JP5420597B2 - Liquid processing apparatus and liquid processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method for performing predetermined liquid processing such as cleaning processing and etching processing on a substrate by supplying the processing liquid to the substrate while rotating the substrate while being held in a horizontal state.

  In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, a resist film is formed in a predetermined pattern on a processing target film formed on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter also simply referred to as “wafer”), and etching is performed using this resist film as a mask. Processing such as ion implantation is applied to the processing target film. After the processing, the resist film that has become unnecessary is removed from the wafer.

  As a method for removing the resist film, SPM treatment is often used. The SPM treatment is performed by heating and supplying a SPM (Sulfuric Acid Hydrogen Peroxide Mixture) solution obtained by mixing sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide solution to the resist film.

  In the SPM process, generally, an SPM liquid heated to a high temperature is discharged toward a wafer. For this reason, the SPM liquid may evaporate and fume may be generated. The fumes can diffuse over a wide area in the chamber of the resist removing apparatus, contaminate the inner wall of the chamber and the parts in the chamber, and generate substances that cause wafer contamination.

  In order to prevent fume from diffusing over a wide area in the chamber and contaminating the chamber inner wall and the chamber components, in Patent Document 1, a substrate holding unit for holding a wafer and a periphery of the wafer held by the substrate holding unit are disclosed. A shielding wall that surrounds and has an opening above the wafer, a cover member provided above the shielding wall, and a gap between the shielding wall and the cover member is inserted from the side, and the SPM is directed toward the wafer. There has been proposed a resist removing apparatus including a nozzle for discharging a liquid. According to the resist removing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the fume can be prevented from diffusing over a wide range in the chamber by the shielding wall and the cover member.

JP 2007-35866 A

  However, in the resist removal apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is conceivable that the cover member is contaminated with fume. For example, the fumes pressed by the cover member condense on the cover member, droplets adhere to the cover member, or the SPM liquid discharged toward the wafer scatters, and the SPM liquid splashes on the cover member. It is thought that it adheres. In this case, it is considered that droplets or splashes adhering to the cover member fall on the wafer during other processes such as a drying process performed after the SPM process, thereby contaminating the wafer. .

  The present invention has been made in consideration of such points, and the fact that the fumes adhering to the top plate during the SPM processing adheres to the substrate during a process such as a drying process performed after the SPM processing. An object is to provide a liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method that can be prevented.

  The liquid processing apparatus of the present invention includes a substrate holding unit that horizontally holds a substrate, a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and a substrate that is held by the substrate holding unit. A cup for receiving the processing liquid after being supplied to the substrate by the nozzle, an advancing position for covering the substrate held by the substrate holding unit from above, and a horizontal direction. A top plate that moves in a horizontal direction between a retracted position that is a position retracted from the advanced position, a lowered position that covers the substrate held by the substrate holder from above, and a position that is above the lowered position And an air hood that is provided so as to be movable up and down between the raised position and for flowing a purified gas downward.

  The liquid processing method of the present invention includes a step of holding a substrate in a horizontal posture, a step of covering the held substrate with a top plate from above, and a state where the substrate is covered from above with the top plate. A step of performing a liquid treatment on the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid; a step of moving the top plate in a horizontal direction from a position covering the substrate from above in the horizontal direction to a retreat position; and a purified gas A step of lowering an air hood for flowing downward and covering the substrate from above with the air hood; and a step of drying the substrate while flowing the gas cleaned by the air hood downward. It is characterized by that.

  According to the liquid processing apparatus and the liquid processing method of the present invention, it is possible to prevent fume adhering to the top plate during the SPM processing from adhering to the substrate during other processes such as a drying process performed after the SPM processing. be able to.

It is the top view which looked at the liquid processing system containing the liquid processing apparatus by embodiment of this invention from upper direction. It is a side view of the liquid processing apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is a top view by the AA arrow of the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a top view by the BB arrow of the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the board | substrate holding part in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and the component located in the periphery. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the top plate in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and the component located in the periphery. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the air hood in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and the component located in the periphery. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of each nozzle and each nozzle support arm in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. (A)-(f) is explanatory drawing which shows sequentially a series of processes of the washing | cleaning process of the wafer performed with the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. (G)-(l) is explanatory drawing which shows sequentially a series of processes of the washing | cleaning process of the wafer performed with the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. (M)-(o) is explanatory drawing which shows sequentially a series of processes of the cleaning process of the wafer performed by the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other structure of the top plate in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows other structure of the top plate and cup outer periphery cylinder in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the other structure of the top-plate storage part in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 11 are diagrams showing a liquid processing apparatus according to the present embodiment. More specifically, FIG. 1 is a top view of a liquid processing system including a liquid processing apparatus according to the present embodiment as viewed from above. 2 is a side view of the liquid processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are top views of the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 taken along arrows AA and BB, respectively. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the substrate holding portion and the components located in the periphery thereof in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 6 is a top plate in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the component located in FIG. FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the air hood and components located in the vicinity thereof in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 8 shows each nozzle and each nozzle support in the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of an arm. 9 to 11 are explanatory views sequentially showing a series of steps of the wafer cleaning process performed by the liquid processing apparatus shown in FIG.

  First, a liquid processing system including a liquid processing apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, a liquid processing system includes a mounting table 101 for mounting a carrier containing a substrate W (hereinafter also referred to as a wafer W) such as a semiconductor wafer as a substrate to be processed, and a carrier. A transfer arm 102 for taking out the accommodated wafer W, a shelf unit 103 for placing the wafer W taken out by the transfer arm 102, a wafer W placed on the shelf unit 103 are received, and the wafer W And a transport arm 104 for transporting the liquid into the liquid processing apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 1, the liquid processing system is provided with a plurality (four in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1) of liquid processing apparatuses 10.

  Next, a schematic configuration of the liquid processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the liquid processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment is formed adjacent to the chamber 20 in which the wafer W is accommodated and the liquid processing of the accommodated wafer W is performed. Standby area 80. In the liquid processing apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment, the partition wall that separates the chamber 20 and the standby area 80 is not provided, and the chamber 20 and the standby area 80 communicate with each other. As shown in FIG. 2, a substrate holder 21 for holding and rotating the wafer W in a horizontal state is provided in the chamber 20, and a ring-shaped rotary cup is provided around the substrate holder 21. 40 is disposed. The rotating cup 40 is provided for receiving the processing liquid supplied to the wafer W when the wafer W is subjected to the liquid processing. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a cylindrical cup outer cylinder 50 is disposed around the rotary cup 40 in the chamber 20. As will be described later, the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 can be raised and lowered according to the processing state of the wafer W. Details of the configurations of the substrate holding part 21, the rotating cup 40, and the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 will be described later.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the liquid processing apparatus 10 supports a nozzle (advance / retreat nozzle) 82a for supplying a processing liquid from above to the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 and the nozzle 82a. A nozzle support arm 82 is provided. As shown in FIG. 3, a single liquid processing apparatus 10 is provided with a plurality (specifically, for example, four) of nozzle support arms 82, and a nozzle 82 a is provided at the tip of each nozzle support arm 82. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, each nozzle support arm 82 is provided with an arm support portion 82b, and each arm support portion 82b is driven in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 by a drive mechanism (not shown). Yes. As a result, each nozzle support arm 82 performs a linear motion in the horizontal direction between an advanced position where the nozzle support arm 82 has advanced into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 via a side opening 50m described later and a retracted position retracted from the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. (Refer to the arrows provided on the nozzle support arms 82 in FIGS. 2 and 3).

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, a top plate 32 for covering the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 from above is provided so as to be movable in the horizontal direction. More specifically, the top plate 32 has an advancing position that covers the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 from above as shown by a solid line in FIG. 4 and a horizontal position as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. A reciprocating movement is made between a retracted position which is a position retracted from the advanced position in the direction. Details of the configuration of the top plate 32 will be described later.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, an air hood 70 for covering the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 from above is provided so as to be movable up and down. A purified gas such as N 2 gas (nitrogen gas) or clean air is allowed to flow downward from the air hood 70. More specifically, the air hood 70 is provided to be movable up and down between a lowered position that covers the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 from above and a raised position that is located above the lowered position. . In addition, in FIG. 2, the state when the air hood 70 is located in the raising position is shown. Details of the configuration of the air hood 70 will be described later.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an exhaust part 58 is provided at the bottom of the standby area 80 outside the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, and the exhaust part 58 exhausts the atmosphere in the standby area 80. It has come to be. Specifically, particles generated from a drive mechanism (not shown) for driving each nozzle support arm 82 can be drawn by the exhaust unit 58.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, shutters 60 and 62 are provided in the maintenance openings of the chamber 20 and the standby area 80 of the liquid processing apparatus 10, respectively. Since the maintenance shutters 60 and 62 are provided in the chamber 20 and the standby area 80, the devices in the chamber 20 and the standby area 80 can be individually maintained.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the side wall of the liquid processing apparatus 10 is provided with an opening 94 a for carrying the wafer W into and out of the chamber 20 by the transfer arm 104. The opening 94a is provided with a shutter 94 for opening and closing the opening 94a.

  Next, details of each component of the liquid processing apparatus 10 as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, the substrate holder 21 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the substrate holding unit 21 and the components located in the vicinity thereof among the respective components of the liquid processing apparatus 10.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the substrate holding unit 21 includes a disk-shaped holding plate 26 for holding the wafer W, and a disk-shaped lift pin plate 22 provided above the holding plate 26. . Three lift pins 23 for supporting the wafer W from below are provided on the upper surface of the lift pin plate 22 at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In FIG. 5, only two lift pins 23 are shown. Further, a piston mechanism 24 is provided below the lift pin plate 22, and the lift pin plate 22 is moved up and down by the piston mechanism 24. More specifically, when the wafer W is placed on the lift pins 23 or taken out from the lift pins 23 by the transfer arm 104 (see FIG. 1), the lift pin plate 22 is shown in FIG. The lift pin plate 22 is positioned above the rotary cup 40 by being moved upward from such a position. On the other hand, when liquid processing or drying processing of the wafer W is performed in the chamber 20, the lift pin plate 22 is moved to the lowered position as shown in FIG. Comes to be located.

  The holding plate 26 is provided with three holding members 25 for supporting the wafer W from the side at equal intervals in the circumferential direction. In FIG. 5, only two holding members 25 are shown. Each holding member 25 supports the wafer W on the lift pins 23 from the side when the lift pin plate 22 moves from the raised position to the lowered position as shown in FIG. 5, and the wafer W is slightly separated from the lift pins 23. It is supposed to let you.

  Further, through holes are formed in the center portions of the lift pin plate 22 and the holding plate 26, respectively, and a processing liquid supply pipe 28 is provided so as to pass through these through holes. The processing liquid supply pipe 28 supplies various types of processing liquid such as chemical liquid and pure water to the back surface of the wafer W held by the holding members 25 of the holding plate 26. Further, the processing liquid supply pipe 28 moves up and down in conjunction with the lift pin plate 22. A head portion 28 a is provided at the upper end of the processing liquid supply pipe 28 so as to close the through hole of the lift pin plate 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a processing liquid supply unit 29 is connected to the processing liquid supply pipe 28, and various types of processing liquids are supplied to the processing liquid supply pipe 28 by the processing liquid supply unit 29. It is like that.

  In addition, a ring-shaped rotating cup 40 is attached to the holding plate 26, so that the rotating cup 40 rotates integrally with the holding plate 26 by a connection portion (not shown). As shown in FIG. 5, the rotary cup 40 is provided so as to surround the wafer W supported by each holding member 25 of the holding plate 26 from the side. For this reason, the rotating cup 40 can receive the processing liquid scattered laterally from the wafer W when the wafer W is subjected to the liquid processing.

  A drain cup 42 and a guide cup 44 are provided around the rotary cup 40, respectively. The drain cup 42 and the guide cup 44 are each formed in a ring shape. The drain cup 42 and the guide cup 44 each have an opening at the top. Here, the position of the drain cup 42 is fixed in the chamber 20. On the other hand, an elevating cylinder (not shown) is connected to the guide cup 44, and the guide cup 44 is moved up and down by the elevating cylinder.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a first discharge portion 46 a and a second discharge portion 46 b are respectively provided below the drain cup 42 and the guide cup 44. Then, depending on the position of the guide cup 44 in the vertical direction, when the wafer W is subjected to the liquid processing, the processing liquid splashed laterally from the wafer W is based on the type of the processing liquid. Are selectively sent to any one of the discharge sections. Specifically, when the guide cup 44 is in the raised position (the state shown in FIG. 5), a predetermined processing liquid scattered from the wafer W to the side, for example, an SC-1 liquid described later, is discharged to the second discharge portion 46b. To be sent to. On the other hand, when the guide cup 44 is in the lowered position, a predetermined processing liquid, for example, an SPM liquid described later, which is scattered laterally from the wafer W is sent to the first discharge unit 46a. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, gas-liquid separators 48a and 48b are connected to the first discharge part 46a and the second discharge part 46b, respectively. The first discharge unit 46a and the second discharge unit 46b perform not only drainage but also exhaustion. As shown in FIG. 5, in the gas-liquid separation units 48a and 48b, the first discharge unit 46a and the second discharge unit 46b The processing liquid and the gas sent from the second discharge part 46b are separated and discharged and exhausted, respectively.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the drain cup 42 is provided with a fixed rinse nozzle 43 that supplies pure water toward the center of the wafer W. The fixed rinsing nozzle 43 discharges a rinsing liquid such as pure water in a parabolic shape toward the center of the wafer W (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 5).

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 is provided around the drain cup 42 and the guide cup 44 in the chamber 20. As shown in FIG. 5, a support member 53 for supporting the cup outer cylinder 50 is connected to the upper part of the cup outer cylinder 50, and a drive mechanism 54 that moves the support member 53 up and down is supported on the support member 53. Is provided. And by raising / lowering the supporting member 53 with the drive mechanism 54, the cup outer periphery cylinder 50 is ascended to the upper position where the upper end of the cup outer periphery cylinder 50 is above the rotating cup 40 as shown in FIG. It is possible to move up and down between the lower position and the lower position. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, a side surface opening 50 m through which the nozzle support arm 82 can pass is provided on the side surface of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. As shown in FIG. 5, an upper opening 50 n is also formed in the upper part of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. The upper opening 50n is closed by the top plate 32 when the cup outer cylinder 50 is in the raised position and the top plate 32 is in the advanced position.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 5, a cleaning unit 52 for cleaning the cup outer cylinder 50 is provided in the chamber 20. The cleaning unit 52 has a storage portion 52a for storing cleaning liquid such as pure water, and the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion 52a when the cup outer peripheral tube 50 is in the lowered position. Soaked in. The cleaning unit 52 is configured to clean the cup outer cylinder 50 by immersing the cup outer cylinder 50 in the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion 52a.

  A cleaning liquid supply pipe (not shown) is connected to the storage portion 52a, and the cleaning liquid is continuously sent to the storage portion 52a through the cleaning liquid supply pipe. Further, a drain pipe 52b is provided at a side portion of the storage portion 52a, and the cleaning liquid in the storage portion 52a is discharged by the drain pipe 52b. That is, the cleaning liquid is continuously sent to the storage part 52a by the cleaning liquid supply pipe, and the cleaning liquid stored in the storage part 52a is cleaned by discharging the cleaning liquid in the storage part 52a through the drain pipe 52b. It has become.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in the present embodiment, a plurality of (specifically, for example, four) nozzle support arms 82 are provided in one liquid processing apparatus 10, and the tip of each nozzle support arm 82 is provided. A nozzle 82a is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, each nozzle support arm 82 is provided with an arm support portion 82b, and each arm support portion 82b is driven in the left-right direction in FIG. 2 by a drive mechanism (not shown). Yes. As a result, each nozzle support arm 82 performs a linear motion in the horizontal direction between the advanced position that has passed through the side opening 50m and advanced into the cup outer cylinder 50 and the retracted position retracted from the cup outer cylinder 50. (Refer to the arrows provided on the nozzle support arms 82 in FIGS. 2 and 3).

  As shown in FIG. 2, an arm cleaning unit 88 is provided in the liquid processing apparatus 10, and each nozzle support arm 82 is cleaned by the arm cleaning unit 88. More specifically, the position of the arm cleaning unit 88 is fixed, and a storage part (not shown) for storing the cleaning liquid is provided in the arm cleaning unit 88. When each nozzle support arm 82 moves from the advanced position to the retracted position or moves from the retracted position to the advanced position, a part of each nozzle support arm 82 is in contact with the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion. As the nozzle support arm 82 moves, the nozzle support arm 82 is cleaned.

  Details of the fluid discharged from the nozzles 82a of the four nozzle support arms 82 (82p to 82s) will be described below with reference to FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 8A, among the four nozzle support arms 82, the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p faces downward, and the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p receives sulfuric acid and The SPM liquid obtained by mixing the hydrogen peroxide solution is discharged downward toward the wafer W. More specifically, a treatment liquid supply pipe 83a connected to the nozzle 82a is provided in the first nozzle support arm 82p, and a hydrogen peroxide solution supply part 83b and a sulfuric acid supply part 83c provided in parallel are provided. Each is connected to the processing liquid supply pipe 83a via a flow rate adjusting valve and an on-off valve. Further, a heater 83d for heating the sulfuric acid supplied from the sulfuric acid supply unit 83c is provided. Then, the hydrogen peroxide solution and the sulfuric acid supplied from the hydrogen peroxide solution supply unit 83b and the sulfuric acid supply unit 83c are mixed, and the SPM solution obtained by mixing this sulfuric acid and the hydrogen peroxide solution is treated liquid supply pipe 83a. Is sent to the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p. In addition, the sulfuric acid supplied from the sulfuric acid supply unit 83c is heated by the heater 83d, and reaction heat is generated by a chemical reaction when sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide are mixed. Thereby, the SPM liquid discharged from the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p becomes a high temperature of, for example, 100 ° C. or more, preferably about 170 ° C.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the nozzle 82a of the second nozzle support arm 82q among the four nozzle support arms 82 faces upward, and the top plate 32 extends from the nozzle 82a of the nozzle support arm 82q. A top plate cleaning solution such as pure water is used to wash the water. More specifically, a top plate cleaning liquid supply pipe 84a connected to the nozzle 82a is provided in the second nozzle support arm 82q, and the top plate cleaning liquid supply unit 84b is connected to the top through a flow rate adjustment valve and an on-off valve. It is connected to the plate cleaning liquid supply pipe 84a. A top plate cleaning solution such as pure water supplied from the top plate cleaning solution supply unit 84b is sent to the nozzle 82a of the second nozzle support arm 82q through the top plate cleaning solution supply pipe 84a.

  As shown in FIG. 8C, the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r among the four nozzle support arms 82 faces downward, and from the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r, A mixed solution of ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide solution (hereinafter also referred to as “SC-1 solution”) or heated pure water is discharged downward toward the wafer W. More specifically, a treatment liquid supply pipe 85a connected to the nozzle 82a is provided in the third nozzle support arm 82r, and the hydrogen peroxide solution supply unit 85b and the ammonia solution supply unit 85c provided in parallel. The pure water supply part 85d and the pure water supply part 85f are connected to the processing liquid supply pipe 85a through a flow rate adjusting valve and an on-off valve, respectively. Further, a heater 85e for heating pure water supplied from the pure water supply unit 85d is provided. Then, the hydrogen peroxide solution and the ammonia solution supplied from the hydrogen peroxide solution supply unit 85b and the ammonia solution supply unit 85c are mixed in a state where the on-off valves corresponding to the pure water supply units 85d and 85f are closed, and the SC. -1 liquid is generated, and this SC-1 liquid is sent to the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r via the processing liquid supply pipe 85a. Also, the pure water supplied from the pure water supply unit 85d is heated by the heater 85e in a state where the on-off valves corresponding to the hydrogen peroxide solution supply unit 85b, the ammonia water supply unit 85c, and the pure water supply unit 85f are closed. The heated pure water can also be sent to the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r via the treatment liquid supply pipe 85a. Further, with the open / close valves corresponding to the hydrogen peroxide solution supply unit 85b, the ammonia water supply unit 85c, and the pure water supply unit 85d closed, normal temperature pure water supplied from the pure water supply unit 85f is supplied to the third source. It can also be sent to the nozzle 82a of the nozzle support arm 82r. The SC-1 liquid and pure water discharged from the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r are at a lower temperature than the SPM liquid discharged from the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p. For example, the temperature is less than 80 ° C.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 8D, the nozzle 82a of the fourth nozzle support arm 82s out of the four nozzle support arms 82 is a downward two-fluid nozzle. More specifically, the pure water supply pipe 86a and the N2 gas supply pipe 86c are connected to the nozzle 82a of the fourth nozzle support arm 82s, respectively, and the pure water supply part 86b is connected to the pure water supply pipe 86a. In addition, an N2 gas supply unit 86d is connected to the N2 gas supply pipe 86c. The pure water supplied from the pure water supply part 86b through the pure water supply pipe 86a and the N2 gas supplied from the N2 gas supply part 86d through the N2 gas supply pipe 86c are mixed in the two-fluid nozzle. By doing so, a droplet of pure water is sprayed downward from the two-fluid nozzle.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the height level of the second nozzle support arm 82q is higher than the height level of the third nozzle support arm 82r, and the second nozzle support arm 82q and the third nozzle support arm 82q. When the nozzle support arms 82r simultaneously advance into the cup outer cylinder 50, the arms do not collide or interfere with each other. Therefore, the step of supplying the cleaning liquid to the top plate 32 by the nozzle 82a of the second nozzle support arm 82q and the SC-1 liquid or pure water to the wafer W by the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r. The process of supplying can be performed simultaneously.

  Further, when each nozzle support arm 82 is in the retracted position, the tip end portion of the nozzle support arm 82 closes the side opening 50m of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 when it is in the raised position. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the atmosphere in the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 from leaking to the outside of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 from the side opening 50m.

  Next, the detailed structure of the top plate 32 and the components located in the vicinity thereof will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a sectional side view showing the structure of the top plate 32 and the components located in the vicinity thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the top plate 32 is held by a top plate holding arm 35. A rotating shaft 34 is attached to the top of the top plate 32, and a bearing 34 a is provided between the rotating shaft 34 and the top plate holding arm 35. For this reason, the rotation shaft 34 can be rotated with respect to the top plate holding arm 35. A pulley 34 b is attached to the rotating shaft 34. On the other hand, a servo motor 36 is provided at the base end of the top plate holding arm 35, and a pulley 36 b is also provided at the tip of the servo motor 36. An endless timing belt 36a is stretched between the pulley 34b of the rotating shaft 34 and the pulley 36b of the servo motor 36, and the rotational driving force of the servo motor 36 is applied to the rotating shaft 34 by the timing belt 36a. The top plate 32 rotates around the rotation shaft 34. Note that a cable 36 c is connected to the servo motor 36, and power is supplied to the servo motor 36 from the outside of the casing of the liquid processing apparatus 10 by this cable 36 c. The rotary shaft 34, the timing belt 36a, the servo motor 36, and the like constitute a top plate rotating mechanism that rotates the top plate 32 on a horizontal plane.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, a pivot shaft 37 is provided at the base end of the top plate holding arm 35, and the top plate holding arm 35 rotates about the pivot shaft 37. Yes. As a result, the top plate 32 moves in the horizontal direction as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4 and the advance position that covers the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 from above as shown by the solid line in FIG. The reciprocation is performed between the retracted position which is the position retracted from the advance position.

  Further, the outer diameter of the top plate 32 is slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. After the top plate 32 moves to the advanced position, when the cup outer cylinder 50 rises from the lowered position to the raised position, the upper end of the cup outer cylinder 50 can rise to a position slightly higher than the top plate 32. Therefore, the top plate 32 is accommodated in the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, the standby area 80 of the liquid processing apparatus 10 is provided with a top plate storage portion 38 that stores the top plate 32 when the top plate 32 is retracted to the retracted position. Yes. An opening is formed on the side of the top plate storage portion 38, and when the top plate 32 moves from the advanced position to the retracted position, the top plate 32 passes through the opening on the side of the top plate storage portion 38. The top plate storage unit 38 is completely stored. The top plate storage unit 38 is provided with an exhaust unit 39, and the atmosphere in the top plate storage unit 38 is always exhausted by the exhaust unit 39. As a result, even when liquid droplets of processing liquid such as SPM liquid adhere to the lower surface of the top plate 32 when performing liquid processing on the wafer W, the top plate 32 is stored in the top plate storage section 38. Since the atmosphere of the treatment liquid such as the SPM liquid is exhausted by the exhaust unit 39, the atmosphere of the treatment liquid does not flow into the standby area 80 or the chamber 20.

  Next, the detailed structure of the air hood 70 and the components located in the vicinity thereof will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a side sectional view showing the structure of the air hood 70 and the components located in the vicinity thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the air hood 70 includes a casing 72 having a lower opening, and a lower plate 77 such as a punching plate provided at a lower portion of the casing 72 and having a plurality of openings 77 a. The filter 76 is provided with one layer or a plurality of layers. Further, a flexible duct 74 is connected to the upper portion of the casing 72, and this duct 74 communicates with the environment outside the casing of the liquid processing apparatus 10. A fan (not shown) for sending gas into the casing 72 is provided at the base end of the duct 74. The lower plate 77 is provided with an opening 77a for allowing the gas in the casing 72 to flow downward. As a result, gas is sent into the casing 72 from the environment outside the housing of the liquid processing apparatus 10 via the duct 74, and after particles contained in the gas are removed by the filter 76 in the casing 72, The gas cleaned by the opening 77a of the plate 77 flows downward.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the air hood 70 is provided with an air hood elevating mechanism 78 that raises and lowers the air hood 70. The air hood elevating mechanism 78 causes the air hood 70 to move up and down between a lowered position that covers the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 from above and a raised position that is located above the lowered position. ing. As described above, FIG. 2 shows a state where the air hood 70 is located at the raised position.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 2, the liquid processing apparatus 10 has a controller 200 that controls the overall operation of the liquid processing apparatus 10. The controller 200 controls the operation of all the functional components (for example, the substrate holding unit 21, the piston mechanism 24, the servo motor 36, the air hood elevating mechanism 78, etc.) of the liquid processing apparatus 10. The controller 200 can be realized by, for example, a general-purpose computer as hardware and a program (such as an apparatus control program and a processing recipe) for operating the computer as software. The software is stored in a storage medium such as a hard disk drive that is fixedly provided in the computer, or is stored in a storage medium that is detachably set in the computer such as a CD-ROM, DVD, or flash memory. Such a storage medium is indicated by reference numeral 201 in FIG. The processor 202 calls a predetermined processing recipe from the storage medium 201 based on an instruction from a user interface (not shown) or the like as necessary, and executes each processing component of the liquid processing apparatus 10 under the control of the controller 200. It operates to perform a predetermined process. The controller 200 may be a system controller that controls the entire liquid processing system shown in FIG.

  Next, a series of cleaning processing steps for removing an unnecessary resist film on the upper surface of the wafer W using the liquid processing apparatus 10 described above will be described with reference to FIGS. A series of steps of the cleaning process described below is performed by the controller 200 controlling the operation of each functional component of the liquid processing apparatus 10.

  First, as shown in FIG. 9A, the top plate 32 is moved to the retracted position, and the top plate 32 is stored in the top plate storage unit 38. Further, the air hood 70 is lowered from the raised position shown in FIG. 2 and is located at the lowered position. Further, the cup outer cylinder 50 is moved to the lowered position so that the side of the substrate holding part 21 is opened. In this state, the lift pin plate 22 and the processing liquid supply pipe 28 in the substrate holding unit 21 are moved upward from the position shown in FIG. 5, and the shutter 94 provided in the opening 94a of the chamber 20 is moved from the opening 94a. The opening 94a is opened by retracting. Then, the wafer W is transferred from the outside of the liquid processing apparatus 10 into the chamber 20 through the opening 94a by the transfer arm 104, and the wafer W is placed on the lift pins 23 of the lift pin plate 22. Thereafter, the transfer arm 104 is Retreat from the chamber 20. At this time, each nozzle support arm 82 is located at a retracted position retracted from the chamber 20. That is, each nozzle support arm 82 stands by in the standby area 80. Further, a gas such as clean air is always sent in the down flow from the air hood 70 into the chamber 20, and the atmosphere in the chamber 20 is replaced by exhausting this gas.

  Next, the lift pin plate 22 and the processing liquid supply pipe 28 are moved downward, and the lift pin plate 22 and the processing liquid supply pipe 28 are positioned at the lowered position as shown in FIG. At this time, each holding member 25 provided on the holding plate 26 supports the wafer W on the lift pins 23 from the side, and slightly separates the wafer W from the lift pins 23.

  Thereafter, or after the lift pin plate 22 is lowered, as shown in FIG. 9B, the air hood 70 is moved from the lowered position to the raised position, and then the top plate 32 is moved from the retracted position to the advanced position. As a result, the wafer W held by the substrate holder 21 is covered with the top plate 32. In addition, after the top plate 32 moves to the advanced position, the top plate 32 is rotated about the rotation shaft 34 along the horizontal plane by applying a rotational driving force to the top plate 32 by the servo motor 36. Then, as shown in FIG.9 (c), the cup outer periphery cylinder 50 is raised from a descending position, and is located in a raising position. More specifically, the top plate 32 is accommodated in the cup outer tube 50 so that the upper end of the cup outer tube 50 is slightly higher than the top plate 32. As a result, a space isolated from the outside by the top plate 32 and the cup outer cylinder 50 is formed around the wafer W. In the following description, the space formed inside the top plate 32 and the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 and isolated from the outside is referred to as a “first processing space”. As will be described later, the first processing space is a space in which liquid processing is performed on the wafer W with an SPM liquid obtained by mixing sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide solution.

  After the cup outer cylinder 50 moves to the ascending position, the first nozzle support arm 82p out of the four nozzle support arms 82 waiting in the standby area 80 is chambered via the side opening 50m of the cup outer cylinder 50. 20 (see FIG. 9D). At this time, the first nozzle support arm 82p performs a linear motion.

  Next, the holding plate 26 and the lift pin plate 22 in the substrate holding unit 21 are rotated. As a result, the wafer W supported by each holding member 25 of the holding plate 26 also rotates. Then, the SPM liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the wafer W from the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p that has advanced into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 with the wafer W rotated. Here, the SPM liquid supplied to the upper surface of the wafer W is at a high temperature, specifically, for example, 100 ° C. or higher, preferably about 170 ° C. In this way, the SPM liquid is supplied to the upper surface of the wafer W, and the SPM processing of the wafer W is performed. By this liquid processing step, the resist on the surface of the wafer W is peeled off by the SPM liquid, and the resist peeled off together with the SPM liquid is sent to the first discharge unit 46a and collected by the centrifugal force of the rotating wafer W. Specifically, when the SPM process is performed on the wafer W, the guide cup 44 is positioned at the lowered position, and thus the SPM liquid and the peeled resist are discharged first. It is sent to the part 46a and collected. Here, while discharging the SPM liquid from the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p toward the wafer W, the nozzle 82a is moved in the horizontal direction in FIG. It becomes possible to supply the SPM liquid.

  When the SPM processing is performed on the wafer W, the first processing space is formed inside the top plate 32 and the cup outer cylinder 50, so that the atmosphere in the first processing space is exposed to the outside. This can be prevented, and the outside atmosphere can be prevented from entering the first processing space. Further, since the top plate 32 is rotated along the horizontal plane, the droplets of the processing liquid such as SPM liquid adhering to the top plate 32 are sent to the inner wall surface of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 by centrifugal force, and this cup outer periphery By dropping due to its own weight along the inner wall surface of the cylinder 50, the droplets of the processing liquid such as the SPM liquid are suppressed from reattaching to the wafer W.

  Thereafter, when the SPM processing for the wafer W is completed, the first nozzle support arm 82p that has advanced into the cup outer cylinder 50 is retracted from the chamber 20 and waits in the standby area 80, as shown in FIG. It becomes like this. At this time, the wafer W and the top plate 32 continue to rotate. Further, when the first nozzle support arm 82p is retracted from the cup outer cylinder 50 and moved to the retracted position, the arm cleaning unit 88 cleans the first nozzle support arm 82p. As a result, dirt such as SPM liquid adhering to the first nozzle support arm 82p can be removed.

  Next, of the four nozzle support arms 82 waiting in the standby region 80, the third nozzle support arm 82r advances into the chamber 20 through the side opening 50m of the cup outer cylinder 50 (FIG. 9 (f)). reference). At this time, the third nozzle support arm 82r performs a linear motion. Then, pure water heated to the center of the wafer W from the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r that has advanced into the cup outer cylinder 50 with the wafer W and the top plate 32 rotated (for example, 80 ℃). At this time, heated pure water is supplied from the processing liquid supply pipe 28 toward the lower surface (back surface) of the wafer W. As a result, the hot rinsing process is performed on the wafer W.

  Note that an intermediate processing step as described below is performed between the SPM process (see FIG. 9D) for the wafer W and the hot rinse process (see FIG. 9F). This intermediate processing step includes a first intermediate processing step, a swing-off processing step, and a second intermediate processing step. Specifically, first, in the first intermediate processing step, a first intermediate processing liquid having a temperature lower than the SPM liquid temperature and higher than the rinsing liquid temperature is supplied to the surface of the wafer W. More specifically, in the first nozzle support arm 82p as shown in FIG. 8A, only the on-off valve on the hydrogen peroxide solution 83b side is closed while the on-off valve on the sulfuric acid supply unit 83c side is opened. Then, only the sulfuric acid heated by the heater 83d is discharged from the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p toward the center of the surface of the wafer W for a predetermined time. At this time, since the hydrogen peroxide solution is not supplied, a chemical reaction between the hydrogen peroxide solution and sulfuric acid does not occur, and the surface of the wafer W is less than the temperature of the SPM solution (for example, 170 ° C.), and Then, sulfuric acid having a temperature (for example, 140 ° C.) higher than the liquid temperature (for example, 80 ° C.) of the rinsing liquid (pure water) is supplied. By performing this first intermediate processing step, the temperature of the wafer W can be gradually decreased to an intermediate temperature instead of rapidly decreasing from the temperature in the SPM processing to the temperature in the rinsing processing. As a result, it is possible to prevent thermal deformation accompanying a rapid temperature change of the wafer W. Thereby, the wafer W can be favorably held by the substrate holding part 21.

  Next, by rotating the wafer W, a swing-off process step is performed in which sulfuric acid is shaken off from the surface of the wafer W and removed. At this time, the wafer W is rotated for a predetermined time at a higher speed than in the SPM process and the first intermediate process. Thereafter, a second intermediate processing step is performed in which a second intermediate processing liquid having a temperature lower than that of the first intermediate processing liquid (sulfuric acid) and higher than or equal to that of the rinsing liquid is supplied to the back surface of the wafer W. More specifically, from the processing liquid supply unit 29 to the processing liquid supply pipe 28, the temperature of the first intermediate processing liquid (sulfuric acid) is lower than the liquid temperature (for example, 140 ° C.) and the temperature of the rinsing liquid (for example, 80 ° C.) or higher. By supplying pure water at a temperature of 80 ° C. (for example, 80 ° C.), 80 ° C. pure water is discharged from the head portion 28a of the processing liquid supply pipe 28 to the back surface of the wafer W. By performing the second intermediate processing step, the temperature of the wafer W can be gradually lowered from the back surface of the wafer W to near the temperature in the rinsing process. In particular, since pure water is supplied to the back surface of the wafer W, even if the first intermediate processing liquid (sulfuric acid) remains on the surface of the wafer W, a rapid chemical reaction with the rinsing liquid (pure water). Occurrence of the reaction can be suppressed, thereby preventing scattering of the reaction product accompanying the chemical reaction and preventing contamination in the cup outer cylinder 50.

  As described above, by performing the intermediate processing step composed of the first intermediate processing step, the swing-off processing step, and the second intermediate processing step between the SPM processing and the hot rinse processing for the wafer W. , It is possible to suppress the occurrence of an abrupt chemical reaction between the SPM liquid and the rinse liquid (pure water), thereby preventing scattering of reaction products accompanying the chemical reaction and preventing contamination in the cup outer cylinder 50. can do.

  When the hot rinsing process for the wafer W is completed, the third nozzle support arm 82r that has advanced into the cup outer cylinder 50 is retracted from the cup outer cylinder 50 in the standby area 80 as shown in FIG. Come to wait. At this time, the wafer W continues to rotate. Further, when the third nozzle support arm 82r is retracted from the cup outer cylinder 50 and moved to the retracted position, the arm cleaning unit 88 cleans the third nozzle support arm 82r. As a result, dirt attached to the third nozzle support arm 82r can be removed. In addition, pure water (for example, 80 ° C.) is supplied from the fixed rinse nozzle 43 toward the center of the wafer W before the third nozzle support arm 82 r is retracted from the cup outer cylinder 50. Since the liquid film is formed on the surface of the wafer W by the fixed rinsing nozzle 43, the surface of the wafer W is not exposed, and particles can be prevented from adhering to the surface of the wafer W.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 10H, the cup outer cylinder 50 is lowered from the raised position and is located at the lowered position. Thereafter, the rotation of the top board 32 is stopped. At this time, the fixed rinse nozzle 43 continues to supply pure water (for example, 80 ° C.) toward the center of the wafer W. When the cup outer cylinder 50 is moved to the lowered position, the cup outer cylinder 50 is immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion 52 a of the cleaning unit 52. As a result, the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 is cleaned, and the liquid droplets of the processing liquid such as the SPM liquid scattered when performing the SPM processing of the wafer W are prevented from remaining on the inner wall of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. can do.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10 (i), the top plate 32 is moved from the advanced position to the retracted position, and the top plate 32 is stored in the top plate storage portion 38. Here, since the atmosphere in the top plate storage unit 38 is always exhausted by the exhaust unit 39, a liquid of a processing solution such as an SPM solution is applied to the lower surface of the top plate 32 when performing the SPM processing of the wafer W. Even when the droplets are attached, the atmosphere of the processing liquid such as the SPM liquid is exhausted by the exhaust part 39 when the top board 32 is stored in the top board storage section 38, so It does not flow into the chamber 20.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 10 (j), the cup outer cylinder 50 cleaned by the cleaning section 52 rises from the lowered position and is located at the raised position. At this time, the fixed rinse nozzle 43 continues to supply pure water (for example, 80 ° C.) toward the center of the wafer W. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 10 (k), the air hood 70 is lowered from the raised position and is located at the lowered position. More specifically, the upper end of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 is brought into contact with or close to the lower surface of the lower plate 77 of the air hood 70. As a result, a space isolated from the outside by the air hood 70 and the cup outer cylinder 50 is formed around the wafer W. In the following description, a space formed inside the air hood 70 and the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 and isolated from the outside is referred to as a “second processing space”. As will be described later, the second processing space is a space in which the gas cleaned by the air hood 70 flows downward.

  Thereafter, of the four nozzle support arms 82 waiting in the standby region 80, the third nozzle support arm 82r advances into the chamber 20 through the side opening 50m of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 (see FIG. 10 (l)). ). At this time, the third nozzle support arm 82r performs a linear motion. Then, from the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r that has advanced into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 in a state where the wafer W rotates and the gas cleaned by the air hood 70 flows in the second processing space. The SC-1 solution is supplied toward the center of the wafer W. Thereby, the resist residue remaining on the surface of the wafer W can be removed. When the liquid processing with the SC-1 liquid is performed on the wafer W, the guide cup 44 is positioned at the ascending position. 2 It is sent to the discharge part 46b and discharged.

  When the liquid processing with the SC-1 liquid is performed on the wafer W, the second processing space is formed inside the air hood 70 and the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, so that the inside of the second processing space is within the second processing space. The atmosphere can be prevented from going outside, and the outside atmosphere can be prevented from entering the second processing space. In addition, since the second processing space is a closed space, the volume of the space in which the processing is performed can be reduced. Thereby, the replacement efficiency of the purified gas in the second processing space can be improved.

  When the liquid processing with the SC-1 liquid on the wafer W is completed, the third nozzle support arm 82r that has advanced into the cup outer cylinder 50 is retracted from the cup outer cylinder 50 as shown in FIG. It waits in the waiting area 80. At this time, the wafer W continues to rotate. Further, when the third nozzle support arm 82r is retracted from the cup outer cylinder 50 and moved to the retracted position, the arm cleaning unit 88 cleans the third nozzle support arm 82r. As a result, dirt such as the SC-1 solution adhering to the third nozzle support arm 82r can be removed. Further, even after the third nozzle support arm 82r is retracted from the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, the gas cleaned by the air hood 70 continues to flow in the second processing space. Thereafter, of the four nozzle support arms 82 waiting in the standby region 80, the third nozzle support arm 82r advances into the chamber 20 through the side opening 50m of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. At this time, the third nozzle support arm 82r performs a linear motion. Then, with the wafer W and the top plate 32 rotated, pure water at room temperature is supplied from the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r that has advanced into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 toward the center of the wafer W. At this time, room-temperature pure water is supplied from the processing liquid supply pipe 28 toward the lower surface (back surface) of the wafer W. As a result, a rinsing process is performed on the wafer W. Thereafter, by rotating the wafer W at a high speed, the wafer W is dried in the second processing space.

  After the liquid processing with the SC-1 liquid on the wafer W is completed and the third nozzle support arm 82r is retracted from the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, before the wafer W is dried, the fourth nozzle support arm is used. The wafer W may be rinsed by advancing 82s into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 and spraying droplets of pure water onto the wafer W by the two-fluid nozzle of the fourth nozzle support arm 82s. In this case, even after the rinsing process for the wafer W is completed and the fourth nozzle support arm 82s is retracted from the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, the gas cleaned by the air hood 70 is within the second processing space. It continues to flow. Thereafter, by rotating the wafer W at a high speed, the wafer W is dried in the second processing space.

  When the drying process of the wafer W is completed, as shown in FIG. 11 (n), the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 is lowered from the raised position and is located at the lowered position, and the side of the substrate holder 21 is opened. become. Thereafter, the lift pin plate 22 and the processing liquid supply pipe 28 in the substrate holding unit 21 are moved upward from the position shown in FIG. 5, and the shutter 94 provided in the opening 94a of the chamber 20 is retracted from the opening 94a. Opening 94a is performed. Then, the transfer arm 104 enters the chamber 20 from the outside of the liquid processing apparatus 10 through the opening 94 a, and the wafer W on the lift pins 23 of the lift pin plate 22 is transferred to the transfer arm 104. Thereafter, the wafer W taken out by the transfer arm 104 is transferred to the outside of the liquid processing apparatus 10. In this way, a series of liquid processing of the wafer W is completed.

  Next, the cleaning process of the top plate 32 will be described with reference to FIG. When cleaning the top plate 32, the air hood 70 is moved from the lowered position to the raised position, and then the top plate 32 is moved from the retracted position to the advanced position. In addition, after the top plate 32 moves to the advanced position, the top plate 32 is rotated about the rotation shaft 34 along the horizontal plane by applying a rotational driving force to the top plate 32 by the servo motor 36. Thereafter, the cup outer cylinder 50 is raised from the lowered position to the raised position.

  Then, after the cup outer cylinder 50 is moved to the ascending position, the second nozzle support arm 82q of the four nozzle support arms 82 waiting in the standby region 80 is chambered via the side opening 50m of the cup outer cylinder 50. Advance into 20. At this time, the second nozzle support arm 82q performs a linear motion.

  Thereafter, with the top plate 32 rotated, a top plate cleaning liquid such as pure water is discharged from the nozzle 82 a of the second nozzle support arm 82 q that has advanced into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 toward the top plate 32. As a result, the SPM liquid or the like adhering to the top plate 32 is removed. Here, the top plate cleaning liquid such as pure water is discharged from the nozzle 82a of the second nozzle support arm 82q toward the top plate 32, and the nozzle 82a is moved in the left-right direction in FIG. Cleaning can be performed evenly over the entire area of the plate 32. Further, when the top plate 32 is cleaned, a closed space is formed inside the top plate 32 and the cup outer cylinder 50, so that the nozzle 82a of the second nozzle support arm 82q It is possible to prevent the discharged top plate cleaning liquid from coming out of the cup outer cylinder 50.

  The cleaning process for the top plate 32 as described above may be performed every time after the resist film removal process and the cleaning process for the wafer W, or may be performed periodically. Moreover, the cleaning process of the top plate 32 can be performed in parallel with the hot rinse process of the wafer W as shown in FIG. When the cleaning process for the top plate 32 and the hot rinse process for the wafer W are performed at the same time, the second nozzle support arm 82q and the third nozzle support arm 82r advance into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 simultaneously. At this time, the height level of the second nozzle support arm 82q is higher than the height level of the third nozzle support arm 82r, and the second nozzle support arm 82q and the third nozzle support arm 82r. At the same time, the arms do not collide or interfere with each other when they enter the cup outer cylinder 50. For this reason, a step of supplying a top plate cleaning liquid such as pure water to the top plate 32 by the nozzle 82a of the second nozzle support arm 82q, and heating the wafer W by the nozzle 82a of the third nozzle support arm 82r. The step of supplying the purified water can be performed simultaneously.

  As described above, according to the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the top plate 32 is in the horizontal position in the horizontal position with the advancing position (see the solid line in FIG. 4) covering the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 from above. The air hood 70 is designed to move in the horizontal direction between the retracted position (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 4) that is retracted from the advanced position, and an air hood 70 for flowing the purified gas downward. The wafer W held by the substrate holder 21 is moved up and down between a lowered position that covers the wafer W from above and a raised position that is located above the lowered position. Thus, when the resist film on the upper surface of the wafer W is removed by the SPM process, the SPM liquid generated on the wafer W and the gas derived from the object to be processed or It is possible to prevent the fumes made of mist from diffusing above the wafer W. For this reason, it is possible to prevent the fumes from contaminating or corroding the inner wall of the chamber 20 above the wafer W and the components in the chamber 20 and generating a substance causing the wafer contamination. In addition, the SPM liquid adhering to the top plate 32 falls onto the wafer W by moving the top plate 32 to the retracted position during the liquid processing with SC-1 liquid and the drying processing performed after the SPM processing. Can be prevented. Furthermore, by flowing a down flow of clean air from the air hood 70 downward toward the upper surface of the wafer W, particles drifting on the wafer W can be removed during liquid processing or drying processing with the SC-1 solution. Adhering to W can be prevented. Therefore, various processes can be performed without contaminating the wafer W.

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 disposed around the rotating cup 40 has a rising position where the upper end is above the rotating cup 40 and a position below the rising position. An upper opening 50n is formed in the upper part of the cup outer cylinder 50. When the cup outer cylinder 50 is in the raised position and the air hood 70 is in the lowered position, a space through which gas flows by the air hood 70 is formed in the cup outer cylinder 50. As a result, a space isolated from the outside by the air hood 70 and the cup outer cylinder 50 is formed around the wafer W held by the substrate holder 21. When the wafer W is subjected to the liquid process or the drying process with the SC-1 liquid, a closed space is formed inside the air hood 70 and the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, so that an atmosphere in the space is formed. Can be prevented from going outside, and the outside atmosphere can be prevented from entering this space. Moreover, since the space formed inside the air hood 70 and the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 is a closed space, the volume of the space in which the processing is performed can be reduced, thereby increasing the processing efficiency. be able to. Specifically, the replacement efficiency of the purified gas in this space can be improved.

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, when the cup outer cylinder 50 is in the raised position and the top plate 32 is in the advanced position, the space for performing the SPM processing of the wafer W is the cup outer cylinder 50. It is designed to be formed inside. Thus, when the SPM process is performed on the wafer W, the closed space is formed inside the top plate 32 and the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, so that the atmosphere in this space is exposed to the outside. It is possible to prevent the outside atmosphere from entering the space.

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a side opening 50m is formed on the side surface of the cup outer cylinder 50, and the nozzle outer arm 50 that supports the nozzle 82a has the cup outer cylinder 50 in the raised position. At a certain time, it moves in the horizontal direction between an advanced position that has advanced into the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 through a side opening 50m on the side surface of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 and a retracted position that has been retracted outward from the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. It has become. Thus, when supplying the processing liquid or the like to the wafer W by the nozzle 82a, the processing liquid can be supplied uniformly over the entire surface of the wafer W by moving the nozzle support arm 82 in the horizontal direction. .

  Moreover, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of this Embodiment, the washing | cleaning part 52 which has the storage part 52a which stores the washing | cleaning liquid for wash | cleaning the cup outer periphery cylinder 50 is provided, and the cup outer periphery cylinder 50 is in a lowered position. In some cases, the cup outer cylinder 50 is immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion 52a. Then, after the SPM liquid is supplied to the wafer W held on the substrate holding unit 21, the cup outer cylinder 50 rises until the space in which the gas flows is formed in the cup outer cylinder 50 by the air hood 70. The cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 is cleaned by the cleaning unit 52 by moving from the position to the lowered position. As described above, after the SPM process is performed on the wafer W, the cup outer cylinder 50 is once lowered to the lowered position and immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion 52a of the cleaning unit 52, thereby removing the SPM liquid and the like. A space through which the gas flows can be formed by the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 and the air hood 70, and this space can be maintained in a clean state in the step after the SPM treatment.

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the top plate 32 includes a top plate rotation mechanism that rotates the top plate 32 on a horizontal plane (specifically, the rotating shaft 34, the timing belt 36a, the servo motor). 36). As a result, when performing the SPM process on the wafer W, the top plate 32 is rotated along the horizontal plane by the top plate rotation mechanism, so that the SPM liquid adhering to the top plate 32 is subjected to centrifugal force by the cup outer cylinder 50. The SPM liquid can be prevented from re-adhering to the wafer W by being sent to the inner wall surface and falling due to its own weight along the inner wall surface of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50.

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, a top plate holding arm 35 that holds the top plate 32 and a turning shaft 37 provided at the base end of the top plate holding arm 35 are provided. By rotating the top plate holding arm 35 about the shaft 37, the top plate 32 is movable between the advanced position and the retracted position. In this case, the top plate 32 can be moved more smoothly than when the top plate 32 is moved linearly.

  Moreover, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of this Embodiment, the top-plate storage part 38 which accommodates the said top plate 32 when the top plate 32 retracts | saves to a retracted position is provided. As a result, when the top plate 32 is retracted to the retracted position, the top plate 32 is stored in the top plate storage portion 38, so that the SPM liquid adhering to the lower surface of the top plate 32 falls and the chamber 20 or the like falls. It is possible to prevent contamination.

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the processing liquid supplied from the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p is a mixed liquid (SPM liquid) of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide solution. Then, a high temperature processing liquid (SPM liquid) is supplied to the wafer W held on the substrate holding unit 21 by the nozzle 82a of the first nozzle support arm 82p. After the high temperature processing liquid is supplied and after the air hood 70 has moved to the lowered position, the purified gas from the air hood 70 is allowed to flow downward while flowing higher than the high temperature processing liquid (SPM). An additional liquid process is performed on the wafer W by another low-temperature process liquid. More specifically, another processing liquid having a lower temperature than the high-temperature processing liquid (SPM liquid) is a mixed liquid (SC-1 liquid) of ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide water. In the present embodiment, the high temperature processing liquid is not limited to the SPM liquid. As long as the processing liquid generates fume, other chemical liquid may be used as the high-temperature processing liquid. As other chemicals, for example, a mixture of sulfuric acid and nitric acid, a mixture of sulfuric acid and buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF), or a mixture of sulfuric acid and diluted buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF) Things are used.

  In addition, the liquid processing apparatus according to the present embodiment is not limited to the above aspect, and various changes can be made.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 12A, the LED lamp 33 may be provided on the top plate holding arm 35 as a top plate heating mechanism for heating the top plate 32. At this time, the LED lamp 33 does not rotate even when the top plate 32 rotates. As described above, the SPM liquid is discharged onto the upper surface of the wafer W in order to remove the resist film provided on the upper surface of the wafer W. The ability of the SPM liquid to remove the resist film depends on the temperature of the SPM liquid. The higher it is, the higher it is. For this reason, an LED lamp 33 is provided in the vicinity of the top plate 32, and the top plate 32 is heated by the LED lamp 33, whereby the atmosphere around the wafer W held by the substrate holding unit 21 is also heated. The discharged SPM liquid is also heated. As a result, the ability of the SPM solution to remove the resist film can be improved. Even when the SPM liquid adheres to the lower surface of the top plate 32, the SPM liquid can be evaporated by the LED lamp 33.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, the outer diameter of the top plate 32 may be larger than the inner diameter of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50. In this case, a groove 32a is formed on the lower surface of the top plate 32. After the top plate 32 moves to the advanced position, the lower surface of the top plate 32 moves when the cup outer cylinder 50 rises from the lowered position to the raised position. The upper end of the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50 enters the groove 32a formed in the above. Even in this case, a space isolated from the outside can be formed around the wafer W by the top plate 32 and the cup outer cylinder 50, and this space is obtained by mixing sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide solution. It is used as a space where liquid processing is performed on the wafer W by the SPM liquid.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the top plate storage unit 38 may be provided with a top plate cleaning mechanism 38 a for cleaning the top plate 32 stored in the top plate storage unit 38. Specifically, the top plate cleaning mechanism 38a includes a plurality of nozzles facing upward, and a cleaning liquid such as pure water is discharged upward from each nozzle. When the top plate 32 is stored in the top plate storage section 38, the cleaning liquid is discharged upward from each nozzle of the top plate cleaning mechanism 38a, whereby the lower surface of the top plate 32 is cleaned. Further, the top plate storage unit 38 is provided with a drainage unit 38b, and cleaning liquid such as pure water supplied from each nozzle of the top plate cleaning mechanism 38a to the top plate 32 is discharged by the drainage unit 38b. It is like that.

  Further, in the liquid processing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment, the nozzle support arms 82 that support the four nozzles 82a are arranged in the horizontal direction between the advance position in the cup outer cylinder 50 and the retract position retracted from the advance position. Instead of the configuration of moving to the wafer W, a processing liquid supply nozzle for supplying the SPM liquid to the wafer W may be installed on the lower surface of the top plate 32. In this case, the installation of the nozzle 82a for supplying the SPM liquid and the nozzle support arm 82 for supporting the nozzle 82a can be omitted.

  Further, in the cleaning process for the wafer W, the liquid treatment with the SC-1 liquid can be omitted. In this case, after the hot rinse process is performed on the wafer W as shown in FIG. 9F, the top plate 32 is moved to the retracted position and the air hood 70 is moved to the lowered position. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 11 (m), the wafer W is rotated at high speed while flowing the gas cleaned by the air hood 70 into the space in the cup outer peripheral cylinder 50, so that the wafer W is dried. become.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Liquid processing apparatus 21 Substrate holding | maintenance part 32 Top plate 40 Rotating cup 70 Air hood 82a Nozzle

Claims (18)

A substrate holder for horizontally holding the substrate;
A nozzle for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
A cup for receiving a processing liquid after being supplied to the substrate by the nozzle, provided to be positioned around the radial direction of the substrate when held by the substrate holding unit;
A top plate that moves in a horizontal direction between an advanced position that covers the substrate held by the substrate holding unit from above and a retracted position that is a position retracted from the advanced position in the horizontal direction;
Provided to freely move up and down between a lowered position that covers the substrate held by the substrate holding unit from above and a raised position that is located above the lowered position, and for flowing the purified gas downward Air hood,
A liquid processing apparatus comprising: It is arranged around the cup, and its upper end is provided so as to be movable up and down between a raised position above the cup and a lowered position located below the raised position, and an upper opening is formed in the upper part. A cylindrical cup outer peripheral cylinder,
The space where the purified gas flows is formed in the cup outer cylinder when the cup outer cylinder is in the raised position and the air hood is in the lowered position. Liquid processing equipment.   3. A space for performing liquid processing of a substrate is formed in the cup outer cylinder when the cup outer cylinder is in the raised position and the top plate is in the advanced position. The liquid processing apparatus as described. A side opening is formed on the side surface of the cup outer cylinder,
Supporting the nozzle, and when the cup outer cylinder is in the raised position, the advancing position that has advanced into the cup outer cylinder via the side opening on the side surface of the cup outer cylinder and outward from the cup outer cylinder 4. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a nozzle support arm that moves in a horizontal direction between the retracted position and the retracted position. A cleaning part for cleaning the cup outer cylinder, further comprising a storing part for storing a cleaning liquid,
When the cup outer cylinder is in the lowered position, the cup outer cylinder is immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion,
After the processing liquid is supplied to the substrate held by the substrate holding portion by the nozzle, the cup outer peripheral cylinder is in the period until the space through which the gas flows by the air hood is formed in the cup outer peripheral cylinder. 5. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the cup outer peripheral cylinder is cleaned by the cleaning unit by moving from the raised position to the lowered position. 6.   The liquid processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the top plate is provided with a top plate rotation mechanism that rotates the top plate on a horizontal plane.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a top plate heating mechanism for heating the top plate. A top plate holding arm for holding the top plate;
A shaft provided at a proximal end of the top plate holding arm;
Further comprising
The top plate is freely movable between the advanced position and the retracted position by rotating the top plate holding arm about the axis. The liquid processing apparatus according to one item.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a top plate storage unit that stores the top plate when the top plate is retracted to the retracted position.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the top plate storage unit is provided with a top plate cleaning mechanism for cleaning the top plate stored in the top plate storage unit.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid supplied by the nozzle is a mixed liquid of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide solution.   After the processing liquid is supplied from the nozzle to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, the gas cleaned by the air hood moves downward after the air hood moves to the lowered position. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an additional liquid processing is performed on the substrate with another processing liquid having a temperature lower than that of the processing liquid.   The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the other low temperature processing solution is a mixed solution of ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide solution. Holding the substrate in a horizontal position;
Covering the held substrate with a top plate from above;
Performing a liquid treatment of the substrate by supplying a treatment liquid to the substrate in a state where the substrate is covered from above by the top plate;
Moving the top plate in a horizontal direction to a retreat position that retreats from a position covering the substrate from above in the horizontal direction;
Lowering the air hood for flowing the cleaned gas downward and covering the substrate from above with the air hood;
Drying the substrate while flowing the gas cleaned by the air hood downward;
A liquid treatment method comprising:   The liquid processing method according to claim 14, wherein the processing liquid supplied to the substrate in the step of liquid processing the substrate is a mixed liquid of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide.   After the step of covering the substrate from above with the air hood and before the step of drying the substrate, the gas cleaned by the air hood is allowed to flow downward while the other processing liquid having a lower temperature than the processing liquid. The liquid processing method according to claim 14, further comprising a step of performing additional liquid processing on the substrate.   17. The liquid processing method according to claim 16, wherein the other low temperature processing solution is a mixed solution of ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide solution. A cylindrical cup outer cylinder provided with an upper opening in the upper part is disposed around the substrate, and is provided so as to be movable up and down between the raised position and a lowered position located below the raised position,
When the cup outer cylinder is in the raised position and the top plate is in a position to cover the substrate from above, a space for liquid processing of the substrate is formed in the cup outer cylinder. ,
A cleaning unit for storing the cleaning liquid for storing the cup outer cylinder is provided,
When the cup outer cylinder is in the lowered position, the cup outer cylinder is immersed in the cleaning liquid stored in the storage portion,
After supplying the processing liquid to the substrate held in the space, the cup outer peripheral tube is further moved from the raised position to the lowered position, thereby cleaning the cup outer peripheral tube by the cleaning unit. The liquid processing method according to claim 14, wherein the liquid processing method is performed.

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