JP3243708B2 - Processing method and processing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing method and apparatus for cleaning and drying an object to be processed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD glass substrate is sequentially immersed in a processing liquid tank in which a processing liquid such as a cleaning liquid or a rinsing liquid is stored. Is widely used. Further, such a cleaning apparatus is provided with a drying device that transports the object to be processed washed in the processing liquid tank to another tank in the atmosphere and dries the object to be processed in the tank. However, in such a cleaning / drying apparatus, an object to be processed, for example, a semiconductor wafer, which has been cleaned in a processing liquid tank, is transferred to a drying apparatus for drying the object to be processed in the atmosphere. There is a problem that particles in the atmosphere are trapped by water droplets and the like that adhere to the wafer, and when the particles are dried by a drying device, the particles remain on the surface of the wafer.

As a method for solving this problem, after a cleaning treatment is performed with a washing fluid in a container for accommodating the object to be processed, a dry gas such as IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is supplied into the container to remove the washing fluid. A surface drying treatment method in which the flushing fluid is replaced with a dry gas by directly displacing the flushing fluid from the surface of the treatment target at a speed at which droplets do not substantially remain on the surface of the treatment target after the replacement with the dry gas. Is known (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-169003).

[0004]

By the way, in order to remove a natural oxide film and metal impurities on the surface of the object to be treated, the object to be treated is treated with a chemical solution of hydrofluoric acid (HF) in addition to the cleaning step. Thereafter, a process of removing the chemical solution by, for example, cleaning with pure water is performed. In order to perform such cleaning / drying processing, it is necessary to perform pure water cleaning processing after subjecting the object to be processed with a chemical solution with HF and then perform drying processing. The processing method and processing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-169003 cannot be directly applied. Therefore, the HF processing section and the drying processing section must be provided separately.

However, in the case of cleaning with pure water after the chemical solution treatment with HF, as shown in FIG. 10, pure water is supplied toward the surface of the object to be processed, for example, the semiconductor wafer W.
A certain time is required for rinsing with pure water, so that HF remains on the surface of the wafer W, and the remaining HF causes the wafer W to be etched, thereby deteriorating the in-plane uniformity of the wafer W. . In addition, since the residual HF is in the form of water droplets, particles in the atmosphere may be trapped in the water droplets during transportation to the drying device as described above, and some of the water droplets may be dried or dried by the drying device. In addition, there is a problem that drying unevenness occurs on the surface of the wafer W and lowers the yield in the next step.

The object to be processed is a bare wafer or a poly wafer.
In the case of a hydrophobic wafer such as a wafer with a Si film, if pure water cleaning is performed after the HF treatment, impurities such as SiOx, which are considered to be generated by air entrapment or a silica component in the pure water, adhere to the wafer surface or There is also a problem in that they are generated and cause a defect at the time of pattern formation, which causes a reduction in yield.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides a processing method and a processing apparatus capable of suppressing adhesion of particles to a processing target or uneven drying when processing and cleaning and drying the processing target. The purpose is to provide.

[0008]

To achieve the above object, according to the Invention The first processing method of the present invention is a processing method for dry chemical processing and cleaning the object to be processed, constituting the processing unit
Treating the object to be treated disposed in the inner tank with a chemical solution, discharging the chemical solution from a discharge port provided at the bottom of the inner tank, and treating the object to be treated. A step of cleaning with a cleaning liquid and a step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid.
After that, the chemical solution and cleaning solution overflowing from the inner tank are
An outer tub to receive and a cup to open and close the opening of this outer tub
And tightly seal the space between the inner tank and the cup.
And drying from a gas supply port provided in the outer tank.
A dry gas is supplied and an upper part of the outer tank is provided.
Exhausting the dry gas from an exhaust port , forming an area having hydrophobicity with respect to the object at the interface of the cleaning liquid, and substantially projecting the object from the interface. Drying with a drying gas while drying (claim 1).

A second processing method according to the present invention is a processing method for treating, cleaning, and drying an object to be treated with a chemical solution, wherein the object to be treated, which is disposed in an inner tank constituting a processing section, is treated with a chemical solution. A step of treating, wherein the chemical is provided at the bottom of the inner tank.
Draining from the discharged outlet , cleaning the object with a cleaning liquid, and cleaning the object with a cleaning liquid.
After the process, the chemical solution overflowing from the inner tank and washing
Open and close the outer tank that receives the purified liquid and the opening of this outer tank
Close the cup and airtight between the inner tank and the cup
And a gas supply port provided in the outer tank.
Supply dry gas from
Exhausting the dry gas from the exhaust port , forming a region containing the dry gas at the interface of the cleaning liquid, and causing the object to be processed to substantially protrude from the interface, it is characterized in that and a step of drying the drying gas atmosphere is formed above (claim 2).

[0010] A third processing method of the present invention is a processing method for treating, cleaning and drying an object to be treated with a chemical solution, wherein the object to be treated disposed in an inner tank constituting a processing section is treated with a chemical solution. A step of treating, wherein the chemical is provided at the bottom of the inner tank.
Draining from the discharged outlet , cleaning the object with a cleaning liquid, and cleaning the object with a cleaning liquid.
After the process, the chemical solution overflowing from the inner tank and washing
Open and close the outer tank that receives the purified liquid and the opening of this outer tank
Close the cup and airtight between the inner tank and the cup
And a gas supply port provided in the outer tank.
Supply dry gas from
Exhausting the dry gas from the exhaust port provided, and applying the cleaning liquid in a state where the object to be processed is maintained in the cleaning liquid.
Discharging from an outlet provided at the bottom of the inner tank ;
A step of substantially projecting the object to be processed from the interface of the cleaning liquid into a dry gas atmosphere formed above the interface and drying the object.

[0011] In the above processing method, the inner tank and the cup
After the step of between the airtight state, the overflow the washing liquid in the inner tank from the inner tank to the outer tank, preferably laterally supplying an inert gas into the airtight atmosphere (claim 4). Also,
Provided above the inner tank during the process of cleaning the workpiece with the cleaning liquid
Detecting the specific resistance of the cleaning liquid by obtained resistivity detecting means, after the specific resistance value of the washing liquid reaches a predetermined value, who performs the drying process is preferred (claim 5).

Further, a first processing apparatus of the present invention is a processing apparatus for processing, cleaning and drying an object to be processed with a chemical solution,
A processing unit for processing the object to be processed, a dry gas generation unit that generates a dry gas by heating a solvent, and a dry gas supply path that communicates the processing unit and the dry gas generation unit,
The processing unit includes an inner tank that stores the object to be processed,
Receives overflowing chemicals and cleaning solutions from the tank
It is composed of an outer tub, to the tank bottom, provided with a supply and discharge port of the chemical solution and the cleaning liquid, provided a forced drainage mechanism to at least chemical outlet in the outer tub, to interposed off valve
Providing a gas supply port connecting the dry gas supply path
In both cases, an exhaust passage with an on-off valve is connected to the upper part of this outer tank.
A continuous exhaust port is provided, close to the outer tank, and connected to the inner tank.
In which characterized in that a cup airtight between (claim 6).

[0013] A second processing apparatus of the present invention is a processing apparatus for processing an object to be processed with a chemical solution, cleaning and drying the object,
A processing unit for processing the object to be processed, a dry gas generation unit that generates a dry gas by heating a solvent, and a dry gas supply path that communicates the processing unit and the dry gas generation unit,
The processing unit includes an inner tank that stores the object to be processed,
Receives overflowing chemicals and cleaning solutions from the tank
It is composed of an outer tub, to the tank bottom, provided with a supply and discharge port of the chemical solution and the cleaning liquid, provided a forced drainage mechanism to at least chemical outlet in the outer tub, to interposed off valve
Providing a gas supply port connecting the dry gas supply path
In both cases, an exhaust passage with an on-off valve is connected to the upper part of this outer tank.
A continuous exhaust port is provided, close to the outer tank, and connected to the inner tank.
The cup between airtight provided on the tank top portion and is characterized in that a specific resistance detection means for measuring the resistivity of the cleaning liquid supplied to the inner tank (according Item 7 ). In this case, better to control the opening and closing means of the cleaning liquid supply section based on a signal from the control means for receiving a detection signal from the specific resistance detecting means it is preferable (claim 8). Further, it is preferable to control the opening / closing means of the dry gas supply unit based on a signal from a control means that receives a detection signal from the specific resistance detection means (Claim 9 ).

In the above processing apparatus, the forcible drainage mechanism includes a plurality of drainage ports provided at the bottom of the processing section, a lid for opening and closing each drainage port, and an opening / closing means for driving the lid to open and close. (Claim 10 ) or a lid having a supply / discharge port for supplying a chemical solution and a cleaning liquid and capable of coming in contact with and separating from the bottom of the processing unit; it can be constituted by the opening and closing means for opening and closing (claim 1
1 ).

According to the present invention, after the object to be processed disposed in the inner tank constituting the processing section is treated with the chemical, the chemical is removed .
The liquid was discharged from a discharge port provided at the bottom of the tank , and then the object to be processed was washed with a cleaning liquid, and then overflowed from the inner tank.
An outer tank that receives chemicals and cleaning liquid, and the opening of this outer tank
Close the cup that opens and closes the air tightly.
Dense, then through the gas supply port provided in the outer tank
A dry gas is supplied and provided on the outer tank.
By exhausting the drying gas from the exhaust port , forming a region having hydrophobicity with respect to the object at the interface of the cleaning liquid, and drying the object with the drying gas while substantially protruding the object from the interface. The chemical treatment, the cleaning treatment, and the drying treatment can be continuously performed without exposing the target object to the atmosphere. At this time, by forcibly discharging the chemical solution after the chemical solution treatment, the residue of the chemical solution on the surface of the object to be processed can be suppressed. Also, when projecting the object from the interface of the cleaning liquid,
Since the residue of the cleaning liquid on the object to be processed can be suppressed and the object can be exposed to a dry gas, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven drying of the object to be processed.

Further, during the step of cleaning the object to be processed with the cleaning liquid, the specific resistance of the cleaning liquid is detected by a specific resistance detecting means provided at the upper part of the inner tank, and the specific resistance of the cleaning liquid becomes a predetermined value. Then, by supplying a drying gas and discharging the cleaning liquid while the object to be processed is maintained in the cleaning liquid, the cleaning processing can be ensured and the cleaning / drying processing can be performed quickly.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cleaning processing system 1 including a processing apparatus according to the present invention.
And a loader section 3 and an unloader section 4 provided at both end portions of the cleaning processing section 2 to constitute a main part.

The loader unit 3 includes a predetermined number of uncleaned objects, for example, semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, referred to as wafers).
For example, a mounting section 5 for loading and mounting 25 carriers C accommodated therein, a wafer taken out of the carrier C of the mounting section 5 and positioned, and a predetermined interval and a predetermined number of wafers are transferred as described later. It mainly comprises a transfer device 8 for transferring to the relay section 7 which transfers the data to the mechanism 17.

The cleaning section 2 includes a plurality of cleaning units 10a, 1 from the primary cleaning unit to the n-th cleaning unit.
, 10n are sequentially arranged. The cleaning unit 10a in each of the cleaning units 10a to 10n includes, for example, a chemical tank 11, a primary washing tank 12, and a secondary washing tank 13. After the chemical liquid is washed in the chemical tank 11, the primary washing tank 12 and the secondary washing tank are used. After cleaning the chemical solution attached to the wafer with pure water in the tank 13, the wafer is transferred to a predetermined cleaning unit among the downstream cleaning units 10b to 10n and subjected to a predetermined process.

The cleaning unit 10n at the most downstream side of the cleaning processing unit 2 is subjected to a treatment with a chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid (HF) and a final cleaning with pure water in the same tank as described later, For example, a cleaning / cleaning apparatus according to the present invention for drying a wafer that has been cleaned with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) or the like as a solvent.
The cleaning / drying processing tanks 20 (processing units) of the drying processing apparatus 15 are sequentially arranged so that a series of cleaning processing can be performed.

Further, a plurality of wafers, for example, 50 wafers are received from the relay unit 7 by a gripping mechanism, for example, a wafer chuck 16, and the wafers are collectively gripped on the sides of the cleaning units 10 b to 10 n. A transfer mechanism 17 is provided for moving the wafer in the vertical and horizontal directions and carrying the wafer into and out of a predetermined processing tank. In the present embodiment, a plurality of, for example, three transport mechanisms 17 are provided, and by limiting the transport range, care is taken to prevent interference of, for example, a chemical solution between the cleaning units 10b to 10n. .

On the other hand, the unloader section 4 includes a mounting section 6 which is capable of mounting a carrier C for storing a wafer which has been cleaned and dried by the above-described cleaning units 10b to 10n. The wafer returned to the carrier C after the cleaning / drying processing from the section 6 is completed is carried out of the mounting.

Next, the configuration of the cleaning / drying processing device 15 of the cleaning unit 10n, which is the processing device of the present invention, will be described.

First Embodiment As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cleaning / drying processing apparatus 15 includes a cleaning liquid such as pure water and a chemical such as HF (specifically, HF: H2O = 1: 99 to 1). : A cleaning / drying processing tank 20 (hereinafter, referred to as a processing tank) as a box-shaped processing section configured to be able to store the HF liquid (19: HF solution), and a dry gas generating section 40 for heating the IPA to generate a dry gas. And the processing tank 20
Dry gas supply path 30 that communicates with the dry gas generator 40
And an inert gas, for example, nitrogen (N2) gas supply passage 50 which communicates with the dry gas supply passage 30 via the three-way switching valve V6 and the filter 51.

The processing tank 20 is provided in the processing tank 20 and has a holder 21 for vertically holding a predetermined interval, for example, a half pitch and a predetermined number of, for example, 50 wafers W, which are carried in by the transfer mechanism 17. It has. The processing tank 20 includes an inner tank 20a in which the holder 21 is stored and capable of immersing the wafer W in the processing liquid, and an inner tank 2a.
The outer tank 20b receives pure water overflowing from the upper end of the outer tank 20a. A discharge port 22 for discharging the pure water is provided at the bottom of the outer tank 20b. From the discharge port 22, the used pure water is collected by a collecting means 23 through a pipe. Have been.

A supply / discharge port 24 is provided at the bottom 20c of the inner tank 20a. A line L1 for discharging pure water from the inner tank 20a to the supply / discharge port 24, and an inner tank 2
A line L2 for supplying pure water for primary cleaning into the inner tank 20a and a line L3 for supplying HF into the inner tank 20a are connected to each other. The line L1 is connected to the pure water from the supply / discharge port 24 via the opening / closing means V1. Is collected by the collecting means 23. The line L2 is connected to a supply pipe 19a for supplying pure water into the inner tank 20a via a pump P1 and an on-off valve V2. The line L3 is provided with a supply pipe 19b for supplying the HF liquid to the inner tank 20a via the pump P2 and the on-off valve V3.
Is connected to

The supply / discharge port 24 from the lines L2 and L3
The pure water and the HF solution introduced into the tank are retained by the holding fixture 21.
Through the rectifying means 25 interposed between the wafer W and the bottom portion 20c, turbulence is suppressed and the wafer W is supplied uniformly around the wafer W.

In this case, the rectifying means 25 is provided in the processing tank 2.
Rectifier plate 25 horizontally arranged so as to partition 0 vertically
a and a diffusion plate 25 disposed above the supply / discharge port 24
b. A large number of small holes 25c are formed in the current plate 25a, and pure water or HF liquid introduced from the supply / discharge port 24 first collides with the back surface of the diffusion plate 25b, and the diffusion plate 25b It is diffused from the peripheral edge to the entire back surface of the current plate 25a, and then the small holes 25c of the current plate 25a are formed.
And the wafer W held by the holder 21
, The wafer W is wrapped at a uniform flow rate without generating turbulence, and the entire wafer W can be uniformly washed or immersed.

On both sides of the bottom of the inner tank 20a of the processing tank 20, forcible drainage mechanisms 60 for draining the HF liquid accumulated in the inner tank 20a in a short time are provided. The forced drainage mechanism 60 includes a large-diameter drain port 61 provided on the bottom side wall of the inner tank 20a, a lid 62 that opens and closes the drain port 61, and an opening and closing drive that opens and closes the lid 62. For example, a hydraulic cylinder 63 is provided. The opening / closing drive means may be, for example, an air cylinder other than the hydraulic cylinder 63, and may be of any type such as a mechanical type such as a link mechanism or an electric type using a solenoid.

The opening / closing drive means for the forced drainage mechanism 60 constructed as described above, for example, the hydraulic cylinder 63 is driven to separate the lid 62 from the drainage port 61 so that the wafer W is immersed and processed. The HF liquid accumulated in the inner tank 20a can be discharged to the outside in a short time. The HF liquid discharged from the inner tank 20a is discharged to a predetermined drain tank via a drain pipe (not shown).

On the other hand, on the upper side of the processing tank 20, a cleaning liquid for secondary cleaning, for example, a supply section of pure water is provided. As shown in FIG. 2, the pure water supply unit is formed of a tank 100 that is connected to a line L4 branched from a line L2 and temporarily stores pure water. Pure water is temporarily stored in the pure water supply tank 100 via an on-off valve V4 provided on the line L4 and the pump P1.
A predetermined amount of pure water is supplied to the wafer W in the inner tank 20a by operating the on-off valve Vt provided at the supply port No. 00. Note that the tank 100 may be connected to another supply source. Alternatively, pure water may be supplied from the supply / discharge port 24 to perform pure water cleaning.

A dry gas supply port 31 connected to a dry gas supply path 30 is provided on one side of the opposite side of the outer tank 20b of the processing tank 20, and an exhaust port 32 is provided on the other upper wall. The exhaust port 32 is connected to an exhaust path 34 provided with an on-off valve V5 and an exhaust means 33. A heating means, for example, a heater (not shown) for setting the temperature to a temperature equal to or higher than the boiling point of the dry gas, and preferably to a predetermined temperature equal to or higher than 80 ° C. in the case of the IPA gas is provided on the outer peripheral portion of the dry gas supply path 30. ing.

A cup 27 is provided above the processing tank 20, as shown in FIG. The cup 27 includes a sealing member such as an O-ring 28 that contacts the upper surface of the outer tub 20b. The cup 27 approaches or separates from the outer tub 20b by a moving mechanism (not shown) as indicated by an arrow in the drawing. The opening of the processing tank 20 can be opened and closed.

As described above, the outer tank 20b of the processing tank 20
The dry gas supply path 3 communicating with the inert gas supply path 50
0 and the exhaust path 34, a drying gas such as IPA gas and an inert gas such as N2
Gas can be supplied and exhausted as needed. In this case, since the supply / discharge section of the dry gas is not provided in the cup 27, it is not necessary to use a flexible tube made of a synthetic resin such as PFA for supplying the dry gas in the moving section of the cup 27. Therefore,
When the flexible tube is used, it is possible to prevent the flexible tube from deteriorating due to the heating temperature of the drying gas, for example, the high temperature of the boiling point of IPA gas of 80 ° C. or more, and to generate particles and the like.

A through-hole 71 is provided above the inner tank 20a of the processing tank 20, and the specific resistance of the secondary cleaning pure water in the inner tank 20a is formed in the through-hole 71. A detection tube 72 provided with a specific resistance value detector 70 as specific resistance value detecting means for detection is connected. By providing the specific resistance value detector 70 in this manner, after treating the wafer W with the HF liquid, the HF liquid is drained, and then pure water for secondary cleaning is supplied to the wafer W in the inner tank 20a. The specific resistance value of the mixed solution of pure water and HF liquid in the inner tank 20a when the secondary cleaning is performed can be detected. For example, when the specific resistance value reaches 6 to 7 MΩ, By driving 80, it is notified that the secondary cleaning has been completed, and the drying step of the next step can be performed. The specific resistance of pure water is 18 MΩ.

On the other hand, the dry gas generating section 40 includes a vapor generating section 41 of a solvent, for example, IPA, and a cooling section 42 for shutting off the dry gas for condensing the IPA vapor (dry gas) in the vapor generating section 41. It is mainly composed.

In this case, the vapor generation section 41 has a liquid storage section 43 provided at the bottom of the vapor generation section 41 for storing IPA, and a heater 44 is provided below the liquid storage section 43. I have. Further, the cooling unit 42 includes the steam generation unit 41
Is formed by a cooling snake pipe piped along an inner wall on the upper side of the cooling snake pipe, and a refrigerant is supplied into the cooling snake pipe by driving a coolant supply means 45 communicating with the cooling snake pipe.

With this configuration, in a state in which the refrigerant is supplied into the cooling coil, the vapor of the IPA is condensed and the outflow of the dry gas upward, that is, toward the dry gas supply path 30 is prevented. When the driving of the refrigerant supply unit 45 is stopped and the supply of the refrigerant to the cooling coil is stopped, the dry gas generated by the steam generation unit 41 is supplied into the processing tank 20 via the dry gas supply path 30. It has become so.

A discharge port 46 is provided on the upper side wall of the cooling section 42 of the steam generation section 41.
A discharge path 47 is communicated with an opening means such as an opening / closing valve V7. Further, the discharge path 47 is connected to an exhaust unit 48.

The on-off valves V1 to V7, Vt, the pumps P1, P2, the refrigerant supply means 45, and the specific resistance detector 70 are controlled by the control means 80 for controlling the processing of the cleaning / drying processing apparatus 15 by predetermined processing. It is configured to be driven according to a program.

Next, a normal operation of the above embodiment will be described. First, as shown in FIG.
Of the loader unit 3 is loaded from outside the cleaning system 1 by, for example, a transfer robot (not shown) or an operator.

Then, the carrier C is sequentially clamped by the transfer device 8 and transferred to the relay section 7. In the relay section 7, the wafers W in the carrier C are aligned, for example, aligned with an orientation flat, and a predetermined number of processed wafers, for example, 50 wafers, and each of the wafers W are aligned for a predetermined time, and these wafers W are collectively collected. Transfer mechanism 17
Is held on the wafer chuck 16.

Thereafter, the wafer chuck 1 of the transfer mechanism 17
The wafer W for one lot held in 6 is transferred to the chemical solution tank 11 of the cleaning unit 10a, and a predetermined chemical solution is introduced into the chemical solution tank 11, and a predetermined cleaning process is performed on the wafer W. As the predetermined process, a predetermined chemical solution is introduced according to the type of contamination attached to the surface of the wafer W, for example, an organic impurity, a metal impurity, and the like, and a chemical solution cleaning process is performed. In this case, with respect to organic matter contamination, cleaning is performed with a mixed solution of aqueous ammonia and aqueous hydrogen peroxide.

After the cleaning, the wafer W is taken out of the chemical solution tank 11 by the transfer mechanism 17 and transferred to the primary washing tank 12, where the primary cleaning with pure water is performed. After that, the wafer W after the pure water cleaning is sent to the secondary water washing tank 13, where the secondary cleaning with the pure water is performed, and the chemical liquid attached to the wafer W is more completely cleaned. The secondary washing tank 13 is also referred to as an interface tank, and is provided between adjacent washing units for washing with different kinds of chemicals, and has a function as a buffer for preventing mixing of both chemicals. Have

Thereafter, after performing necessary cleaning processing on the wafer W, the wafer W is transferred to the processing tank 20 of the cleaning unit 10n shown in FIG.
The wafer W is arranged at a predetermined position of the holder 21 in the inner tank 20a.

When the wafer W is placed in the inner tank 20a, the pump P and the opening / closing valve V2 are driven by the control means 80, and the pure water is fed into the inner tank 20a at a predetermined flow rate by the opening / closing valve V2. Pure water overflowing from the inner tank 20a flows into the outer tank 20b and is collected by the collecting means 23. In other words, when the wafer W is loaded into the inner tank 20a by the transfer mechanism 17, if the pure water stored in the inner tank 20a is always supplied with new pure water and not discharged from the inner tank 20a to the outer tank 20b, the transfer is performed. Pure water is supplied into the inner tank 20a in order to draw particles adhering to the mechanism 17 and the like into the inner tank 20a and lower the yield of the wafer W.

Thereafter, the cleaning and drying processing of the wafer W is performed according to the procedure of the flowchart shown in FIG. That is, the control means 80 is controlled according to a predetermined processing program.
By driving the pump P and the on-off valve V2, the pure water is flowed by the on-off valve V2 at a predetermined flow rate (the flow rate may be changed stepwise) and for a predetermined time or the resistance value of the pure water in the inner tank 20a becomes a predetermined value. The cleaning process is performed while flowing into the inner tank 20a until the value reaches the value (Step A).

When the pump P1 stops and the on-off valve V2 closes to complete the primary cleaning process, the pump P2 and the on-off valve V3 are then driven by the control means 80, and the above H is stored in the inner tank 20a.
Fluid F has a predetermined flow rate (flow rate may be changed stepwise)
The wafer W is immersed in the inner tank 20a for a predetermined time to remove the natural oxide film and metal impurities (step B).

When the pump P2 stops and the on-off valve V3 closes to complete the chemical treatment, the hydraulic cylinder 63 of the forced drainage mechanism 60 is driven by the control means 80, and the lid 62 closes the drainage port 61. When opened, the H accumulated in the inner tank 20a
The liquid F is discharged (discharged) to the outside in a short time (step C).

After the chemical liquid draining step is completed and the lid 62 closes the drain port 61 again, the pump P1 and the on-off valves V2 and V4 are closed.
The secondary cleaning is performed by supplying the pure water previously stored in the tank 100 by driving the tank 100 to the wafer W by opening the on-off valve Vt in accordance with a command from the control means 80 (step D). ). The HF adhering to the wafer W in the previous chemical solution processing step by this secondary cleaning process
While removing the liquid residue, the wafer W is immersed in pure water for secondary cleaning. At this time, a part of the mixture of the pure water and the HF solution flows to the detection tube 72 via the opening 71, and the detection tube 72
The specific resistance value is detected by a specific resistance value detector 70 interposed between the first and second sensors. Then, the detected specific resistance value is 6 to 7M.
If it is equal to or more than Ω, the secondary cleaning process is finished. If the specific resistance value is 6 to 7 MΩ or less, the secondary cleaning is continued (step E).

When the secondary cleaning process is completed, the cup 27 is moved to the outer tub 20b as shown in FIG.
The O-ring 28 of the cup 27 and the upper surface of the outer tank 20b are brought into close contact with each other to make the cup 27 and the inner tank 20a airtight (step F). In this state, the pump P1 and the on-off valve V2 are driven while supplying N2 gas from the N2 gas supply means into the processing tank 20 by the control means 80, and pure water is supplied from the supply / discharge port 24 to the inner tank 20a. As shown in FIG. 5, the level of pure water is raised in the y1 direction, and the level of the pure water overflows from the upper surface of the inner tank 20a.
Low (overflow). By doing so, N
2 The particles adhering to the inside of the cup 27 and the like due to the introduction of the gas are discharged from the inner tank 20a, and the particles floating on the interface of pure water are also discharged. In this way, after a predetermined time, the on-off valve V2 is closed by the control means 80 and the inner tank 20 is closed.
The supply of pure water into a is stopped. At this time, the wafer W is kept state kept in pure water. Further , during the cleaning / chemical solution treatment, the dry gas generation unit 40
In this case, the vapor of IPA is generated, condensed by the cooling medium supplied to the cooling section, that is, the cooling coil by driving the cooling medium supply means 45, and the supply to the drying gas supply path 30 is prevented. At this time, the opening / closing means V7 is closed.

Next, the control means 80 opens the on-off valve V5, drives the exhaust means 33, and stops the supply from the N2 gas supply means by the control means 80.
The drive of the refrigerant supply means 45 is stopped. As a result, the pressure between the cup 27 and the inner tank 20a is set to a predetermined pressure, and is filled with the IPA gas. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, an IPA liquid layer in which the IPA gas is dissolved is formed at a predetermined distance y2 and a predetermined concentration from the liquid level LD of the pure water in the inner tank 20a (Step G).

The width and concentration of the above-mentioned IPA liquid tank are as follows:
Based on the data obtained in advance, the width is set under conditions such as the flow rate of the IPA gas, its inflow time, and the pressure between the cup 27 and the inner tank 20a due to the exhaust of the exhaust means so that the width becomes a desired optimum value. You.

Thereafter, the control means 80 closes the on-off valve V5 and stops the exhaust means 33, opens the on-off valve V1 while flowing the IPA gas at a predetermined flow rate, and supplies pure water to the bottom of the inner tank 20a, that is, to supply pure water. The wafer W is discharged from the discharge port 24 at a predetermined flow rate until the wafer W is not immersed in the liquid, and a drying process is performed (step H). In this step, it is preferable that the amount of pure water discharged from the inner tank 20a be discharged so that the pure water does not substantially remain on the wafer W.

Next, the drying of the wafer W during the discharge of the pure water will be described with reference to FIG. The above supply
When pure water is discharged from the discharge port 24 at a predetermined flow rate in the direction of the arrow, a mountain 92 is formed on the wafer W at the interface of the IPA liquid layer 90 formed at the interface of the pure water 91 as described above. The boundary between the IPA liquid layer 90 and the pure water 91 is
A valley 93 occurs. This valley 93 is IPA
This occurs regardless of the state of the surface of the wafer W due to the wettability of the wafer W, and the surface of the wafer W becomes hydrophobic. Due to this hydrophobic state, the pure water 91 also becomes a valley-shaped 93 with respect to the wafer W.
It is possible to suppress the residue on the wafer W when being pulled up to the A gas atmosphere. Further, since the pure water 91 also forms a valley 93 with respect to the wafer W due to the hydrophobic state, when the wafer W is pulled up from the liquid to the IPA gas atmosphere, water drops of the pure water 91 do not remain on the surface of the wafer W. . Then, when the wafer W comes out of the surface into the IPA gas atmosphere, the wafer W is dried by the IPA gas.

Thereafter, the control means 80 opens the on-off valve V5, drives the exhaust means 33, drives the refrigerant supply means 45, supplies the refrigerant into the cooling coil, and stops the supply of the IPA gas. . Thereafter, the cup 27 is detached from the processing tank 20 by a moving mechanism (not shown).

Next, the on-off valve V7 is opened by the control means 80 and the exhaust means 48 is driven to drive the dry gas supply path 30.
The remaining IPA gas is exhausted. After discharging the IPA gas for a predetermined time, the N2 gas supply means is driven by the control means 80 to supply the N2 gas into the dry gas supply path 30, and the inside of the dry gas supply path 30 is replaced with an N2 gas atmosphere. .

Thereafter, by repeating the above steps, that is, the above steps A to H, a predetermined number of sheets, for example, 5
Zero wafers W can be continuously washed and dried.

The washed and dried wafer W is stored in a predetermined carrier C placed on the placing section 6 of the unloader section 4 via the transfer mechanism 17, and a series of washing and drying steps is completed. I do.

Second Embodiment FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of a second embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention. The second embodiment is a case where the processing time of the cleaning processing and the chemical liquid processing can be reduced.
That is, by providing a plurality of, for example, two supply / discharge ports 24 provided at the bottom of the inner tank 20a, the supply amount and discharge amount of pure water for primary cleaning are increased, and
This is a case where the supply time of the liquid is increased so that the processing time can be shortened. Although two supply / discharge ports 24 are provided in the drawing, three or more supply / discharge ports may be provided. In the second embodiment, other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and thus the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

Third Embodiment FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a main part of a third embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention. In the third embodiment, a case is provided in which a forced drainage mechanism 60 is provided which enables a large amount of drainage of a chemical solution such as an HF solution to be drained in a shorter time. That is, the inner tank 20
The drainage port 61 is formed by opening the entire bottom of “a”, and a lid 64 having a plurality of, for example, two supply / discharge ports 24 is disposed in the drainage port 61 so as to be openable and closable. This is a case where the opening / closing drive unit 64 is driven to open / close by a drive unit such as a hydraulic cylinder 65. With this configuration, the HF liquid accumulated in the inner tank 20a can be drained instantaneously, and the processing time can be reduced and the adhesion of particles to the wafer W can be more reliably suppressed. it can.

In the third embodiment, the supply / discharge port 24
Is not necessarily two, but may be three or more, or may be one. In the third embodiment, other parts are the same as those in the first embodiment, and therefore, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the effects of the above embodiment will be described. By performing the cleaning and drying of the wafer W as described above, the cleaning / drying processing tank 20 continuously performs the primary cleaning-chemical solution processing-secondary cleaning-drying processing of the wafer W without exposing the wafer W to the atmosphere. Can be. Further, since the chemical solution can be forcibly discharged (discharged) in a short time after the chemical solution treatment, the residue of the chemical solution on the surface of the wafer W can be suppressed, and particles in the atmosphere can be prevented from adhering. Thus, the yield in the cleaning / drying process of the wafer W can be improved. Further, the yield in the cleaning / drying process of the wafer W can be improved, so that the processing of the wafer W in the next process, for example, when performing a film forming process with a CVD device, an etching process with an etching device, a resist process with a coating device, or the like. Yield can be improved. Further, after the cleaning step, the liquid surface area of the cleaning liquid is drained while supplying the N2 gas to remove particles mixed in the liquid, so that when the cleaning liquid is discharged, particles adhering to the wafer W can be prevented or prevented. The amount can be suppressed, and the yield of the wafer W can be improved. Furthermore, after the cleaning of the wafer W, a dry gas liquid layer is formed on the interface of the cleaning liquid, and the dry gas liquid layer is in a state of being hydrophobic with respect to the wafer W. In addition, the cleaning liquid can be prevented from adhering to the wafer W. Therefore, unevenness in drying of the wafer W is eliminated, and generation of a watermark or the like can be suppressed, and the yield of the wafer W can be improved.

After the drying process, the dry gas remaining in the dry gas supply path is discharged, and the inside of the dry gas supply path is replaced with an inert gas. Can be suppressed, and the occurrence of uneven drying or the like during the next drying process can be suppressed, and the yield can be improved.

Other Embodiments In the above-described embodiment, the temperature of pure water in the cleaning / drying tank is not specified separately.
By setting the temperature to a predetermined temperature substantially equal to or higher than that of the gas A, the formation of the IPA liquid layer on the surface of the pure water can be accelerated, and the throughput can be improved. In addition, IPA was used as the drying gas, but it is needless to say that the drying gas is not limited to this as long as it is soluble in pure water and has hydrophobicity to the object to be processed. Further, although a semiconductor wafer is used as an object to be processed, the present invention can be applied to a glass substrate or the like as a liquid crystal substrate. Further, although the N2 gas is used as the inert gas, a rare gas such as an argon gas may be used. In addition, although only the object to be processed is transported to the washing / drying processing tank, the processing may be performed by transporting the entire container accommodating the object to be processed to the processing tank at a predetermined pitch interval. In addition, the example in which the processing method and the processing apparatus of the present invention are applied to a cleaning processing system has been described. A system may be provided with some of them.

[0066]

According to the present invention, the processing section is constituted.
After treating the object to be treated disposed in the inner tank with the chemical, the chemical is drained from the outlet provided at the bottom of the inner tank , and then
After cleaning the object with the cleaning solution, overflow
And an outer tank for receiving the
Close the cup that opens and closes the opening, and
Airtight, and then the gas supply provided in the outer tank
A dry gas is supplied from the mouth, and it is installed above this outer tank.
The drying gas is exhausted from the exhaust port , a region having hydrophobicity to the object is formed at the interface of the cleaning liquid, and the object is dried with the drying gas while substantially protruding from the interface. Therefore, the chemical treatment, the cleaning treatment, and the drying treatment can be performed continuously without exposing the object to be treated to the atmosphere. At this time, by forcibly discharging the chemical solution after the chemical solution treatment, the residue of the chemical solution on the surface of the object to be processed can be suppressed. Also, when projecting the object from the interface of the cleaning liquid,
Since the residue of the cleaning liquid on the object to be processed can be suppressed and the object can be exposed to a dry gas, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of uneven drying of the object to be processed. Therefore, the yield and the throughput can be improved, and the size of the apparatus can be reduced.

2) During the step of cleaning the object to be processed with the cleaning liquid, the specific resistance of the cleaning liquid is detected by a specific resistance detecting means provided at the upper part of the inner tank, and the specific resistance of the cleaning liquid becomes a predetermined value. After that, while supplying the drying gas and discharging the cleaning liquid while the object to be processed is maintained in the cleaning liquid, the cleaning processing can be surely performed, and the cleaning / drying processing can be quickly performed. In addition to the above 1), the yield can be further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a cleaning system to which a processing apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a part of the first embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing a part of a processing unit in the present invention in a cross section.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a processing method of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view illustrating an operation of a cleaning process according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view illustrating an operation of a drying process according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view illustrating an operation of a drying process according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a part of a second embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a part of a third embodiment of the processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a view for explaining a conventional cleaning process after a chemical solution process.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 20 cleaning / drying processing tank (processing section) 20a inner tank 20b outer tank 24 supply / discharge port 27 cup 30 dry gas supply path 31 dry gas supply port 32 exhaust port 34 exhaust path 40 dry gas generation section 50 inert gas supply path Reference Signs List 60 Forced drainage mechanism 61 Drainage port 62, 64 Lid 63, 65 Hydraulic cylinder (opening / closing drive means) 70 Specific resistance value detector (specific resistance value detection means) 80 Control means 90 IPA liquid layer 100 Tank V1 to V6, Vt opening / closing valve (opening / closing means) W Semiconductor wafer (workpiece)

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-84872 (JP, A) JP-A-3-169013 (JP, A) JP-A-62-109322 (JP, A) JP-A 64-64 71133 (JP, A) JP-A-8-148484 (JP, A) JP-A-1-210092 (JP, A) JP-A-7-283194 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/304

Claims (11)

(57) [Claims] 1. A method for treating, cleaning, and drying an object to be treated with a chemical solution, comprising: treating the object to be treated, which is disposed in an inner tank constituting a treatment unit , with a chemical solution; After the step of draining the liquid from a discharge port provided at the bottom of the inner tank , the step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid, and the step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid,
Outer tank that receives chemicals and cleaning liquids that overflow
And the cup that opens and closes the opening of this outer tank,
A step of sealing the space between the inner tank and the cup, and supplying a dry gas from a gas supply port provided in the outer tank.
And the exhaust port provided at the top of this outer tank
A step of exhausting a dry gas, a step of forming a region having hydrophobicity with respect to the object at the interface of the cleaning liquid, and a step of drying the object with the dry gas while substantially protruding the object from the interface. A drying step. 2. A treatment method for treating, cleaning, and drying an object to be treated with a chemical solution, comprising: treating the object to be treated, which is disposed in an inner tank constituting a treatment section , with a chemical solution; After the step of draining the liquid from a discharge port provided at the bottom of the inner tank , the step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid, and the step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid,
Outer tank that receives chemicals and cleaning liquids that overflow
And the cup that opens and closes the opening of this outer tank,
A step of sealing the space between the inner tank and the cup, and supplying a dry gas from a gas supply port provided in the outer tank.
And the exhaust port provided at the top of this outer tank
Exhausting the drying gas, forming a region containing the drying gas at the interface of the cleaning liquid, and drying the object to be processed formed above the interface while substantially protruding the object from the interface. processing method characterized by having the steps of drying by the gas atmosphere. 3. A treatment method for treating, cleaning, and drying an object to be treated with a chemical solution, comprising: treating the object to be treated, which is disposed in an inner tank constituting a treatment section , with a chemical solution; After the step of draining the liquid from a discharge port provided at the bottom of the inner tank , the step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid, and the step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid,
Outer tank that receives chemicals and cleaning liquids that overflow
And the cup that opens and closes the opening of this outer tank,
A step of sealing the space between the inner tank and the cup, and supplying a dry gas from a gas supply port provided in the outer tank.
And the exhaust port provided at the top of this outer tank
Exhausting a drying gas, discharging the cleaning liquid from a discharge port provided at the bottom of the inner tank while the object to be processed is maintained in the cleaning liquid, and interfacing the object to be processed with the cleaning liquid A step of substantially projecting into a dry gas atmosphere formed above the interface portion from above and drying. 4. The processing method according to claim 1 , wherein the cleaning liquid in the inner tank overflows from the inner tank to the outer tank after the step of sealing the space between the inner tank and the cup. And supplying an inert gas into an airtight atmosphere. 5. The processing method according to claim 1, wherein the processing object is provided above the inner tank during the step of cleaning the object to be processed with a cleaning liquid.
A processing method comprising: detecting a specific resistance value of a cleaning liquid by a specific resistance detection unit provided; and performing a drying process after the specific resistance value of the cleaning liquid reaches a predetermined value. 6. A workpiece a chemical treatment and washing and drying processing apparatus, a processing unit for processing the object to be processed, a drying gas generator for generating a solvent is heated to dry the gas, the A drying gas supply passage communicating the processing unit and the drying gas generation unit, wherein the processing unit includes: an inner tank that stores the object to be processed;
Receives overflowing chemicals and cleaning solutions from the tank
An outer tank, a supply / discharge port for a chemical solution and a cleaning liquid is provided at the bottom of the inner tank , a forced drainage mechanism is provided at least at a discharge port for the chemical solution, and an open / close valve is provided in the outer tank. Connect dry gas supply path
In addition to providing a continuous gas supply port, at the top of this outer tank,
An exhaust port is provided for connecting an exhaust path provided with an on-off valve, and is provided so as to be in close contact with the outer tank and airtight between the inner tank.
Tsu processing apparatus characterized in that a flop. 7. A workpiece a chemical treatment and washing and drying processing apparatus, a processing unit for processing the object to be processed, a drying gas generator for generating a solvent is heated to dry the gas, the A drying gas supply passage communicating the processing unit and the drying gas generation unit, wherein the processing unit includes: an inner tank that stores the object to be processed;
Receives overflowing chemicals and cleaning solutions from the tank
An outer tank, a supply / discharge port for a chemical solution and a cleaning liquid is provided at the bottom of the inner tank , a forced drainage mechanism is provided at least at a discharge port for the chemical solution, and an open / close valve is provided in the outer tank. Connect dry gas supply path
In addition to providing a continuous gas supply port, at the top of this outer tank,
An exhaust port is provided for connecting an exhaust path provided with an on-off valve, and is provided so as to be in close contact with the outer tank and airtight between the inner tank.
The-up provided on the tank top unit, the process is characterized in that a specific resistance detection means for measuring the resistivity of the cleaning liquid supplied to the inner tank device. 8. The processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the opening / closing means of the cleaning liquid supply unit is controlled based on a signal from a control means receiving a detection signal from the specific resistance detection means. 9. The processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the opening / closing means of the dry gas supply unit is controlled based on a signal from a control means for receiving a detection signal from the specific resistance detection means. apparatus. 10. An apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the forced drainage system, a plurality of drain port provided at the bottom of the processor, a lid for opening and closing the respective drain port, the lid A processing apparatus comprising: opening and closing means for opening and closing a body. In the processing apparatus 11. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the forced drainage mechanism, separable therefrom lid member against the bottom of the processing unit has a supply and discharge port of the chemical solution and the cleaning solution, the lid A processing apparatus comprising: opening and closing means for opening and closing a body.