JP2021106253A - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To improve processing quality of a substrate by reducing air bubble size in a substrate processing apparatus in which the substrate is immersed in processing fluid stored in a processing tank, the substrate is supplied with air bubbles in the processing fluid, and is processed.SOLUTION: A substrate processing apparatus comprises: a processing fluid ejection unit which is provided under a substrate held by a substrate holding unit, ejects processing fluid to a storage space, and forms a flow of the processing fluid in the storage space; and an air bubble supply unit which has a pipe disposed under the substrate held by the substrate holding unit in the storage space and a hollow projection portion projecting from the pipe in the direction of the processing fluid flow, ejects gas delivered from the projection portion via the pipe from the air bubble ejection port provided at the tip of the projection portion, and supplies air bubbles to the processing fluid stored in the storage space.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for immersing a substrate in a treatment liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water stored in a treatment tank and supplying air bubbles to the substrate in the treatment liquid for processing.

In the field of manufacturing semiconductor devices, there is a demand for a technique for forming recesses having a high aspect ratio in order to cope with high density and large capacity of semiconductor devices. For example, in the manufacturing process of a three-dimensional NAND type non-volatile semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as "3D-NAND memory"), it is laminated on a laminated body in which a large number of silicon oxide films (SiO2 film) and silicon nitride film (SiN film) are laminated. A step of removing the SiN film by wet etching through the recesses after forming the recesses in the direction is included. In order to carry out this step, for example, it is considered to use the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1.

When the above wet etching is performed using a substrate processing apparatus, a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid, which is an example of an etchant of a SiN film, is used as a processing solution. More specifically, in the substrate processing apparatus, an ejection pipe is arranged at the inner bottom of the storage space formed inside the processing tank, and the processing liquid is supplied to the storage space from the ejection pipe. Therefore, in the treatment tank, a certain amount of the treatment liquid is stored in the treatment tank while overflowing from the treatment tank. Then, the substrate having the recessed structure is immersed in the treatment liquid stored in the treatment tank. Further, in the substrate processing apparatus, similarly to the ejection pipe, the bubble supply pipe is arranged at the inner bottom portion of the storage space, and bubbles are supplied from the inner bottom portion of the storage space toward the overflow surface. These bubbles rise in the processing liquid and are supplied to the substrate. By supplying air bubbles to the substrate, a fresh treatment liquid can be quickly and continuously supplied to the recesses.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2016-20821 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-40649 JP-A-2009-98270

Patent Document 1 does not describe the detailed configuration of the bubble supply pipe, but in the substrate processing apparatus, a plurality of through holes are fixed for a pipe-shaped porous material (Patent Document 2) or a tubular member. Those provided in rows at intervals (Patent Document 3) are often used as bubble supply pipes. When a gas such as nitrogen gas is supplied to these bubble supply pipes from a gas supply source, the gas is discharged from a plurality of openings (porous holes and through holes) provided on the surface of the bubble supply pipes. As a result, air bubbles are supplied into the treatment liquid. The size of the bubbles supplied in this way is larger than the opening size. This is because the bubbles are supplied as follows. That is, immediately after the bubbles are generated, the bubbles adhere to the periphery of the opening on the surface of the bubble supply pipe. Then, after the close contact region expands radially around the opening with the passage of time, the bubbles separate from the opening and the close contact region of the bubble supply pipe and are supplied into the treatment liquid.

As described above, in the prior art, there is a problem that the bubble size becomes larger than the size of the opening functioning as the bubble discharge port, and it is difficult to effectively supply the fresh treatment liquid to the substrate surface by supplying the bubbles. .. Further, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 3, since a plurality of substrates are collectively processed while being separated by a certain interval, it becomes difficult for air bubbles to enter between the substrates. Therefore, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, there is a certain limit in improving the quality of substrate processing.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and in a substrate processing apparatus for immersing a substrate in a treatment liquid stored in a treatment tank and supplying bubbles to the substrate in the treatment liquid for processing, the bubble size is reduced. The purpose is to improve the processing quality.

The present invention is a substrate processing apparatus, which has a storage space for storing a treatment liquid, a processing tank for processing the substrate by immersing the substrate in the treatment liquid stored in the storage space, and a substrate in the storage space. A processing liquid discharge unit provided on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and a substrate holding unit that holds the processing liquid in an upright position, and discharges the processing liquid into the storage space to form a flow of the processing liquid in the storage space. And, in the storage space, it has a pipe arranged on the lower side of the board held by the board holding portion and a hollow protruding portion protruding from the pipe in the direction of the flow of the treatment liquid, and via the pipe. It is characterized by including a bubble supply unit that discharges the gas sent to the protrusion portion from the bubble discharge port provided at the tip of the protrusion portion and supplies bubbles into the processing liquid stored in the storage space. It is supposed to be.

As described above, according to the present invention, the bubble discharge port of the bubble supply unit is provided not at the pipe but at the tip of the protrusion portion protruding from the pipe. For this reason, the close contact region of the bubble supply section where the bubbles are separated from the bubble discharge port and are in close contact with each other until just before being supplied to the processing liquid is limited to the tip surface of the projecting portion, and the bubble discharge port is provided on the side wall of the pipe. It can be made narrower than when it is provided. As a result, the bubble size can be reduced and the processing quality can be improved.

It is a top view which shows the schematic structure of the substrate processing system equipped with 1st Embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the schematic structure of the 1st Embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a disassembled assembly perspective view which shows typically the main structure of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the arrangement relation of a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, and a bubble discharge port. It is a schematic diagram which shows the comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the structure of the bubble supply part used in the 2nd Embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the other structure of the bubble supply part.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system equipped with the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The board processing system 1 includes a storage device mounting unit 2, a shutter drive mechanism 3, a board transfer robot 4, a posture change mechanism 5, a pusher 6, a board transfer mechanism 7, a processing unit 8, and a control unit. It has a 9. In order to show the directions in each of the following figures in a unified manner, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are set as shown in FIG. Here, the XY plane represents the horizontal plane. Further, the Z axis represents the vertical axis, and more specifically, the Z direction is the vertical direction.

In the storage device mounting unit 2, a storage device in which the substrate W is stored is mounted. In the present embodiment, as an example of the storage device, a hoop F configured to be able to be stored in a state where a plurality of horizontal posture boards (for example, 25 boards) are stacked in the Z direction is used. The hoop F is placed on the storage device mounting unit 2 in a state where the unprocessed substrate W is stored, or is placed on the storage device mounting unit 2 in an empty state in order to store the processed substrate W. It is done. In this embodiment, the substrate W housed in the hoop F is a semiconductor wafer forming a 3D-NAND memory, and has a recess having a high aspect ratio.

A shutter drive mechanism 3, a board transfer robot 4, a posture change mechanism 5, a pusher 6, a board transfer mechanism 7, and a processing unit 8 are contained in a process space adjacent to the storage device mounting portion 2 on the (+ Y) direction. Is placed. The storage device mounting portion 2 and the process space are partitioned by a partition wall (not shown) equipped with a shutter 31 that can be opened and closed. The shutter 31 is connected to the shutter drive mechanism 3. The shutter drive mechanism 3 closes the shutter 31 in response to a closing command from the control unit 9 to spatially separate the accommodating device mounting unit 2 and the process space. On the contrary, the shutter drive mechanism 3 opens the shutter 31 in response to an open command from the control unit 9 to communicate the accommodating device mounting unit 2 with the process space. As a result, the unprocessed substrate W can be carried in from the hoop F to the process space, and the treated substrate W can be carried out to the hoop F.

The above-mentioned loading / unloading process of the substrate W is performed by the substrate transfer robot 4. The substrate transfer robot 4 is configured to be rotatable in a horizontal plane. The substrate transfer robot 4 delivers a plurality of substrates W between the posture changing mechanism 5 and the hoop F in a state where the shutter 31 is open. Further, the posture changing mechanism 5 sets the postures of the plurality of boards W to the standing posture and the horizontal posture after receiving the board W from the hoop F via the board transfer robot 4 or before handing over the board W to the hoop F. Convert between and.

A pusher 6 is arranged on the board transport mechanism 7 side (+ X direction side in the figure) of the posture conversion mechanism 5, and a plurality of boards W in an upright posture are transferred between the posture change mechanism 5 and the board transport mechanism 7. .. Further, as shown in the figure, the substrate transport mechanism 7 is arranged in an arrangement direction in which the processing units 81 to 85 constituting the processing unit 8 are arranged from a position facing the pusher 6 (hereinafter referred to as a “standby position”) (in the figure). Moves horizontally along the Y direction of.

The substrate transfer mechanism 7 includes a pair of suspension arms 71. By swinging the pair of suspension arms 71, it is possible to switch between holding and releasing a plurality of substrates W at once. More specifically, the lower edges of the arms 71 swing around the horizontal axis in the direction away from each other to open the plurality of substrates W, and the lower edges of the arms 71 are brought closer to each other around the horizontal axis. It swings to sandwich and hold a plurality of substrates W. Further, although not shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transport mechanism 7 has an arm moving portion and an arm swinging portion. Of these, the arm moving unit has a function of horizontally moving the pair of suspension arms 71 along the arrangement direction Y in which the processing units 81 to 85 are arranged. Therefore, due to this horizontal movement, the pair of suspension arms 71 are positioned at positions facing each of the processing units 81 to 85 (hereinafter referred to as "processing positions") and standby positions.

On the other hand, the arm swinging portion has a function of executing the arm swinging operation, and switches between a holding state in which the substrate W is sandwiched and held and a release state in which the substrate W is released from being sandwiched. Therefore, by this switching operation and the vertical movement of the lifter 810a that functions as the substrate holding portion of the processing units 81 and 82 and the lifter 810b that functions as the substrate holding portion of the processing units 83 and 84, the lifter 810 and the suspension arm 71 It is possible to transfer the substrate W between the two. Further, at the processing position facing the processing unit 85, it is possible to transfer the substrate W between the processing unit 85 and the suspension arm 71. Further, in the standby position, the substrate W can be transferred between the posture changing mechanism 5 and the suspension arm 71 via the pusher 6.

The treatment unit 8 is provided with five treatment units 81 to 85 as described above, but the first chemical treatment unit 81, the first rinse treatment unit 82, the second chemical treatment unit 83, and the second rinse treatment, respectively. It functions as a part 84 and a drying processing part 85. Of these, the first chemical treatment unit 81 and the second chemical treatment unit 83 store chemicals of the same type or different types in the treatment tank 821, respectively, and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the chemicals at once to immerse the chemicals in the chemicals. Apply processing. The first rinsing unit 82 and the second rinsing unit 84 each store a rinsing liquid (for example, pure water) in the treatment tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the rinsing liquid at once. The surface is rinsed. The first chemical solution treatment unit 81, the first rinse treatment unit 82, the second chemical solution treatment unit 83, and the second rinse treatment unit 84 correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and are the treatment liquids. Although the types are different, the basic configuration of the device is the same. The device configuration and operation will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, a first chemical treatment unit 81 and a first rinse treatment unit 82 adjacent thereto are paired, and a second chemical treatment unit 83 and a second rinse treatment unit adjacent thereto are paired. It is paired with 84. Then, the lifter 810a not only functions as the "board holding unit" of the present invention in the first chemical treatment unit 81 and the first rinse treatment unit 82, but also the substrate W treated with the chemical liquid in the first chemical treatment unit 81 is first. It also functions as a dedicated transfer mechanism for transferring to the rinsing unit 82. Further, the lifter 810b not only functions as the "board holding unit" of the present invention in the second chemical treatment unit 83 and the second rinse treatment unit 84, but also the substrate W treated with the chemical liquid in the second chemical treatment unit 83 is second. It also functions as a dedicated transfer mechanism for transferring to the rinsing unit 84.

In the processing unit 8 configured in this way, the three support members (reference numeral 812 in FIG. 2) of the lifter 810a collectively receive a plurality of substrates W from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7. As will be described in detail later, the treatment of the first chemical solution treatment unit 81 is performed while executing the overflow step of overflowing the treatment solution from the treatment tank and the bubble supply step of supplying bubbles into the treatment liquid stored in the treatment tank. It is lowered into a tank and immersed in a chemical solution (immersion step). Further, after waiting for a predetermined chemical solution treatment time, the lifter 810a pulls up the support member holding the plurality of substrates W from the chemical solution and causes the support member to spread to the first rinse treatment unit 82, and further, the chemical solution-treated substrate W. The support member is lowered into the processing tank (reference numeral 821 in FIG. 2) of the first rinsing unit 82 and immersed in the rinsing solution. After waiting for a predetermined rinsing treatment time, the lifter 810a raises the support member while holding the rinsed substrate W to pull the substrate W out of the rinsing liquid. After that, a plurality of substrates W are collectively passed from the support member of the lifter 810a to the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transfer mechanism 7.

Similarly, the lifter 810b also receives a plurality of substrates W collectively from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7, and lowers the plurality of substrates W into the processing tank 821 of the second chemical treatment unit 83. Immerse in chemicals. Further, after waiting for a predetermined chemical solution treatment time, the lifter 810b raises the support member to pull up a plurality of chemical solution-treated substrates W from the chemical solution, and the support member is moved to the treatment tank of the second rinse treatment unit 84. Is traversed, and the support member is further lowered into the treatment tank 821 of the second rinsing treatment unit 84 and immersed in the rinsing liquid. After waiting for a predetermined rinsing treatment time, the second lifter 810b raises the support member to pull up the substrate W from the rinsing liquid. After that, a plurality of substrates W are collectively passed from the second lifter 810b to the substrate transfer mechanism 7. Each of the first chemical treatment unit 81, the first rinse treatment unit 82, the second chemical treatment unit 83, and the second rinse treatment unit 84 is provided with a lifter that functions as the "board holding unit" of the present invention, while the treatment unit. The substrate W may be carried in and out of 81 to 84 by a substrate transport mechanism 7 or a dedicated transport mechanism.

The drying processing unit 85 has a substrate holding member (not shown) capable of holding a plurality of (for example, 52) substrates W in an upright position, and an organic solvent (isopropyl) in a reduced pressure atmosphere. The substrate W is dried by supplying (alcohol, etc.) to the substrate W or shaking off the liquid component on the surface of the substrate W by centrifugal force. The drying processing unit 85 is configured so that the substrate W can be delivered to and from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7. Then, the plurality of substrates W after the rinse treatment are collectively received from the substrate transfer mechanism 7, and the plurality of substrates W are subjected to the drying treatment. Further, after the drying process, a plurality of substrates W are collectively delivered from the substrate holding member to the substrate transport mechanism 7.

Next, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The treatment liquids used in the first chemical solution treatment unit 81, the first rinse treatment unit 82, the second chemical solution treatment unit 83, and the second rinse treatment unit 84 equipped in the substrate processing system shown in FIG. 1 are partially different. However, the device configuration and operation are basically the same. Therefore, in the following, the configuration and operation of the first chemical treatment unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described, and the first rinse treatment unit 82, the second chemical treatment unit 83, and the second chemical liquid treatment unit 83 will be described. 2 The description of the rinsing unit 84 will be omitted.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is an disassembled assembly perspective view schematically showing the main configuration of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the arrangement relationship between the plurality of substrates held by the lifter and the bubble discharge port. The first chemical solution treatment unit 81 is a device that uses, for example, a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid as a treatment solution to etch and remove the silicon nitride film through the recesses formed on the surface of the substrate W. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first chemical solution treatment unit 81 includes a treatment tank 821 for performing the first chemical solution treatment on the substrate W. The processing tank 821 has a box structure having an upper opening composed of a bottom wall 821a having a rectangular shape in a plan view and four side walls 821b to 821e rising from the periphery of the bottom wall 821a. Therefore, the treatment tank 821 can collectively immerse a plurality of substrates W held in the lifter 810a while storing the treatment liquid in the storage space 821f surrounded by the bottom wall 821a and the side walls 821b to 821e. There is. Further, the treatment tank 821 has an upper opening 821 g opened in the (+ Z) direction, and the treatment liquid can overflow from the storage space 821f.

An overflow tank 822 is provided around the treatment tank 821, and a recovery space 822a for collecting the overflowed treatment liquid is formed by the overflow tank 822 and the side walls 821b to 821e of the treatment tank 821. Further, an outer container 823 is provided so as to surround the lower side and the side of the processing tank 821 and the overflow tank 822.

The flow piping system 839 is arranged in a part of the recovery space 822a of the overflow tank 822, more specifically, in the space on the side wall 821d on the (−X) direction side. The inlet of the flow piping system 839 is connected to the processing liquid supply unit 832, and the outlet is connected to the flow pipe 831 of the processing liquid discharge unit 830. Therefore, when the processing liquid supply unit 832 operates in response to the processing liquid supply command from the control unit 9, the processing liquid is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of flow pipes 831 via the flow piping system 839. As a result, the treatment liquid is discharged from the flow pipe 831 and stored in the storage space 821f. The detailed configuration of the flow tube 831 will be described in detail later.

Further, the processing liquid overflowing from the processing tank 821 is collected in the overflow tank 822. A treatment liquid recovery unit 833 is connected to the overflow tank 822. When the treatment liquid recovery unit 833 operates in response to the treatment liquid recovery command from the control unit 9, the treatment liquid collected in the overflow tank 822 is sent to the treatment liquid supply unit 832 via the treatment liquid recovery unit 833. It can be reused. As described above, in the present embodiment, the treatment liquid can be stored in the storage space 821f while circulating and supplying the treatment liquid to the treatment tank 821.

As shown in FIG. 2, a lifter 810a is provided in order to immerse the plurality of substrates W while collectively holding the plurality of substrates W in the storage space 821f in which the treatment liquid is stored. The lifter 810a is configured to be able to move up and down between a "delivery position" where a plurality of substrates W are delivered to and from the substrate transfer mechanism 7 (FIG. 1) and a storage space 821f. The lifter 810a includes a back plate 811, three support members 812, and an extension member 813. The back plate 811 extends toward the bottom wall 821a along the side wall 821b of the treatment tank 821. The support member 812 extends in the (−X) direction from the side surface of the lower end portion of the back plate 811. In this embodiment, three support members 812 are provided. In each support member 812, a plurality of V-shaped grooves 812a are arranged in the X direction at a constant pitch. Each groove 812a is formed by opening a V-shaped groove 812a slightly wider than the thickness of the substrate W in the (+ Z) direction so that the substrate W can be locked. Therefore, a plurality of substrates W transported by the substrate transport mechanism 7 by the three support members 812 can be collectively held at a constant substrate pitch PT (FIG. 5). Further, the extending member 813 extends in the (+ X) direction from the back surface of the upper end portion of the back plate 811. As shown in FIG. 2, the lifter 810a has an L-shape as a whole. The highest position of the lifter 810a is set to a height at which the substrate transport mechanism 7 can pass above the support member 812 even when a plurality of substrates W are held.

A lifter drive mechanism 814 is provided on the (+ X) direction side of the processing tank 821. The lifter drive mechanism 814 includes an elevating motor 815, a ball screw 816, an elevating base 817, an elevating column 818, and a motor driving unit 819. The elevating motor 815 is attached to a frame (not shown) of the substrate processing system 1 with the rotating shaft placed vertically. The ball screw 816 is connected to the rotating shaft of the elevating motor 815. One side of the elevating base 817 is screwed onto the ball screw 816. The elevating column 818 is attached to the central portion of the elevating base 817 on the base end side and to the lower surface of the extension member 813 on the other end side. When the motor drive unit 819 drives the elevating motor 815 in response to the ascending command from the control unit 9, the ball screw 816 rotates and the elevating column 818 rises together with the elevating base 817. As a result, the support member 812 is positioned at the delivery position. Further, when the motor drive unit 819 drives the elevating motor 815 in the opposite direction in response to the lowering command from the control unit 9, the ball screw 816 rotates in the reverse direction, and the elevating column 818 is lowered together with the elevating base 817. As a result, the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812 are collectively immersed in the treatment liquid stored in the storage space 821f.

In the storage space 821f, the processing liquid discharge unit 830 and the bubble supply unit 840 are arranged on the lower side of the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812, that is, on the (−Z) direction side. The treatment liquid discharge unit 830 discharges the treatment liquid supplied from the treatment liquid supply unit 832 via the flow piping system 839 to the storage space 821f, and the bubble supply unit 840 is in the treatment liquid stored in the storage space 821f. A bubble V (FIG. 5) of nitrogen gas is supplied to the water bubble V (FIG. 5), which are configured as follows.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the processing liquid discharge unit 830 has a flow pipe 831 extending in the X direction. In this embodiment, four flow pipes 831 are arranged so as to be separated from each other in the Y direction. The (−X) direction end of each flow pipe 831 is connected to the outlet of the flow piping system 839, and the (+ X) direction end is sealed. Further, a plurality of processing liquid discharge ports 834 are bored on the side wall of each flow pipe 831 so as to be arranged in the X direction at regular intervals. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, each treatment liquid discharge port 834 is provided toward the (-Z) direction. Therefore, the treatment liquid supplied to the flow pipe 831 flows in the (+ X) direction inside the pipe, and is discharged from each treatment liquid discharge port 834 toward the bottom wall 821a, that is, the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f. Then, as shown by the solid arrow in FIG. 4, the treatment liquid flows upward via the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f, and the treatment liquid flows upward from the bottom wall 821a of the treatment tank 821 to the upper opening 821g, that is, the treatment liquid facing the overflow surface. Form a flow F. In this way, an ascending flow of the treatment liquid is formed on the lower side of the substrate W. In order to facilitate the understanding of the content of the invention, the four flow pipes 831 arranged on the most (-Y) direction side are referred to as "flow pipes 831a" and are sequentially arranged on the (+ Y) direction side. Those are referred to as "flow pipe 831b", "flow pipe 831c" and "flow pipe 831d", respectively. When these are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as "flow pipe 831" as described above.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the bubble supply unit 840 has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) bubblers 841. Each bubbler 841 has a bubble pipe 842 extending in the X direction and a plurality of projecting portions 843 projecting upward from the bubble pipe 842, that is, in the (+ Z) direction. One end of each bubble pipe 842 is connected to a gas supply unit 844 that supplies nitrogen gas, and the other end is sealed. The plurality of projecting portions 843 are provided on the upper side wall of the bubble pipe 842 at the same pitch PT as the constant substrate pitch PT. As shown in FIG. 3, each projecting portion 843 has a hollow cylindrical shape, and a bubble discharge port 845 is provided at the center of the upper end surface. In this embodiment, a long length composed of a resin material, particularly at least one selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxy alkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The bubble pipe 842 and the plurality of projecting portions 843 are integrally formed by performing cutting and drilling on the surface of the resin pipe. Here, it goes without saying that the bubble pipe 842 and the plurality of projecting portions 843 may be individually prepared, and the plurality of projecting portions 843 may be attached to the bubble pipe 842 and integrated.

In the bubble supply unit 840 configured in this way, when the gas supply unit 844 supplies nitrogen gas to the bubble supply unit 840 in response to the bubble supply command from the control unit 9, the nitrogen gas flowing through the bubble pipe 842 is discharged from the bubble discharge port. Discharge upward from 845. As a result, the bubbles V of nitrogen gas are supplied to the treatment liquid stored in the storage space 821f, and the bubbles V in the vertical direction Z from a position higher than the treatment liquid discharge port 834 toward the overflow surface, that is, in the (+ Z) direction. Is supplied. These bubbles V rise in the treatment liquid and promote the replacement of the treatment liquid on the surface of the substrate W with a fresh treatment liquid. The gas supply unit 844 may be configured to supply nitrogen gas from a cylinder filled with nitrogen gas, or may use a utility provided in a factory where the substrate processing system 1 is installed. ..

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the four bubblers 841 are supported from below by the three bubbler boards 851, so that they are on the lower side of the substrate W held by the lifter 810a and on the upper side of the processing liquid discharge port 834. It is fixedly arranged in. Here, too, in order to facilitate understanding of the content of the invention, the four bubblers 841 arranged on the most (-Y) direction side are referred to as "bubbler 841a" and are sequentially arranged on the (+ Y) direction side. Those are referred to as "bubbler 841b", "bubbler 841c" and "bubbler 841d", respectively. When these are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as "Bubbler 841" as described above. On the other hand, with respect to the bubbler board 851, similarly, among the bubbler boards 851, those arranged on the most (-Y) direction side are referred to as "bubbler boards 851a", and those arranged sequentially on the (+ Y) direction side are respectively " They are referred to as "bubbler board 851b" and "bubbler board 851c". When these are not distinguished, they are simply referred to as "bubbler board 851" as described above.

The bubbler boards 851a to 851c all have a plate shape extending in the X direction. Of these, as shown in FIG. 4, the bubbler board 851a is arranged between the flow pipe 831a and the flow pipe 831b at a position higher than the treatment liquid discharge port 834 in the vertical direction Z, and is a fixing member (not shown). It is fixed to the processing tank 821 by. Then, the bubbler 841a is fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler board 851a so as to satisfy the following arrangement relationship. The arrangement relationship is that, as shown in FIG. 5, the projecting portion 843 attached to the bubbler 841a faces upward, and the substrate W and the bubble discharge port 845 are alternately positioned in the X direction. Is. By arranging in this way, the bubbles V supplied from the bubble discharge port 845 are discharged toward between the adjacent substrates W in the X direction, and efficient chemical treatment is executed. The arrangement relationship is the same for the other bubblers 841b to 841d.

The bubbler board 851b is arranged between the flow pipe 831b and the flow pipe 831c at a position higher than the treatment liquid discharge port 834 in the vertical direction Z, and is fixed to the treatment tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). Then, the bubblers 841b and 841c are fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler board 851b while being separated from each other by a certain interval in the Y direction. Further, the bubbler board 851c is arranged between the flow pipe 831c and the flow pipe 831d at a position higher than the treatment liquid discharge port 834 in the vertical direction Z, and is fixed to the treatment tank 821 by a fixing member (not shown). Then, the bubbler 841d is fixed to the upper surface of the bubbler board 851c. As described above, the bubbler boards 851a to 851c have a function of supporting the bubble supply unit 840 from below.

Further, since the bubbler boards 851a to 851c are arranged between the flow pipes 831a to 831d at a position higher than the treatment liquid discharge port 834 in the vertical direction Z, in addition to the above support function, the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f It has a function of regulating the flow F of the processing liquid flowing upward via the above. The bubbler boards 851a to 851c are separated from each other to form penetrating portions 852a and 852b that serve as distribution paths for the treatment liquid. Then, the lower ends of the flow tubes 831b and 831c are arranged so as to enter the penetrating portions 852a and 852b. Further, at the same height position as the flow pipes 831b and 831c, the flow pipe 831a is arranged on the (-Y) direction side of the bubbler board 851a, and the flow pipe 831d is arranged on the (+ Y) direction side of the bubbler board 851a. There is. Moreover, a gap 86 is formed between the bubbler boards 851a to 851c and the flow tubes 831a to 831d that are adjacent to each other. Therefore, among the ascending flows of the treatment liquid, the flow F of the treatment liquid (hereinafter referred to as “flow target liquid”) flowing toward the lower surface of the bubbler board 851 is regulated on the lower surface and distributed in the horizontal plane. For example, in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 4, the flow F of the liquid to be divided toward the lower surface of the bubbler board 851c is the flow F5 of the processing liquid flowing through the gap 86 between the bubbler board 851c and the flow pipe 831c, the bubbler board 851c, and the flow pipe 831d. It is separated into the flow F6 of the processing liquid flowing through the gap 86 of the above. Further, also in the other bubbler boards 851a and 851b, similarly to the bubbler board 851c, the flow F of the liquid to be separated is regulated and is divided into a plurality of treatment liquid flows F1 to F4.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the flow F of a part (flow target liquid) of the processing liquid flowing upward via the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f is divided into a plurality of flows F1 to F6 and directed toward the overflow surface. And rise. As described above, in the present embodiment, the bubbler boards 851a to 851c use at least a part of the treatment liquid flowing upward via the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f as the flow target liquid, and the flow F of the split flow target liquid is a plurality of flow F. It is divided into an ascending flow and guided to the substrate W held by the lifter 810a, and functions as a flow dividing portion 850 (FIG. 3).

Although the configuration of the first chemical solution treatment unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention has been described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5, the second chemical solution treatment unit 83 also has a type of treatment liquid. It has the same configuration as the first chemical solution processing unit 81, except that it is the same type or different type, and corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Further, the first rinse treatment unit 82 and the second rinse treatment unit 84 have the same configuration as the first chemical solution treatment unit 81, except that the treatment liquid is a rinse liquid such as pure water or DIW (deionized water). However, it corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

As described above, in the present embodiment, a plurality of protrusions 843 are projected upward from the bubble pipe 842, and nitrogen gas is discharged from the bubble discharge port 845 provided at the tip of each protrusion 843 for processing. Bubbles V are supplied into the liquid. Therefore, the size of the bubble V can be reduced. The detailed reason will be described by comparing the comparative example shown in FIG. 6 with the present embodiment (FIG. 5).

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing a comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. In this comparative example, a bubble discharge port 845 is provided on the side wall of the bubble pipe 842, and nitrogen gas is discharged from the bubble discharge port 845 to supply the bubble V into the processing liquid. In this case, immediately after the bubble V is generated, the bubble V comes into close contact with the bubble discharge port 845 on the side wall surface of the bubble pipe 842. In this way, the region where the bubble V is in close contact with the bubbler 841 (hereinafter referred to as “contact region”) expands along the surface of the bubbler 841 with the passage of time. For example, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 6, the bubble V Grow in a relatively large, substantially dome shape. After that, the bubbles V are separated from the bubble discharge port 845 and the close contact region and supplied into the processing liquid.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, it is the tip surface of the projecting portion 843 that the bubble V comes into close contact immediately after the bubble V is generated. Therefore, with the passage of time, the close contact region expands radially around the bubble discharge port 845, but when it reaches the peripheral edge of the tip surface (the tip step portion of the protrusion portion 843), for example, the partially enlarged view of FIG. 5 is shown. As shown, the extent of the contact area is regulated. As a result, the growth of the bubble V is stopped, and at this point, the bubble V is separated from the bubble discharge port 845 and the close contact region and supplied into the treatment liquid. As described above, in the first embodiment, the close contact region where the bubbles V are in close contact until immediately before the supply into the treatment liquid is limited to the tip surface of the projecting portion 843. As a result, in the first embodiment, the size of the bubble V is smaller than that of the comparative example (FIG. 6), and the processing quality can be improved.

In particular, since the first chemical treatment unit 81 wet-etches the SiN film through the recesses having a high aspect ratio, it is important to apply the present invention to the first chemical treatment unit 81 in the production of the 3D-NAND memory. That is, in order to improve the wet etching performance, it is necessary to satisfactorily replace the treatment liquid between the inside and the outside of the recess. In addition, silicon precipitation occurs near the bottom of the recess due to the etching reaction, but the silicon can be discharged from the recess by replacing the treatment liquid. In order to stably and continuously develop this liquid substitution, it is necessary to increase the concentration difference between the inside and the outside of the recess, that is, the concentration gradient. Furthermore, in order to satisfy these requirements, it is an important technical matter to efficiently supply a fresh treatment liquid to the surface of the substrate W by reducing the bubble size. In this regard, according to the first chemical treatment unit 81 capable of effectively reducing the size of the bubbles V, the bubbles V promote the supply of fresh treatment liquid, and the SiN film is satisfactorily wet-etched. Can be done.

Further, as shown in the partially enlarged view of FIG. 5, since the substrate W and the bubble discharge port 845 are arranged in the bubbler 841d so as to be alternately positioned in the X direction, the small size bubbles V are adjacent to each other. It can be efficiently supplied between W. As a result, substrate treatment (chemical treatment and rinsing treatment) can be performed with high quality.

As described above, in the first embodiment, the (+ Z) direction corresponds to an example of the "direction of flow of the treatment liquid" of the present invention. Further, the bubble pipe 842 corresponds to an example of the "pipe" of the present invention. Further, the X direction corresponds to the "horizontal direction" of the present invention.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the above embodiment, the bubble V is supplied from the bubble pipe 842 by using the bubbler 841 provided with the hollow columnar projecting portion 843, but the configuration of the bubbler 841 is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a hollow truncated cone-shaped projecting portion 846 projecting from the bubble pipe 842 may be used (second embodiment). According to this second embodiment, the surface area of the tip surface of the projecting portion 846 is narrower than that of the hollow cylindrical projecting portion 843 adopted in the first embodiment, and a smaller size bubble V is supplied. Can be done. As a result, the substrate processing can be performed with higher quality.

Further, in the first embodiment and the second embodiment, the tip surfaces of the projecting portions 843 and 846 are circular, but the shape is not limited to this and is arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, projecting portions 847 and 848 having an elliptical tip surface may be used. In short, it is preferable to use a projecting portion having a columnar shape or a tapered shape in which the outer diameter dimension decreases toward the tip.

Further, plasma treatment may be applied to the tips of the projecting portions 843 and 846 to 848. By this plasma treatment, the tip, that is, the periphery of the bubble discharge port 845 is hydrophilized, and the detachment of the bubble V is promoted. As a result, the size of the bubble V can be further reduced.

Further, in the above embodiment, the processing liquid discharge unit 830 includes four flow pipes 831. However, the number of flow pipes 831 is not limited to this, and the size of the storage space 821f, the substrate W, and the like can be used. It is desirable to set according to it. The number of bubblers 841 included in the bubble supply unit 840 is four, but the number of bubblers 841 is not limited to these, and the number of bubblers 841 may be set according to the storage space 821f, the size of the substrate W, and the like. desirable. The number of bubbler boards 851 included in the flow dividing portion 850 is three, but the number of bubbler 841s is not limited to these, and may be set according to the storage space 821f, the size of the substrate W, and the like. desirable.

Further, in the above embodiment, the bubbler 841 is supported by the bubbler board 851 of the flow dividing portion 850 and fixedly arranged in the treatment liquid stored in the storage space 821f, and the bubbler board 851 passes through the inner bottom surface 821h. The flow F of the processing liquid flowing upward is divided into a plurality of flows. Here, for example, the present invention may be applied to a substrate processing apparatus in which the bubbler board 851 is directly fixed to the processing tank 821, that is, the flow dividing portion 850 is not provided.

Further, in the above embodiment, nitrogen gas is sent to the bubbler 841 to supply bubbles V of nitrogen gas into the treatment liquid, but a gas other than nitrogen gas may be used as the "gas" of the present invention.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that discharges the treatment liquid from the flow pipe 831 toward the inner bottom surface 821h of the storage space 821f, but the supply mode of the treatment liquid of the present invention is applied to this. It is not limited. For example, the present invention may be applied to a substrate processing device that discharges from the lower side of the substrate upward or diagonally upward, or discharges along the inner bottom surface of the storage space as in Patent Document 1.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs chemical solution treatment with a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid and a substrate processing apparatus that performs rinsing treatment, but the scope of application of the present invention is limited to this. However, the present invention can be applied to all substrate processing techniques in which a substrate is immersed in a treatment liquid other than the chemical solution or the rinse liquid and bubbles are supplied to the substrate in the treatment liquid to perform the substrate treatment.

The present invention can be applied to a general substrate processing apparatus for immersing a substrate in a treatment liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water stored in a treatment tank and supplying air bubbles to the substrate in the treatment liquid for processing. can.

81 ... First chemical solution processing unit (board processing device)
82 ... First rinsing unit (board processing device)
83 ... Second chemical solution processing unit (board processing device)
84 ... Second rinsing unit (board processing device)
810, 810a, 810b ... Lifter (board holding part)
821 ... Treatment tank 821f ... Storage space 821g ... Upper opening 830 ... Treatment liquid discharge part 840 ... Bubble supply part 841, 841a to 841d ... Bubbler 842 ... Bubble piping 843, 846 to 848 ... Protruding part 845 ... Bubble discharge port V ... Bubble W ... Substrate

Claims (7)

A treatment tank having a storage space for storing the treatment liquid and treating the substrate by immersing the substrate in the treatment liquid stored in the storage space.
A substrate holding portion that holds the substrate in an upright position in the storage space,
A treatment liquid discharge unit provided on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and discharging the treatment liquid into the storage space to form a flow of the treatment liquid in the storage space.
The storage space has a pipe arranged on the lower side of the substrate held by the substrate holding portion and a hollow projecting portion projecting from the pipe in the direction of the flow of the treatment liquid. A bubble supply that discharges the gas sent to the protrusion through a pipe from a bubble discharge port provided at the tip of the protrusion and supplies bubbles into the treatment liquid stored in the storage space. Department and
A substrate processing apparatus comprising. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1.
The projecting portion is a substrate processing apparatus having a columnar shape or a tapered shape in which the outer diameter dimension decreases toward the tip. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2.
The projecting portion is a substrate processing device made of a resin material. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3.
The projecting site is a substrate processing apparatus composed of at least one selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4.
The tip of the projecting portion is a substrate processing device that is undergoing plasma processing. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5.
The substrate holding portion holds a plurality of the substrates while being separated from each other in the horizontal direction.
The bubble supply unit is provided with a plurality of the projecting portions arranged in the horizontal direction on the side wall of the pipe extending in the horizontal direction.
The substrate and the projecting portion are alternately located in the horizontal direction.
A substrate processing device that supplies the bubbles from the bubble discharge port so that each of the projecting portions is directed between the adjacent substrates in the horizontal direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6.
The processing tank is a substrate processing apparatus that overflows the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid discharge unit from an upper opening of the storage space while processing the substrate.

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