JP5362506B2 - Substrate processing apparatus and cover member - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing apparatus suitably recovering a scattered processing liquid while an increase in height of the substrate processing apparatus is suppressed, and to provide a cover member suitably preventing the processing liquid from leaking out of a cup. <P>SOLUTION: The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding part 11 which holds a substrate, the cup 12 formed in a substantially cylindrical shape having an opening A atop and surrounding the substrate holding part 11, and a cover body 41 provided outside the cup 12, an edge of the opening A having a first edge EL whose height position is relatively low and a second edge EH whose height position is relatively high. The cover body 41 covers over the first edge EL within a range lower than the height position of the second edge EH. Consequently, the processing liquid is prevented from leaking out of the cut from above the first edge EL. An upper end of the first edge is still lower than the second edge, so that an increase in height of the substrate processing apparatus can be suppressed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus for processing a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk (hereinafter simply referred to as “substrate”) in a cup, and the cup. It is related with the cover member for.

  Conventionally, this type of substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate, a cup that has a substantially cylindrical shape that surrounds the periphery of the substrate holding unit and has an opening at the top, and a cleaning tool such as a nozzle and a cleaning brush. And a moving mechanism for moving the cleaning tool between the upper side of the substrate and the outside of the cup. The substrate holding unit holds the substrate, the moving mechanism moves the cleaning tool from the outside of the cup to above the substrate, and the cleaning tool processes the substrate. When the processing is completed, the moving mechanism retracts the cleaning tool to the outside of the cup (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  A cutout is formed in the upper part of the cup. The cleaning tool passes through this notch and moves between the top of the substrate and the outside of the cup. Thereby, since the movable range of a cleaning tool can be restrained low, the height of the whole substrate processing apparatus can be restrained low. In addition, the number of substrate processing apparatuses that can be stacked in the vertical direction can be increased.

JP 2007-19213 A

However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, the conventional apparatus has a disadvantage that the processing liquid or the like leaks from the cup notch to the outside of the cup. The substrate processing apparatus is fouled by the processing liquid adhering to the portion outside the cup, making it difficult to maintain and manage the atmosphere around the substrate cleanly.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and a substrate processing apparatus capable of suitably collecting scattered processing liquid while suppressing an increase in the height of the substrate processing apparatus, and An object of the present invention is to provide a cover member that can suitably prevent the processing liquid from leaking outside the cup.

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, wherein a substrate holding portion that holds a substrate, a cup that has a substantially cylindrical shape having an opening in an upper portion and surrounds the periphery of the substrate holding portion, and the cup A cover main body provided on the outer side of the cup, and a notch formed in an upper portion of the cup, the edge of the opening has a relatively low first edge and a relatively high height. And the cover body covers above the first edge within a range lower than the height position of the second edge and scatters from the inside of the cup beyond the first edge. The apparatus receives a processing liquid, and the apparatus further includes a processing tool including at least one of a nozzle that supplies the processing liquid to the substrate, and a cleaning brush that contacts the substrate to clean the substrate, and the processing tool is disposed on the substrate. When moving between the top and the outside of the cup, Wherein the processing tool above the first edge, and a moving mechanism for passing above the cover body is to have a substrate processing apparatus comprising a.

[Operation / Effect] According to the present invention, the cover main body covering the upper part of the first edge can suitably prevent the processing liquid from leaking from the upper part of the first edge to the outside of the cup. Moreover, since the cover main body covers in a range lower than the second edge, the upper end of the cover main body is still lower than the second edge. For this reason, even if a cover main body is provided, it can suppress that the height of a substrate processing apparatus increases.

  Compared to the case where the processing tool is moved along the path passing above the second edge, the height position of the processing tool is compared when the processing tool is moved along the path passing above the first edge. Can be kept low. Therefore, the overall height dimension of the substrate processing apparatus can be kept low.

In this invention, when the said moving mechanism passes the said process tool above the said cover main body, it is preferable that the lower end of a process tool is higher than the upper end of the said cover main body, and is lower than a 2nd edge part.

In this invention, it is preferable that the front-end | tip of the said cover main body corresponds substantially with the said 1st edge part by planar view . Since the cover body does not protrude above the opening so as to close the opening of the cup, the substrate can be transported to the substrate holding portion suitably.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the front end of the cover main body protrudes from the first edge to the center side of the cup in a plan view . The cover body can receive the treatment liquid more suitably.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the cover main body guides the received processing liquid to the outer surface of the upper part of the cup . Since the cover body does not return the received processing liquid into the cup through the opening, it is possible to prevent the processing quality of the substrate from deteriorating.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the cover body includes a substantially horizontal plate-shaped top plate portion and a hanging wall portion extending downward from the top plate portion . Since the cover body is provided with the drooping wall portion, the received processing liquid can be suitably guided downward.

In the present invention, the cup includes a side wall portion formed on an upper portion of the cup and an outer wall portion provided around the side wall portion, and the opening is formed at an upper end of the side wall portion. The outer wall portion forms a processing liquid reservoir space capable of recovering the processing liquid with the side wall portion, and the processing liquid received by the cover body is recovered in the processing liquid reservoir space. The hanging wall portion is preferably disposed outside the opening and above the side wall portion, and a height position of a lower end of the hanging wall portion is lower than the first edge portion . The cover body can suitably guide the received processing liquid to the outer surface of the upper part of the cup.

Further, in the present invention, the cup includes a sidewall portion which is made form the top of the cup, and a outer wall portion provided on the periphery of the side wall portion, the upper end of the side wall portion and the opening The outer wall portion is formed with a processing liquid reservoir space capable of recovering the processing liquid with the side wall portion, and the processing liquid received by the cover body is transferred to the processing liquid reservoir space. It is preferable to collect . According to this configuration, the processing liquid received by the cover body is collected in the processing liquid pool space, so that the processing liquid can be suitably prevented from leaking outside the cup. Further, it is possible to prevent the processing quality of the substrate from being deteriorated as compared with the case where the processing liquid received by the cover body is returned to the inside of the cup through the opening.

Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable to provide the bracket part supported by the said outer wall part and hold | maintaining the said cover main body . By connecting the cover body to the cup by the bracket portion, the cover body can be easily installed at an appropriate position. Further, since the bracket portion is supported by the outer wall portion, it is possible to prevent the treatment liquid from adhering to the bracket portion, compared to the case where the bracket portion is supported by the side wall portion.

In the present invention, the bracket portion includes a pair of leg portions capable of contacting the inner and outer surfaces of the outer wall portion, and the bracket portion is lowered to insert the outer wall portion between the pair of leg portions. Thus, the bracket portion can be connected to the cup, and the bracket portion can be detached from the cup by lifting the bracket portion and removing the outer wall portion from between the pair of leg portions. Is preferred . A bracket portion that can be attached to and detached from the cup with a simple structure can be configured. Thereby, a cover main body can be easily attached to a cup, or can be easily removed from a cup.

Further, in the present invention, the side wall portion is inclined inward toward the opening, the outer wall portion is substantially vertical, and a lower portion of the side wall portion and a lower portion of the outer wall portion are continuous. At least one of the lower part of the side wall part and the lower part of the outer wall part is formed with a through hole for introducing a processing liquid into the cup, and the processing liquid pool is provided through the through hole. It is preferable to guide the treatment liquid collected in the space to the inside of the cup . Between the side wall portion and the outer wall portion, a space having a shape obtained by vertically inverting a substantially triangular shape in a cross-sectional view is formed, and the processing liquid can be suitably collected. Further, since the through hole is arranged at the bottom of the space, the collected processing liquid can be smoothly guided into the cup.

Further, the present invention is a cup that has a substantially cylindrical shape having an opening at the top and surrounds the periphery of the substrate, and the edge of the opening has a relatively low first edge and a height position. A cover member for attaching to a cup formed including a relatively high second edge, covering the upper part of the first edge in a range lower than the height position of the second edge , A cover main body for receiving the processing liquid splashing from the inside of the cup beyond the first edge and a bracket portion supported by the cup and holding the cover main body are provided, and the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate. A processing tool including at least one of a nozzle and a cleaning brush that contacts the substrate to clean the substrate is above the first edge and above the cover body, and a lower end of the processing tool is the cover. Higher than the top edge of the body and lower than the second edge In a cover member which allows to pass.

[Operation / Effect] According to the present invention, since the cover member includes the cover body that covers the upper portion of the first edge portion, it is preferable to prevent the processing liquid from leaking from the upper portion of the first edge portion to the outside of the cup. can do. Moreover, since the cover main body covers in a range lower than the second edge, the upper end of the cover main body is still lower than the second edge. Furthermore, since the cover body is coupled to the cup via the bracket portion, the cover body can be easily installed at an appropriate position.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the front end of the cover body substantially coincides with the first edge portion in plan view . Since the cover body does not protrude from the opening in a plan view, it does not hinder substrate processing such as transporting the substrate through the opening or supplying processing liquid from above the opening.

In this invention, it is preferable that the front-end | tip of the said cover main body has protruded to the center side of the said cup from the said 1st edge part by planar view . The cover body can receive the treatment liquid more effectively.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the cover main body guides the treatment liquid received by the cover main body to the outer surface of the cup . Since the cover body does not return the received processing liquid into the cup through the opening, it is possible to prevent the processing quality of the substrate from deteriorating.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the cover body includes a substantially horizontal plate-shaped top plate portion and a hanging wall portion extending downward from the top plate portion . Since the cover body is provided with the drooping wall portion, the received processing liquid can be suitably guided downward.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the hanging wall portion is disposed outside the opening in a plan view . The cover body can suitably guide the received processing liquid to the outer surface of the cup.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the bracket portion is detachable from the cup . The cover member can be easily attached to or removed from the cup.

  The present specification also discloses an invention relating to the following substrate processing apparatus and cover member.

(1) In the board processing unit, the cover body corresponding ranges only have a substrate processing apparatus provided on the first edge.

  According to the invention described in (1) above, the cover body does not become unnecessarily large.

(2) In the board processing unit, the substrate holder, the substrate processing apparatus is rotatable substrate.

  According to the invention described in (2) above, the processing performed on the rotating substrate has a large amount of processing liquid scattered, but according to the present substrate processing apparatus, such processing can be suitably performed. Examples of the processing with a large amount of scattering of the processing liquid include processing for supplying the processing liquid while rotating the substrate, and processing for shaking off the processing liquid on the substrate by rotating the substrate.

(3) In the board processing unit, an upper portion of the inner surface of the cup, inclined to have the substrate processing apparatus inwardly toward the opening.

  According to the invention described in (3) above, the cup can appropriately receive the scattered processing liquid.

(4) In the board processing unit, an upper portion of the outer surface of the cup, inclined to have the substrate processing apparatus inwardly toward the opening.

  According to the invention as described in said (4), the process liquid guided to the outer surface of the upper part of a cup can be easily collect | recovered by the cover main body.

(5) In the board processing unit, wherein the first edge portion is disposed at a plurality of positions separated from one another, the cover body, the substrate processing apparatus are separately provided for each first edge.

  According to the invention described in the above (5), the first edge portion can be disposed in a necessary area at a necessary position.

(6) In the board processing unit, the bracket unit, the held substrate processing apparatus on both sides of the cover body.

  According to the invention as described in said (6), a cover main body can be hold | maintained reliably.

(7) In the board processing unit, wherein the cover body is a substrate processing apparatus for guiding the receiving process liquid into the interior of the cup.

  According to the invention as described in said (7), it can prevent reliably that a process liquid leaks out of a cup.

(8) In the above board processor, said cover body includes a substantially horizontal plate-like top plate, and a hanging wall portion extending downwardly from said top plate portion, the hanging wall the A substrate processing apparatus entering the inside of the cup.

  According to the invention as described in said (8), the cover main body can guide the received processing liquid suitably inside the cup.

(9) In the board processing unit, said bracket portion is a substrate processing apparatus that is fixed to the cup.

  According to the invention described in (9) above, the cover body can be firmly attached to the cup.

(10) In the board processing unit, wherein the cup is a substrate processing apparatus having a substantially cylindrical shape.

(11) In the cover member, the cover body, a cover member for covering the outside of the cup.

  According to the invention described in (11) above, it is not necessary to attach the cover member to the inside of the cup, and deterioration of the processing quality of the substrate can be prevented.

(12) In the cover member, said first edge, the cover member of the processing device is formed in a range to pass to move between the upper and outer side of the cup of the substrate.

  According to the invention as described in said (12), it can prevent that the magnitude | size of the whole apparatus comprised by adding a cover member to a cup and a processing tool becomes large.

(13) In the cover member, the cover body, the process liquid received by said cover body, the cover member for guiding into the interior of the cup.

  According to the invention as described in said (13), it can prevent reliably that a process liquid leaks to the outer side of a cup.

(14) In the cover member, the cover body includes a substantially horizontal plate-like top plate, and a hanging wall portion extending downwardly from said top plate portion, the hanging wall, The cover member arrange | positioned inside the said opening by planar view.

  According to the invention as described in said (14), the cover main body can guide suitably the received process liquid to the inside of a cup.

  According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, the cover main body covering the upper portion of the first edge can suitably prevent the processing liquid from leaking from the upper portion of the first edge to the outside of the cup. Moreover, since the cover main body covers in a range lower than the second edge, the upper end of the cover main body is still lower than the second edge. For this reason, even if a cover main body is provided, it can suppress that the height of a substrate processing apparatus increases.

  Further, according to the cover member according to the present invention, the cover member includes the cover main body that covers the upper portion of the first edge portion. Therefore, it is preferable that the processing liquid leaks from the upper portion of the first edge portion to the outside of the cup. Can be prevented. Moreover, since the cover main body covers in a range lower than the second edge, the upper end of the cover main body is still lower than the second edge. Furthermore, since the cover body is coupled to the cup via the bracket portion, the cover body can be easily installed at an appropriate position.

It is a schematic block diagram of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a perspective view of the principal part of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a disassembled perspective view of the principal part of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on an Example. It is a top view of the substrate processing apparatus concerning an example. It is sectional drawing of the aa arrow in FIG. It is sectional drawing of the bb arrow in FIG. 4 which showed the path | route of a process liquid typically. It is sectional drawing of the aa arrow in FIG. 4 which showed the path | route of the process liquid typically. It is principal part sectional drawing of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on a modified example. It is principal part sectional drawing of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on a modified example. It is a top view of the substrate processing apparatus concerning a modification.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the substrate processing apparatus, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the substrate processing apparatus, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along the line aa in FIG.

  The substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment is an apparatus that performs a cleaning process on the substrate W. The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a substrate holding unit 11, a cup 12, a cover member 13, a cleaning brush 14, a moving mechanism 15, a nozzle 16, and a control unit 17.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate holder 11 holds the substrate W in a rotatable manner. The substrate holder 11 includes a spin chuck 21 and a motor 23. The spin chuck 21 sucks the central portion of the lower surface of the substrate W and holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture. The tip of the output shaft 23 a of the motor 23 is connected to the lower center of the spin chuck 21. When the output shaft 23a of the motor 23 is driven to rotate, the spin chuck 21 and the substrate W rotate about the substantially vertical axis.

  In addition, the structure of the board | substrate holding | maintenance part 11 is not restricted to said example. For example, the base member is a disc-shaped base member that is slightly larger than the substrate W, and the lower surface of the base member is connected to the output shaft 23a of the motor 23. A plurality of (for example, six) support pins may be provided, and each support pin may be changed so as to hold the substrate W in a horizontal posture.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cup 12 has a substantially cylindrical shape having an opening A in the upper portion and surrounds the periphery of the substrate holding portion 11. The cup 12 includes an upper cup 31 and a lower cup 32 that are separate from each other, and the upper cup 31 is stacked above the lower cup 32.

  A vertical wall 33 is formed in the lower part of the upper cup 31. The inner surface 33i and the outer surface 33o of the vertical wall portion 33 are vertical. An inclined wall portion 34 and an outer wall portion 35 are formed on the upper portion of the upper cup 31. The lower ends of the inclined wall portion 34 and the outer wall portion 35 are respectively continuous with the upper end of the vertical wall portion 33. The vertical wall portion 33, the inclined wall portion 34, and the outer wall portion 35 are integrally formed.

  The inclined wall portion 34 extends obliquely upward inward. The inner surface 34 i of the inclined wall portion 34 is continuous with the inner surface 33 i of the vertical wall portion 33. The above-described opening A is formed at the upper end of the inclined wall portion 34. That is, the upper end of the inclined wall 34 forms the edge E of the opening A described above. A through hole B penetrating from the outer surface 34 o to the inner surface 34 i is formed in the lower portion of the inclined wall portion 34.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 2, a cutout K is formed in the upper portion of the inclined wall portion 34. Due to the notch K, a part of the edge E of the opening A is partially lowered. Of the edge portion E of the opening A, a portion having a relatively low height position is referred to as a first edge portion EL, and a portion having a relatively high height position is referred to as a second edge portion EH. In the present embodiment, the height position of the first edge EL is set higher than the height position of the substrate W held by the substrate holder 11.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 4, the cutout K is one place, and the width of the cutout K (the length of the arc) extends about several tens of degrees in the circumferential direction. Further, the depth of the notch K (distance relative to the radial direction of the cup 12 in plan view) is about half of the inclined wall portion 34. Note that the arrangement and size of the notch K are items that are appropriately selected and designed. For example, it is desirable to form the notch K at a position where the cleaning brush 14 passes. The inclined wall portion 34 corresponds to the side wall portion in the present invention.

  As clearly shown in FIG. 1, the outer wall portion 35 extends vertically upward from the vertical wall portion 33, and the outer surface 35 o of the outer wall portion 35 is continuous with the outer surface 33 o of the vertical wall portion 33. The inner surface 35 i of the outer wall portion 35 is continuous with the outer surface 34 o of the inclined wall portion 34. The height position of the upper end of the outer wall portion 35 is lower than the height position of the second edge portion EH. In the present embodiment, the height position of the upper end of the outer wall portion 35 is substantially the same as the height position of the first edge portion EL. Between the outer wall portion 35 and the inclined wall portion 34, a processing liquid reservoir that is continuous in an annular shape in a plan view, has a substantially wedge shape (a shape obtained by inverting a substantially triangular shape upside down) in a cross-sectional view, and has an open top. A working space C is formed.

  The lower cup 32 is connected to the lower part of the upper cup 31. The lower cup 32 has a bottom portion that wraps around the output shaft 23a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the cover member 13 includes a cover main body 41 and a bracket portion 42. The cover body 41 is provided outside the cup 12. The cover body 41 covers the upper part of the first edge EL in a range lower than the second edge EH (see FIG. 5).

  Please refer to FIG. The cover body 41 includes a top plate portion 45 and a hanging wall portion 46. As shown in FIG. 5, the top plate portion 45 is a plate-like object that is disposed substantially horizontally at a height position that is higher than the first edge portion EL and lower than the second edge portion EH.

  Please refer to FIG. 3 to FIG. The top plate portion 45 is a flat plate-like object (see FIG. 5) and has a substantially arc shape in plan view (see FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4, the circumferential length of the top plate portion 45 has substantially the same length as that of the first edge portion EL. An end surface 45a on the inner side (front end side) of the top plate portion 45 substantially coincides with the first edge portion EL in plan view. The end surface 45a corresponds to the tip of the cover body 41.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the drooping wall portion 46 is a plate-like object curved in an arc shape. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the drooping wall portion 46 extends substantially vertically downward from a portion on the outer side (base end side) of the top plate portion 45. The drooping wall portion 46 is disposed outside the opening A, that is, above the inclined wall portion 34. The height position of the lower end of the drooping wall portion 46 is lower than the first edge portion EL. In this embodiment, the top plate portion 45 and the hanging wall portion 46 are integrally formed.

  The cover body 41 configured as described above receives the processing liquid that scatters from the cup 12 beyond the first edge EL. The cover body 41 drops the received processing liquid onto the outer surface 34o. Thus, the processing liquid guided to the outer surface 34o by the cover body 41 is recovered in the processing liquid pool space C described above. The outer surface 34o corresponds to “the outer surface of the upper portion of the cup” in the present invention.

  The bracket portion 42 holds the cover main body 41. The bracket portion 42 is supported by the cup 12. The bracket part 42 includes a cover holding part 47 and an arm part 48. The cover holding portion 47 holds one side end of the cover main body 41 on one side surface of the tip end portion 47a. The arm portion 48 is a plate-like object bent into a substantially L shape, and has a first piece 48a and a second piece 48b that are in a substantially perpendicular relationship with each other. The first side is attached to the upper surface 47 c of the rear end portion 47 b of the cover holding portion 47. The second piece 48b extends from the rear end surface 47d of the cover holding portion 47 to the vicinity of the lower portion of the rear end portion 47b substantially parallel to the rear end surface 47d. The separation distance d between the second piece 48b and the rear end portion 47b is approximately the same as the thickness of the outer wall portion 35.

  And the upper end of the outer wall part 35 is made to oppose between the rear-end part 47b and the 2nd piece 48b, and the bracket part 42 is pushed down. Thereby, the outer wall portion 35 is inserted between the rear end portion 47 b and the arm portion 48, and the bracket portion 42 is fixed to the outer wall portion 35. In the normal state, the cover member 13 is supported by the cup 12 as described above. The bracket portion 42 can be detached from the outer wall portion 35 by lifting the bracket portion 42 attached to the outer wall portion 35 upward. The rear end portion 47b and the second piece 48b correspond to a pair of leg portions in the present invention.

  Refer to FIG. 1 again. The cleaning brush 14 contacts the substrate W and cleans the substrate W. As the cleaning brush 14, a known one such as a nylon brush or a sponge is appropriately selected.

  Please refer to FIG. The moving mechanism 15 moves the cleaning brush 14 between the upper side of the substrate W and the outside of the cup 12. The moving mechanism 15 moves the cleaning brush 14 up and down. The moving mechanism 15 includes a guide rail 51, a moving table 53, an elevating column part 55, and a holding arm 57.

  The guide rail 51 is laid on the outside of the cup 12 in a plan view, and guides the movable table 53 in a horizontal one-axis direction. The moving table 53 moves forward and backward on the guide rail 51. The lower part of the elevating column part 55 is fixed to the moving table 53. The elevating / lowering column part 55 is composed of a cylinder or the like, and its upper end is configured to be movable up and down with respect to the moving table 53. A holding arm 57 is connected to the upper part of the elevating column part 55. The holding arm 57 holds the cleaning brush 14. The holding arm 57 includes a rotation driving unit (not shown) that rotates the cleaning brush 14 and holds the cleaning brush 14 so as to be rotatable about its longitudinal axis.

  Then, as the moving table 53 moves, the cleaning brush 14 moves between the inside and the outside of the cup 12 in plan view. In addition, the lifting / lowering column part 55 expands and contracts, so that the cleaning brush 14 moves up and down to a height position where the substrate W is processed and a height position where the cleaning brush 14 is conveyed between the upper side of the substrate W and the outside of the cup 12. The former height position is the height of the cleaning brush at which the lower end of the cleaning brush 14 can come into contact with the upper surface of the substrate W, and is simply referred to as “processing height” below. The latter height position is the height of the cleaning brush 14 such that the lower end of the cleaning brush 14 is higher than the upper end of the cover body 41 and lower than the second edge EH. Say. In FIG. 1, the cleaning brush 14 at the processing height is clearly indicated by a solid line. In FIG. 5, the cleaning brush 14 at the conveying height is indicated by a solid line.

  Please refer to FIG. 1 and FIG. The nozzle 16 is fixedly installed above the cup 12. The position of the nozzle 16 is preferably a position deviated from above the opening A so as not to interfere with the loading and unloading operations of the substrate W through the opening A.

  One end of a pipe 61 is connected to the nozzle 16 in communication. The other end of the pipe 61 is connected to the processing liquid supply source 63. The processing liquid supply source 63 supplies a processing liquid. An example of the treatment liquid is pure water. The processing liquid pipe 61 is provided with a flow rate adjusting valve 65 capable of adjusting the flow rate of the processing liquid.

  The control unit 17 comprehensively controls the operation of each configuration described above. Specifically, the rotation of the motor 23, the horizontal movement of the moving base 53, the expansion / contraction of the elevating / lowering column 55, the driving of the rotation driving unit (not shown), and the opening of the valve body of the flow control valve 65 are controlled. The control unit 17 includes a storage medium such as a fixed disk that stores various information such as a processing recipe (processing program) set in advance for these controls, and a central processing unit (CPU) that executes various processes based on the processing recipe. Further, it is realized by a RAM (Random-Access Memory) or the like which is a work area for arithmetic processing.

  Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment will be described. Here, it is assumed that the substrate W has already been sucked and held by the spin chuck 21 and the cleaning brush 14 is waiting outside the cup 12.

  Please refer to FIG. The control unit 17 adjusts the cleaning brush 14 to the conveyance height under the control of the elevating column unit 55. Subsequently, the control unit 17 moves the moving table 53 forward. Accordingly, the cleaning brush 14 passes above the cover body 41 and moves from the outside of the cup 12 to above the opening A.

  Subsequently, the control unit 17 controls the lifting column 55 to lower the cleaning brush 14 and adjust the cleaning brush to the processing height (in FIG. 5, the cleaning brush 14 at the processing height is indicated by a dotted line). ).

  When the control unit 17 lowers the cleaning brush 14 to the processing height, the control unit 17 further drives the motor 23 to rotate the substrate W and controls the flow rate adjustment valve 65 to discharge the processing liquid from the nozzle 16. . Further, the control unit 17 controls a rotation driving unit (not shown) to rotate the cleaning brush 14. As a result, the processing liquid supplied onto the substrate W receives a centrifugal force and spreads over the entire surface of the substrate W, and is discarded from the periphery of the substrate W to the outside of the substrate W. The cleaning brush 14 rotates and contacts the substrate W to clean the substrate W. In this cleaning process, the control unit 17 may control the moving table 53 to move the cleaning brush 14 to an arbitrary position on the substrate W.

  Please refer to FIG. 6 and FIG. 6 and 7 are diagrams schematically showing the path of the processing solution, respectively. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line bb in FIG. 4, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line aa in FIG. FIG. 6 and 7 show the cleaning brush 14 at the processing height.

  As shown in the figure, the processing liquid scatters from the substrate W in the cleaning process. Most of the scattered processing liquid is received by the inner wall of the upper cup 31, specifically, the inner surface 34 i of the inclined wall portion 34 and the inner surface 33 i of the vertical wall portion 33. The inclined wall portion 34 and the vertical wall portion 33 guide the received processing liquid downward. The processing liquid guided downward is collected by the lower cup 32.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the cover main body 41 receives the processing liquid scattered over the first edge portion EL. The cover body 41 guides the received processing liquid to the outer surface 34 o of the inclined wall portion 34. The processing liquid guided to the outer surface 34o is collected in the processing liquid pool space C (see FIG. 1). The processing liquid collected in the processing liquid reservoir space C is guided to the inside of the cup 12 through the through hole B. The processing liquid guided to the inside of the cup 12 flows down through the inner surface 33 i and is collected by the lower cup 32.

  When a predetermined time has elapsed after starting the above-described cleaning process, the control unit 17 controls the rotation driving unit to stop the rotation of the cleaning brush 14 and controls the elevating column unit 55 to convey the cleaning brush 14 again. Raise to height. Subsequently, the control unit 17 moves the moving table 53 backward. As a result, the cleaning brush 14 passes over the cover body 41 and moves to the outside of the cup 12 (see FIG. 5). Further, the control unit 17 controls the flow rate adjustment valve 65 to stop the supply of the processing liquid. Furthermore, the control unit 17 increases the rotation speed of the motor 23 to rotate the substrate W at a high speed. Thereby, the processing liquid on the substrate W is shaken off and the substrate W is dried.

  Also in such a drying process, the scattered processing liquid is received by the inclined wall portion 34, the vertical wall portion 33, and the cover body 41 as in the processing liquid path schematically shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.

  When the predetermined drying process is completed, the control unit 17 controls the motor 23 to stop the substrate W. Subsequently, the substrate W is unloaded from the inside of the cup 12 through the opening A by a transport mechanism (not shown).

  Thus, according to the substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment, the cover main body 41 that covers the upper portion of the first edge portion EL is provided, so that the processing liquid is moved from the upper portion of the first edge portion EL to the outside of the cup 12. Leakage can be suitably prevented. In addition, since the upper end of the cover body 41 is lower than the second edge EH, the cleaning brush 14 can pass above the cover body 41 at a relatively low height position. Thereby, the movable range of the cleaning brush 14 in the height direction can be suppressed, and the overall height of the substrate processing apparatus 1 can be reduced.

  Further, since the end surface 45a that is the tip of the cover body 41 substantially coincides with the first edge EL in a plan view, the cover body 41 does not protrude so as to close the opening A. Therefore, it is possible to suitably carry the substrate W to the substrate holding unit 11. Moreover, since the cover main body 41 is provided only in a range corresponding to the first edge EL, the cover main body 41 does not become unnecessarily large.

  Further, since the cover main body 41 guides the processing liquid to the outer surface 34 o of the inclined wall portion 34, the processing liquid received by the cover main body 41 is not returned to the inside of the cup 12 through the opening A. For this reason, it can prevent that the processing quality of the board | substrate W deteriorates.

  Moreover, since the cover main body 41 is provided with the top plate part 45 and the drooping wall part 46, the processing liquid can be accurately guided downward. Moreover, since the drooping wall part 46 is arrange | positioned on the outer side of the opening A by planar view, the process liquid received by the cover main body 41 can be reliably guided to the outer surface 34o.

  Since the bracket part 42 holding the cover body 41 is attached to the outer wall part 35, the cover body 41 can be easily arranged at an appropriate position corresponding to the cup 12 (first edge EL).

  Moreover, since the bracket part 42 is detachable with respect to the cup 12, the state in which the cover member 13 is attached to the cup 12 and the state in which the cover member 13 is removed from the cup 12 can be easily switched.

  Moreover, since the bracket part 42 is provided with the rear-end part 47b and the 2nd piece 48b which can clamp the outer wall part 35, attachment / detachment of the bracket part 42 is performed only by inserting / removing the bracket part 42 up and down. be able to. Moreover, the structure of the bracket part 42 can be simplified.

  Further, the cup 12 has an outer wall portion 35 at an upper portion thereof, and the outer wall portion 35 forms a processing liquid pool space C with the inclined wall portion 34. With such a configuration, the processing liquid received by the cover body 41 can be collected in the processing liquid pool space C. As a result, it is possible to reliably prevent the processing liquid from leaking out of the cup 12. Further, since the processing liquid reservoir space C is located not on the cup 12 but on the upper outer surface of the cup 12, the processing liquid can be collected without affecting the processing of the substrate W.

  Further, since the outer surface 34o of the inclined wall portion 34 is inclined inward, the processing liquid guided by the cover main body 41 can be guided below the processing liquid reservoir space C. Further, since the through hole B is formed in the lower portion of the inclined wall portion 34, the collected processing liquid can be introduced into the cup 12 from the inner surface 34i. Since the introduced processing liquid flows down along the inner surface 34i and the inner surface 33i, the processing of the substrate W is not affected.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified as follows.

  (1) In the embodiment described above, the angle formed between the top plate portion 45 and the hanging wall portion 46 of the cover body 41 is approximately 90 degrees, but is not limited thereto. For example, the angle formed between the top plate portion 45 and the hanging wall portion 46 may be changed to an angle smaller than about 90 degrees or an angle larger than about 90 degrees.

  (2) In the above-described embodiment, the cover main body has a substantially “L” shape in a cross-sectional view, and the inner surface of the cover main body 41 that receives the treatment liquid is composed of two flat surfaces that are substantially orthogonal to each other. Not limited to. Please refer to FIG. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a substrate processing apparatus according to a modified embodiment. As shown in the drawing, the cover main body 72 may be changed to a curved inner surface for receiving the treatment liquid. In this modified embodiment, the cover main body 72 has an arc shape in cross-sectional view. The cover main body 72 constitutes a cover member 71 in a modified embodiment.

  (3) In the above-described embodiment, the end surface 45a that is the tip of the cover body 41 substantially coincides with the first edge EL in plan view, but is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 8, the front end 72a of the cover main body 72 may be changed so as to protrude from the first edge EL to the center side of the cup 12 in a plan view. Since the front end 72a of the cover main body 72 is extended so as to cover the opening A, the range in which the treatment liquid can be collected can be effectively expanded.

  (4) In the embodiment described above, the bracket portion 42 is detachable from the cup 12, but the present invention is not limited to this. That is, you may change into the bracket part fixedly attached to the cup 12. FIG. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, it may be changed to a bracket portion 73 formed integrally with the cup 12. Or you may change so that the bracket part 42 may be connected with the cup 12 with fasteners, such as a volt | bolt.

  (5) In the embodiment described above, the cover body 41 guides the received processing liquid to the outer surface 34o of the inclined wall portion 34, but is not limited thereto. For example, the received processing solution may be changed directly to the inside of the cup 12 through the opening A. Please refer to FIG. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a substrate processing apparatus according to a modified embodiment. As shown in the figure, the cover main body 75 includes a drooping wall portion 76 extending in a substantially vertical direction at a position on the inner side (center side of the cup 12) from the first edge portion EL. The upper end of the drooping wall portion 76 is higher than the first edge portion EL, and the dripping wall portion 76 receives the processing liquid scattered above the first edge portion EL. Further, the lower end of the drooping wall portion 76 is lower than the first edge portion EL, and the drooping wall portion 76 guides the received processing liquid into the cup 12. The drooping wall portion 76 is curved along the first edge portion EL.

  (6) In the above-described embodiment, the cover main body 41 is configured to include the top plate portion 45 and the hanging wall portion 46, but is not limited thereto. Like the cover main body 75 shown in FIG. 9, the top plate portion may be omitted and only the hanging wall portion 76 may be used.

  (7) In the embodiment described above, the bracket portion 42 is attached to the outer wall portion 35, but is not limited thereto. As shown in FIG. 9, the bracket portion 77 may be changed to be placed on the outer surface 34 o of the inclined wall portion 34. The cover main body 75 and the bracket portion 77 constitute a cover member 78.

  (8) In the embodiment described above, the first edge EL is formed at one place, but the present invention is not limited to this. Please refer to FIG. FIG. 10 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus according to a modified embodiment. As illustrated, the plurality of first edge portions EL may be formed separately from each other. In this case, you may comprise so that the separate cover member 81 may be installed for every 1st edge part EL. 10 includes a cover main body 82, and the front end of the cover member 81 is an end surface 82a on the inner side (front end side) of the cover main body 82. And the front-end | tip 82a of this cover member 81 protrudes from the 1st edge EL to the center side of the cup 12 by planar view.

  (9) In the above-described embodiment, the bracket portions 42 are provided on both sides of the cover body 41, but the present invention is not limited to this. The position where the bracket portion 42 holds the cover body 41 is appropriately designed and selected. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the cover member 81 may be modified to include a bracket portion 83 that is held at the center portion of the cover main body 82.

  (10) In the embodiment described above, the shape of the cup 12, particularly the vertical wall portion 33, the inclined wall portion 34, and the outer wall portion 35, have been described in detail, but is not limited thereto. The shape of the cup 12 can be selected as appropriate. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, the outer wall portion 74 may be disposed at a position protruding outward from the vertical wall portion 33. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the upper cup 31 may be configured by the vertical wall portion 33 and the inclined wall portion 34 without the outer wall portion 35.

  (11) In the above-described embodiment, the through-hole B is formed in the inclined wall portion 34. However, the through-hole B may be omitted as in the modified embodiments shown in FIGS. Or you may change so that a through-hole may be formed in the outer wall part 35. FIG.

  (12) In the above description of the operation of the embodiment, the cover member 13 remains attached to the cup 12. However, the cover member 13 may be attached and detached as appropriate. For example, the height of the upper end of the cover member 13 is prepared by preparing a plurality of cover members 13 having different shapes, dimensions, or positions of the end face 45a with respect to the first edge EL and replacing the cover member 13 attached to the cup 12. The position may be adjusted. For example, when the substrate W is processed without using the cleaning brush 14, the cover member 13 having a relatively high upper end is selected and attached to the cup 12. Thereby, it is possible to more reliably receive the treatment liquid scattered above the first edge portion EL.

  (13) In the embodiment described above, the moving mechanism 15 moves the cleaning brush 14, but the processing tool that the moving mechanism 15 moves is not limited to the cleaning brush 14. For example, the moving mechanism may be configured to move a nozzle that supplies the processing liquid to the substrate W. FIG. 10 illustrates a moving mechanism 85 that moves a nozzle 84 having three discharge ports 84a. Alternatively, a moving mechanism that moves both the cleaning brush 14 and the nozzle may be configured. In this case, the moving mechanism may be able to move the cleaning brush 14 and the nozzle integrally, or may be able to move the cleaning brush 14 and the nozzle independently of each other.

  (14) In the embodiment described above, the moving mechanism 15 is configured to be able to move the cleaning brush 14 in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction, but is not limited thereto. For example, when the processing tool is a nozzle, the processing height and the conveyance height may be the same. A moving mechanism that moves the nozzle only in the horizontal direction may be applied to such a nozzle.

  For example, the moving mechanism 85 shown in FIG. 10 moves the nozzle 84 only in the horizontal direction. Specifically, the moving mechanism 85 includes a fixed base 87 and a holding arm 88 that is swingably attached to the fixed base 87. The holding arm 88 holds the nozzle 84 at its tip. Then, as the holding arm 88 rotates with respect to the fixed base 87, the nozzle 84 rotates in a substantially horizontal plane. The movement of the nozzle 84 by the moving mechanism 85 is only this turning movement, and the moving mechanism 85 cannot move the nozzle 84 up and down.

  (15) In the embodiment described above, the substrate holder 11 holds the substrate W in a rotatable manner, but is not limited thereto. You may change into the board | substrate holding | maintenance part which cannot be rotated.

  (16) In the above-described embodiment, pure water is exemplified as the processing liquid, but the present invention is not limited to this. As the treatment liquid, various rinse liquids or various chemical liquids may be appropriately selected.

  (17) You may change so that each structure of each Example mentioned above and each modification may be combined suitably.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Substrate processing apparatus 11 ... Substrate holding part 12 ... Cup 13, 71, 78, 81 ... Cover member 14 ... Cleaning brush 15, 85 ... Moving mechanism 16, 84 ... Nozzle 17 ... Control part 34 ... Inclined wall part 35, 74 ... Outer wall part 41, 72, 75, 82 ... Cover main body 42, 73, 77, 83 ... Bracket part 45 ... Top plate part 45a ... End face 46, 76 ... Dripping wall part 72a, 82a ... Tip W ... Substrate A ... Opening B ... through hole C ... treatment liquid pool space E ... edge EL ... first edge EH ... second edge K ... notch

Claims (18)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate,
A substrate holder for holding the substrate;
A cup that has a substantially cylindrical shape with an opening at the top and surrounds the periphery of the substrate holding portion;
A cover body provided outside the cup;
With
Due to the notch formed at the top of the cup, the edge of the opening has a first edge with a relatively low height position and a second edge with a relatively high height position;
The cover body covers the top of the first edge in a range lower than the height position of the second edge , and receives the processing liquid scattered from the inside of the cup beyond the first edge,
The apparatus further comprises:
A processing tool including at least one of a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate, and a cleaning brush for cleaning the substrate in contact with the substrate;
A moving mechanism for passing the processing tool above the first edge and above the cover body when the processing tool is moved between the upper side of the substrate and the outside of the cup;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:   The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
  When the moving mechanism passes the processing tool over the cover main body, the lower end of the processing tool is higher than the upper end of the cover main body and lower than the second edge. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2 ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein a front end of the cover body substantially coincides with the first edge portion in a plan view. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 1 or Claim 2 ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein the front end of the cover body projects from the first edge to the center side of the cup in plan view. In the substrate processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-4 ,
The cover main body is a substrate processing apparatus for guiding the received processing liquid to the outer surface of the upper part of the cup. In the substrate processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-5 ,
The cover body is
A substantially horizontal plate-shaped top plate,
A hanging wall portion extending downward from the top plate portion;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 ,
The cup
A side wall formed on the top of the cup;
An outer wall provided around the side wall,
With
The opening is formed at the upper end of the side wall,
The outer wall portion forms a processing liquid reservoir space capable of recovering the processing liquid with the side wall portion,
The processing liquid received by the cover body is collected in the processing liquid reservoir space,
The hanging wall portion is disposed outside the opening and above the side wall portion ,
The substrate processing apparatus, wherein a height position of a lower end of the hanging wall portion is lower than that of the first edge portion . In the substrate processing apparatus in any one of Claims 1-7 ,
The cup
A side wall portion which is made form the top of the cup,
An outer wall portion provided on the periphery of the side wall portion,
With
The opening is formed at the upper end of the side wall,
The outer wall portion forms a processing liquid reservoir space capable of recovering the processing liquid with the side wall portion,
A substrate processing apparatus for recovering the processing liquid received by the cover main body in the processing liquid pooling space. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 7 or Claim 8 ,
The substrate processing apparatus provided with the bracket part supported by the said outer wall part and hold | maintaining the said cover main body. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 ,
The bracket portion includes a pair of legs that can contact the inner and outer surfaces of the outer wall portion, and the bracket portion is lowered by lowering the bracket portion and inserting the outer wall portion between the pair of leg portions. A substrate processing apparatus that is connectable to the cup and that can be detached from the cup by lifting the bracket portion and removing an outer wall portion from between the pair of leg portions. In the substrate processing apparatus in any one of Claims 7-10 ,
The side wall is inclined inward toward the opening;
The outer wall is substantially vertical;
While the lower part of the side wall part and the lower part of the outer wall part are continuous,
At least one of the lower part of the side wall part and the lower part of the outer wall part is formed with a through hole for introducing a processing liquid into the cup ,
The substrate processing apparatus which guide | induces the process liquid collect | recovered in the said process liquid pool space to the inside of the said cup through the said through-hole . A cup that has a substantially cylindrical shape with an opening at the top and surrounds the periphery of the substrate, wherein the edge of the opening has a first edge having a relatively low height and a second edge having a relatively high height. A cover member for attaching to a cup formed including a portion,
A cover body that covers the top of the first edge in a range lower than the height position of the second edge and receives the processing liquid scattered from within the cup beyond the first edge ;
A bracket portion supported by the cup and holding the cover body;
Equipped with a,
A processing tool provided with at least one of a nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate and a cleaning brush for cleaning the substrate in contact with the substrate, above the first edge and above the cover body, A cover member that allows the lower end of the processing tool to pass at a position higher than the upper end of the cover body and lower than the second edge . The cover member according to claim 12,
The cover member is configured so that a front end of the cover body substantially coincides with the first edge portion in a plan view. The cover member according to claim 12,
A cover member in which a front end of the cover body protrudes from the first edge to the center side of the cup in a plan view. The cover member according to any one of claims 12 to 14,
The cover body is a cover member that guides the processing liquid received by the cover body to the outer surface of the cup. The cover member according to any one of claims 12 to 15,
The cover body is
A substantially horizontal plate-shaped top plate,
A hanging wall portion extending downward from the top plate portion;
A cover member comprising: The cover member according to claim 16, wherein
The said hanging wall part is a cover member arrange | positioned on the outer side of the said opening by planar view. The cover member according to any one of claims 12 to 17,
The bracket part is a cover member that is detachable from the cup.

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