JP2018049918A - Evaluation sample manufacturing method, evaluation sample manufacturing device, and substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an evaluation sample manufacturing method and an evaluation sample manufacturing device, capable of manufacturing an evaluation sample in which a contaminated substance is uniformly distributed and arranged on a surface of a substrate even when the surface of the substrate indicates a hydrophobic property, and a substrate processing device including the evaluation sample manufacturing device.SOLUTION: An evaluation sample manufacturing device 1 for evaluating cleaning capability of a substrate processing device 3 performs: a substrate holding step of holding a substrate W in a horizontal posture with a surface 5 indicating a hydrophobic property and facing upward; a liquid film holding step of holding a liquid film of a contaminated solution 7 containing a low surface tension liquid 11 and a contaminated substance 6 on the surface 5 of the substrate W; and a drying step of removing the low surface tension liquid 11 from the surface 5 of the substrate W and drying the surface.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an evaluation sample manufacturing method for manufacturing an evaluation sample for evaluating the cleaning ability of a substrate processing apparatus, an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing the evaluation sample, and a substrate including the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus. The present invention relates to a processing apparatus. Examples of the substrate to be processed by the substrate processing apparatus include a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal display substrate, a plasma display substrate, a FED (Field Emission Display) substrate, an optical disk substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, and a magneto-optical disk. Substrate, photomask substrate, ceramic substrate, solar cell substrate and the like.

  In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, a cleaning process for removing foreign matters such as particles from a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device is performed by the substrate processing apparatus. The cleaning ability of the substrate processing apparatus is evaluated, for example, by cleaning a sample that has been contaminated in advance. In Patent Document 1 below, a contaminated solution in which a contaminant is dispersed in a solvent is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate, and then the substrate is heat-treated (dried) to form a substrate with the contaminant dispersed on the surface. Thus, it is disclosed that an evaluation sample for evaluating the cleaning ability is manufactured.

JP 2013-153062 A

In general, as such an evaluation sample, it is desirable that contaminants are uniformly distributed on the surface of the substrate.
However, the processing target of the substrate processing apparatus extends not only to a substrate having a hydrophilic surface (such as a bare silicon substrate) but also to a substrate having a hydrophobic surface such as a substrate on which a low-k film is formed. . Therefore, an evaluation sample using a substrate whose surface is hydrophobic as a base material may be required as the evaluation sample.

However, when the solvent of the contaminated solution is water, the contaminated solution is repelled by the surface of the substrate, so that the contaminated solution cannot be disposed on the surface of the substrate. In this case, the contaminant cannot be uniformly distributed on the surface of the dried substrate.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an evaluation sample manufacturing method capable of manufacturing an evaluation sample in which contaminants are uniformly distributed on the surface of the substrate, even when the surface of the substrate exhibits hydrophobicity. An object is to provide an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus and a substrate processing apparatus including the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 1 is an evaluation sample for evaluating the cleaning ability of a substrate processing apparatus, and includes a substrate in which a contaminant is disposed on a hydrophobic surface. A method for producing an evaluation sample, comprising: a substrate holding step for holding the substrate in a horizontal posture with the surface facing upward; a low surface tension liquid having a lower surface tension than water and a contaminant. A sample production method for evaluation, comprising: a liquid film holding step of holding a liquid film of a contaminated solution on the surface of the substrate; and a drying step of removing the low surface tension liquid from the surface and drying the surface. provide.

According to this method, a liquid film of a contaminated solution containing a low surface tension liquid as a solvent is held on the surface of the substrate, and then the surface of the substrate is dried.
Since the contaminated solution contains a low surface tension liquid as a solvent, a liquid film of the contaminated solution can be formed on the surface of the substrate even when the surface of the substrate is hydrophobic. If the contaminated solution is in the form of a film, the contaminants contained in the contaminated solution are uniformly dispersed inside the film. Therefore, by forming a liquid film of the contaminated solution on the surface of the substrate, the contaminant can be uniformly distributed on the surface of the substrate. Therefore, the contaminants are uniformly distributed on the surface of the substrate after drying. Therefore, even if the surface of the substrate exhibits hydrophobicity, an evaluation sample in which contaminants are uniformly distributed on the surface of the substrate can be manufactured.

Invention of Claim 2 WHEREIN: The said drying process includes the evaporation process of removing the said low surface tension liquid by mainly evaporating the said low surface tension liquid, The sample manufacturing method for evaluation of Claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. It is.
According to this method, in the drying step, the low surface tension liquid as a solvent is removed from the surface of the substrate mainly by evaporation. Therefore, it is possible to suppress or prevent the droplets of the contaminated solution from moving on the exposed surface of the substrate as compared with the case where the surface of the substrate is dried only by shake-drying. Thereby, since it is possible to suppress or prevent the contaminants from forming a streak on the surface of the substrate after drying, it is possible to manufacture an evaluation sample in which the contaminants are evenly distributed and arranged.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the sample production for evaluation according to the second aspect, the evaporation step includes a gas supply step of supplying a gas to the surface in order to promote the evaporation of the low surface tension liquid. Is the method.
According to this method, the supply of gas to the surface of the substrate can promote the evaporation of the low surface tension liquid contained in the liquid film of the contaminated solution, and thus the low surface tension liquid is favorably removed from the surface of the substrate. be able to.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the substrate processing method further includes a thinning step of thinning a liquid film of the contaminated solution held on the surface prior to the execution of the evaporation step. 2. The method for producing an evaluation sample according to 2 or 3.
According to this method, after the liquid film of the contaminated solution is thinned, the drying process is started, and the low surface tension liquid is removed from the surface of the substrate in the drying process. Since the drying of the surface of the substrate (evaporation of the contaminated solution) is started after the liquid film of the contaminated solution is thinned, the time required for the drying process can be shortened. Therefore, the surface of the substrate can be satisfactorily dried in a short time while suppressing or preventing the droplet of the contaminating solution from moving on the exposed surface of the substrate.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the thinning step, the substrate can be swung off the substrate from the surface of the substrate around the predetermined vertical axis passing through the surface of the substrate. It is a sample manufacturing method for evaluation of Claim 4 including the 1st rotation process rotated at a 1st speed.
According to this method, the contaminated solution contained in the liquid film of the contaminated solution can be discharged around the substrate by rotating the substrate at the first speed. Thereby, the liquid film of a contaminated solution can be thinned in a short time.

According to a sixth aspect of the invention, in the drying step, the substrate is moved around the predetermined vertical axis passing through the surface of the substrate in parallel with the evaporation step, and the contamination solution is discharged from the surface of the substrate. The evaluation sample manufacturing method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further including a second rotation step of rotating at a predetermined second speed that can be shaken off.
According to this method, the surface of the substrate can be satisfactorily dried by rotating the substrate at the second speed in parallel with the evaporation step.

In the invention according to claim 7, in the liquid film holding step, the substrate is rotated on the surface of the substrate by rotating the substrate at a predetermined paddle speed around a predetermined vertical axis passing through the surface of the substrate. It is a sample manufacturing method for evaluation as described in any one of Claims 1-7 including the process of hold | maintaining the said paddle-like liquid film of a contaminated solution.
According to this method, the liquid film of the contaminated solution can be favorably held on the surface of the substrate.

  In order to achieve the above object, an invention according to claim 8 is an evaluation sample for evaluating the cleaning ability of a substrate processing apparatus, and includes a substrate in which a contaminant is disposed on a hydrophobic surface. An apparatus for producing a sample for evaluation, comprising: a substrate holding unit that holds the substrate in a horizontal position with the surface facing upward; a low surface tension liquid having a surface tension lower than water and a contaminant. A contamination solution supply unit for supplying a contamination solution containing the substrate to the surface of the substrate, a low surface tension liquid removal unit for removing the low surface tension liquid from the surface of the substrate, the contamination solution supply unit, and the low A control device for controlling the surface tension liquid removal unit, the control device holding the substrate in a horizontal posture with the surface facing upward, and more than water A liquid film holding step for holding a liquid film of a contaminated solution containing a low surface tension liquid having a high surface tension and a contaminant on the surface of the substrate; and removing the low surface tension liquid from the surface to remove the surface. Provided is an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus that performs a drying process.

According to this configuration, the liquid film of the contaminated solution containing the low surface tension liquid as the solvent and the contaminant is held on the surface of the substrate, and then the surface is dried.
Since the contaminated solution contains a low surface tension liquid as a solvent, a liquid film of the contaminated solution can be easily formed on the surface of the substrate by supplying the contaminated solution to the surface of the substrate in a horizontal posture. Since the liquid film of the contaminated solution is formed on the surface of the substrate, the contaminant contained in the contaminated solution spreads uniformly on the surface of the substrate. Therefore, contaminants are uniformly distributed on the surface of the substrate after drying. Thereby, even if a board | substrate has the surface which shows hydrophobicity, the sample manufacturing apparatus for evaluation which can arrange | position a contaminant on the said surface uniformly can be provided.

In order to achieve the above object, an invention described in claim 9 is a cleaning unit for cleaning a substrate, and an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the cleaning capability of the cleaning unit is evaluated. There is provided a substrate processing apparatus including the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a sample for evaluation.
According to this configuration, a substrate processing apparatus including the sample for evaluation can be provided.

The invention described in claim 10 further includes a regenerative cleaning unit that returns the substrate to a clean state by cleaning the evaluation sample manufactured by the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus. Device.
According to this configuration, the substrate processing apparatus includes a cleaning unit, an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus that manufactures an evaluation sample for evaluating the cleaning unit, and a regenerative cleaning that returns the manufactured evaluation sample sample to a clean state. Includes units. Therefore, the production of the sample for evaluation, the cleaning process, and the regenerative cleaning of the substrate can be performed in one substrate processing apparatus. Therefore, it is possible to repeatedly evaluate the cleaning capability of the cleaning unit provided in the substrate processing apparatus.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a substrate processing system including an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus, a contamination state measuring apparatus, and a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining a configuration example of the gas discharge nozzle shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the electrical configuration of the main part of the sample production apparatus for evaluation. FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow in the substrate processing system. FIG. 5 is a time chart for explaining in detail the liquid film holding step and the drying step. 6A to 6B are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining the state of the liquid film holding step. 6C to 6D are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining the state of the liquid film holding step and the drying step. FIG. 6E is a schematic cross-sectional view for explaining the state of the drying step. FIG. 7A is a schematic plan view showing an example of an evaluation sample according to a reference example, and FIG. 7B is a schematic view showing an example of an evaluation sample manufactured using the evaluation sample manufacturing method according to the present invention. FIG. FIG. 8A is an illustrative plan view showing a layout of a substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8B is an illustrative sectional view showing a layout of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining an electrical configuration of a main part of the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 10 is a process diagram showing an example of a sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow in the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow for evaluating the cleaning capability for a plurality of cleaning units. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a cleaning process recipe held in the storage unit of the control device. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow when evaluating the cleaning capability for each of a plurality of cleaning processes in one cleaning unit.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1, a contamination state measuring apparatus 2, and a substrate processing apparatus 3 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2, and the substrate processing apparatus 3 are included in the substrate processing system 4. The substrate processing apparatus 3 may be a single wafer type apparatus or a batch type apparatus. The evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2, and the substrate processing apparatus 3 are independent units. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 4 includes a substrate processing apparatus 3, an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 arranged at a position away from the substrate processing apparatus 3, and a position away from the substrate processing apparatus 3. The example provided with the contamination state measuring device 2 arrange | positioned is shown.

The evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 supplies a contaminated solution 7 containing a contaminant 6 to the surface 5 of a disk-shaped substrate W (for example, a substrate diameter of 300 mm or 450 mm) such as a semiconductor wafer, and the cleaning ability of the substrate processing apparatus 3 This is a single-wafer type apparatus for producing evaluation samples 8 one by one. The surface 5 of the substrate W is hydrophobic. As the surface 5 exhibiting hydrophobicity, a surface on which a hydrophobic film such as a low-k film, a polysilicon film, or an SOC film is formed, an acidic liquid (a mixed liquid of HF, HF and HNO ₃ , buffered hydrofluoric acid ( (BHF), ammonium fluoride, HFEG (mixed solution of hydrofluoric acid and ethylene glycol), etc.) can be exemplified as the surface of the silicon substrate after chemical treatment using chemicals.

  An evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a box-shaped chamber 9 having an internal space, and a single substrate W held in a horizontal posture in the chamber 9, and a vertical rotation axis (vertical axis line passing through the center of the substrate W). ) A contamination solution 7 including a spin chuck (substrate holding unit) 10 for rotating the substrate W around A1, a low surface tension liquid 11 having a lower surface tension than water, and a contaminant 6 is supplied to the surface 5 of the substrate W. And a contaminated solution supply unit 12.

  The spin chuck 10 includes a disc-shaped spin base 13 that can rotate around the rotation axis A1 while holding the substrate W horizontally, and a spin motor 14 that rotates the spin base 13 around the rotation axis A1. The spin chuck 10 may be a clamping chuck that holds the substrate W horizontally with the peripheral edge of the substrate W interposed therebetween, or a vacuum that holds the substrate W horizontally by sucking the lower surface of the substrate W. It may be a chuck of the type. FIG. 1 shows a case where the spin chuck 10 is a vacuum chuck.

  The contaminated solution supply unit 12 includes a contaminated solution nozzle 15, a nozzle arm 16 to which the contaminated solution nozzle 15 is attached at the tip, a contaminated solution pipe 17 having one end connected to the contaminated solution nozzle 15, and a contaminated solution pipe 17. It includes an intervening contaminated solution valve 18 and a first nozzle moving unit 19 that is connected to the nozzle arm 16 and moves the contaminated solution nozzle 15 by swinging the nozzle arm 16 about a predetermined swing axis. The first nozzle moving unit 19 includes a motor and the like. The first nozzle moving unit 19 is not limited to moving the contamination solution nozzle 15 so as to draw an arc shape along the upper surface of the substrate W, and the contamination nozzles 15 are drawn so as to draw a straight shape along the upper surface of the substrate W. It may be moved.

  The contaminated solution nozzle 15 is, for example, a straight nozzle that discharges liquid in a continuous flow state. As shown in FIG. 1, a discharge port may be formed at the lower end of the body of the contaminated solution nozzle 15, and a configuration may be employed in which the contaminated solution 7 is discharged downward from the discharge port. In FIG. 1, the case where the contamination solution nozzle 15 is a moving nozzle capable of changing the supply position of the contamination solution 7 on the upper surface of the substrate W is taken as an example. It may be a fixed nozzle that is fixedly arranged toward a predetermined position (for example, the central portion) on the upper surface of W.

  The other end of the contaminated solution pipe 17 is connected to a contaminated solution generating unit 20 described below, and the contaminated solution 7 is supplied from the contaminated solution generating unit 20. When the contaminated solution valve 18 is opened, the contaminated solution 7 supplied from the contaminated solution pipe 17 to the contaminated solution nozzle 15 is discharged from the discharge port set at the lower end of the contaminated solution nozzle 15. When the contaminated solution valve 18 is closed, the supply of the contaminated solution 7 from the contaminated solution pipe 17 to the contaminated solution nozzle 15 is stopped.

  The contaminated solution generation unit 20 supplies an upwardly opened tank 21 in which the contaminated solution 7 can be stored and a low surface tension liquid 11 (for example, a liquid at room temperature (about 23 ° C.)) as a solvent into the tank 21. A low surface tension liquid pipe 22, a low surface tension liquid valve 23 interposed in the low surface tension liquid pipe 22, and a stirring device 24 for stirring the liquid in the tank 21 are included. The contaminant 6 is supplied into the tank 21, and the low surface tension liquid 11 is supplied into the tank 21 via the low surface tension liquid pipe 22. The contaminant 6 and the low surface tension liquid 11 are agitated by the agitator 24 in the tank 21. Thereby, the contaminated solution 7 in which the contaminant 6 and the low surface tension liquid 11 are mixed at a predetermined ratio is prepared (generated). FIG. 1 shows the case where the contaminated solution 7 is prepared in the tank 21, but the contaminated solution in the tank 21 may be prepared (generated) before being supplied to the tank 21. Good.

The contaminant 6 supplied to the tank 21 may be a particle powder, a metal contaminant (copper sulfate as an example), or an organic contaminant. Examples of the particle powder include SiO ₂ powder, silicon nitride (SiN, Si ₃ N ₄ ) powder, polystyrene latex powder, aluminum powder, and the like. The type of the contaminant 6 is selected in accordance with the type of contaminant generated in the actual cleaning process of the substrate processing apparatus 3.

  An example of the low surface tension liquid 11 supplied to the tank 21 is isopropyl alcohol (IPA), which is a kind of organic solvent. In addition, methanol, ethanol, acetone, HFE (Hydrofluoroether) and the like can be exemplified. Further, the low surface tension liquid 11 may be a liquid mixed with other components as well as a case of being composed of only a single component. For example, a mixed solution of IPA and acetone or a mixed solution of IPA and methanol may be used. However, a low surface tension liquid 11 of a type that does not dissolve in accordance with the type of contaminant 6 used and the nature of the substrate W is employed.

The evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a gas discharge nozzle (low surface tension liquid removal unit) for supplying an inert gas as an example of a gas to the upper surface (surface 5) of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 10. 30 is further included. Coupled to the gas discharge nozzle 30 is a second nozzle moving unit 29 for moving the gas discharge nozzle 30 up and down and horizontally.
FIG. 2 is a schematic longitudinal sectional view for explaining a configuration example of the gas discharge nozzle 30 shown in FIG. A gas pipe 31 is coupled to the gas discharge nozzle 30. A gas valve 32 that opens and closes the flow path is interposed in the gas pipe 31. The gas discharge nozzle 30 has a cylindrical nozzle body 34 having a flange portion 33 at the lower end. On the outer peripheral surface which is the side surface of the flange portion 33, an upper gas discharge port 35 and a lower gas discharge port 36 each open in an annular shape outward. The upper gas discharge port 35 and the lower gas discharge port 36 are arranged with a space in the vertical direction. A central gas discharge port 37 is disposed on the lower surface of the nozzle body 34. Nitrogen gas can be exemplified as the inert gas discharged from the gas discharge nozzle 30.

  In the nozzle body 34, gas inlets 38 and 39 to which an inert gas is supplied from the gas pipe 31 are formed. Individual inert gas pipes may be coupled to the gas inlets 38 and 39. In the nozzle body 34, a cylindrical gas flow path 41 that connects the gas introduction port 38, the upper gas discharge port 35, and the lower gas discharge port 36 is formed. Further, a cylindrical gas flow path 42 communicating with the gas introduction port 39 is formed around the nozzle body 34. A buffer space 43 communicates below the gas flow path 42. The buffer space 43 further communicates with a space 45 below the punching plate 44. This space 45 is open to the central gas outlet 37.

  The inert gas introduced from the gas introduction port 38 is supplied to the upper gas discharge port 35 and the lower gas discharge port 36 through the gas flow path 41 and is discharged radially from these gas discharge ports 35 and 36. . As a result, two radial airflows overlapping in the vertical direction are formed above the substrate W. On the other hand, the inert gas introduced from the gas introduction port 39 is stored in the buffer space 43 through the gas flow path 42, further diffused through the punching plate 44, and then through the space 45 to the central gas discharge port. It is discharged downward from 37 toward the upper surface of the substrate W. This inert gas hits the upper surface of the substrate W and changes its direction, forming a radial inert gas flow above the substrate W.

  Accordingly, the radial airflow formed by the inert gas discharged from the central gas discharge port 37 and the two-layer radial airflow discharged from the gas discharge ports 35 and 36 are combined to form a three-layer radial airflow on the substrate W. It will be formed above. The upper surface of the substrate W is protected by the three layers of radial airflow. In particular, as will be described later, when the substrate W is rotated at a high speed, the upper surface of the substrate W is protected by the three-layer radial airflow, so that it is possible to avoid droplets and mist from adhering to the surface of the substrate W.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram for explaining the electrical configuration of the main part of the sample production apparatus 1 for evaluation.
The sample production apparatus 1 for evaluation includes a control device 50 configured using, for example, a microcomputer. The control device 50 includes an arithmetic unit such as a CPU, a fixed memory device, a storage unit such as a hard disk drive, and an input / output unit. The storage unit stores a recipe (a program executed by the arithmetic unit) for performing substrate processing. The control device 50 controls operations of the spin motor 14, the first and second nozzle moving units 19, 29, and the like based on the contents of the recipe held in the storage unit. Further, the control device 50 controls the opening / closing operations of the contaminated solution valve 18, the low surface tension liquid valve 23, the gas valve 32, and the like.

FIG. 4 is a process diagram showing an example of a sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow (a flow for manufacturing the evaluation sample 8 and evaluating the cleaning ability of the substrate processing apparatus 3) in the substrate processing system 4. An example of the sample production & unit cleaning evaluation flow will be described with reference to FIGS.
First, a substrate W, which is a base material of the sample 8 for evaluation, is carried into the chamber 9 by a transfer robot (not shown), and the spin chuck 10 is placed with the surface 5 (measurement target surface) facing upward. (S1: substrate holding step). After the transfer robot is retracted out of the chamber 9, the control device 50 executes a liquid film holding step (step S2). As a result, the liquid film 51 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) of the contaminated solution is held in a paddle shape on the surface 5 of the substrate W, and the entire upper surface of the substrate W is covered by the paddle liquid film 51. . In this embodiment, the paddle shape means that the centrifugal force acting on the liquid film 51 on the surface 5 of the substrate W is smaller than the surface tension acting between the contamination solution 7 and the surface 5 of the substrate W, or Centrifugal force and the surface tension are almost antagonistic. Since the liquid film 51 is provided in a paddle shape, the liquid film 51 of the contaminated solution can be favorably held on the surface 5 of the substrate W.

  After the liquid film 51 is held in a paddle shape on the surface 5 of the substrate W, the control device 50 executes a drying process (step S3). The drying step S3 is a step in which the low surface tension liquid 11 is removed from the surface 5 of the substrate W and the surface 5 is dried. In the drying step S3, the gas discharge nozzle 30 is disposed at a proximity position (position shown in FIG. 2, positions shown by solid lines in FIGS. 6D and 6E) close to the central portion of the surface 5 of the substrate W. The control device 50 opens the gas valve 32 and discharges the inert gas from the three gas discharge ports 35, 36, and 37 to spray the inert gas onto the paddle-like liquid film 51 formed on the surface 5. (Supply). Thereby, evaporation of the low surface tension liquid 11 contained in the liquid film 51 on the substrate W can be promoted. In the drying step S3, the control device 50 controls the spin motor 14 to rotate the substrate W at a high speed (about 1000 rpm). Thereby, a part of the low surface tension liquid 11 on the substrate W is shaken off by centrifugal force. However, in the drying step S3, the evaporation of the low surface tension liquid 11 is more dominant than the shaking off of the low surface tension liquid 11 by centrifugal force. In other words, in the drying step S3, the evaporation step in which the low surface tension liquid 11 is evaporated is dominant. When the surface 5 of the substrate W is completely dried, the production of the evaluation sample 8 is completed.

Thereafter, the substrate W (evaluation sample 8) is carried out of the chamber 9 by the transfer robot and delivered to the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 such as a particle counter. The contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W (step S4 in FIG. 4). Thereby, the contamination state measuring device 2 can grasp the contamination state of the substrate W before the cleaning process.
Next, the substrate W is delivered to the substrate processing apparatus 3. The substrate processing apparatus 3 cleans the substrate W (step S5 in FIG. 4).

  The substrate W after the cleaning process is delivered to a contamination state measuring apparatus 2 such as a particle counter. The contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W (step S6 in FIG. 4). Thereby, the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning process can be grasped. Then, by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after cleaning, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 can evaluate the cleaning ability of the substrate processing apparatus 3.

FIG. 5 is a time chart for explaining the liquid film holding step S2 and the drying step S3 in detail. 6A to 6C are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining the state of the liquid film holding step S2. 6D and 6E are schematic cross-sectional views for explaining the state of the drying step S3.
Steps S2 to S4 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.
Prior to loading the substrate W into the chamber 9, the contaminated solution nozzle 15 is retracted to the home position set to the side of the spin chuck 10. The gas discharge nozzle 30 is also retracted to the home position set on the side of the spin chuck 10.

The liquid film holding step S2 includes a paddle step T1, a leveling step T2, and a thinning step T3.
As shown in FIG. 6A, the paddle process T1 is a process of forming a liquid film 51 of a paddle-like contaminated solution covering the entire surface of the upper surface 5 (upper surface) of the substrate W. Specifically, in the paddle process T1, the control device 50 controls the spin motor 14 to rotate the spin base 13 and maintains the rotation speed at a predetermined paddle speed (zero to about 40 rpm, for example, about 10 rpm). To do. Prior to the start of the paddle process T1, as shown in FIG. 6A, the contaminated solution nozzle 15 is moved from the home position on the side of the spin chuck 10 to the processing position (for example, the center of the surface 5 of the substrate W). It has been.

  At the start of the paddle process T1, the control device 50 opens the contaminated solution valve 18. Thereby, the contaminated solution 7 is discharged from the contaminated solution nozzle 15 toward the center of the surface 5 of the substrate W. At this time, since only zero or a small centrifugal force acts on the contaminated solution 7 supplied to the surface 5 of the substrate W, the contaminated solution 7 stays on the surface 5 of the substrate W, and the liquid film 51 of the contaminated solution has a paddle shape. It is formed. The thickness of the liquid film 51 is about 3 mm, for example. Thereby, the liquid film 51 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B, etc.) of the contaminating solution covering the entire surface 5 of the substrate W is held on the surface 5 of the substrate W in a paddle shape. The supply of the contaminated solution 7 to the surface 5 of the substrate W is continued until the end of the paddle process T1. When a predetermined period (for example, about 60 seconds) elapses from the start of the paddle process T1, the paddle process T1 ends. Specifically, the control device 50 closes the contaminated solution valve 18 to stop discharging the contaminated solution 7 from the contaminated solution nozzle 15 and controls the first nozzle moving unit 19 to bring the contaminated solution nozzle 15 home. Retract to position. Next, the leveling step T2 is started.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, in the leveling step T2, the liquid film 51 held on the surface 5 of the substrate W is rotated by rotating the substrate W at a medium speed (for example, about 50 rpm) slightly faster than the paddle speed. This is a process aimed at spreading the contamination solution 7 over the entire surface of the substrate W by spreading it outward. When a predetermined period (for example, about 6 seconds) elapses from the start of the leveling process T2, the leveling process T2 ends. Next, the thinning process T3 is started.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, in the thinning step T3, the substrate W is rotated at a high speed around the rotation axis A1, and a part of the contaminated solution 7 contained in the liquid film 51 is discharged around the substrate W. Thus, the liquid film 51 is thinned in a short time. The rotation speed of the substrate W at this time is such that it is possible to shake off a part of the contaminated solution 7 contained in the liquid film 51, but not so much that the whole of the contaminated solution 7 can be shaken off (the first speed). Speed (for example, about 1000 rpm). This high speed is usually set to be lower than the rotational speed used for shaking off the liquid from the substrate W (speed at which all of the contaminated solution 7 contained in the liquid film 51 can be shaken off, for example, about 1500 rpm). ing.

  When a predetermined period (for example, about 2 seconds) elapses from the start of the thinning process T3, the thinning process T3 ends. At the end of the thinning step T3, the entire surface 5 of the substrate W is covered with the thin film 52. Therefore, a part of the surface 5 of the substrate W is not exposed. The thickness of the thin film 52 at this time is, for example, 20 to 600 μm. After the end of the thinning step T3, the drying step S3 is then started.

  The control device 50 controls the second nozzle moving unit 29, and prior to the start of the drying step S3 (that is, in the liquid film holding step S2), as shown in FIG. It moves from the side home position to the processing position (above the central part of the surface 5 of the substrate W), and at the processing position, the gas discharge nozzle 30 is lowered to a proximity position approaching the substrate W. In the state where the gas discharge nozzle 30 is in the lower position, the distance between the lower surface of the gas discharge nozzle 30 and the surface 5 of the substrate W (the upper surface of the substrate W) is, for example, about 7 mm. In a state where the gas discharge nozzle 30 is disposed at the processing position (including the above-mentioned proximity position), as shown in FIG. 6D, the central axis of the gas discharge nozzle 30 coincides with the rotation axis A1.

The drying step S3 includes an evaporation step T4 and a deceleration step T5.
Following the end of the thinning step T3, the evaporation step T4 is started. That is, as shown in FIG. 6D, the control device 50 opens the gas valve 32, and the three gas discharge ports (the upper gas discharge port 35 (see FIG. 2), the lower gas discharge port 36 ( 2) and the discharge of inert gas (nitrogen gas) from the central gas discharge port 37 (see FIG. 2)) are started. At this time, the discharge flow rates of the inert gas from the upper gas discharge port 35, the lower gas discharge port 36, and the central gas discharge port 37 are, for example, about 50 (liter / minute) and about 50 (liter / minute), respectively. And about 50 (liters / minute). As a result, as shown in FIG. 6D, a three-layer annular airflow that overlaps in the vertical direction is formed above the substrate W, and the entire surface 5 of the substrate W can be covered with the three-layer annular airflow. That is, the inert gas is supplied to the entire area of the liquid film 51 (thin film 52), and thereby the inert gas is supplied to the surface 5 of the substrate W. Evaporation proceeds and drying of the surface 5 of the substrate W is promoted.

As shown in FIG. 6D, in the evaporation step T4, the rotation of the substrate W is maintained at a high speed (second speed, for example, about 1000 rpm, for example, about 1500 rpm). Due to the high speed rotation of the substrate W, the low surface tension liquid 11 adhering to the surface 5 of the substrate W is shaken off around the substrate W.
Thus, in the evaporation step T4, the high-speed rotation of the substrate W and the supply of the inert gas to the surface 5 of the substrate W are performed in parallel. Thereby, the evaporation of the low surface tension liquid 11 and the shaking off of the low surface tension liquid 11 are simultaneously performed on the surface 5 of the substrate W. As a result, as shown in FIG. Is completely removed from the surface 5.

  In this embodiment, the high speed (second speed) in the evaporation step T4 is set equal to the high speed (first speed) in the thinning step T3, but the high speed (first speed) in the evaporation step T4 is set. 2) may be higher than the high speed (first speed) in the thinning step T3. In this case, the high speed (second speed) in the evaporation step T4 can normally shake off all of the contaminated solution 7 contained in the liquid film 51, which is the rotational speed used to shake off the liquid from the substrate W. (Speed) may be set.

When a predetermined period (for example, about 10 seconds) elapses from the start of the evaporation step T4, the evaporation step T4 ends, and then the deceleration step T5 starts.
In the deceleration process T5, the rotation of the substrate W is decelerated and stopped while continuing the supply of the inert gas to the surface 5 of the substrate W. With the completion of the deceleration step T5, the rotation of the spin chuck 10 is stopped and the gas valve 32 is closed to stop the discharge of the inert gas from the gas discharge nozzle 30.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1, the liquid film 51 of the contaminated solution 7 containing the low surface tension liquid 11 as a solvent is held on the surface 5 of the substrate W, and then the surface 5 of the substrate W. Is dried.
Since the contaminated solution 7 contains the low surface tension liquid 11 as a solvent, the liquid film 51 of the contaminated solution can be formed on the surface 5 of the substrate W even when the surface 5 of the substrate W is hydrophobic. is there. When the contaminated solution 7 has a film shape, the contaminants 6 contained in the contaminated solution 7 are uniformly dispersed inside the film. Therefore, by forming the liquid film 51 of the contaminated solution on the surface 5 of the substrate W, the contaminants 6 can be uniformly distributed on the surface 5 of the substrate W. Therefore, the contaminants 6 are uniformly distributed on the surface 5 of the substrate W after drying. Therefore, the evaluation sample 8 in which the contaminant 6 is uniformly arranged on the surface 5 can be manufactured.

  Moreover, the case where the surface 5 of the board | substrate W is dried only by shake-off drying is assumed. In this case, there occurs a situation in which the droplet moves on the surface 5 of the substrate W in a state where the surface 5 of the substrate W is not covered with the liquid film (in a state where the surface 5 of the substrate W is exposed). As shown in FIG. 7A, the contaminant 6 may be formed as the stripes 53 extending radially on the surface 5 of the substrate W.

  On the other hand, in this embodiment, since the low surface tension liquid 11 as the solvent is mainly removed from the surface 5 of the substrate W by evaporation, the exposure is performed as compared with the case where the surface 5 of the substrate W is dried only by shake-off drying. It is possible to suppress or prevent the droplet of the contaminating solution 7 from moving on the surface 5 of the substrate W that is being processed. As a result, it is possible to suppress or prevent the contaminant 6 from being formed as the streak 53 on the surface 5 of the substrate W after the drying step S3. Therefore, as shown in FIG. An evaluation sample 8 in which the contaminants 6 are uniformly distributed can be produced.

Further, after thinning the liquid film 51 of the contaminated solution, the drying step S3 is started, and the low surface tension liquid 11 is removed from the surface 5 of the substrate W in the drying step S3. Since the drying of the surface 5 of the substrate W (evaporation of the contaminating solution 7) starts after the contamination solution liquid film 51 is thinned (that is, after the contamination solution thin film 52 is formed), the time required for the drying step S3. Can be shortened.
FIG. 8A is an illustrative plan view showing a layout of a substrate processing apparatus 201 according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 8B is an illustrative sectional view thereof. FIG. 9 is a block diagram for explaining an electrical configuration of a main part of the substrate processing apparatus 201. 8A and 8B and FIG. 9, the same components as those shown in FIGS. 1 to 7B described above are denoted by the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 1 and the description thereof is omitted.

  The substrate processing apparatus 201 according to the second embodiment is a single wafer processing apparatus that processes the substrates W one by one. The substrate processing apparatus 201 includes an indexer section 202 into which the substrate W is loaded, and a processing section 203 that processes the substrate W loaded into the indexer section 202. The processing section 203 includes a delivery unit PASS for delivering the substrate W to and from the indexer section 202.

  The indexer section 202 includes a carrier holding unit 205, an indexer robot IR, and an IR moving mechanism 206. The carrier holding unit 205 holds a carrier C that can accommodate a plurality of substrates W. The plurality of carriers C are held by the carrier holding unit 205 in a state of being arranged in the horizontal carrier arrangement direction U. The IR moving mechanism 206 moves the indexer robot IR in the carrier arrangement direction U. The indexer robot IR performs a loading operation for loading the substrate W into the carrier C held by the carrier holding unit 205 and a loading operation for unloading the substrate W from the carrier C. The substrate W is transported in a horizontal posture by the indexer robot IR.

  The indexer section 202 delivers the unprocessed substrate W to the delivery unit PASS and receives the processed substrate W from the delivery unit PASS. The processing section 203 receives an unprocessed substrate W from the delivery unit PASS and performs a cleaning process on the substrate W. Then, the processing section 203 delivers the processed substrate W to the delivery unit PASS.

The processing section 203 includes a plurality (12 in the example of FIGS. 8A and 8B) of processing units UNIT1 to UNIT12 (hereinafter, the processing units UNIT1 to UNIT12 may be collectively referred to as “processing unit 204”), The robot CR and the above-described delivery unit PASS are included.
The processing units UNIT1 to UNIT12 are three-dimensionally arranged in this embodiment. More specifically, a plurality of processing units UNIT1 to UNIT12 are arranged so as to form a three-story structure, and four processing units 204 are arranged on each floor portion. That is, four processing units UNIT1, UNIT4, UNIT7, and UNIT10 are disposed on the first floor portion, another four processing units UNIT2, UNIT5, UNIT8, and UNIT11 are disposed on the second floor portion, and another processing unit is disposed on the third floor portion. UNIT3, UNIT6, UNIT9, and UNIT12 are arranged. More specifically, the center robot CR is disposed in the center of the processing section 203 in plan view (the center robot CR is not shown in FIG. 8B), and the transfer is performed between the center robot CR and the indexer robot IR. Unit PASS is arranged. A first processing unit group G1 in which three processing units UNIT1 to UNIT3 are stacked and a second processing unit group G2 in which another three processing units UNIT4 to UNIT6 are stacked are arranged so as to face each other across the delivery unit PASS. Has been. A third processing unit group G3 in which three processing units UNIT7 to UNIT9 are stacked is arranged so as to be adjacent to the first processing unit group G1 on the side far from the indexer robot IR. Similarly, a fourth processing unit group G4 in which three processing units UNIT10 to UNIT12 are stacked is arranged so as to be adjacent to the second processing unit group G2 on the side far from the indexer robot IR. The center robot CR is surrounded by the first to fourth processing unit groups G1 to G4.

  The plurality of processing units 204 include an evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 that manufactures an evaluation sample, a contamination state measuring apparatus 2 that measures the contamination state of the substrate W, a cleaning unit 207 that performs a cleaning process on the substrate W, and a cleaning capability. A regeneration cleaning unit 208 for returning the evaluation sample (that is, the substrate W) after being used for the evaluation to a clean state (that is, regenerating and initializing) is included. In this embodiment, UNIT1 to UNIT6 function as the cleaning unit 207, UNIT7 and UNIT10 function as the sample manufacturing apparatus 1, UNIT8 and UNIT11 function as the contamination state measuring apparatus 2, and UNIT9 and UNIT12 as the regenerative cleaning unit 208. Function.

In this embodiment, the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2, and the regenerative cleaning unit 208 constitute a cleaning capacity evaluation apparatus 209 that evaluates the cleaning capacity of the cleaning unit 207. That is, the substrate processing apparatus 201 is a single wafer cleaning apparatus in which the cleaning capability evaluation apparatus 209 is built in the processing section 203.
The cleaning unit 207 is a single wafer cleaning unit that cleans the substrates W one by one. The cleaning unit 207 includes a spin chuck (a configuration equivalent to the spin chuck 10 shown in FIG. 1) and a cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) that discharges the cleaning liquid toward the surface 5 of the substrate W held by the spin chuck. The cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning liquid nozzle onto the substrate W, whereby the surface 5 of the substrate W is cleaned. In the cleaning process executed in the cleaning unit 207, cleaning with a brush, cleaning using a physical force such as spray or ultrasonic waves (physical cleaning), or cleaning with gas is performed in addition to (or instead of) cleaning with a cleaning liquid. It may be done.

The regenerative cleaning unit 208 is a single wafer cleaning unit that cleans the substrates W one by one. The regenerative cleaning unit 208 includes a spin chuck (a configuration equivalent to the spin chuck 10 shown in FIG. 1) and a cleaning liquid nozzle (not shown) that discharges the cleaning liquid toward the substrate W held by the spin chuck. When the cleaning liquid is discharged from the nozzle onto the substrate W, a regenerative cleaning process for returning the substrate W to a clean state (that is, regenerating and initializing) is performed. The regenerative cleaning process is a process for completely removing the contaminants 6 and other substances from the surface 5. In the cleaning unit 207, for example, SC1 (ammonia hydrogen peroxide mixed solution) is used as a cleaning solution, but an acidic solution (HF, a mixture of HF and HNO ₃ , buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF), fluoride, etc. is used as the cleaning solution. Ammonium, HFEG (mixed solution of hydrofluoric acid and ethylene glycol) or the like can also be used. In this case, the surface of the substrate W after the regeneration cleaning treatment becomes hydrophobic.

In the regenerative cleaning process executed in the regenerative cleaning unit 208, in addition to (or instead of) cleaning with the cleaning liquid, cleaning with a brush, cleaning using physical force such as spray or ultrasonic waves (physical cleaning), or gas Washing may be performed.
The center robot CR receives an unprocessed substrate W from the delivery unit PASS using a hand (not shown), and carries the unprocessed substrate W into any of the processing units UNIT1 to UNIT12. The center robot CR receives the processed substrate W processed by the processing units UNIT1 to UNIT12 using a hand (not shown), and transfers the substrate W to the transfer unit PASS.

As shown in FIG. 9, the control device 50 further controls the operations of the cleaning unit 207 and the regenerative cleaning unit 208.
FIG. 10 is a process diagram showing an example of a sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow in the substrate processing apparatus 201. An example of the sample production & unit cleaning evaluation flow will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 10.

  In the sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow, the regeneration cleaning process (step S9) is performed prior to the measurement of the substrate W. However, in the sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow immediately after the supply of the substrate W to the substrate processing apparatus 201, the regeneration cleaning process S9 is skipped. That is, the center robot CR delivers the received unprocessed substrate W to the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 such as a particle counter. The control device 50 controls the contamination state measuring device 2 and measures the contamination state of the substrate W (step S10). Thereby, it is evaluated whether or not the substrate W satisfies a predetermined cleaning condition by the previous regenerative cleaning process. When this cleaning condition is satisfied, the process proceeds to step S11. If the cleaning condition is not satisfied, the regeneration cleaning process is performed using the regeneration cleaning unit 208, and then the contamination state of the substrate W is measured again by the contamination state measuring apparatus 2.

  Next, a substrate W, which is a base material of the evaluation sample 8, is carried into the chamber 9 (see FIG. 1) of the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 by a transfer robot (not shown), and the substrate W moves up the surface 5 thereof. (Step S11: substrate holding step). After the transfer robot is retracted out of the sample production apparatus 1 for evaluation, the control device 50 executes a liquid film holding process (step S12). After the liquid film 51 (see FIGS. 6A and 6B) is held in a paddle shape on the surface 5 of the substrate W, the control device 50 performs a drying process (step S13). Steps S11, S12 and S13 are the same processes as steps S1, S2 and S3 (see FIG. 4), respectively.

Thereafter, the substrate W (evaluation sample 8) is carried out of the evaluation sample production apparatus 1 by the transfer robot and delivered to the contamination state measurement apparatus 2 such as a particle counter. The control device 50 controls the contamination state measuring device 2 and measures the contamination state of the substrate W (step S14). Thereby, the contamination state of the substrate W before the cleaning process can be grasped.
Next, the substrate W is carried into the cleaning unit 207. The control device 50 controls the cleaning unit 207 to clean the substrate W (Step S15).

  The substrate W after the cleaning process is delivered to a contamination state measuring apparatus 2 such as a particle counter. The control device 50 controls the contamination state measuring device 2 and measures the contamination state of the substrate W (step S16). Thereby, the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning process can be grasped. In this case, the cleaning capability of the cleaning unit 207 can be evaluated by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after cleaning. With the completion of the measurement of the contamination state of the substrate W in step S16, the sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow in FIG. 10 ends.

The sample manufacturing & unit cleaning evaluation flow of FIG. 10 is repeatedly executed. Therefore, after measuring the contamination state of the substrate W for the second time, the process returns to step S9, and the control device 50 controls the regeneration cleaning unit 208 to perform the regeneration cleaning process on the substrate W (step S9). As a result, the substrate W is returned to the clean state before contamination (that is, regenerated).
FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow for evaluating the cleaning capability for a plurality of cleaning units (processing units UNIT1 to UNIT3). For example, when evaluating the cleaning capability of each of the processing units UNIT1 to UNIT3, which are all cleaning units (see FIG. 11), as an example, when the cleaning capability is evaluated for a plurality of cleaning units in the substrate processing apparatus 201. The flow will be described.

First, the cleaning ability of the processing unit UNIT1 is evaluated.
An evaluation sample 8 is manufactured in the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 (S11 to S13). Subsequently, the cleaning capacity in the processing unit UNIT1 is measured and evaluated. Specifically, the contamination state measurement apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W before cleaning (S14), and then the substrate W is cleaned in the processing unit UNIT1 (S15). After the cleaning, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning. In this case, it is possible to evaluate the cleaning capability of the processing unit UNIT1 by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after cleaning. Next, the substrate W is subjected to a regeneration cleaning process in the regeneration cleaning unit 208, whereby the substrate W is returned to a clean state before contamination (that is, regenerated).

Next, the cleaning capacity for the processing unit UNIT2 is evaluated.
An evaluation sample 8 is manufactured in the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 (S11 to S13). Subsequently, the cleaning capacity in the processing unit UNIT2 is measured and evaluated. Specifically, the contamination state measurement apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W before cleaning (S14), and then the substrate W is cleaned in the processing unit UNIT2 (S15). After the cleaning, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning. In this case, it is possible to evaluate the cleaning capability of the processing unit UNIT2 by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after cleaning. Next, the substrate W is subjected to a regeneration cleaning process in the regeneration cleaning unit 208, whereby the substrate W is returned to a clean state before contamination (that is, regenerated).

Next, the cleaning capacity for the processing unit UNIT3 is evaluated.
An evaluation sample 8 is manufactured in the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 (S11 to S13). The cleaning capacity in the processing unit UNIT3 is then measured and evaluated. Specifically, the contamination state measurement apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W before cleaning (S14), and then the substrate W is cleaned in the processing unit UNIT3 (S15). After the cleaning, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning. In this case, it is possible to evaluate the cleaning capability of the processing unit UNIT3 by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after cleaning. Next, the substrate W is subjected to a regeneration cleaning process in the regeneration cleaning unit 208, whereby the substrate W is returned to a clean state before contamination (that is, regenerated).

By executing the flow shown in FIG. 11, it is possible to evaluate the cleaning ability of each of the processing units UNIT1 to UNIT3. Thereby, difference evaluation between units can be performed accurately.
FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of the cleaning process recipe R held in the storage unit of the control device 50. The cleaning process in the cleaning unit 207 is executed based on this recipe R.

  Recipe R includes a plurality of recipes identified by a recipe number (No.). Each recipe includes, as cleaning conditions, the type of chemical liquid to be used as the cleaning liquid, the number of rotations of the substrate W in the cleaning process, the flow rate of the inert gas supplied to the substrate W during the cleaning process, the processing time of the cleaning process, and the like. It is prescribed. Whether or not physical force such as spray or ultrasonic wave is used may be defined as the cleaning condition.

Therefore, when the recipe R shown in FIG. 12 is adopted as a recipe, cleaning processes having different contents are executed in one cleaning unit 207.
FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating an example of a flow for evaluating the cleaning capability for each of a plurality of cleaning processes in one cleaning unit (processing unit UNIT1).
For example, the substrate processing apparatus 201 uses a plurality of substrate processing apparatuses 201 to evaluate the cleaning ability of each of the three cleaning processes (adopting recipes having different numbers) (see FIG. 13) in the processing unit UNIT1, which is a cleaning unit. A flow when evaluating the cleaning performance of each cleaning process will be described.

First, the cleaning capability for the first cleaning process in the processing unit UNIT1 is evaluated.
An evaluation sample 8 is manufactured in the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 (S11 to S13). Next, the cleaning ability for the first cleaning process is measured and evaluated. Specifically, the contamination state measurement apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W before cleaning (S14), and then, in the processing unit UNIT1, a predetermined recipe (for example, No. 1 recipe in FIG. 12). The cleaning is performed based on (S15). After the cleaning, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning. In this case, it is possible to evaluate the cleaning ability for the first cleaning process by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after the cleaning. Next, the substrate W is subjected to a regeneration cleaning process in the regeneration cleaning unit 208. As a result, the substrate W is returned to the clean state before contamination (that is, regenerated).

Next, the cleaning capability for the second cleaning process in the processing unit UNIT1 is evaluated.
An evaluation sample 8 is manufactured in the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 (S11 to S13). The cleaning capacity for the second cleaning process is then measured and evaluated. Specifically, the contamination state measurement apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W before cleaning (S14), and then, in the processing unit UNIT1, a predetermined recipe excluding the recipe referred to in the first cleaning process. Cleaning based on (for example, No. 2 recipe in FIG. 12) is performed (S15). After the cleaning, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning. In this case, it is possible to evaluate the cleaning ability for the second cleaning process by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after the cleaning. Next, the substrate W is subjected to a regeneration cleaning process in the regeneration cleaning unit 208, whereby the substrate W is returned to a clean state before contamination (that is, regenerated).

  Next, the cleaning capability for the third cleaning process in the processing unit UNIT1 is evaluated. An evaluation sample 8 is manufactured in the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1 (S11 to S13). The cleaning capacity for the third cleaning process is then measured and evaluated. Specifically, the contamination state measurement apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W before cleaning (S14), and then the processing unit UNIT1 excludes the recipe referred to in the first or second cleaning process. The substrate W is cleaned based on a predetermined recipe (for example, No. 3 recipe in FIG. 12) (S15). After the cleaning, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2 measures the contamination state of the substrate W after the cleaning. In this case, it is possible to evaluate the cleaning capability for the third cleaning process by comparing the contamination state of the substrate W before and after the cleaning.

By executing the flow shown in FIG. 13, the cleaning capability can be evaluated for each of the three cleaning processes in the processing unit UNIT1. Thereby, it is possible to accurately evaluate the cleaning condition dependency of the cleaning process.
As mentioned above, according to 2nd Embodiment, in addition to the effect described in 1st Embodiment, there exists the following effect. That is, the substrate processing apparatus 201 regenerates the evaluation sample (substrate W) after being used for the evaluation of the cleaning capability to the clean state in addition to the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 1, the contamination state measuring apparatus 2, and the cleaning unit 207. A cleaning unit 208 is included. Therefore, the production of the evaluation sample 8, the cleaning process, the evaluation of the cleaning capability, and the regenerative cleaning process of the substrate W can be performed in one substrate processing apparatus 201. Therefore, the evaluation of the cleaning capability of the cleaning unit 207 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 201 can be repeatedly performed. It is also possible to automatically generate the evaluation result of the cleaning capability of the cleaning unit 207 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 201.

Further, since the substrate W used for the performance evaluation can be reused, a single substrate is sufficient for the performance evaluation substrate W (the substrate serving as the base material of the evaluation sample 8).
While the two embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention can be implemented in other forms.
For example, in the evaporation step T4 according to the first embodiment described above, the inert gas is supplied to the surface 5 of the substrate W in order to promote the evaporation of the low surface tension liquid 11, but this is replaced. In addition, evaporation of the low surface tension liquid 11 may be promoted by heating the liquid film 51 with a heating device such as an infrared lamp or a heater. In addition, evaporation of the low surface tension liquid 11 may be promoted by reducing the pressure inside the chamber 9.

Further, in the drying step S3 according to the first embodiment described above, the surface 5 of the substrate W may be dried in a state where the substrate W is kept stationary without being rotated. In this case, the substrate W may be held by a substrate holding device other than the spin chuck.
In each of the above-described embodiments, the surface 5 of the substrate W has been described as being hydrophobic from the beginning. However, before the substrate 5 is loaded into the substrate processing system 4 or the substrate processing apparatus 201, the surface 5 of the substrate W is The surface 5 of the substrate W may show hydrophobicity as a result of the cleaning process by the substrate processing apparatus 3 or the cleaning unit 207 and the regenerative cleaning process by the regenerative cleaning unit 208 without showing hydrophobicity.

  Further, as a low surface tension liquid removing unit that supplies an inert gas to the surface 5 of the substrate W, instead of the gas discharge nozzle 30, a facing member (not shown) having a facing surface facing the surface 5 of the substrate W; A counter unit having a discharge port formed in the counter surface (for example, the central portion thereof) may be provided. The discharge port discharges an inert gas, and the inert gas discharged from the discharge port may be supplied to the surface (for example, the central portion) of the substrate W.

In the second embodiment, the regeneration cleaning process may be performed in the cleaning unit 207 instead of the dedicated regeneration cleaning unit 208.
In the second embodiment, an evaluation sample may be manufactured using a method other than the method described in the first embodiment.
In the first and second embodiments, the case where the substrate processing apparatuses 3 and 201 are apparatuses that process a disk-shaped substrate has been described. However, the substrate processing apparatuses 3 and 201 are substrates for liquid crystal display devices. The apparatus which processes polygonal substrates, such as, may be sufficient.

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

1: Evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus 3: Substrate processing apparatus 5: Surface 6: Contaminant 7: Contaminant solution 8: Evaluation sample 10: Spin chuck (substrate holding unit)
11: Low surface tension liquid 12: Contaminated solution supply unit 30: Gas discharge nozzle (low surface tension liquid removal unit)
50: Control device 201: Substrate processing device 207: Cleaning unit 208: Regenerative cleaning unit A1: Rotation axis (vertical axis)
W: Substrate

Claims (10)

An evaluation sample for evaluating the cleaning ability of a substrate processing apparatus, wherein the evaluation sample includes a substrate in which a contaminant is disposed on a hydrophobic surface.
A substrate holding step for holding the substrate in a horizontal posture with the surface facing upward;
A liquid film holding step of holding a liquid film of a contaminated solution containing a low surface tension liquid having a lower surface tension than water and a contaminant on the surface of the substrate;
And a drying step of drying the surface by removing the low surface tension liquid from the surface. The drying step
The evaluation sample manufacturing method according to claim 1, further comprising an evaporation step of removing the low surface tension liquid by mainly evaporating the low surface tension liquid. The evaporation step includes
The sample production method for evaluation according to claim 2, further comprising a gas supply step of supplying a gas to the surface in order to promote evaporation of the low surface tension liquid. The substrate processing method includes:
The sample production method for evaluation according to claim 2 or 3, further comprising a thinning step of thinning a liquid film of the contaminated solution held on the surface prior to execution of the evaporation step. The thinning process includes
A first rotating step of rotating the substrate around a predetermined vertical axis passing through the surface of the substrate at a predetermined first speed capable of shaking off the contaminated solution from the surface of the substrate; The evaluation sample manufacturing method according to claim 4. The drying step
In parallel with the evaporation step, the substrate is rotated about a predetermined vertical axis passing through the surface of the substrate at a predetermined second speed capable of shaking off the contaminated solution from the surface of the substrate. The evaluation sample manufacturing method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, further comprising a second rotation step. The liquid film holding step includes
By rotating the substrate at a predetermined paddle speed around a predetermined vertical axis passing through the surface of the substrate, the substrate holds the paddle-like liquid film of the contaminated solution on the surface of the substrate. The sample production method for evaluation according to any one of claims 1 to 6 including a process. An evaluation sample for evaluating the cleaning ability of a substrate processing apparatus, and an apparatus for producing an evaluation sample including a substrate in which a contaminant is disposed on a hydrophobic surface,
A substrate holding unit for holding the substrate in a horizontal posture with the surface facing upward;
A contamination solution supply unit for supplying a contamination solution comprising a low surface tension liquid having a lower surface tension than water and a contaminant to the surface of the substrate;
A low surface tension liquid removal unit for removing the low surface tension liquid from the surface of the substrate;
A controller for controlling the contaminated solution supply unit and the low surface tension liquid removal unit,
The control device includes a substrate holding step for holding the substrate in a horizontal posture with the surface facing upward, a liquid film of a contaminated solution including a low surface tension liquid having a surface tension lower than water and a contaminant. A sample manufacturing apparatus for evaluation, which executes a liquid film holding step of holding the substrate on the surface of the substrate and a drying step of drying the surface by removing the low surface tension liquid from the surface. A cleaning unit for cleaning the substrate;
9. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus manufactures an evaluation sample for evaluating a cleaning capability of the cleaning unit.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, further comprising an initialization unit that initializes the substrate by cleaning the evaluation sample manufactured by the evaluation sample manufacturing apparatus.

Images