JP5031525B2 - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for cleaning a peripheral edge of a substrate. Examples of substrates to be processed include semiconductor wafers, liquid crystal display substrates, plasma display substrates, FED (Field Emission Display) substrates, optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, and photomasks. Substrate etc. are included.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, contamination of the peripheral portion of the semiconductor wafer may have a non-negligible effect on the processing quality of the semiconductor wafer. For example, in a so-called batch processing step, a plurality of semiconductor wafers are immersed in the processing liquid in a vertical posture (attitude along the vertical direction). For this reason, if contaminants adhere to the periphery of the semiconductor wafer, the contaminants float in the processing solution and adhere to the device formation region on the surface of the semiconductor wafer, thereby contaminating the device formation region. May occur.

For this reason, recently, there is an increasing demand for cleaning the peripheral portion of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.
An apparatus for cleaning a peripheral portion of a substrate includes, for example, a turntable that holds and rotates the substrate, and a cylindrical brush for cleaning the peripheral end surface of the substrate. Before the start of the cleaning process, the brush is arranged at a standby position away from the turntable. When the cleaning process is started, the brush is moved from the standby position to a position in contact with the peripheral end surface of the substrate held on the turntable. Then, with the peripheral surface of the brush in contact with the peripheral end surface of the substrate, the turntable holding the substrate is rotated. As a result, the peripheral end surface of the substrate and the peripheral surface of the brush rub against each other, and the peripheral end surface of the substrate is cleaned by the brush.
JP 2003-197592 A

The brush is worn by rubbing with the peripheral end surface of the substrate. As the wear of the brush progresses, the cleaning ability of the brush decreases, and the peripheral edge surface of the substrate cannot be sufficiently cleaned. Therefore, the brush must be replaced with a new one.
However, it is not always easy for the user of the apparatus to determine whether or not to replace the brush. For this reason, the brush may be replaced even when it is sufficiently usable, or may not be replaced even though the brush is worn to the extent that it should be replaced.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can appropriately determine the replacement time of a brush.

In order to achieve the above object, a first substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a substrate holding means (3) for holding a substrate (W) and a peripheral portion of the substrate as claimed in claim 1. A brush (16) for moving, a brush moving means (18, 19) for moving the brush, a load detecting means (65) for detecting a load applied to the brush, and the brush arranged at a processing time position. The brush moving means is controlled so that the brush is separated from the substrate after the brush is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means for a predetermined time. to together, the predetermined time, controls the brush moving means based on the load load detected by said load detecting means is detected by said load detecting means so as to fall within a predetermined load range That the brush movement control means and (67), based on the load detected by the previous SL load detecting means, the brush arrangement determining means for determining whether disposed in the treatment position (67, S11 to S13; S51 to S54) and time measuring means (71) for measuring a time from when the brush is determined to be disposed at the processing position by the placement determining means until the brush starts to move away from the substrate. , S31 to S35) and time storage means (69B, S36) for accumulating and storing the time measured by the time measuring means.

In addition, the alphanumeric characters in parentheses represent corresponding components in the embodiments described later. The same applies hereinafter.
According to this configuration, during the cleaning process on the peripheral edge of the substrate, the brush is disposed at the processing position and is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. Then, after the state is maintained for a predetermined time, the brush is separated from the substrate held by the substrate holding means. On the other hand, the load applied to the brush is detected by the load detecting means, and based on the detected load, it is determined by the arrangement determining means whether or not the brush is arranged at the processing position. Then, the time from when it is determined that the brush is disposed at the processing position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate is measured, and the time is accumulated and stored in the time storage means. The brush moving means is controlled based on the load detected by the load detecting means so that the load detected by the load detecting means falls within a predetermined load range during the predetermined time.

  When the brush is pushed against the peripheral edge of the substrate, the load applied to the brush changes due to the reaction force that the brush receives from the substrate. Therefore, based on the load detected by the load detection means, it can be accurately determined whether or not the brush is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate, that is, whether or not the brush is disposed at the processing position. Then, the time from the determination time until the brush starts to separate from the substrate is measured by the time measuring means, and this is accumulated and stored in the time storage means, so that the brush actually contacts the peripheral edge of the substrate. It is possible to obtain the integrated value of the time that is being used. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately determine the brush replacement time based on the integrated value.

  For example, when the operation of the brush moving means for placing the brush at the processing position is completed, it is considered that the brush is disposed at the processing position, and the time from that point until the brush starts to be separated from the substrate (hereinafter, In this section, “deemed contact time” is measured, and it is conceivable to determine the brush replacement time based on the accumulated value of this time (hereinafter referred to as “deemed accumulated time” in this section). . However, even when the operation of the brush moving means for placing the brush at the processing position is completed, the brush is actually in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate due to the falling off of the brush or the displacement of the substrate. There may not be. In this case, although the brush is not in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate, the deemed contact time is accumulated. As a result, an error occurs between the deemed accumulated time and the accumulated value of the time when the brush is actually in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate. Therefore, the brush replacement time cannot be properly determined based on the deemed accumulated time.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the first substrate processing apparatus includes a notifying unit (72) for notifying that it is time to replace the brush, and a time accumulated in the time storing unit. It is preferable to include notification control means (67, S41, S42) for operating the notification means when a predetermined time is reached.
According to this configuration, when the cumulative value of the time accumulated in the time storage means, that is, the time when the brush is actually in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate reaches a certain time, the brush replacement time Is notified. Thereby, it is possible to prompt the user of the substrate processing apparatus to replace the brush at an appropriate time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the brush from being replaced despite being sufficiently usable, and to prevent an increase in running cost and a decrease in apparatus operating rate due to frequent replacement of the brush. be able to. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of insufficient cleaning due to continued use of the worn brush.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first substrate processing apparatus, the processing time position includes a surface side processing time position where the brush contacts the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means and the peripheral end surface. A backside processing position where the brush is in contact with a backside surface and a peripheral end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, and the placement determining means determines whether the brush is placed at the frontside processing position. And whether or not the brush is disposed at the processing time position on the back surface side, and the time measuring means determines that the brush is disposed at the processing time position on the front surface side by the positioning determination means. The front side processing time from when the brush starts to move to be separated from the substrate, and from the time when the brush is determined to be placed at the back side processing position by the placement determination means The back side processing time until the brush starts to move away from the substrate is individually measured, and the time storage means accumulates and stores the front side processing time and the back side processing time separately. The notification control unit operates the notification unit when at least one of the front side processing time and the back side processing time accumulated and stored in the time storage unit reaches the predetermined time. Also good.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holding means for holding a substrate; a brush for cleaning a peripheral portion of the substrate; a brush moving means for moving the brush; and the brush at a processing position. The brush moving means is disposed so that the brush is moved away from the substrate after the brush is pressed against the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means for a predetermined time. Based on the load detected by the load detection means, the load detection means for detecting the load applied to the brush, and the load detected by the load detection means, it is determined whether or not the brush is disposed at the processing position. The brush starts to move away from the substrate from the position at which the brush is determined to be disposed at the processing position by the layout determining means. Time measuring means for measuring the time until the operation time, time storage means for accumulating and storing the time measured by the time measuring means, notification means for notifying that it is time to replace the brush, and A notification control means for operating the notification means when the time accumulated in the time storage means reaches a certain time, and the processing position is a substrate on which the brush is held by the substrate holding means A surface-side processing position in contact with the front surface and the peripheral end surface, and a back-side processing position in which the brush contacts the back surface and the peripheral end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, Whether or not the brush is disposed at the front side processing position and whether or not the brush is disposed at the back side processing position are individually determined. The front side processing time from the time when it is determined that the brush is arranged at the front side processing position to the time when the brush starts to move away from the substrate, and the rear side processing by the arrangement judgment unit. The backside processing time is measured separately from the time when it is determined that the brush is placed at the time position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate, and the time storage means includes the frontside processing time and the surface side processing time. The back side processing time is accumulated and stored individually, and the notification control unit is configured to set at least one of the front side processing time and the back side processing time accumulated in the time storage unit to the predetermined time. When it reaches, the notification means is operated.
According to a second substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, as described in claim 5 , the substrate holding means (3) for holding the substrate (W), the brush (16) for cleaning the peripheral portion of the substrate, The brush moving means (18, 19) for moving the brush, and the brush is disposed at the processing position, and the brush is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. Is maintained for a predetermined time, the brush movement control means (67) for controlling the brush moving means so that the brush is separated from the substrate, and the load detection means (65) for detecting the load applied to the brush. And an arrangement determining means (67, S11 to S13; S51 to S54) for determining whether or not the brush is arranged at the processing position based on the load detected by the load detecting means, Time measuring means (71, S31 to S35) for measuring a time from when the brush is determined to be disposed at the processing position by the position determining means until the brush starts to move away from the substrate; A work amount for accumulating and storing a work amount obtained by multiplying the time measured by the time measuring means and the load detected by the load detecting means in a state where the brush is disposed at the processing time position. Storage means (69C, S36). In addition, the second substrate processing apparatus has a notifying means (72) for notifying that it is time to replace the brush, and the work amount accumulated in the work amount storage means has reached a certain amount. And a notification control means (67, S61, S62) for operating the notification means. The processing position includes a surface-side processing position where the brush contacts the surface and peripheral end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, a back surface of the substrate where the brush is held by the substrate holding means, and A back-side processing position that contacts a peripheral end surface, and the placement determining means determines whether the brush is placed at the front-side processing position and whether the brush is placed at the back-side processing position. Whether the brush is started to move away from the substrate from the time when the placement determining unit determines that the brush is disposed at the front-side processing position. From the time of front side processing time to the time when the brush starts to move away from the substrate from the time when it is determined by the arrangement determining means that the brush is arranged at the position for processing on the back side. The back surface side processing time is individually measured, and the work amount storage means includes the front side processing time and a load detected by the load detection means in a state where the brush is disposed at the front side processing time position. The back side obtained by multiplying the surface side work obtained by multiplying the load, the back side processing time, and the load detected by the load detecting means in a state where the brush is disposed at the back side processing position The work amount is individually accumulated and stored, and the notification control unit reaches at least one of the front-side work amount and the back-side work amount accumulated and stored in the work storage unit, respectively. Then, the notification means is operated.

  According to this configuration, during the cleaning process on the peripheral edge of the substrate, the brush is disposed at the processing position and is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. Then, after the state is maintained for a predetermined time, the brush is separated from the substrate held by the substrate holding means. On the other hand, the load applied to the brush is detected by the load detecting means, and based on the detected load, it is determined by the arrangement determining means whether or not the brush is arranged at the processing position. The time from when it is determined that the brush is disposed at the processing position to when the brush starts to move away from the substrate is measured by the time measuring means, and the time and the brush are disposed at the processing position. The amount of work obtained by multiplying the load detected by the load detection means in the state of being present is accumulated and stored in the time storage means.

  When the brush is pushed against the peripheral edge of the substrate, the load applied to the brush changes due to the reaction force that the brush receives from the substrate. Therefore, based on the load detected by the load detection means, it can be accurately determined whether or not the brush is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate, that is, whether or not the brush is disposed at the processing position. Therefore, the time from the determination time until the brush starts to move away from the substrate (the time measured by the time measuring means) and the load detecting means in a state where the brush is disposed at the processing time position are detected. The amount of work obtained by multiplying the load is equal to the value obtained by multiplying the time when the brush is actually in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate and the load applied to the brush at the processing position.

  The degree of wear of the brush depends not only on the contact time of the brush with the peripheral edge of the substrate but also with the amount of pressing (biting in) of the brush with respect to the peripheral edge of the substrate. The pressing amount of the brush with respect to the peripheral edge of the substrate has a correlation with the load applied to the brush. Therefore, the replacement time of the brush is determined based on the work amount accumulated and stored in the work amount storage means, rather than based on the integrated value of the time when the brush is actually in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate. It is possible to judge more appropriately.

Further , according to the present invention , the work amount accumulated in the work amount storage means, that is, the time when the brush is actually in contact with the peripheral portion of the substrate is multiplied by the load applied to the brush at the processing position. When the integrated value of the values reaches a certain time, it is notified that it is time to replace the brush. Thereby, it is possible to prompt the user of the substrate processing apparatus to replace the brush at an appropriate time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the brush from being replaced despite being sufficiently usable, and to prevent an increase in running cost and a decrease in apparatus operating rate due to frequent replacement of the brush. be able to. Moreover, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of insufficient cleaning due to continued use of the worn brush.

As described in claim 6, wherein the rearrangement determining means (67, S11 to S13), in response to the load detected by the load detecting means reaches a predetermined processing time of the load, the brush the It may be determined that it is disposed at the processing position.
According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the brush movement control means is configured so that the brush is moved by a predetermined push amount from the reference position after the brush is once disposed at a predetermined reference position. The brush movement control means is controlled so as to be placed at a position, and the placement judgment means (67, S51 to S54) responds that the load detected by the load detection means has reached a predetermined reference load. Then, it is determined that the brush is disposed at the reference position, and after the determination, the brush is disposed at the processing position when the movement of the brush from the reference position to the processing position is completed. You may decide that

As described in claim 8, wherein the brush, the cleaning surface inclined relative to the vertical longitudinal to the holding surface of the substrate to the substrate holding means has a (28, 29), said load detecting means The load applied to the brush in the longitudinal direction may be detected.
According to this configuration, the brush has the cleaning surface inclined with respect to the vertical direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means. Therefore, when this cleaning surface is in contact with the front or back surface of the substrate and the peripheral end surface, the brush receives the reaction force from the front or back surface of the substrate due to this contact. The applied load changes. Therefore, by detecting the load applied to the brush in the vertical direction by the load detecting means, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the brush is disposed at the processing position based on the detected load.

As described in claim 9, wherein the cleaning surface, it preferably has a rotationally symmetrical shape about a center axis extending in the longitudinal direction.
Since the cleaning surface has a rotationally symmetric shape around the central axis extending in the vertical direction, the brush can be rotated around the central axis while the cleaning surface is in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate. And the peripheral part of a board | substrate can be scrubbed by rotating a brush. As a result, the peripheral edge of the substrate can be cleaned more satisfactorily.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, the cleaning surface includes a first portion (28) having a shape narrowing toward one side in the vertical direction, and an edge in the vertical direction from an edge of the one side of the first portion. It is more preferable that the second portion (29) having a shape expanding toward the one side is provided.
In such a configuration having the first portion and the second portion on the cleaning surface, the first portion can be brought into contact with the peripheral region and the peripheral end surface of the front surface of the substrate, and the second portion can be brought into contact with the peripheral region of the back surface of the substrate. And can be brought into contact with the peripheral end face. Thereby, the peripheral area | region and peripheral end surface of both surfaces of a board | substrate can be wash | cleaned.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the inside of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.
The substrate processing apparatus 1 is a single-wafer type apparatus that processes a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as “wafer”) W as an example of a substrate one by one. A spin chuck 3 for rotating the wafer W while holding the wafer W substantially horizontally in the processing chamber 2, and a surface nozzle 4 for supplying a processing liquid to the surface of the wafer W (the surface on which the device is formed) The back surface nozzle 5 for supplying the processing liquid to the back surface of the wafer W and the brush mechanism 6 for cleaning the peripheral edge of the wafer W are provided.

The peripheral portion of the wafer W is a portion including the peripheral regions 13 and 14 (for example, an annular region having a width of 0.5 to 5 mm from the peripheral edge of the wafer W) and the peripheral end surface 15 on the front and back surfaces of the wafer W. .
The spin chuck 3 is a vacuum suction chuck. The spin chuck 3 is attached to an upper end of the spin shaft 7 extending in a substantially vertical direction, and an adsorption base that adsorbs and holds the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W in a substantially horizontal posture. 8 and a spin motor 9 having a rotation shaft coupled coaxially with the spin shaft 7. Accordingly, when the spin motor 9 is driven in a state where the back surface of the wafer W is sucked and held by the suction base 8, the wafer W rotates around the central axis of the spin shaft 7.

  A processing liquid supply pipe 10 is connected to the surface nozzle 4. A processing liquid supply pipe 11 is connected to the back nozzle 5. A processing liquid from a processing liquid supply source (not shown) is supplied to these processing liquid supply pipes 10 and 11 via a processing liquid valve 12. The surface nozzle 4 discharges the processing liquid supplied through the processing liquid supply pipe 10 toward the center of the surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 3. The back surface nozzle 5 discharges the processing liquid supplied through the processing liquid supply pipe 11 between the peripheral edge of the back surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 3 and the suction base 8.

Note that pure water is used as the treatment liquid. Not only pure water but also functional water such as carbonated water, ionic water, ozone water, reduced water (hydrogen water) or magnetic water may be used as the treatment liquid. Further, as the treatment liquid, a chemical solution such as ammonia water or a mixed solution of ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide solution can be used.
The brush mechanism 6 has a brush 16, a swing arm 17 holding the brush 16 at the tip, and swings the swing arm 17 along a horizontal direction around a vertical axis set outside the rotation range of the wafer W. A swing drive mechanism 18 and a lift drive mechanism 19 that lifts and lowers the swing arm 17 are provided.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the brush 16 and the swing arm 17.
The brush 16 is held by the brush holder 20. The brush holder 20 is attached to a holder attaching portion 36 described later. The brush holder 20 includes a substantially cylindrical resin block 21, a core member 22 that is disposed on the central axis of the resin block 21, and whose upper end portion is inserted and fixed to the lower surface of the resin block 21. And a plate 23 attached to the lower end. On the upper surface of the resin block 21, a screw portion 24 having a peripheral surface threaded is integrally formed. A screw hole is formed in the lower end portion of the core member 22. The plate 23 is detachably attached to the core member 22 by screwing a bolt 25 passing through the center of the plate 23 into the screw hole.

  The brush 16 is externally fitted to the core member 22 and is sandwiched between the resin block 21 and the plate 23. The brush 16 is made of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol). The brush 16 also cleans the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the front surface of the wafer W, and the second cleaning unit cleans the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W. The portion 27 is provided integrally with the upper and lower portions, and is formed in a substantially drum shape that is rotationally symmetric about the vertical axis as a whole.

  The first cleaning unit 26 has an approximately cylindrical shape with an upper portion 26a having a substantially cylindrical shape and a lower portion 26b narrowing downward. The side surface of the lower portion 26b has an upper end edge that is continuous with a lower end edge of the side surface of the upper portion 26a, has an inclination angle of 45 degrees with respect to its central axis, and is inclined so as to approach the central axis as it goes downward. The side surface of the lower portion 26 b serves as a first cleaning surface 28 that contacts the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the surface of the wafer W.

  The second cleaning unit 27 is integrally coupled to the lower end of the first cleaning unit 26 and is disposed so as to share the central axis with the first cleaning unit 26. The second cleaning unit 27 has a substantially truncated cone shape in which an upper portion 27a expands downward, and a lower portion 27b has a substantially cylindrical shape. The side surface of the upper portion 27a has an upper end edge that is continuous with a lower end edge of the side surface of the lower portion 26b of the first cleaning unit 26, has an inclination angle of 45 degrees with respect to the central axis, and is separated from the central axis toward the lower side. Inclined. The lower end edge of the side surface of the upper portion 27a is continuous with the upper end edge of the side surface of the lower portion 27b. The side surface of the upper portion 27 a serves as a second cleaning surface 29 that contacts the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W.

  The swing arm 17 is disposed in an inner space formed by the lower casing 30, an upper casing 31 fitted to the lower casing 30, and the lower casing 30 and the upper casing 31, and rotates the brush 16 about a vertical axis. A brush rotation mechanism 32 for (rotation) and a load application mechanism 33 that is arranged in an internal space formed by the lower casing 30 and the upper casing 31 and applies a vertically downward load to the brush 16 are provided. .

  An upper end portion of an arm support shaft 34 extending in the vertical direction is coupled to one end portion (base end portion) of the lower casing 30. A driving force of the swing drive mechanism 18 (see FIG. 2) is input to the arm support shaft 34. By inputting the driving force of the swing drive mechanism 18 to the arm support shaft 34 and rotating the arm support shaft 34 back and forth, the swing arm 17 can be swung around the arm support shaft 34 as a fulcrum. Further, the arm driving shaft 34 is coupled to the elevating drive mechanism 19 (see FIG. 2). By the elevation drive mechanism 19, the arm support shaft 34 can be moved up and down, and the swing arm 17 can be moved up and down integrally with the arm support shaft 34.

A rotating shaft 35 extending in the vertical direction is provided at the other end portion (free end portion) of the lower casing 30 so as to be rotatable and vertically movable. The rotating shaft 35 has a lower end protruding downward from the other end portion of the lower casing 30, and an upper end reaching the vicinity of the center of the upper casing 31 in the vertical direction.
A holder attachment portion 36 to which the brush holder 20 is attached is provided at a lower end portion protruding from the lower casing 30 of the rotation shaft 35. The holder mounting portion 36 includes a disc-shaped upper surface portion 37 through which the rotation shaft 35 is inserted and fixed to the rotation shaft 35, and a cylindrical side surface portion 38 that extends downward from the periphery of the upper surface portion 37. Is integrated. The inner peripheral surface of the side surface portion 38 is threaded. The screw holder 20 can be attached to the holder attachment portion 36 by screwing the screw and the screw formed on the screw portion 24 of the brush holder 20.

In addition, a lower guide roller support member 39, an upper guide roller support member 40, and a spring locking member 41 are externally fitted to the rotation shaft 35.
The lower guide roller support member 39 is externally fitted to the rotary shaft 35 in a non-contact state with a small gap between the lower guide roller support member 39 and the peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 35. The lower guide roller support member 39 has a rotationally symmetric shape around the central axis of the rotation shaft 35. The lower guide roller support member 39 is rotatably supported on the other end portion of the lower casing 30 via two bearings 42 that are spaced apart from each other. Further, the upper end portion of the lower guide roller support member 39 is formed in a cylindrical shape having a smaller diameter than the lower portion thereof, and a pulley 54 (to be described later) of the brush rotation mechanism 32 is relatively rotated on the upper end portion of the cylindrical shape. It is impossible to fit outside.

The upper guide roller support member 40 is provided above the lower guide roller support member 39. The upper guide roller support member 40 is externally fitted to the rotary shaft 35 in a non-contact state with a small gap between the upper guide roller support member 40 and the peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 35. The upper guide roller support member 40 is connected to the pulley 54 by a bolt 43.
The spring locking member 41 is provided above the upper guide roller support member 40 at a distance from the upper guide roller support member 40 and is fixed to the rotation shaft 35. One end (upper end) of the coil spring 44 is locked to the spring locking member 41. The coil spring 44 is interposed between the spring locking member 41 and the upper guide roller support member 40. The other end (lower end) of the coil spring 44 is locked to the upper guide roller support member 40.

  A pair of guide rollers 45 and 46 are supported on the lower guide roller support member 39 and the upper guide roller support member 40, respectively. Each guide roller 45, 46 is rotatably provided with an axis extending in a direction orthogonal to the rotation shaft 35 as a fulcrum, and is arranged so that its peripheral surface is in contact with the peripheral surface of the rotation shaft 35. Thereby, the vertical movement of the rotating shaft 35 can be guided by the guide rollers 45 and 46. As a result, the resistance when the rotary shaft 35 moves up and down can be reduced.

On the other hand, a bearing 47 is fitted on the upper end portion of the rotary shaft 35. A cap-shaped contact member 48 is provided via the bearing 47 so as to be rotatable relative to the rotary shaft 35.
A gap between the outer peripheral surface of the lower guide roller support member 39 and the lower casing 30 is sealed with a magnetic fluid seal 49. Further, the inner peripheral surface of the lower guide roller support member 39 and the rotary shaft 35 are sealed with a bellows 50. This prevents the atmosphere containing the processing liquid and the cleaning liquid in the processing chamber 2 from entering the internal space formed by the lower casing 30 and the upper casing 31. Moreover, the diffusion of the waste generated in the internal space to the processing chamber 2 side is prevented.

  The brush rotation mechanism 32 includes a brush motor 52, a pulley 53 fixed to the output shaft 51 of the brush motor 52, a pulley 54 externally fitted to the lower guide roller support member 39, and pulleys 53 and 54 on the circumferential surface of the pulley 54. And a belt 55 wound in common. The brush motor 52 is provided at a position near the base end in the upper casing 31 so that the output shaft 51 extends vertically downward.

  When the brush motor 52 is driven, the rotational force from the brush motor 52 is transmitted to the pulley 54 via the pulley 53 and the belt 55. Thereby, the lower guide roller support member 39 and the upper guide roller support member 40 rotate together with the pulley 54. As the upper guide roller support member 40 rotates, the coil spring 44 and the spring locking member 41 rotate. As a result, the rotating shaft 35 rotates and the brush 16 attached to the lower end of the rotating shaft 35 rotates.

The load application mechanism 33 includes an air cylinder 56. The air cylinder 56 is disposed above the abutting member 48 and is provided such that the rod 57 advances and retreats in the vertical direction with the rod 57 directed downward.
A support plate 58 that is substantially L-shaped in side view extends from the bottom surface of the lower casing 30 upward. A cylinder mounting plate 59 is supported on the support plate 58. The cylinder mounting plate 59 extends from the support plate 58 to above the contact member 48. The cylinder mounting plate 59 is formed with a rod insertion hole 60 through which the rod 57 is inserted. The main body of the air cylinder 56 is fixed to the upper surface of the cylinder mounting plate 59 in a state where the rod 57 is inserted into the rod insertion hole 60. The lower end of the rod 57 inserted through the rod insertion hole 60 is in contact with the contact member 48.

  The inside of the main body of the air cylinder 56 is divided into two spaces in the forward / backward direction (vertical direction) of the rod 57 by a piston (not shown) fixed to the base end of the rod 57. A first air supply pipe 61 in which a metering valve (not shown) is interposed is connected to the space on the rod 57 side with respect to the piston in the main body of the air cylinder 56. On the other hand, a second air supply pipe 63 is connected to a space opposite to the rod 57 with respect to the piston in the main body.

  When the opening degree of the cylinder valve 62 is increased, the pressure of the air supplied from the second air supply pipe 63 into the main body of the air cylinder 56 increases, and the rod 57 advances from the main body of the air cylinder 56. Conversely, when the opening degree of the cylinder valve 62 is reduced, the pressure of the air supplied from the second air supply pipe 63 into the main body of the air cylinder 56 decreases, and the air supplied from the first air supply pipe 61 into the main body. The rod 57 is retracted into the main body of the air cylinder 56 by the pressure and the biasing force of the coil spring 44.

The support plate 58 supports a sensor mounting plate 64 extending toward the opposite side of the cylinder mounting plate 59. A strain gauge type pressure sensor 65 is mounted on the upper surface of the sensor mounting plate 64.
On the other hand, a load detection arm 66 is fixed to the contact member 48. The load detection arm 66 extends from the contact member 48 toward the upper side of the pressure sensor 65. A state where a load equal to or higher than a certain downward load is applied to the rod 57 by the pressure of air supplied from the second air supply pipe 63 into the main body of the air cylinder 56 (the rod 57 advances from the air cylinder 56 by a certain amount or more). In this state, the pressure sensor 65 is contacted with a pressure corresponding to the load applied to the rod 57. Thereby, the pressure sensor 65 can detect the load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16 from the air cylinder 56 via the rotating shaft 35 or the like.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1.
The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 67 configured with, for example, a microcomputer. The microcomputer includes a CPU 68, a memory 69, a timer 71, and the like.
The memory 69 stores a cleaning width-pushing amount-load table 69A. Further, the memory 69 is provided with a time storage area 69B for accumulating and storing the time measured by the timer 71.

  A detection signal of the pressure sensor 65 is input to the control unit 67. The controller 67 is connected to a recipe input key 70 for inputting a recipe (various conditions for processing the wafer W). The control unit 67 is connected with the spin motor 9, the processing liquid valve 12, the swing drive mechanism 18, the lift drive mechanism 19, the brush motor 52, the cylinder valve 62, and the like as control targets. The substrate processing apparatus 1 is provided with a display 72 for various displays, and the display 72 is connected to the control unit 67 as a control target.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of the cleaning width-push amount-load table 69A stored in the memory 69. As shown in FIG.
The cleaning width-pushing amount-load table 69A is a cleaning width by the brush 16 in the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the wafer W at each processing position at the time of the back surface cleaning processing, and at the time of processing from the reference position to the back surface cleaning processing. When the brush 16 is moved to a position (hereinafter referred to as “back side processing position”), the amount of pressing of the brush 16 with respect to the wafer W when the brush 16 is moved, and the brush 16 is applied to the brush 16 in a state where the brush 16 is not in contact with the wafer W. This table is created by associating the difference between the applied load (initial load described later) and the load applied to the brush 16 at the back side processing position (hereinafter referred to as “load change amount”).

  Here, the position at the time of the back side processing means a position where the brush 16 should be arranged at the time of the back side cleaning process. The reference position refers to a position that serves as a reference when the brush 16 is guided to the processing position on the back surface side, and the back surface and peripheral end surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 3 in a state where the brush 16 is disposed at the reference position. 15 is set at such a position that the corner portion 15 bites into the second cleaning surface 29 by a minute predetermined amount (preferably a minute biting amount at which the pressure sensor 65 can stably and reliably detect the load). . Therefore, the pushing amount of the wafer W into the second cleaning surface 29 is the horizontal distance between the reference position and the back surface processing position, that is, the horizontal direction of the brush 16 from the reference position to the back surface processing position. It is almost equal to the amount of movement.

  The second cleaning surface 29 has an inclination angle of 45 degrees with respect to the vertical direction (longitudinal direction perpendicular to the surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 3), and is inclined so as to be farther away from the central axis thereof. is doing. Therefore, when the wafer W is pushed into the second cleaning surface 29, the brush 16 receives a vertical reaction force from the back surface of the wafer W. As the pushing amount of the wafer W against the second cleaning surface 29 is larger, the magnitude of the reaction force is larger. Therefore, as shown in the cleaning width−the pushing amount−load table 69A, the pushing of the wafer W against the second cleaning surface 29 is performed. The larger the amount, the greater the load change.

  In addition, the cleaning width by the brush 16 in the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the wafer W refers to the width in the radial direction of the wafer W in the region where the second cleaning surface 29 contacts in the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the wafer W. Therefore, as shown in this cleaning width-pushing amount-load table 69A, the larger the pushing amount of the wafer W with respect to the second cleaning surface 29, the larger the cleaning width (wafer W) by the brush 16 in the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the wafer W. The contact width of the brush 16 in the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the back surface is large.

  Then, from the state in which the brush 16 is disposed at the processing time position on the back side, the lifting drive mechanism 19 is controlled, so that the brush 16 has a predetermined amount (the distance between the center of the wafer W and the processing position in the vertical direction). When it is lowered by a distance of twice, the corner between the surface of the wafer W and the peripheral end surface 15 is pushed into the first cleaning surface 28 with the same pushing amount as the pushing amount of the wafer W against the second cleaning surface 29. As a result, the first cleaning surface 28 contacts the peripheral region 13 on the front surface of the wafer W with the same contact width as the contact width of the brush 16 in the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the wafer W. Therefore, in this cleaning width-indentation amount-load table 69A, the cleaning width by the brush 16 in the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the wafer W matches the cleaning width by the brush 16 in the peripheral region 13 on the front surface of the wafer W. Can be identified. Further, the load change amount at this time coincides with the load change amount when the wafer W is pushed into the second cleaning surface 29, and these can be regarded as the same.

The table shown in FIG. 5 rotates the wafer W at a rotation speed of 100 rpm and rotates the brush 16 at a rotation speed of 75 rpm to measure the cleaning width and the load change amount for each pressing amount. Has been created.
FIG. 6 is a process diagram for explaining the cleaning process of the peripheral portion of the wafer W in the substrate processing apparatus 1. 7, 8 and 9 are side views showing the state of the brush 16 during the processing of the wafer W. FIG.

  The wafer W to be processed is loaded into the processing chamber 2 and held by the spin chuck 3 (step S1). When the wafer W is held on the spin chuck 3, the spin motor 9 is controlled by the control unit 67 (CPU 68), and rotation of the wafer W by the spin chuck 3 is started (step S2). Thereafter, the processing liquid valve 12 is opened by the control unit 67, and supply of the processing liquid from the front surface nozzle 4 and the back surface nozzle 5 to the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W is started (step S3).

  On the other hand, the opening degree of the cylinder valve 62 is controlled by the control unit 67, and a predetermined initial load (for example, 800 mN) is applied to the brush 16 by the air cylinder 56. When the initial load is applied to the brush 16, the load detection arm 66 (see FIG. 3) comes into contact with the pressure sensor 65. Therefore, thereafter, the pressure sensor 65 can detect the load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16. Then, the brush motor 52 is controlled by the control unit 67 and the brush 16 is rotated in the same direction as the rotation direction of the wafer W. Thereafter, the swing drive mechanism 18 and the lift drive mechanism 19 are controlled by the controller 67, and the brush 16 is moved to the reference position. In the state where the brush 16 is disposed at the reference position, as shown in FIG. 7, the corners between the back surface of the wafer W held by the spin chuck 3 and the peripheral end surface 15 are minute on the second cleaning surface 29 of the brush 16. Eat only a certain amount.

  Thereafter, the swing driving mechanism 18 is controlled by the control unit 67, and the brush 16 is moved from the reference position to the back side processing position. The cleaning width by the brush 16 in the peripheral region 13 on the surface of the wafer W is previously input to the control unit 67 by the user (operator) operating the recipe input key 70. In the control unit 67, the pushing amount corresponding to the inputted washing width is read from the washing width-pushing amount-load table 69A. Then, the brush 16 is moved from the reference position by the read push amount. For example, when 2.0 mm is input as the desired cleaning width, 2.1 mm, which is the pressing amount corresponding to the cleaning width, is read from the cleaning width-pressing amount-load table 69A, and the brush 16 Is moved from the reference position to the center side of the wafer W by 2.1 mm. As a result, the brush 16 is disposed at the processing position on the back surface side, and the second cleaning surface 29 comes into contact with the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W as shown in FIG. 8 (step S4). At this time, the second cleaning surface 29 contacts the peripheral area 14 on the back surface of the wafer W with the cleaning width input from the recipe input key 70.

In this state, when the wafer W and the brush 16 are rotated in the same direction, the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W and the second cleaning surface 29 rub against each other, and the peripheral region 14 on the back surface of the wafer W. Then, the peripheral end face 15 is cleaned.
When the back surface side cleaning process for the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W is continued for a predetermined time, the controller 67 controls the elevating drive mechanism 19 to lower the brush 16 by a predetermined amount. As the brush 16 descends, as shown in FIG. 9, the brush 16 is disposed at the processing position during the front surface cleaning process (hereinafter referred to as “front surface processing position”), and the first cleaning surface 28 of the brush 16. Comes into contact with the wafer W, and the corner between the surface of the wafer W and the peripheral end surface 15 is pushed into the first cleaning surface 28 with the same amount of pushing as the amount of pushing of the wafer W into the second cleaning surface 29. As a result, the first cleaning surface 28 comes into contact with the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the surface of the wafer W (step S5). At this time, the first cleaning surface 28 contacts the peripheral region 13 on the surface of the wafer W with the cleaning width input from the recipe input key 70.

In this state, when the wafer W and the brush 16 are rotated in the same direction, the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the surface of the wafer W and the first cleaning surface 28 rub against each other, and the peripheral region 13 on the surface of the wafer W. Then, the peripheral end face 15 is cleaned.
Thus, while the peripheral edge of the wafer W is being cleaned, the contamination attached to the central region (device forming region) on the surface of the wafer W can be washed away by the processing liquid supplied to the surface of the wafer W.

  When the surface-side cleaning process on the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the surface of the wafer W is continued for a predetermined time, the swing driving mechanism 18 and the lift driving mechanism 19 are controlled by the control unit 67, and the brush 16 is subjected to the surface-side processing. It is retracted from the time position to the home position before the start of processing (step S6). Further, while the brush 16 is returned to the home position, the brush motor 52 is stopped and the rotation of the brush 16 is stopped. Further, the processing liquid valve 12 is closed by the controller 67, and the supply of the processing liquid from the front surface nozzle 4 and the back surface nozzle 5 is stopped (step S7).

Thereafter, the spin motor 9 is controlled by the controller 67, and the wafer W is rotated at a high speed (for example, 3000 rpm) (step S8). Thereby, the processing liquid adhering to the wafer W can be shaken off and the wafer W can be dried.
When the high-speed rotation of the wafer W is continued for a predetermined time, the spin motor 9 is stopped and the rotation of the wafer W by the spin chuck 3 is stopped (step S9). Then, after the wafer W is stopped, the processed wafer W is unloaded from the processing chamber 2 (step S10).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the arrangement determination process.
The arrangement determination process is executed by the control unit 67 at each initial stage of the back surface side cleaning process and the front surface side cleaning process.
After an initial load is applied to the brush 16 at the start of the back surface side cleaning process (step S11), the brush 16 is moved from the home position toward the reference position. When the brush 16 is arranged at the reference position, the pressing amount with respect to the cleaning width input from the recipe input key 70 is read from the cleaning width-pressing amount-load table 69A. Then, the brush 16 is moved from the reference position toward the center of the wafer W by the read push amount (step S12).

  When the brush 16 is moved by the pushing amount read from the cleaning width-pushing amount-load table 69A, the output of the pressure sensor 65 is referred to and the vertical load applied to the brush 16 is acquired. Then, it is determined whether or not the vertical load applied to the brush 16 has reached a predetermined load corresponding to the pressing amount read from the cleaning width-pressing amount-load table 69A (step S13).

  For example, according to the cleaning width-indentation amount-load table 69A shown in FIG. 5, when 2.0 mm is input as the desired cleaning width, the indentation amount is 2.1 mm and the load change amount is 190 mN. It is. When the brush 16 is disposed at the processing position on the back side, the wafer W bites into the second cleaning surface 29 of the brush 16 and the brush 16 receives a vertical downward reaction force from the back side of the wafer W, so the initial load is 800 mN. If present, a load of 990 mN obtained by adding a load change amount of 190 mN to the initial load of 800 mN should be applied to the brush 16. Therefore, in this case, it is repeatedly determined whether or not the vertical load applied to the brush 16 has reached 990 mN.

  If the load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16 has reached the predetermined load (YES in step S13), it is determined that the brush 16 has been normally disposed at the back side processing position, and this arrangement determination process ends. If the vertical load applied to the brush 16 does not reach the predetermined load (NO in step S13), it is determined that the brush 16 is not normally disposed at the processing position on the back side. In this case, a warning to that effect is output (step S14), and the arrangement determination process ends. After the alarm is output, for example, the cleaning process may be ended immediately or the cleaning process for the wafer W being processed may be continued until the end.

At the start of the front surface side cleaning process, the initial load is applied to the brush 16 (step S11), and the brush 16 moves (lowers) by a predetermined amount from the back side processing position to the front side processing position. (Step S12).
When the brush 16 is moved by a predetermined amount, the output of the pressure sensor 65 is referred to, and the vertical load applied to the brush 16 is acquired. Then, it is determined whether or not the load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16 has reached a predetermined load corresponding to the pressing amount read from the cleaning width-pressing amount-load table 69A of the memory 69 during the back surface cleaning process ( Step S13).

  For example, according to the cleaning width-indentation amount-load table 69A shown in FIG. 5, when 2.0 mm is input as the desired cleaning width, the indentation amount is 2.1 mm and the load change amount is 190 mN. . When the brush 16 is disposed at the front surface processing position, the wafer W bites into the first cleaning surface 28 of the brush 16 and the brush 16 receives a vertical upward reaction force from the surface of the wafer W, so the initial load is 800 mN. If present, a load of 610 mN obtained by subtracting the load change amount 190 mN from the initial load 800 mN should be applied to the brush 16. Therefore, in this case, it is repeatedly determined whether the vertical load applied to the brush 16 has reached 610 mN.

  If the load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16 has reached the predetermined load (YES in step S13), it is determined that the brush 16 has been normally disposed at the front-side processing position, and this arrangement determination process ends. If the vertical load applied to the brush 16 does not reach the predetermined load (NO in step S13), it is determined that the brush 16 is not normally disposed at the front side processing position. In this case, a warning to that effect is output (step S14), and the arrangement determination process ends. After the alarm is output, for example, the cleaning process may be ended immediately or the cleaning process for the wafer W being processed may be continued until the end.

  As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus 1, it is possible to determine whether or not the brush 16 is disposed at the back side processing position based on the output of the pressure sensor 65. Therefore, the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W are cleaned by the brush 16 in a state where the second cleaning surface 29 of the brush 16 is reliably in contact with the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W. can do. Further, based on the output of the pressure sensor 65, it can be determined whether or not the brush 16 is disposed at the front side processing position. Therefore, the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the surface of the wafer W are cleaned with the brush 16 in a state where the first cleaning surface 28 of the brush 16 is in reliable contact with the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the surface of the wafer W. can do. As a result, the peripheral edge of the wafer W can be reliably and satisfactorily cleaned.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the load monitoring process.
The load monitoring process is executed by the control unit 67 during the back surface side cleaning process and the front surface side cleaning process.
In this load monitoring process, the output of the pressure sensor 65 is referred to, and the vertical load applied to the brush 16 is acquired. Then, it is determined whether or not the load is within a predetermined load range (step S21).

  The load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16 differs according to the amount of pressing of the brush 16 against the wafer W. For example, according to the cleaning width-pushing amount-load table 69A shown in FIG. 5, when 2.0 mm is input as the desired cleaning width, the brush 16 moves from the reference position to the center side of the wafer W. It is moved by 1 mm, and the load change amount at this time is 190 mN. Therefore, when the initial load is 800 mN and 2.0 mm is input as the desired cleaning width, the load changes to the initial load of 800 mN if the brush 16 is in proper contact with the wafer W during the back surface cleaning process. A load of 990 mN plus an amount of 190 mN should be applied to the brush 16. Further, during the front surface side cleaning process, if the brush 16 is in proper contact with the wafer W, a load of 610 mN obtained by subtracting the load change amount 190 mN from the initial load 800 mN should be applied to the brush 16.

  Therefore, during the backside cleaning process, the value obtained by adding the load change amount corresponding to the cleaning width to the initial load is used as a reference. For example, each value obtained by adding ± 5% to the reference value is set to the maximum value and It is determined whether or not the vertical load applied to the brush 16 is within the predetermined range with the range set as the minimum value as the predetermined range. This determination is repeated until the back side cleaning process is completed (NO in step S22).

Until the back surface side cleaning process ends (YES in step S22), the load monitoring process during the back surface side cleaning process ends unless the vertical load applied to the brush 16 deviates from the predetermined range.
On the other hand, if the vertical load applied to the brush 16 deviates from the predetermined range during the backside cleaning process (NO in step S21), the controller 67 determines that an abnormality such as eccentric rotation of the wafer W has occurred. Then, an alarm is output (step S23), and the load monitoring process ends. After the alarm is output, for example, the back surface side cleaning process may be immediately ended, or a series of cleaning processes for the wafer W being processed may be continued until the end.

  During the surface-side cleaning process, the value obtained by subtracting the load change amount corresponding to the cleaning width from the initial load is used as a reference. For example, each value obtained by adding ± 5% to this reference value is the maximum and minimum values. It is determined whether the vertical load applied to the brush 16 is within the predetermined range. This determination is repeated until the front-side cleaning process is completed (NO in step S22).

Until the surface-side cleaning process ends (YES in step S22), the load monitoring process during the surface-side cleaning process ends if the vertical load applied to the brush 16 does not deviate from the predetermined range.
On the other hand, if the vertical load applied to the brush 16 deviates from the predetermined range during the surface-side cleaning process (NO in step S21), the controller 67 determines that an abnormality such as eccentric rotation of the wafer W has occurred. Then, an alarm is output (step S23), and the load monitoring process ends. After the alarm is output, for example, the front surface side cleaning process may be terminated immediately, or a series of cleaning processes for the wafer W being processed may be continued until the end. Alternatively, instead of step S23 (without outputting an alarm), the controller 67 swings based on the detection signal from the pressure sensor 65 so that the load detected by the pressure sensor 65 falls within a predetermined load range. The dynamic drive mechanism 18 and the lift drive mechanism 19 may be feedback controlled to correct the position of the brush 16 to an appropriate position. By doing so, the brush 16 can be appropriately brought into contact with the peripheral edge of the wafer W regardless of whether the wafer W is eccentrically rotated or warped and deformed.

  Thus, during the backside cleaning process and the frontside cleaning process, if the load detected by the pressure sensor 65 is within a predetermined range, the brush 16 is appropriately applied to the wafer W (with an appropriate pressing pressure). It can be determined that they are in contact. On the other hand, if the load detected by the pressure sensor 65 deviates from the predetermined range, it can be determined that the brush 16 is not in proper contact with the wafer W. When it is determined that the brush 16 is not in proper contact with the wafer W, an alarm is output, so that an operator or the like can recognize the contact failure state of the brush 16.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the timing process.
The timing process is executed by the control unit 67 during the back surface side cleaning process and the front surface side cleaning process.
If it is determined in the arrangement determination process shown in FIG. 10 that the brush 16 has been arranged at the processing position during the back surface cleaning process (YES in step S31), the timer 71 is activated and the elapsed time after the determination is measured. (Step S32).

Thereafter, it is determined that the load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16 has deviated from the predetermined range in the load monitoring process shown in FIG. 11 (YES in step S33), or from the back side processing time position to the front side processing time position. When the movement of the brush 16 is started (YES in step S34), the elapsed time measurement by the timer 71 is stopped (step S35).
When the measurement of the elapsed time by the timer 71 is stopped, the measured time is stored in the time storage area 69B of the memory 69 as the back surface side cleaning time (step S36), and the time measurement process ends.

When it is determined in the arrangement determination process shown in FIG. 10 that the brush 16 is arranged at the processing position at the time of the surface side cleaning process (YES in step S31), the timer 71 is started and the elapsed time after the determination is reached. It is measured (step S32).
Thereafter, it is determined in the load monitoring process shown in FIG. 11 that the vertical load applied to the brush 16 has deviated from the predetermined range (YES in step S33), or from the front side processing position to the home position. When the movement of the brush 16 is started (YES in step S34), the elapsed time measurement by the timer 71 is stopped (step S35).

When the measurement of the elapsed time by the timer 71 is stopped, the measured time is stored as the surface-side cleaning time in the time storage area 69B of the memory 69 (step S36), and the time measurement process ends.
Thereafter, each time the time measuring process is repeated, the back side cleaning time and the front side cleaning time measured by the timer 71 are accumulated and stored in the time storage area 69B of the memory 69. Thereby, in the time storage area 69B, the time obtained by accumulating the back surface side cleaning time (hereinafter referred to as “back surface side accumulated cleaning time”) and the time obtained by accumulating the surface side cleaning time (hereinafter referred to as “front surface side”). "Accumulated cleaning time") is stored.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the brush replacement notification process.
The brush replacement notification process is repeatedly executed by the controller 67 while the substrate processing apparatus 1 is powered on.
In the brush replacement notification process, the back side cumulative cleaning time and the front side cumulative cleaning time stored in the time storage area 69B are referred to. Then, it is determined whether the back side cumulative cleaning time and the front side cumulative cleaning time are equal to or longer than a predetermined brush replacement time (step S41).

  If both the back side cumulative cleaning time and the front side cumulative cleaning time are less than the brush replacement time (NO in step S41), the brush replacement notification process ends. On the other hand, if at least one of the backside cumulative cleaning time and the frontside cumulative cleaning time is equal to or longer than the brush replacement time (YES in step S41), the display 72 is controlled and the brush 16 should be replaced with the display 72. Is displayed to the user of the substrate processing apparatus (step 42), and the brush replacement notification process is terminated.

  As described above, when the brush 16 is pushed into the wafer W, the load applied to the brush 16 changes due to the reaction force that the brush 16 receives from the wafer W. Therefore, based on the load detected by the pressure sensor 65, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the brush 16 is disposed at the back side processing position and the front side processing position. Then, the back surface side cleaning time is measured by the timer 71 from when it is determined that the brush 16 is disposed at the processing time position on the back surface side until the brush 16 starts to be separated from the wafer W, and this is accumulated in the time storage area 69B. By memorizing, the integrated value of the time during which the second cleaning surface 29 of the brush 16 is actually in contact with the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W (rear surface side cumulative cleaning time) is obtained. Can do. Further, the surface-side cleaning time from when it is determined that the brush 16 is arranged at the front-side processing position until the brush 16 starts to be separated from the wafer W is measured by the timer 71, and this is accumulated and stored in the time storage area 69B. By memorizing, the integrated value (surface-side cumulative cleaning time) of the time during which the first cleaning surface 28 of the brush 16 is actually in contact with the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 of the surface of the wafer W is obtained. Can do.

  When at least one of the back side cumulative cleaning time and the front side cumulative cleaning time stored in the time storage area 69B of the memory 69 reaches a predetermined brush replacement time, it is determined that it is time to replace the brush 16, The effect is notified. Thereby, the replacement time of the brush 16 can be determined appropriately, and the user of the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be prompted to replace the brush 16 at an appropriate time. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the brush 16 from being replaced despite being sufficiently usable, and an increase in running cost and a reduction in apparatus operating rate due to frequent replacement of the brush 16. Can be prevented. In addition, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of insufficient cleaning due to continued use of the worn brush 16.

  In addition, since the first cleaning surface 28 and the second cleaning surface 29 of the brush 26 have a rotationally symmetric shape around the central axis extending in the vertical direction, the first cleaning surface 28 and the second cleaning surface 28 are formed on the peripheral edge of the wafer W. The brush 26 can be rotated around the central axis while the cleaning surface 29 is in contact. Then, the peripheral portion of the wafer W can be scrubbed by rotating the brush 26. As a result, the peripheral edge of the wafer W can be cleaned more satisfactorily.

Further, the first cleaning surface 28 can be brought into contact with the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the surface of the wafer W, and the second cleaning surface 29 can be brought into contact with the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W. it can. Thereby, the scrub cleaning of the peripheral regions 13 and 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on both surfaces of the wafer W can be performed by one brush 16.
FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the arrangement determination process.

The arrangement determination process shown in FIG. 14 is executed by the control unit 67 in the initial stage of the back surface side cleaning process.
After an initial load is applied to the brush 16 at the start of the back side cleaning process (step S51), the brush 16 is moved from the home position toward the reference position by a pre-programmed movement amount (step S52). The output of the pressure sensor 65 is referred to, and the vertical load applied to the brush 16 is acquired.

When the brush 16 is disposed at the reference position, the wafer W bites into the second cleaning surface 29 of the brush 16 by a minute predetermined amount, and the brush 16 receives a vertical downward reaction force from the back surface of the wafer W. The load applied to the brush 16 in the vertical direction changes.
Accordingly, when the movement of the brush 16 to the reference position is completed, if the vertical load applied to the brush 16 has changed by a predetermined amount or more from the initial load, the control unit 67 causes the brush 16 to be correctly set to the reference position. It is determined that it has been placed (YES in step S53). In this case, the brush 16 is subsequently moved from the reference position to the back side processing position (step S54). Then, when the movement of the brush 16 is completed, it is determined that the brush 16 has been normally disposed at the back side processing position.

  On the other hand, when the movement of the brush 16 to the reference position is completed and the vertical load applied to the brush 16 has not changed by a predetermined amount or more from the initial load (NO in step S53), the control unit 67 causes the brush 16 to Is not properly arranged at the reference position. In this case, a warning to that effect is output (step S55), and the arrangement determination process ends. After the alarm is output, for example, the cleaning process may be ended immediately or the cleaning process for the wafer W being processed may be continued until the end.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the brush replacement notification process.
When the brush replacement notification process shown in FIG. 15 is adopted, in the time measurement process shown in FIG. 12, a vertical load applied to the brush 16 during the back side cleaning process is detected by the pressure sensor 65, and the detected load and the back side are detected. The back side work amount obtained by multiplying the back side cleaning time measured by the timer 71 during the side cleaning process is stored in a work amount storage area 69C (see FIG. 4) of the memory 69. Further, the load in the vertical direction applied to the brush 16 during the surface-side cleaning process is detected by the pressure sensor 65, and is obtained by multiplying the detected load by the surface-side cleaning time measured by the timer 71 during the surface-side cleaning process. The front-side work amount is stored in a work amount storage area 69C of the memory 69.

  Each time the timekeeping process is repeated, the back-side work and the front-side work are accumulated and stored in the work storage area 69C of the memory 69 (step S36). Thereby, in the work amount storage area 69C, the work amount obtained by accumulating the back side work amount (hereinafter referred to as "back side work amount") and the work amount obtained by accumulating the front side work amount (hereinafter "" "Surface-side accumulated work amount") is stored.

In the brush replacement notification process shown in FIG. 15, the back side accumulated work amount and the front side accumulated work amount stored in the work amount storage area 69C are referred to. Then, it is determined whether the back-side accumulated work and the front-side accumulated work are equal to or greater than a predetermined brush replacement work (step S61).
If both the back-side accumulated work amount and the front-side accumulated work amount are less than the brush exchange work amount (NO in step S61), the brush exchange notification process ends. On the other hand, if at least one of the back-side accumulated work and the front-side accumulated work is equal to or greater than the brush replacement work (YES in step S61), the display 72 is controlled and the brush 16 should be replaced with the display 72. The display of the effect is notified to the user of the substrate processing apparatus (step 62), and the brush replacement notification process is ended.

  As described above, based on the load detected by the pressure sensor 65, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the brush 16 is disposed at the back side processing position. Therefore, the pressure sensor 65 in a state in which the brush 16 starts to move for separation from the wafer W (time measured by the timer 71) and the brush 16 is disposed at the processing position on the back side. The back-side work obtained by multiplying the load detected by the above-mentioned time is the time when the second cleaning surface 29 of the brush 16 is actually in contact with the peripheral region 14 and the peripheral end surface 15 on the back surface of the wafer W and the back-side processing. It is equal to a value obtained by multiplying the vertical load applied to the brush 16 at the hour position. Further, based on the load detected by the pressure sensor 65, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the brush 16 is disposed at the front side processing position. Accordingly, the time from the determination time until the brush 16 starts to move away from the wafer W (the time measured by the timer 71) and the pressure sensor 65 in a state where the brush 16 is disposed at the front surface processing position. The surface-side work amount obtained by multiplying the load detected by the above-mentioned time is the time during which the first cleaning surface 28 of the brush 16 is actually in contact with the peripheral region 13 and the peripheral end surface 15 of the surface of the wafer W and the surface-side processing. It is equal to a value obtained by multiplying the vertical load applied to the brush 16 at the hour position.

  The degree of wear of the brush 16 depends not only on the contact time of the brush 16 with respect to the peripheral portion of the wafer W but also with the pressing amount (biting amount) of the brush 16 with respect to the peripheral portion of the wafer W. The pressing amount of the brush 16 with respect to the peripheral portion of the wafer W has a correlation with the vertical load applied to the brush 16. Therefore, the replacement time of the brush 16 can be more appropriately determined based on the back-side accumulated work amount and the front-side accumulated work amount than on the back-side accumulated cleaning time and the front-side accumulated cleaning time.

As mentioned above, although several embodiment of this invention was described, this invention can also be implemented with another form. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the back-side accumulated cleaning time and the front-side accumulated cleaning time are stored in the time storage area 69B of the memory 69, but only one of them is stored in the time storage area 69B. If the back side accumulated cleaning time or the front side accumulated cleaning time stored in the storage area 69B is equal to or longer than a predetermined brush replacement time, it may be determined that it is time to replace the brush 16 .

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the inside of the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the brush and the swing arm. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the cleaning width-pushing amount-load table. FIG. 6 is a process diagram for explaining the cleaning process of the peripheral edge of the wafer in the substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 7 is a side view showing the state of the brush at the reference position. FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state of the brush during the back surface side cleaning process. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a state of the brush during the front surface side cleaning process. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the arrangement determination process. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the load monitoring process. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the timing process. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the brush replacement notification process. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the arrangement determination process. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating another example of the brush replacement notification process.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Substrate processing apparatus 3 Spin chuck 16 Brush 18 Oscillation drive mechanism 19 Elevation drive mechanism 28 1st washing surface 29 2nd washing surface 65 Pressure sensor 67 Control part 69 Memory 69B Time storage area 69C Work amount storage area 71 Timer 72 Display W wafer

Claims (10)

Substrate holding means for holding the substrate;
A brush for cleaning the peripheral edge of the substrate;
Brush moving means for moving the brush;
Load detecting means for detecting a load applied to the brush;
After the brush is arranged at the processing position and the state where the brush is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means is maintained for a predetermined time, the brush is separated from the substrate. And controlling the brush moving means and , based on the load detected by the load detecting means, so that the load detected by the load detecting means falls within a predetermined load range at the predetermined time. Brush movement control means for controlling the movement means ;
An arrangement determining means for determining whether or not the brush is arranged at the processing position based on a load detected by the load detecting means;
Time measuring means for measuring a time from when it is determined by the arrangement determining means that the brush is arranged at the processing position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate;
And a time storage unit for accumulating and storing the time measured by the time measuring unit. Informing means for informing that it is time to replace the brush;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a notification control unit that operates the notification unit when the time accumulated in the time storage unit reaches a certain time. The processing position includes a front side processing position where the brush contacts the surface and peripheral end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, and a back surface and peripheral end surface of the substrate where the brush is held by the substrate holding means. And the back side processing position in contact with
The arrangement determining means individually determines whether or not the brush is disposed at the front surface side processing position and whether or not the brush is disposed at the back surface processing position.
The time measuring means includes a surface side processing time from the time when the placement determining means determines that the brush is disposed at the surface side processing time position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate, and The backside processing time from when the brush is determined to be placed at the backside processing position by the placement determination means until the brush starts to move away from the substrate is individually measured,
The time storage means accumulates and stores the front side processing time and the back side processing time individually,
The notification control unit operates the notification unit when at least one of the front side processing time and the back side processing time accumulated and stored in the time storage unit reaches the predetermined time. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to 2.   Substrate holding means for holding the substrate;
  A brush for cleaning the peripheral edge of the substrate;
  Brush moving means for moving the brush;
  After the brush is arranged at the processing position and the state where the brush is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means is maintained for a predetermined time, the brush is separated from the substrate. A brush movement control means for controlling the brush movement means;
  Load detecting means for detecting a load applied to the brush;
  An arrangement determining means for determining whether or not the brush is arranged at the processing position based on a load detected by the load detecting means;
  Time measuring means for measuring a time from when it is determined by the arrangement determining means that the brush is arranged at the processing position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate;
  Time storage means for accumulating and storing the time measured by the time measuring means;
  Informing means for informing that it is time to replace the brush;
  A notification control means for operating the notification means when the time accumulated in the time storage means reaches a certain time,
  The processing position includes a front side processing position where the brush contacts the surface and peripheral end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, and a back surface and peripheral end surface of the substrate where the brush is held by the substrate holding means. And the back side processing position in contact with
  The arrangement determining means individually determines whether or not the brush is disposed at the front surface side processing position and whether or not the brush is disposed at the back surface processing position.
  The time measuring means includes a surface side processing time from the time when the placement determining means determines that the brush is disposed at the surface side processing time position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate, and The backside processing time from when the brush is determined to be placed at the backside processing position by the placement determination means until the brush starts to move away from the substrate is individually measured,
  The time storage means accumulates and stores the front side processing time and the back side processing time individually,
  The notification control means causes the notification means to operate when at least one of the front side processing time and the back side processing time accumulated and stored in the time storage means reaches the predetermined time. apparatus. Substrate holding means for holding the substrate;
A brush for cleaning the peripheral edge of the substrate;
Brush moving means for moving the brush;
After the brush is arranged at the processing position and the state where the brush is pushed into the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding means is maintained for a predetermined time, the brush is separated from the substrate. A brush movement control means for controlling the brush movement means;
Load detecting means for detecting a load applied to the brush;
An arrangement determining means for determining whether or not the brush is arranged at the processing position based on a load detected by the load detecting means;
Time measuring means for measuring a time from when it is determined by the arrangement determining means that the brush is arranged at the processing position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate;
A work amount for accumulating and storing a work amount obtained by multiplying the time measured by the time measuring means and the load detected by the load detecting means in a state where the brush is disposed at the processing time position. Storage means ;
Informing means for informing that it is time to replace the brush;
When the amount of work that has been accumulatively stored in the work amount storage means reaches a predetermined amount, seen including a notification control means for operating the informing means,
The processing position includes a front side processing position where the brush contacts the surface and peripheral end surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means, and a back surface and peripheral end surface of the substrate where the brush is held by the substrate holding means. And the back side processing position in contact with
The arrangement determining means individually determines whether or not the brush is disposed at the front surface side processing position and whether or not the brush is disposed at the back surface processing position.
The time measuring means includes a surface side processing time from the time when the placement determining means determines that the brush is disposed at the surface side processing time position until the brush starts to move away from the substrate, and The backside processing time from when the brush is determined to be placed at the backside processing position by the placement determination means until the brush starts to move away from the substrate is individually measured,
The work storage means is obtained by multiplying the surface side processing time and the load detected by the load detection means in a state where the brush is disposed at the surface side processing time position, and The back side processing time and the back side work amount obtained by multiplying the load detected by the load detecting means in a state where the brush is disposed at the back side processing position are accumulated and stored individually. ,
The notification control means causes the notification means to operate when at least one of the front-side work and the back-side work that is accumulated and stored in the work storage means reaches the predetermined amount. Processing equipment. The rearrangement determining means is responsive to the load detected by the load detecting means reaches a predetermined process under load, it is determined that the brush is disposed in the treatment position, according to claim 1 to 5 The substrate processing apparatus as described in any one of Claims. The brush movement control means is arranged such that, after the brush is once arranged at a predetermined reference position, the brush is moved from the reference position by a predetermined pushing amount to be arranged at the processing position. Control the brush movement control means,
In response to the load detected by the load detecting means reaching a predetermined reference load, the arrangement determining means determines that the brush is arranged at the reference position, and after this determination, the placement of the brush by moving from the reference position to the treatment position it is completed, it is determined that the brush is disposed in the treatment position, the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-5. The brush has a cleaning surface inclined with respect to a vertical direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding means;
It said load detecting means detects a load applied to the longitudinal direction with respect to the brush, a substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8 , wherein the cleaning surface has a rotationally symmetric shape around a central axis extending in the vertical direction. The cleaning surface has a first portion that narrows toward one side in the longitudinal direction, and a second portion that widens from the edge on the one side of the first portion toward the one side in the longitudinal direction. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 9 provided with these.

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