JP3397884B2 - Substrate cleaning apparatus and substrate cleaning method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning device and a substrate.
Cleaning method , especially substrate cleaning device for cleaning substrate surface
And a substrate cleaning method .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Semiconductor wafers, glass rectangular substrates for liquid crystals,
2. Description of the Related Art A substrate cleaning apparatus is used to supply a cleaning liquid such as pure water to the surface of a substrate such as a color filter substrate to clean the substrate surface. A conventional substrate cleaning apparatus has a spin chuck that holds a substrate horizontally and is rotatable, and a capillary type nozzle that ejects a cleaning liquid from a fixed position on the outer peripheral side of the spin chuck. Here, the cleaning liquid is jetted from the nozzle onto the substrate surface while rotating the spin chuck to clean the substrate surface.

An apparatus has also been proposed in which a movable nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid is provided, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the center of a substrate rotated by the movable nozzle, and the cleaning liquid is diffused to the outer peripheral side to clean the substrate surface. There is.

[0004]

In the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus using the ejection nozzle of the capillary type, since the supply range of the cleaning liquid is narrow, a plurality of nozzles are required to supply the cleaning liquid to the entire surface of the substrate. . This complicates the device configuration such as piping. Further, when supplying the cleaning liquid from the fixed ejection nozzle, it is necessary to increase the discharge pressure of the cleaning liquid, which causes the cleaning liquid to bounce on the surface of the substrate, increasing the consumption of the cleaning liquid and increasing the amount of the cleaning liquid. Washing unevenness occurs between the contact part and the non-contact part. Further, in the conventional cleaning apparatus, since the cleaning liquid is rapidly supplied to the surface of the substrate, a rapid chemical change may occur between the cleaning liquid and the film formed on the surface, which may adversely affect the film.

An object of the present invention is to reduce uneven cleaning due to splashing of the cleaning liquid on the substrate surface in a substrate cleaning apparatus and a substrate cleaning method for supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder to clean the surface. Especially.
A further object is wash solution consumption conventional device substrate cleaning apparatus capable of reducing as compared with and substrate washing of the present invention
To provide a purification method .

[0006]

A substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention is an apparatus for cleaning a surface of a substrate, and is configured to relatively move a substrate holding unit for horizontally holding the substrate, a cleaning liquid supply unit.
It is provided with a means, a cleaning liquid ejecting nozzle, and a rotating mechanism . The cleaning liquid supply unit is movable in the horizontal direction relative to the substrate holding unit, and has a slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge unit extending in a direction intersecting the relative movement direction, and the cleaning liquid is supplied from the slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge unit to the substrate surface. It is a means of supplying. The relative movement means holds the slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge part on the substrate
Means for relative movement in the relative movement direction with respect to the section
It The cleaning liquid ejection nozzle is placed on the outer peripheral side of the substrate holder.
The cleaning liquid is jetted and supplied to the substrate. Rotation mechanism
Is a mechanism for rotating the substrate holder.

The cleaning liquid supply means preferably has a flow rate control valve for controlling the supply amount of the cleaning liquid. Well
If the substrate is rectangular, the slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharger
It is preferable that the slit has a length substantially the same as the length of the side of the substrate in the extending direction. It is preferable that the slit-shaped cleaning liquid ejecting section is relatively movable toward and away from the substrate holding section.

The substrate cleaning method according to the present invention is as follows.
It includes the process of. ◎ Substrate holder that holds the substrate horizontally by the substrate holder
Degree. ◎ It can move horizontally relative to the substrate holder,
Slit cleaning solution extending in the direction intersecting the relative movement direction
Cleaning liquid supply engine that supplies cleaning liquid from the discharge part to the substrate surface
Degree.

◎ Slit-like washing at the same time as the washing liquid supplying step
Align the cleaning solution discharge part with the substrate holding part in the relative movement direction.
Relative movement process to move in pairs. ◎ Placed on the outer peripheral side of the substrate holder after the cleaning liquid supply process.
The cleaning liquid is ejected and supplied to the substrate from the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle.
Cleaning liquid jetting process. ◎ A rotation to rotate the substrate holder at the same time as the cleaning liquid ejection process
Transfer process.

[0010]

In the substrate cleaning apparatus and the substrate cleaning method according to the present invention, the cleaning liquid supply means moves in the horizontal direction relative to the substrate holding portion while the slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge portion is moved to the substrate surface. supplying a cleaning liquid. The cleaning liquid is supplied from a slit-shaped discharge portion provided so as to extend in a direction intersecting the relative movement direction.

Here, since the cleaning liquid supply means supplies the cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate through the slit-shaped cleaning liquid ejecting portion while moving relative to the substrate, compared to the conventional case where the cleaning liquid is supplied from the jet nozzle. As a result, the cleaning liquid can be uniformly supplied to the substrate surface, and uneven cleaning is reduced. Moreover, since the cleaning liquid is supplied through the slit-shaped ejection portion, the amount of the cleaning liquid can be reduced. Furthermore, it is easier to control the flow rate as compared with the supply by the ejection nozzle.

Then, after the cleaning liquid is gently washed with the cleaning liquid supplied from the slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge portion as described above , the cleaning liquid is ejected from the cleaning liquid ejection nozzle onto the substrate.
Then, the substrate is further rotated. Therefore, the surface of the substrate can be cleaned in a short time by the conventional cleaning with the ejection nozzle. Further, in the substrate cleaning apparatus, when the cleaning liquid supply means further has a flow rate control valve for controlling the supply amount of the cleaning liquid, by controlling the flow rate,
A single device can perform gentle cleaning and rapid cleaning. In addition, the flow rate can be controlled more accurately.

When the substrate has a rectangular shape, the slit-shaped cleaning liquid ejecting section has substantially the same length as the length of the side of the substrate in the direction in which the slit extends, and the scanning is performed once (relative movement).
In can be washed all the surface of the substrate surface. When the slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharger can be moved closer to and away from the substrate holder, the reaction speed of the substrate surface during cleaning can be controlled.

[0014]

1 and 2 show a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the substrate cleaning device is
A rotary table 2 as a substrate holding means for mounting and holding the rectangular substrate 1, a moving cleaning liquid supply unit 3, and a fixed cleaning liquid supply unit 4
It has and. The outer circumference of the rotary table 2 in the radial direction is covered with a cover 10, and the outer circumference of the cover 10 is further outside.
Covered with 1. A waste liquid collection case 12 is provided below the turntable 2.

The turntable 2 is rotatable about a vertical axis P, and a plurality of support pins 13 projecting upward are provided on the upper surface of the turntable 2. A pair of positioning pins 14 are provided on the upper surface of the turntable 2 so as to correspond to the four corners of the rectangular substrate 1. A motor 15 is provided below the turntable 2.
Is provided, and its output shaft 16 is connected to the rotary base 2 via a mounting member 17. Mobile cleaning liquid supply unit 3
Is a nozzle unit 20, a horizontal support member 21 and a vertical support member 22 that support the nozzle unit 20, an up-and-down drive mechanism 23 (see FIG. 4) for raising and lowering the nozzle unit 20, and a horizontal movement member. A horizontal drive mechanism 24 and a cleaning liquid supply system 25 for supplying the cleaning liquid to the nozzle portion 20 (see FIG. 3).
And have.

As shown in FIG. 3, the nozzle portion 20 is an inverted house type, and has a slit 20a extending along the short side of the rectangular substrate 1 on the lower surface. Further, a supply passage 20b is formed inside in the vertical direction, and the lower end thereof communicates with the slit 20a. As shown in FIG. 2, the nozzle portion 20 and its slit 20a are formed to be slightly longer than the short side of the substrate 1. The horizontal support members 21 are provided on both sides of the nozzle portion 20, and the vertical support members 22 are the horizontal support members 2.
1 is provided so as to extend downward from both ends. As shown in FIG. 4, the vertical drive mechanism 23 is provided on one end side of the horizontal support member 21, and has a rack 26 fixed to the tip of the horizontal support member 21 and a pinion 2 that meshes with the rack 26.
7 and 7. The pinion 27 is fixed to the output shaft 29 of the motor 28. The horizontal drive mechanism 24 includes a ball screw 30 extending in the horizontal direction and a motor 31 for driving the ball screw 30. A nut (not shown) provided at the lower end of the vertical support member 22 meshes with the ball screw 30. A guide member 32 is arranged parallel to the ball screw 30 on the side facing the ball screw 30.

With this structure, the nozzle portion 20 is
The vertical drive mechanism 23 can move toward and away from the substrate 1, and the horizontal drive mechanism 24 can move the substrate 1 in the long side direction. Cleaning liquid supply system 25
Is, as shown in FIG.
connected to b. Further, the cleaning liquid supply system 25 is provided with a flow control valve 33 and a flow meter 34.

The fixed cleaning liquid supply section 4 has ejection nozzles 40 provided at a plurality of locations inside the outer peripheral cover 11. The plurality of ejection nozzles 40 are arranged toward the rotary shaft core P of the rotary base 2, respectively. These ejection nozzles 40
A cleaning liquid supply system 25 is connected to. Next, the cleaning operation will be described.

First, the substrate 1 is placed at a predetermined position on the turntable 2 and positioned and held by the positioning pins 14. Next, the vertical drive mechanism 23 is driven to adjust the distance between the nozzle unit 20 and the substrate 1. Next, the cleaning liquid is supplied while the flow rate of the cleaning liquid is adjusted by the flow control valve 33, and at the same time, the horizontal drive mechanism 24 is driven to move the nozzle portion 20 in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the slit 20a of the nozzle unit 20
The entire surface of the substrate is cleaned with the cleaning liquid supplied from When cleaning is performed by the moving cleaning liquid supply unit 3, the rotation of the rotary table 2 is stopped.

Here, since the distance between the nozzle portion 20 and the substrate surface, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid and the moving speed of the nozzle portion 20 can be adjusted, the cleaning state can be adjusted according to the type of the chemical liquid applied to the substrate surface. it can. Moreover, the cleaning liquid can be uniformly supplied to the entire surface of the substrate, and uneven cleaning can be reduced. After the cleaning by the moving cleaning liquid supply unit 3 is completed, the nozzle unit 20 is retracted from the position facing the substrate 1. Next, the turntable 2 is rotated, and in this state, the cleaning liquid is jetted from the jet nozzle 40 to the central portion of the substrate 1. The cleaning liquid supplied to the central portion of the substrate 1 diffuses outward due to centrifugal force,
The substrate surface is cleaned.

When the cleaning process is completed, the supply of the cleaning liquid from the fixed cleaning section 4 is stopped and the rotation of the rotary table 2 is continued. As a result, the cleaning liquid on the substrate surface is shaken off by the centrifugal force, and the drying process is performed. Other Embodiments (a) a solid instead of the constant cleaning liquid supply section 4 may be provided with a cleaning liquid dispenser of the movable nozzle type.

( B ) In the above embodiment, the moving cleaning liquid supply unit 3
Although the supply system of the cleaning liquid supplied to and the supply system of the cleaning liquid supplied to the fixed cleaning liquid supply unit 4 are the same, different supply systems may be connected to supply different cleaning liquids. ( C ) In the above embodiment, the slit 20a formed of a single elongated opening is formed in the nozzle portion 20, but the present invention is not limited to this, and instead of the slit 20a, the nozzle portion 20 is formed. It is also possible to use a device in which a large number of pores are arranged in a slit shape to form a slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge part, or a device in which a large number of needle nozzles are arranged to form a slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharge part.

[0023]

As described above, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention
In the substrate cleaning method , since the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate surface through the slit-shaped cleaning liquid discharger that moves relative to the substrate, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate surface as compared with the case where the cleaning liquid is supplied from the conventional jet nozzle. It is possible to uniformly supply the cleaning liquid, and uneven cleaning can be reduced. Further, since the cleaning liquid is supplied through the slit-shaped ejection portion, the consumption amount of the cleaning liquid can be reduced. Moreover, it becomes easy to control the amount of the cleaning liquid. Moreover, after the cleaning, the outside of the substrate holding unit is
The cleaning liquid is jetted onto the substrate from the cleaning liquid ejection nozzles arranged on the peripheral side.
Since it is supplied and the substrate is rotated for cleaning, it is slit-shaped.
After performing gentle cleaning with the cleaning liquid discharge part,
The surface of the substrate can be cleaned in a short time by cleaning with slur
It

When the cleaning liquid supply means further has a flow control valve for controlling the supply amount of the cleaning liquid, gentle cleaning and rapid cleaning can be switched in one cleaning liquid supply means, for example, When rinsing the developing solution, first perform gentle cleaning to dilute the developing solution on the substrate surface, and then perform rapid cleaning to replace the developing solution with the cleaning solution. It is possible to prevent the generation of scum and the like.

In the case where the substrate is rectangular, if the length of the slit-shaped cleaning liquid ejecting portion is substantially the same as the length of the side of the substrate, the entire surface of the substrate can be cleaned by one relative movement. When the slit-shaped cleaning liquid ejecting unit can freely move toward and away from the substrate holding unit, the reaction speed of the substrate surface during cleaning can be controlled.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional configuration diagram of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a nozzle unit and a cleaning liquid supply system.

FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional schematic configuration diagram showing a vertical drive mechanism of a nozzle portion.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 substrate 2 turntables 3 Mobile cleaning liquid supply unit 4 Fixed cleaning liquid supply unit 15 motor 20 nozzle 20a slit 23 Vertical drive mechanism 24 Horizontal drive mechanism 25 Cleaning liquid supply system 33 Flow control valve 40 jet nozzle

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-93230 (JP, A) JP-A-4-213827 (JP, A) JP-A-63-305517 (JP, A) JP-A-7- 94456 (JP, A) US Patent 4326535 (US, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/304 B08B 3/02 G03F 1/08

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a surface of a substrate, comprising: a substrate holding section for holding the substrate horizontally; and a relative movement in a horizontal direction relative to the substrate holding section. has a slit-like cleaning liquid ejection portion extending in a direction intersecting the direction, and the cleaning liquid supply means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate surface from the slit-like cleaning liquid discharge portion, said slit-like cleaning liquid ejection portion relative to the substrate holder
Relative movement means for relatively moving in the relative movement direction and the outer peripheral side of the substrate holding portion are arranged to spray the cleaning liquid on the substrate.
A substrate cleaning apparatus comprising: a cleaning liquid jetting nozzle for supplying and supplying; and a rotating mechanism for rotating the substrate holding unit . 2. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning liquid supply means has a flow rate control valve for controlling the supply amount of the cleaning liquid. Wherein the substrate is a square, the slit-like cleaning liquid ejecting portion has a length substantially equal length of the side of the direction of the substrate, on which the slit extends, according to claim 1 or 2 Substrate cleaning equipment. Wherein said slit-shaped cleaning liquid ejection portion is relatively close to the substrate holder, is freely separated, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3. 5. A substrate cleaning method for cleaning the surface of a substrate.
There Substrate holding process for horizontally holding the substrate by the substrate holding unit
When, It is movable relative to the substrate holder in the horizontal direction.
And the relative movement direction Slits that extend in the intersecting direction
Cleaning liquid that supplies cleaning liquid to the substrate surface from the cleaning liquid discharger
Supply process, Simultaneously with this cleaning liquid supply step, the slit-shaped cleaning liquid is discharged.
Relative to the substrate holder in the relative movement direction
Relative movement process to move, After the cleaning liquid supply step, the outer peripheral side of the substrate holding portion is
The cleaning liquid is jetted from the placed cleaning liquid jet nozzle to the substrate.
A cleaning liquid jetting process At the same time as this cleaning liquid ejection step, the substrate holder is rotated.
Rotation process to A substrate cleaning method comprising: