JP3517135B2 - 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 an FPD (Flat Panel) such as a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal display or a plasma display substrate.
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a display substrate and a photomask glass substrate by immersing the substrate in a predetermined processing liquid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a substrate such as a semiconductor substrate is immersed in a processing solution stored in a processing tank, and in this state, the processing solution in the processing tank is circulated through a circulation path connected to the processing tank. Therefore, an apparatus for processing a substrate while causing a processing solution to overflow from a processing tank is generally known.

In this type of apparatus, when the processing capacity of the processing liquid falls below a certain level, the processing liquid in the processing tank is replaced with a new processing liquid. At this time, the used processing liquid is stored in the processing tank. Liquid is sent to a waste liquid recovery facility provided outside the apparatus through the connected drain passage.

Particularly, in an apparatus that uses a high-temperature treatment liquid as a treatment liquid, a cooling facility is attached to a drainage passage and a waste liquid recovery facility, whereby a treated treatment liquid can be recovered while being cooled, Alternatively, cooling is performed after the collection.

[0005]

However, since the conventional apparatus as described above requires special treatment such as a treatment solution of strong acid, it cannot be discharged as it is to a place other than the waste liquid recovery facility. When such a treatment liquid is used, if the waste liquid recovery equipment fails, there is no place to discharge the treatment liquid immediately, and as a result, the apparatus must be stopped.

Further, in an apparatus having a cooling facility, if a failure occurs in the cooling facility, the processing liquid cannot be discharged due to the necessity of ensuring safety, and the apparatus must be stopped in the same manner.

That is, if an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery equipment or the cooling equipment, there is a problem that the processing of the substrate cannot proceed.

Therefore, in order to be able to continue the processing of the substrate even if an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery equipment, for example,
It is conceivable to provide a plurality of drainage systems having a wastewater recovery facility or the like so that the treatment liquid can be introduced selectively into these drainage systems. However, since the waste liquid recovery facility and the like are large and expensive facilities, such a configuration is not necessarily a good measure because it causes an increase in the size of the device and a high cost.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can continue the processing of a substrate even when a waste liquid recovery facility or a cooling facility fails, and the size of the apparatus is increased. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of avoiding high cost.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a processing tank for storing a processing liquid and immersing a substrate therein, and a drain passage for discharging the processing liquid in the processing tank. In the substrate processing apparatus, which is equipped with, and through which the used processing liquid can be discharged to the waste liquid recovery facility,
An auxiliary drainage passage capable of discharging the treatment liquid in the treatment tank and an aspirator for sucking the liquid by the water flow are provided, and the auxiliary drainage passage is connected to the suction port of the aspirator.
A discharge passage switching means is provided for introducing the treatment liquid in the treatment tank into the auxiliary discharge passage when an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery equipment (claim 1).

In this apparatus, the used processing liquid in the processing tank is normally discharged to the waste liquid recovery facility through the drain passage. When an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery equipment, the aspirator sucks and discharges the processing liquid through the auxiliary drainage passage. This will dilute the treatment liquid,
Since it is cooled, it is possible to discharge the used processing liquid, which cannot be discharged to a place other than the waste liquid collecting facility in the state as it is, to a place other than the waste liquid collecting facility with a simple configuration.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention comprises a processing bath for storing the processing liquid and immersing the substrate therein, and a drain passage for discharging the processing liquid in the processing bath. A substrate processing apparatus capable of discharging a used processing liquid to a waste liquid recovery facility through a passage and cooling the used processing liquid by a cooling facility provided on at least one side of the drain passage or the waste liquid recovery facility. , An auxiliary drainage passage for discharging the treatment liquid in the treatment tank and an aspirator for sucking the liquid by the water flow are provided, and the auxiliary drainage passage is connected to the suction port of the aspirator, and an abnormality occurs in the cooling equipment. In this case, a discharge passage switching means for introducing the treatment liquid in the treatment tank into the auxiliary discharge passage is provided (Claim 2).

In this apparatus, the used processing liquid in the processing tank is normally discharged through the drainage passage. On this occasion,
The used processing liquid is cooled by the drainage passage and the cooling equipment of the waste liquid recovery equipment. When an abnormality occurs in the cooling equipment, the processing liquid is sucked and discharged by the aspirator through the auxiliary drainage passage. Since the treatment liquid is cooled in this way, it is possible to cool and discharge the treatment liquid with a simple configuration without using an original cooling facility.

In each of the above devices, an auxiliary drainage passage can be formed by branching the flow passage from the drainage passage (claim 3). In this way, normally, the processing liquid is discharged from the processing tank only through the drain passage. On the other hand, if an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery equipment or cooling equipment,
The processing liquid is introduced and discharged from the drainage passage to the auxiliary drainage passage. In this case, particularly in an apparatus having a cooling facility, as the cooling facility, a tank capable of storing the treatment liquid discharged through the drainage passage is provided between the branch portion of the auxiliary drainage flow path and the treatment tank. At the same time, it is preferable to provide a passage for a cooling medium for cooling the processing liquid in the tank (claim 4). With this configuration, when the processing solution is replaced when an abnormality occurs in the cooling equipment, the processing solution in the processing tank is temporarily transferred from the processing tank to the tank, and then a new processing solution is transferred to the processing tank. The supply can be carried out immediately. Therefore, it is possible to quickly replace the processing liquid in the processing tank.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows an embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. A substrate processing apparatus 10 shown in this figure stores a processing liquid S such as various chemicals or pure water in a processing tank, and immerses a plurality of substrates W such as semiconductor substrates in the processing liquid S to perform a surface treatment. The apparatus includes a processing tank 12 which is a substrate processing unit, and a supply / discharge system of a processing liquid for the processing tank 12.

The processing tank 12 is formed in a box shape having a rectangular cross section, and a liquid receiving portion 12a for receiving the processing liquid overflowing from the processing tank 12 is integrally provided around the opening of the box. Is made of a material having excellent chemical resistance such as quartz.

On the other hand, the processing liquid supply / discharge system is constructed as follows. That is, the liquid receiving portion 1 of the processing tank 12
2a, a processing liquid supply pipe 16 equipped with an opening / closing valve 18
Is connected, and the upstream end of the supply pipe 16 is connected to the preparation tank 14
The processing liquid is prepared in the preparation tank 14 and is supplied to the liquid receiving portion 12a through the supply pipe 16 by being connected to.

Outflow pipes 20 and 22 of the processing liquid having on-off valves 21 and 23 are connected to the inner bottoms of the processing tank 12 and the liquid receiving portion 12a, respectively.
22 is communicatively connected to a merged outflow pipe 24. An electric drive type pump 26, for example, is interposed in the confluent outflow pipe 24, and the discharge side of the pump 26 is connected to a return pipe 28.
And a drain pipe 30, and a return pipe 28 is provided in the processing tank 1
The submerged pipe 29 disposed on the inner bottom of the
Are connected to the buffer tanks 40, respectively.
An open / close valve 32, a heater 34, and a filter 36 are provided in the return pipe 28, while an open / close valve 38 is provided in the drainage pipe 30. The submerged pipe 29
1 extends in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface in FIG. 1 and has a large number of liquid discharge ports in this direction. During the processing operation described later, the process liquid is discharged into the processing tank through the liquid discharge ports. It is supposed to be done.

The buffer tank 40 is composed of a tank having a capacity of at least the processing tank 12, and a spiral tube 42 (cooling medium passage) is provided inside the tank. A water inlet pipe 44 and a water outlet pipe 46 are connected to both ends of the spiral pipe 42, respectively. The water inlet pipe 44 and the water outlet pipe 46 are equipped with a pump, and are provided in a cooling water storage tank and a radiator (not shown). Are connected to each other via. That is, the treatment liquid discharged from the treatment tank 12 is stored in the buffer tank 40, and cooling water (cooling medium) is circulated in the spiral pipe 42, whereby the spiral pipe 4
The processing liquid is cooled by causing heat exchange between the cooling water in 2 and the processing liquid. That is, the buffer tank 40, the spiral pipe 42, and the like constitute a cooling facility for the processing liquid.

A connecting pipe 50 is connected to the inner bottom of the buffer tank 40. The connecting pipe 50 has a first drain pipe 52 having an opening / closing valve 54 and an opening / closing valve 6.
The second drain pipe 58 having the number 0 and the first drain pipe 5
2 is connected to a waste liquid recovery facility 56 outside the device, and a second drain pipe 58
Is connected to an aspirator 62 that sucks the treatment liquid by a water flow. Specifically, the second drain pipe 58 is connected to the suction port 68 of the aspirator 62. The water inlet 64 of the aspirator 62 is connected to a pressurized water supply source via a water introducing pipe 70 having an opening / closing valve 72, while the water outlet 66 is connected to a waste liquid tank (not shown) via a drainage pipe 74. ing.

Although not shown, the substrate processing apparatus 10 as described above is provided with a control device for controlling the processing operation of the substrate, and the opening / closing operation of each valve and the like is integrated by this control device. The substrate processing operation is performed as follows by controlling the above.

First, as a preparation for substrate processing, the opening / closing valve 18 is opened, and the processing liquid prepared in the preparation tank 14 is supplied to the liquid receiving portion 12a of the processing tank 12 through the supply pipe 16. At this time, the pump 26 is driven with the open / close valves 21 and 32 of the outflow pipe 20 and the return pipe 28 opened and the other open / close valves 38 and the like closed. In this way, the processing liquid supplied to the liquid receiving portion 12a is the outflow pipe 20, the merged outflow pipe 24, the return pipe 28, and the submerged pipe 29.
Is introduced and stored in the treatment tank 12 via the
2 overflows into the liquid receiving portion 12a. As a result, the processing liquid S is stored in the processing tank 12 and is further circulated by overflow in the above path.

Then, the substrate is processed by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid S in the processing bath 12 in a state where the processing liquid is circulated in the overflow manner as described above. That is, processing products, particles, and the like generated during processing overflow together with the processing liquid S from the processing tank 12, and the processing products S and the like are captured by the filter 36 during circulation.
Is designed to purify. Although not shown in detail, each substrate W is immersed in the processing solution S integrally with the substrate supporting member 11 while being supported by the substrate supporting member 11 in parallel with each other in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of the drawing. .

In this way, the substrate is immersed, and the treatment liquid S
When the processing capacity of the processing tank deteriorates below a predetermined level, the processing tank 12
All of the processing liquid S stored in is replaced with a new processing liquid.

Specifically, the open / close valves 18, 32, 60, 72 of the supply pipe 16, the return pipe 28, the second drainage pipe 58, and the water introduction pipe 70 are closed while the pump 26 is still driven. In addition to the open state, all other open / close valves are opened. As a result, the processing liquid S in the processing tank 12 flows out into the outflow pipes 20, 22, the confluent outflow pipe 24, and the drainage pipe 30.
While being introduced and stored in the buffer tank 40 via the cooling tank, it is cooled here and further introduced into the waste liquid recovery facility 56 through the connecting pipe 50 and the first drainage pipe 52. Then, in the waste liquid recovery facility 56, the treatment liquid is subjected to a predetermined waste liquid treatment.

When all the processing liquid in the processing tank 12 is exhausted, the open / close valves 23 and 38 of the outflow pipe 22 and the drainage pipe 30 are closed while the open / close of the supply pipe 16 and the return pipe 28 is completed. The valves 18 and 21 are opened, and the new processing liquid prepared in the preparation tank 14 as described above is supplied to the liquid receiving portion 12a through the supply pipe 16. Thus the processing tank 12
Replace the processing solution inside.

In the replacement operation of the processing liquid as described above, when the waste liquid cannot be discharged to the waste liquid recovery equipment 56,
For example, when the waste liquid recovery facility 56 itself fails to process the waste liquid, when a waste liquid recovery tank (not shown) provided in the waste liquid recovery facility 56 is replaced, or the cooling water circulation pump in the cooling facility fails. When the cooling of the treatment liquid becomes impossible, the treatment liquid is discharged as follows.

That is, the opening / closing valve 5 of the first drain pipe 52
While closing the valve 4, the opening / closing valves 60 and 72 of the second drainage pipe 58 and the water introduction pipe 70 are opened, and the treatment liquid in the treatment tank 12 is discharged in this state. In this way, the treatment liquid is introduced from the treatment tank 12 into the buffer tank 40, and
Drainage pipe 74 from the water introduction pipe 70 through the aspirator 62
The water flows into the buffer tank 40, and the processing liquid introduced into the buffer tank 40 is sucked into the aspirator 62 through the connecting pipe 50 and the second drain pipe 58. Then, the treatment liquid flowing into the aspirator 62 flows into the drain pipe 74 together with the water flowing from the water introduction pipe 70 to the drain pipe 74 through the aspirator 62. As a result, the processing liquid is discharged to the waste liquid tank while being diluted and cooled. In other words, even if it is a processing solution that cannot be discharged to a place other than the waste liquid collection facility as it is, such as a strong acid treatment liquid, by diluting it as described above, the treatment liquid can be stored in a place other than the waste liquid collection facility (the waste liquid collection facility). It can be safely discharged to the tank. Further, the high-temperature treatment liquid can be appropriately cooled and discharged without using the original cooling equipment.

As described above, in the above-described substrate processing apparatus 10, normally, while the used processing liquid in the processing tank 12 is being cooled and introduced into the waste liquid recovery facility 56 through the first drain pipe 52, the waste liquid recovery is performed. When an abnormality occurs in the equipment 56 or the cooling equipment, the drainage path is switched from the first drainage pipe 52 to the second drainage pipe 58, and the treatment liquid is discharged through the aspirator 62. Even if an abnormality occurs in the recovery facility, it is not necessary to stop the device like the conventional device of this type. Therefore, the substrate processing can be favorably continued.

Moreover, it is possible to effectively avoid an increase in size and cost of the apparatus while obtaining such effects.
That is, a plurality of drainage systems having a wastewater recovery facility 56 and a cooling facility are provided as a configuration that allows the substrate processing to be continued even if an abnormality occurs in the wastewater recovery facility, etc. A configuration in which the treatment liquid can be introduced is conceivable. However, since the waste liquid recovery equipment and the like are large and expensive equipment, the above-mentioned configuration causes an increase in the size and cost of the apparatus. On the other hand, the substrate processing apparatus 1
In No. 0, the system for discharging the processing liquid when an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery facility 56, etc., connects the second drain pipe 58 to the aspirator 62 as described above, and further connects this to the waste liquid tank. Since it has an extremely simple structure, unlike the above-described structure in which a plurality of drainage systems having the waste liquid recovery facility 56 and the like are provided, there is no need to unnecessarily increase the size of the device or increase the cost.

By the way, the substrate processing apparatus 10 is one embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and its specific configuration can be appropriately changed without departing from the scope of the present invention. is there.

For example, in the substrate processing apparatus 10, the cooling pipe is provided in the buffer tank 40 to circulate the cooling water, and the cooling equipment is configured to cool the processing liquid stored in the buffer tank 40. However, for example,
A configuration may be adopted in which a cooling water circulation passage is integrally formed on the side wall of the buffer tank 40 and cooling water is passed through the passage. The point is that the used processing liquid may be cooled.
Therefore, it is possible to provide the cooling facility integrally with the waste liquid recovery facility 56 and omit the buffer tank 40. However, according to the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 10, when the processing liquid S is replaced when the waste liquid recovery facility 56 has an abnormality, all the processing liquid in the processing tank 12 is temporarily driven by the pump drive. High-speed drainage can be performed in the buffer tank 40, and then a new treatment liquid can be immediately supplied to the treatment tank 12. Then, the processing liquid introduced into the buffer tank 40 can be discharged while being sucked by the aspirator 62. Therefore, compared with the case where the processing liquid is directly sucked and discharged from the processing tank by the aspirator,
There is an advantage that the processing liquid in the processing tank 12 can be quickly replaced.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus 10 described above, the drainage passage of the present invention is constituted by the outflow pipes 20 and 22, the drainage pipe 30, the connection pipe 50, the first drainage pipe 52, etc. The second drain pipe 58 is branched, and the auxiliary drain passage of the present invention is configured by the second drain pipe 58. For example, instead of the second drain pipe 58, the auxiliary drain passage is used. , The aspirator 62 directly from the processing tank 12 through the opening / closing valve.
You may make it provide the auxiliary drainage path to.

Further, in the substrate processing apparatus 10, the first
The opening and closing valve 54 of the drainage pipe 52 and the opening and closing valve 60 of the second drainage pipe 58 are opened and closed to switch the flow path of the processing liquid to be discharged, that is, the opening and closing valves 54 and 60 of the present invention are used. Although the discharge flow path switching means is configured, for example, as the discharge flow path switching means, a single flow path switching valve is provided between the connecting pipe 50 and the drainage pipes 52, 58 to simplify the configuration. You may do it.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, the processing liquid in the processing tank can be discharged in the substrate processing apparatus in which the used processing liquid in the processing tank is introduced into the waste liquid recovery facility through the drainage passage. A new auxiliary drainage passage is provided and connected to the aspirator, and a drainage flow path switching unit that introduces the processing liquid in the processing tank into the auxiliary drainage passage when an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery equipment is provided to collect the waste liquid. When an abnormality occurs in the equipment, the used treatment liquid can be discharged to a place other than the waste liquid collection facility by cooling and diluting the treatment liquid through an aspirator. However, unlike the conventional apparatus of this type, it is not necessary to stop the apparatus, and the substrate processing can be continued. Moreover, since the auxiliary drainage passage is provided and connected to the aspirator, the configuration is extremely simple, so that it is possible to effectively avoid an increase in the size of the device and a high cost.

Further, according to the present invention, the used treatment liquid in the treatment tank is discharged through the drain passage, and the used treatment liquid is removed by the cooling equipment provided in at least one of the drain passage and the waste liquid recovery equipment. In a substrate processing apparatus that is designed to be cooled, an auxiliary drain passage that can discharge the processing liquid in the processing tank is provided and connected to the aspirator, and processing in the processing tank is performed when an abnormality occurs in the cooling equipment. A discharge flow path switching means for introducing the liquid into the auxiliary liquid discharge passage is provided,
When an abnormality occurs in the cooling equipment, the processing liquid is discharged while being cooled through the aspirator so that the processing liquid can be cooled and discharged without relying on the original cooling equipment. Even if it occurs, it is not necessary to stop the apparatus like the conventional apparatus of this type, and the processing of the substrate can be continued. Moreover,
Since the auxiliary drainage passage is provided and connected to the aspirator, the auxiliary drainage passage has an extremely simple structure, so that it is possible to effectively avoid an increase in size and cost of the device.

In each of the above devices, the auxiliary drainage passage can be constructed by branching the flow path from the drainage passage. In this case, particularly in an apparatus having cooling equipment, the cooling equipment is If a tank capable of storing the processing liquid discharged through the drainage passage is provided between the branch portion of the auxiliary drainage flow passage and the processing tank, and a circulation passage for the cooling medium is provided in this tank, cooling is achieved. It is possible to quickly replace the processing liquid in the processing tank when an abnormality occurs in the equipment.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Substrate processing equipment 12 treatment tanks 12a Liquid receiving part 20,22 Outflow pipe 24 Combined outflow pipe 26 pumps 28 Return pipe 29 Submerged Pipe 30 drainage pipe 40 buffer tank 42 spiral tube 50 connecting pipe 52 First drainage pipe 56 Waste liquid recovery equipment 58 Second drainage pipe 62 Aspirator 70 Water introduction pipe 74 Drainage pipe W board S treatment liquid

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Kenji Amaku, Kenji Ameku, 1-chome, Tenjin Kita-cho, 4-chome Tenjin Kita-cho, Horikawa-dori Teranouchi, Kamigyo-ku, Kyoto (56) -21036 (JP, A) JP-A-6-132272 (JP, A) JP 62-10438 (JP, Y1) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H01L 21/304 648

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A treatment tank for storing a treatment liquid to immerse a substrate, and a drainage passage capable of discharging the treatment liquid in the treatment tank. The used treatment liquid is drained through the drainage passage. In a substrate processing apparatus that can be discharged to a recovery facility, an auxiliary liquid discharge passage that can discharge the processing liquid in the processing tank and an aspirator that sucks the liquid by a water flow are provided, and the auxiliary liquid discharge passage is connected to the aspirator. Substrate processing characterized in that it is connected to the suction port and is provided with a discharge flow path switching means for introducing the processing liquid in the processing tank into the auxiliary discharge passage when an abnormality occurs in the waste liquid recovery equipment. apparatus. 2. A processing bath for storing the processing liquid and immersing the substrate therein, and a drainage passage capable of discharging the processing liquid in the treatment bath. Through the drainage passage, the used processing liquid is drained. In the substrate processing apparatus that is capable of discharging to the recovery facility and cools the used processing liquid by the cooling facility provided on at least one side of the drainage passage or the waste liquid recovery facility, the processing liquid in the processing bath is An auxiliary drainage passage that can be discharged and an aspirator that sucks the liquid by a water flow are provided, the auxiliary drainage passage is connected to the suction port of the aspirator, and when an abnormality occurs in the cooling facility, the processing tank A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a discharge flow path switching means for introducing the processing liquid therein into an auxiliary discharge passage. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary drainage passage is formed by branching the flow path from the drainage passage. 4. As the cooling facility, a tank capable of storing the processing liquid discharged through the drainage passage is provided between the branch portion of the auxiliary drainage flow path and the processing tank,
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a cooling medium passage for cooling the processing liquid in the tank.