JP3721083B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing using a processing liquid on various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display panel, and a magnetic / optical disk substrate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, a substrate processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid (chemical solution or pure water) to the substrate and performing a surface treatment of the substrate is used. A single-wafer type substrate processing apparatus that processes substrates one by one includes, for example, a spin chuck that rotates the substrate while holding it horizontally. A back surface treatment liquid nozzle for supplying a treatment liquid to the back surface (lower surface) of the substrate is inserted through the rotation axis of the spin chuck. A surface treatment liquid nozzle for supplying a treatment liquid to the surface (upper surface) of the substrate is disposed above the spin chuck. Then, the substrate held by the spin chuck is rotated in a horizontal plane, while the processing liquid is supplied to the front and back surfaces of the substrate from the front surface processing liquid nozzle and the back surface processing liquid nozzle, respectively. Processing is performed.
[0003]
In such a substrate processing apparatus, the rotation axis of the spin chuck is a hollow shaft, and the back surface processing liquid nozzle is inserted into the inside, so that the processing liquid is inserted in the gap between the rotating shaft and the back surface processing liquid nozzle. May infiltrate. If the processing liquid enters the gap between the rotating shaft and the back surface processing liquid nozzle, if the processing liquid is left as it is, the member inside the rotating shaft (for example, a seal member) may be corroded by the processing liquid. The processing liquid discharge pipe is connected to the gap between the rotating shaft and the back surface processing liquid nozzle, and the processing liquid that has entered the gap can be discharged.
[0004]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the above-described conventional apparatus, the atmosphere containing the processing liquid flowing into the processing liquid discharge pipe flows back through the processing liquid discharge pipe, flows into the gap between the processing liquid nozzle and the inner wall of the rotating shaft, There is a possibility that the substrate flows out into the substrate processing space and contaminates the substrate in the substrate processing space.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing the contamination of the substrate by solving the above technical problem and preventing the atmosphere containing the processing liquid from flowing back through the processing liquid discharge pipe. It is.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention]
The invention described in claim 1 for achieving the above object is characterized in that the processing means (11, 12) for processing the substrate using the processing liquid and the processing liquid for discharging the processing liquid used in the processing means. Discharge pipe (19), storage container (2) for temporarily storing the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid discharge pipe, and processing liquid detection for detecting the processing liquid stored in the storage container Means (23), fluid discharge means (3, 4, 5, 6) for discharging the fluid in the storage container, and variable discharge flow rate for changing the flow rate of the fluid discharged by the fluid discharge means look including a mechanism (41), said fluid discharge means, the connected fluid discharge pipe in a storage container and (3,4), draw draw air fluid in said fluid discharge pipe by the flow of a pull means ( characterized in that it comprises a 6) and A plate processor.
[0006]
In addition, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.
According to the present invention, the fluid is drawn from the processing liquid discharge pipe into the storage container at a flow rate corresponding to the flow rate of the fluid discharged from the storage container by the fluid discharge means. There is no possibility that the substrate will flow backward and the substrate will not be contaminated by this backward flow.
[0007]
Further, since the processing liquid flowing into the processing liquid discharge pipe is promptly guided to the storage container, the processing liquid detection means detects the processing liquid that has flowed in in a short time after the processing liquid flows into the processing liquid discharge pipe. be able to. In other words, this can be quickly detected when a small amount of processing liquid flows into the processing liquid discharge pipe.
The discharge flow rate variable mechanism is operated to change the flow rate of the fluid discharged by the fluid discharge means based on the detection of the treatment liquid by the treatment liquid detection means. Preferably, as described in claim 3, the flow rate of the fluid discharged by the fluid discharge means is increased based on detection of the treatment liquid by the treatment liquid detection means. Is more preferable.
[0008]
In response to the detection of the processing liquid by the processing liquid detection means, when the flow rate of the fluid discharged by the fluid discharge means is increased, the processing liquid can be quickly discharged from the storage container. It is possible to better prevent the contamination of the substrate due to the backflow of the atmosphere including it.
Furthermore, as according to claim 4, wherein said fluid discharge pipe is respectively connected to different portions of the reservoir Rutotomoni, large flow discharge pipe connected in common to the retraction mechanism (4) and small flow discharge pipe (3), the discharge flow rate variable mechanism may be an on-off valve (41) interposed in the large flow rate discharge pipe. For example, when claim 3 and claim 4 are combined, the on-off valve is closed until the processing liquid is detected by the processing liquid detection means, and responds to detection of the processing liquid by the processing liquid detection means. By opening the opening / closing valve, the flow rate of the fluid discharged from the storage container can be changed.
Further, in this case, as described in claim 5, the small flow rate discharge pipe may be connected to an upper side surface of the storage container.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the processing means includes a spin chuck that holds a substrate and rotates about a vertical axis passing through a substantially center of the held substrate, and the spin chuck includes the vertical axis. A protective pipe (111) that rotates around and a back surface treatment liquid nozzle (113) inserted through the protective pipe, and the treatment liquid discharge pipe is disposed between the protection pipe and the back surface treatment liquid nozzle (116). 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is for discharging the processing liquid that has entered the substrate.
According to this invention, the processing liquid that has entered the gap between the protective tube and the back surface processing liquid nozzle is quickly discharged from the gap to the processing liquid discharge pipe, and is guided to the storage container through the processing liquid discharge pipe. . Therefore, there is no possibility that the seal member or the like inside the spin chuck is corroded by the processing liquid that has entered the gap. Further, since there is no possibility that the gas containing the treatment liquid will flow backward through the treatment liquid discharge pipe, there is no possibility that the substrate will be contaminated by this backward flow.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate processing chamber 1 for performing processing using a processing liquid on a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) W which is an example of a substrate. In the substrate processing chamber 1, a spin chuck 11 that holds a wafer W substantially horizontally and rotates around a vertical axis passing through the substantially center of the held wafer W is disposed. Further, a disc-shaped blocking plate 12 having an opening for guiding the processing liquid to the center of the upper surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11 is provided horizontally above the spin chuck 11. Yes. The blocking plate 12 is attached to the vicinity of the tip of the arm 13 that can be moved up and down so that it can rotate around the vertical axis.
[0010]
The specific configuration of the spin chuck 11 is shown in the cross-sectional view of FIG. That is, the spin chuck 11 includes a resin protective tube 111 fixed to the inner wall of the hollow drive shaft 142 of the motor 141, a chuck base 112 extending substantially horizontally from the upper end of the protective tube 111, and the protective tube 111. And a back surface treatment liquid nozzle 113 inserted therethrough. On the upper surface of the chuck base 112, a holding member 114 that holds the periphery of the wafer W is disposed.
[0011]
The back surface treatment liquid nozzle 113 has a discharge port 115 at a position close to the center of the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 11, and processing is performed from the discharge port 115 toward the center of the back surface of the wafer W. It has the form of a central axis nozzle that supplies liquid. A processing liquid supply pipe 15 extending from a processing liquid supply source (not shown) is connected to the lower end of the back surface processing liquid nozzle 113. At the time of wafer processing, the hollow drive shaft 142 of the motor 141 is rotated to rotate the wafer W held on the spin chuck 11 in the horizontal plane. On the other hand, from the back surface processing liquid nozzle 113 and the blocking plate 12 shown in FIG. By supplying the processing liquid to the upper and lower surfaces of the wafer W, the substrate is processed with the processing liquid.
[0012]
A holding block 17 for holding the back surface treatment liquid nozzle 113 is disposed below the protective tube 111. The holding block 17 includes a communication portion 171 in which the processing liquid communicates with the gap 116 between the protective tube 111 and the back surface processing liquid nozzle 113, and a through passage 172 formed so as to penetrate obliquely from the lower surface to the communication portion 171. And are formed. A processing liquid discharge pipe 19 extending to the outside of the substrate processing chamber 1 is connected to the through passage 172 by a pipe joint 18. As a result, even if the processing liquid enters the gap 116 between the protective tube 111 and the back surface processing liquid nozzle 113, the processing liquid is protected via the communication portion 171, the through passage 172, and the processing liquid discharge pipe 19. The liquid is discharged from the gap 116 between the tube 111 and the back surface treatment liquid nozzle 113.
[0013]
Returning to FIG. 1, the front end (downstream end) of the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 is inserted into the storage container 2 for storing the processing liquid flowing into the processing liquid discharge pipe 19. The storage container 2 is a sealed container having a bottom surface 21 that is inclined, and the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 is inserted into the storage container 2 from the upper side surface of the storage container 2 and is directed downward in the middle. It is bent. As a result, the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 falls from the front end of the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 to the bottom surface 21 of the storage container 2 and travels along the bottom surface 21 to the lowermost portion 22 of the storage container 2. And flow.
[0014]
In relation to the bottom surface 21 of the storage container 2, a processing liquid sensor 23 that detects that the processing liquid has accumulated in the storage container 2 is provided. The treatment liquid sensor 23 can be constituted by, for example, a capacitance sensor that detects a change in the capacitance of the bottom surface 21 due to the accumulation of the treatment liquid on the bottom surface 21. The bottom surface 21 of the storage container 2 is an inclined surface, and the processing liquid that has fallen onto the bottom surface 21 from the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 is collected at the lowermost portion 22, so that the processing liquid stored on the bottom surface 21 is very small. Even if the amount is small, the treatment liquid sensor 23 can detect the presence of the treatment liquid. In this embodiment, as a countermeasure against the failure of the processing liquid sensor 23, a spare sensor 24 capable of detecting the processing liquid excessively stored in the storage container 2 is provided.
[0015]
A small flow rate exhaust pipe 3 for exhausting the gas in the storage container 2 is connected to the upper side surface of the storage container 2. A flow meter with a flow rate adjusting valve including a flow meter 31 and a flow rate adjusting valve 32 is interposed in the middle of the small flow rate exhaust pipe 3. Further, a large flow exhaust pipe 4 for discharging the processing liquid collected in the lowermost part 22 together with the gas in the storage container 2 is connected to the side surface of the lowermost part 22 of the storage container 2. A valve 41 for allowing and blocking the flow of gas in the large flow rate exhaust pipe 4 is interposed in the middle of the large flow rate exhaust pipe 4.
[0016]
The small-flow exhaust pipe 3 and the large-flow exhaust pipe 4 are joined at their respective ends connected to an exhaust pipe 5, and are connected to a vacuum generator (ejector) 6 through the exhaust pipe 5. The vacuum generator 6 is further connected to a gas supply pipe 61 for supplying a large flow rate of drawing air and a communication pipe 62 that communicates the vacuum generator 6 and the steam / water separation chamber 7. The large flow amount of air for drawing supplied from the gas supply pipe 61 to the vacuum generator 6 passes through the vacuum generator 6 and flows out to the communication pipe 62. The air in the exhaust pipe 5 is drawn into the vacuum generator 6 by the air. The fluid in the exhaust pipe 5 drawn into the vacuum generator 6 flows into the steam / water separation chamber 7 through the communication pipe 62 together with the suction air, and is separated into gas and liquid in the steam / water separation chamber 7. Discharged.
[0017]
Until the processing liquid sensor 23 detects that the processing liquid has accumulated in the storage container 2, the valve 41 interposed in the middle of the large flow rate exhaust pipe 4 is closed. Further, the opening degree of the flow rate adjusting valve 32 interposed in the small flow rate exhaust pipe 3 is adjusted so that a constant flow rate gas always flows through the small flow rate exhaust pipe 3. Therefore, until it is detected that the processing liquid has accumulated in the storage container 2, the gas in the storage container 2 is exhausted at a low flow rate through the small flow rate exhaust pipe 3, whereby the storage container 2 is discharged from the processing liquid discharge pipe 19. A small flow of fluid is drawn into the Therefore, the processing liquid that has entered the gap 116 (see FIG. 2) between the protective tube 111 and the back surface processing liquid nozzle 113 is quickly discharged from the gap 116 to the processing liquid discharge pipe 19. It is led to the storage container 2 through. Therefore, there is no possibility that the seal member or the like inside the spin chuck 11 is corroded by the processing liquid that has entered the gap 116. Further, since there is no possibility that the gas containing the processing liquid flows backward through the processing liquid discharge pipe 19, there is no possibility that the wafer W is contaminated by this backward flow.
[0018]
Furthermore, since the processing liquid that has flowed into the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 is promptly guided to the storage container 2, the processing liquid that has flowed into the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 is quickly transferred to the processing liquid sensor 23. Can be reliably detected. In other words, this can be reliably and promptly detected when a small amount of processing liquid flows into the processing liquid discharge pipe 19.
When the processing liquid sensor 23 detects that the processing liquid has accumulated in the storage container 2, the processing of the wafer W in the substrate processing chamber 1 is stopped in response to this, and the protective tube 111 and the back surface processing liquid nozzle 113. A notification sound for notifying that the processing liquid has entered the gap 116 between the two is output. When an operator who notices the output of the notification sound opens the valve 41 interposed in the large flow rate exhaust pipe 4, the treatment liquid accumulated in the lowermost portion 22 of the storage container 2 together with the gas in the storage container 2 has a large flow rate. It is discharged to the exhaust pipe 4. The large-flow exhaust pipe 4 has an inner diameter larger than that of the small-flow exhaust pipe 3, and fluid flows through the large-flow exhaust pipe 4 at a relatively large flow rate. As a result, the processing liquid discharged from the storage container 2 quickly flows through the large-flow exhaust pipe 4 and is guided to the steam-water separation chamber 7 through the exhaust pipe 5, the vacuum generator 6, and the communication pipe 62. Therefore, the processing liquid discharged from the gap 116 between the protective tube 111 and the back surface processing liquid nozzle 113 to the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 is not likely to remain in the storage container 2 or the like for a long time. Contamination of the wafer W due to the backflow of the atmosphere containing the can be better prevented.
[0019]
As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment. For example, in the above-described embodiment, when the processing liquid sensor 23 detects that the processing liquid has dropped from the processing liquid discharge pipe 19 to the bottom surface 21 of the storage container 2, a notification sound is output in response to this, An operator who noticed the output of the notification sound opened the valve 41 interposed in the large-flow exhaust pipe 4, but the processing liquid sensor 23 detected that the processing liquid had fallen on the bottom surface 21 of the storage container 2. In response to this, the valve 41 interposed in the large-flow exhaust pipe 4 may be automatically opened.
[0020]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the configuration in which the processing liquid that has entered the inside of the spin chuck 11 is discharged has been described. However, an apparatus other than the spin chuck 11 disposed in the substrate processing chamber 1 is used. The present invention may be applied to a configuration in which the processing liquid that has entered the inside of the apparatus is discharged.
Further, the substrate to be processed is not limited to the wafer W, and may be other types of substrates such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a plasma display panel, and a magnetic / optical disk substrate.
[0021]
In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of matters described in the claims.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an illustrative view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a specific configuration of a spin chuck.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing chamber 2 Reservoir 3 Small flow exhaust piping 4 Large flow exhaust piping 5 Exhaust piping 6 Vacuum generator 11 Spin chuck 12 Blocking plate 19 Processing liquid discharge piping 23 Processing liquid sensor 41 Valve
111 protective tube
113 Back treatment nozzle
116 Gap W Wafer

Claims (6)

Processing means for processing the substrate using the processing liquid;
A processing liquid discharge pipe for discharging the processing liquid used in this processing means;
A storage container for temporarily storing the processing liquid flowing through the processing liquid discharge pipe;
Treatment liquid detection means for detecting the treatment liquid stored in the storage container;
Fluid discharge means for discharging the fluid in the storage container;
And a discharge flow rate varying mechanism for varying the flow rate of the fluid discharged by the fluid discharge means seen including,
The substrate processing apparatus , wherein the fluid discharging means includes a fluid discharging pipe connected to the storage container, and a drawing means for drawing the fluid in the fluid discharging pipe by circulation of drawing air .   2. The discharge flow rate variable mechanism is operated to change the flow rate of the fluid discharged by the fluid discharge unit based on detection of the treatment liquid by the treatment liquid detection unit. The substrate processing apparatus as described.   3. The discharge flow rate variable mechanism is operated so as to increase the flow rate of the fluid discharged by the fluid discharge unit based on detection of the processing liquid by the processing liquid detection unit. The substrate processing apparatus as described. Said fluid discharge pipe includes each Rutotomoni connected to different portions of the reservoir, the high flow discharge pipe and the small flow rate discharge pipe connected in common to the retraction mechanism,
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the discharge flow rate variable mechanism is an open / close valve interposed in the high flow rate discharge pipe.   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the small flow rate discharge pipe is connected to an upper side surface of the storage container.   The processing means includes a spin chuck that holds a substrate and rotates around a vertical axis that passes through substantially the center of the held substrate.
  The spin chuck includes a protective tube that rotates around the vertical axis, and a back surface treatment liquid nozzle that is inserted through the protective tube.
  6. The substrate processing according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid discharge pipe is for discharging a processing liquid that has entered between the protective tube and the back surface processing liquid nozzle. apparatus.

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