JP3537875B2 - Substrate cleaning device - 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 apparatus for cleaning various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass square substrate for a liquid crystal, a photomask substrate, a substrate for a thermal head, a substrate for a color filter, and a printed substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a cleaning apparatus for cleaning the surface of a substrate (the surface on which a predetermined thin film is formed) as described above, the substrate is horizontally supported by a spin chuck from the back side, and the substrate is rotated. A so-called spin scrubber that cleans the surface of a substrate by supplying a cleaning solution to the surface and sliding the surface of the substrate with a brush or supplying a cleaning solution subjected to ultrasonic vibration to the surface of the substrate is known. ing.

[0003]

However, in such a spin scrubber, since the back surface of the substrate is supported by a vacuum suction or a mechanical holding mechanism, only the front surface of the substrate can be cleaned, and the back surface can be cleaned. Can not do it.

Here, in order to clean both the front and back surfaces of the substrate, two spin scrubbers as described above are arranged side by side, and a device for transporting the substrate while turning the substrate upside down is disposed between the two spin scrubbers. It is conceivable that the substrate may be turned upside down after being washed with, and then loaded into the other spin scrubber to wash the back surface of the substrate.

However, such a configuration requires a device for turning the substrate upside down, which complicates the overall configuration of the device and makes the device expensive. Since the substrate is held in contact with the surface, there is a problem that the substrate surface is soiled.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus which can clean both the front surface and the rear surface of a substrate satisfactorily and which has a simple structure for that purpose.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, wherein the substrate to be cleaned is supported from below with the front side of the substrate to be cleaned facing upward. A lower surface cleaning unit for cleaning the lower surface of the substrate by sliding the lower surface of the substrate with a brush while supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate; and supporting the substrate to be cleaned with the front side facing upward from below. a top surface cleaning means for cleaning the upper surface of the substrate by rotating the substrate while supplying a cleaning liquid, supporting horizontally a substrate lower surface is cleaned from below by the lower surface cleaning means, the upper surface washing means while supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate And a transporting means for transporting the paper.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate cleaning apparatus, wherein the lower surface cleaning means is arranged in parallel with each other and rotated by a plurality of transport rollers for supporting and horizontally transporting the substrate placed thereon. And a roll brush arranged in parallel with the transport roller and slidably in contact with the lower surface of the substrate transported by the transport roller.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the lower surface cleaning means further includes a brush for cleaning the upper surface of the substrate by slidingly contacting the upper surface of the horizontally supported substrate.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate cleaning apparatus, wherein the lower surface cleaning means includes a cleaning liquid spraying means for diffusing and spraying the cleaning liquid from above the horizontally supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the substrate cleaning apparatus,
A cleaning liquid supply unit for diffusing and jetting the cleaning liquid from above the horizontally supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate is provided.

[0012]

According to the first and second substrate cleaning apparatuses,
The transfer means horizontally supports the substrate whose lower surface (namely, the back surface of the substrate) has been cleaned by the lower surface cleaning unit from below, and transfers the substrate to the upper surface cleaning unit while supplying a cleaning liquid to the upper surface of the substrate (namely, the surface of the substrate). Therefore, it is possible to continuously clean the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate, that is, the front and rear surfaces thereof, without providing a mechanism for inverting the substrate. In this case, since the cleaning liquid is supplied to at least the upper surface of the substrate (that is, the surface of the substrate) by the transport means, it is possible to prevent the surface of the substrate from being dried, and to prevent water stain residue from being formed on the substrate surface. Furthermore, since the substrate is supported from below by the lower surface cleaning unit, the transport unit, and the upper surface cleaning unit, a situation in which the surface of the substrate on which the thin film is formed is not contaminated by the support does not occur.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the lower surface cleaning portion has a brush which can slide on the upper surface of the horizontally supported substrate, the surface on which a thin film is to be formed is cleaned once by the lower surface cleaning means. Therefore, the surface on which the thin film is to be formed can be more cleanly cleaned.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the lower surface cleaning unit includes the cleaning liquid spraying means for diffusing and spraying the cleaning liquid from above the horizontally supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate (ie, the surface of the substrate). The drying of the surface of the substrate can be more effectively prevented by the cleaning liquid.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the transfer means has the cleaning liquid jetting means for diffusing and jetting the cleaning liquid from above the supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate (ie, the surface of the substrate). Drying of the surface of the substrate while the substrate whose lower surface has been cleaned by the lower surface cleaning means is conveyed to the upper surface cleaning means can be more effectively prevented.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a view showing the entire structure of an embodiment of the substrate cleaning apparatus of the present invention. This substrate cleaning apparatus includes an indexer unit 1, a cleaning processing unit 2, and a substrate transfer device 3.

The indexer section 1 is provided with a cassette mounting section 11 for mounting a cassette 4 capable of storing a plurality of substrates, for example, 25 substrates. For this reason, when the cassettes 4 conveyed to the apparatus by an AGV (automated guided vehicle) (not shown) are transferred to each cassette mounting portion 11, the three cassettes 4 are aligned in the X direction in the indexer portion 1. , The substrate transfer device 3 can take out the substrate from the cassette 4 and store the substrate in the cassette 4.

The cleaning processing section 2 includes a dry processing section (corresponding to reference numeral 21) for performing the cleaning processing without supplying a processing liquid to the substrate, and a cleaning processing section for supplying a processing liquid such as water to the substrate to perform the cleaning processing. And a wet processing unit (corresponding to the portions denoted by reference numerals 22 and 23). The cassettes 4 are arranged so as to be substantially parallel to the arrangement direction X of the cassettes 4 while being separated from the indexer unit 1 by a certain distance in the Y direction. In the UV module 21, which is the former dry processing section, the substrate surface is irradiated with ultraviolet rays to burn and incinerate organic substances on the substrate surface. The latter wet processing unit includes a brush module 22 and a brush module 22 disposed immediately below the UV module 21 (−Z direction).
And the spin module 23 disposed on the right side (X direction) of the substrate. In the brush module 22, the lower surface on the rear surface side of the moving or swinging substrate is mainly subjected to brush cleaning processing,
In the spin module 23, the upper surface on the front side of the rotating substrate is subjected to brush cleaning processing.

The transfer of the substrate from the brush module 21 to the spin module 22 is performed by a transfer hand 5 which is a transfer means which can reciprocate in the X direction and move back and forth in the Y direction.

In the substrate cleaning apparatus configured as described above,
The substrate is cleaned, for example, as follows. First, unprocessed substrates in the cassette 4 are removed by the
The wafer is carried into the V module 21 and subjected to a dry cleaning process using ozone under ultraviolet irradiation. Next, the substrate after the dry cleaning processing in the UV module 21 is carried into the brush module 22 by the substrate transfer device 3, where the lower surface, which is the back surface of the substrate, is mainly subjected to wet cleaning processing. Next, the substrate after the wet cleaning processing by the brush module 22 is transferred to the transfer hand 5.
Then, the substrate is carried into the spin module 23, and the upper surface, which is the surface of the substrate, is subjected to wet cleaning. Finally, the substrate after the wet processing in the spin module 23 is returned into the predetermined cassette 4 by the substrate transfer device 3.

FIG. 2 is a view for explaining the main part of the cleaning section 2 of the apparatus shown in FIG. The substrate W carried in from the substrate carrying-in port 32 is once lowered downward (−Z direction) by an elevating mechanism (not shown), and then its attitude is horizontally (X direction) by a plurality of transport rollers 42. It is conveyed at a constant speed while being kept or rocked at a constant cycle. These transport rollers 42 are arranged in a line in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axes so that the rotation axes are parallel to each other. Although not shown, the transport roller 42 is
Stepped rollers are provided at both ends of the substrate W. Both ends of the substrate W are supported by the small wheels from below, and both ends of the substrate W are guided by the guide wheels from the sides to prevent the substrate from meandering.

A pair of roll brushes 52, 5 which slide on the lower surface of the substrate W (the rear surface on which no thin film or the like is formed) to clean the lower surface are provided below the substrate W moving on the transport roller 42.
2 are independently rotatable forward and backward.
In addition, near the both sides of each roll brush 52, a lower surface nozzle 62 for supplying a cleaning liquid (for example, pure water) to the roll brush 52 is arranged.

On the upper side of the substrate W conveyed on the conveying roller 42, a roll brush 72 for slidingly contacting the upper surface of the substrate W (the surface on which a thin film or the like is formed) and auxiliaryly cleaning the upper surface is rotated forward and backward. It is provided freely. A plurality of upper surface nozzles 82 arranged at equal intervals are arranged above the substrate W and the roll brush 72, and the cleaning liquid is spray-sprayed toward the substrate W (that is, sprayed while being diffused), whereby the substrate is sprayed. The surface of W is prevented from drying and the occurrence of water stain is prevented.

The substrate W, the lower surface of which has been cleaned by the roll brush 52, is conveyed in the horizontal direction (X direction) to the right end of the module without the roll brush 52 while maintaining its posture, and is moved upward by a lifting mechanism (not shown). After being raised in the (Z direction), it is transferred to the transport hand 5 which stands by on the substrate outlet 42 of the brush module 22.

The transfer hand 5 removes the substrate W, which has been subjected to the wet cleaning processing by the brush module 22, from the brush module 22 to the spin module 23 while maintaining its posture.
It is transported upward. A plurality of nozzles 25 are disposed above the transfer hand 5 to spray the cleaning liquid onto the substrate W to prevent the surface of the substrate W from drying and prevent the surface of the substrate W from being stained with water. ing.

The substrate W transported above the spin module 23 is transferred to the spin chuck 33 which has been lifted. The outer edge of the substrate W transferred on the spin chuck 33 is a chuck pin 3 erected on the spin chuck 33.
3a. This is to prevent the horizontal displacement of the substrate W on the spin chuck 33. The substrate W supported by the spin chuck 33 is
Together with the processing position. In the wet cleaning process, the disk brush 43 is moved on the substrate W, and the disk brush 43 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the substrate W. Thereafter, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the nozzle 53 above the disk brush 43 while rotating (rotating) the disk brush 43. At this time, the spin chuck 33 is rotated while rotating (revolving) the arm on which the disk brush 43 is mounted, so that the disk brush 43 slides on the entire surface of the substrate W supported on the spin chuck 33. . When the cleaning of the surface of the substrate W is completed,
The supply of the cleaning liquid from the nozzle 53 to the substrate W is stopped, and the disk brush 43 is retracted from the surface of the substrate. Thereafter, the spin chuck 33 is rotated at a high speed, and the cleaning liquid adhering to the substrate W supported on the spin chuck 33 is shaken off by centrifugal force to dry the substrate. The dried substrate W is carried into the predetermined cassette 4 arranged in the indexer unit 1 by the substrate transfer device 3.

In the spin module 23, the substrate W
On the other hand, in addition to the cleaning process using a disk brush, an ultrasonic cleaning process for supplying a cleaning solution to which ultrasonic vibration is applied to the substrate surface in accordance with the film quality of the surface of the substrate W, the presence or absence of a pattern, the degree of contamination, etc. Various cleaning processes such as a high-pressure cleaning process for supplying high-pressure to the substrate surface and a pure water rinsing process for supplying pure water to the substrate surface can be appropriately selectively performed, or a plurality of these cleaning processes can be applied in combination. .

As described above, according to the substrate cleaning apparatus of the above embodiment, the transfer hand 5 horizontally supports the substrate W cleaned on the lower surface by the brush module 22 from below, and applies the cleaning liquid to the upper surface of the substrate W. While being supplied, it is transported to the spin module 23 while maintaining its posture. Therefore, the front and back surfaces, which are the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W, can be continuously cleaned without interposing a mechanism for inverting the substrate W. At this time, since the cleaning liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the substrate W in the brush module 22 and on the transfer hand 5, it is possible to prevent the surface of the substrate W from drying, and to prevent water stain residue on the surface of the substrate W. Can be. Further, the substrate W is supported from below by the brush module 22, the spin module 23, and the transport hand 5, and only the roll brush 72 and the disc brush 43 contact the surface side of the upper surface of the substrate W. Less likely to be contaminated.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.
For example, the upper and lower roll brushes 52, 7 provided in the brush module 22 of the embodiment in the first wet cleaning process.
Instead of 2 , a disk brush may be provided to perform wet cleaning processing on the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W. In addition, since the back surface of the substrate W is in an elementary glass state in which an uneven pattern such as the front surface is not formed, there is no problem even if the substrate W slides with a brush such as a roll brush or a disk brush.

Further, the spin module 23 for performing a wet cleaning process in the subsequent stage uses the disk brush 43 only to rotate the substrate W.
May be used for cleaning the surface.

[0031]

As described above, according to the substrate cleaning apparatuses of the first and second aspects, the transfer means supports the substrate, the lower surface of which has been cleaned by the lower surface cleaning portion, horizontally from below to clean the upper surface. Since the substrate is transported to the unit, the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate, that is, both front and rear surfaces thereof can be continuously cleaned without providing a mechanism for inverting the substrate. At this time, since the cleaning liquid is supplied at least to the upper surface of the substrate by the transport means, it is possible to prevent the surface of the substrate from drying, and to prevent water stain residue from being formed on the surface of the substrate. Further, since the substrate is supported from below by the lower surface cleaning unit, the transport unit and the upper surface cleaning unit,
A situation in which the surface of the substrate is contaminated for support does not occur.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the lower surface cleaning section has a brush which can slide on the upper surface of the horizontally supported substrate, the substrate surface can be subjected to preliminary cleaning. Can be cleaned more in advance.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the lower surface cleaning unit has the cleaning liquid spraying means for diffusing and spraying the cleaning liquid from above the horizontally supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate, the surface of the substrate can be more dried. It can be effectively prevented.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the transfer means has the cleaning liquid spraying means for diffusing and spraying the cleaning liquid from above the supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate, the drying of the surface of the substrate can be more effectively performed. Can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a substrate cleaning apparatus according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the substrate cleaning apparatus of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Indexer section 2 Cleaning section 3 Substrate transfer device 5 Transport hand 21 UV module 22 Brush Module 23 Spin Module 25 nozzles 42 Transport roller 43 disk brush 52, 72 Roll brush 53 nozzles 62 Nozzle for lower surface 82 Nozzle for upper surface

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-13359 (JP, A) JP-A-47-27189 (JP, A) JP-A-5-82435 (JP, A) JP-A-2- 250324 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Sho 62-82733 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B08B 7/04 B08B 1/04

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] In a substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate, the substrate to be cleaned is supported from below with the front side facing upward, and the lower surface of the substrate is slid in contact with a brush while supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate. Lower surface cleaning means for cleaning the upper surface of the substrate to be cleaned, supplying the cleaning liquid to the upper surface of the substrate, rotating the substrate and cleaning the upper surface of the substrate by supporting the substrate to be cleaned facing upward from below, A transfer means for horizontally supporting the substrate, the lower surface of which has been cleaned by the lower surface cleaning means, from below and transporting the substrate to an upper surface cleaning means while supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate. Cleaning equipment. 2. The lower surface cleaning means is arranged in parallel with each other and rotated by rotating the plurality of transport rollers for supporting a substrate placed thereon and transporting the substrate in a horizontal direction, and disposed in parallel with the transport rollers. 2. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a roll brush that slides on a lower surface of the substrate that is transported by the transport roller. 3. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lower surface cleaning means further includes a brush for slidingly contacting the upper surface of the horizontally supported substrate to clean the upper surface of the substrate. 4. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the lower surface cleaning unit includes a cleaning liquid jet unit that diffuses and jets a cleaning liquid from above the horizontally supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate. A substrate cleaning apparatus according to item 1. 5. The transporting means according to claim 1, wherein said transporting means includes a cleaning liquid supply means for diffusing and jetting the cleaning liquid from above the horizontally supported substrate toward the upper surface of the substrate. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims.