JP6125449B2 - Substrate liquid processing apparatus and substrate liquid processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a substrate liquid processing apparatus and a substrate liquid processing method for performing liquid processing on a substrate by supplying the processing liquid to the substrate.

  In manufacturing a semiconductor device, various liquid treatments such as wet etching and cleaning are performed on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer. In order to perform such liquid processing, a substrate liquid processing apparatus is used. The substrate liquid processing apparatus includes, for example, a spin chuck that holds and rotates a substrate in a horizontal position, a liquid receiving cup that is provided around the substrate held by the spin chuck and receives a processing liquid scattered from the substrate, and a spin chuck A nozzle for supplying the processing liquid to the substrate held on the substrate, a processing position that supports the nozzle and is positioned directly above the center of the substrate, and a retreat position that is positioned outside the substrate in plan view from above the substrate. And a nozzle arm for moving the nozzle. When the nozzle is in the processing position, the nozzle arm is positioned above the substrate and extends in the radial direction of the substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In the substrate liquid processing apparatus of the above type, in order to control the atmosphere in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate, a clean air downflow is usually formed by an FFU (fan filter unit) installed above the substrate. Since the internal space of the liquid receiving cup is sucked, the downflow is drawn into the cup while passing near the surface of the substrate. By this flow, the atmosphere in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate is maintained clean, and the mist of the processing liquid scattered from the substrate is prevented or suppressed from reattaching to the substrate.

  When the nozzle arm is located above the substrate, the above-described downflow is disturbed by the nozzle arm. When semiconductor devices are further miniaturized or when processing is performed on a large substrate such as a next-generation 18-inch wafer, in-plane processing non-uniformity due to such disturbance of the air flow Can be a problem.

  In order to solve this problem, the nozzle is fixed at a predetermined position outside the substrate in a plan view from above the substrate, not above the center of the substrate, and processing is performed from the nozzle toward the substrate (for example, aiming at the substrate center). It is conceivable to discharge the liquid. However, such a nozzle can only discharge the processing liquid toward the substrate. In the actual operation of the substrate liquid processing apparatus, an operation called dummy dispensing is performed, but the above-mentioned nozzle cannot cope with dummy dispensing. “Dummy dispense” means that the liquid is supplied from the nozzle to a position where there is no wafer W. For example, the pipe connected to the nozzle is heated (cooled), and the temperature or composition is stable immediately after the supply is started. This is done for the purpose of disposing of no processing solution until it becomes stable.

JP 2007-263485 A

  An object of the present invention is to provide a configuration that enables dummy dispensing even if the nozzle is fixed in a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid from the outside of the substrate toward the substrate.

  According to the present invention, a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate, a collection cup that receives and collects the processing liquid supplied to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and a substrate held by the substrate holding unit A nozzle that discharges a processing liquid toward a substrate held by the substrate holding unit from a position that is radially outside the peripheral edge of the substrate and above the recovery cup, and the substrate holding unit and the nozzle There is provided a substrate liquid processing apparatus comprising a shielding position located between and a shielding member having a shielding wall movable between a shielding position retracted from the shielding position.

  Further, according to the present invention, the substrate holding unit that holds the substrate, the collection cup that receives and collects the processing liquid supplied to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and the substrate holding unit holds the substrate. A nozzle that discharges a processing liquid toward a substrate held by the substrate holding unit from a position radially outside the peripheral edge of the substrate and above the recovery cup; and the substrate holding unit and the nozzle And a shielding member having a shielding wall movable between a shielding position located between the shielding position and a retracted position retracted from the shielding position. When the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle toward the substrate held by the substrate holding unit to perform the liquid processing on the substrate, the shielding member is positioned at the retracted position, and the processing liquid is disposed in the dummy disposition from the nozzle. When performing the cleaning, the shielding member is positioned at the shielding position, and the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle collides against the shielding wall to prevent the processing liquid from reaching the substrate holding portion. A processing method is provided.

  According to the present invention, the movable shielding member can prevent the liquid discharged from the nozzle from reaching the substrate holding portion, so that even if the nozzle is fixed at a position outside the substrate, the substrate holding portion Alternatively, dummy dispensing can be performed without supplying a processing liquid to a substrate that is not to be liquid processed.

It is a top view showing a schematic structure of a substrate processing system concerning one embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal section showing the composition of the processing unit contained in a substrate processing system. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the liquid receiving part of a collection | recovery cup. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the partition wall provided in the shielding member and the liquid guide member. It is a schematic sectional drawing for demonstrating the effect | action at the time of dummy dispensing. It is a schematic sectional drawing explaining the effect | action at the time of a wafer process. It is the schematic explaining the form of another shielding member.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system according to the present embodiment. In the following, in order to clarify the positional relationship, the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis that are orthogonal to each other are defined, and the positive direction of the Z axis is the vertically upward direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing system 1 includes a carry-in / out station 2 and a processing station 3. The carry-in / out station 2 and the processing station 3 are provided adjacent to each other.

  The carry-in / out station 2 includes a carrier placement unit 11 and a transport unit 12. A plurality of carriers C that accommodate a plurality of wafers W in a horizontal state are placed on the carrier placement unit 11.

  The transport unit 12 is provided adjacent to the carrier placement unit 11 and includes a substrate transport device 13 and a delivery unit 14 inside. The substrate transfer device 13 includes a substrate holding mechanism that holds the wafer W. Further, the substrate transfer device 13 can move in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction and turn around the vertical axis, and transfers the wafer W between the carrier C and the delivery unit 14 using the substrate holding mechanism. Do.

  The processing station 3 is provided adjacent to the transfer unit 12. The processing station 3 includes a transport unit 15 and a plurality of processing units 16. The plurality of processing units 16 are provided side by side on the transport unit 15.

  The transport unit 15 includes a substrate transport device 17 inside. The substrate transfer device 17 includes a substrate holding mechanism that holds the wafer W. Further, the substrate transfer device 17 can move in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction and can turn around the vertical axis, and transfers the wafer W between the delivery unit 14 and the processing unit 16 using the substrate holding mechanism. I do.

  The processing unit 16 performs predetermined substrate processing on the wafer W transferred by the substrate transfer device 17.

  Further, the substrate processing system 1 includes a control device 4. The control device 4 is a computer, for example, and includes a control unit 18 and a storage unit 19. The storage unit 19 stores a program for controlling various processes executed in the substrate processing system 1. The control unit 18 controls the operation of the substrate processing system 1 by reading and executing the program stored in the storage unit 19.

  Such a program may be recorded on a computer-readable storage medium, and may be installed in the storage unit 19 of the control device 4 from the storage medium. Examples of the computer-readable storage medium include a hard disk (HD), a flexible disk (FD), a compact disk (CD), a magnetic optical disk (MO), and a memory card.

  In the substrate processing system 1 configured as described above, first, the substrate transfer device 13 of the loading / unloading station 2 takes out the wafer W from the carrier C placed on the carrier placement unit 11 and receives the taken-out wafer W. Place on the transfer section 14. The wafer W placed on the delivery unit 14 is taken out from the delivery unit 14 by the substrate transfer device 17 of the processing station 3 and carried into the processing unit 16.

  The wafer W loaded into the processing unit 16 is processed by the processing unit 16, then unloaded from the processing unit 16 by the substrate transfer device 17, and placed on the delivery unit 14. Then, the processed wafer W placed on the delivery unit 14 is returned to the carrier C of the carrier platform 11 by the substrate transfer device 13.

  Next, the configuration of the processing unit 16 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the processing unit 16 includes a chamber 20, a substrate holding mechanism 30, a processing fluid supply unit 40, and a recovery cup 50.

  The chamber 20 accommodates the substrate holding mechanism 30, the processing fluid supply unit 40, and the recovery cup 50. An FFU (Fan Filter Unit) 21 is provided on the ceiling of the chamber 20. The FFU 21 forms a down flow of clean gas (for example, clean air) in the chamber 20.

  The substrate holding mechanism 30 includes a holding unit 31, a support unit 32, and a driving unit 33. In the present embodiment, the holding unit 31 is composed of a vacuum chuck that sucks the back surface (lower surface) of the wafer W. The holding unit 31 holds the wafer W horizontally. The support | pillar part 32 is a member extended in a perpendicular direction, and supports the holding | maintenance part 31 horizontally in the front-end | tip part. The drive unit 33 can raise and lower the support column 32 while rotating the support column 32 around the vertical axis. The substrate holding mechanism 30 rotates the support unit 32 by rotating the support unit 32 using the drive unit 33, thereby rotating the wafer W held by the support unit 31. .

  Further, the drive unit 33 moves the holding unit 31 up and down between a processing position for processing the wafer W (position shown in FIG. 2) and a delivery position (not shown) above the processing position. It also has a function to make it. The wafer W can be delivered between the holding unit 31 at the delivery position and the wafer holder (not shown in FIG. 2) of the substrate transfer apparatus 17 that has entered the processing unit 16.

  The processing fluid supply unit 40 includes a plurality of processing liquid supply nozzles 400 (hereinafter simply referred to as “nozzles 400”). The plurality of nozzles 400 are arranged at different angular positions in the circumferential direction of the recovery cup 50, but only one of them is visible in FIG. The plurality of nozzles 400 are connected to different processing liquid supply mechanisms (not shown). The processing liquid supply mechanism includes an on-off valve, a flow rate control mechanism, and the like (not shown). Examples of the treatment liquid include an acid treatment liquid, an alkali treatment liquid, an organic treatment liquid, and pure water.

  Each nozzle 400 is fixed at a position radially outside the periphery of the wafer W held by the substrate holding mechanism 30 and above the collection cup 50. A mechanism for moving the nozzle 400 is not provided, and the nozzle 400 cannot move.

  The collection cup 50 is disposed so as to surround the holding unit 31, and collects the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W by the rotation of the holding unit 31.

  The recovery cup 50 includes a ring-shaped liquid guide element 520 that forms a first component of the recovery cup 50 and a ring-shaped liquid recovery element 540 that forms a second component of the recovery cup 50. The liquid guide element 520 is disposed on the outer side in the radial direction of the wafer W held by the substrate holding mechanism 30 so as to surround the periphery of the wafer W. The liquid recovery element 540 is provided below the liquid guide element 520 and connected to the liquid guide element 520.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the liquid guide element 520 has a ring-shaped liquid guide surface 522 that faces obliquely downward and includes an inclined surface that decreases as it goes outward in the radial direction. The processing liquid that scatters from the rotating wafer W by centrifugal force collides with the liquid guide surface 522. The processing liquid that has collided with the liquid guide surface 522 falls downward, or flows downward along the liquid guide surface 522 and then falls downward, and enters a ring-shaped recess 542 formed in the liquid recovery element 540. Led.

  A drain port 546 opens at the lowest position of the bottom surface 544 of the recess 542. The bottom surface 544 of the recess 542 is inclined so as to become lower toward the drainage port 546. Accordingly, almost all of the processing liquid scattered from the rotating wafer W flows out from the liquid discharge port 546.

  A drainage pipe 548 is connected to the drainage port 546. The drainage pipe 548 extends through the collection cup 50 to the outside of the chamber 20. A drainage switching mechanism 500 having a plurality of on-off valves 550a, 550b, and 550c is connected to the drainage pipe 548, and the drainage pipe 548 has flowed down by switching the on-off valves 550a, 550b, and 550c. The treatment liquid can be selectively passed to an acid waste liquid system, an alkaline waste liquid system, and an organic waste liquid system installed in a semiconductor device manufacturing factory.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the liquid recovery element 540 has a ring-shaped outer peripheral wall 552 at the outermost peripheral portion. The inner peripheral side portion of the upper end portion of the ring-shaped outer peripheral wall 552 is intermittently removed in the circumferential direction, whereby an arc-shaped recess 554 is intermittently formed on the upper end surface of the outer peripheral wall 552. In a portion where the arcuate recess 554 is not formed, the liquid recovery element 540 and the liquid guide element 520 are coupled by a coupling tool such as a screw (not shown) extending in the vertical direction.

  In the portion where the arc-shaped recess 554 is formed, the exhaust path 556 extends vertically downward from the upper end surface of the outer peripheral wall 552, that is, the bottom surface of the arc-shaped recess 554, and penetrates the liquid recovery element 540. ing. The lower end of the exhaust path 556 is open to the exhaust chamber 560.

  The internal space of the exhaust chamber 560 is divided into an upper chamber 560a and a lower chamber 560b by a rectifying plate 562 formed with a large number of holes. An exhaust pipe 563 is connected to the lower chamber 560b. A drainage switching mechanism 564 having open / close valves 564a, 564b, and 564c is connected to the exhaust pipe 563. By switching the open / close valves 564a, 564b, and 564c as appropriate, the atmosphere in the lower chamber 560b is changed to a semiconductor device manufacture. It can be selectively sent to an acid exhaust system, an alkaline exhaust system, or an organic exhaust system installed in a factory.

Lower chamber 560 b is always acid of the exhaust system, alkaline exhaust system, because it is connected to any one of the exhaust system of the organic, the lower chamber 560 b becomes depressurized sucked constantly Yes. Accordingly, the flow of clean air flowing downward from the FFU 21 flows into the space between the liquid guide element 520 and the liquid recovery element 540 through the gap between the wafer W and the liquid guide element 520, and further has an arc shape. It flows into the exhaust passage 556 through the gap between the liquid recovery element 540 and the liquid guide element 520 corresponding to the recess 554, and is sequentially discharged through the upper chamber 560a and the lower chamber 560b to the exhaust pipe 563. (See arrow FB in FIG. 5B). A part of the processing liquid that is misted from the wafer W by riding on the airflow is also discharged to the exhaust system.

  The rectifying plate 562 serves to make the gas flow from the upper chamber 560 a toward the lower chamber 560 b uniform with respect to the circumferential direction of the recovery cup 50.

  The nozzle 400 described above is firmly fixed to the upper surface 526 of the liquid guide element 520 that forms the upper surface of the recovery cup 50. The upper surface 526 includes a substantially horizontal ring-shaped portion 526a on the inner peripheral side, a substantially horizontal ring-shaped portion 526c on the outer peripheral side (corresponding to the upper surface of the outer peripheral portion 524 of the liquid guide element 520), a portion 526a and a portion 526c. A ring-shaped inclined portion 526b for connecting the two. The inclined portion 526b is inclined so as to become lower as going outward in the radial direction.

  A ring-shaped shielding cover 570 is provided in a region outside the wafer W and above the collection cup 50. The shielding cover 570 includes a ceiling wall 572 that covers the upper surface 526 of the liquid guide element 520 and the nozzle 400 from above, an inner peripheral wall 574 that extends downward (in the illustrated example, obliquely downward) from the inner peripheral end of the ceiling wall 572, and a ceiling wall And an outer peripheral wall 576 extending downward (vertically downward in the illustrated example) from the outer peripheral end portion of 572.

  The shielding cover 570 is moved up and down by the lifting drive mechanism 577 schematically shown in FIG. 2, and is positioned between the wafer W and the nozzle 400 to block the liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 from reaching the wafer W. A position (indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2) and a retracted position (indicated by a chain line in FIG. 2) allowing the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 to reach the wafer W can be taken. The elevating drive mechanism 577 can be constituted by, for example, an air cylinder, a ball screw mechanism, or the like.

  When the shielding cover 570 is in the shielding position, the inner peripheral wall 574 is a ray of processing liquid ejected (injected) from the ejection port of the nozzle 400 toward the center of the wafer W (a chain line extending from the nozzle 420 in FIG. 2). Located above, the flow of the processing liquid can be blocked. That is, at least a part of the shielding cover 570 has a function as a “shielding wall” that blocks the flow of the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 toward the wafer W. As will be apparent from the description below, the function as a shielding wall is provided by at least the inner peripheral wall 574 and the inner peripheral side portion of the ceiling wall 572.

Treatment liquid that has collided with the inner wall 574, in order to reliably prevent the flow towards the the wafer W, among the surface 575 facing the nozzle 400 of the inner circumferential wall 574, so as to be directed radially outwardly in accordance yuku the lower side Inclined. Thus, treatment liquid from the nozzle 400 collides with the inner surface 575 of the inner circumferential wall 574 is raised along the inner surface 575, radially outward at a portion where the inner peripheral wall 574 and the ceiling wall 572 is connected, i.e. the wafer W It is turned away from the direction.

  In particular, as shown in detail in FIG. 4, each of the shielding cover 570 and the liquid guide element 520 is provided with partition walls 578 and 528 each having a substantially “U” shape (or a square bracket () shape) in plan view. ing. One partition wall 578 and 528 is provided corresponding to each one nozzle 400.

  The partition wall 578 has a pair of side wall bodies 578 a located on both sides of the nozzle 400 and a rear wall body 578 b located behind the nozzle 400. The front end portion of each side wall body 578a is connected to the inner peripheral wall 574 of the shielding cover.

  The partition wall 528 has a pair of side wall bodies 528 a located on both sides of the nozzle 400 and a rear wall body 528 b located behind the nozzle 400.

  A partition wall 528 provided in portions 526 b and 526 c of the upper surface 526 of the liquid guide element 520 surrounds the nozzle 400. A partition wall 578 provided on the lower surface of the shielding cover 570 can be fitted into the partition wall 528. However, when the shielding cover 570 is in the shielding position, there is a gap between the partition wall 528 and the partition wall 578 so that gas can flow through the gap. The partition walls do not generate dust due to interference.

  The partition wall 578 provided on the lower surface of the shielding cover 570 serves as a scattering prevention wall that prevents the liquid that collides with the inner peripheral wall 574 and bounces off from the area surrounded by the partition wall 578. .

  The partition wall 528 provided on the upper surface 526 of the liquid guide element 520 is a weir that prevents the processing liquid that collides with the inner peripheral wall 574 and bounces back and falls on the upper surface 526 from flowing out from the area surrounded by the partition wall 528. To play a role.

  A drainage port 530 is formed in the lowest portion 526 c of the outer periphery of the upper surface 526 of the liquid guide element 520 surrounded by the partition wall 528.

In plan view, the lower edge of the surface 575 facing the nozzle 400 of the inner peripheral wall 574 of the shield cover 570 is in the range of the inclined portion 526c of the upper surface 526, i.e., a line in the vertical direction from the lower edge of the inner surface 575 , The line (which corresponds to the vertical projection of the lower edge) passes through the inclined portion 526c of the upper surface 526. Thus, treatment liquid dripped from among the surface 575 facing the nozzle 400 of the inner peripheral wall 574, fall to the inclined portion 526c of the upper surface 526.

  A drainage path 532 that extends through the liquid guide element 520 and opens to the side circumferential surface of the outer peripheral portion 524 is connected to the drainage port 530. A pipe 534 (schematically indicated by an arrow in FIG. 5A) that extends through the recovery cup 50 to the outside of the chamber 20 is connected to the drainage path 532. The pipe 534 is connected to a factory waste liquid system corresponding to the type of processing liquid discharged from the corresponding nozzle 400.

  The outer peripheral wall 576 of the shielding cover 570 extends downward in the vertical direction to a position slightly higher than the lower end of the outer peripheral wall 552 of the liquid recovery element 540. A ring-shaped gap 582 serving as an exhaust passage is formed between the outer peripheral wall 576, the outermost peripheral surface of the liquid guide element 520 that faces the outer peripheral wall 536 in the radial direction, and the outer peripheral wall 552 of the liquid recovery element 540. ing. The gap 582 communicates with the upper chamber 560a of the exhaust chamber 560 through a plurality of vertically extending communication passages 584 provided at intervals in the circumferential direction on the inner peripheral surface of the lower portion of the recovery cup 50.

  Next, the operation of the processing unit 16 will be described.

  When normal liquid processing is performed on the wafer W, the substrate transfer device 17 (see FIG. 1) holding the wafer W enters the chamber 20 and transfers the wafer W to the holding unit 31 raised to the delivery position. The holding unit 31 that has received the wafer W is lowered to the processing position (position shown in FIG. 2). Further, the shielding cover 570 is raised to a retracted position (position indicated by a chain line in FIG. 2; see also FIG. 5B).

  In this state, the wafer W is rotated, and a predetermined processing liquid is discharged from one of the plurality of nozzles 400 toward the center of the wafer W. At this time, since the shielding cover 570 is in the retracted position and does not block the radiation of the processing liquid from the nozzle 400, the processing liquid reaches the center of the wafer W as shown in FIG. The processing liquid that has reached the center of the wafer W spreads toward the periphery of the wafer W by centrifugal force, and the entire surface of the wafer W is covered with a liquid film of the processing liquid. By continuing this state for a predetermined time, a predetermined liquid treatment is performed on the wafer W.

  As already described, the processing liquid splashing outward of the wafer W due to the centrifugal force collides with the liquid guide element 520 and then falls into the liquid recovery element 540 and out of the chamber 20 through the drain pipe 548. Then, it is discharged to the factory waste liquid system corresponding to the processing liquid used through the drain liquid switching mechanism 500 that is appropriately switched.

  Also, the clean air from the FFU 21 passes through the gap between the wafer W and the liquid guide element 520 into the space between the liquid guide element 520 and the liquid recovery element 540 as shown by the arrow FB in FIG. 5B. In addition, it flows into the exhaust passage 556 through a gap between the liquid recovery element 540 and the liquid guide element 520 formed at a position corresponding to the recess 554, and sequentially passes through the upper chamber 560a and the lower chamber 560b. Then, it is discharged to the exhaust pipe 563. A part of the processing liquid that is misted from the wafer W by riding on the airflow is also discharged to the exhaust system.

  When a processing liquid is supplied from a certain nozzle 400 for a predetermined time and one process of a series of liquid processing steps is completed, according to the contents of the process recipe defining the processing procedure for the wafer W, the process is performed according to the same procedure as described above. The processing liquid is supplied from the nozzle 400 to the wafer W, and another process is executed. As an example, a series of liquid treatments include (1) a chemical treatment process, (2) a pure water rinse process, (3) another chemical treatment process, (4) a pure water rinse process, and (5) a process as necessary. (3) The repetition of (4), (6) the drying accelerating liquid replacement step by supplying isopropyl alcohol or the like, and (7) the spin drying step are executed. In each of the above steps, different processing liquids are supplied from different nozzles 400.

  When the above series of liquid processing is completed, the wafer W is unloaded from the processing unit 16 in the reverse order of the above.

  When performing dummy dispensing from the nozzle 400, the shielding cover 570 is positioned at the shielding position (see also FIG. 5A) indicated by a solid line in FIG. In this state, the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle 400. At this time, different processing liquids may be simultaneously discharged from the plurality of nozzles 400.

The processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 collides with the inner surface 575 of the inner peripheral wall 574 of the shielding cover 570, and the course is changed. Specifically, the treatment liquid may rebound radially outwardly obliquely upward or toward the inner surface 575, or rises along the inner surface 575, part radially outwardly and the inner peripheral wall 574 and the ceiling wall 572 is connected Turned to.

At this time, scattering of the processing liquid in the circumferential direction is prevented by the side wall body 578a of the partition wall 578. The processing liquid traveling outward in the radial direction collides with the rear wall body 578 b of the partition wall 578 and is dropped downward. Therefore, the treatment liquid that has collided with the inner surface 575 of the inner peripheral wall 574, even through what path, eventually, the portion surrounded by the partition wall 528 of the upper surface 526 of the liquid guide elements 520 drop down.

  The processing liquid that has fallen on the inclined portion 526b of the upper surface 526 of the liquid guide element 520 flows radially outward along the inclination, and gathers at a position corresponding to the lowest outermost portion 526c of the upper surface 526. This processing liquid flows into the drainage channel 532 from the drainage port 530, and then flows out to the factory wastewater system corresponding to the type of the processing liquid through the pipe 534 schematically shown by the arrow in FIG. 5A. To do.

  As described above, when the shielding cover 570 is in the shielding position, the partition wall 578 and the partition wall 528 are not in close contact with each other, and there is a gap through which gas flows. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5A, the gas in the space surrounded by the partition wall 578 and the partition wall 528 flows from the gap between the rear wall body 578 b of the partition wall 578 and the rear wall body 528 b of the partition wall 528. Can flow radially outward. There is also a gap between the side wall body 578a of the partition wall 578 and the side wall body 528a of the partition wall 528, but this gap is smaller than the gap between the rear wall body 578b and the rear wall body 528b. Thereby, most of the gas in the space surrounded by the partition wall 578 and the partition wall 528 flows out of the space through the gap between the rear wall body 578b and the rear wall body 528b. For this reason, the air smoothly flows into a gap 528 described later, and as a result, the air flow in the space near the nozzle 400 becomes smooth, and the mist of the processing liquid does not stay in the vicinity of the nozzle 400 for a long time. .

  As described above, the lower chamber 560b of the exhaust chamber 560 is always exhausted and is in a decompressed state. Therefore, a space in which part of the flow of clean air from the FFU 21 is surrounded by the partition wall 578 and the partition wall 528 through the gap between the lower end of the inner peripheral wall 574 of the shielding cover 570 and the liquid guide element 520. It is drawn into (a space surrounding the nozzle 400). Then, the clean air flows out from the gap between the rear wall body 578b of the partition wall 578 and the rear wall body 528b of the partition wall 528, and passes through the gap 582, the communication path 584, the upper chamber 560a and the lower chamber 560b of the exhaust chamber 560. The exhaust gas passes through the exhaust pipe 563 and is discharged to the factory exhaust system connected to the exhaust pipe 563 at that time.

  For the gas flow described above when the shielding cover 570 is in the shielding position, refer to the three arrows indicated by the reference symbol FA in FIG. 5A. Further, even when the shielding cover 570 is in the retracted position, there is an airflow FA 'that flows through substantially the same path as the airflow FA that occurs when the shielding cover 570 is in the shielding position (see FIG. 5B). Even when the shielding cover 570 is in the shielding position, there is substantially the same airflow as the airflow passing between the liquid guide element 520 and the liquid recovery element 540 indicated by the arrow FB in FIG. 5B. Not shown in FIG. 5A.

  When the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 collides with the inner peripheral wall 574 of the shielding cover 570, a part of the processing liquid is misted and drifts in the space surrounded by the partition wall 578 and the partition wall 528. However, this mist rides on the flow of the clean gas, and the mist-treated processing liquid drifting in the space surrounded by the partition wall 578 and the partition wall 528 is discharged to the factory exhaust system. Further, since the clean gas from the FFU 21 is drawn into the space surrounded by the partition wall 578 and the partition wall 528, the gap between the lower end of the inner peripheral wall 574 of the shielding cover 570 and the liquid guide element 520. The mist of the processing liquid does not flow out to the wafer W side through it. For this reason, contamination by the mist of the wafer W and its neighboring members is prevented.

  According to the above embodiment, the following advantages can be obtained. When the processing liquid supply nozzle supported by the nozzle arm is positioned right above the wafer center, and the processing liquid is supplied, the air current in the vicinity of the surface of the wafer W is disturbed by the nozzle arm, so that the in-plane uniformity of the processing is achieved. It can have adverse effects. On the other hand, in the above-described embodiment, the processing liquid is supplied to the wafer W from the nozzle 400 that is fixed to a position outside the wafer W held by the holding unit 31 in a plan view and above the collection cup 50. doing. That is, in the above embodiment, there is no factor that disturbs the airflow like the nozzle arm, so that the airflow in the vicinity of the surface of the wafer W can be made uniform, and as a result, the in-plane uniformity of processing can be improved.

  When the stationary nozzle 400, that is, the nozzle 400 that always faces the direction of the wafer W is used, a problem that dummy dispensing cannot be performed may occur. However, in the above embodiment, the movable shielding cover 570 is provided so that the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 cannot reach the wafer W by the shielding cover 570 at the shielding position, so that dummy dispensing can be performed without any problem. Can do. Of course, the processing liquid can be supplied from the nozzle 400 to the wafer W by removing the shielding cover 570 from the shielding position.

  Note that the nozzle 400 may be provided with a mechanism for finely adjusting the direction (the depression angle or the elevation angle) of the discharge port for the purpose of finely adjusting the drop point of the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 onto the wafer W. In addition, a mechanism for finely adjusting the radial position of the nozzle 400 (that is, the distance from the center of the wafer W) by a slight amount of, for example, several millimeters to several centimeters may be provided. When the nozzle 400 is moved by such a fine adjustment mechanism, dummy dispensing cannot be performed without supplying the processing liquid to the holding unit 31 or the wafer W that is not to be liquid processed. Providing a movable shielding cover 570 is beneficial. That is, the above advantages are not obtained only when the nozzle 400 is fixed and completely stationary.

  In the above embodiment, the shielding cover 570 is a ring-shaped member concentric with the wafer W, but is not limited thereto. An individual shielding cover corresponding to each nozzle 400 may be provided around each nozzle.

The shape of the shielding cover is arbitrary as long as it prevents the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 400 toward the wafer W from reaching the wafer W when it is in the shielding position. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 6, it is also possible to provide a substantially hemispherical shielding cover 570 ′ movable between a shielding position (shown by a solid line) and a retracted position (shown by a chain line), for example.

  In this case, a flow (refer to an arrow from the vicinity of the nozzle 400 toward EXH) formed by exhaust means (referred to as chamber exhaust or module exhaust) that exhausts the atmosphere in the chamber 20 outside the recovery cup 50 is used. Then, it is also conceivable that the processing liquid that has collided with the shielding cover 570 ′ and made mist does not go to the wafer W. Further, instead of fixing the nozzle 400 to the recovery cup 50, it may be fixed to another appropriate holding tool.

  The partition walls 528 and 578 can be omitted if mixing of different kinds of processing liquids during dummy dispensing is not a problem.

  It is also possible to provide only the partition wall 528 and omit the partition wall 578. In this case, it is conceivable that the height of the partition wall 578 is increased so that the upper end of the partition wall 578 is close to the ceiling wall 572 of the shielding cover 570 at the shielding position. However, if the height of the partition wall 578 is set too high, the airflow around the wafer W may be disturbed during the processing of the wafer W. It is preferable to provide the partition wall 578 also in the shielding cover 570 placed at a high position.

  In the above embodiment, the recovery cup 50 is of a type in which the internal fluid passage cannot be changed, but is not limited thereto. One or a plurality of movable cup bodies are provided inside the recovery cup 50, and a plurality of fluid passages can be formed in the recovery cup 50 by moving the movable cup body. The processing liquid scattered from the wafer W may be collected by using a different fluid passage for each organic). Such a configuration capable of switching the fluid passage is described in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-129462 relating to a patent application filed by the same applicant as the present patent application, and the configuration described in the publication Can be applied to the above embodiment.

  The substrate is not limited to a semiconductor wafer (silicon substrate), and may be another type of substrate such as a glass substrate or a ceramic substrate.

31 Substrate holder 33 Rotating mechanism 50 Recovery cup 526b Inclined portion of upper surface of recovery cup 528 Partition wall 530 Drainage port 400 Nozzle 570 Shielding cover 572 Ceiling wall 574 Shielding wall (inner peripheral wall)
578 partition wall

Claims (12)

A substrate holder for holding the substrate;
A collection cup for receiving and collecting the processing liquid supplied to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit;
A nozzle that discharges a processing liquid toward a substrate held by the substrate holding unit from a position radially outside the peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and above the recovery cup;
A shielding member having a shielding wall movable between a shielding position located between the substrate holding portion and the nozzle and a retreat position retracted from the shielding position;
A substrate liquid processing apparatus comprising:   The substrate liquid according to claim 1, wherein the shielding member is provided in a region radially outward from a peripheral edge of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit and above the recovery cup. Processing equipment.   The upper surface of the recovery cup has an inclined portion that is inclined so as to become lower toward the outer side in the radial direction, and a drainage port is provided in the lowest portion of the upper surface of the recovery cup. Or the substrate liquid processing apparatus of 2.   The shielding member is formed in a ring shape concentric with the substrate held by the substrate holding portion, and has a ring-shaped ceiling wall and the ring-shaped shielding wall extending downward from the ceiling wall. The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1. The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein a vertical projection of a lower end edge of a surface of the shielding wall facing the nozzle is located in the inclined portion of the upper surface of the recovery cup.   The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shielding wall is inclined so as to be directed radially outward as it goes downward.   The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the nozzles are provided, and a partition wall is provided between adjacent nozzles.   The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the partition wall is provided in at least one of the recovery cup and the shielding member.   9. The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the partition wall is provided at least on the shielding member, and the partition wall includes a rear wall body located radially outside the corresponding nozzle.   The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein an atmosphere in a space around the nozzle surrounded by the partition wall is exhausted from a gap between the rear wall body and the recovery cup.   The substrate liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an elevating mechanism that elevates and lowers the shielding member. A substrate holding unit that holds the substrate, a collection cup that receives and recovers the processing liquid supplied to the substrate held by the substrate holding unit, and a radial direction from the periphery of the substrate held by the substrate holding unit A nozzle that discharges the processing liquid toward a substrate held by the substrate holding unit from a position that is outside and above the recovery cup, and a shielding position that is positioned between the substrate holding unit and the nozzle And a substrate liquid processing method using a substrate liquid processing apparatus comprising a shielding member having a shielding wall that is movable between a retracted position retracted from the shielding position,
When discharging the processing liquid from the nozzle toward the substrate held by the substrate holding unit to perform liquid processing on the substrate, the shielding member is positioned at the retracted position,
When performing the dummy dispensing of the processing liquid from the nozzle, the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle collides against the shielding wall by positioning the shielding member at the shielding position, and the processing liquid reaches the substrate holding unit. The substrate liquid processing method which prevents doing.

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