JP3544747B2 - Rotary substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
[Industrial applications]
The present invention supplies a cleaning liquid such as pure water by supporting and rotating a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, and a substrate for an optical disk on a substrate support in an appropriate posture. To perform processing such as cleaning the substrate, supplying a coating liquid such as a photoresist on the substrate to form a coating liquid coating, or dropping a developing liquid on the substrate to perform development. A substrate holding member provided with a supporting member for supporting the substrate and a regulating member that abuts on an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate and regulates horizontal movement, is provided rotatably around a vertical axis, and is held on the substrate holding member. The present invention relates to a rotary substrate processing apparatus having a substrate presence / absence sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a substrate, and more particularly to a rotary substrate processing apparatus capable of detecting whether or not a substrate holding posture of a substrate holding member is appropriate or not. To.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a rotary substrate processing apparatus such as a spin coater, a spin developer, or a spin scrubber, when a substrate is not supported by a substrate holding member in a correct posture, and is tilted or lifted on a regulating member, the substrate is rotated as the substrate is rotated. There is a risk of falling off the holding member and causing damage.
[0003]
Therefore, prior to the rotation for processing the substrate, it is necessary to determine whether the holding posture is appropriate immediately after the substrate is supported by the substrate holding member.
[0004]
Therefore, conventionally, for example, those disclosed in JP-A-2-86144 and JP-A-6-29131 are known. According to this conventional example, a light emitter for projecting a light beam is provided on one of the upper and lower sides with a substrate therebetween, and a light receiver for receiving a light beam from the light emitter and outputting a light receiving signal is provided on the other, When the substrate is supported by the substrate holding member in a normal posture, the substrate is arranged such that the optical axis of the light emitter and the light receiver is always blocked by the substrate during one rotation of the substrate, and the substrate is rotated once at low speed. It is configured to determine whether the holding posture of the substrate on the substrate holding member is appropriate based on whether or not a light receiving signal is output during the rotation.
[0005]
That is, if the substrate is in a normal posture, the light beam is blocked by the substrate for one rotation, so that no light receiving signal is output. In at least one of the positions, the light beam from the light emitter is received by the light receiver, and a light reception signal is output from the light receiver. It is possible to determine whether the holding posture of the substrate is appropriate based on the presence or absence of the output of the light reception signal. is there.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, as described above, in order to determine whether the holding posture of the substrate is appropriate, after the substrate is loaded on the substrate holding member, the substrate must be rotated once at a low speed, and the determination process requires time. There were drawbacks needed.
[0007]
An object of the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention is to make it possible to instantaneously determine whether or not a substrate holding posture is appropriate after carrying a substrate onto a substrate holding member.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding apparatus comprising: a support member for supporting a substrate; and a regulating member for restricting horizontal movement by contacting an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate. In a rotary substrate processing apparatus provided with a member rotatable around a vertical axis and a substrate presence / absence sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a substrate held by the substrate holding member, wherein Above the upper end of the support member, and at a position where there is no light blocking by the substrate supported by the support member at a normal position, overlap with the substrate held by the substrate holding member in plan view and be parallel to each other. And a light emitting device having a plurality of light emitting trajectories in the horizontal direction, a pair of light receiving devices, a substrate holding sensor, and a substrate holding state for determining that the substrate has been normally held based on signals from the substrate presence / absence sensor and the light receiving device. Constituting provided a determining means.
[0009]
Further, rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 2, Oite the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, each light projecting trajectory and projector not parallel to each other in a plan view light receiver a plurality Provided.
[0010]
Further, rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 3 is Oite the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, emitter and receiver singular, enters the light projection light receiver from the projector The reflection member configured to perform the above-described operation is provided.
[0011]
[Action]
According to the configuration of the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the invention, as the substrate is carried in and held on the substrate holding member, the presence or absence of the substrate is detected by the substrate presence / absence sensor. At about the same time, in the state where the presence of the substrate is detected, based on the state of light reception from the light receiver, when the amount of received light is smaller than a set value or the light is not received, such as when light is blocked by the substrate in any of a plurality of projection trajectories It can be determined that the substrate is abnormal, such as being tilted or placed on the regulating member, and it can be determined that the substrate has been held normally if there is no light blocking by the substrate.
[0012]
Further, according to the configuration of the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, it is possible to reliably determine whether the holding posture of the substrate is appropriate.
[0013]
Further, according to the configuration of the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 3, it is possible to determine with a simple configuration whether the holding posture of the substrate is appropriate.
[0014]
【Example】
Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
[0015]
<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic side view showing a first embodiment of a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an overall schematic plan view, in which an upper end of a drive shaft 2 of an electric motor 1 has a vertical shaft center. The substrate holding member 3 is attached so as to be integrally rotatable around P.
[0016]
The substrate holding members 3 are mounted on the rotating table 4 at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction with supporting members 5 for mounting and supporting the lower part of the outer peripheral edge of the substrate W, and are mounted on the upper ends of the respective supporting members 5. And a restricting member 6 which comes into contact with the outer peripheral end surface of the substrate W and restricts horizontal movement. Although not shown, the rotary table 4 is provided with a mounting hole for removably attaching the support members 5 at predetermined intervals in a radial direction about the rotation axis P, and is shown in FIG. As shown in the side view of FIG. 3, a case where a large-sized substrate W is supported [FIG. 3A] and a case where a small-sized substrate W is supported [FIG. It is configured. The support members 5 and the regulating members 6 may be individually attached to the turntable 4.
[0017]
A cup 7 is provided so as to be able to move up and down so as to cover the periphery of the substrate holding member 3. In various processes such as a cleaning process with pure water, the cup 7 is raised to cover the periphery of the substrate holding member 3 and the processing liquid is centrifuged. It is configured so that scattering by force can be prevented.
[0018]
A first light emitter 8 is provided at a predetermined position horizontally outward of the cup 7 and above the upper end of the regulating member 6 so that the light emitting direction is directed slightly obliquely downward. The light projected from the first projector 8 at a position that is horizontally outer than the upper side and below the upper end of the support member 5 and that corresponds to the first projector 8 with the substrate holding member 3 interposed therebetween. A first light receiver 9 is provided, and a substrate presence / absence sensor 10 for detecting the presence / absence of the substrate W held by the substrate holding member 3 is configured.
[0019]
Further, at a predetermined position which is located outside the cup 7 in the horizontal direction and above the upper end of the support member 5 and is different in position by about 1/4 turn in the rotation direction of the substrate W, in the horizontal direction. Second light projectors 11 and 11 for projecting light are provided. On the other hand, the second light projectors 11 and 11 are projected from the respective second light projectors 11 and 11 to portions corresponding to the second light projectors 11 and 11 with the substrate holding member 3 interposed therebetween. A second light receiver 12 for receiving the reflected light is provided, and the light projecting trajectories T, T are configured to overlap the substrate W held by the substrate holding member 3 and cross in a cross shape in plan view. . Each of the second light projectors 11 and 11 is configured to project light with a vertical width equal to or greater than the thickness of the substrate W as a whole, and to have a plurality of light projecting portions within the vertical width. Similarly, each of the second light receivers 12 and 12 is configured to have a plurality of light receiving units.
[0020]
The first and second light emitters 8, 11, 11 and the first and second light receivers 9, 12, 12 are respectively connected to a microcomputer 13 as a substrate holding state determining means. , An alarm device 14 such as a buzzer or a flashing lamp is connected.
[0021]
The microcomputer 13 causes the first and second light projectors 8, 11, and 11 to emit light after the substrate W is carried in, and receives signals from the first and second light receivers 9, 12, and 12 correspondingly. Then, it is determined that the substrate W is normally held based on the light receiving state.
[0022]
That is, as shown in the side view of the main part of FIG. 4A, a part of the substrate W is lifted on the regulating member 6 and is supported by the substrate holding member 3 in an inclined state by the supporting member 5. At times, the amount of received light of at least one of the second light receivers 12 decreases. Further, as shown in a side view of the main part of FIG. 4B, when the substrate W is lifted on the regulating member 6 and is supported at a position higher than the supporting position by the supporting member 5, the second , The amount of light received by both of the light receivers 12 and 12 decreases. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, when the substrate W is supported by the support members 5 at a normal position, the amount of received light does not decrease in any of the second light receivers 12, 12.
[0023]
Accordingly, the presence of the substrate W is detected as the signal in the light-shielded state is input from the first light receiver 9, and no light is shielded in any of the second light receivers 12, 12 and the set amount is detected. It can be determined that the substrate W has been normally held based on the presence of the above-mentioned received light amount. Here, when it is determined that the substrate W is not held normally, an alarm signal is output to the alarm device 14 to issue an alarm, so that an operator can be notified that the substrate W is not held normally.
[0024]
An example of a system for cleaning a substrate W using this rotary substrate processing apparatus is as follows.
That is, the substrate W is taken out from the cassette and supplied to the substrate reversing unit to reverse the substrate W. After carrying the inverted substrate W into the rotary substrate processing apparatus, the normal holding state of the substrate W is checked. Here, when it is determined that the substrate W is not normally held, the processing is interrupted. On the other hand, when it is determined to be normal, the cup 7 is raised and the substrate W is rotated, and the cleaning liquid is supplied to perform the cleaning process. After the cleaning processing, the cup 7 is lowered, the processing substrate W is supplied to the substrate reversing unit and returned to the original position, and the substrate W is supplied to the rotary substrate processing apparatus to perform the same cleaning processing. After cleaning both sides, return to the cassette.
[0025]
In such a processing step, after carrying the substrate W into the rotary substrate processing apparatus and holding it on the substrate holding member 3, it is possible to immediately determine whether or not the substrate W is supported in an appropriate posture in the holding state. Thus, the time required for the cleaning process of the substrate W can be reduced.
[0026]
As a result of the comparative experiment, it took 7 seconds for an 8-inch wafer and 4 seconds for a 6-inch wafer to determine whether or not the conventional substrate W was supported by a single rotation by one rotation. According to the embodiment, it has been found that it takes only 1 second regardless of the size.
[0027]
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a second embodiment of the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The difference from the first embodiment is as follows.
In other words, the second light projector 11 and the second light receiver 12 are both one, and the light from the second light projector 11 is projected on the reflection member 15 using the reflection member 15 such as a mirror or a mirror surface member. The light reflected by the reflecting member 15 is received by the second light receiving device 12, and the light projecting trajectory T from the second light projecting device 11 to the reflecting member 15 in a plan view and from the reflecting member 15 to the second light receiving device 12 The projection trajectory T in plan view is configured not to be parallel to each other. The other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted by retaining the same reference numerals.
[0028]
According to the second embodiment, it is possible to reduce the number of members and the number of variables to be processed by the microcomputer 13 by reducing the number of members by reducing the number of members by simply adding the reflection member 15. Has the advantage that it can be easily manufactured at low cost.
[0029]
To configure the substrate holding state determining means, for example, the light receiving state is set to 1 and the light blocking state is set to 0 in each of the first and second light receivers 9 and 12 without using the microcomputer 13 as described above. A signal from the first photodetector 9 is input to a NOT circuit and inverted, and an output signal from the NOT circuit and a signal from the second photodetector 12 are input to an AND circuit. It may be configured to determine whether the substrate W is supported in an appropriate posture and to activate the alarm device 14.
[0030]
INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention can be applied to various substrates having a circular shape or a square shape, such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, and a substrate for an optical disk.
[0031]
【The invention's effect】
According to the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to instantaneously determine whether or not the holding posture of the substrate is appropriate, so that the processing time can be reduced.
[0032]
Further, according to the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 2, it is possible to reliably determine whether the holding posture of the substrate is appropriate.
[0033]
Further, according to the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 3, it is possible to determine with a simple configuration whether the holding posture of the substrate is appropriate.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall schematic side view showing a first embodiment of a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an overall schematic plan view of the first embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a side view of a main part showing a substrate supporting state.
FIG. 4 is a side view of a main part showing a substrate supporting state.
FIG. 5 is an overall schematic plan view showing a second embodiment of the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
3 ... substrate holding member 5 ... support member 6 ... regulating member 8 ... first light emitter 9 ... first light receiver 10 ... substrate presence sensor 11 ... second light emitter 12 ... second light receiver 13 ... substrate holding state judgment Microcomputer 15 as means Reflecting member P Vertical axis T T Projecting locus W Substrate

Claims (3)

A substrate holding member including a support member for supporting the substrate and a regulating member that abuts on an outer peripheral end surface of the substrate to regulate horizontal movement is provided rotatably around a vertical axis, and the substrate holding member is In a rotary substrate processing apparatus having a substrate presence / absence sensor for detecting the presence / absence of a held substrate,
Around the substrate holding member and above the upper end of the support member, and at a position where there is no light shielding by the substrate supported at a normal position by the support member, the substrate holding member in plan view. A light emitter that overlaps the held substrate and is not parallel to each other, and has a plurality of light emission trajectories in the horizontal direction, a pair of light receivers, the substrate presence / absence sensor, and the substrate Board holding state determining means for determining that the
A rotary substrate processing apparatus comprising: The rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Projecting Ito optical device such parallel to each other in the light path in plan view and receiver plurality that provided rotating type substrate processing apparatus, respectively. The rotary substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Emitter and receiver is singular, configured reflecting member rotation type substrate processing apparatus having a so projected light is incident on the light receiver from the projector.

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