JP3441896B2 - Substrate processing equipment - 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 processing apparatus for processing various substrates to be processed such as semiconductor wafers and glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In the process of manufacturing a semiconductor device, it is essential that a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wafer") is subjected to a process using a chemical liquid such as an etching liquid. However, when a plurality of processing units are provided in one processing apparatus and the chemical solution atmosphere flows out from the chemical solution processing unit for performing processing using a chemical solution, the metal part of the apparatus is corroded or the wafer standby position is increased. The accumulated wafers before or after processing may be adversely affected.

Therefore, in a processing unit that performs processing using a chemical solution, a shutter is provided at the entrance and exit of the processing chamber. Then, the shutter is opened only when the unprocessed wafer is loaded and when the processed wafer is unloaded, and the shutter is closed during the remaining period to prevent the chemical liquid atmosphere from flowing out as much as possible. There is.

[0004]

When [0008] running continuously the processing device for a long time, a chemical solution adhering to the inner wall surface of the processing chamber come dripping. After the operation of the processing apparatus is stopped, this chemical solution is dried and crystallized at the entrance and exit of the processing chamber. In particular, on the upper side of the entrance / exit, chemical liquid crystals grow downward. When the wafer is loaded or unloaded through the entrance / exit, the crystals come into contact with or drop on the surface of the wafer, causing an increase in particles. Further, if the operation of the processing device is stopped for a long time, the liquid crystal may stick to the shutter and the shutter may not move.

Therefore, conventionally, a hand shower is provided so that the inside of the apparatus can be manually washed, and the user should wash the periphery of the shutter with the hand shower at an appropriate time. Was there. However, manual cleaning is troublesome, and if this cleaning operation is neglected, the above-mentioned problems will occur.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above technical problems and to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of automatically preventing crystallization of a processing liquid near the opening of a processing chamber.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the invention according to claim 1 is surrounded by a side wall, and a processing chamber for processing a substrate with a processing liquid; and the side wall. An opening through which the substrate passes when loading or unloading the substrate with respect to the processing chamber, and a position lower than a height at which the substrate passes at least when the substrate passes through the opening. , Discharge the cleaning liquid toward the upper side of the opening
And a cleaning nozzle capable of supplying a cleaning liquid to the upper side of the opening portion .

[0008] According to this arrangement, the washing liquid was discharged toward the vicinity of the upper side of the opening, since the cleaning nozzle a cleaning liquid to the upper side of the opening to supply <br/> is provided, near the upper side of the opening Can be washed automatically. As a result, crystallization of the treatment liquid in the vicinity of the opening can be prevented without manual work. This can prevent the substrate from being contaminated. Further, since the cleaning nozzle is located below the substrate passing through the opening, there is no possibility that the cleaning liquid that drops from the cleaning nozzle will drop and adhere to the substrate.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the opening, the upper side facing the upper surface of the substrate passing through the opening is formed to be inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. The described substrate processing apparatus. According to this configuration, since the upper side of the opening is inclined, the chemical liquid attached to the upper side flows down. Therefore, contamination of the upper side of the opening can be reduced. Further, when the vicinity of the upper side of the opening is cleaned with the cleaning nozzle, the cleaning liquid flows down quickly, so that the residual liquid is easily cut off after the cleaning is completed.
In this way, it is possible to more effectively prevent particles from adhering to the substrate passing through the opening. The invention according to claim 3
Is for cleaning except when cleaning liquid is supplied to the upper side of the opening.
Occasionally, a slow leak of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning nozzle
The group according to claim 1 or 2, which is carried out.
It is a plate processing device. The invention according to claim 4 is the processing chi
Spin inside the chamber to hold and rotate the substrate
The chuck and the substrate held by this spin chuck are processed.
Further comprising a processing liquid supply nozzle for supplying a processing liquid.
The substrate processing according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that
It is a processing device.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a part of the internal configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. This substrate processing apparatus is a single-wafer processing type cleaning processing apparatus for cleaning semiconductor wafers, and uses various chemicals and pure water (hereinafter, collectively referred to as “processing solution”) on a wafer. Chemical treatment unit MTC for performing decontamination, dust removal, corrosion treatment, and the like, and the wafer after the treatment in the chemical treatment unit MTC is subjected to running water cleaning using pure water and ultrasonic cleaning, and the wafer is further cleaned. A cleaning unit DTC for rotating and draining and drying is provided.

The chemical treatment unit MTC and the cleaning unit DTC respectively have treatment chambers C1 and C2 which are surrounded on four sides by side walls 1, 2, 3, and 4. The unprocessed wafer is transferred from the main transfer robot (not shown) to the sub transfer robot STR1 through the entrance 5. The sub-transport robot STR1 includes a lower arm 11 and the lower arm 11
Is a scalar type robot having an upper arm 12 that rotates with one end of the as a fulcrum. That is, when the lower arm 11 is rotated about the rotation axis located near the tip of the upper arm 12, the lower arm 11 and the upper arm 12 are rotated.
And are expanded (state shown by phantom lines) or folded (state shown by solid lines) to expand and contract. At the tip of the upper arm 12, there is provided a wafer holding portion 13 that sucks and holds the back surface of the wafer. The main transfer robot described above transfers the wafer to the sub transfer robot STR1 in the contracted state. Then, the sub-transport robot STR1
Carries the wafer into the chemical treatment unit MTC.

[0012] wafer after processing by chemical treatment unit MT C is taken out by the sub-transport robot STR 2, it is carried into the cleaning unit DTC. The configuration of the sub-transport robot STR2 is similar to that of the sub-transport robot STR1, and the sub-transport robot STR2 extends toward the chemical treatment unit MTC to receive the wafer, and then contracts, and further the cleaning unit D.
The wafer is loaded into the cleaning processing unit DTC by extending toward the TC. The wafer that has undergone the cleaning process by the cleaning unit DTC is taken out by the sub-transport robot STR3. The configuration of the sub-transport robot STR3 is similar to that of the sub-transport robot STR1.

The wafer taken out by the sub-transport robot STR3 is unloaded by the main transport robot described above through the exit 6. Each of the side walls 1 of the processing chambers C1 and C2 is formed with an opening 7 through which a wafer to be carried in is formed, and each side wall 3 is formed with an opening 8 through which a wafer to be carried out is formed. A shutter 21 is provided in association with the opening 7, and a shutter 22 is provided in association with the opening 8. These shutters 21, 22
Are opened only when the wafer passes through the openings 7 and 8, respectively, and are closed during the remaining period. This allows
In particular, the leakage of the chemical liquid atmosphere that occurs in the chemical liquid processing unit MTC is prevented.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view showing the structure in the vicinity of the chemical liquid processing unit MTC, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the structure in the vicinity of the chemical liquid processing unit MTC. The chemical processing unit MTC includes a cylindrical processing cup 31 having an open top surface in the processing chamber C1, and the processing cup 31.
And a spin chuck 32 disposed inside. The spin chuck 32 is for rotating the wafer W at a high speed around the central axis thereof while holding the wafer W. Above the processing cup 31, a splash guard 33 for preventing scattering of the processing liquid is provided in a vertically movable state.

A plurality of nozzles 34 for supplying a chemical liquid or pure water to the surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 32 are provided on the lateral side of the processing cup 31. These nozzles 34 are provided so as to be capable of advancing and retreating in an obliquely vertical direction, and when supplying the processing liquid to the wafer W, they advance obliquely upward through a notch 35 formed in the splash guard 33, and the wafer W The processing liquid is supplied to approximately the central position of.

Inside the processing cup 31, a central axis nozzle 36 that passes through the inside of the rotation axis of the spin chuck 32 is provided. The central axis nozzle 36 supplies chemicals or pure water from below toward the center of the back surface of the wafer W. Processing chamber C
Sub-transport robot STR out of four side walls forming 1
As described above, the shutters 21 and 22 are provided in association with the pair of side walls 1 and 3 adjacent to the 1 and STR 2, respectively.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along section line IV-IV in FIG. The configuration in the vicinity of the shutter 22 will be described with reference to FIG. 4 and FIGS. 2 and 3 described above. The configuration in the vicinity of the shutter 21 is almost the same.
The parts corresponding to the respective parts related to (1) are indicated by adding the suffix A to the reference numerals of the corresponding parts of the shutter 22. The side wall 3 is formed with an opening 8 serving as a passage for the wafer, and in association with the opening 8, a shutter 22 is vertically slidably provided on the inner space side of the processing chamber C1. More specifically, the processing chamber C1 of the side wall 3 is
A rectangular guide recess 40 that guides the slide movement of the shutter 22 in the vertical direction along the opening 8 is formed on the side surface. The shutter 2 fitted in the guide recess 40
2 is a rectangular plate-shaped body, and is a sub-transport robot STR2.
A pair of rack gear portions 41 and 42 are formed along the left and right sides on the surface on the side opposed to. Through holes 43, 4 formed in the side wall 3 are formed in the rack gear parts 41, 42.
The pinion gears 51 and 52 are meshed with each other via the gear 4. These pinion gears 51 and 52 are fixed to a common rotating shaft 50. The rotary shaft 50 is supported by bearings 54 and 53 attached to the side walls 2 and 4, respectively, on the side of the sub-transport robot STR2 with respect to the side wall 3. The end of the rotary shaft 50 on the side wall 2 side is further inserted with a bearing 54, and the pinion gear 6 is attached to the tip thereof.
1 is fixed. A rack gear 62 is meshed with the pinion gear 61 from above. This rack gear 6
2 has a T-shaped cross section perpendicular to the longitudinal direction,
The upper portion thereof is held by a guide rail 63 in a state where it can be horizontally slid along the side wall 2.

FIG. 5 showing the configuration viewed from the direction of arrow V in FIG.
As shown in, the rod 65 of the air cylinder 60 is coupled to one end of the rack gear 62. Therefore, when the rod 65 of the air cylinder 60 is moved back and forth,
The rack gear 62 slides, whereby the rotary shaft 50 is rotated via the pinion gear 61. As a result, the pair of pinion gears 51, 5 fixed to the rotary shaft 50
2 rotates, and the shutter 22 having a pair of rack gear portions 41 and 42 meshing with these slides vertically.

A recess 4 in which a shutter 22 is formed in the side wall 3
In order to prevent the recess 40 from falling off, shutter holding members 45 and 46 are attached to the side wall 3 along both left and right sides of the recess 40. Processing chamber C rather than shutter 22
On the inner side of 1, a cleaning manifold 70 that extends horizontally along the shutter 22 is arranged at a position slightly below the lower side 8L of the opening 8. The cleaning manifold 70 has a straight tubular shape, and the tip end thereof is supported by a support member 71 fixed to the shutter holding member 46 with bolts 74, and the base end portion thereof has the side wall 4.
It is coupled to and supported by the through connector 72 that is held through. A pipe 73 for supplying pure water is connected to the through connector 72.

The cleaning manifold 70 is formed with a plurality of ejection openings 75 arranged in a straight line at equal intervals. The cleaning manifold 70 is attached so that the cleaning water 76 discharged from the discharge port 75 is supplied near the upper side 8U of the opening 8. In the pipe 73, for example,
Every time a predetermined number of lots of wafers are processed, a predetermined flow rate of pure water is supplied. As a result, the cleaning water 76 is ejected from the discharge port 75 of the cleaning manifold 70 and is supplied to the vicinity of the upper side 8U of the opening 8. As a result, the chemical near the upper side 8U of the opening 8 and the chemical on the surface of the shutter 22 are washed away. The shutter 22 is in the closed position (the position shown in FIG. 3) when the cleaning water 76 is ejected. At this time,
Although the washing water from the washing manifold 70 does not directly flow to the upper side 8U of the opening 8, the shutter 22 and the side wall 3
If a small amount of water is supplied to the upper side 8U from the gap between
The purpose of preventing crystallization of the chemical solution in the upper side 8U can be sufficiently achieved.

Incidentally, in addition to the time of cleaning, pure water is supplied to the pipe 73 at a small flow rate in order to prevent the generation of dead water. Therefore, the discharge port 7 of the cleaning manifold 70
Pure water gradually flows out from No. 5, causing a so-called slow leak. However, the cleaning manifold 70
Is at a position below the pass line P (see FIG. 3) which is the transfer path of the wafer W, there is no possibility that the slow leaked water will adhere to the wafer W being transferred.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the cleaning water can be jetted toward the vicinity of the upper side of the opening from the cleaning manifold provided in association with the shutter. Therefore, cleaning around the shutter and the opening can be automatically performed. Therefore, the user does not need to open the substrate processing apparatus for cleaning, and naturally, there is no possibility of contact with the chemical solution. Also,
For example, if the cleaning water is automatically jetted from the cleaning manifold for every predetermined number of lots, crystallization at the side wall opening can be surely prevented, so that wafer contamination can be surely prevented. Can be reduced. Furthermore, since the cleaning can be performed automatically, the cleaning cycle can be shortened, and also from this point, effective prevention of crystallization can be achieved. In this way, since the contamination of the wafer can be prevented, the yield of semiconductor devices obtained by processing the wafer can be improved.

Further, even when the apparatus is in operation, the cleaning water can be jetted from the cleaning manifold while the shutter is closed, so that the operation of the substrate processing apparatus is not stopped. The cleaning process can be performed in parallel. Thereby, the productivity of the semiconductor device can be improved. Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described, it goes without saying that the present invention can take other embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the openings 7, 8 formed in the sidewalls 1, 3 of the processing chamber.
The upper side is horizontal, but the upper sides of the openings 7 and 8 formed in the side walls 1 and 2 are preferably inclined with respect to the horizontal plane. That is, for example, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the upper side 8U opening 8 may be form a chevron or oblique in front view. In any case, since the chemical solution attached to the upper side 8U is guided to both or one of the left and right side sides of the opening 8, it is possible to reduce the accumulation of the chemical solution in the upper side 8U and the crystallization of the accumulated chemical solution. . Further, when performing the cleaning with the cleaning water discharged from the washing manifold 70, since wash water rapidly flow is highest Chill, good sharpness of residual water after stopping the discharge of the washing water. Therefore, there is also an advantage that the time required for cleaning can be shortened.

When the upper sides of the openings 7 and 8 are inclined surfaces,
Instead of inclining the upper side in the front view, it may be inclined in the cross section. That is, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b) and (c), the cross section of the upper side 8U of the opening 8 may be a hypotenuse (Fig. 8 (a)), a chevron (Fig. 8 (b)), or a V-shape (Fig. c)) Even in this case, since the chemicals and the cleaning water flow down quickly, the retention or crystallization of the chemicals can be prevented, and the residual water can be drained well after the discharge of the cleaning water is stopped.

The shape of the upper sides of the openings 7 and 8 is the shape as shown in FIG. 6 or 7 when viewed from the front, and the cross section is as shown in FIG. 8 (a), (b) or (c). In this case, the above effect can be further enhanced. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cleaning water is discharged from only one side wall toward the upper side of the opening, but the cleaning water is discharged toward both sides of the side wall toward the upper side of the opening. A cleaning manifold may be placed.

Instead of the cleaning manifold, a cleaning nozzle having another structure such as a plurality of nozzles or slit nozzles can be used. Further, in the above-described embodiment, the cleaning manifold is arranged at a position lower than the lower side of the wafer loading / unloading opening, but the cleaning manifold is positioned below the pass line P through which the wafer passes. It need only be in a position, and does not need to be arranged below the lower side of the opening. Furthermore, the nozzle for ejecting the cleaning water may be located at a position lower than the height of the wafer when the wafer passes through the opening, and may be located above the pass line P when the wafer does not pass. May be. That is, for example, the cleaning manifold may be horizontally attached near the upper sides of the shutters 21 and 22 so that the cleaning manifold moves up and down as the shutters 21 and 22 move up and down. In addition, the shutters 21 and 22
A washing water flow passage is formed in the interior of the nozzle, and a spout is formed on the upper side of the shutters 21 and 22 so that the washing water supplied to the washing water flow passage spouts from the spout. You may comprise.

Further, in the above embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus for processing a wafer is taken as an example, but the present invention is for processing another substrate to be processed such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device. It is also applicable to the device. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of technical matters described in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a partial configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a configuration in the vicinity of a chemical liquid processing unit.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a configuration in the vicinity of a chemical liquid processing unit.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the section line IV-IV in FIG.

5 is a front view as seen from the direction of arrow V in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a front view showing an example in which the upper side of the opening is formed in a mountain shape.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an example in which the upper side of the opening is formed as a hypotenuse.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing an example in which the cross section of the upper side of the opening is a hypotenuse (a), a V-shape (b) and a chevron (c).

[Explanation of symbols]

1,2,3,4 side wall C1, C2 processing chamber MTC chemical treatment unit DTC cleaning unit 7,8 openings 21,22 shutter 70 Cleaning manifold (cleaning nozzle)

Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-4-334579 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/304 H01L 21/306 B08B 3/00

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A processing chamber which is surrounded by a side wall and which is used to process a substrate with a processing liquid, and an opening which is formed in the side wall and through which the substrate passes when loading or unloading the substrate into or from the processing chamber. And at least when the substrate passes through the opening, it is located at a position lower than the height at which the substrate passes, and
And ejecting a cleaning liquid toward the vicinity of the upper side of the opening, the
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a cleaning nozzle capable of supplying a cleaning liquid to the upper side of the opening . 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an upper side of the opening facing the upper surface of the substrate passing through the opening is formed to be inclined with respect to a horizontal plane. 3. Cleaning for supplying a cleaning liquid to the upper side of the opening.
At times other than the above, the cleaning liquid is thrown from the above cleaning nozzle.
Leakage is performed in Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.
The substrate processing apparatus described. 4. A substrate provided in the processing chamber for holding a substrate.
A spin chuck to hold and rotate, The processing liquid is supplied to the substrate held by this spin chuck.
And a processing liquid supply nozzle.
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.