JP2021094511A - Rotary coating device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a rotary coating device which has a cleaning function and can prevent a problem that a coating liquid, scattering from a wafer and adhering to a cover member during application, adheres to the wafer again and contaminates the wafer during cleaning.SOLUTION: A rotary coating device 100 includes: a rotary table 10 which rotates holding a workpiece 12; a coating nozzle 31 which drops a coating liquid onto a surface of the workpiece 12; a cleaning nozzle 41 which discharges a cleaning liquid to the surface of the workpiece 12; a cover member 20 which is configured so as to cover a periphery of the rotary table 10 and receives the coating liquid scattering from the workpiece 12; and contamination inhibiting means 51 which inhibits foreign objects from adhering to an inner wall surface of the cover member 20 when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the workpiece 12.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

The present invention relates to a rotary coating device that coats a coating liquid on a wafer.

In the manufacture of semiconductors, wafers are processed while various films are formed on the surface of the wafer. For example, a resist film is formed on the surface of the wafer during exposure, and a protective film that protects the device layer is formed during grooving (grooving). Various coating devices are provided for forming these films. Various coating liquids are supplied to the wafer surface from the nozzles of the coating apparatus, and a film is formed by a process such as drying the coating liquid. Before and after forming the coating liquid, a cleaning step of cleaning the wafer with the cleaning liquid is performed.

Here, there is a problem that the size of the entire wafer processing apparatus becomes large if the apparatus for performing the coating process and the apparatus for performing the cleaning process are provided separately. Therefore, an attempt has been made to reduce the size (small footprint) of the device by performing the coating process and the cleaning process with one device.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a laser processing apparatus having a protective film forming and cleaning means that is used for both protective film forming and wafer cleaning. In the protective film forming / cleaning means described in Patent Document 1, the table is rotated while supplying the resin liquid on the wafer when forming the protective film, and the cleaning water is supplied on the wafer when cleaning the wafer. While rotating the table. Since the protective film is formed and the wafer is washed in the washing water receiving container that surrounds the table, the resin liquid and the washing water are prevented from being scattered around the table from the wafer.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-322168

However, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, the formation (coating) and cleaning of the protective film are performed by the same means. Therefore, when cleaning is performed after the protective film is formed, the resin liquid scattered from the wafer during the formation of the protective film and adhering to the cover member (cup) is repelled by the cleaning water scattered from the wafer during the cleaning of the protective film. There was a problem that it soared up and reattached to the wafer.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances. In a rotary coating apparatus having a cleaning function, a coating liquid (foreign matter) scattered from a wafer during coating and adhering to a cover member reattaches to the wafer during cleaning. The purpose is to prevent the wafer from being contaminated.

In order to achieve the above object, the rotary coating device according to the present invention includes a rotary table that holds and rotates the work, a coating nozzle that drops the coating liquid on the surface of the work, and cleaning that discharges the cleaning liquid on the surface of the work. A cover member that is configured to cover the periphery of the nozzle and rotary table to receive the coating liquid scattered from the work, and prevents foreign matter from adhering to the inner wall surface of the cover member when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the work. It is provided with a means for controlling pollution.

Preferably, the contamination suppressing means is a relative driving means for relatively moving the rotary table and the cover member in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table, and when the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work, the cover member is used. Is provided with a relative moving means for relatively moving the wheel to a position deviating from the periphery of the rotary table.

For example, when the coating liquid is discharged from the coating nozzle to the surface of the work, the relative moving means moves the rotary table relative to the cover member so that the coating liquid scattered from the rotary table is shielded by the cover member. When the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work, the rotary table is moved relative to the cover member so that the cleaning liquid and dirt scattered from the rotary table do not hit the cover member.

As a result, the dirt and the cleaning liquid scattered from the work do not hit the cover member at the time of cleaning, so that the coating liquid (foreign matter) adhering to the cover member at the time of coating is suppressed from flying up from the cover member. As a result, the problem of the coating liquid reattaching to the work can be suppressed. Further, when the coating is applied after cleaning the work, the dirt scattered from the work during cleaning does not adhere to the cover member, so that the dirt (foreign matter) from the cover member is also suppressed from adhering to the work.

Preferably, the pollution control means includes a fluid shielding means that shields the inner wall surface of the cover member with a fluid (liquid / gas). For example, the fluid shielding means may supply the fluid to the inner wall surface of the cover member when the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work. Further, for example, the fluid shielding means may supply the fluid to the inner wall surface of the cover member when the coating liquid is discharged from the coating nozzle to the surface of the work. Since the cover member is shielded from the work on the rotary table by the fluid during cleaning, the problem that the coating liquid (foreign matter) adhering to the cover member during coating adheres to the work and contaminates the work can be suppressed.

Further, dirt (foreign matter) scattered from the work during cleaning is shielded by the fluid, so that it does not adhere to the cover member. Therefore, when the coating is applied after cleaning the work, it is possible to prevent dirt adhering to the cover member from falling from the cover member onto the work during coating.

Preferably, the pollution control means is a tubular shielding member arranged inside the cover member and outside the rotary table, and includes a shielding member that can move in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table with respect to the rotary table. When the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work, the shielding member moves so as to shield the inside of the cover member from the rotary table, and when the coating liquid is discharged from the coating nozzle to the surface of the work. The shielding member moves so that the inside of the cover member is exposed to the rotary table.

As a result, when cleaning the work, the cover member is shielded from the work on the rotary table by the shielding member, so that the coating liquid (foreign matter) scattered from the work and adhering to the cover member during coating is applied to the cover member. The problem of re-adhering to the work is suppressed. Further, since the dirt (foreign matter) scattered during cleaning of the work is shielded by the shielding member, the dirt does not adhere to the cover member. Therefore, it is also possible to prevent dirt from adhering to the work from the cover member when the coating is applied after cleaning.

Preferably, the contamination suppressing means moves the foreign matter suction means having a suction port for sucking foreign matter and a foreign matter suction path inside the cover member, and the rotary table and the cover member relative to each other in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table. When the suction port is located near the end of the cover member in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table and at a position higher than the rotary table, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work. The relative moving means moves the rotary table relative to the vicinity of the suction port, and the foreign matter suction means sucks the foreign matter scattered from the rotary table through the suction port and the foreign matter suction path.

The rotary table is moved relative to the cover member so that the rotary table is located near the suction port during cleaning, and the cleaning liquid and dirt scattered from the rotary table are sucked through the suction port and the foreign matter suction path. As a result, the problem that the coating liquid (foreign matter) adhering to the cover member at the time of coating is repelled by the cleaning liquid and dirt scattered from the work during cleaning and rises from the cover member and reattaches to the work is suppressed. Further, since the dirt (foreign matter) scattered during the cleaning of the work is sucked, the dirt is suppressed from adhering to the cover member. Therefore, when the coating is applied after cleaning, it is possible to prevent dirt from adhering to the work from the cover member.

According to the present invention, in a rotary coating apparatus having a cleaning function, it is possible to prevent the coating liquid (foreign matter) scattered from the wafer during coating and adhering to the cup from adhering to the wafer again during cleaning and contaminating the wafer. Becomes possible.

Perspective view of a rotary coating device having a cleaning function Schematic configuration diagram of the rotary coating apparatus according to the first embodiment Functional block diagram of the control unit The figure explaining the operation of the rotary coating apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment The figure explaining the operation of the rotary coating apparatus which concerns on the modification of 1st Embodiment Schematic configuration diagram of the rotary coating apparatus according to the second embodiment The figure explaining the operation of the rotary coating apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment Schematic configuration diagram of the rotary coating apparatus according to the third embodiment The figure explaining the operation of the rotary coating apparatus which concerns on 3rd Embodiment Schematic configuration diagram of the rotary coating apparatus according to the fourth embodiment The figure explaining the operation of the rotary coating apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the wafer to be coated is used as an example, but it is not intended to limit the medium to be coated.

In each embodiment of the present invention, in the rotary coating device having a cleaning function, the coating liquid (foreign matter) scattered from the wafer during coating and adhering to the cover member reattaches to the wafer during cleaning and contaminates the wafer. It is equipped with a pollution control mechanism (pollution control means) to control.

<First Embodiment>
First, the configuration of the rotary coating device having a cleaning function will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. The X-axis direction, the Y-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction are orthogonal to each other, the X-axis direction is the horizontal direction, the Y-axis direction is the horizontal direction orthogonal to the X-axis direction, and the Z-axis direction is the vertical direction (vertical direction). Is. The rotary coating device 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes a table 10, a cover member (coating pot) 20, a coating mechanism 30, a cleaning mechanism 40, a table driving device (table rotating device) 50, and a housing 55. , The control unit 60 is provided.

The table 10 is parallel in the horizontal direction, and the wafer 12 is sucked and held by using a suction device (not shown). For example, the wafer 12 is placed on the table 10 so that the center of the flat wafer 12 substantially coincides with the center of the table 10. Alternatively, the wafer 12 may be placed on the table 10 in a state of being fixed to the frame (not shown) via a dicing tape (not shown).

The cover member 20 is configured to cover the periphery of the table 10 and receives the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12. For example, the cover member 20 has a substantially cylindrical shape (hollow cylindrical shape) and is erected around the table 10. In addition, in FIG. 1, in order to show the positional relationship of the table or the like arranged inside the cover member 20, the illustration of a part of the cover member 20 (the semi-cylindrical portion on the front side of the cover member 20 in FIG. 1) is omitted. doing. The height of the upper end of the cover member 20 in the Z-axis direction is formed higher than the height of the upper surface (wafer holding surface) of the table 10. The cover member 20 shields the coating liquid scattered from the surface of the wafer 12 when the rotary coating is performed, so that other devices arranged outside the cover member 20 in the rotary coating device 100 are contaminated with the coating liquid. To prevent.

Further, a housing 55 may be further provided around the rotary coating device 100. The housing 55 constitutes the outer wall of the rotary coating device 100, and surrounds each part of the rotary coating device 100 in a state of being arranged inside. In order to show the positional relationship of the table 10 and the like arranged inside the housing 55, a part of the housing 55 (front side in FIG. 1) is not shown. The housing 55 prevents the equipment arranged around the rotary coating device 100 from being contaminated.

The coating mechanism 30 supplies the coating liquid onto the wafer 12. The coating mechanism 30 includes a coating nozzle 31, a coating liquid supply pipe 34, a coating nozzle driving unit 35, a coating liquid flow rate control valve 36, a coating liquid tank 37, and a pump 38.

The coating nozzle 31 is connected to one end of the coating liquid supply pipe 34, and the other end of the coating liquid supply pipe 34 is connected to the coating liquid tank 37. That is, the coating liquid supply pipe 34 constitutes a pipeline that communicates between the coating nozzle 31 and the coating liquid tank 37. As a result, the coating liquid is supplied from the coating liquid tank 37 to the coating nozzle 31 via the coating liquid supply pipe 34, and the coating liquid is dropped onto the wafer 12 from the coating nozzle 31. The coating liquid supply pipe 34 is configured to be rotatable around a rotation axis (central axis of the coating liquid supply pipe 34) parallel to the Z axis.

A pump 38 and a coating liquid flow rate control valve 36 are arranged in this order from the downstream side (coating nozzle 31 side) to the upstream side (coating liquid tank 37 side) on the coating liquid supply pipe 34. The order of arrangement of the pump 38 and the coating liquid flow rate control valve 36 may be reversed as a measure against cavitation. As the pump 38, any pump such as a plunger pump, a diaphragm pump, a piston pump, and a rotary pump can be used. At the time of coating, the coating nozzle 31 is located above the table 10 and discharges the coating liquid onto the wafer 12 on the table 10.

By driving the coating liquid supply pipe 34, the coating nozzle driving unit 35 rotates the coating nozzle 31 around a rotation axis parallel to the Z axis, and moves the coating nozzle 31 in the Z axis direction (up and down movement). .. The coating nozzle driving unit 35 moves the coating nozzle 31 to a predetermined coating position during coating, and moves the coating nozzle 31 to a predetermined retracted position outside the cover member 20 during cleaning (described later).

The coating nozzle drive unit 35 includes a rotary motor (not shown), a linear actuator, a position sensor for detecting the movement amount and the rotation amount of the coating nozzle 31, and the like. Examples of the position sensor include an encoder. From the detection result of the position sensor, the relative positions (relative distances) between the coating nozzle 31 and the table 10 in the X, Y, and Z axis directions can be obtained. Since the configuration of the coating nozzle driving unit 35 is known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The cleaning mechanism 40 flushes the cleaning liquid onto the wafer 12 to clean the wafer 12. The cleaning liquid is appropriately selected according to the type of coating film. Examples of the cleaning liquid include water. The cleaning mechanism 40 includes a cleaning nozzle 41, a cleaning liquid supply pipe 44, a cleaning nozzle drive unit 45, a cleaning liquid flow rate control valve 46, a cleaning liquid tank 47, and a pump 48.

The cleaning nozzle 41 is connected to one end of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 44, and the other end of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 44 is connected to the cleaning liquid tank 47. That is, the cleaning liquid supply pipe 44 constitutes a pipeline that communicates the cleaning nozzle 41 and the cleaning liquid tank 47. As a result, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid tank 47 to the cleaning nozzle 41 via the cleaning liquid supply pipe 44, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle 41 onto the wafer 12. The cleaning liquid supply pipe 44 is configured to be rotatable around a rotation shaft (central axis of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 44) parallel to the Z axis.

By driving the cleaning liquid supply pipe 44, the cleaning nozzle driving unit 45 rotates the cleaning nozzle 41 around a rotation axis parallel to the Z axis and moves the cleaning nozzle 41 in the Z axis direction (up and down movement). The cleaning nozzle driving unit 45 moves the cleaning nozzle 41 to a predetermined cleaning position when cleaning the wafer 12, and moves the cleaning nozzle 41 to a predetermined retracting position outside the cover member 20 when coating (described later).

Since the configuration of the cleaning mechanism 40 is almost the same as the configuration of the coating mechanism 30, detailed description thereafter will be omitted.

The table drive device 50 includes a rotation motor (not shown) and a rotation amount sensor for detecting the rotation amount. The table drive device 50 rotates the table 10 around a rotation axis (parallel to the Z axis) that passes through the center of the table 10 and is perpendicular to the table 10 surface. Since the configuration of the table drive device 50 is known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The rotary coating device 100 according to the first embodiment further includes a table relative moving unit (relative moving means) 51 that changes the relative positions of the table 10 and the cover member 20 in the Z-axis direction as a contamination suppressing mechanism. The table relative moving unit 51 includes a linear actuator (not shown) that moves (moves up and down) the table 10 in a direction parallel to the Z-axis direction, and a position sensor (not shown) that detects the amount of movement of the table 10. Since linear actuators and position sensors are known, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The control unit 60 controls the coating nozzle drive unit 35, the coating liquid flow rate control valve 36, the pump 38, the cleaning nozzle drive unit 45, the cleaning liquid flow rate control valve 46, the pump 48, the table drive device 50, and the table relative moving unit 51.

FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram of the control unit 60. The control unit 60 includes, for example, an interface 61, a coating nozzle drive control unit 62, a coating liquid flow rate control unit 63, a cleaning nozzle drive control unit 64, a cleaning liquid flow rate control unit 65, a table drive control unit 66, and a contamination control mechanism control unit 67. Be prepared. The interface 61 is a means for exchanging commands and data with a user and each device, and is, for example, a keyboard, a mouse, a touch panel, a display, a speaker, a data communication device (network connection device), and the like.

The coating nozzle drive control unit 62 controls the coating nozzle drive unit 35 based on a command from the user and data from the position sensor. The coating liquid flow rate control unit 63 controls the flow rate of the coating liquid supplied to the coating nozzle 31 by controlling the coating liquid flow rate control valve 36 and the pump 38 based on a command from the user.

The cleaning nozzle drive control unit 64 controls the cleaning nozzle drive unit 45 based on a command from the user and data from the position sensor. The cleaning liquid flow rate control unit 65 controls the flow rate of the coating liquid supplied to the cleaning nozzle 41 by controlling the cleaning liquid flow rate control valve 46 and the pump 48 based on a command from the user.

The table drive control unit 66 controls the rotation of the table 10 by the table drive device 50 based on a command from the user and data from the rotation amount sensor. The pollution control mechanism control unit 67 controls the pollution control mechanism. In the first embodiment, the pollution control mechanism control unit 67 controls the vertical movement of the table 10 by the table relative movement unit 51 based on a command from the user and data from the position sensor.

The coating nozzle drive control unit 62, the coating liquid flow rate control unit 63, the cleaning nozzle drive control unit 64, the cleaning liquid flow rate control unit 65, the table drive control unit 66, and the contamination control mechanism control unit 67 are realized by using, for example, a processor. In FIG. 3, each control unit 62 to 67 is shown separately according to the function, but in reality, it can be realized by one processor. Further, the control unit 60 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown), a RAM (Random Access Memory) (not shown), and the like. Various programs such as control programs stored in the ROM are expanded in the RAM, and the programs expanded in the RAM are executed by the processor to execute various arithmetic processes and control processes.

Next, the operations of the table 10, the coating nozzle 31, and the cleaning nozzle 41 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, H1 indicates the height position of the upper surface of the table 10 at the time of coating, H2 indicates the height position of the upper end of the cover member 20, and H3 indicates the height position of the upper surface of the table 10 at the time of cleaning.

Reference numeral 4A in FIG. 4 indicates the relative positions of the coating nozzle 31, the table 10, and the cover member 20 when coating is performed. At the time of coating, first, the table driving device 50 moves the table 10 so that the position (height position) of the table 10 in the Z-axis direction becomes H1. The height position H1 on the upper surface of the table 10 is lower than the height position H2 on the upper end of the cover member 20.

Subsequently, the coating nozzle driving unit 35 rotates and moves the coating nozzle 31 up and down to move the coating nozzle 31 from the retracted position on the outside of the cover member 20 to the coating position above the table 10. For example, in reference numeral 4A of FIG. 4, the coating position is in the vicinity above the center of the table 10. At this time, from the viewpoint of reducing the scattering of the coating liquid, it is desirable that the height position of the coating nozzle 31 is lower than the height position H2 of the upper end of the cover member 20, but the coating position is not limited to this position. At this time, the cleaning nozzle 41 is retracted to a predetermined retracted position on the outside of the cover member 20.

In this state, the table driving device 50 rotates the table 10 while supplying the coating liquid onto the wafer 12 from the coating nozzle 31. The coating liquid on the wafer 12 spreads over the entire wafer 12 by centrifugal force, and the coating film 13 is formed. Since the height position H1 on the upper surface of the table 10 is lower than the height position H2 on the upper end of the cover member 20, the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 is shielded by the cover member 20. Therefore, the inside of the housing 55 of the rotary coating device 100 (more specifically, the outside of the cover member 20) is not contaminated by the coating liquid.

When the supply of the coating liquid is completed, as shown by the dotted line in reference numeral 4A, the coating nozzle driving unit 35 moves the coating nozzle drive unit 35 to a position higher than the height position H2 at the upper end of the cover member 20 so that the cover member 20 can be overcome. Is moved (raised) upward in the Z-axis direction. Subsequently, the coating nozzle driving unit 35 rotates and lowers the coating nozzle 31 to retract the coating nozzle 31 to a retracted position outside the cover member 20.

Reference numeral 4B in FIG. 4 indicates the relative positions of the cleaning nozzle 41, the table 10, and the cover member 20 when performing cleaning. When cleaning the wafer 12, first, the table driving device 50 moves the table 10 so that the height position of the table 10 is H3. The height position H3 on the upper surface of the table 10 is higher than the height position H2 on the upper end of the cover member 20. At this time, the coating nozzle 31 and the cleaning nozzle 41 are retracted to the retracted position on the outside of the cover member 20.

Subsequently, the cleaning nozzle driving unit 45 rotates the cleaning nozzle 41 to move the cleaning nozzle 41 from the retracted position on the outside of the cover member 20 to the cleaning position above the table 10. For example, in reference numeral 4B of FIG. 4, the cleaning position is located in the upper vicinity of the center of the table 10. At this time, the coating nozzle 31 remains in a predetermined retracted position on the outside of the cover member 20.

In this state, while the cleaning liquid is supplied onto the wafer 12 from the cleaning nozzle 41, the table 10 can be rotated by the table driving device 50 to clean the entire wafer 12. The cleaning nozzle 41 may be a one-fluid nozzle that discharges only the cleaning liquid, or a two-fluid nozzle that discharges the cleaning liquid together with the gas. Examples of the gas include air and nitrogen.

Since the height position H3 on the upper surface of the table 10 is higher than the height position H2 on the upper end of the cover member 20, the cleaning liquid and dirt scattered from the wafer 12 do not hit the cover member 20. Therefore, the problem that the coating liquid (foreign matter) scattered from the wafer 12 at the time of coating and adhering to the cover member 20 is repelled by the cleaning liquid at the time of cleaning and soars from the cover member 20 and adheres to the wafer 12 again is suppressed.

When the cleaning is completed, the cleaning nozzle driving unit 45 rotates and lowers the cleaning nozzle 41 to retract the cleaning nozzle 41 to a retracted position outside the cover member 20.

When coating is performed after cleaning, the table 10, the coating nozzle 31 and the cleaning nozzle 41 are moved from the state of reference numeral 4B shown in FIG. 4 to the state shown by reference numeral 4A. Here, the dirt scattered from the wafer 12 during cleaning does not adhere to the cover member 20. Therefore, when coating is performed after cleaning, dirt (foreign matter) adhering to the cover member 20 during cleaning is also prevented from falling from the cover member 20 onto the wafer 12 during coating.

As described above, in the rotary coating device 100 according to the present embodiment, the relative position (height position) of the table 10 and the cover member 20 in the Z-axis direction is changed between the time of cleaning and the time of coating. As a result, the problem that the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 at the time of coating and adhering to the cover member 20 reattaches to the wafer 12 at the time of cleaning and contaminates the wafer 12 is suppressed.

Further, when cleaning is performed after coating, the dirt washed away from the wafer 12 during cleaning does not adhere to the cover member 20, so that dirt does not fall from the cover member 20 during coating and contaminate the wafer 12. Will be done.

<Modified example of the first embodiment>
In the first embodiment, the table 10 is moved up and down to change the relative position (height position) of the table 10 and the cover member 20 in the Z-axis direction between cleaning and coating. As a modification of the first embodiment, the cover member 20 may be moved up and down instead of the table 10.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 5, the rotary coating device 100 includes a cover member driving device (relative moving means) 57 as a contamination suppressing mechanism. The cover member driving device 57 moves (moves up and down) the cover member 20 in parallel in the Z-axis direction by a linear actuator (not shown).

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 5A indicates a relative position between the coating nozzle 31 and the table 10 and the cover member 20 when performing coating, and reference numeral 5B indicates a relative position between the cleaning nozzle 41, the table 10 and the cover member 20 when performing cleaning. Is shown. In FIG. 5, H2 indicates the height position of the upper end of the cover member 20 at the time of coating (same as the height position H2 of FIG. 4), and H4 indicates the height position of the upper end of the cover member 20 at the time of cleaning.

Since the state of reference numeral 5A in FIG. 5 is the same as the state of reference numeral 4A in FIG. 4, the description of reference numeral 5A will be omitted. When cleaning, the cover member driving device 57 raises the cover member 20 so that the height position of the upper end of the cover member 20 at the time of coating changes from H2 to H4. Here, the height position H4 is a position where the cleaning liquid and dirt scattered from the wafer 12 do not hit the cover member 20. In this state, the table 10 is rotated by the table driving device 50 while supplying the cleaning liquid onto the wafer 12 from the cleaning nozzle 41.

In the modified example shown in FIG. 5, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

<Second Embodiment>
FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of the rotary coating device 200 according to the second embodiment. The rotary coating device 200 according to the second embodiment is a flow control valve provided between the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 70 (fluid shielding means), the cleaning liquid tank 71, and the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 70 and the cleaning liquid tank 71 as a pollution control mechanism. 72 and. The pollution control mechanism control unit 67 controls the flow rate control valve 72 based on a command from the user or the like.

The cleaning liquid discharge pipe 70 shields the inner wall surface of the cover member 20 with the cleaning liquid (fluid). The cleaning liquid discharge 70 is provided, for example, in the hollow cylindrical cover member 20 along the inner circumference of the upper end in the Z-axis direction, and has a plurality of holes (non-holes) for discharging the cleaning liquid (fluid) toward the inner wall surface of the cover member 20. (Illustrated). The cleaning liquid is appropriately selected according to the type of coating liquid. Examples of the cleaning liquid include water. It is not necessary to pressurize the wash water, but it may be slightly pressurized. The cleaning liquid tank 71 supplies the cleaning liquid to the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 70, and the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is controlled by using the flow rate control valve 72.

Next, the operation of the rotary coating device 200 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 7. In FIG. 7, reference numerals 7A and 7B indicate states in the vicinity of the table 10 at the time of coating and at the time of cleaning the wafer 12, respectively. In FIG. 7, similarly to FIG. 4, H1 indicates the height position of the upper surface of the table 10 at the time of coating, and H2 indicates the height position of the upper end of the cover member 20.

As shown by reference numeral 7A, in the rotary coating device 200, coating is performed in a state where the table 10 is located inside the cover member 20 (that is, a state in which the height position of the table 10 in FIG. 4 is H1). Since the height position H1 on the upper surface of the table 10 is lower than the height position H2 on the upper end of the cover member 20, the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 is shielded by the cover member 20.

As shown by reference numeral 7B, the positional relationship between the table 10 and the cover member 20 when cleaning the wafer 12 is the same as that at the time of coating. In the second embodiment, the cover member 20 is cleaned while cleaning the wafer 12. That is, in parallel with the cleaning of the wafer 12 in which the table 10 is rotated to clean the wafer 12 while discharging the cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle 41, the cleaning liquid flows down from the plurality of holes of the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 70 along the inner wall of the cover member 20. The cleaning liquid is discharged as described above to clean the cover member 20. The cleaning liquid flowing along the inner wall of the cover member 20 washes away the coating liquid adhering to the cover member 20 at the time of coating. In the second embodiment, it is not necessary to change the relative positions of the table 10 and the cover member 20 in the Z-axis direction when cleaning the wafer 12. Therefore, in the second embodiment, the nozzle arm (not shown) that supports the coating liquid supply pipe 34 and the nozzle arm (not shown) that supports the cleaning nozzle 41 may be integrated to form a single nozzle arm. Good.

As described above, in the second embodiment, since the cover member 20 is cleaned at the time of cleaning the wafer 12, the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 at the time of coating and adhering to the cover member 20 is reattached to the wafer 12 at the time of cleaning and the wafer. The problem of contaminating 12 can be suppressed.

Further, the dirt scattered from the wafer 12 when the wafer 12 is washed is shielded by the cleaning liquid flowing along the inner wall of the cover member 20, so that the dirt does not adhere to the cover member 20. Therefore, when coating is performed after cleaning the wafer 12, dirt adhering to the cover member 20 during cleaning is also suppressed from falling from the cover member 20 onto the wafer 12 during coating.

As an example, the case where the cover member 20 is cleaned in parallel with the cleaning of the wafer 12 has been described, but the timing of cleaning the cover member 20 is not limited to this example. The cover member 20 may be washed before and after the coating liquid is applied and the wafer 12 is washed. Alternatively, the cover member 20 may be washed during the application of the coating liquid.

As described above, the rotary coating device 200 according to the second embodiment can also realize the same effect as the rotary coating device 100 according to the first embodiment.

<Modified example of the second embodiment>
In the second embodiment, the cleaning liquid is discharged, but in the modified example of the second embodiment, air may be ejected instead of the cleaning liquid. In this case, the rotary coating device according to the modified example of the second embodiment is an air ejection pipe (fluid shielding) instead of the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 70 and the cleaning liquid tank 71 in the rotary coating device 200 according to the second embodiment shown in FIG. Means) and an air tank (not shown). The configuration of the air ejection pipe is almost the same as that of the cleaning liquid discharge pipe 70. Examples of air (fluid) include air.

The air ejection pipe shields the inner wall surface of the cover member 20 with air (fluid). In the modified example of the second embodiment, air is ejected from a plurality of holes (not shown) of the air ejection pipe 73 so as to flow downward along the inner wall of the cover member 20. By discharging air in parallel with cleaning the wafer 12, the coating liquid adhering to the cover member 20 at the time of coating is shielded from the wafer 12 on the table 10 by the air. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the problem that the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 at the time of coating and adhering to the cover member 20 reattaches to the wafer 12 at the time of cleaning and contaminates the wafer 12.

Further, dirt scattered from the wafer 12 when the wafer 12 is washed is shielded by air, so that the dirt does not adhere to the cover member 20. Therefore, when coating is performed after cleaning the wafer 12, dirt adhering to the cover member 20 during cleaning is also suppressed from falling from the cover member 20 onto the wafer 12 during coating.

In the modified example of the second embodiment, the timing of discharging air can be appropriately changed as in the timing of cleaning the cover member 20 in the second embodiment.

<Third Embodiment>
FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram of the rotary coating device 300 according to the third embodiment. The rotary coating device 300 according to the third embodiment includes a screen 80, a rib (not shown), a gripper 82, and a screen driving device 81 as a contamination control mechanism. The screen 80, the ribs, the gripper 82, and the screen driving device 81 correspond to shielding members.

The screen 80 is arranged inside the cover member 20 and outside the table 10. The screen 80 has a cylindrical shape (hollow cylindrical shape), and is provided between the cover member 20 and the table 10 so as to be vertically expandable and retractable (extendably erected in the height direction). The expanded state of the screen 80 corresponds to the shielding position where the shielding member shields the cover member 20 from the table 10, and the retracted state of the screen 80 corresponds to the retracting position where the shielding member retracts from the shielding position.

The lower end of the screen 80 is fixed to an arbitrary member such as the housing of the rotary coating device 300 and is immovably configured. The upper end of the screen 80 is gripped by a plurality of grippers 82. Examples of the screen 80 include a bellows folding curtain, a louver curtain, and the like. Examples of the screen material include resin and the like.

A plurality of columnar ribs (not shown) are erected between the cover member 20 and the table 10 (or near the inner wall of the cover member 20), and the plurality of grippers 82 are provided. Each can move up and down along the ribs. The screen drive device 81 has a motor (not shown) or a linear actuator (not shown). The screen drive device 81 expands the screen 80 by raising the gripper 82 that grips the upper end of the screen 80 along the ribs, and retracts the screen 80 by lowering the gripper 82. In the third embodiment, the pollution control mechanism control unit 67 controls the screen drive device 81 based on a user's instruction or the like.

Next, the operation of the rotary coating device 300 according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 9, reference numerals 9A and 9B indicate a rotary coating device 300 at the time of coating and at the time of cleaning the wafer 12, respectively. As shown by reference numeral 9A, in the rotary coating device 300, coating is performed in a state where the table 10 is located inside the cover member 20 and the screen 80 is retracted (retracted position), as in the second embodiment. The coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 at the time of coating is shielded by the cover member 20.

When cleaning the wafer 12, the screen 80 is developed by the screen driving device 81 (shielding position) as shown by reference numeral 9B. Also in the third embodiment, it is not necessary to change the relative positions of the table 10 and the cover member 20 in the Z-axis direction. Since the cleaning liquid and dirt scattered from the wafer 12 are shielded by the screen 80, they do not hit the cover member 20. Therefore, the problem that the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 at the time of coating and adhering to the cover member 20 reattaches to the wafer 12 from the cover member 20 at the time of cleaning is suppressed.

Further, when the coating is applied after cleaning, the dirt scattered during cleaning of the wafer 12 is shielded by the screen 80, so that the dirt does not adhere to the cover member 20. Therefore, it is also possible to prevent (prevent) dirt from adhering again from the cover member 20 onto the wafer 12. That is, the rotary coating device 300 according to the third embodiment can also realize the same effect as the rotary coating device 100 according to the first embodiment.

<Fourth Embodiment>
FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of the rotary coating device 400 according to the fourth embodiment. The rotary coating device 400 according to the fourth embodiment includes a partition wall 90, a pump 91, and a table relative moving device 51 of the first embodiment as a pollution control mechanism. The partition wall 90 and the pump 91 correspond to foreign matter suction means.

The partition wall 90 is a cylindrical plate and is erected between the cover member 20 and the table 10. Examples of the material of the partition wall include metal, specifically stainless steel, but the purpose is not limited to this example.

The pump 91 decompresses the space 93 defined between the partition wall 90 and the cover member 20. Further, since the pressure is reduced by the pump 91, the shape of the upper end of the cover member 20 is slightly changed in the fourth embodiment. Specifically, the upper end of the cover member 20 is bent substantially at a right angle to the table 10 side so as to form a gap 92 in the Z-axis direction between the upper end of the cover member 20 and the upper end of the partition wall 90. In the fourth embodiment, the pollution control mechanism control unit 67 not only controls the table relative moving device 51, but also controls the driving of the pump 91 based on a user's instruction or the like.

Next, the operation of the rotary coating device 400 according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, reference numerals 11A and 11B indicate a rotary coating device 400 at the time of coating and at the time of cleaning the wafer 12, respectively. As shown in reference numeral 11A, as in the second embodiment, in the rotary coating device 400, coating is performed with the table 10 located inside the cover member 20, so that the coating liquid scattered from the wafer 12 is the cover member. Shielded by 20.

When cleaning the wafer 12, first, as shown by reference numeral 11B, the table 10 is raised to the vicinity of the height position of the gap 92. Further, when the space 93 defined by the cover member 20 and the partition wall 90 is depressurized by the pump 91, an air flow drawn into the space 93 through the gap 92 is generated. When the wafer 12 is washed in this state, the cleaning liquid and dirt scattered from the wafer 12 are drawn into the space 93 through the gap 92 by the air flow, and are discharged together with the air from the exhaust port (not shown). That is, the gap 92 serves as a suction port for the cleaning liquid (foreign matter) and dirt (foreign matter). Since the cleaning liquid and dirt do not hit the cover member 20, the coating liquid (foreign matter) scattered from the wafer 12 during coating and adhering to the cover member 20 is repelled by the cleaning liquid during cleaning and soars from the cover member 20 and onto the wafer 12. The problem of reattachment is suppressed.

Further, when cleaning is performed after coating, the dirt washed away from the wafer 12 during cleaning does not adhere to the cover member 20, so that dirt does not fall from the cover member 20 during coating and contaminate the wafer 12. Will be done. As described above, the rotary coating device 400 according to the fourth embodiment can also realize the same effect as the rotary coating device 100 according to the first embodiment.

<Effect>
As described above, according to the rotary coating devices 100, 200, 300 and 400 having a cleaning function, the coating liquid or dirt scattered from the wafer and adhering to the cover member reattaches to the wafer and contaminates the wafer. Can be suppressed.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above examples, and it goes without saying that various improvements and modifications may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. ..

10 ... table, 12 ... wafer, 13 ... coating film, 20 ... cover member, 30 ... coating mechanism, 31 ... coating nozzle, 34 ... coating liquid supply pipe, 35 ... coating nozzle drive unit, 36 ... coating liquid flow rate control valve, 37 ... Coating liquid tank, 38 ... Pump, 40 ... Cleaning mechanism, 41 ... Cleaning nozzle, 44 ... Cleaning liquid supply pipe, 45 ... Cleaning nozzle drive unit, 46 ... Cleaning liquid flow rate control valve, 47 ... Cleaning liquid tank, 48 ... Pump, 50 ... Table drive device, 51 ... Table relative moving unit, 55 ... Housing, 57 ... Cover member drive device, 60 ... Control unit, 61 ... Interface, 62 ... Coating nozzle drive control unit, 63 ... Coating liquid flow rate control unit, 64 ... cleaning nozzle drive control unit, 65 ... cleaning liquid flow rate control unit, 66 ... table drive control unit, 67 ... pollution control mechanism control unit, 70 ... cleaning liquid discharge pipe, 71 ... cleaning liquid tank, 72 ... flow rate control valve, 80 ... screen, 81 ... screen drive device, 82 ... gripper, 90 ... partition wall, 91 ... pump, 92 ... gap, 93 ... space, 100, 200, 300, 400 ... rotary coating device

Claims (7)

A rotary table that holds and rotates the work,
A coating nozzle that drops the coating liquid on the surface of the work, and
A cleaning nozzle that discharges cleaning liquid onto the surface of the work,
A cover member that is configured to cover the periphery of the rotary table and receives the coating liquid scattered from the work.
Contamination suppressing means for suppressing foreign matter from adhering to the inner wall surface of the cover member when the cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the work.
A rotary coating device. The pollution suppressing means is a relative driving means for relatively moving the rotary table and the cover member in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table, and when the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work. Provided a relative moving means for relatively moving the cover member to a position deviating from the periphery of the rotary table.
The rotary coating device according to claim 1. The pollution control means includes a fluid shielding means for shielding the inner wall surface of the cover member with a fluid.
The rotary coating device according to claim 1. The fluid shielding means includes a cleaning liquid discharge pipe for discharging the cleaning liquid.
The rotary coating device according to claim 3. The fluid shielding means includes an air ejection pipe for ejecting air.
The rotary coating device according to claim 3. The contamination suppressing means is a tubular shielding member arranged inside the cover member and outside the rotary table, and is a shielding member that can move in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table with respect to the rotary table. With
When the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work, the shielding member moves to a shielding position so as to shield the inside of the cover member from the rotary table.
When the coating liquid is discharged from the coating nozzle to the surface of the work, the shielding member moves to a retracted position retracted from the shielding position.
The rotary coating device according to claim 1. The pollution control means is
A foreign matter suction means having a suction port for sucking foreign matter and a foreign matter suction path inside the cover member.
A relative moving means for relatively moving the rotary table and the cover member in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table is provided.
The suction port is located near the end of the cover member in the direction of the rotary axis of the rotary table and at a position higher than the rotary table.
When the cleaning liquid is discharged from the cleaning nozzle to the surface of the work, the relative moving means moves the rotary table relative to the vicinity of the suction port, and the foreign matter suction means is the suction port and the foreign matter suction path. The foreign matter scattered from the rotary table is sucked through the rotary table.
The rotary coating device according to claim 1.

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