JP2017017138A - Nozzle, processing liquid supply device, liquid processing device, and processing liquid supply method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique capable of forming a liquid film while suppressing a consumption of a processing liquid as much as possible, and efficiently supplying the processing liquid to a dry substrate.SOLUTION: A nozzle 6 for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate W is characterized in that the processing liquid is discharged from a discharge port 613, and a permeable member 62 is provided between the discharge port 613 and substrate W, and has an opposite surface opposed to the substrate W and supplies the processing liquid discharged from the discharge port 613 to a gap through the opposite surface after allowing the processing liquid to permeate. A suction port 614 is provided in a region where the opposite surface is formed, and sucks the processing liquid having permeated to the opposite surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for supplying a processing liquid to the surface of a substrate.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device in which a laminated structure of integrated circuits is formed on the surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to as a wafer) as a substrate, a minute dust or a natural oxide film on the wafer surface is removed by a cleaning liquid such as a chemical solution. A liquid processing step is provided for processing the wafer surface using a processing liquid that is a liquid. A method using a supercritical high-pressure fluid is known as a technique for removing the liquid adhering to the wafer surface while suppressing the occurrence of wafer pattern collapse in the liquid processing step.

  For example, Patent Document 1 uses HFE (HydroFluoro Ether), which is a fluorine-containing organic solvent (described as “fluorine compound” in Patent Document 1), for both the liquid for preventing drying and the supercritical drying fluid. .

  As in the example described above, after the wafer is liquid-treated using the liquid, the liquid on the wafer surface is replaced with a fluorine-containing organic solvent for preventing drying, and the processing container in which the treatment with the high-pressure fluid is performed is performed. In the series of processing steps carried, the operation of replacing the processing liquid present on the surface of the wafer with the processing liquid for the next processing is performed after the liquid film is formed.

In such a case, it is required to form a liquid film while minimizing the consumption of the processing liquid as much as possible. Such a requirement is not limited to supercritical fluid processing, but is a problem common to wafer liquid processing.
Furthermore, when the processing liquid is supplied to the surface of the dried wafer to start the liquid processing, the processing liquid is consumed while the processing liquid is sufficiently distributed within the fine structure formed on the surface of the wafer. There is a need for a technology to suppress this.

JP 2010-123709 A: claims 2 to 4, paragraphs 0015 to 0021

  The present invention provides a technique for efficiently supplying a treatment liquid to the surface of a substrate to replace the treatment liquid on the substrate or supplying the treatment liquid to a dried substrate.

The nozzle of the present invention is a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to a substrate.
A discharge port for discharging the treatment liquid;
A permeable member having a facing surface facing the substrate and transmitting the processing liquid discharged from the discharge port to the facing surface side;
And a suction port that is provided in a region where the facing surface is formed and sucks the processing liquid that has permeated the facing surface.

The nozzle may have the following configuration.
(A) The suction port is provided on the center side of the region where the facing surface is formed, and the discharge port is provided on the peripheral side of the region. Further, the suction port is opened on the opposing surface of the permeable member.
(B) A peripheral edge of the opposing surface of the permeable member has a protruding surface that protrudes more toward the substrate than the opposing surface in order to suppress gas intrusion into the clearance, and the processing liquid in the clearance A ring-shaped member that comes into contact with is provided.
(C) A flow path space for the processing liquid supplied from the discharge port is formed between the suction port and the permeable member.

Moreover, the processing liquid supply apparatus of the present invention includes the nozzle described above,
A processing liquid supply unit that is connected to the discharge port and supplies a processing liquid toward the discharge port;
And a processing liquid suction unit that is connected to the suction port and sucks the processing liquid in the gap between the substrate and the opposing surface through the suction port.

The processing liquid supply apparatus may include the following features.
(D) The processing liquid suction unit includes a recovery tank that stores the processing liquid sucked from the suction port, a recovery line that connects the suction port and the recovery tank, and a vacuum exhaust mechanism that evacuates the recovery tank. , And vacuuming the inside of the recovery tank by the vacuum exhaust mechanism, thereby sucking the processing liquid from the suction port.
(E) A supply amount adjusting mechanism that is provided in the processing liquid supply unit and adjusts a flow rate of the processing liquid supplied toward the discharge port; and provided in the processing liquid suction unit and sucked from the suction port. A suction amount adjusting mechanism for adjusting the flow rate of the processing liquid, and a supply amount adjusting mechanism so that the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied toward the discharge port is larger than the flow rate of the processing liquid sucked from the suction port. And a control unit for controlling the suction amount adjusting mechanism.

  Furthermore, the liquid processing apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate to which a processing liquid is supplied and processing is performed, the above-described processing liquid supply device, and the substrate held by the substrate holding unit. And a nozzle moving mechanism for moving the nozzle.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to form a liquid film while minimizing the consumption of the processing liquid as much as possible, and to efficiently supply the processing liquid to the dried substrate.

It is a cross-sectional top view of a wafer processing apparatus. It is a vertical side view of the liquid processing unit provided in the wafer processing apparatus. It is a block diagram of the nozzle which supplies and collect | recovers a 1st fluorine-containing organic solvent. It is a supply and collection | recovery system diagram of the 1st fluorine-containing organic solvent in the said liquid processing unit. It is a vertical side view of the supercritical processing unit provided in the wafer processing apparatus. It is an external appearance perspective view of the processing container of the supercritical processing unit. It is a sequence diagram of the process of the wafer in the said wafer processing apparatus. It is action explanatory drawing which concerns on replacement | exchange operation | movement of the process liquid of the surface of a wafer. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing of the said nozzle. It is a block diagram which shows the modification of the said nozzle. It is an operation explanatory view showing another example of the replacement operation of the processing liquid on the surface of the wafer. It is action | operation explanatory drawing of the operation | movement which supplies a process liquid to the surface of the dried wafer using the said nozzle.

<Substrate processing equipment>
First, a substrate processing apparatus in which a liquid processing apparatus having a nozzle according to the present invention is incorporated will be described. As an example of the substrate processing apparatus, a liquid processing unit 2 (liquid processing apparatus) that supplies various processing liquids to a wafer W that is a substrate and performs liquid processing, and a dry prevention adhering to the wafer W after the liquid processing. A wafer processing apparatus 1 including a supercritical processing unit 3 (high pressure fluid processing unit) that removes liquid by contacting with a supercritical fluid (high pressure fluid in a supercritical state or a subcritical state) will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional plan view showing the overall configuration of the wafer processing apparatus 1, and the left side in the figure is the front. In the wafer processing apparatus 1, the FOUP 100 is mounted on the mounting unit 11, and a plurality of wafers W stored in the FOUP 100 are transferred to the subsequent liquid processing unit 14 and the supercritical via the loading / unloading unit 12 and the transfer unit 13. Processing is performed between the processing unit 15 and the liquid processing unit 2 and the supercritical processing unit 3 in order to remove the liquid for liquid processing and drying prevention. In the figure, reference numeral 121 denotes a first transfer mechanism for transferring the wafer W between the FOUP 100 and the transfer unit 13, and 131 denotes a wafer transferred between the carry-in / out unit 12, the liquid processing unit 14, and the supercritical processing unit 15. W is a delivery shelf that serves as a buffer on which W is temporarily placed. The wafer W is transferred between the liquid processing unit 2, the supercritical processing unit 3, and the delivery unit 13 by the second transfer mechanism 161 arranged in the wafer transfer path 162.

  The liquid processing unit 2 is configured as a single-wafer type liquid processing apparatus that cleans wafers W one by one by spin cleaning, for example, and as a liquid processing unit chamber that forms a processing space, as shown in a vertical side view of FIG. An outer chamber 21, a wafer holding mechanism 23 that is disposed in the outer chamber, rotates the wafer W about the vertical axis while holding the wafer W substantially horizontally, and surrounds the wafer holding mechanism 23 from the side circumferential side. And an inner cup 22 that receives liquid scattered from the wafer W.

  Further, in the main liquid processing unit 2, the normal nozzle 241 that only discharges the processing liquid to the wafer W and the processing liquid is discharged to the liquid film of the processing liquid formed on the wafer W while the processing liquid is discharged. The treatment liquid is supplied by using two types of nozzles 241 and 6, which are a discharge and suction nozzle 6 capable of sucking the treatment liquid in the liquid film. The nozzle 241 is provided at the distal end portion of the nozzle arm 24 having a moving mechanism (not shown) for moving between a processing liquid discharge position above the wafer W and a position retracted therefrom. Similarly, the discharge / suction nozzle 6 has a tip end of a nozzle arm 601 provided with a movement mechanism (nozzle movement mechanism) (not shown) for moving between a treatment liquid discharge position above the wafer W and a position retracted therefrom. Provided in the department.

The nozzle 241 includes a chemical solution supply unit 201 that supplies various chemical solutions, a rinse solution supply unit 202 that supplies rinse cleaning water such as deionized water (DIW), and alcohol that is substituted for the rinse cleaning water. IPA supply unit 204 that supplies IPA (IsoPropyl Alcohol), and second fluorine that supplies a second fluorine-containing organic solvent (for example, PFC (PerFluoro Carbon)) that is a liquid for preventing drying to the surface of the wafer W A contained organic solvent supply unit 203b is connected.
Further, the first fluorine-containing organic solvent is supplied to the discharge / suction nozzle 6 to supply the first fluorine-containing organic solvent (for example, HFE (HydroFluoro Ether)), which is a liquid for preventing drying, similarly to the second fluorine-containing organic solvent. A processing liquid supply section 71 constituting the section 203a and a processing liquid suction section 72 that sucks the processing liquid through the discharge and suction nozzles 6 are connected.

  Here, the first fluorine-containing organic solvent and the second fluorine-containing organic solvent are different from the fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing used in the supercritical processing described later, and the first fluorine-containing organic solvent is used. The second fluorine-containing organic solvent and the fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing have a predetermined relationship at the boiling point or critical temperature. Details thereof will be described later. To do.

Next, referring to FIGS. 3 and 4, the configuration of the discharge and suction nozzle 6, the processing liquid supply unit 71 (first fluorine-containing organic solvent supply unit 203 a) connected to the discharge and suction nozzle 6, and the processing liquid The configuration of the suction unit 72 will be described.
3A is a longitudinal side view of the discharge and suction nozzle 6, FIG. 3B is a cross-sectional plan view of the AA ′ position in FIG. 3A viewed from the lower surface side, and FIG. 3C. These are the top views which looked at the discharge and the suction nozzle 6 from the lower surface side.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the discharge / suction nozzle 6 includes a main body portion 61 formed in a columnar shape, and the main body portion 61 has a first fluorine on the wafer W from one side to the other side of the surfaces facing each other. A supply path 612 for supplying the organic solvent and a suction path 611 for sucking the processing liquid in the liquid film on the surface of the wafer W are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge / suction nozzle 6 has a nozzle arm so that one surface of the main body 61 can be opposed to the upper surface of the wafer W held by the wafer holding mechanism 23 via a gap. 601 is held. As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, a suction passage 611 is opened at the center of the lower surface side of the main body 61 so that a suction port 614 for sucking the processing liquid on the wafer W is formed. Is formed. The suction path 611 expands in the middle of the path from the suction port 614 to the upper side, and is connected to the processing liquid recovery line 703 on the upper surface side of the main body 61.

  At a radial intermediate position connecting the suction port 614 provided on the lower surface central portion side of the main body portion 61 and the peripheral edge of the main body portion 61 (periphery side of the lower surface of the main body portion 61 when viewed from the suction port 614). Since the supply path 612 is open, a discharge port 613 for discharging the first fluorine-containing organic solvent is formed. The supply path 612 is connected to the processing liquid supply line 702 on the upper surface side of the main body 61.

  Further, on the lower surface of the main body portion 61, a flow path space 615 is formed as a groove portion for spreading the first fluorine-containing organic solvent supplied from the discharge port 613 to a region on the lower surface side of the main body portion 61. . The flow path space 615 is formed in a region including the discharge port 613, is isolated from the suction port 614, and is formed in an annular shape so as to surround the suction port 614 in the circumferential direction (FIG. 3B). )).

  Further, a transmission sheet 62 that is a permeable member that allows the first fluorine-containing organic solvent to pass therethrough is provided on the lower surface of the main body 61. For example, the transmission sheet 62 is configured by a nonwoven fabric in which countless fibers are laminated, or a porous resin sheet (for example, a membrane filter). As shown in FIGS. 3A and 3C, the transmission sheet 62 is provided so as to cover the entire lower surface of the main body 61 and is adhered to the lower surface of the main body 61 other than the region where the flow path space 615 is formed. The peripheral edge side is fixed by a sheet fixing member 63 described later. Further, the transmission sheet 62 is provided with a hole portion that forms the suction port 614 described above.

The sheet fixing member 63 fixes the peripheral edge portion of the transmission sheet 62 to the main body portion 61. The sheet fixing member 63 is fastened to the flange portion 616 on the main body 61 side by a screw portion 64 so that a flange portion 631 formed on the peripheral edge side sandwiches the transmission sheet 62. The sheet fixing member 63 is configured as a ring-shaped member in which an opening for making the lower surface of the transmission sheet 62 covering the lower surface of the main body portion 61 face the wafer W is formed.
The lower surface of the transmission sheet 62 facing the wafer W through the opening of the sheet fixing member 63 corresponds to the facing surface of the discharge / suction nozzle 6. The lower surface of the sheet fixing member 63 that covers the peripheral edge of the facing surface corresponds to a protruding surface 630 that protrudes toward the wafer W from the facing surface.

Next, referring to FIG. 4, the configuration of the processing liquid supply unit 71 (first fluorine-containing organic solvent supply unit 203 a) that supplies the first fluorine-containing organic solvent to the discharge and suction nozzle 6 through the processing liquid supply line 702. Will be described.
As shown in FIG. 4, a supply tank 714 is provided on the upstream side of the processing liquid supply line 702 via an opening / closing valve 715. The upstream end of the processing liquid supply line 702 is inserted into a liquid pool of the first fluorine-containing organic solvent stored in the supply tank 714.

  In the space above the liquid reservoir in the supply tank 714, a pressure line for supplying a gas that pressurizes the liquid reservoir and pushes the first fluorine-containing organic solvent toward the discharge and suction nozzles 6. The downstream end of 701 is inserted. The upstream side of the pressurization line 701 includes a flowmeter 713 for measuring the flow rate of the gas supplied to the supply tank 714 and a clean air supply line for the factory via a precision regulator 712 for accurately adjusting the flow rate of the gas. Is connected to a gas supply source 711. In the treatment liquid supply unit 71, the precision regulator 712 corresponds to a supply amount adjustment mechanism for the first fluorine-containing organic solvent.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a recovery tank 725 for recovering the sucked processing liquid is provided on the downstream side of the processing liquid recovery line 703 that sucks the processing liquid through the suction port 614 of the discharge and suction nozzle 6. ing. The downstream end of the processing liquid recovery line 703 is inserted into a pool of recovered processing liquid stored in the recovery tank 725.

  In the space above the liquid reservoir in the recovery tank 725, a vacuum exhaust line 704 for sucking the processing liquid from the suction port 614 through the processing liquid recovery line 703 is evacuated to the liquid space. The upstream end is inserted. The downstream end of the vacuum exhaust line 704 is connected to an aspirator 724 that is a vacuum exhaust mechanism that sucks the gas in the recovery tank 725.

Further, the aspirator 724 is connected to a gas supply line 705 that supplies a driving gas toward the aspirator 724. The gas supply line 705 is connected to a gas supply source 721 including an air supply line in a factory through an open / close valve 723 and a regulator 722 for adjusting a gas flow rate.
When gas is supplied from the gas supply line 705 to the aspirator 724, the gas on the vacuum exhaust line 704 side is drawn into the gas flow in the aspirator 724, and the inside of the recovery tank 725 is in a vacuum state (depressurized atmosphere). The gas that has passed through the aspirator 724 is discharged to the exhaust line 706. From the viewpoint of adjusting the amount of processing liquid sucked from the suction port 614, the regulator 722 provided in the gas supply line 705 corresponds to a processing liquid suction amount adjusting mechanism. Further, the discharge / suction nozzle 6, the processing liquid supply unit 71, and the processing liquid suction unit 72 constitute the processing liquid supply apparatus of the present embodiment.

Returning to the description of the liquid processing unit 2 in FIG. 2, the outer chamber 21 is provided with an FFU (Fan Filter Unit) 205, and air purified from the FFU 205 is supplied into the outer chamber 21. More outer chamber 21, a low humidity _{N 2} gas supply unit 206 is provided, a low humidity _{N 2} gas is supplied into the outer chamber 21 from the low humidity _{N 2} gas supply unit 206.

  At the bottom of the outer chamber 21 and the inner cup 22, there are provided an exhaust port 212 for exhausting the internal atmosphere and drain ports 221 and 211 for discharging the liquid shaken off from the wafer W.

  The first fluorine-containing organic solvent and the second fluorine-containing organic solvent for preventing drying are supplied to the wafer W that has been subjected to the liquid processing in the liquid processing unit 2, and the surface of the wafer W has the second fluorine-containing organic solvent. In the state covered with the solvent, it is transported to the supercritical processing unit 3 by the second transport mechanism 161. In the supercritical processing unit 3, the wafer W is brought into contact with the supercritical fluid of the fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing to remove the second fluorine-containing organic solvent, and the wafer W is dried. Hereinafter, the configuration of the supercritical processing unit 3 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  The supercritical processing unit 3 includes a processing container 3A as a supercritical processing unit container in which processing for removing a liquid for preventing drying (second fluorine-containing organic solvent) adhering to the surface of the wafer W is performed, and the processing container 3A. Are provided with a supercritical fluid supply unit 4A (fluorine-containing organic solvent supply unit for supercritical processing) for supplying a supercritical fluid of a fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the processing container 3 </ b> A includes a housing-like container body 311 in which an opening 312 for carrying in and out the wafer W is formed, and a wafer tray 331 that can hold the wafer W to be processed in a horizontal direction. And a lid member 332 that supports the wafer tray 331 and seals the opening 312 when the wafer W is loaded into the container main body 311.

  The container main body 311 is a container in which a processing space capable of accommodating the wafer W is formed. The container main body 311 includes a supercritical fluid supply line 351 for supplying a supercritical fluid into the processing container 3A, and a processing container. A discharge line 341 (discharge unit) provided with an on-off valve 342 for discharging the fluid in 3A is connected.

  The container main body 311 is provided with a heater 322 as a heating unit. By heating the container main body 311, the temperature in the processing container 3 </ b> A is heated to a preset temperature. The fluid can be heated. The supercritical fluid supply unit 4A is connected to the upstream side of the supercritical fluid supply line 351, and supplies the fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing to the processing vessel 3A in a supercritical state.

  The wafer processing apparatus 1 including the liquid processing unit 2 and the supercritical processing unit 3 having the configuration described above is connected to a control unit 5 as shown in FIGS. The control unit 5 includes a computer including a CPU and a storage unit 5a (not shown). The operation of the wafer processing apparatus 1, that is, the wafer W is taken out from the FOUP 100 and processed in the liquid processing unit 2 in the storage unit 5a. Next, a program in which a group of steps (commands) related to the control from the process of drying the wafer W in the supercritical processing unit 3 to the loading of the wafer W into the FOUP 100 is recorded. This program is stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk, a compact disk, a magnetic optical disk, or a memory card, and installed in the computer therefrom.

  Next, in order to remove the first fluorine-containing organic solvent and the second fluorine-containing organic solvent supplied from the liquid processing unit 2 to the surface of the wafer W and the second fluorine-containing organic solvent from the surface of the wafer W, processing is performed. The fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing supplied to the container 3A in a supercritical fluid state will be described. The first fluorine-containing organic solvent, the second fluorine-containing organic solvent, and the fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing are all fluorine-containing organic solvents containing fluorine atoms in hydrocarbon molecules. As the fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing, for example, PFC having a boiling point lower than that of the second fluorine-containing organic solvent is employed.

<Operation of the present embodiment>
Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described.
Referring to FIG. 7, the flow of processing of the wafer W performed in the wafer processing apparatus 1 will be described. First, the processing of the wafer W with an acidic or alkaline chemical solution is performed in the liquid processing unit 2 ( P1). When the treatment with the chemical solution is completed, rinse cleaning (P2) with rinse cleaning water is performed, and then the rinse cleaning water remaining on the surface of the wafer W is replaced with IPA (P3). Further, the IPA on the wafer W is replaced with HFE that is the first fluorine-containing organic solvent (P4), and then the HFE is replaced with PFC that is the second fluorine-containing organic solvent (P5). Then, the wafer W is transported from the liquid processing unit 2 to the supercritical processing unit 3 in a state where the surface of the wafer W is covered with PFC which is a processing liquid for preventing drying, and supercritical processing is performed to adhere to the wafer W. Remove liquid.

As an example of each fluorine-containing organic solvent used in the present embodiment, HFE7300 (manufactured by Sumitomo 3M, Novec (registered trademark) 7300, boiling point 98 ° C.) is used as the first fluorine-containing organic solvent, and the second fluorine-containing organic solvent is used. As a solvent, FC43 (manufactured by Fluorinert (registered trademark) FC-43, boiling point 174 ° C) is used, and as a fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing, FC72 (manufactured by Fluorinert (registered trademark) FC-72, boiling point 56 ° C). ) Is used.
Hereinafter, the operation of the liquid processing unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the wafer W taken out from the FOUP 100 is loaded into the outer chamber 21 of the liquid processing unit 14 via the loading / unloading unit 12 and the transfer unit 13 and transferred to the wafer holding mechanism 23 of the liquid processing unit 2. Next, various processing liquids are supplied to the surface of the rotating wafer W to perform liquid processing.

  When the liquid treatment with the chemical liquid and the rinse cleaning are finished, for example, IPA is supplied from the IPA supply unit 204 to the surface of the wafer W rotating at 1000 rpm, and the rinse cleaning water remaining on the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is replaced with IPA. (FIG. 8 (a)). At this time, the supply of IPA to the wafer W is performed using a normal nozzle 241 (first liquid film forming step).

  When the liquid on the surface of the wafer W is sufficiently replaced with IPA, the rotation of the wafer W is stopped. At this time, the surface of the wafer W is covered with the IPA liquid film LM (FIG. 8B). HFE (HFE7300), which is the first fluorine-containing organic solvent, is supplied to the wafer W in this state. Here, although HFE can be mixed with IPA, it is highly volatile and when supplied to the surface of wafer W rotating at high speed, it stays on the surface of wafer W in a liquid state and is replaced with IPA. It is difficult to reach On the other hand, even if the rotation speed of the wafer W is reduced in order to suppress vaporization, it has been found that the supply from the normal nozzle 241 does not complete the replacement with the IPA unless a large amount of HFE is supplied.

Therefore, in the liquid processing unit 2 of the present embodiment, efficient replacement with IPA on the wafer W is performed while supplying HFE using the discharge and suction nozzles 6 while suppressing the consumption of HFE. (FIG. 8C).
Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 8C and 9A, the discharge / suction nozzle 6 is moved to a position above the wafer W, and the lower surface (opposing surface) of the transmission sheet 62 is in contact with the wafer W. It arrange | positions in the height position which opposes through the clearance gap of 1 mm of the range of 0.3-5 mm in between. At this time, the lower surface of the transmission sheet 62 and the protruding surface 630 of the transmission sheet 62 are in contact with the IPA liquid film LM formed on the surface of the wafer W.

  In this state, HFE is supplied from the processing liquid supply unit 71 (second fluorine-containing organic solvent supply unit 203b) to the discharge / suction nozzle 6 at a flow rate of 100 ml / min in the range of 5 to 200 ml / min. On the other hand, at a flow rate of 95 ml / min in the range of 5 to 300 ml / min (however, a value smaller than the supply flow rate from the processing liquid supply unit 71), the gap between the discharge and suction nozzles 6 and the wafer W is within the gap. The processing liquid is sucked toward the processing liquid suction unit 72.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 9A, the HFE supplied through the supply path 612 in the discharge / suction nozzle 6 is discharged from the discharge port 613 and then passes through the flow path space 615. It spreads uniformly on the upper surface side of 62. Then, the HFE is uniformly supplied into the gap from the lower surface side of the transmission sheet 62 after passing through the transmission sheet 62. On the other hand, since the processing liquid (including IPA and HFE) in the gap is sucked from the suction port 614, the liquid in the gap is gradually replaced from IPA to HFE.

  With the above-described operation, the replacement operation is performed in a local region that is sandwiched between the wafer W and the surface facing the discharge and suction nozzle 6 and is not open toward the space in the liquid processing unit 2. As a result, the treatment liquid in the liquid film LM can be efficiently replaced from IPA to HFE while suppressing the volatilization of HFE. In addition, since the processing liquid sucked from the suction port 614 is recovered in the recovery tank 725 (recovery process), these processing liquids can be reused if IPA and HFE are separated by a chemical manufacturer or the like. is there.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 9A, the sheet fixing member 63 is provided with a protruding surface 630 that protrudes toward the wafer W from the lower surface of the transmission sheet 62 (the surface facing the discharge and suction nozzles 6). 630 is in contact with the treatment liquid in the gap. Thereby, the atmosphere (gas) on the upper surface side of the liquid film LM in the processing liquid sucked from the suction port 614 is suppressed, and the processing liquid can be efficiently discharged. When the supply of the processing liquid is started in a state where no liquid film is formed on the wafer, a liquid film LM as shown in FIG. 9B is formed. Even in this case, the inner side surface of the sheet fixing member 63 inside the protruding surface 630 is in contact with the liquid film LM, and gas biting is suppressed.

In this way, the discharge / suction nozzle 6 for executing the local replacement of the processing liquid is moved to the entire surface of the wafer W whose rotation has been stopped, or at a rotation speed that can suppress the volatilization of HFE (for example, 100 rpm or less). While rotating the wafer W, the discharge / suction nozzle 6 is moved in the radial direction from the center side to the peripheral side of the wafer W. At this time, HFE liquid film LM is formed on the surface of wafer W by supplying HFE at a flow rate equal to or higher than the flow rate sucked from suction port 614 (FIG. 8C, second liquid film). Forming step, replacement step).
In the replacement step, IPA corresponds to the first processing liquid and HFE corresponds to the second processing liquid.

  After HFE is supplied to the entire surface of the wafer W and the liquid film LM is formed, the discharge and suction nozzles 6 are retracted in a state where the rotation of the wafer W is stopped (FIG. 8D), and the nozzles 241 are moved again. The wafer W is moved to the upper side of the center portion. Thereafter, the wafer W is rotated at, for example, 1000 rpm, and PFC (FC43) as the second fluorine-containing organic solvent is supplied from the second fluorine-containing organic solvent supply unit 203b to the surface of the rotating wafer W (FIG. 8 (e)). )). When it is time to replace the HFE with the PFC, the rotation of the wafer W and the supply of the PFC are stopped (FIG. 8F). At this time, the surface of the wafer W is covered with PFC (second fluorine-containing organic solvent).

During this period, that is, during supply of chemical solution, rinse cleaning water, IPA supply, supply of the first fluorine-containing organic solvent, and supply of the second fluorine-containing organic solvent, the humidity in the outer chamber 21 is continuously reduced. Low humidity (dew point −70 ° C. or lower) N ₂ gas is supplied from the N ₂ gas supply unit 206, and the inside of the outer chamber 21 is maintained in a low humidity N ₂ gas atmosphere. At this time, the humidity in the outer chamber 21 is preferably 3% or less. As a result, the absorption of moisture in the atmosphere into the processing liquid can be suppressed, and the amount of moisture brought into the supercritical processing unit 3 that adversely affects the results of the supercritical processing can be reduced.

The wafer W that has been subjected to the liquid processing is unloaded from the liquid processing unit 2 by the second transfer mechanism 161 and transferred to the supercritical processing unit 3. At this time, although the wafer W is covered with the second fluorine-containing organic solvent, a fluorine-containing organic solvent having a high boiling point (low vapor pressure) (PFC in this example) is used as the second fluorine-containing organic solvent. Therefore, the amount of the fluorine-containing organic solvent that volatilizes from the surface of the wafer W during the transport period can be reduced.
The wafer W transferred to the supercritical processing unit 3 is supplied with a supercritical fluid of a fluorine-containing organic solvent for supercritical processing and removes the liquid (second fluorine-containing organic solvent) covering the wafer W. Is done.

  When the processing with the supercritical fluid is completed, the dried wafer W from which the liquid has been removed is taken out by the second transfer mechanism 161 and stored in the FOUP 100 via the transfer unit 13 and the loading / unloading unit 12. Finish the process. In the wafer processing apparatus 1, the above processing is continuously performed on each wafer W in the FOUP 100.

  The embodiment described above has the following effects. A first fluorine-containing organic solvent that is discharged from the discharge port 613 through a transmission sheet 62 that has a facing surface (the lower surface of the transmission sheet 62) that faces the wafer W and transmits the first fluorine-containing organic solvent (treatment liquid). Is supplied to the gap between the wafer W and the facing surface, and the discharge and suction nozzle 6 is used to suck the processing liquid in the gap from the suction port 614 provided in the region where the facing surface is formed. The first fluorine-containing organic solvent can be efficiently replaced in the local region.

  Here, the configuration of the discharge and suction nozzles 6 is not limited to the configuration example shown in FIG. 3, and various changes may be made. For example, unlike the discharge / suction nozzle 6 of FIG. 3 in which the flow path space 615 is provided and the first fluorine-containing organic solvent is spread on the upper surface side of the transmission sheet 62, the discharge / suction nozzle 6a shown in FIG. 615 is not provided. On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B, a plurality of supply paths 612 branched in the main body portion 61 of the discharge / suction nozzle 6 a at a position below the connection portion with the processing liquid supply line 702. Is provided. And these supply paths 612 are each configured to supply the first fluorine-containing organic solvent to a wide region on the upper surface side of the transmission sheet 62 by opening the lower surface of the main body portion 61 to form the discharge port 613. ing.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 10A and 10C, the suction port 614 is covered with the transmission sheet 62 and does not have to open directly to the lower surface (opposing surface) of the discharge and suction nozzle 6a. Further, it is not essential for the sheet fixing member 63 to include a protruding surface 630 that protrudes toward the wafer W from the facing surface (FIGS. 10A and 10C).
10 to 12, components common to the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals as those used in these drawings.

Further, the discharge / suction nozzle 6 is not limited to the case where it is used for supplying the first volatile organic solvent having high volatility. For example, as shown in FIGS. 11 (a) to 11 (e), after discharging and using the suction nozzle 6 to supply the first fluorine-containing organic solvent (second treatment liquid), the solvent is removed from the second fluorine-containing organic solvent ( The discharge and suction nozzle 6 may also be used in the operation (third liquid film forming step) of replacing the third treatment liquid) to form the liquid film (FIG. 11D). In this case, a second fluorine-containing organic solvent supply unit 203b is connected to the discharge / suction nozzle 6 shown in FIG. 2 in parallel with the first fluorine-containing organic solvent supply unit 203a. The unit 203b is also provided with the same configuration as the processing liquid supply unit 71 shown in FIG.
By using the discharge / suction nozzle 6, the amount of the second fluorine-containing organic solvent can be reduced.

  Further, from the viewpoint of reducing the amount of the treatment liquid used, the discharge and suction nozzles 6 and 6a are not limited to use when continuously supplying the first and second fluorine-containing organic solvents. For example, without using these fluorine-containing organic solvents (supercritical processing using the supercritical processing unit 3 is not performed), even in an apparatus having only the liquid processing unit 2, for example, the rinse water is discharged to replace IPA. Of course, the suction nozzles 6 and 6a may be used. In this case, the rinse water is equivalent to the first treatment liquid, and IPA is equivalent to the second treatment liquid.

  Further, the discharge and suction nozzles 6 and 6a are not limited to use for replacement of different processing liquids supplied onto the wafer W. For example, as shown in FIGS. 12A to 12C, a fluorine-containing organic solvent (for example, HFE) as a processing liquid is supplied to the dried wafer W to form a liquid film, and the surface of the wafer W is processed. In some cases, the discharge and suction nozzles 6 and 6a may be used. After the supply of the processing liquid from the discharge port 613 is started, a state similar to the example described with reference to FIG. 9B is formed between the wafer W and the opposite surface of the discharge / suction nozzle 6. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the consumption of the processing liquid while sufficiently spreading the processing liquid in the fine structure formed on the surface of the wafer W.

A comparison experiment in which a liquid film is formed on the surface of a dried wafer W using the discharge and suction nozzle 6 according to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3 and a discharge and suction nozzle having a configuration different from that of the discharge and suction nozzle 6. Went.
A. Experimental Conditions (Example) HFE was supplied so as to scan the entire surface of the wafer W at 100 ml / min for 2 minutes using the discharge and suction nozzle 6 shown in FIG. The diameter of the opposing portion of the transmission sheet 62 inside the transmission sheet 62 is 22 mm, and the height from the lower surface of the sheet fixing member 63 to the protruding surface 630 is 0.5 mm. As the permeable sheet 62, a membrane filter for liquid filtration was used.
(Comparative Example) The connection positions of the processing liquid recovery line 703 and the processing liquid supply line 702 are switched so that the positions of the discharge port 613 and the suction port 614 are opposite to those of the discharge and suction nozzle 6 of the embodiment, and the sheet fixing member The HFE was supplied under the same conditions as in the example except that the supply / recovery nozzle without the 63 protruding surface 630 was used and the supply flow rate was 50 ml / min.

B. Experimental Results Example: Discharge, 200 ml of HFE discharged from the suction nozzle 6, 186 ml of HFE recovered in the recovery tank 725, 93% recovery rate
Comparative example: discharge, HFE discharge amount from suction nozzle 6 100 ml, HFE recovery amount 48% in recovery tank 725, recovery rate 48%
In both the example and the comparative example, an HFE liquid film could be formed on the surface of the wafer W, but in the comparative example, the recovery rate of HFE was greatly reduced. Therefore, in the main body 61 in which the flow path space 615 is formed, the treatment liquid is sucked from the flow path space 615 side when the treatment liquid is passed through the flow path space 615 from the upper surface side of the transmission sheet 62. It can be seen that the treatment liquid can be supplied and recovered more efficiently.

LM Liquid film W Wafer 1 Liquid processing apparatus 2 Liquid processing unit 3 Supercritical processing unit 3A Processing container 4A Supercritical fluid supply unit 5 Control unit 6 Discharge / suction nozzle 613 Discharge port 614 Suction port 615 Channel space 62 Permeation sheet 630 Projection Surface 71 Treatment liquid supply part 72 Treatment liquid suction part 724 Aspirator

Claims (11)

In the nozzle for supplying the processing liquid to the substrate,
A discharge port for discharging the treatment liquid;
A permeable member having a facing surface facing the substrate and transmitting the processing liquid discharged from the discharge port to the facing surface side;
A nozzle comprising: a suction port that is provided in a region where the facing surface is formed and sucks the processing liquid that has passed through the facing surface.   2. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the suction port is provided on a central portion side of the region where the facing surface is formed, and the discharge port is provided on a peripheral portion side of the region.   3. The nozzle according to claim 1, wherein the suction port is opened on an opposing surface of the permeable member.   In order to suppress the ingress of gas into the gap, the peripheral edge portion of the facing surface of the permeable member has a protruding surface that protrudes more toward the substrate than the facing surface, and comes into contact with the processing liquid in the gap. The nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a ring-shaped member is provided.   5. The flow path space for the processing liquid supplied from the discharge port is formed between the suction port and the permeable member. 6. nozzle. A nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
A processing liquid supply unit that is connected to the discharge port and supplies a processing liquid toward the discharge port;
A processing liquid supply apparatus, comprising: a processing liquid suction unit that is connected to the suction port and sucks the processing liquid in a gap between the substrate and the opposing surface through the suction port. The treatment liquid suction part is a collection tank for storing the treatment liquid sucked from the suction port;
A collection line connecting the suction port and the collection tank;
An evacuation mechanism for evacuating the inside of the recovery tank,
The processing liquid supply apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the processing liquid is sucked from the suction port by bringing the inside of the recovery tank into a vacuum state by the vacuum exhaust mechanism. A supply amount adjusting mechanism which is provided in the processing liquid supply unit and adjusts the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied toward the discharge port;
A suction amount adjusting mechanism that is provided in the processing liquid suction section and adjusts the flow rate of the processing liquid sucked from the suction port;
A control unit that controls the supply amount adjustment mechanism and the suction amount adjustment mechanism so that the flow rate of the treatment liquid supplied toward the discharge port is larger than the flow rate of the treatment liquid sucked from the suction port; The processing liquid supply apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, further comprising: A substrate holding unit for holding a substrate to which a processing liquid is supplied and processing is performed;
The processing liquid supply device according to any one of claims 6 to 8,
A liquid processing apparatus, comprising: a nozzle moving mechanism that moves the nozzle relative to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit. A step of disposing the nozzle according to any one of claims 1 to 5 above a substrate to which a processing liquid is supplied so that a facing surface thereof faces through the gap;
While moving the nozzle relative to the substrate, the processing liquid is supplied to the discharge port, and the processing liquid in the gap between the substrate and the opposing surface is sucked from the suction port to And a step of forming a liquid film on the surface of the substrate.   The processing liquid supply method according to claim 10, wherein a flow rate of the processing liquid discharged from the discharge port is larger than a flow rate of the processing liquid sucked from the suction port.

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