liquid film of the etchant. Accordingly, the counter plate can be continuously disposed above the etchant, and the counter plate can be favorably held on the upper surface of the etchant liquid film.

The invention described in claim 5 has a lower surface having a suction port, a support member for supporting the counter plate from above, suction means for sucking the inside of the suction port, and raising and lowering the support member It is a substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 2-4 including the supporting member raising / lowering means to perform.
According to this configuration, the opposing plate can be sucked and supported on the lower surface of the support member by suction inside the suction port. Further, by releasing the suction inside the suction port above the liquid film of the chemical liquid, the counter plate is disposed on the liquid film of the chemical liquid. Then, the opposing plate is supported by the supporting member by lowering the supporting member and sucking the inside of the suction port in a state where the lower surface of the supporting member is brought close to the opposing plate. Thereby, both the liquid contact of the counter plate (opposite surface) with respect to the liquid film of the chemical solution and the retraction of the counter plate (opposite surface) from the liquid film of the chemical solution can be realized smoothly.

  The invention according to claim 6 for achieving the above object includes a substrate holding step of holding the substrate in a horizontal posture by the substrate holding means, and a chemical solution covering the entire upper surface of the substrate on the upper surface of the substrate. A liquid film forming step of forming a liquid film; and after forming the liquid film of the chemical liquid, an opposing member having an opposing surface formed on a lower surface is held by the liquid film of the chemical liquid or the substrate holding means, and the chemical liquid And a liquid contact process for contacting the opposite surface with the liquid film.

According to this method, after the liquid film of the chemical solution covering the entire upper surface is formed on the upper surface of the substrate, the opposing member is held by the liquid film of the chemical solution or the substrate holding means. In this state, the facing surface of the facing member is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical solution.
Since the upper part of the liquid film of the chemical solution is covered with the opposing member, the liquid film of the chemical solution is blocked from the surrounding atmosphere. Thereby, it can avoid that the liquid film of a chemical | medical solution receives influence from the surrounding atmosphere.

Further, the opposing surface comes into contact with the upper surface of the liquid film of the chemical solution. In other words, the liquid film of the chemical solution is in contact with the opposing surface. For this reason, surface tension acts between the facing surface and the upper surface of the liquid film of the chemical solution, and the chemical solution tends to maintain a film shape. Therefore, a liquid film of a chemical solution covering the entire region can be held on the upper surface of the substrate regardless of the properties of the upper surface of the substrate.
As described above, the liquid film of the chemical liquid can be stably held on the upper surface of the substrate, and therefore, the upper surface of the substrate can be processed while saving the liquid of the chemical liquid.

The invention according to claim 7 includes the step of bringing the facing surface into contact with the liquid film of the chemical liquid by holding the counter member in the liquid film of the chemical liquid. Item 7. The substrate processing method according to Item 6.
According to this method, the same effect as the effect described in relation to claim 2 can be obtained.

The invention according to claim 8 maintains the substrate in a stationary state in parallel with the rotating step for rotating the substrate around a vertical axis in parallel with the liquid film forming step and the liquid contact step. The substrate processing method according to claim 6, further comprising a stationary step.
According to this method, by supplying the chemical solution while rotating the substrate around the vertical axis, the chemical solution supplied to the upper surface of the substrate can be spread on the upper surface of the substrate. Thereby, the chemical | medical solution liquid film which covers the whole upper surface of a board | substrate can be formed comparatively easily.

  Further, the substrate is kept stationary when the facing member is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical solution. In this state, since the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the substrate does not act on the liquid film of the chemical solution, the chemical solution does not flow out from the upper surface of the substrate. Therefore, a liquid film of the chemical solution can be formed with a small amount of the chemical solution, and thereby the consumption of the chemical solution can be further reduced.

It is the figure which looked at the substrate processing apparatus concerning one embodiment of the present invention in the horizontal direction. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the example of an etching process performed with the said substrate processing apparatus. It is an illustration figure for demonstrating the said etching process example. FIG. 3C is an illustrative view for explaining a step following FIG. 3B. FIG. 3D is an illustrative view for explaining a step following FIG. 3D. FIG. 3D is an illustrative view for explaining a step following FIG. 3F. It is an illustration for demonstrating the modification of the said etching process example. It is a figure which shows the example of an etching process performed by the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on other embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention viewed in the horizontal direction.
The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a single-wafer type apparatus that processes a disk-shaped substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer one by one with a processing liquid or a processing gas. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a processing unit 2 that processes a substrate W using a processing liquid (etching liquid and rinsing liquid), a control apparatus 3 that controls the operation of the apparatus provided in the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the opening / closing of a valve. including.

  Each processing unit 2 is a single-wafer type unit. Each processing unit 2 holds a box-shaped chamber 4 having an internal space and a single substrate W in the chamber 4 in a horizontal posture, and the substrate W around a vertical rotation axis A1 passing through the center of the substrate W. A spin chuck (substrate holding means) 5 for rotating the substrate, an etching liquid supply unit (chemical solution supply means) 6 for supplying an etching liquid to the upper surface of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 5, and a spin chuck 5 A rinsing liquid supply unit 7 for supplying a rinsing liquid to the upper surface of the held substrate W, and a counter plate (opposing member) 8 disposed to face the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 5. And a support plate (support member) 9 that supports the counter plate 8 from above and a cylindrical cup 10 that surrounds the periphery of the spin chuck 5.

  The chamber 4 includes a box-shaped partition wall 11 that houses the spin chuck 5 and the nozzle, and an FFU (fan filter filter) as a blower unit that sends clean air (air filtered by a filter) from the upper part of the partition wall 11 into the partition wall 11. Unit) 12 and an exhaust duct 13 for discharging the gas in the chamber 4 from the lower part of the partition wall 11. The FFU 12 is disposed above the partition wall 11 and attached to the ceiling of the partition wall 11. The FFU 12 sends clean air downward from the ceiling of the partition wall 11 into the chamber 4. The exhaust duct 13 is connected to the bottom of the cup 10 and guides the gas in the chamber 4 toward an exhaust processing facility provided in a factory where the substrate processing apparatus 1 is installed. Therefore, a downflow (downflow) that flows downward in the chamber 4 is formed by the FFU 12 and the exhaust duct 13. The processing of the substrate W is performed in a state where a down flow is formed in the chamber 4.

As the spin chuck 5, a clamping chuck that holds the substrate W horizontally with the substrate W sandwiched in the horizontal direction is employed. Specifically, the spin chuck 5 includes a spin motor (substrate rotating means) 13, a spin shaft 15 integrated with a drive shaft of the spin motor 14, and a circle attached to the upper end of the spin shaft 15 substantially horizontally. Plate-like spin base 16.
On the upper surface of the spin base 16, a plurality of (three or more, for example, six) clamping members 17 are arranged on the peripheral edge thereof. The plurality of clamping members 17 are arranged at appropriate intervals on the circumference corresponding to the outer peripheral shape of the substrate W at the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the spin base 16.

Further, the spin chuck 5 is not limited to a sandwich type, and for example, the substrate W is held in a horizontal posture by vacuum-sucking the back surface of the substrate W, and further rotated around a vertical rotation axis in that state. By doing so, a vacuum suction type (vacuum chuck) that rotates the substrate W held on the spin chuck 5 may be employed.
The etching solution supply unit 6 includes an etching solution nozzle 18 for discharging the etching solution, an etching solution pipe 19 connected to the etching solution nozzle 18, an etching solution valve 20 interposed in the etching solution pipe 19, and an etching solution nozzle. 18 includes a first nozzle arm 21 attached to the tip portion, and a first nozzle moving unit 22 that moves the etching nozzle 18 by swinging the first nozzle arm 21. Etching solutions supplied to the etching solution nozzle 18 include HF (hydrofluoric acid), SC1 (ammonia-hydrogen peroxide mixture), SC2 (hydrochloric acid / hydrogen peroxide mixture). And TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide).

  When the etchant valve 20 is opened, the etchant supplied from the etchant pipe 19 to the etchant nozzle 18 is discharged downward from the etchant nozzle 18. When the etchant valve 20 is closed, the discharge of the etchant from the etchant nozzle 18 is stopped. The first nozzle moving unit 22 includes a processing position where the etching liquid discharged from the etching liquid nozzle 18 is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W, and a retreat where the etching liquid nozzle 18 is retreated to the side of the spin chuck 5 in plan view. The etchant nozzle 18 is moved between the positions.

  The rinsing liquid supply unit 7 includes a rinsing liquid nozzle 23 for discharging a rinsing liquid, a rinsing liquid pipe 24 connected to the rinsing liquid nozzle 23, a rinsing liquid valve 25 interposed in the rinsing liquid pipe 24, and a rinsing liquid nozzle. 23 includes a second nozzle arm 26 attached to the tip, and a second nozzle moving unit 27 for moving the rinse liquid nozzle 23 by swinging the second nozzle arm 26.

  When the rinsing liquid valve 25 is opened, the water supplied from the rinsing liquid pipe 24 to the rinsing liquid nozzle 23 is discharged downward from the rinsing liquid nozzle 23. When the rinsing liquid valve 25 is closed, the discharge of water from the rinsing liquid nozzle 23 is stopped. The second nozzle moving unit 27 includes a processing position where water discharged from the rinse liquid nozzle 23 is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W, and a retreat position where the rinse liquid nozzle 23 is retreated to the side of the spin chuck 5 in plan view. The rinse liquid nozzle 23 is moved between the two.

The rinse liquid supplied to the rinse liquid nozzle 23 is, for example, pure water (deionized water: Deionzied Water). The rinse liquid is not limited to pure water, but may be any of carbonated water, electrolytic ion water, hydrogen water, ozone water, and hydrochloric acid water having a diluted concentration (for example, about 10 to 100 ppm).
Although both the etching liquid nozzle 18 and the rinsing liquid nozzle 23 are described as scanning nozzles, at least one of the etching liquid nozzle 18 and the rinsing liquid nozzle 23 is treated with a processing liquid (etching) with the discharge port stationary. It can also be provided as a fixed nozzle for discharging liquid or water.

The counter plate 8 has a disk shape having a diameter substantially equal to or smaller than that of the substrate W. On the lower surface of the opposing plate 8, a circular opposing surface 8 a that opposes the upper surface of the substrate W is formed. The upper surface and the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 have flat surfaces that are parallel to each other. In a state where the opposing plate 8 is adsorbed and supported on the lower surface 30 of the supporting member 9, the opposing surface 8a is in a horizontal posture.
Examples of the material of the counter plate 8 include wash-resistant paper (paper resistant to water). In this case, the counter plate 8 is not only lightweight (specific gravity is smaller than that of the etching solution or water) but also has low rigidity. More specifically, the weight of the opposing plate 8 is 35 g or less.

  The support member 9 is a disk-shaped member formed in a hollow shape. The support member 9 is provided inside the support member 9 with a circular and flat lower surface 30, a plurality of suction ports (for example, a plurality of suction ports arranged at equal intervals) 31 formed on the lower surface 30 of the support member 9. Distribution space 32 formed. A holder 29 formed in a hollow shape is fixed to the support member 9 from above. An upper pipe 33 extends vertically through the holder 29. The support member 9 is held by the holder 29 at a position above the spin chuck 5 such that the lower surface 30 is horizontal and the center axis A2 thereof coincides with the rotation axis A1 of the substrate W. One end of a suction pipe (suction means) 34 and one end of a gas supply pipe 35 are connected to the upper pipe 33.

A support member elevating unit (support member elevating means) 36 is coupled to the holder 29. By driving the support member lifting / lowering unit 36, the lower surface 30 of the support member 9 is between a proximity position close to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 5 and a retreat position where the lower surface of the support member 9 is largely retracted above the spin chuck 5. Can be raised and lowered.
A suction valve 37 is interposed in the suction pipe 34, and the other end of the suction pipe 34 is connected to a suction device (not shown). The suction device is always operating.

A gas supply valve 38 is interposed in the gas supply pipe 35, and a gas from a gas supply source such as an air supply source is supplied to the other end of the gas supply pipe 35.
Therefore, when the suction valve 37 is opened with the gas supply valve 38 closed, the inside of the suction pipe 34, the inside of the upper pipe 33, and the inside of the circulation space 32 are forcibly exhausted, and each suction port 31. The atmosphere around is sucked into the suction port 31. When the suction valve 37 is opened with the lower surface 30 of the support member 9 approaching the upper surface of the opposing plate 8, the inside of each suction port 31 is depressurized, and the opposing plate 8 is sucked and supported by the lower surface 30 of the support member 9. Is done.

  On the other hand, when the gas supply valve 38 is opened with the suction valve 37 closed, gas is supplied to the inside of the upper pipe 33 and the circulation space 32, and the inside of each suction port 31 is restored to the original pressure. When the gas supply valve 38 is opened while being adsorbed and supported by the lower surface 30 of the support member 9, the opposing plate 8 is detached from the lower surface 30 of the support member 9, and an etching liquid film (chemical liquid film) is obtained. ) The counter plate 8 is disposed on 45. Then, the support plate 9 is supported by the support member 9 by lowering the support member 9 and sucking the inside of the suction port 31 with the lower surface of the support member 9 approaching the counter plate 8. This facilitates both the contact of the opposing surface 8a with the etchant liquid film 45 (see FIG. 3C) formed on the upper surface of the substrate W and the withdrawal of the opposing plate 8 from the etchant liquid film 45. realizable.

  The cup 10 is disposed outward (in a direction away from the rotation axis A1) from the substrate W held by the spin chuck 5. The cup 10 includes one or a plurality of (for example, four in FIG. 1) cylindrical guards 39 provided so as to be movable up and down. Each guard 39 has a cylindrical shape and surrounds the spin chuck 5. Each guard 39 includes a cylindrical inclined portion 40 that extends obliquely upward toward the rotation axis A <b> 1 and a cylindrical guide portion 41 that extends downward from the lower end of the inclined portion 40.

  A cleaning liquid nozzle 42 for cleaning the facing surface 8 a of the facing plate 8 supported by the support member 9 is provided at the upper end of the cup 10. The cleaning liquid nozzle 42 is provided in the inclined portion 40 of the outermost guard 39 with the discharge port facing obliquely upward. The cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning liquid nozzle 42 is deposited on the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8, whereby the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 is cleaned. A cleaning liquid pipe 43 is connected to the cleaning liquid nozzle 42. A cleaning liquid valve 44 for opening and closing the cleaning liquid pipe 43 is interposed in the cleaning liquid pipe 43. Examples of the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid pipe 43 to the cleaning liquid nozzle 42 include water (DIW and the like).

  The cup 10 surrounds the spin base 16. When a processing liquid (such as an etching liquid or a rinsing liquid) is supplied to the substrate W while the spin chuck 5 is rotating the substrate W, the processing liquid supplied to the substrate W is shaken off around the substrate W. When the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate W, the upper end portion 10 a of the cup 10 that opens upward is disposed above the spin base 16. Accordingly, the processing liquid discharged around the substrate W is received by the cup 10. Then, the processing liquid received by the cup 10 is sent to a recovery device or a waste liquid device (not shown).

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the etching process performed by the substrate processing apparatus 1. 3A to 3H are schematic views for explaining an example of the etching process.
Hereinafter, an example in which an etching process is performed on the surface (pattern formation surface) of a substrate W having a diameter of 300 mm, for example. An example of the etching process will be described mainly with reference to FIGS. 3A to 3H will be referred to as appropriate.

While the substrate processing apparatus 1 is in operation, a suction device (not shown) is always in operation. At the start of operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1, the opposing plate 8 is sucked and supported on the lower surface 30 of the support member 9 by driving the substrate processing apparatus 1 by the control device 3 or by an operator's manual operation.
When the substrate W is processed by the substrate processing apparatus 1, the substrate W is carried into the chamber 4 (step S1). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 3A, the control device 3 includes an etching solution nozzle 18 (see FIG. 1), a rinsing solution nozzle 23 (see FIG. 1), a counter plate 8, a support member 9, and the like in the chamber 4. In a state where the configuration is retracted from above the spin chuck 5, the substrate W is loaded into the chamber 4 by a transfer robot (not shown). Then, the control device 3 causes the transfer robot to place the substrate W on the spin chuck 5 with the surface (pattern formation surface) of the substrate W facing upward. Thereafter, the control device 3 rotates the spin motor 14 while the substrate W is held by the spin chuck 5. Thereby, the rotation of the substrate W is started (step S2). The control device 3 retracts the transfer robot from the chamber 4 after the substrate W is placed on the spin chuck 5.

  When the substrate W reaches a predetermined liquid buildup rotation speed (for example, 10 to 150 rpm), discharge of the etching liquid to the upper surface of the substrate W is then started. Specifically, the control device 3 controls the first nozzle moving unit 22 to move the etching solution nozzle 18 from the retracted position above the substrate W as shown in FIG. 3B. After the etchant nozzle 18 is disposed at the center of the upper surface of the substrate W, the control device 3 opens the etchant valve 20 and etches toward the center of the upper surface of the rotated substrate W as shown in FIG. 3B. Etching liquid is discharged from the liquid nozzle 18 (step S3). The discharge flow rate of the etching liquid at this time is set to 2 (liters / minute), for example. The etchant from the etchant nozzle 18 is deposited on the center of the upper surface of the substrate W and is pushed by the subsequent etchant to spread outward on the substrate W. Since the substrate W rotates at the liquid buildup speed, the centrifugal force acting on the etching liquid is small. Therefore, the etching solution supplied to the substrate W is accumulated on the substrate W without being scattered around the substrate W. By continuing to supply the etching liquid to the substrate W, the entire upper surface of the substrate W is covered with the liquid film of the etching liquid.

  Further, when the etching solution discharge period elapses from the start of the etching solution discharge, the control device 3 closes the etching solution valve 20 and stops the discharge of the etching solution from the etching solution nozzle 18 (step S4). Thereafter, the control device 3 controls the first nozzle moving unit 22 to retract the etching solution nozzle 18 from above the spin chuck 5 as shown in FIG. 3C.

  When the etching solution discharge period has elapsed from the start of the etching solution discharge, the control device 3 controls the spin motor 14 to stop the rotation of the substrate W as shown in FIG. 3C (step S5). By stopping the rotation of the substrate W, the outflow of the etching solution from the peripheral portion of the substrate W is further suppressed, and a paddle-like etching solution liquid film 45 covering the entire region is held on the upper surface of the substrate W.

  In this specification, “paddle shape” means that only zero or a small centrifugal force acts on the liquid (etching liquid) existing on the upper surface of the substrate W, and as a result, the liquid is applied to the upper surface of the substrate W due to surface tension and gravity. A state where the liquid film stays and forms a liquid film. In this state, the centrifugal force acting on the liquid film on the upper surface of the substrate W is smaller than or antagonized by the sum of the surface tension and gravity acting between the upper surface of the substrate W and the liquid film. In this embodiment, since the rotation of the substrate W is stopped, the centrifugal force does not act on the etching solution present on the upper surface of the substrate W. Therefore, the liquid film 45 of the etching solution is stably held on the upper surface of the substrate W.

  Further, after the etchant nozzle 18 is retracted from above the spin chuck 5, the control device 3 controls the support member lifting unit 36 to move the support member 9 from the retracted position to the proximity position as shown in FIG. 3D. To lower. The proximity position of the support member 9 is a position above the spin chuck 5 where the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 supported by the support member 9 can come into contact with the liquid film 45 of the etching solution. In a state where the support member 9 is located in the proximity position, the distance between the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 supported by the support member 9 and the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck is, for example, 1 mm. By arranging the support member 9 in the proximity position, the facing surface 8a of the facing plate 8 comes into contact with the liquid film 45 of the etching solution (step S6).

  In this state, the control device 3 closes the suction valve 37 to stop the suction from each suction port 31 and opens the gas supply valve 38 to supply gas to the upper pipe 33 as shown in FIG. 3D. Thereby, adsorption | suction of the opposing board 8 by the supporting member 9 is cancelled | released. As a result, the counter plate 8 floats on the liquid film 45 of the paddle-like etching solution. Therefore, the counter plate 8 is disposed on the upper surface of the etchant liquid film 45. The counter plate 8 is held on the upper surface of the liquid film 45 by the surface tension of the liquid film 45 of the etching liquid. That is, the gas supply valve 38 is closed after the adsorption of the counter plate 8 is released. After the delivery of the counter plate 8 to the liquid film 45 of the etching solution is completed, the control device 3 controls the support member lifting / lowering unit 36 to raise the support member 9 to the retracted position as shown in FIG. 3E.

Thereafter, the stationary state is maintained for a predetermined period. Thereby, etching using the liquid film 45 of the paddle-like etching liquid is performed on the entire upper surface of the substrate W (step S7).
When a predetermined time elapses from the stop of the etching solution discharge, the control device 3 controls the support member elevating unit 36 to lower the support member 9 from the retracted position to the close position as shown in FIG. 3F. In this state, the lower surface 30 of the support member 9 is close to or in contact with the upper surface of the counter plate 8. Then, the control device 3 opens the suction valve 37 and starts suction from each suction port 31. As a result, the opposing plate 8 is adsorbed and supported on the lower surface 30 of the support member 9. After the delivery of the opposing plate 8 to the support member 9 is completed, the control device 3 controls the support member lifting unit 36 to raise the support member 9 to the retracted position. Thereby, the opposing board 8 (opposing surface 8a) retracts | saves from the upper surface of the board | substrate W (step S8).

  After the opposing plate 8 is retracted, the control device 3 controls the spin motor 14 to restart the rotation of the substrate W (step S9), and increases the rotation speed to a liquid processing speed (for example, about 300 rpm). Maintain processing speed. As a result, the etching liquid on the upper surface of the substrate W receives a centrifugal force due to the rotation of the substrate W and scatters from the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the substrate W. As a result, the liquid film 45 of the etching liquid disappears on the upper surface of the substrate W.

  Next, a rinsing process (step S10) for supplying the rinsing liquid to the substrate W is performed. Specifically, the control device 3 controls the second nozzle moving unit 27 to move the rinse liquid nozzle 23 from the retracted position to above the central portion of the substrate W as shown in FIG. 3G. Thereafter, the control device 3 opens the rinsing liquid valve 25 and discharges the rinsing liquid from the rinsing liquid nozzle 23 toward the center of the upper surface of the rotating substrate W. The etching liquid adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W is washed away by the rinse liquid. The rinse liquid supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W is scattered from the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the substrate W toward the side of the substrate W, and is received by the cup 10 and then drained.

  In parallel with the rinsing process (S10), the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 is cleaned using a cleaning liquid (S10: opposing surface cleaning). Specifically, the control device 3 opens the cleaning liquid valve 44 and supplies the cleaning liquid to the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 supported by the support member 9, as shown in FIG. 3H. In this embodiment, water (for example, DIW) is used as the cleaning liquid. Thereby, the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 can be cleaned. The cleaning liquid supplied to the counter plate 8 drops and is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W. The cleaning liquid, together with the rinsing liquid, scatters from the peripheral edge of the upper surface of the substrate W toward the side of the substrate W, is received by the cup 10, and then drained.

When a predetermined period has elapsed from the start of the discharge of the rinse liquid, the control device 3 closes the rinse liquid valve 25 and stops the discharge of the rinse liquid. Thereby, the rinse process (S10) is completed. Thereafter, the control device 3 controls the second nozzle moving unit 27 to retract the rinse liquid nozzle 23 from above the spin chuck 5 as shown in FIG. 3H.
When a predetermined period has elapsed from the start of the discharge of the cleaning liquid, the control device 3 closes the cleaning liquid valve 44 and stops the discharge of the cleaning liquid. Thereby, the opposing surface cleaning (S10) is completed.

After the end of the rinsing process (S10) and the counter surface cleaning (S10), the control device 3 then controls the spin motor 14 to shake off the rotation speed of the substrate W and accelerate it to a drying speed (for example, several thousand rpm). Thereby, the rinse liquid adhering to the upper surface of the substrate W is shaken off and the substrate W is dried (S8: drying step).
When the drying step (S8) is performed over a predetermined period, the control device 3 controls the spin motor 14 to stop the rotation of the spin chuck 5 (rotation of the substrate W) (step S9).

Thus, the etching process for one substrate W is completed, and the control device 3 causes the processed substrate W to be unloaded from the chamber 4 by the transfer robot in the same manner as when the substrate W is loaded (Step S10).
As described above, according to this embodiment, the opposing surface 8a of the opposing plate 8 is in contact with the etching solution liquid film 45 covering the entire upper surface of the substrate W, while the opposing plate 8 is in contact with the upper surface of the etching solution liquid film 45. (The counter plate 8 floats on the liquid film 45). In this state, the upper side of the etchant liquid film 45 is covered by the counter plate 8. Therefore, the liquid film 45 of the etching solution is shielded from the surrounding atmosphere. Thereby, it is possible to avoid that the liquid film 45 of the etching solution is affected by the surrounding atmosphere. Specifically, it is possible to prevent or suppress the etchant from evaporating from the surrounding atmosphere and the etchant from flowing out of the liquid film 45 due to the surrounding airflow.

By the way, when hydrofluoric acid is used as an etching solution, the upper surface of the substrate W may become hydrophobic as the hydrofluoric acid treatment proceeds. In this case, the upper surface of the substrate W is supplied thereafter. It is also considered that the hydrofluoric acid becomes difficult to wet, and as a result, the hydrofluoric acid liquid film is cracked, and it is difficult to keep the hydrofluoric acid liquid film on the upper surface of the substrate W.
However, in this embodiment, the opposing surface 8a is in contact with the upper surface of the etching solution (hydrofluoric acid) liquid film 45 (the etching solution (hydrofluoric acid) liquid film 45 is in contact with the opposing surface 8a). Therefore, a surface tension acts between the facing surface 8a and the upper surface of the liquid film 45 of the etching liquid (hydrofluoric acid), and the etching liquid (hydrofluoric acid) easily maintains the film shape. Therefore, even when hydrofluoric acid is used as the etching solution, the liquid film 45 of the etching solution can be held on the upper surface of the substrate W.

Thereby, the liquid film 45 of the etching solution can be kept stably on the upper surface of the substrate W, and therefore, the upper surface of the substrate W can be processed while saving the etching solution.
By the way, in order to reduce the consumption of the etching solution, it is desirable that the etching solution liquid film 45 be thinned, that is, the distance between the opposing plate 8 and the upper surface of the substrate W be as small as possible. However, if the arm or the like is supported by the support device and the opposing member is supported so that the distance from the upper surface of the substrate W is very small, an error in the assembly accuracy of the support device and the processing accuracy of each component constituting the support device. Therefore, if the distance between the opposing member and the upper surface of the substrate W is set to be very small, the opposing member may hit the upper surface of the substrate W. If the opposing member has high rigidity, the substrate W and the opposing member are damaged when the opposing member hits the substrate W, so the distance between the opposing member and the upper surface of the substrate W is made minute. Cannot be set (the interval has a limit value). Therefore, it has not been possible to sufficiently save the etching solution.

  In contrast, in this embodiment, the counter plate 8 is held on the upper surface of the etchant liquid film 45 (floating on the etchant liquid film 45). Since the counter plate 8 is held by the etchant liquid film 45, even if the counter plate 8 hits the upper surface of the substrate W, the impact at that time is small. Moreover, since the counter plate 8 is formed using a low-rigidity material and is lightweight, the impact is even smaller. Therefore, a small gap can be provided between the facing surface 8a of the facing plate 8 and the upper surface of the substrate W. Thereby, the thickness of the liquid film 45 of the etching liquid held on the upper surface of the substrate W can be reduced, and therefore the consumption of the etching liquid can be further reduced.

FIG. 3I is an illustrative view for explaining a modification of the etching processing example.
In the modified example of the etching process example, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, after the etching (S7) is finished, the control device 3 controls the second nozzle moving unit 27 so that the rinsing liquid nozzle 23 is placed on the substrate. The rinsing liquid valve 25 is opened and the rinsing liquid is supplied from the rinsing liquid nozzle 23 toward the upper surface of the opposing plate 8 held by the etching liquid film 45 on the upper surface of the substrate W. Discharge. As a result, the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the upper surface of the counter plate 8, thereby cleaning the upper surface of the counter plate 8. Thereafter, the control device 3 controls the support member lifting / lowering unit 36 to lower the support member 9 from the retracted position to the close position as shown in FIG. 3F, and opens the suction valve 37 to open the suction port 31 from each suction port 31. Start aspiration. As a result, the opposing plate 8 is adsorbed and supported on the lower surface 30 of the support member 9. Thereafter, the control device 3 controls the support member lifting unit 36 to raise the support member 9 to the retracted position. Thereby, the opposing board 8 (opposing surface 30) retracts | saves from the upper surface of the board | substrate W (step S8).

4A and 4B are diagrams showing an example of an etching process performed by the substrate processing apparatus 201 according to another embodiment of the present invention.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 4A and 4B, portions corresponding to those shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3I are denoted by the same reference numerals as in FIGS. Omitted.
The substrate processing apparatus 201 is different from the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3I in that in the etching process (S7 in FIG. 2), the opposing plate (opposing member) 202 is a liquid film of an etching solution. The counter surface 202 a is in contact with the liquid 45, and is held by the plurality of clamping members 17 included in the spin chuck 5. The upper end portion 17 a of each clamping member 17 is provided by a minute amount higher than the upper surface of the substrate W supported by the clamping member 17.

A counter plate 202 is employed as the counter member instead of the counter plate 8. The counter plate 202 has a disk shape having a diameter equal to or larger than the circumference on which the plurality of clamping members 17 are arranged. The counter plate 202 is not made of wash-resistant paper, but is made of resin, for example. The counter plate 202 has high rigidity, and the specific gravity of the counter plate 202 is larger than that of the etching solution.
On the lower surface of the counter plate 202, a circular counter surface 202a that opposes the upper surface of the substrate W is formed. The facing surface 202a of the facing plate 202 has a flat surface.

  The counter plate 202 is supported by a support arm 203. An arm elevating unit 204 for elevating the opposing plate 202 is coupled to the support arm 203. By driving the arm lifting / lowering unit 204, the facing surface 202 a of the facing plate 202 is between a close position close to the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 5 and a retracted position that is largely retracted above the spin chuck 5. Can be raised and lowered.

  A cylindrical holder 205 is fixed on the upper surface of the counter plate 202. A flange portion 206 that projects outward in the radial direction is provided at the upper end portion of the holder 205. A support ring 207 is provided at the tip of the support arm 203. The inner diameter of the support ring 207 is larger than the outer shape of the holder 205 and smaller than the outer diameter of the flange portion 206. The holder 205 passes through the support ring 207 up and down.

In the substrate processing apparatus 201 according to the embodiment of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the etching process is executed in the same flow as the flow shown in the flowchart of FIG. FIG. 4A shows the state at the time of starting the etching solution discharge (S3), and FIG. 4B shows the state at the time of facing surface liquid contact (S6).
In a state in which the counter plate 202 is disposed at the retracted position, its own weight acts on the counter plate 202 and a downward force acts on the counter plate 202. Thereby, as shown in FIG. 4A, the peripheral edge portion of the lower surface of the flange portion 206 is engaged with the upper end surface of the support ring 207.

  When the etchant discharge period has elapsed from the start of the etchant discharge from the etchant nozzle 18, the etchant discharge is stopped, the etchant nozzle 18 is retracted from above the spin chuck 5, and the rotation of the substrate W is stopped. (S4, S5). As a result, as shown in FIG. 4A, a liquid film 45 of a paddle-like etching solution covering the entire area is held on the upper surface of the substrate W.

  After the etchant nozzle 18 is retracted from above the spin chuck 5, the control device 3 controls the arm lifting unit 204 to lower the support arm 203 as shown in FIG. Lower from the retracted position. When the support arm 203 continues to be lowered, the peripheral end portion of the facing surface 202a eventually comes into contact with the upper surface of each sandwiching member 17, and the peripheral portion of the substrate W is placed on the upper end portions 17a of the plurality of sandwiching members 17. By further lowering the support arm 203 from this state, the opposing plate 202 is detached from the support arm 203 and is held by the plurality of clamping members 17.

  The upper end portion 17a of each clamping member 17 is higher than the upper surface of the substrate W supported by the clamping member 17, but the difference is very small. Therefore, the opposing surface 202a and the upper surface of the substrate W are separated from each other by a minute interval at an engagement position where the opposing plate 202 engages with the plurality of sandwiching members 17. Therefore, in a state where the etchant liquid film 45 is formed on the upper surface of the substrate W, the opposing surface 202 a of the opposing plate 202 contacts the upper surface of the etchant liquid film 45. Thereby, the space between the facing surface 202a of the facing plate 202 located at the engagement position and the upper surface of the substrate W is made fluid-tight with the etching liquid. Thereafter, the stationary state is maintained for a predetermined period. Thereby, etching using the liquid film 45 of the paddle-like etching liquid is performed on the entire upper surface of the substrate W.

  As described above, according to the embodiment of FIGS. 4A and 4B, the counter plate 8 is sandwiched in plural while the counter surface 8 a of the counter plate 8 is in contact with the liquid film 45 of the etching solution covering the entire upper surface of the substrate W. The upper end 17a of the member 17 is held. In this state, the upper side of the etchant liquid film 45 is covered by the counter plate 8. Therefore, the liquid film 45 of the etching solution is shielded from the surrounding atmosphere. Thereby, it is possible to avoid that the liquid film 45 of the etching solution is affected by the surrounding atmosphere. Specifically, it is possible to prevent or suppress the etchant from evaporating from the surrounding atmosphere and the etchant from flowing out of the liquid film 45 due to the surrounding airflow.

By the way, when hydrofluoric acid is used as an etching solution, the upper surface of the substrate W may become hydrophobic as the hydrofluoric acid treatment proceeds. In this case, the upper surface of the substrate W is supplied thereafter. It is also considered that the hydrofluoric acid becomes difficult to wet, and as a result, the hydrofluoric acid liquid film is cracked, and it is difficult to keep the hydrofluoric acid liquid film on the upper surface of the substrate W.
However, in this embodiment, the opposing surface 8a is in contact with the upper surface of the etching solution (hydrofluoric acid) liquid film 45 (the etching solution (hydrofluoric acid) liquid film 45 is in contact with the opposing surface 8a). Therefore, a surface tension acts between the facing surface 8a and the upper surface of the liquid film 45 of the etching liquid (hydrofluoric acid), and the etching liquid (hydrofluoric acid) easily maintains the film shape. Therefore, even when hydrofluoric acid is used as the etching solution, the liquid film 45 of the etching solution can be held on the upper surface of the substrate W.

Thereby, the liquid film 45 of the etching solution can be kept stably on the upper surface of the substrate W, and therefore, the upper surface of the substrate W can be processed while saving the etching solution.
As mentioned above, although two embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form.
For example, in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3I, the material of the counter plate 8 can be a paper material other than the wash-resistant paper. Also in this case, the counter plate can be made to be low in rigidity and light in weight (specific gravity is smaller than that of an etchant or water).

Moreover, the material of the opposing board 8 can also be resin materials, such as polyethylene and a polypropylene. In this case, the counter plate can be lightweight (specific gravity is smaller than that of the etchant or water).
In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3I, the support member 9 may be provided to be rotatable around the central axis A2. In particular, during the cleaning of the facing surface shown in FIG. 3G, in parallel with the supply of the cleaning liquid to the facing surface 8a, the supporting member 9 is rotated to rotate the facing plate 8 around the central axis A2, thereby The cleaning liquid can be supplied to the entire area (over a wide area). Thereby, the whole area of the opposing surface 8a can be cleaned satisfactorily.

Further, in the etching process of the embodiment of FIG. 1 to FIG. 3I, the counter surface cleaning is performed after a predetermined plural number of etching processes, instead of performing the counter surface cleaning (S10 in FIG. 2) for each etching process. You may do it.
Further, in the etching process of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3I, the facing surface cleaning (S10 in FIG. 2) is performed in parallel with the rinsing process (S10 in FIG. 2), but it is performed separately from the rinsing process. Also good.

  Moreover, in the etching process of each embodiment, although demonstrated as what etches (refer S7 of FIG. 2) in the state which stopped the board | substrate W, without stopping rotation of the board | substrate W completely in etching (S7). Alternatively, it may be rotated at a low speed (for example, about 10 rpm). The speed at this time is such that the magnitude of the centrifugal force generated with the rotation is less than or antagonizes the sum of the surface tension and gravity acting between the upper surface of the substrate W and the liquid film 45 of the etching solution. Is slow. In this case, the etching solution stays on the upper surface of the substrate W due to surface tension and gravity, thereby forming a liquid film 45 of the etching solution.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the substrate processing apparatuses 1 and 201 perform the etching process and the upper surface of the substrate is processed using the liquid film 45 of the paddle-like etching solution has been described. The present invention can also be applied to other chemical processing (for example, cleaning processing) other than processing.
Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the case where the substrate processing apparatuses 1 and 201 are apparatuses that process the disk-shaped substrate W has been described. However, the substrate processing apparatuses 1 and 201 may be a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device or the like. An apparatus for processing a polygonal substrate may be used.

In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.

1. Substrate processing apparatus 5. Spin chuck (substrate holding means)
6 Etching solution supply unit (chemical solution supply means)
8 Opposing plate (opposing member)
8a Opposing surface 9 Support member 30 Lower surface 31 Suction port 34 Suction piping (suction means)
36 Supporting member lifting / lowering unit (supporting member lifting / lowering means)
45 Etch liquid film (chemical liquid film)
201 Substrate processing apparatus 202 Opposing plate (opposing member)
W substrate

Claims (8)

Substrate holding means for holding the substrate in a horizontal posture;
A chemical solution supplying means for supplying a chemical solution to the upper surface in order to form a liquid film of the chemical solution covering the entire upper surface of the substrate;
An opposing member having an opposing surface facing the upper surface of the substrate, wherein the opposing surface is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical solution formed on the upper surface of the substrate, while the liquid film of the chemical solution or the substrate And a counter member held by the holding means. The counter member is a counter plate;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the counter plate is held on an upper surface of the liquid film of the chemical liquid while the counter surface is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical liquid.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the counter plate is formed using a low-rigidity material.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the counter plate is formed using a material having a specific gravity smaller than that of the etching solution. A lower surface having a suction port, and a support member for supporting the counter plate from above;
Suction means for sucking the inside of the suction port;
The substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims 2-4 including the supporting member raising / lowering means which raises / lowers the said supporting member. A substrate holding step for holding the substrate in a horizontal posture by the substrate holding means;
A liquid film forming step of forming a liquid film of a chemical solution covering the entire upper surface of the substrate on the upper surface of the substrate;
After the formation of the liquid film of the chemical solution, a counter member having an opposing surface formed on the lower surface is held by the liquid film of the chemical solution or the substrate holding means, and the counter surface is in contact with the liquid film of the chemical solution And a liquid contact process.   The substrate processing method according to claim 6, wherein the liquid contact step includes a step of bringing the counter surface into contact with the liquid film of the chemical liquid by holding the counter member in the liquid film of the chemical liquid. In parallel with the liquid film formation step, a rotation step of rotating the substrate around a vertical axis,
The substrate processing method according to claim 6, further comprising a stationary step of maintaining the substrate in a stationary state in parallel with the liquid contact step.

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