JP2557932Y2 - Chemical supply nozzle with nozzle cleaning mechanism - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

This invention is based on the idea that a chemical such as a photoresist solution is applied to the surface of a substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a "substrate") such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display panel, and a mask substrate for semiconductor production. The present invention relates to a chemical liquid supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism for cleaning a tip of a supply nozzle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an apparatus for applying a photoresist liquid onto a substrate, for example, a spin coating apparatus is known. In this spin coating device, the substrate is placed on a horizontal turntable,
Further, after a certain amount of chemical solution is dropped from the nozzle to the center of the upper surface of the substrate, the chemical solution is extended and dispersed by rotating the turntable while the substrate is mounted, thereby forming a uniform thin film on the upper surface of the substrate.

[0003] Incidentally, when the chemical liquid is dropped, the chemical liquid may adhere to the tip of the nozzle, and if this adhered chemical liquid is left unattended, there arises a problem that the product yield is reduced.
This is because when the chemical liquid attached to the tip of the nozzle dries, a solidified liquid like an icicle is formed from the lower end face of the nozzle, and the amount of the chemical discharged from the discharge port (tip) of the nozzle That is, the amount of drop changes, and a thin film having a thickness different from a desired thickness is formed on the substrate. In addition, due to the rotational vibration of the turntable, etc., the pieces of the chemical solution dried and fixed to the nozzle are scattered as powder dust,
This is because they may adhere to the upper surface of the substrate, and this causes defective products.

Therefore, conventionally, a mechanism for cleaning the tip of the nozzle, that is, a nozzle cleaning mechanism, is attached to this type of spin coating apparatus. In a conventional nozzle cleaning mechanism, a tubular nozzle is inserted into a through hole provided in a nozzle block to form a cleaning liquid introduction path extending from the side surface of the nozzle block to the center of the nozzle, and the nozzle liquid penetrates through the nozzle block through the cleaning liquid introduction path. The cleaning liquid is guided to the tip of the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle through the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the hole and the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle for cleaning.

[0005]

However, in the conventional nozzle cleaning mechanism, the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the nozzle block and the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle depends on the way the nozzle is inserted into the nozzle block. Since the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid introduction path collides with the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle, the cleaning liquid supplied to the nozzle is not evenly distributed over the entire outer peripheral surface of the nozzle.
A sufficient cleaning effect cannot be obtained, and the above problem cannot be solved.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and has as its object to provide a chemical solution supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism that can uniformly clean the tip of the nozzle.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a tubular nozzle for supplying a chemical solution to a rotatably supported substrate and a hole penetrating in a vertical direction are provided. The cleaning liquid is supplied to the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the nozzle block via a cleaning liquid introduction path provided in the nozzle block so as to communicate with the through hole. By doing
A chemical liquid supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism for a rotary processing device that causes the cleaning liquid to flow down along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle, and cleans the nozzle tip with the cleaning liquid.To achieve the above object, the cleaning liquid introduction path is The nozzle is configured to be eccentrically directed toward one side with respect to the center of the nozzle, and furthermore, an uneven portion is provided on at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the nozzle block or the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle, and the convex portion is provided. The size of the gap is kept uniform, and the cleaning liquid from the gap is guided to the tip of the nozzle through the recess.

[0008]

In the present invention, since the cleaning liquid introduction path is directed eccentrically to one side with respect to the center of the nozzle, the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle and the inner circumference of the through hole provided in the nozzle block are provided through the cleaning liquid introduction path. The cleaning liquid flowing into the gap with the surface spirally flows down the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle and is supplied to the tip of the nozzle. Further, at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the nozzle block or the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle is provided with a concave and convex portion, and the convex portion is formed of the gap between the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle and the inner peripheral surface of the through hole. The size is kept uniform, and the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid introduction path flows through the gap, and is further guided to the tip of the nozzle through the recess. Furthermore, since the uneven portion provided on the nozzle block narrows the horizontal area of the gap as compared with the position above the portion where the unevenness is provided, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid in the circumferential direction of the gap is made uniform. Exhibits the rectifying effect of rectifying.

[0009]

Next, a preferred embodiment of a chemical solution supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For convenience of description, first, an outline of a spin coating apparatus to which the chemical liquid supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism according to the present embodiment can be applied will be described, and then the present embodiment will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a spin coating apparatus to which a chemical solution supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism according to the present invention can be applied. In the spin coating device 2, a turntable 4 capable of holding the substrate W by suction is provided. Further, a motor 6 is connected to the turntable 4 so that the substrate W can be horizontally rotated while being horizontally supported.

Around the turntable 4, as shown in FIG.
A cup 8 for preventing a chemical solution from scattering is provided so as to surround the substrate W. An exhaust pipe 10 for forcibly exhausting the intake air in the chemical liquid scattering prevention cup 8 is provided at the bottom of the chemical liquid scattering prevention cup 8, and excess chemical liquid collected or used at the bottom of the chemical liquid scattering preventing cup 8. Discharge pipe 12 for discharging the chemical solution
Is communicated.

Further, a nozzle 22 made of a tube having a circular cross section for dropping a chemical solution is disposed above the turntable 4. The nozzle 22 is three-dimensionally movable by a drive mechanism (not shown).

Next, an embodiment of the chemical supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The chemical solution supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism includes a nozzle block 26 having a through hole 24 at a substantially central portion.

In the vicinity of the lower end of the nozzle block 26,
As shown in FIG. 4, the inner diameter d of the through hole 24 is finished so as to be larger than the outer diameter D of the nozzle 22, that is, in the lower end region, the nozzle 22 is loosely inserted into the through hole 24. And the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 22 and the through hole 24
A gap 28 is formed between the inner peripheral surface and the inner peripheral surface. The gap 28 communicates with the cleaning liquid introduction path 30 provided in the nozzle block 26, and the cleaning liquid flows into the gap 28 via the connection joint 31 attached to the side surface of the nozzle block 26 and the cleaning liquid introduction path 30. It is configured to be able to. As can be seen from FIG. 4, each cleaning liquid introduction path 30 is directed eccentric to one side with respect to the center of the nozzle 22. In addition, the function and effect of directing the cleaning liquid introduction path 30 in this manner will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 3, an uneven portion 32 is formed near the lowermost end of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 24 of the nozzle block 26. A plurality of convex portions 34 constituting the concave / convex portion 32
Has a size such that the tip of the convex shape is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 22, the nozzle 22 is positioned with respect to the through hole 24 by these convex portions 34, and the size of the gap 28 is the radius of the through hole 24. It is uniform over the direction (in the plane of FIG. 3). Further, the cleaning liquid flowing into the gap 28 through the concave portion 36 is supplied to the tip of the nozzle 22 along the outer peripheral surface thereof.

Near the center of the nozzle block 26, the inner diameter d of the through hole 24 is finished so as to substantially match the outer diameter D of the nozzle 22, and the nozzle 22 is fitted into the through hole 24 (FIG. 2). reference).

In the vicinity of the upper end of the nozzle block 26, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 8, a seal ring 38 is inserted between the nozzle 22 and the nozzle block 26, and a seal ring retainer 40 is provided.
Is pressed down from above. In this manner, the cleaning liquid flowing into the gap 28 is prevented from leaking upward.

Although not shown in the drawings, the connection joint 31 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply tank via an on-off valve, so that the cleaning liquid can be supplied from the cleaning liquid supply tank or the supply of the cleaning liquid can be stopped. It has become.

Next, the operation of the chemical solution supply nozzle with the nozzle cleaning mechanism configured as described above will be described together with the operation (chemical solution application cycle) of the spin coating device 2 in FIG. When applying a chemical solution onto the substrate W using the spin coating device 2, the substrate W is first set on the turntable 4, and then the nozzle 22 is moved onto the substrate W. Then, the nozzle 22 is lowered to an appropriate height above the substrate W, and a predetermined amount of the chemical is dropped on the center of the upper surface of the substrate W. At this time, the supply of the cleaning liquid has been stopped.

After moving the nozzle 22 to a cleaning position (not shown), the motor 6 is driven to rotate the turntable 4 at a high speed while the substrate W is supported horizontally.
The chemical solution on the substrate W is diffused outward and thinly applied on the upper surface of the substrate W.

On the other hand, in parallel with the spin coating process, the nozzle 22 is cleaned at the cleaning position. That is, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply tank. The cleaning liquid from the tank flows into the gap 28 via the connection joint 31 and the cleaning liquid introduction path 30. At this time, since the cleaning liquid introduction path 30 is eccentrically directed to one side with respect to the center of the nozzle 22 as described above, the flowing cleaning liquid flows spirally along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 22. Moreover, nozzle block 2
6 is provided with an uneven portion 32 near the lowermost end thereof, so that the plurality of convex portions 34 constituting the uneven portion 32 are brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 22 to reduce the size of the gap 28. Thus, the flow of the cleaning liquid from the concave portion 36 is rectified by the rectifying action of the uneven portion 32 in the radial direction of the through hole 24. Therefore, the cleaning liquid uniformly flows to the tip of the nozzle 22, and the chemical liquid attached to the nozzle 22 is completely and evenly washed away. When the cleaning process of the nozzle 22 is completed, the nozzle 22 is moved to a nozzle standby position (not shown) to wait for the next chemical solution application cycle.

When the spin coating process is completed as described above, the substrate W is taken out and one cycle operation is completed. When the process is to be performed continuously, the above operation (chemical solution application cycle) is repeated.

In the above embodiment, the cleaning liquid introduction path 3
The case where two 0s are provided has been described, but the same effect can be obtained when one or three or more 0s are provided. Also,
In the above embodiment, the uneven portion 32 is formed on the inner peripheral surface of the through hole 24 of the nozzle block 26. However, the uneven portion may be formed on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 22 instead. In this case, the uneven portion may be formed at least on the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 22 at a position corresponding to the vicinity of the tip of the through hole 24.

In the above description, the case where the chemical liquid supply nozzle with the nozzle cleaning mechanism according to the present invention is applied to the spin coating apparatus has been described. However, the application object is not limited to this, and the rotary application apparatus is rotatably supported. The present invention can be applied to various types of rotary substrate processing apparatuses, such as a rotary developing apparatus that supplies a developing solution to a substrate or a rotary etching apparatus that supplies an etching solution.

[0025]

According to the invention, the cleaning liquid introduction path is directed eccentrically to one side with respect to the center of the nozzle,
In addition, an uneven portion is provided on the nozzle block, and the convex portion comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle to keep the size of the gap uniform, and guides the cleaning liquid from the gap to the tip of the nozzle through the recess. Therefore, the tip of the nozzle can be cleaned well and uniformly over the entire circumference.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a spin coating apparatus to which a chemical solution supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism according to the present invention can be applied.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a chemical solution supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line BB of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 22 Nozzle 24 Through-hole 26 Nozzle block 28 Gap 30 Cleaning liquid introduction path 32 Irregular part 34 Convex part 36 Concave part W Substrate

Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number in the agency FI Technical display location H01L 21/30 569C

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] 1. A tubular nozzle for supplying a chemical solution to a rotatably supported substrate, and a hole penetrating in a vertical direction is provided,
A nozzle block is provided so that the nozzle can be inserted through the through-hole. The outer peripheral surface of the nozzle penetrates the nozzle block through a cleaning liquid introduction path provided in the nozzle block so as to communicate with the through-hole. By supplying the cleaning liquid to the gap between the inner peripheral surface of the hole, the cleaning liquid flows down along the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle, and the chemical liquid supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism for a rotary processing apparatus in which the nozzle tip is cleaned with the cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid introduction path is eccentrically directed to one side with respect to the center of the nozzle, and at least one of the inner peripheral surface of the through hole of the nozzle block or the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle is provided with an uneven portion. The convex portion keeps the size of the gap uniform, and the cleaning liquid from the gap is guided to the tip of the nozzle through the concave portion. A chemical solution supply nozzle with a nozzle cleaning mechanism.