JP2018142594A - Substrate processing device and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a quantity of consumption of an inert gas while increasing the cleanliness on a lower face of a substrate.SOLUTION: A control part causes a protection disk to be located at a second position when processing a whole upper surface of a substrate by a two-fluid nozzle. The control part causes an inert gas to be supplied from a blowoff part at a flow rate F2 when processing a center region of the substrate by the two-fluid nozzle, and causes the gas at a flow rate F3 from a blowoff part when processing a peripheral edge region of the substrate by the two-fluid nozzle. The flow rate of the inert gas is increased only when processing the peripheral edge region on which a process liquid or mist tends to deposit easily and as such, a quantity of consumption of the inert gas can be reduced while increasing the cleanliness in the lower face of the substrate.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

  The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer, a liquid crystal display substrate, a plasma display substrate, an organic EL substrate, an FED (Field Emission Display) substrate, an optical display substrate, a magnetic disk substrate, a magneto-optical disk substrate, and a photomask substrate. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for processing a top surface of a substrate and a solar cell substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) while protecting the bottom surface.

  Conventionally, as this type of device, a plurality of support pins that support the peripheral edge of the substrate in contact with each other, a spin chuck that holds the substrate in a horizontal position, and a vertical movement between the lower surface of the substrate and the upper surface of the spin chuck A movable protective disk, a nitrogen gas supply unit for supplying nitrogen gas between the lower surface of the substrate and the protective disk, a rotary drive unit for rotating the spin chuck, and the brush in the radial direction while cleaning the upper surface of the substrate There is one provided with a brush cleaning mechanism for moving the substrate to the substrate and a processing liquid nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the upper surface of the substrate (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In the apparatus configured as described above, nitrogen gas is supplied at a predetermined flow rate between the protective disk moved to the lower surface side of the substrate and the substrate during the cleaning process. This prevents the processing liquid from flowing from the upper surface to the lower surface of the substrate and prevents the scattered mist of the processing liquid from flowing to the lower surface of the substrate, thereby preventing the lower surface of the substrate from being contaminated.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-2328

However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, the conventional apparatus needs to increase the flow rate of the nitrogen gas during the cleaning process when it is necessary to further improve the cleanliness on the lower surface of the substrate. However, while the cleanliness can be further improved, there is a problem that the consumption of nitrogen gas increases.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method that can suppress the consumption of inert gas while increasing the cleanliness of the lower surface of the substrate. And

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, the invention described in claim 1 is a substrate processing apparatus for processing an upper surface of a substrate, a rotating table that can rotate around a vertical axis, a rotation driving unit that rotates the rotating table, and a stand installed on the rotating table. A support means for contacting the peripheral edge of the substrate and supporting the lower surface of the substrate at a distance from the upper surface of the turntable, and the support height position of the substrate by the turntable and the support means, A protective disk which is disposed so as to be movable up and down relatively with respect to the turntable and is rotated by the rotation driving means together with the turntable; and a processing means which performs processing by acting on the upper surface of the substrate supported by the support means; A moving means for moving the processing means between a central part and a peripheral part of the substrate supported by the supporting means, a gas supply means for supplying a gas between the protective disk and the lower surface of the substrate, Substrate supported by support means In order to adjust the distance between the lower surface and the upper surface of the protective disk, the first position where the protective disk is closest to the upper surface of the turntable, and the protective disk is closer to the lower surface of the substrate than the first position. When transferring the substrate between the support means and the position adjusting means for relatively moving the protective disk and the turntable over the second position, the position adjusting means is operated to When the protective disk is set to the first position and the entire surface of the upper surface of the substrate rotated by the processing means is processed, the position adjusting means is operated to set the protective disk to the second position. Then, when the processing means is processing the central region of the substrate, gas is supplied at a first flow rate by the gas supply means, and when the processing means is processing the peripheral region of the substrate, Above And it is characterized in that it comprises a control means for operating the body supply means to supply the gas at a second flow rate greater than said first flow rate, a.

  [Operation / Effect] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the control means operates the position adjusting means to bring the protective disk to the first position when the substrate is transferred to and from the support means. . Further, when processing the entire upper surface of the substrate by the processing means, the position adjusting means is operated to bring the protective disk to the second position. Next, when the processing means is processing the central area of the substrate, the gas supply means supplies gas at the first flow rate, and when the processing means is processing the peripheral area of the substrate, the gas supply is performed. The means is operated to supply gas at a second flow rate greater than the first flow rate. Therefore, since the flow rate of the inert gas is increased only when processing the peripheral area where the processing liquid or mist easily adheres to the lower surface of the substrate, the consumption of the inert gas can be reduced while increasing the cleanliness on the lower surface of the substrate. Can be suppressed.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the control unit adjusts the flow rate by the gas supply unit stepwise when the processing position of the processing unit moves between the central region and the peripheral region. ).

  Since the flow rate is adjusted stepwise, the configuration of the gas supply means and the control by the control means can be simplified. Note that the term “stepwise” here includes not only two steps but also three or more steps.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the control means linearly adjust the flow rate by the gas supply means when the processing position of the processing means moves between the central region and the peripheral region. ).

  The flow rate is linearly adjusted so that the flow rate gradually increases to the second flow rate as the processing unit approaches the peripheral region, and conversely gradually decreases to the first flow rate as the processing unit approaches the central region. Thereby, it is possible to effectively prevent contamination according to the position of the processing means.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that when the gas supply means is operated, the control means instructs switching before a predetermined time before switching the flow rate.

  There is a delay time from when the flow rate switching instruction is given until the flow rate is actually changed. Therefore, by instructing switching before a predetermined time corresponding to the delay time, the gas supply means can switch the flow rate at a desired timing.

  In the present invention, the control means switches the flow rate between the first flow rate and the second flow rate by the gas supply means when the moving means moves the processing means a plurality of times. It is preferable to perform a plurality of times (claim 5).

  Even when the processing on the upper surface of the substrate is performed a plurality of times to reliably perform the processing on the upper surface of the substrate, a plurality of flow rates are switched. Therefore, even when a plurality of processes are performed on the upper surface of the substrate, the consumption of the inert gas can be suppressed while increasing the cleanliness on the lower surface of the substrate.

  In the present invention, when the control means operates the rotation driving means to shake off and dry the substrate after the processing by the processing means, the flow rate by the gas supply means is set in the second half. It is preferable that the third flow rate be smaller than the first flow rate.

  In the latter half of the dry-drying, there is almost no processing liquid scattered from the substrate to the surroundings, so the third flow rate is set to be smaller than the first flow rate. Thereby, the consumption of the inert gas used by the whole process including the process with respect to the upper surface of a board | substrate and drying can be reduced.

  In the present invention, it is preferable that the processing means is a two-fluid nozzle that supplies a gas and a processing liquid to cause a cleaning action on the upper surface of the substrate (Claim 7). A brush that causes a cleaning action on the upper surface of the substrate is preferable.

  When the upper surface of the substrate is processed using a two-fluid nozzle or brush, the processing liquid is likely to be scattered or mist is generated, which is particularly useful.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing method for processing an upper surface of a substrate, wherein the support disk is erected on the turntable with the protective disk relatively positioned at the first position close to the turntable. In the process of supporting the substrate by the means, and with the protective disk approaching the lower surface of the substrate from the first position, the turntable is rotated together with the substrate, and a gas is formed between the protective disk and the lower surface of the substrate. And processing the center region of the upper surface of the substrate with the processing means and moving the processing means to process the peripheral region of the upper surface of the substrate with the processing means. When the entire surface is processed by the processing means, gas is supplied at a first flow rate in the central region, and gas is supplied at a second flow rate higher than the first flow rate in the peripheral region. It is characterized by .

  [Operation / Effect] According to the invention described in claim 9, the substrate is supported by the supporting means standing on the turntable with the protective disk positioned at the first position. Thereafter, with the protective disk approaching the lower surface of the substrate from the first position, the turntable is rotated together with the substrate, and gas is supplied between the protective disk and the lower surface of the substrate, while the center of the upper surface of the substrate is The region is processed by the processing unit, the processing unit is moved, the peripheral region of the upper surface of the substrate is processed by the processing unit, and the entire upper surface of the substrate is processed by the processing unit. At that time, the gas is supplied at the first flow rate in the central region, and the gas is supplied at the second flow rate higher than the first flow rate in the peripheral region. Therefore, since the flow rate of the inert gas is increased only when processing the peripheral area where the processing liquid or mist easily adheres to the lower surface of the substrate, the consumption of the inert gas can be reduced while increasing the cleanliness on the lower surface of the substrate. Can be suppressed.

  According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, the control means operates the position adjusting means to bring the protective disk to the first position when delivering the substrate to and from the support means. Further, when processing the entire upper surface of the substrate by the processing means, the position adjusting means is operated to bring the protective disk to the second position. Next, when the processing means is processing the central area of the substrate, the gas supply means supplies gas at the first flow rate, and when the processing means is processing the peripheral area of the substrate, the gas supply is performed. The means is operated to supply gas at a second flow rate greater than the first flow rate. Therefore, since the flow rate of the inert gas is increased only when processing the peripheral area where the processing liquid or mist easily adheres to the lower surface of the substrate, the consumption of the inert gas can be reduced while increasing the cleanliness on the lower surface of the substrate. Can be suppressed.

It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the whole structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a top view of a spin chuck. It is a figure where it uses for description of raising / lowering operation | movement of a protection disk. It is a figure where it uses for description of operation | movement at the time of delivery of a board | substrate. It is a figure where it uses for description of operation | movement at the time of processing the center area | region of a board | substrate. It is a figure where it uses for description of operation | movement at the time of processing the peripheral area | region of a board | substrate. It is a figure with which it uses for description of operation | movement at the time of performing shake-off drying. It is a time chart which shows an example of operation | movement by the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a time chart which shows the other example of operation | movement by the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is the longitudinal cross-sectional view which showed the whole structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on a modification. It is a graph explaining the relationship between the various process range in the upper surface of a board | substrate, and cleanliness. It is a graph which shows the relationship between the flow volume of nitrogen gas, and the cleanliness of a board | substrate.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view of a spin chuck, and FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining an elevating operation of a protective disk. is there.

  The substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment performs a cleaning process on the substrate W. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a support rotation mechanism 3, a scattering prevention cup 5, a processing mechanism 7, and a processing liquid supply mechanism 9.

  The support rotation mechanism 3 supports the substrate W in a horizontal posture and rotates the substrate W around the rotation axis P in the vertical direction. The spin chuck 11 includes a spin base 13 having a diameter larger than that of the substrate W and six support pins 15 erected on the outer peripheral side of the spin base 13. One end side of the rotating shaft 17 is connected to the lower portion of the spin base 13. The other end side of the rotating shaft 17 is connected to an electric motor 19, and the rotating shaft 17 is configured to be rotatable around the rotation axis P in the vertical direction by the electric motor 19.

  The support pin 15 includes a body portion 21, an inclined portion 23, and a contact portion 25. The body portion 21 has a columnar appearance. The inclined portion 23 is formed in a conical appearance at the upper portion of the body portion 21, and a contact portion 25 is formed at the upper end portion so that the inclination on the rotation center side of the spin base 13 is widened. The contact portion 25 is formed at a position eccentric from the center of the support pin 15 outward in plan view. Of the six support pins 15, two adjacent support pins 15 are movable support pins 27 configured to be rotatable around the rotation axis P1 in the vertical direction. The six support pins 15 support the lower surface of the substrate W while being separated from the upper surface of the spin base 13 by contacting the edge of the substrate W with the contact portion 25.

  The movable support pin 27 has a rotation shaft 29 that passes through the spin base 13. A magnet holding portion 31 is formed at the lower end portion of the rotating shaft 29. The magnet holding portion 31 has a pin driving permanent magnet 33 embedded therein. The pin driving permanent magnet 33 is rotated clockwise or counterclockwise around the vertical axis P1 by the magnetic force of a releasing permanent magnet 95 or a cup-side permanent magnet 93 described later.

  The spin chuck 11 described above corresponds to the “rotary table” in the present invention, and the electric motor 19 corresponds to the “rotation driving unit” in the present invention. The six support pins 15 described above correspond to “support means” in the present invention.

  A protective disk 35 having a diameter larger than that of the substrate W and substantially the same diameter as that of the spin base 13 is placed on the upper surface of the spin base 13. The protection disk 35 is a disk-shaped member, and is disposed so as to be movable up and down with respect to the spin base 13 between the upper surface of the spin base 13 and the support height of the substrate W by the support pins 15. The protective disk 35 has one central opening 37 and six peripheral openings 39. The central opening 37 is inserted with a later-described ejection portion 41. Each peripheral opening 39 is inserted with the support pin 15.

  Six openings 43 are formed between the support pin 15 and the ejection portion 41 of the spin base 13 and at a position near the support pin 15. The openings 43 are located between the support pins 15 and formed at equiangular intervals when viewed from the center of the spin base 13 in plan view. A magnet holding hanging piece 45 having an upper end attached to the lower surface of the protective disk 35 is inserted into the opening 43. The magnet holding hanging piece 45 is embedded with a disk permanent magnet 47 whose magnetic pole direction is directed in the vertical direction.

  A movement guide portion 49 is disposed on the lower surface of the spin base 13. The movement guide portion 49 includes a linear bearing 51 and a regulation pin 53. The linear bearing 51 guides the shaft portion of the regulation pin 53 so as to be movable up and down in the vertical direction. The upper end portion of the shaft portion of the restriction pin 53 passes through the spin base 13 and is connected to the lower surface of the protective disk 35. A flange portion is formed at the lower end of the shaft portion of the restriction pin 53, and the upper limit is restricted by the flange portion of the restriction pin 53 when the protective disk 35 is raised. Three restriction pins 53 are arranged, and are arranged closer to the ejection part 41 between the support pin 15 and the ejection part 41 in the radial direction in plan view. The regulation pin 53 is arranged at a position corresponding to each vertex of the regular triangle in plan view, and is arranged at a position overlapping the three support pins 15 when viewed from the center of the spin base 13. .

  The upper portion of the rotary shaft 17 is connected to the boss 55 of the spin base 13. The rotation shaft 17 is hollow, and a gas supply pipe 57 is inserted through the rotation shaft 17. The gas supply pipe 57 is not in contact with the inner peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 17 and maintains a stationary state. A tip holding portion 59 is attached to the central opening 37 above the boss 55. The tip holding part 59 has an opening 61 in the center, and a holding cylinder 65 is attached via a bearing part 63. The front end side of the gas supply pipe 57 is locked to the holding cylinder 65. The gas supply pipe 57 is held with its tip slightly protruding from the upper surface of the tip holding portion 59. The tip holding portion 59 is a vertical axis such as the rotating shaft 17 and the spin base 13 while maintaining the height position of the rotating shaft 17 and the spin base 13 and the like and the non-rotating gas supply pipe 57. Allow rotation around.

  The ejection portion 41 includes a restriction portion 67 attached to the top of the tip holding portion 59, a recess 69 formed at the center of the upper surface of the restriction portion 67, an insertion hole 71 formed at the center of the recess 69, and an insertion hole 71. Rectifying member 75 provided apart from recess 69 by leg 73 erected on recess 69 around the periphery, and upper restricting portion formed to project in the outer peripheral direction at the upper end of the outer peripheral surface of restricting portion 67 79.

  The ejection portion 41 directs the inert gas supplied from the gas supply pipe 57 to the side by the rectifying member 75, and from the central region on the lower surface of the substrate W through the slit-shaped injection holes 81 to the outer peripheral direction of the substrate W. Inject towards. As indicated by a solid line in FIG. 1 and a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, in a state where the protective disk 35 is located at the first position H1 corresponding to the upper surface of the spin base 13, the transfer arm TA is attached to the spin chuck 11. The substrate W can be transferred to and from the spin chuck 11. Further, as shown by a solid line in FIG. 3, when the protective disk 35 is located at the second position H2 closer to the lower surface of the substrate W than the first position H1, the inner peripheral side of the protective disk 35 is the restricting portion. Inert gas is injected from the injection hole 81 in a state of being restricted by the upper restricting portion 79 of 67.

One end side of the supply pipe GS1 is connected to the gas supply pipe 57 described above. The other end side of the supply pipe GS1 is connected in communication with an inert gas supply source GS. An on-off valve GS3 and a mass flow controller GS5 are attached to the supply pipe GS1 in order from the inert gas supply source GS side. When the on-off valve GS3 is opened, an inert gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas is supplied to the gas supply pipe 57 at a flow rate set by the mass flow controller GS5. The mass flow controller GS5 is given a signal from the outside and adjusts the flow rate of nitrogen gas in accordance with the signal.

  In addition, the ejection part 41, the gas supply pipe 57, the inert gas supply source GS, the supply pipe GS1, the on-off valve GS3, and the mass flow controller GS5 described above correspond to the “gas supply unit” in the present invention.

  Around the support rotation mechanism 3, a splash prevention cup 5 configured to be vertically moved by the cup lifting mechanism CM is disposed. The cup raising / lowering mechanism CM raises / lowers the anti-scattering cup 5 over a lower position when the substrate W is delivered and an upper position when the substrate W is processed. The splash prevention cup 5 prevents the processing liquid from splashing around the substrate W supported by the spin chuck 11.

  Specifically, the anti-scattering cup 5 includes a cylindrical portion 83, a lower guide portion 85, an upper guide portion 87, and an upper edge portion 89. The space partitioned by the upper guide portion 87 and the lower guide portion 85 forms a drainage portion 91 that collects the processing liquid scattered around when the substrate W is processed. The lower guide portion 85 has a cup-side permanent magnet 93 embedded in a tip portion on the inner peripheral side thereof. The cup-side permanent magnet 93 has an annular shape in plan view and is formed coaxially with the rotational axis P. The radial position is outside the disk permanent magnet 47 described above and inside the pin driving permanent magnet 33. The cup side permanent magnet 93 is embedded so that the magnetic pole direction thereof is in the horizontal direction. However, it is preferable to arrange a magnetic shield on the electric motor 19 side so that no magnetic field is generated on the rotary shaft core P side so that the permanent magnet 47 for disk is hardly affected. When the cup-side permanent magnet 93 approaches the pin driving permanent magnet 33 of the movable support pin 27, the cup-side permanent magnet 93 rotates the movable support pin 27 counterclockwise by a magnetic force to drive to the holding position. Maintain that state.

  A release permanent magnet 95 is embedded in the upper edge portion 89. The release permanent magnet 95 has an annular shape in plan view and is formed coaxially with the rotational axis P. Further, the position in the radial direction is outside the pin driving permanent magnet 33 described above. The magnetic pole direction of the release permanent magnet 95 is embedded so as to face the horizontal direction. The release permanent magnet 95 has the same polarity as the outer side in the radial direction of the cup-side permanent magnet 93 on the rotating shaft P side. When the release permanent magnet 95 approaches the pin driving permanent magnet 33, the movable support pin 27 is rotated clockwise in a plan view by a magnetic force and is driven to the open position, and the state is maintained.

  A position adjusting mechanism 97 is provided below the spin chuck 11 and between the anti-scattering cup 5 and the electric motor 19. The position adjustment mechanism 97 includes an air cylinder 99 and an elevating member 103. The air cylinder 99 is vertically arranged so that the operation direction is vertical, and the elevating member 103 is connected to the operation piece of the air cylinder 99. The elevating member 103 has an annular shape in plan view, and an elevating permanent magnet 105 having an annular shape is embedded therein. The elevating permanent magnet 105 has an annular magnetic pole facing the disk permanent magnet 47 from below. The polarity of the magnetic pole is the same as the polarity on the lower side of the disk permanent magnet 47. Therefore, the elevating permanent magnet 105 generates an upward repulsive force with respect to the disk permanent magnet 47. Since the position adjusting mechanism 97 includes the air cylinder 99, when the operating piece of the air cylinder 99 is extended, the protective disk 35 can be raised from the first position H1 to the second position H2.

  The position adjusting mechanism 97 described above corresponds to the “position adjusting means” in the present invention.

  The processing mechanism 7 is attached to the anti-scattering cup 5. The processing mechanism 7 in this embodiment includes a two-fluid nozzle 119, a swing arm 109, an arm drive mechanism AM, and a position detection unit PD. The swing arm 109 has a two-fluid nozzle 119 attached to one end side, and is configured to be swingable around the rotation axis P2 on the other end side. The arm drive mechanism AM swings and drives the swing arm 109 around the rotation axis P2. At this time, the position of the two-fluid nozzle 119 is always detected by the position detector PD and output as position information. The two-fluid nozzle 119 mixes the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply mechanism 9 and the inert gas from the gas supply mechanism 121 and injects the mixed liquid onto the substrate W. The jetting liquid at this time acts on the upper surface of the substrate W to clean the upper surface of the substrate W.

  The two-fluid nozzle 119 described above corresponds to “processing means” in the present invention, and the swing arm 109 and the arm drive mechanism AM described above correspond to “moving means” in the present invention.

  The processing liquid supply mechanism 9 includes a processing liquid supply source TS, a processing liquid pipe TS1, and an on-off valve TS3. The processing liquid supply source TS supplies, for example, APM (ammonia hydrogen peroxide solution mixed solution) as a processing liquid. One end of the processing liquid pipe TS1 is connected to the processing liquid supply source TS, and the other end is connected to the two-fluid nozzle 119.

  The gas supply mechanism 121 includes an inert gas supply source GR, a supply pipe GR1, and an on-off valve GR2. The inert gas supply source GR supplies an inert gas (for example, nitrogen gas). One end of the supply pipe GR1 is connected to the inert gas supply source GR, and the other end is connected to the two-fluid nozzle 119. The supply pipe GR1 is provided with an opening / closing valve GR2, and the controller 111 simultaneously operates the opening / closing valve GR2 and the opening / closing valve TS3 to inject APM together with nitrogen gas from the two-fluid nozzle 119.

  The processing mechanism 7 is provided with a rinse nozzle RS. The rinse nozzle RS is supplied with a rinse liquid (for example, pure water) from a rinse liquid supply source (not shown). The rinse nozzle RS supplies the rinse liquid toward the rotation center of the substrate W.

  Each part mentioned above is controlled by the control part 111 centralizedly. The control unit 111 includes a CPU and a memory (not shown). The control unit 111 operates the cup lifting mechanism CM to raise and lower the scattering prevention cup 5. Further, the flow of nitrogen gas and APM is controlled by opening / closing the on-off valves GS3, TS3, GR2. Further, the arm driving mechanism AM is operated to control the swing of the two-fluid nozzle 119 and the supply of the rinse liquid from the rinse nozzle RS. At this time, the control unit 111 determines the position of the two-fluid nozzle 119 on the substrate W based on the position information from the position detection unit PD. Then, the mass flow controller GS5 is operated according to the position of the two-fluid nozzle 119 on the upper surface of the substrate W, and the flow rate of nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W is controlled as described later.

  The control unit 111 described above corresponds to the “control unit” in the present invention.

  Here, the flow control of the nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W by the control unit 111 will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the substrate is delivered, FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation when the central region of the substrate is processed, and FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the peripheral region of the substrate. It is a figure where it uses for description of operation | movement at the time of processing.

  It is assumed that the spin chuck 11 has already received and supported the substrate W to be processed. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the substrate W is received from the transport arm TA in a state where the anti-scattering cup 5 is lowered to the lower position. At this time, the movable support pin 27 is set to the open position by the release permanent magnet 95, so that the substrate W is only loosely supported by the six support pins 15. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, when the anti-scattering cup 5 is raised to the upper position, the substrate W is held at the holding position by the cup side permanent magnet 93, so that the substrate W is rotated by the two movable support pins 27. When pressed to the P side, the substrate W is sandwiched by the six support pins 15. At this time, since the control unit 111 does not operate the position adjusting mechanism 97, the protective disk 35 is located at the first position H1 corresponding to the upper surface of the spin base 13 by its own weight. At this time, the control unit 111 closes the on-off valve GS3, and the inert gas is not supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W. However, at this time, the inert gas may be supplied at a minute flow rate.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the control unit 111 operates the air cylinder 99 of the position adjusting mechanism 97 to place the protective disk 35 at the second position H2 closer to the lower surface of the substrate W than the first position H1. At the same time, the electric motor 19 is rotated to rotate the substrate W. Then, the on-off valve GS3 is opened, nitrogen gas is supplied from the ejection portion 41 to the lower surface of the substrate W, the on-off valves TS3, GR2 are opened, the arm driving mechanism AM is operated, and the two-fluid nozzle 119 is moved to the substrate W. Rocks between the central part and the peripheral part. At this time, based on the position information from the position detection unit PD, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 when the two-fluid nozzle 119 is processing the central portion of the substrate W, and generates the inert gas. Set the flow rate to F2 (eg, 170 liters / minute).

  On the other hand, when the two-fluid nozzle 119 processes the peripheral region of the substrate W, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 to set the flow rate of the inert gas to F3 (for example, 250) as shown in FIG. Liter / minute).

  Further, the control unit 111 supplies the rinse liquid from the rinse nozzle RS to the substrate W after finishing the processing by the two-fluid nozzle 119 on the upper surface of the substrate W. At this time, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 to set the flow rate of the inert gas to F2.

  After the cleaning process and the rinsing process by the two-fluid nozzle 119 described above are finished, the control unit 111 increases the number of rotations of the electric motor 19 and swings and dries the substrate W. In the latter half of the drying process, the mass flow controller GS5 is operated to set the flow rate of the inert gas to F1 (for example, 100 liters / minute) as shown in FIG.

  The flow rate F1 described above corresponds to the “third flow rate” in the present invention, the flow rate F2 corresponds to the “first flow rate” in the present invention, and the flow rate F3 corresponds to the “second flow rate” in the present invention. To do.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 8, the example of a process by the substrate processing apparatus mentioned above is demonstrated. FIG. 8 is a time chart illustrating an example of operations performed by the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

  At the time of t = 0, as shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 111 operates the cup lifting mechanism CM to lower the scattering prevention cup 5 to the lower position. The substrate W is transferred from the transfer arm TA to the spin chuck 11 in a state where the protective disk 35 is at the first position H1. The control unit 111 operates the cup elevating mechanism CM to raise the anti-scattering cup 5 to the upper position after the transport arm TA has retreated. By the time t2, the position adjusting mechanism 97 is operated to raise the protective disk 35 to the second position H2, and the delivery process of the substrate W is completed.

  The time 0 to t2 described above corresponds to the “process of supporting the substrate” in the present invention.

  At time t2, the electric motor 19 is operated to start rotation so that the rotational speed R1 (for example, 500 rpm) for the cleaning process is reached at time t3. Then, the arm drive mechanism AM is operated from time t3 to swing the two-fluid nozzle 119 in the radial direction on the upper surface of the substrate W. This operation is repeated during the cleaning process up to time t11. That is, the two-fluid nozzle 119 reciprocates between the peripheral edge and the center of the substrate W. In FIG. 8, the two-fluid nozzle 119 is described as performing only two reciprocations for the purpose of illustration, but may be moved more than two reciprocations. At this time, from time t2 to time t3, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 so that the flow rate of the inert gas supplied to the gas supply pipe 57 is F2, and the two-fluid nozzle 119 is in the peripheral region of the substrate W. From time point t3 to time point t4, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 to set the flow rate of the inert gas supplied to the gas supply pipe 57 to F3, which is higher than F2.

  From time t4 when the two-fluid nozzle 119 is located in the central region of the substrate W to time t6 through time t5, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 to change the flow rate of the inert gas supplied to the gas supply pipe 57. Let it be F2.

  The arm drive mechanism AM operates so as to move the two-fluid nozzle 119 between the periphery and the center in about 10 seconds.

When the two-fluid nozzle 119 moves to the peripheral area of the substrate W based on the position information from the position detector PD during the cleaning process, the controller 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 to The flow rate of the inert gas supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W is increased from F2 to F3. For example, in the case of the substrate W having a diameter of 300 mm, the peripheral area here is 20 m from the peripheral edge.
This is an area of m. On the other hand, when the two-fluid nozzle 119 returns from the peripheral region to the central region at time t4, the flow rate is returned to F2. Such switching between the flow rate F3 and the flow rate F2 is repeatedly performed in accordance with the movement of the two-fluid nozzle 119 during the cleaning process. When the cleaning process is completed at time t11, the control unit 111 stops the swing operation by the arm drive mechanism AM, closes the on-off valves TS3 and GR2, and stops the supply of the injection liquid from the two-fluid nozzle 119, The two-fluid nozzle 119 is moved to a standby position (not shown). The central region here is, for example, a region 130 mm from the center in the case of the substrate W having a diameter of 300 mm.

  The time points t2 to t11 described above correspond to the “process for processing” in the present invention.

  Next, the control unit 111 performs a rinsing process on the substrate W. Specifically, the rinse liquid is supplied from the rinse nozzle RS, and the upper surface of the substrate W is rinsed. At this time, the control unit 111 keeps the flow rate of the inert gas to the injection unit 41 as F2, without operating the mass flow controller GS5.

  Next, the control unit 111 performs a drying process on the substrate W. Specifically, at time t12, the electric motor 19 is operated to start rotation so as to reach the rotational speed R2 (for example, 2000 rpm) for the drying process at time t13. The rotation speed R2 is maintained until time t15, and the rinse liquid or the like adhering to the substrate W is shaken off and dried by centrifugal force. Then, the control unit 111 starts decelerating the rotation of the electric motor 19 at time t15 so that the rotation speed becomes 0 at time t16.

  In the latter half of the drying process, for example, from time t14 to time t16, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 to reduce the flow rate of the inert gas to the injection unit 41 from F2 to F1. In the latter half of the drying process, since there is almost no processing liquid or mist scattered from the substrate W to the surroundings, no contamination occurs on the lower surface of the substrate W even if the flow rate is reduced to F1. Thereby, the consumption of the inert gas used in the whole process including the cleaning process and the drying process for the upper surface of the substrate W can be reduced.

  By the way, the mass flow controller GS5 adjusts the flow rate according to the signal after the signal (target flow rate) is given from the outside. However, there is generally a delay time as indicated by Td in FIG. 8 until the flow rate is actually adjusted to the target flow rate from the input of the signal. Therefore, it is preferable that the control unit 111 described above instructs the mass flow controller GS5 to switch the flow rate for a predetermined time corresponding to the delay time Td. Specifically, for example, a signal for setting the flow rate to F3 is given to the mass flow controller GS5 before the time Td before time t3 in FIG. Thereby, the flow rate can be switched at a desired timing.

  According to the present embodiment, when transferring the substrate W to and from the spin chuck 13, the control unit 111 operates the position adjusting mechanism 97 to set the protective disk 35 to the first position H1. Further, when the entire surface of the upper surface of the substrate W is processed by the two-fluid nozzle 119, the position adjusting mechanism 97 is operated to bring the protective disk 35 to the second position H2. Next, when the two-fluid nozzle 119 is processing the central region of the substrate W, an inert gas is supplied from the ejection portion 41 at a flow rate F2, and the two-fluid nozzle 119 is processing the peripheral region of the substrate W. At that time, gas is supplied from the ejection part 41 at a flow rate F3 larger than the flow rate F2. Accordingly, since the flow rate of the inert gas is increased only when the peripheral area where the processing liquid or mist is likely to adhere to the lower surface of the substrate W is increased, the consumption of the inert gas while increasing the cleanliness on the lower surface of the substrate W. The amount can be suppressed.

  Further, since the present embodiment causes the flow adjustment of the inert gas to be performed in stages, the ejection portion 41, the gas supply pipe 57, the inert gas supply source GS, the supply pipe GS1, the on-off valve GS3, The configuration of the gas supply means including the mass flow controller GS5 and the control by the control unit 111 can be simplified.

  In the embodiment described above, the flow rate of the inert gas is switched in two stages between the central region and the peripheral region. Alternatively, as shown below, the flow rate of the inert gas may be switched linearly between the central region and the peripheral region.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 9 is a time chart showing another example of the operation of the substrate processing apparatus according to the embodiment.

  When switching the flow rate of the inert gas between the central region and the peripheral region, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller GS5 to switch the flow rate linearly. Specifically, for example, the mass flow controller GS5 is operated so that the flow rate starts to gradually decrease at time t4 when the transition from the peripheral region to the central region, and the flow rate becomes F2 at time t5 that is the center of the central region. Further, the mass flow controller GS5 is operated so that the flow rate is gradually increased from the time point t5 starting from the center of the central region toward the peripheral region, and the flow rate becomes F3 at the time point t6 that is the peripheral region.

  By controlling the flow rate of the inert gas in this way, it is possible to effectively prevent contamination according to the position of the two-fluid nozzle 119. Even in this case, it is preferable to perform the operation in anticipation of an operation delay of the mass flow controller GS5 as described above.

  In the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured to process the substrate W with the two-fluid nozzle 119. However, the configuration illustrated in FIG. FIG. 10 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a modification.

  A substrate processing apparatus 1A according to the modification is different in a processing mechanism 7A and a processing liquid supply mechanism 9A. The processing mechanism 7A includes a brush 107 instead of the two-fluid nozzle 119. Further, the processing liquid supply mechanism 9A includes a processing liquid nozzle TS2. This processing liquid nozzle TS2 is connected in communication with the other end of the processing liquid pipe TS1 whose one end is connected to the processing liquid supply source TS. The processing liquid nozzle TS2 supplies, for example, APM (ammonia hydrogen peroxide solution mixed solution) to the rotation center side of the substrate W as a processing liquid.

  Even in the substrate processing apparatus 1A having such a configuration, the flow rate of the inert gas supplied from the ejection part 41 to the lower surface of the substrate W as the brush 107 moves between the central region and the peripheral region is described above. The adjustment is performed as in the embodiment described above. As a result, the same effects as in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 11 is a graph for explaining the relationship between various processing ranges and cleanliness on the upper surface of the substrate.

  FIG. 11 shows a different cleaning range from the center of the substrate W when processing the upper surface of the substrate W while supplying a predetermined flow rate of nitrogen gas to the lower surface of the substrate W in the substrate processing apparatus 1 of the embodiment. It is the result of having measured the cleanliness on the lower surface of the substrate W in the case of.

  According to this result, when cleaning from the center of the substrate W to 130 mm, that is, when 20 mm at the peripheral edge is not cleaned, the lower surface of the substrate W is not contaminated, and it can be processed with high cleanliness. . On the other hand, when cleaning is performed up to a distance close to the peripheral edge of the substrate W, it is clear that the cleanliness of the lower surface of the substrate W is lowered. From these results, it can be seen that the closer to the peripheral edge of the substrate W, the more contaminated the lower surface of the substrate W and the lower the cleanliness. From this point, it is proved that the contamination as described above can be prevented by increasing the flow rate of the nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W at the peripheral portion of the substrate W as in the above-described embodiment.

  Reference is now made to FIG. FIG. 12 is a graph showing the relationship between the flow rate of nitrogen gas and the cleanliness of the substrate.

  FIG. 12 shows the number of particles having a size of 40 nm or more attached to the lower surface of the substrate W when the substrate W is processed under various conditions using the modified substrate processing apparatus 1A. At this time, the flow rate of nitrogen gas to the lower surface of the substrate W is set to be the same over the entire surface. In addition, the flow rate of nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W is changed during processing. The brush 107 is made of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol).

  When the treatment liquid is pure water, it can be seen that when the flow rate of nitrogen gas is set to 60 liters / minute or more, the number of particles can be reduced, the cleanliness can be improved, and the flow rate is good. In addition, when the treatment liquid is APM, it can be seen that when the flow rate of nitrogen gas is 160 liters / minute or more, the cleanliness can be improved and the flow rate is good. Therefore, although it turns out that the cleanliness can be improved by increasing the nitrogen gas supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W, the consumption of the nitrogen gas increases. Therefore, the present invention does not increase the flow rate over the entire surface of the substrate W as in the above-described embodiment, but increases the flow rate of nitrogen gas only when processing the peripheral region of the substrate W having the greatest influence. Yes.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the embodiment described above, the support means is constituted by the six support pins 15, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. For example, you may comprise with seven or more support pins 15. FIG. Further, although the substrate W is sandwiched between the two movable support pins 27, the substrate W may be sandwiched between three or more movable support pins 27.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the processing of the central region is performed after the processing is started from the peripheral region of the substrate W. However, the present invention is not limited to such processing, and conversely, the processing is started from the central region. After that, the peripheral area may be processed. Even in that case, the supply flow rate of nitrogen gas may be increased in the peripheral region. In that case, the locus at the processing position in FIGS. 8 and 9 is reversed at the upper limit, and the timing for increasing the flow rate of the inert gas is moved accordingly. Further, although the processing is performed reciprocally, the processing may be performed only in one direction from the peripheral region to the central region or from the central region to the peripheral region.

  (3) In the embodiment described above, the mass flow controller GS5 is used for adjusting the flow rate of nitrogen gas, but a combination of a flow rate adjusting valve and a flow rate sensor may be used.

  (4) In the embodiment described above, the peripheral area is 20 mm from the peripheral edge of the substrate, but the present invention is not limited to this dimension. Specifically, the peripheral region may be determined after performing the experiment as shown in FIG. 11 and determining the dimension that affects the cleanliness.

(5) In each of the above-described embodiments, APM is exemplified as the processing liquid, but the present invention is not limited to this. Other treatment liquids include, for example, pure water (DIW), carbon dioxide-containing water, hydrogen water, ammonia water (NH ₄ OH), SC-1, citric acid aqueous solution, FOM (hydrofluoric acid / ozone mixed chemical solution) ), FPM (hydrofluoric acid / hydrogen peroxide / pure water mixed chemicals), HF, SC-2, HCl, IPA (isopropyl alcohol), TMAH (tetramethylammonium hydroxide), trimethyl-2-hydroxyethyl Ammonium hydroxide aqueous solution (CHOLINE) etc. are mentioned. Further, although nitrogen gas is exemplified as the inert gas, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, lithium (He), argon (Ar), and homing gas (N ₂ + H ₂ ) can be used. Moreover, although it is not an inert gas, air (Air) can also be utilized as a gas which a gas supply means supplies.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,1A ... Substrate processing apparatus 3 ... Supporting rotation mechanism 5 ... Spattering prevention cup 7 ... Processing mechanism 9 ... Processing liquid supply mechanism P ... Spindle axis 11 ... Spin chuck 13 ... Spin base 15 ... Support pin 17 ... Spinning shaft 19 ... Electric motor 27... Movable support pin 33... Pin driving permanent magnet 35... Protection disk 41... Ejecting portion 47 .. disk permanent magnet 57 .. gas supply pipe 75 ... flow regulating member H1 ... first position H2 ... second position TA ... Transfer arm CM ... Cup elevating mechanism 93 ... Cup side permanent magnet 95 ... Release permanent magnet 97 ... Position adjusting mechanism 99 ... Air cylinder 105 ... Elevating permanent magnet 107 ... Brush 109 ... Swing arm 119 ... Two-fluid nozzle AM ... Arm drive mechanism PD ... Position detector RS ... Rinse nozzle TS2 ... Treatment liquid nozzle

Claims (9)

In a substrate processing apparatus for processing the upper surface of a substrate,
A turntable rotatable about a vertical axis;
Rotation drive means for rotating the turntable;
A support means that is erected on the turntable, abuts against the peripheral edge of the substrate, and supports the lower surface of the substrate apart from the upper surface of the turntable;
A protective disk which is disposed so as to be movable up and down relatively with respect to the rotary table between the rotary table and a support height position of the substrate by the support means, and is rotated by the rotary driving means together with the rotary table;
A processing means that acts on the upper surface of the substrate supported by the support means to perform processing;
Moving means for moving the processing means between a central portion and a peripheral portion of the substrate supported by the supporting means;
Gas supply means for supplying gas between the protective disk and the lower surface of the substrate;
In order to adjust the distance between the lower surface of the substrate supported by the support means and the upper surface of the protective disk, a first position where the protective disk is closest to the upper surface of the turntable, and the substrate more than the first position Position adjusting means for relatively moving the protection disk and the turntable over a second position where the protection disk approaches the lower surface of
When the substrate is transferred to and from the support means, the position adjusting means is operated to bring the protective disk to the first position, and the entire surface of the upper surface of the substrate rotated by the processing means is processed. In this case, after operating the position adjusting means to bring the protective disk into the second position, the gas supply means performs the first operation when the processing means is processing the central region of the substrate. Control to supply gas at a second flow rate higher than the first flow rate by operating the gas supply unit when gas is supplied at a flow rate and the processing unit is processing the peripheral region of the substrate. Means,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the control means adjusts the flow rate by the gas supply means stepwise when the processing position of the processing means moves between a central region and a peripheral region. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The control means linearly adjusts the flow rate of the gas supply means when the processing position of the processing means moves between a central region and a peripheral region. In the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the gas supply unit is operated, the control unit instructs the switching to be performed a predetermined time before the timing of switching the flow rate. In the substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
When the moving means moves the processing means a plurality of times, the control means causes the gas supply means to switch the flow rate between the first flow rate and the second flow rate a plurality of times. A substrate processing apparatus. In the substrate processing apparatus in any one of Claim 1 to 5,
The control means operates after the processing by the processing means to operate the rotation driving means to shake and dry the substrate, and in the latter half, the flow rate by the gas supply means is less than the first flow rate. A substrate processing apparatus having a flow rate of 3. In the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the processing means is a two-fluid nozzle that supplies a gas and a processing liquid to cause a cleaning action on the upper surface of the substrate. In the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the processing means is a brush that causes a cleaning action on the upper surface of the substrate through a liquid. In a substrate processing method for processing an upper surface of a substrate,
A process of supporting the substrate on a support means standing on the turntable with the protective disk positioned relatively at a first position close to the turntable;
With the protective disk approaching the lower surface of the substrate from the first position, the rotating table is rotated together with the substrate, and gas is supplied between the protective disk and the lower surface of the substrate, while the upper surface of the substrate is A process of processing the central area with the processing means;
A process of moving the processing means to process a peripheral area of the upper surface of the substrate with the processing means;
When the entire surface of the upper surface of the substrate is processed by the processing means,
In the central region, gas is supplied at a first flow rate;
In the peripheral region, a gas is supplied at a second flow rate higher than the first flow rate.

Images