JP6810631B2 - Substrate processing equipment and substrate processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method for performing a predetermined process on a substrate.

A substrate processing device is used to perform various processing on various substrates such as a semiconductor substrate, a substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a substrate for a plasma display, a substrate for an optical disk, a substrate for a magnetic disk, a substrate for a magneto-optical disk, or a substrate for a photomask. It is used.

If the substrate is charged in the process of a series of processing by the substrate processing apparatus, particles are likely to adhere to the substrate, and the cleanliness of the substrate is lowered. In addition, the wiring pattern formed on the substrate surface may be damaged by the discharge phenomenon. In order to prevent the occurrence of these defects, in the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the substrate conveyed by the substrate conveying apparatus is statically eliminated by the ionizer.

The ionizer includes a substantially cylindrical outer electrode and an inner electrode provided in the center thereof. Ions are generated by applying an AC voltage between the outer electrode and the inner electrode. The generated ions are sprayed onto the surface of the substrate held by the holding member of the substrate transport device. As a result, the substrate being conveyed is statically eliminated.

The resist film is formed by supplying the resist solution to the substrate whose static electricity has been removed by the ionizer. Further, the developing process is performed by supplying the developing solution to the substrate whose static electricity has been removed by the ionizer.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-1144349

The ionizer described in Patent Document 1 can also be applied to a substrate processing apparatus including a cleaning apparatus. In the cleaning device, for example, the substrate is cleaned by supplying a cleaning liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water to the substrate. In the substrate processing apparatus provided with the cleaning apparatus, it is preferable that the substrate is statically eliminated so as to approach 0 (V) as much as possible in order to further reduce the adhesion of particles to the substrate. As a result, the cleanliness of the substrate after cleaning is improved.

According to the above ionizer, the potential of the substrate charged to about 1000 (V) can be lowered to about 100 (V), but the potential of the substrate charged to about 10 (V) is reduced to 0 (V). It cannot be lowered to get closer.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method capable of improving the cleanliness of a substrate.

(1) In the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, static elimination is performed on at least one of a cleaning processing unit that performs substrate cleaning processing, a substrate before cleaning processing by the cleaning processing unit, and a substrate after cleaning treatment by the cleaning processing unit. A static eliminator unit for processing and a control unit are provided, and the static eliminator unit includes a holding unit that holds the substrate in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules, and an emitting unit that emits vacuum ultraviolet rays through the atmosphere to the substrate held by the holding unit. Includes a relative moving part that moves at least one of the holding part and the emitting part relative to the other in one direction, and an illuminance detecting part that detects the illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet rays radiated to the substrate by the emitting part. The control unit controls the emission unit and the relative moving unit so that the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted by the emission unit are irradiated to the substrate held by the holding unit through the atmosphere, and the amount of oxygen generated on the substrate is controlled. In order to adjust to a predetermined amount, the relative movement speed between the holding unit and the emitting unit by the relative moving unit is feedback-controlled based on the illuminance detected by the illuminance detecting unit .

In the substrate processing apparatus, the static elimination unit performs the static elimination treatment of the substrate at least one of the time before the cleaning treatment by the cleaning treatment unit and after the cleaning treatment. In the static elimination unit, the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the emission unit irradiate the substrate held by the holding unit through an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules.

At this time, the atmosphere on the substrate absorbs a part of the vacuum ultraviolet rays, and the oxygen molecules contained in the atmosphere are decomposed into two oxygen atoms by photodissociation. Ozone is generated by combining the decomposed oxygen atoms with the surrounding oxygen molecules.

Ozone is a resonance hybrid represented by the superposition of a positively charged resonance structure and a negatively charged resonance structure. Each resonance structure contains covalent and coordinate bonds. Since the coordination bond is unstable, when the generated ozone comes into contact with one surface of a positively or negatively charged substrate, charge is transferred between the ozone and the substrate. In this case, the coordination bond of ozone is broken, and the potential of the substrate approaches 0 (V). In this way, the entire substrate is statically eliminated regardless of the charge amount and charge polarity of the substrate. As a result, the cleanliness of the substrate after the cleaning treatment and the static elimination treatment is improved.

Board processing apparatus further includes a control unit, a discharge unit, irradiation and relative movement unit for relatively moving in one direction at least one of the holding portion and the exit portion relative to the other, to the substrate by emitting portion further including a illuminance detection unit for detecting the illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet rays. Control unit controls the emitting portion and the relative movement unit such that a vacuum ultraviolet ray emitted by the emission part is irradiated to the substrate held by the holding portion through the atmosphere. In this case, it is not necessary to simultaneously irradiate the entire substrate with vacuum ultraviolet rays. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the exit portion.

In addition, the relative movement speed between the holding unit and the emitting unit is feedback- controlled based on the illuminance detected by the illuminance detecting unit, so that the amount of vacuum ultraviolet light emitted per unit area on the substrate is adjusted. , The amount of ozone generated on the substrate is adjusted. By increasing the moving speed, the amount of vacuum ultraviolet light emitted to the substrate is reduced. Thereby, the amount of ozone generated on the substrate can be reduced. Further, by lowering the moving speed, the amount of vacuum ultraviolet rays irradiated to the substrate increases. Thereby, the amount of ozone generated on the substrate can be increased. Therefore, it becomes possible to uniformly supply a desired amount of ozone on the substrate. As a result, it becomes possible to uniformly eliminate static electricity on the entire substrate.
(2) The exposure amount corresponding to a predetermined amount of ozone to be supplied to the substrate in the static elimination process is predetermined as a set exposure amount for each substrate or each type of substrate, and the control unit determines the exposure amount of each substrate. Feedback control may be performed so that the exposure amount of the substrate is set to a predetermined value.
(3) The substrate processing apparatus further includes an oxygen concentration detection unit that detects the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere, and the control unit determines whether or not the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen concentration detection unit is lower than the set value and detects it. The static elimination process may be performed by the static elimination unit only when the oxygen concentration is lower than the set value.

(4) The substrate has one surface and the other surface, the substrate processing device further includes an inversion device that inverts one surface and the other surface of the substrate, and the cleaning processing unit is one surface of the substrate that has not been inverted by the inversion device. It may be configured so that the other surface of the substrate inverted by the reversing device can be cleaned. In this case, the cleanliness of one surface and the other surface of the substrate can be improved.

(5) The static eliminator further includes a housing for accommodating the holding portion and the emitting portion, and the housing has first and second transport openings for transporting the substrate between the inside and the outside of the housing. You may have. In this case, the substrate can be carried in and out of the static elimination unit using the first and second transport openings. As a result, the degree of freedom in designing the transfer path of the substrate is improved.

(6) The substrate processing device has a first region including a first transport device and a second region including a cleaning processing section and a second transport device, and the static elimination section has a first transport opening. The substrate may be arranged so that the substrate can be delivered to the first transfer device through the second transfer device and the substrate can be transferred to the second transfer device through the second transfer opening. In this case, when the substrate is transported between the first region and the second region by the first and second transport devices, it becomes possible to perform the static elimination processing of the substrate.

(7) The first region further includes a container mounting portion on which a storage container for accommodating the substrate is placed, and the first transport device includes a storage container mounted on the container mounting portion and a static elimination unit. The substrate is conveyed between the first transfer devices, the second transfer device transfers the substrate between the static elimination unit and the cleaning processing unit, and the static elimination unit transfers the substrate from the first transfer device to the second transfer device. In this case and when the substrate is transferred from the second transfer device to the first transfer device, the static elimination treatment of the substrate may be performed.

In this case, when the substrate is transported from the storage container in the first region to the cleaning processing unit in the second region, and when the substrate is transported from the cleaning processing unit in the processing region to the storage container in the loading / unloading region. , The static elimination unit performs static elimination processing on the substrate. Thereby, the throughput of the substrate processing using the first region and the second region can be improved.

(8) The static elimination unit may perform static elimination treatment on the substrate before it is cleaned by the cleaning processing unit. In this case, the potential of the substrate before the cleaning treatment approaches 0 (V). As a result, the discharge phenomenon due to the charging of the substrate does not occur during the cleaning process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of processing defects due to a part of the substrate being damaged.

(9) The static elimination unit may perform static elimination treatment on the substrate after being cleaned by the cleaning processing unit. In this case, even if the substrate is charged during the cleaning treatment, the potential of the substrate approaches 0 (V) by performing the static elimination treatment on the substrate after the cleaning treatment. Thereby, the substrate after the cleaning treatment can be kept clean.

(10) In the substrate processing method according to the present invention, the static elimination treatment of the substrate is performed at least at one of the step of cleaning the substrate, before the step of performing the cleaning treatment, and after the step of performing the cleaning treatment. The steps including the step of performing the static elimination treatment include a step of holding the substrate by the holding portion in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules, a step of emitting vacuum ultraviolet rays from the emitting portion, and a step of emitting vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the emitting portion. The step of moving at least one of the exiting portion and the holding portion relative to the other in one direction so that the substrate held by the holding portion is irradiated through, and the vacuum ultraviolet rays irradiated to the substrate by the emitting portion. A step of detecting the illuminance and a step of feedback-controlling the relative movement speed between the holding part and the emitting part based on the detected illuminance in order to adjust the amount of oxygen generated on the substrate to a predetermined amount. Including .

In the substrate processing method, the static elimination treatment of the substrate is performed at least at one of the time before the cleaning treatment and after the cleaning treatment. In the static elimination treatment, the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the emitting portion irradiate the substrate held by the holding portion through an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules. At this time, ozone is generated by absorbing a part of the vacuum ultraviolet rays in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules.

When the generated ozone comes into contact with one surface of a positively or negatively charged substrate, charges are transferred between the ozone and the substrate. In this case, the coordination bond of ozone is broken, and the potential of the substrate approaches 0 (V). In this way, the entire substrate is statically eliminated regardless of the charge amount and charge polarity of the substrate. As a result, the cleanliness of the substrate after the cleaning treatment and the static elimination treatment is improved.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the cleanliness of the substrate.

It is a top view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is a rear view which looked at the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1 from the direction of arrow X. It is a vertical sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus in line AA of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the basic operation in the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 1st Embodiment. It is an external perspective view of a static elimination unit. It is a side view of the static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the internal structure of a static elimination unit. It is a top view for demonstrating the internal structure of a static elimination unit. It is a front view for demonstrating the internal structure of a static elimination unit. It is a top view of the rear upper surface portion and the center upper surface portion. It is a bottom view of a lid member. It is external perspective view of the static elimination unit which shows the state which the opening of a casing is open. (A) is a plan view of the ultraviolet lamp and the third nitrogen gas supply unit, (b) is a front view of the ultraviolet lamp and the third nitrogen gas supply unit, and (c) is the ultraviolet lamp and the third nitrogen gas supply unit. It is a bottom view of the nitrogen gas supply part. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the static elimination processing operation of a substrate in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the illuminance measurement operation in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the illuminance measurement operation in a static elimination unit. It is a side view for demonstrating the illuminance measurement operation in a static elimination unit. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the surface cleaning unit. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the back surface cleaning unit. It is a top view which shows the structure of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the flow of the basic operation in the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is external perspective view of the static elimination unit which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the cleaning unit of the substrate processing apparatus which concerns on 2nd Embodiment.

The substrate processing apparatus and the substrate processing method according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the substrate refers to a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, a glass substrate for a PDP (plasma display panel), a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, and the like. Further, in the following description, the surface of the substrate on which various patterns such as circuit patterns are formed is referred to as a front surface, and the surface on the opposite side thereof is referred to as a back surface. Further, the surface of the substrate facing downward is called a lower surface, and the surface of the substrate facing upward is called an upper surface.

[1] First Embodiment (1) Configuration of Substrate Processing Device In the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, the front surface and the back surface of the substrate are mainly physically cleaned with a brush. At this time, a film may or may not be formed on the surface of the substrate. 1 is a plan view showing the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a rear view of the substrate processing apparatus 100 of FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow X, and FIG. 3 is a view. It is a vertical sectional view of the substrate processing apparatus 100 in line AA of 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 100 has an indexer block 10 and a processing block 11. The indexer block 10 and the processing block 11 are provided so as to be arranged in the direction of the arrow X and adjacent to each other.

The indexer block 10 includes a plurality of (four in this example) carrier mounting bases 40 and a transport unit 10A. The plurality of carrier mounting tables 40 are connected to the transport unit 10A so as to be lined up in one direction. A carrier C for storing a plurality of substrates W in multiple stages is placed on each carrier mounting table 40. The transport unit 10A is provided with an indexer robot IR and a control unit 4. The indexer robot IR is configured to be movable in the direction of arrow U (FIG. 1) perpendicular to arrow X, and is configured to be rotatable around a vertical axis and vertically movable. The indexer robot IR is provided with two hand IRHs (FIG. 3) at the top and bottom for delivering the substrate W. Each hand IRH is supported by an articulated arm and can move forward and backward in the horizontal direction. The articulated arm is independently driven by a drive mechanism (not shown). Further, the hand IRH holds the peripheral edge portion and the outer peripheral end portion of the lower surface of the substrate W. The control unit 4 includes a computer including a CPU (central processing unit), a ROM (read-only memory), and a RAM (random access memory), and controls each component in the board processing device 100.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processing block 11 includes a front surface cleaning unit 11A, a back surface cleaning unit 11B, and a transport unit 11C. The front surface cleaning unit 11A is located on one side surface side of the processing block 11, and the back surface cleaning unit 11B is located on the other side surface side of the processing block 11. The front surface cleaning unit 11A and the back surface cleaning unit 11B face each other with the transport unit 11C interposed therebetween.

The surface cleaning unit 11A is provided with a plurality of (three in this example) surface cleaning units SS and one static elimination unit OWE. A plurality of surface cleaning units SS and one static elimination unit OWE are stacked one above the other. The back surface cleaning unit 11B is provided with a plurality of (three in this example) back surface cleaning units SSR and one static elimination unit OWE. A plurality of back surface cleaning units SSR and one static elimination unit OWE are stacked one above the other. Two or more static elimination units OWE may be provided in each of the front surface cleaning unit 11A and the back surface cleaning unit 11B.

The transport unit 11C is provided with a main robot MR. The main robot MR is configured to be rotatable around a vertical axis and able to move up and down in the vertical direction. Further, the main robot MR is provided with two hand MRHs (FIG. 2) at the top and bottom for delivering the substrate W. Each hand MRH is supported by an articulated arm and can move forward and backward in the horizontal direction. The articulated arm is independently driven by a drive mechanism (not shown). Further, the hand MRH holds the peripheral edge portion and the outer peripheral end portion of the lower surface of the substrate W.

As shown in FIG. 3, the reversing units RT1 and RT2 and the substrate mounting portions PASS1 and PASS2 are vertically stacked between the transporting portion 10A of the indexer block 10 and the transporting portion 11C of the processing block 11. The reversing unit RT1 is provided above the substrate mounting portions PASS1 and PASS2, and the reversing unit RT2 is provided below the substrate mounting portions PASS1 and PASS2.

(2) Outline of Operation of Substrate Processing Device In the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the front surface and the back surface of the substrate W are cleaned by the front surface cleaning unit SS and the back surface cleaning unit SSR, respectively. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a basic operation flow in the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment. The outline of the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The operation of each component of the substrate processing apparatus 100 described below is controlled by the control unit 4 of FIG.

First, the indexer robot IR takes out the unprocessed substrate W from any carrier C in the indexer block 10 (step S11). At this point, the surface of the substrate W is facing upward. The indexer robot IR mounts the taken-out unprocessed substrate W on the substrate mounting portion PASS2. The board W mounted on the board mounting portion PASS2 is received by the main robot MR and carried into the reversing unit RT1. The reversing unit RT1 reverses the substrate W whose front surface is directed upward so that the back surface is directed upward (step S12). The inverted substrate W is carried out from the inversion unit RT1 by the main robot MR, and is carried into any of the static elimination units OWE of the processing block 11.

The static elimination unit OWE performs static elimination processing of the untreated substrate W carried in (step S13). The details of the static elimination process will be described later. The substrate W after the static elimination treatment is carried out from the static elimination unit OWE by the main robot MR, and is carried into any back surface cleaning unit SSR of the back surface cleaning unit 11B. The processes of steps S12 and S13 may be performed in the reverse order.

The back surface cleaning unit SSR cleans the back surface of the untreated substrate W (step S14). Hereinafter, the cleaning process of the back surface of the substrate W is referred to as a back surface cleaning process. The details of the back surface cleaning process will be described later. The substrate W after the back surface cleaning process is carried out from the back surface cleaning unit SSR by the main robot MR and carried into the reversing unit RT2.

The reversing unit RT2 inverts the substrate W after the back surface cleaning treatment with the back surface facing upward so that the front surface faces upward (step S15). The inverted substrate W is carried out from the inversion unit RT2 by the main robot MR and carried into any of the static elimination units OWE of the processing block 11.

The static elimination unit OWE performs a static elimination treatment of the substrate W after the back surface cleaning treatment (step S16). The substrate W that has been subjected to the static elimination treatment is carried out from the static elimination unit OWE by the main robot MR, and is carried into any surface cleaning unit SS of the surface cleaning unit 11A. The processes of steps S15 and S16 may be performed in the reverse order.

The front surface cleaning unit SS cleans the surface of the substrate W after the back surface cleaning treatment (step S17). Hereinafter, the surface cleaning process of the substrate W is referred to as a surface cleaning process. Details of the surface cleaning treatment will be described later. The substrate W after the surface cleaning treatment is carried out from the surface cleaning unit SS by the main robot MR and carried into any of the static elimination units OWE of the processing block 11.

The static elimination unit OWE performs static elimination treatment of the substrate W after surface cleaning treatment (step S18). The substrate W after the static elimination treatment is carried out from the static elimination unit OWE by the main robot MR and mounted on the substrate mounting portion PASS1. The indexer robot IR receives the substrate W mounted on the substrate mounting portion PASS1 and stores the received processed substrate W in any carrier C in the indexer block 10 (step S19). In this way, the above series of operations are repeated for each substrate W carried into the substrate processing apparatus 100.

In the present embodiment, the back surface cleaning treatment and the front surface cleaning treatment of the substrate W are performed in this order, but the back surface cleaning treatment and the front surface cleaning treatment of the substrate W may be performed in the reverse order. In this case, the processes of steps S16 and S17 are performed after the process of step S11 and before the processes of steps S12 to S15, and the processes of steps S18 and S19 are performed after the process of step S15.

(3) Static Elimination Unit First, the outline of the static elimination process by the static elimination unit OWE according to the present embodiment will be described. In the static elimination unit OWE, the upper surface of the substrate W arranged in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules is irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of about 120 nm or more and about 230 nm or less. At this time, the atmosphere on the upper surface of the substrate W absorbs a part of the vacuum ultraviolet rays, and the oxygen molecules contained in the atmosphere are decomposed into two oxygen atoms by photodissociation. Ozone is generated by combining the decomposed oxygen atoms with the surrounding oxygen molecules.

Ozone is a resonance hybrid represented by the superposition of a positively charged resonance structure and a negatively charged resonance structure. Each resonance structure contains covalent and coordinate bonds. Since the coordination bond is unstable, when the generated ozone comes into contact with the upper surface of the positively or negatively charged substrate W, the charge is transferred between the ozone and the substrate W. In this case, the coordination bond of ozone is broken, and the potential of the substrate W approaches 0 (V). In this way, the substrate W is statically eliminated so that the potential approaches 0 (V) regardless of the charge amount and charge polarity of the substrate W.

Subsequently, the details of the configuration of the static elimination unit OWE will be described. FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of the static elimination unit OWE, and FIG. 6 is a side view of the static elimination unit OWE. As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIGS. 5 and 6, the static elimination unit OWE includes a housing 60 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 60 has a front wall portion 61, a rear wall portion 62, a side wall portion 63, another side wall portion 64, a ceiling portion 65, and a floor portion 66. The front wall portion 61 and the rear wall portion 62 face each other, the one side wall portion 63 and the other side wall portion 64 face each other, and the ceiling portion 65 and the floor portion 66 face each other.

The static elimination unit OWE is arranged so that the rear wall portion 62 faces the transport portion 11C of FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the rear wall portion 62 is formed with a transport opening 62p for transporting the substrate W between the inside of the transport portion 11C and the inside of the housing 60. Further, an exhaust portion 70 is provided on the floor portion 66 of the housing 60. The exhaust unit 70 is connected to the external exhaust device 72 of the substrate processing device 100 via the pipe 71. The exhaust device 72 is, for example, an exhaust facility in a factory, and performs detoxification treatment of the gas discharged from the housing 60.

In the following description, the direction from the inside of the housing 60 toward the front wall portion 61 is referred to as the front of the static elimination unit OWE, as shown by the arrow of the thick alternate long and short dash line in the predetermined drawings after FIG. The direction from the inside of the body 60 toward the rear wall portion 62) is referred to as the rear of the static elimination unit OWE.

The static elimination unit OWE is mainly composed of a light emitting unit 300, a substrate moving unit 400, and a loading / unloading unit 500 in addition to the housing 60. The substrate moving portion 400 includes a casing 410 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. The casing 410 includes a front upper surface portion 411, a central upper surface portion 419, a rear upper surface portion 412, a lower surface portion 413, a front surface portion 414, a rear surface portion 415, one side surface portion 416 and the other side surface portion 417.

One side surface portion 416 and the other side surface portion 417 are provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction and face each other. A protruding portion pr extending upward by a constant height is formed at the center of the upper ends of the one side surface portion 416 and the other side surface portion 417. In FIGS. 5 and 6, only the protruding portion pr of the other side surface portion 417 of the one side surface portion 416 and the other side surface portion 417 is shown.

The central upper surface portion 419 is provided so as to connect the protruding portion pr of the one side surface portion 416 and the protruding portion pr of the other side surface portion 417. The front upper surface portion 411 is provided at a position in front of the protruding portion pr so as to connect the upper end portion of one side surface portion 416 and the upper end portion of the other side surface portion 417. The rear upper surface portion 412 is provided at a position rearward from the protruding portion pr so as to connect the upper end portion of one side surface portion 416 and the upper end portion of the other side surface portion 417. The heights of the front upper surface portion 411 and the rear upper surface portion 412 are equal to each other.

A light emitting portion 300 is provided on the casing 410 so as to connect the upper end portion of the one side surface portion 416 and the upper end portion of the other side surface portion 417 and to be located between the front upper surface portion 411 and the rear upper surface portion 412. .. A part of the light emitting portion 300 is located above the central upper surface portion 419. The details of the light emitting unit 300 will be described later.

A carry-in / carry-out section 500 is provided behind the light emitting section 300. As shown in FIG. 6, the carry-in / carry-out section 500 includes a lid member 510, a lid drive section 590, a support plate 591, and two support shafts 592. In FIG. 6, only one of the two support shafts 592, the support shaft 592, is shown. The two support shafts 592 are provided on both sides of the casing 410 so as to extend in the vertical direction. The support plate 591 is supported in a horizontal position by the two support shafts 592. In this state, the support plate 591 is located behind the light emitting portion 300 and above the rear upper surface portion 412. A lid drive unit 590 is attached to the lower surface of the support plate 591. A lid member 510 is provided below the lid drive unit 590.

An opening 412b (FIG. 6) is formed in the rear upper surface portion 412 of the casing 410. The lid driving unit 590 moves the lid member 510 in the vertical direction by driving the lid member 510. As a result, the opening 412b is closed or opened. By opening the opening 412b, the substrate W can be carried into the casing 410 and the substrate W can be carried out from the casing 410. Details of the structure of the lid member 510 and the opening / closing operation of the opening 412b by the lid member 510 will be described later.

FIG. 7 is a side view for explaining the internal structure of the static elimination unit OWE, FIG. 8 is a plan view for explaining the internal structure of the static elimination unit OWE, and FIG. 9 is a plan view for explaining the internal structure of the static elimination unit OWE. It is a front view for.

FIG. 7 shows the state of the static elimination unit OWE from which the other side surface portion 417 (FIG. 5) has been removed. FIG. 8 shows a state of the static elimination unit OWE from which the front upper surface portion 411 (FIG. 5) and the rear upper surface portion 412 (FIG. 5) have been removed. FIG. 9 shows the state of the static elimination unit OWE from which the front portion 414 (FIG. 5) has been removed. Further, in FIGS. 7 to 9, a part or all of the configuration of the light emitting unit 300 (FIG. 5) is shown by a dashed-dotted line, and the housing 60 (FIG. 5) is not shown.

As shown in FIG. 7, a delivery mechanism 420 and a local transfer mechanism 430 are provided in the casing 410 of the substrate moving portion 400. The delivery mechanism 420 includes a plurality of elevating pins 421, a pin support member 422, and a pin elevating drive unit 423, and is arranged behind the light emitting unit 300.

A plurality of elevating pins 421 are attached to the pin support member 422 so as to extend upward. The pin elevating drive unit 423 supports the pin support member 422 so as to be movable in the vertical direction. In this state, the plurality of elevating pins 421 are arranged so as to overlap the opening 412b of the rear upper surface portion 412. The delivery mechanism 420 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 4 of FIG. By operating the pin elevating drive unit 423, the upper ends of the plurality of elevating pins 421 move between the delivery position above the rear upper surface portion 412 and the standby position below the local transfer hand 434 described later. ..

As shown in FIG. 8, the local transport mechanism 430 includes a feed shaft 431, a feed shaft motor 432, two guide rails 433, a local transport hand 434, two hand support members 435 and a connecting member 439.

In the casing 410, the feed shaft motor 432 is provided in the vicinity of the front surface portion 414. The feed shaft 431 is provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction from the feed shaft motor 432 to the vicinity of the rear surface portion 415. The feed shaft 431 is, for example, a ball screw and is connected to the rotation shaft of the feed shaft motor 432.

On the other hand, the guide rail 433 is provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction in the vicinity of the side surface portion 416. Further, a guide rail 433 is provided so as to extend in the front-rear direction in the vicinity of the other side surface portion 417. The feed shaft 431 and the two guide rails 433 are arranged so as to be parallel to each other.

Two hand support members 435 are provided on the two guide rails 433 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction and extend upward. The two hand support members 435 have a common height. A local transport hand 434 is provided to connect the upper ends of the two hand support members 435. The local transfer hand 434 is a plate member having a substantially circular shape, and is supported by two hand support members 435. The substrate W is placed on the local transfer hand 434.

A plurality of through holes 434h are formed in the local transfer hand 434. The plurality of through holes 434h are arranged at equal angular intervals so as to surround the central portion of the local transport hand 434. A plurality of elevating pins 421 of the delivery mechanism 420 can be inserted into the plurality of through holes 434h. Further, on the lower surface of the local transport hand 434, a connecting member 439 that connects the local transport hand 434 and the feed shaft 431 is provided.

The local transfer mechanism 430 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 4 of FIG. The feed shaft 431 rotates when the feed shaft motor 432 operates. As a result, the local transport hand 434 moves in the front-rear direction between the rear position P1 behind the light emitting unit 300 and the front position P2 in front of the light emitting unit 300. In the predetermined drawings after FIG. 7, the central portions of the rear position P1 and the front position P2 are indicated by black triangle marks. In addition, in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the local transport hand 434 and the hand support member 435 when they are in the front position P2 are shown by a two-dot chain line.

With the upper ends of the plurality of elevating pins 421 of the delivery mechanism 420 in the standby position and the local transport hand 434 in the rear position P1, the plurality of through holes 434h are respectively positioned on the plurality of elevating pins 421 of the delivery mechanism 420. Will be done.

During the static elimination treatment of the substrate W, ozone is generated in the casing 410 due to photodissociation of oxygen molecules. Since ozone has an adverse effect on the human body, it is not preferable to generate excessive ozone. The amount of ozone generated in the casing 410 increases as the oxygen concentration in the casing 410 increases, and decreases as the oxygen concentration in the casing 410 decreases. Therefore, in order to reduce the oxygen concentration in the casing 410, a first nitrogen gas supply unit 450 is provided in the casing 410. As shown in FIG. 8, the first nitrogen gas supply unit 450 is composed of tubular members whose both ends are closed, and is attached to the inner surface of the rear surface portion 415 so as to extend from one side surface portion 416 to the other side surface portion 417. ..

As shown in FIG. 9, a plurality of injection holes 451 are formed in a portion of the first nitrogen gas supply unit 450 facing forward. The plurality of injection holes 451 are arranged so as to be arranged at substantially equal intervals from one end to the other end of the first nitrogen gas supply unit 450. Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, one end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 459 is connected to a portion of the first nitrogen gas supply unit 450 facing rearward. The other end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 459 is located outside the casing 410. A nitrogen gas supply system (not shown) is connected to the other end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 459.

A gas outlet pipe 418 for discharging the atmosphere inside the casing 410 to the outside of the casing 410 is provided on the front surface portion 414 of the casing 410. The nitrogen gas supplied from the nitrogen gas supply system to the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 459 is injected into the casing 410 from the plurality of injection holes 451 through the internal space of the first nitrogen gas supply unit 450. At this time, the atmosphere inside the casing 410 is discharged from the gas outlet pipe 418 to the outside of the casing 410. As a result, the atmosphere inside the casing 410 is replaced by nitrogen gas, and the oxygen concentration is lowered. Therefore, excessive ozone generation is suppressed. As a result, the amount of ozone leaking to the outside of the casing 410 is reduced.

Further, the nitrogen gas supplied into the casing 410 functions as a catalyst for the three-body reaction between oxygen atoms and oxygen molecules when ozone is generated in the static elimination treatment. Therefore, an appropriate amount of ozone is efficiently generated.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, in the housing 60, ozone discharged from the gas outlet pipe 418 to the outside of the casing 410 is sent to the exhaust device 72 through the exhaust unit 70 and the pipe 71. Therefore, ozone generated by the static elimination treatment is prevented from diffusing around the static elimination unit OWE.

As shown in FIG. 7, a rear position sensor S1, a front position sensor S2, an illuminance sensor S3, and an oxygen concentration sensor S4 are further provided in the casing 410. The rear position sensor S1 detects whether or not the local transfer hand 434 is in the rear position P1, and gives the detection result to the control unit 4 of FIG. The front position sensor S2 detects whether or not the local transfer hand 434 is in the front position P2, and gives the detection result to the control unit 4 of FIG. As the rear position sensor S1 and the front position sensor S2, for example, an optical sensor or the like is used.

The oxygen concentration sensor S4 detects the oxygen concentration in the casing 410 and gives the detection result to the control unit 4 of FIG. As the oxygen concentration sensor S4, a galvanic cell type oxygen sensor, a zirconia type oxygen sensor, or the like is used.

The illuminance sensor S3 includes a light receiving element such as a photodiode, and detects the illuminance of the light receiving surface of the light receiving element to which light is irradiated. Here, the illuminance is the power of the light emitted per unit area of the light receiving surface. The unit of illuminance is represented by, for example, "W / m ² ". In the present embodiment, the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor S3 is the illuminance of the substrate W when the substrate W moving between the rear position P1 and the front position P2 by the local transport hand 434 is irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays. That is, it corresponds to the illuminance of the substrate W when the vacuum ultraviolet rays are irradiated during the static elimination treatment. Further, the illuminance sensor S3 is supported by the sensor elevating drive unit 441 so as to be movable in the vertical direction at a position facing the emission surface 321 (FIG. 13C) of the light emitting unit 300, which will be described later. The sensor elevating drive unit 441 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 4 of FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, a light-shielding member 442 and a light-shielding drive unit 443 are provided in the vicinity of the illuminance sensor S3. The light-shielding member 442 has an outer shape larger than that of the light-receiving element of the illuminance sensor S3. The light-shielding drive unit 443 supports the light-shielding member 442 so as to be movable in the front-rear direction at a position (height) between the illuminance sensor S3 and the light emission unit 300 in the vertical direction. The light-shielding drive unit 443 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 4 of FIG. Details of the operation of the sensor elevating drive unit 441 and the light-shielding drive unit 443 will be described later.

Next, the configuration of the rear upper surface portion 412 of the casing 410, the central upper surface portion 419, and the lid member 510 of the carry-in / carry-out portion 500 will be described. FIG. 10 is a plan view of the rear upper surface portion 412 and the central upper surface portion 419, and FIG. 11 is a bottom view of the lid member 510.

As shown in FIG. 10, when the rear upper surface portion 412 and the central upper surface portion 419 are viewed from above, the opening 412b is surrounded by the rear edge of the rear upper surface portion 412 and the front edge of the central upper surface portion 419. The lid member 510 has an outer shape slightly larger than that of the opening 412b. Further, the lower surface of the lid member 510 is formed so that a region 510d (FIG. 11) having a constant width from a part of the front edge excluding both ends is higher by a certain height than the other regions.

When the opening 412b is closed by the lid member 510, a region 510c (FIG. 11) having a constant width from the outer edge of the lower surface of the lid member 510 excluding the front edge abuts on the upper surface of the rear upper surface portion 412. Further, the region 510d (FIG. 11) of the lower surface of the lid member 510 abuts on the upper surface of the central upper surface portion 419. That is, the lower surface of the lid member 510 comes into contact with the region surrounding the opening 412b of the rear upper surface portion 412 and the central upper surface portion 419. As a result, no gap is formed between the casing 410 and the lid member 510. Therefore, the airtightness inside the casing 410 is improved with a simple configuration.

As shown in FIG. 11, a groove portion 510b having a substantially constant width is formed on the lower surface of the lid member 510 so as to extend along the inner edge of the region 510c. A second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 is provided in the groove portion 510b. The second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 is composed of a tubular member whose one end is closed. A plurality of injection holes 511 are formed in a portion of the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 facing downward. The plurality of injection holes 511 are arranged so as to be arranged at substantially equal intervals. Further, one end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 529 is connected to the other end of the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520. The other end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 529 projects laterally to the lid member 510. A nitrogen gas supply system (not shown) is connected to the other end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 529.

FIG. 12 is an external perspective view of the static elimination unit OWE showing a state in which the opening 412b of the casing 410 is open. In FIG. 12, only the carry-in / carry-out portion 500 and its peripheral portion are shown in the static elimination unit OWE.

As shown in FIG. 12, when the opening 412b is opened by the lid member 510, the lower surface region 510c (FIG. 11) of the lid member 510 is located above the rear upper surface portion 412 of the rear upper surface portion 412. Facing the top surface. Further, the region 510d (FIG. 11) on the lower surface of the lid member 510 faces the upper surface of the central upper surface portion 419 at a position above the central upper surface portion 419. In this state, nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply system to the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 529.

As shown by the thick solid arrow in FIG. 12, the nitrogen gas supplied to the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 529 with the opening 412b open is a plurality of injections of the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 (FIG. 11). It is injected downward from the hole 511 (FIG. 11). Nitrogen gas injected from the plurality of injection holes 511 (FIG. 11) flows into the casing 410 through the vicinity of the inner edge of the opening 412b.

In this case, a flow of nitrogen gas is formed from the lower surface of the lid member 510 downward along the inner edge of the opening 412b. The flow of the formed nitrogen gas blocks the flow of atmosphere between the space below the lid member 510 and the outside of that space. As a result, the atmosphere outside the casing 410 is prevented from entering the casing 410 through the opening 412b. Further, ozone generated in the casing 410 is suppressed from flowing out of the casing 410 through the opening 412b.

Next, the configuration of the light emitting unit 300 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 9, the light emitting unit 300 includes a casing 310, an ultraviolet lamp 320, and a third nitrogen gas supply unit 330. In FIGS. 7 and 9, the casing 310 is indicated by an alternate long and short dash line. In FIG. 8, the casing 310, the ultraviolet lamp 320, and the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 are shown by alternate long and short dash lines. A drive circuit, wiring, connection terminals, etc. of the ultraviolet lamp 320 are housed in the casing 310 together with the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330. The light emitting unit 300 is controlled by, for example, the control unit 4 of FIG.

The ultraviolet lamp 320 and the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 each have a rectangular parallelepiped shape extending in one direction. As shown by the alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 8, the dimensions of the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 in the longitudinal direction are equal to each other and substantially equal to the distance between one side surface portion 416 and the other side surface portion 417.

In this example, as the ultraviolet lamp 320, a xenon excimer lamp that generates vacuum ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of 172 nm is used. The ultraviolet lamp 320 may be any lamp that generates vacuum ultraviolet rays having a wavelength of about 120 nm or more and about 230 nm or less, and other excimer lamps, deuterium lamps, or the like may be used instead of the xenon excimer lamp.

13 (a) is a plan view of the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330, and FIG. 13 (b) is a front view of the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330. (C) is a bottom view of the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330.

As shown in FIG. 13 (c), a vacuum ultraviolet light emitting surface 321 is formed on the lower surface of the ultraviolet lamp 320 so as to extend from one end to the other end of the ultraviolet lamp 320. When the ultraviolet lamp 320 is lit, vacuum ultraviolet rays are emitted downward from the exit surface 321. The vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 have a strip-shaped cross section orthogonal to the traveling direction (vertical direction in this example). Further, the length of the strip-shaped cross section is larger than the diameter of the substrate W.

The ultraviolet lamp 320 is arranged so that the band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 cross the moving path of the substrate W placed on the local transport hand 434 of FIG. In this case, the local transport hand 434 (FIG. 8) is constant between the rear position P1 (FIG. 8) and the front position P2 (FIG. 8) in a state where the band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet rays are emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 during the static elimination process. By moving at the moving speed, the band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet rays are scanned from one end to the other end of the substrate W. As a result, the vacuum ultraviolet rays are uniformly irradiated to all the regions on the upper surface of the substrate W with a simple configuration.

Further, in this case, by adjusting the moving speed of the local transport hand 434 (FIG. 8), the energy of the vacuum ultraviolet rays irradiated per unit area of the upper surface of the substrate W during the static elimination process (hereinafter, referred to as an exposure amount). Can be adjusted. The unit of the exposure amount is represented by, for example, "J / m ² ".

The amount of ozone generated on the substrate W varies depending on the amount of exposure. For example, the larger the exposure amount, the larger the amount of ozone generated, and the smaller the exposure amount, the lower the amount of ozone generated. Therefore, the amount of ozone generated on the substrate W can be adjusted by adjusting the moving speed of the local transfer hand 434 (FIG. 8). As a result, the entire upper surface of the substrate W can be uniformly and appropriately statically eliminated.

As shown in FIGS. 13 (a) to 13 (c), a third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 is attached to the lower end of the front surface of the ultraviolet lamp 320. The third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 has a square tubular shape with both ends closed.

As shown in FIGS. 13 (b) and 13 (c), a plurality of injection holes 331 are formed in a portion of the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 facing downward. The plurality of injection holes 331 are arranged so as to be arranged at substantially equal intervals from one end to the other end of the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330. Further, one end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 339 is connected to the front surface of the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330. A nitrogen gas supply system (not shown) is connected to the other end of the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 339.

During the static elimination treatment of the substrate W, nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen gas supply system to the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 339. The nitrogen gas supplied to the nitrogen gas introduction pipe 339 is dispersedly injected into the casing 410 of FIG. 7 from the plurality of injection holes 331 through the internal space of the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330.

As shown in FIG. 13C, the plurality of injection holes 331 are adjacent to the exit surface 321 of the ultraviolet lamp 320. Therefore, during the static elimination treatment of the substrate W, nitrogen gas is injected from the plurality of injection holes 331, so that the oxygen concentration in the path of the vacuum ultraviolet rays irradiated to the substrate W can be further reduced. As a result, excessive ozone generation is further suppressed. Further, by supplying nitrogen gas to the region on the substrate W irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays in a dispersed manner, a uniform gas flow can be formed on the substrate W. Therefore, ozone generated on the substrate W can be uniformly supplied over the entire upper surface of the substrate W. As a result, more uniform static elimination of the entire upper surface of the substrate W becomes possible.

Further, since the nitrogen gas is supplied to the region on the substrate W irradiated with the vacuum ultraviolet rays, the supplied nitrogen gas easily functions as a catalyst for the above-mentioned three-body reaction. Therefore, an appropriate amount of ozone can be efficiently generated.

The amount of the vacuum ultraviolet rays radiated from the ultraviolet lamp 320 to the upper surface of the substrate W to be absorbed by the atmosphere containing oxygen molecules increases as the path of the vacuum ultraviolet rays between the ultraviolet lamp 320 and the substrate W increases. Therefore, the amount of ozone generated on the substrate W varies depending on the length of the vacuum ultraviolet path. For example, the longer the vacuum ultraviolet path, the greater the amount of ozone generated, and the shorter the vacuum ultraviolet path, the lower the amount of ozone generated. Therefore, if the upper surface of the substrate W is inclined with respect to the exit surface 321 (FIG. 13 (c)) of the ultraviolet lamp 320, the amount of ozone generated at a plurality of positions on the substrate W will differ.

In the present embodiment, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is arranged so as to extend in a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction (hereinafter, referred to as a left-right direction) in the horizontal plane. Further, the local transfer hand 434 is provided so as to connect the upper ends of the two hand support members 435 as shown in FIG. The two hand support members 435 are arranged so as to face each other with the center of the substrate W in the left-right direction in a state where the substrate W is placed on the local transfer hand 434. Since the two hand support members 435 have a common height, the height of the local transport hand 434 is constant in the left-right direction in which the two hand support members 435 are lined up.

From these, in the left-right direction, the distance between the substrate W placed on the local transport hand 434 and the ultraviolet lamp 320 is kept constant. As a result, during the static elimination treatment of the substrate W, the entire upper surface of the substrate W is uniformly irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays. Therefore, it is possible to prevent variations in the amount of ozone generated at a plurality of positions on the substrate W. As a result, more uniform static elimination is possible over the entire upper surface of the substrate W.

(4) Static elimination conditions In the present embodiment, the static elimination conditions of the substrate W by the static elimination unit OWE include the oxygen concentration in the casing 410 and the moving speed of the substrate W by the local transfer hand 434.

The oxygen concentration in the casing 410 during the static elimination treatment is set to be lower than, for example, 1%. In this case, the static elimination treatment of the substrate W is performed when the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen concentration sensor S4 of FIG. 7 is lower than 1%. As a result, excessive ozone generation is suppressed. In the present embodiment, if the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen concentration sensor S4 in FIG. 7 is 1% or more, the static elimination treatment of the substrate W is not performed.

The exposure amount for performing the static elimination treatment is predetermined for each substrate W or each type of the substrate W based on the processing content of the substrate W. The predetermined exposure amount is stored in the control unit 4 of FIG. 1 as a set exposure amount before the static elimination processing of the substrate W.

As described above, when scanning a band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet ray from one end to the other end of the substrate W at a constant speed, the exposure amount of the substrate W can be adjusted by controlling the moving speed of the substrate W. it can. For example, the exposure amount can be reduced by increasing the moving speed of the substrate W, and the exposure amount can be increased by decreasing the moving speed of the substrate W. Here, there is a certain relationship between the exposure amount of the substrate W, the illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet rays applied to the substrate W, and the moving speed of the substrate W.

Therefore, in the present embodiment, the illuminance of the substrate W when the vacuum ultraviolet rays are irradiated during the static elimination process is detected in advance by the illuminance sensor S3 before the static elimination process by the illuminance measurement described later. In this case, the moving speed V (m / sec) of the substrate W required to obtain the set exposure amount is the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor S3 IL (W / m ² (= J / sec · m ² )). When the set exposure amount is SA (J / m ² ) and the length (illuminance width) parallel to the moving direction of the substrate W in the cross section of the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 is EW (m). , Expressed by the following equation (1).

V = (EW x IL) / SA ... (1)
Based on the above equation (1), the moving speed of the substrate W is calculated by the control unit 4. With the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the light emitting unit 300, the substrate is moved so that the local transport hand 434 moves from the front position P2 to the rear position P1 (or from the rear position P1 to the front position P2) at the calculated moving speed. The unit 400 is controlled.

In this way, the moving speed of the substrate W is feedback-controlled so that the exposure amount of the substrate W becomes the set exposure amount based on the illuminance detected by the illuminance sensor S3. As a result, it becomes possible to feedback control the moving speed of the substrate W so that a desired amount of ozone is uniformly supplied onto the substrate W based on the exposure amount of the vacuum ultraviolet rays applied to the substrate W. As a result, it becomes possible to uniformly eliminate static electricity on the entire substrate W.

(5) Static elimination processing operation FIGS. 14 to 21 are side views for explaining the static elimination processing operation of the substrate W in the static elimination unit OWE. 14 to 21 show a state of the static elimination unit OWE from which the housing 60 (FIG. 5) and the other side surface portion 417 (FIG. 5) have been removed, as in the side view of FIG. In FIGS. 16 to 21, the substrate W is shown by a hatch pattern so that each component of the substrate moving portion 400 and the substrate W can be easily distinguished.

In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 14, the local transfer hand 434 is in the rear position P1, and the upper ends of the plurality of elevating pins 421 are in the standby position. Further, the opening 412b of the casing 410 is in a closed state, and the ultraviolet lamp 320 is in a light-off state. Further, as shown by a thick solid arrow in FIG. 14, nitrogen gas is supplied from the first nitrogen gas supply unit 450 into the casing 410.

By supplying nitrogen gas into the casing 410 from the first nitrogen gas supply unit 450, the oxygen concentration in the casing 410 decreases. As a result, the oxygen concentration in the casing 410 is kept lower than, for example, 1%.

As shown in FIG. 15, the opening 412b is opened by raising the lid member 510 in order to carry the substrate W into the casing 410. At this time, nitrogen gas is supplied from the lower surface of the lid member 510 to the opening 412b by the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 of FIG. 11 (see FIG. 12). As a result, as described above, the atmosphere outside the casing 410 is prevented from entering the casing 410 through the opening 412b. Further, a plurality of elevating pins 421 of the delivery mechanism 420 are raised. As a result, the upper ends of the plurality of elevating pins 421 move from the standby position to the delivery position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16, the substrate W in the horizontal posture is inserted in the horizontal direction between the lid member 510 and the opening 412b by the hand MRH of any of the main robot MRs of FIG. It is placed on 421. Subsequently, a plurality of elevating pins 421 of the delivery mechanism 420 are lowered. As a result, as shown in FIG. 17, the upper ends of the plurality of elevating pins 421 move from the delivery position to the standby position, and the substrate W in the horizontal posture is moved into the casing 410 through the opening 412b. At this time, the substrate W is passed from the plurality of elevating pins 421 to the local transfer hand 434. Further, the opening 412b is closed by lowering the lid member 510, and the supply of nitrogen gas by the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 of FIG. 11 is stopped.

Next, as shown by the white arrows in FIG. 18, the local transfer hand 434 is moved from the rear position P1 to the front position P2. At this time, since the ultraviolet lamp 320 is in the extinguished state, the substrate W is not irradiated with the vacuum ultraviolet rays.

After that, the control unit 4 of FIG. 1 determines whether or not the local transfer hand 434 is in the front position P2 based on the detection result of the front position sensor S2. Further, the control unit 4 determines whether or not the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen concentration sensor S4 is lower than 1%.

When the local transport hand 434 is in the front position P2 and the oxygen concentration is lower than 1%, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is switched from the off state to the on state. As a result, as shown by the dot pattern in FIG. 19, vacuum ultraviolet UV is emitted downward from the ultraviolet lamp 320. As described above, the vacuum ultraviolet UV has a strip-shaped cross section extending in the left-right direction. The length of the cross section of the vacuum ultraviolet UV in the direction parallel to the left-right direction is longer than the diameter of the substrate W.

Further, nitrogen gas is supplied into the casing 410 from the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330. The nitrogen gas supplied from the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 collides with a part of the local transfer hand 434 or a part of the substrate W and flows into the space above the substrate W.

Subsequently, as shown by the white arrows in FIG. 20, the local transfer hand 434 is moved from the front position P2 to the rear position P1. The moving speed at this time is controlled so as to be constant at a speed calculated in advance using the above equation (1). As a result, the substrate W is irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet UV so that the entire region on the upper surface of the substrate W is exposed at the set exposure amount, and the substrate W is statically eliminated.

After that, the control unit 4 in FIG. 1 determines whether or not the local transfer hand 434 is in the rear position P1 based on the detection result of the rear position sensor S1. When the local transport hand 434 is in the rear position P1, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is switched from the lit state to the extinguished state. Further, the supply of nitrogen gas by the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 is stopped. The state of the static elimination unit OWE at this time is the same as the example of FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 21, the opening 412b is opened by raising the lid member 510 in order to carry out the substrate W from the casing 410. At this time, nitrogen gas is supplied from the lower surface of the lid member 510 to the opening 412b by the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 of FIG. 11 (see FIG. 12). Further, a plurality of elevating pins 421 of the delivery mechanism 420 are raised. As a result, the upper ends of the plurality of elevating pins 421 move from the standby position to the delivery position, and the substrate W is passed from the local transfer hand 434 to the plurality of elevating pins 421. In this way, the horizontal substrate W is moved from inside the casing 410 to above the opening 412b.

The static elimination-treated substrate W placed on the plurality of elevating pins 421 is horizontally taken out by one of the hand MRHs of the main robot MR of FIG. After that, the plurality of elevating pins 421 of the delivery mechanism 420 are lowered, and the lid member 510 is lowered to close the opening 412b. Further, the supply of nitrogen gas by the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 in FIG. 11 is stopped. As a result, the static elimination unit OWE returns to the initial state.

(6) Illuminance measurement operation In order to obtain the set speed used for the static elimination processing of the substrate W, for example, every time a predetermined number of substrates W are statically eliminated, every lot of the substrate W , or every day. , The illuminance measurement shown below is performed.

22 to 24 are side views for explaining the illuminance measurement operation in the static elimination unit OWE. 22 to 24 show a state of the static elimination unit OWE from which the housing 60 (FIG. 5) and the other side surface portion 417 (FIG. 5) have been removed, as in the side view of FIG.

In the static elimination unit OWE, the light-shielding member 442 is arranged so as to cover the upper end portion of the illuminance sensor S3 as shown by a thick dotted line in FIG. 22 while the illuminance measurement is not performed. As a result, no light is incident on the light receiving element of the illuminance sensor S3 when the substrate W is irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays (during static elimination processing). Therefore, the deterioration of the illuminance sensor S3 is suppressed, and the life of the illuminance sensor S3 is extended. Further, the illuminance sensor S3 is arranged below the movement path of the local transfer hand 434.

The illuminance measurement is started in a state where the opening 412b of the casing 410 is closed and the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen concentration sensor S4 is lower than 1%. In the initial state, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is in the extinguished state.

When the illuminance measurement is started, the light-shielding member 442 is moved forward by the light-shielding drive unit 443 as shown by the white arrow in FIG. As a result, the light receiving surface provided at the upper end of the illuminance sensor S3 is exposed upward.

Next, as shown by the white arrow in FIG. 23, the illuminance sensor S3 is raised by the sensor elevating drive unit 441. At this time, the illuminance sensor S3 is positioned so that the height of the light receiving surface matches the height of the upper surface of the substrate W placed on the local transfer hand 434.

Next, the ultraviolet lamp 320 is switched from the off state to the on state. As a result, as shown by the dot pattern in FIG. 24, a band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet UV is emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 toward the illuminance sensor S3.

A part of the vacuum ultraviolet UV emitted from the ultraviolet lamp 320 is incident on the light receiving element of the illuminance sensor S3. As a result, the illuminance of the substrate W when the vacuum ultraviolet rays are irradiated in the static elimination process is detected. The illuminance detection result is given to the control unit 4 of FIG.

After that, the illuminance sensor S3 is lowered and the ultraviolet lamp 320 is switched from the lit state to the extinguished state. Further, the light-shielding member 442 is moved rearward so as to cover the upper end portion of the illuminance sensor S3. As a result, the static elimination unit OWE returns to the initial state.

As described above, the illuminance sensor S3 is positioned so that the height of the light receiving surface matches the height of the upper surface of the substrate W placed on the local transfer hand 434 when measuring the illuminance. Therefore, it is possible to accurately detect the illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet rays applied to the substrate W when the substrate W is statically removed.

Further, the illuminance sensor S3 is arranged below the movement path of the local transfer hand 434 during the static elimination process of the substrate W. As a result, the illuminance sensor S3 does not interfere with the substrate W during the static elimination process.

(7) Front surface cleaning unit and back surface cleaning unit FIG. 25 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the front surface cleaning unit SS, and FIG. 26 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the back surface cleaning unit SSR. For the surface cleaning treatment by the front surface cleaning unit SS of FIG. 25 and the back surface cleaning treatment by the back surface cleaning unit SSR of FIG. 26, a cleaning treatment of the substrate W using a brush (hereinafter referred to as a scrub cleaning treatment) and a brush are used. Not included with rinsing.

First, the details of the surface cleaning unit SS will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 25, the surface cleaning unit SS includes a spin chuck 21 for holding the substrate W horizontally and rotating the substrate W around a vertical axis passing through the center of the substrate W. The spin chuck 21 is fixed to the upper end of the rotating shaft 23 rotated by the chuck rotation driving mechanism 22.

A motor 24 is provided on the outside of the spin chuck 21. The motor 24 is provided with a rotating shaft 25 extending in the vertical direction. The motor 24 is further provided with an elevating drive unit (not shown). The motor 24 supports the rotary shaft 25 so as to be able to move up and down and rotatably around the vertical shaft. An arm 26 is connected to the upper end of the rotating shaft 25 so as to extend in the horizontal direction. A brush cleaning tool 27 having a substantially cylindrical shape is provided at the tip of the arm 26. Further, above the spin chuck 21, a liquid discharge nozzle 28 for supplying a cleaning liquid or a rinse liquid toward the surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 21 is provided.

The substrate W whose surface is directed upward is carried into the surface cleaning unit SS. When the surface of the substrate W is cleaned, the substrate W whose surface is directed upward is rotated by the spin chuck 21 in a horizontal posture. Further, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the liquid discharge nozzle 28 through the supply pipe 29. In this example, pure water is used as the cleaning liquid. As a result, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the surface of the rotating substrate W. In this state, the motor 24 and the elevating drive unit (not shown) operate to bring the brush cleaning tool 27 into contact with the upper surface (surface) of the substrate W and move from the center of the substrate W toward the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W. As a result, the surface of the substrate W is scrubbed and cleaned. Since the surface cleaning unit SS uses the suction type spin chuck 21, the peripheral edge portion and the outer peripheral edge portion of the substrate W can also be cleaned at the same time. After that, the brush cleaning tool 27 moves to a position outside the substrate W, and the rinse liquid is supplied from the liquid discharge nozzle 28 to the substrate W to perform the rinsing process. In this example, pure water is used as the rinsing solution.

Next, the difference between the back surface cleaning unit SSR and the front surface cleaning unit SS of FIG. 25 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 26, the back surface cleaning unit SSR uses a mechanical chuck type spin chuck 31 that holds the outer peripheral end of the substrate W instead of the suction type spin chuck 21 that holds the lower surface of the substrate W by vacuum suction. Be prepared. When the scrub cleaning process and the rinsing process are performed, the peripheral edge portion and the outer peripheral end portion of the lower surface of the substrate W are held by a plurality of rotary holding pins 32 on the spin chuck 31. In this state, the substrate W is rotated in a horizontal posture.

In the back surface cleaning unit SSR, the substrate W with the back surface facing upward is carried in. Therefore, the substrate W is held by the spin chuck 31 with the back surface facing upward. Therefore, the back surface of the substrate W is subjected to a scrub cleaning treatment and then a rinsing treatment.

In the above example, an example in which pure water is used as the cleaning solution has been described, but as the cleaning solution, carbonated water, ozone water, hydrogen water, electrolytic ionized water or the like may be used instead of pure water, or BHF (buffer) may be used. Chemical solutions such as hydrofluoric acid), DHF (dilute hydrofluoric acid), hydrofluoric acid, hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid and ammonia may be used.

Further, in the above example, an example in which pure water is used as the rinsing liquid has been described, but as the rinsing liquid, carbonated water, ozone water, hydrogen water, electrolytic ionized water or the like may be used instead of pure water. , HFE (hydrofluoroether) or IPA (isopropyl alcohol) and other organic solvents may be used.

(8) Effect of First Embodiment In the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus 100, the substrate W is inverted by the inverting units RT1 and RT2, and the front surface and the back surface of the substrate W are inverted by the front surface cleaning unit SS and the back surface cleaning unit SSR, respectively. To be washed. Further, the substrate W is statically eliminated by the static elimination unit OWE using vacuum ultraviolet rays. As a result, contamination of the substrate W due to charging is suppressed, and the cleanliness of the front surface and the back surface of the substrate W is improved.

As described above, when the static elimination unit OWE performs the static elimination treatment on the substrate W before the cleaning treatment, the potential of the substrate W before the cleaning treatment approaches 0 (V). As a result, the discharge phenomenon caused by the charging of the substrate W does not occur during the cleaning process of the substrate W. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of processing defects due to a part of the substrate W being damaged.

Further, when the static elimination unit OWE performs the static elimination treatment on the substrate W after the cleaning treatment, the potential of the substrate W after the cleaning treatment approaches 0 (V) even when the substrate W is charged during the cleaning treatment of the substrate W. Therefore, the substrate W after the cleaning treatment can be kept clean.

In the static elimination unit OWE, the local transport hand 434 on which the substrate W is placed is moved with respect to the light emitting unit 300, and the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted by the light emitting unit 300 are irradiated to the upper surface of the substrate W. .. With such a configuration, it is not necessary to simultaneously irradiate the entire substrate W with vacuum ultraviolet rays during the static elimination treatment. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the increase in size of the light emitting unit 300.

[2] Second Embodiment Hereinafter, the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment will be described as being different from the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment.

(1) Outline of Configuration and Operation of Substrate Processing Device In the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment, the upper surface (front surface or back surface) of the substrate W is mainly chemically cleaned with a cleaning solution composed of, for example, a chemical solution. Ru. At this time, a film may or may not be formed on the surface of the substrate W. FIG. 27 is a plan view showing the configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 27, the substrate processing apparatus 600 according to the present embodiment has an indexer block 610 and a processing block 611. The indexer block 610 and the processing block 611 are provided so as to be arranged in one direction and adjacent to each other.

The indexer block 610 includes a plurality of (three in this example) carrier mounting bases 601 and a transport unit 610A. The plurality of carrier mounting tables 601 are connected to the transport unit 610A so as to be arranged in one direction. The carrier C is placed on each carrier mounting table 40. The transport unit 610A is provided with an indexer robot IR and a control unit 604. The indexer robot IR of this example has basically the same configuration as the indexer robot IR of FIG. The control unit 604 includes a computer including a CPU, a ROM, and a RAM, and controls each component in the substrate processing device 600.

The processing block 611 includes one transport section 611A, four cleaning sections 620A, 620B, 620C, 620D, one static elimination delivery section 680, and four fluid box sections 690A, 690B, 690C, 690D.

The transport unit 611A is provided in the central portion of the processing block 611. In the processing block 611, four cleaning units 620A, 620B, 620C, 620D and a static elimination transfer unit 680 are provided so as to surround the transport unit 611A in a plan view. The static elimination delivery unit 680 is further provided adjacent to the transport unit 610A of the indexer block 610. The four fluid box portions 690A, 690B, 690C, and 690D are provided adjacent to the corresponding cleaning portions 620A, 620B, 620C, and 620D, respectively.

A center robot CR is provided in the transport unit 611A. The center robot CR has basically the same configuration as the main robot MR of FIG. Each of the cleaning units 620A, 620B, 620C, and 620D is provided with a plurality (for example, three) cleaning units 620. The plurality of cleaning units 620 are stacked one above the other. In addition, only one cleaning unit 620 may be provided in each cleaning unit 620A, 620B, 620C, 620D.

In each cleaning unit 620, a cleaning treatment using a cleaning liquid, a rinsing treatment using a rinsing liquid, and a drying treatment are performed. In the present embodiment, the cleaning solution includes, for example, hydrofluoric acid, buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF), dilute hydrofluoric acid (DHF), hydrofluoric acid (hydrofluoric acid water: HF), hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, acetic acid, oxalic acid. Alternatively, an aqueous solution such as aqueous ammonia or a mixed solution thereof can be used. As the mixed solution, for example, a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide solution heated to a high temperature (SPM), a mixed solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide solution (SC1), or hydrochloric acid (HCl) and hydrogen peroxide solution. A mixed solution with water (SC2) can be used. As the rinsing liquid, pure water, carbonated water, ozone water, hydrogen water, electrolytic ionized water or the like can be used. Alternatively, as the rinsing solution, an organic solvent such as HFE (hydrofluoroether) or IPA (isopropyl alcohol) can be used. The configuration of the cleaning unit 620 will be described later.

Each fluid box unit 690A, 690B, 690C, 690D is a pipe, a joint for supplying cleaning liquid to the corresponding cleaning parts 620A, 620B, 620C, 620D and draining liquid from the corresponding cleaning parts 620A, 620B, 620C, 620D. , Valves, flow meters, regulators, pumps, temperature controllers, processing fluid storage tanks and other fluid-related equipment.

The static elimination delivery unit 680 is located between the transport unit 610A of the indexer block 610 and the transport unit 611A of the processing block 611. As a result, the substrate W is transferred between the two transport units 610A and 611A via the static elimination transfer unit 680. A plurality of (for example, three) static elimination units OWE2 are provided in the static elimination delivery unit 680. A plurality of static elimination units OWE2 are stacked one above the other.

Each static elimination unit OWE2 performs static elimination processing on the substrate W received from the indexer robot IR of the indexer block 610 and passes it to the center robot CR of the processing block 611. Further, the static elimination unit OWE2 performs static elimination processing on the substrate W received from the center robot CR of the processing block 611, and passes the static elimination unit to the indexer robot IR of the indexer block 610. The configuration of the static elimination unit OWE2 will be described later.

The basic operation in the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus 600 will be described. FIG. 28 is a flowchart showing a basic operation flow in the substrate processing apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment. The outline of the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 600 will be described with reference to FIGS. 27 and 28. The operation of each component of the substrate processing apparatus 600 described below is controlled by the control unit 604 of FIG. 27.

First, the indexer robot IR takes out the unprocessed substrate W from any carrier C in the indexer block 610 (step S21). The taken-out substrate W is passed to any of the static elimination units OWE2 of the static elimination delivery unit 680. The static elimination unit OWE2 performs static elimination processing on the received substrate W (step S22). The substrate W after the static elimination process is passed from the static elimination delivery unit 680 to the center robot CR.

The substrate W after the static elimination treatment received by the center robot CR is further carried into one of the plurality of cleaning units 620 of the cleaning units 620A to 620D. The cleaning unit 620 into which the substrate W is carried in performs cleaning treatment, rinsing treatment, and drying treatment of the substrate W (step S23). The substrate W after being processed by the cleaning unit 620 is carried out from the cleaning unit 620 by the center robot CR and passed to any of the static elimination units OWE2 of the static elimination delivery unit 680.

The static elimination unit OWE2 performs static elimination processing on the received substrate W (step S24). The substrate W after the static elimination process is passed from the static elimination delivery unit 680 to the indexer robot IR. The indexer robot IR stores the received processed substrate W in any carrier C in the indexer block 10 (step S25). In this way, the above series of operations are repeated for each substrate W carried into the substrate processing apparatus 600.

(2) Static Elimination Unit The configuration of the static elimination unit OWE2 according to the second embodiment will be described as being different from the static elimination unit OWE of FIG. 5 according to the first embodiment. FIG. 29 is an external perspective view of the static elimination unit OWE2 according to the second embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 29, the static elimination unit OWE2 includes a housing 60. The housing 60 has a front wall portion 61, a rear wall portion 62, a side wall portion 63, another side wall portion 64, a ceiling portion 65, and a floor portion 66. Regarding the static elimination unit OWE2, similarly to the static elimination unit OWE according to the first embodiment, the direction from the inside of the housing 60 toward the front wall portion 61 is called the front of the static elimination unit OWE2, and the opposite direction (housing 60). The direction from the inside to the rear wall portion 62) is referred to as the rear side of the static elimination unit OWE2.

The static elimination unit OWE2 is arranged so that the one side wall portion 63 faces the transport portion 610A of the indexer block 610 of FIG. 27, and the other side wall portion 64 faces the transport portion 611A of the processing block 611 of FIG. 27.

Here, in the static elimination unit OWE2, instead of forming the transport opening 62p of FIG. 5 on the rear wall portion 62, the transport openings 63p and 64p are formed on the one side wall portion 63 and the other side wall portion 64, respectively. The transport openings 63p and 64p are formed so as to sandwich the carry-in / carry-out portion 500.

Further, in the static elimination unit OWE2 of this example, the lid member 510 of the carry-in / carry-out portion 500 is formed larger than the substrate W. The opening 412b (FIG. 10) formed on the upper surface of the casing 410 is also formed larger than the substrate W.

As a result, with the opening 412b (FIG. 10) opened by the lid member 510, as shown by the thick dotted arrow AR1 in FIG. 29, the substrate W conveyed by the indexer robot IR of FIG. It is passed to the delivery mechanism 420 (FIG. 7) through 63p and carried into the casing 410. Further, as shown by the arrow AR2 of the thick two-dot chain line in FIG. 29, the substrate W is passed to the center robot CR of FIG. 27 by the delivery mechanism 420 (FIG. 7) in the casing 410, and the transport opening 64p is passed from the inside of the housing 60. It is carried out into the transport unit 611A through.

Further, with the opening 412b (FIG. 10) opened by the lid member 510, as shown by the thick dotted arrow AR3 in FIG. 29, the substrate W conveyed by the center robot CR in FIG. 27 has a conveying opening 64p. It is passed to the delivery mechanism 420 (FIG. 7) and carried into the casing 410. Further, as shown by the arrow AR4 of the thick two-dot chain line in FIG. 29, the substrate W is passed to the indexer robot IR of FIG. 27 by the delivery mechanism 420 (FIG. 7) in the casing 410, and the transport opening 63p is passed from the inside of the housing 60. It is carried out into the transport unit 610A through.

(3) Cleaning Unit FIG. 30 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the cleaning unit 620 of the substrate processing apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment. The cleaning unit 620 uses the cleaning liquids supplied from the fluid box portions 690A to 690D to remove impurities adhering to the surface of the substrate W by a cleaning treatment, and dries the surface of the clean substrate W.

As shown in FIG. 30, the cleaning unit 620 includes a spin chuck 621 for holding the substrate W horizontally and rotating the substrate W around a vertical axis passing through the center of the substrate W. The spin chuck 621 is fixed to the upper end of the rotation shaft 623 rotated by the chuck rotation drive mechanism 622. The spin chuck 621 of FIG. 30 is a mechanical chuck type spin chuck that holds the outer peripheral end portion of the substrate W, but a suction type spin chuck that holds the lower surface of the substrate W by vacuum suction is used as the spin chuck 621. You may.

A first motor 630 is provided on the outside of the spin chuck 621. A first rotation shaft 631 is connected to the first motor 630. Further, the first arm 632 is connected to the first rotation shaft 631 so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and a cleaning liquid nozzle 633 is provided at the tip of the first arm 632.

The first motor 630 rotates the first rotation shaft 631 and the first arm 632 rotates, and the cleaning liquid nozzle 633 moves above the substrate W held by the spin chuck 621.

A cleaning liquid supply pipe 634 is provided so as to pass through the inside of the first motor 630, the first rotation shaft 631, and the first arm 632. The cleaning liquid supply pipe 634 is connected to the fluid box portions 690A to 690D. The cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning liquid nozzle 633 from the fluid box portions 690A to 690D through the cleaning liquid supply pipe 634. Thereby, the cleaning liquid can be supplied to the surface of the substrate W.

Further, a second motor 640 is further provided on the outside of the spin chuck 621. A second rotation shaft 641 is connected to the second motor 640. Further, a second arm 642 is connected to the second rotation shaft 641 so as to extend in the horizontal direction, and a rinse liquid nozzle 643 is provided at the tip of the second arm 642.

The second rotation shaft 641 is rotated by the second motor 640, the second arm 642 is rotated, and the rinse liquid nozzle 643 is moved above the substrate W held by the spin chuck 621.

A rinse liquid supply pipe 644 is provided so as to pass through the inside of the second motor 640, the second rotation shaft 641 and the second arm 642. The rinse liquid supply pipe 644 is connected to the fluid box portions 690A to 690D. The rinse liquid is supplied to the rinse liquid nozzle 643 from the fluid box portions 690A to 690D through the rinse liquid supply pipe 644. Thereby, the rinse liquid can be supplied to the surface of the substrate W.

The cleaning liquid nozzle 633 is located above the substrate W during the cleaning treatment, and the cleaning liquid nozzle 633 is retracted to a predetermined position during the rinsing treatment and the drying treatment. Further, the rinsing liquid nozzle 643 is located above the substrate W during the rinsing treatment, and the rinsing liquid nozzle 643 is retracted to a predetermined position during the cleaning treatment and the drying treatment.

A cup device 650 is provided so as to surround the spin chuck 21. The cup device 650 collects the cleaning liquid used in the cleaning treatment and the rinsing liquid used in the rinsing treatment, and guides the collected cleaning liquid and rinsing liquid to a circulation system or a waste system (not shown).

(4) Effect of the Second Embodiment In the above-mentioned static elimination unit OWE2, transfer openings 63p and 64p are formed in one side wall portion 63 and the other side wall portion 64 of the housing 60, respectively. The transport openings 63p and 64p are used to transport the substrate W between the inside and the outside of the housing 60, respectively. As a result, the degree of freedom in designing the transport path of the substrate W passing through the static elimination unit OWE2 is improved.

In the substrate processing apparatus 600 according to the present embodiment, when the substrate W is conveyed from the carrier C of the indexer block 610 to the cleaning unit 620 of the processing block 611, and from the cleaning unit 620 of the processing block 611 to the carrier of the indexer block 610. When the substrate W is conveyed to C, the static elimination unit OWE2 performs static elimination processing on the substrate W. Thereby, the throughput of the substrate processing using the indexer block 610 and the processing block 611 can be improved.

[3] Other Embodiments (1) In the substrate processing devices 100 and 600 according to the above embodiment, static elimination treatment is performed on each of the substrate W before the cleaning treatment and the substrate W after the cleaning treatment. The invention is not limited to this. In the substrate processing devices 100 and 600, for example, the static elimination treatment may be performed only on the substrate W before the cleaning treatment, or the static elimination treatment may be performed only on the substrate W after the cleaning treatment.

(2) In the static elimination units OWE and OWE2 according to the above embodiment, the entire upper surface of the substrate W is irradiated with the vacuum ultraviolet rays by scanning the band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet rays on the upper surface of the substrate W. Not limited to this. The light emitting unit 300 of the static elimination units OWE and OWE2 may be configured to be capable of simultaneously irradiating the entire surface of the substrate W with vacuum ultraviolet rays. The time of static elimination processing in the static elimination units OWE and OWE2 can be shortened.

(3) In the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to the first embodiment, instead of providing the static elimination unit OWE in the front surface cleaning portion 11A and the back surface cleaning portion 11B of the processing block 11, the substrate mounting portions PASS1 and PASS2 are respectively. The static elimination unit OWE2 according to the second embodiment may be provided. In this case, when the substrate W is conveyed from the carrier C of the indexer block 10 to the front surface cleaning unit SS or the back surface cleaning unit SSR of the processing block 11, the static elimination unit OWE2 can perform static elimination processing on the substrate W. Further, when the substrate W is conveyed from the front surface cleaning unit SS or the back surface cleaning unit SSR of the processing block 11 to the carrier C of the indexer block 610, the static elimination unit OWE2 can perform static elimination processing on the substrate W.

(4) In the substrate processing apparatus 600 according to the second embodiment, the static elimination delivery unit 680 is provided with the substrate mounting portions PASS1 and PASS2 according to the first embodiment instead of the static elimination unit OWE2, and is cleaned. The static elimination unit OWE according to the first embodiment may be provided in any of the units 620A to 620D.

(5) In the front surface cleaning unit SS and the back surface cleaning unit SSR according to the first embodiment, the front surface and the back surface of the substrate W are cleaned with a brush, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The front surface cleaning unit SS and the back surface cleaning unit SSR may clean the substrate W by a soft spray method using a two-fluid nozzle instead of the brush cleaning tool 27 and the liquid discharge nozzle 28. The two-fluid nozzle is a nozzle that injects a mixed fluid composed of droplets of the cleaning liquid and a gas onto the substrate W by mixing the cleaning liquid and the pressurized gas (inert gas).

(6) In the cleaning unit 620 according to the second embodiment, the upper surface of the substrate W may be cleaned with a brush as in the first embodiment. Alternatively, the upper surface of the substrate W may be cleaned using the above-mentioned two-fluid nozzle.

(7) In the static elimination units OWE and OWE2 according to the above embodiment, the upper surface of the substrate W is irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays only when the local transfer hand 434 moves from the front position P2 to the rear position P1. Is not limited to this. Even if the upper surface of the substrate W is irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays only when the local transport hand 434 moves from the rear position P1 to the front position P2 instead of the case where the local transport hand 434 moves from the front position P2 to the rear position P1. Good. Further, when the local transfer hand 434 moves from the rear position P1 to the front position P2 and when it moves from the front position P2 to the rear position P1, the upper surface of the substrate W may be irradiated with vacuum ultraviolet rays.

(8) In the above embodiment, vacuum ultraviolet rays are used as light for separating oxygen molecules into two oxygen atoms, but the present invention is not limited to this. If it is possible to separate oxygen molecules into two oxygen atoms, the substrate W may be irradiated with light having a wavelength shorter than that of vacuum ultraviolet rays.

(9) In the above embodiment, nitrogen gas is used to reduce the oxygen concentration in the casing 410, but the present invention is not limited to this. Argon gas, helium gas, or the like may be used for the casing 410 instead of nitrogen gas.

(10) In the above embodiment, the lid member 510 is provided with the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520, but the second nitrogen gas supply unit 520 may not be provided. Further, although the light emitting unit 300 is provided with the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330, the third nitrogen gas supply unit 330 may not be provided. In these cases, the number of parts of the static elimination units OWE and OWE2 is reduced.

(11) In the above embodiment, the local transport hand 434 moves in the horizontal direction in a state where the band-shaped vacuum ultraviolet rays are emitted by the ultraviolet lamp 320, so that the strip-shaped vacuum ultraviolet rays are formed from one end to the other end of the substrate W. Vacuum ultraviolet is scanned, but the invention is not limited to this. With the substrate W mounted on a fixed mounting table, the ultraviolet lamp 320 moves horizontally above the substrate W to form a band-shaped vacuum from one end to the other end of the substrate W. Ultraviolet light may be scanned. In this case, the amount of ozone generated on the substrate W can be adjusted by adjusting the moving speed of the ultraviolet lamp 320.

[4] Correspondence relationship between each component of the claim and each part of the embodiment The following describes an example of the correspondence between each component of the claim and each component of the embodiment. Not limited to examples.

In the above embodiment, the front surface cleaning unit SS, the back surface cleaning unit SSR, and the cleaning unit 620 are examples of the cleaning processing unit, the static elimination units OWE and OWE2 are examples of the static elimination unit, and the local transport hand 434 is the holding unit. As an example, the light emitting unit 300 is an example of the emitting unit, and the substrate processing devices 100 and 600 are examples of the substrate processing device.

Further, control units 4 and 604 are examples of processing units, and feed shaft 431, feed shaft motor 432, two guide rails 433, two hand support members 435 and connecting member 439 are examples of relative moving units. The reversing units RT1 and RT2 are examples of the reversing device, the housing 60 is an example of the housing, and the transport openings 63p and 64p are examples of the first and second transport openings, respectively.

Further, the indexer robot IR is an example of the first transfer device, the indexer block 610 is an example of the first region, the center robot CR is an example of the second transfer device, and the processing block 611 is the second example. The area is an example, the carrier C is an example of a storage container, and the carrier mounting table 601 is an example of a container mounting portion. Further, the illuminance sensor S3 is an example of the illuminance detection unit, and the oxygen concentration sensor S4 is an example of the oxygen concentration detection unit.

As each component of the claim, various other components having the structure or function described in the claim can also be used.
[5] Reference form
(1) The substrate processing apparatus according to the present reference embodiment includes at least one of a cleaning processing unit for cleaning the substrate, a substrate before the cleaning treatment by the cleaning processing unit, and a substrate after the cleaning treatment by the cleaning processing unit. The static elimination unit includes a static elimination unit that performs static elimination processing, and includes a holding portion that holds the substrate in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules, and an exit portion that emits vacuum ultraviolet rays through the atmosphere to the substrate held by the holding portion.
In the substrate processing apparatus, the static elimination unit performs the static elimination treatment of the substrate at least one of the time before the cleaning treatment by the cleaning treatment unit and after the cleaning treatment. In the static elimination unit, the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the emission unit irradiate the substrate held by the holding unit through an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules.
At this time, the atmosphere on the substrate absorbs a part of the vacuum ultraviolet rays, and the oxygen molecules contained in the atmosphere are decomposed into two oxygen atoms by photodissociation. Ozone is generated by combining the decomposed oxygen atoms with the surrounding oxygen molecules.
Ozone is a resonance hybrid represented by the superposition of a positively charged resonance structure and a negatively charged resonance structure. Each resonance structure contains covalent and coordinate bonds. Since the coordination bond is unstable, when the generated ozone comes into contact with one surface of a positively or negatively charged substrate, charge is transferred between the ozone and the substrate. In this case, the coordination bond of ozone is broken, and the potential of the substrate approaches 0 (V). In this way, the entire substrate is statically eliminated regardless of the charge amount and charge polarity of the substrate. As a result, the cleanliness of the substrate after the cleaning treatment and the static elimination treatment is improved.
(2) The substrate processing apparatus further includes a control unit, and the static elimination unit further includes a relative moving unit that moves at least one of the holding unit and the emitting unit in one direction with respect to the other, and the control unit. May control the exiting portion and the relative moving portion so that the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted by the emitting portion are irradiated to the substrate held by the holding portion through the atmosphere. In this case, it is not necessary to simultaneously irradiate the entire substrate with vacuum ultraviolet rays. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an increase in the size of the exit portion.
(3) The control unit may control the relative movement speed between the holding unit and the emitting unit by the relative moving unit so that the substrate is irradiated with a predetermined amount of vacuum ultraviolet rays.
In this case, by controlling the relative moving speed between the holding part and the emitting part, the amount of vacuum ultraviolet light emitted per unit area on the substrate is adjusted, and the amount of ozone generated on the substrate is increased. It will be adjusted. By increasing the moving speed, the amount of vacuum ultraviolet light emitted to the substrate is reduced. Thereby, the amount of ozone generated on the substrate can be reduced. Further, by lowering the moving speed, the amount of vacuum ultraviolet rays irradiated to the substrate increases. Thereby, the amount of ozone generated on the substrate can be increased. Therefore, it becomes possible to uniformly supply a desired amount of ozone on the substrate. As a result, it becomes possible to uniformly eliminate static electricity on the entire substrate.
(4) The substrate has one surface and the other surface, the substrate processing device further includes an inversion device that inverts one surface and the other surface of the substrate, and the cleaning processing unit is one surface of the substrate that has not been inverted by the inversion device. It may be configured so that the other surface of the substrate inverted by the reversing device can be cleaned. In this case, the cleanliness of one surface and the other surface of the substrate can be improved.
(5) The static eliminator further includes a housing for accommodating the holding portion and the emitting portion, and the housing has first and second transport openings for transporting the substrate between the inside and the outside of the housing. You may have. In this case, the substrate can be carried in and out of the static elimination unit using the first and second transport openings. As a result, the degree of freedom in designing the transfer path of the substrate is improved.
(6) The substrate processing device has a first region including a first transport device and a second region including a cleaning processing section and a second transport device, and the static elimination section has a first transport opening. The substrate may be arranged so that the substrate can be delivered to the first transfer device through the second transfer device and the substrate can be transferred to the second transfer device through the second transfer opening. In this case, when the substrate is transported between the first region and the second region by the first and second transport devices, it becomes possible to perform the static elimination processing of the substrate.
(7) The first region further includes a container mounting portion on which a storage container for accommodating the substrate is placed, and the first transport device includes a storage container mounted on the container mounting portion and a static elimination unit. The substrate is conveyed between the first transfer devices, the second transfer device transfers the substrate between the static elimination unit and the cleaning processing unit, and the static elimination unit transfers the substrate from the first transfer device to the second transfer device. In this case and when the substrate is transferred from the second transfer device to the first transfer device, the static elimination treatment of the substrate may be performed.
In this case, when the substrate is transported from the storage container in the first region to the cleaning processing unit in the second region, and when the substrate is transported from the cleaning processing unit in the processing region to the storage container in the loading / unloading region. , The static elimination unit performs static elimination processing on the substrate. Thereby, the throughput of the substrate processing using the first region and the second region can be improved.
(8) The static elimination unit may perform static elimination treatment on the substrate before it is cleaned by the cleaning processing unit. In this case, the potential of the substrate before the cleaning treatment approaches 0 (V). As a result, the discharge phenomenon due to the charging of the substrate does not occur during the cleaning process. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of processing defects due to a part of the substrate being damaged.
(9) The control unit may perform static elimination processing on the substrate after being cleaned by the cleaning processing unit. In this case, even if the substrate is charged during the cleaning treatment, the potential of the substrate approaches 0 (V) by performing the static elimination treatment on the substrate after the cleaning treatment. Thereby, the substrate after the cleaning treatment can be kept clean.
(10) In the substrate processing method according to the present reference embodiment, the static elimination treatment of the substrate is performed at least at one of the step of cleaning the substrate, before the step of performing the cleaning treatment, and after the step of performing the cleaning treatment. The steps of performing the static elimination treatment include the steps of holding the substrate by the holding portion in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules, and the above-mentioned steps of emitting vacuum ultraviolet rays from the emitting portion and emitting vacuum ultraviolet rays by the emitting portion. It includes a step of irradiating the substrate held by the holding portion through the atmosphere.
In the substrate processing method, the static elimination treatment of the substrate is performed at least at one of the time before the cleaning treatment and after the cleaning treatment. In the static elimination treatment, the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the emitting portion irradiate the substrate held by the holding portion through an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules. At this time, ozone is generated by absorbing a part of the vacuum ultraviolet rays in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules.
When the generated ozone comes into contact with one surface of a positively or negatively charged substrate, charges are transferred between the ozone and the substrate. In this case, the coordination bond of ozone is broken, and the potential of the substrate approaches 0 (V). In this way, the entire substrate is statically eliminated regardless of the charge amount and charge polarity of the substrate. As a result, the cleanliness of the substrate after the cleaning treatment and the static elimination treatment is improved.

The present invention can be effectively used for processing various substrates.

4,604 ... Control unit, 10,610 ... Indexer block, 10A, 11C, 610A, 611A ... Transport unit, 11,611 ... Processing block, 11A ... Front surface cleaning unit, 11B ... Back surface cleaning unit, 21, 31, 621 ... Spin chuck, 22,622 ... Chuck rotation drive mechanism, 23,25,623 ... Rotating shaft, 24 ... Motor, 26 ... Arm, 27 ... Brush cleaner, 28 ... Liquid discharge nozzle, 29 ... Supply pipe, 32 ... Rotary type Holding pin, 40, 601 ... Carrier mounting base, 60 ... Housing, 61 ... Front wall part, 62 ... Rear wall part, 62p, 63p, 64p ... Conveyance opening, 63 ... One side wall part, 64 ... Other side wall part, 65 ... Ceiling part, 66 ... Floor part, 70 ... Exhaust part, 71 ... Piping, 72 ... Exhaust device, 100, 600 ... Board processing device, 300 ... Light emitting part, 310, 410 ... Casing, 320 ... Ultraviolet lamp, 321 ... Exit surface, 330 ... Third nitrogen gas supply unit, 331, 451, 511 ... Injection hole, 339, 459, 529 ... Nitrogen gas introduction pipe, 400 ... Substrate moving part, 411 ... Front upper surface portion, 412 ... Rear upper surface portion , 412b ... opening, 413 ... lower surface, 414 ... front surface, 415 ... rear surface, 416 ... one side surface, 417 ... other side surface, 418 ... gas outlet pipe, 419 ... central upper surface, 420 ... delivery mechanism, 421 ... Lifting pin, 422 ... Pin support member, 423 ... Pin lifting drive unit, 430 ... Local transport mechanism, 431 ... Feed shaft, 432 ... Feed shaft motor, 433 ... Guide rail, 434 ... Local transport hand, 434h ... Through hole , 435 ... hand support member, 439 ... connecting member, 441 ... sensor elevating drive unit, 442 ... shading member, 443 ... shading drive unit, 450 ... first nitrogen gas supply unit, 500 ... loading / unloading unit, 510 ... lid member , 510b ... Groove, 520 ... Second nitrogen gas supply, 590 ... Lid drive, 591 ... Support plate, 592 ... Support shaft, 620 ... Cleaning unit, 620A, 620B, 620C, 620D ... Cleaning, 630 ... 1 motor, 631 ... 1st rotating shaft, 632 ... 1st arm, 633 ... cleaning liquid nozzle, 634 ... cleaning liquid supply pipe, 640 ... second motor, 641 ... second rotating shaft, 642 ... second 2 arms, 643 ... rinse liquid nozzle, 644 ... rinse liquid supply pipe, 650 ... cup device, 680 ... static elimination delivery part, 690A, 690B, 690C, 690D ... fluid box part, C ... carrier, CR ... center robot, IR … Indexer robot, IRH, MRH… hand, MR… main robot, OWE, OWE2… static elimination uni , P1 ... Rear position, P2 ... Front position, PASS1, PASS2 ... Board mounting part, RT1, RT2 ... Inversion unit, S1 ... Rear position sensor, S2 ... Front position sensor, S3 ... Illuminance sensor, S4 ... Oxygen concentration Sensor, SS ... Front surface cleaning unit, SSR ... Back surface cleaning unit, UV ... Vacuum illuminance, W ... Substrate, pr ... Projection

Claims (10)

A cleaning processing unit that cleans the substrate and
A static elimination unit that performs static elimination processing on at least one of the substrate before the cleaning treatment by the cleaning treatment unit and the substrate after the cleaning treatment by the cleaning treatment unit .
Equipped with a control unit
The static elimination unit
A holding part that holds the substrate in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules,
An exit portion that emits vacuum ultraviolet rays through the atmosphere on the substrate held by the holding portion ,
A relative moving portion that moves at least one of the holding portion and the emitting portion relative to the other in one direction.
Includes an illuminance detection unit that detects the illuminance of vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted from the substrate by the emission unit.
The control unit controls the emission unit and the relative moving unit so that the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted by the emission unit are irradiated to the substrate held by the holding unit through the atmosphere, and is generated on the substrate. In order to adjust the amount of ozone to be generated to a predetermined amount, the relative moving speed between the holding part and the emitting part by the relative moving part is feedback-controlled based on the illuminance detected by the illuminance detecting part. , Substrate processing equipment. The exposure amount corresponding to the predetermined amount of ozone to be supplied to the substrate in the static elimination process is predetermined as a set exposure amount for each substrate or each type of substrate.
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs the feedback control so that the exposure amount of each substrate becomes a preset set exposure amount for the substrate. Further provided with an oxygen concentration detecting unit for detecting the oxygen concentration in the atmosphere,
The control unit determines whether or not the oxygen concentration detected by the oxygen concentration detection unit is lower than the set value, and only when the detected oxygen concentration is lower than the set value, the static elimination process is performed by the static elimination unit. performing a substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 wherein. The substrate has one side and the other side,
The substrate processing device is
Further provided with a reversing device for reversing the one side and the other side of the substrate.
Any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cleaning processing unit is configured to be able to clean the one side of the substrate that has not been inverted by the reversing device and can clean the other surface of the substrate that has been inverted by the reversing device. The substrate processing apparatus according to item 1. The static elimination unit further includes a housing for accommodating the holding unit and the emitting unit.
The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the housing has first and second transfer openings for transporting a substrate between the inside and the outside of the housing. The first area including the first transfer device and
It has a cleaning processing unit and a second region including a second transport device.
The static elimination unit is arranged so that the substrate can be delivered to the first transport device through the first transport opening and the substrate can be delivered to the second transport device through the second transport opening. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5. The first region further includes a container mounting portion on which a storage container for accommodating the substrate is placed.
The first transport device transports the substrate between the storage container mounted on the container mounting portion and the static elimination portion.
The second transport device transports the substrate between the static elimination unit and the cleaning processing unit.
The static elimination unit removes static electricity from the substrate when the substrate is delivered from the first transfer device to the second transfer device and when the substrate is transferred from the second transfer device to the first transfer device. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6, which performs processing. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the static elimination unit performs the static elimination treatment on a substrate before being cleaned by the cleaning processing unit. The charge-eliminating unit, the cleaning unit performs the charge removing process on a substrate after being cleaned, the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-8. Steps to clean the board and
Including a step of static elimination treatment of a substrate at least one of a time point before the step of performing the cleaning treatment and after the step of performing the cleaning treatment.
The step of performing the static elimination process is
The step of holding the substrate by the holding part in an atmosphere containing oxygen molecules,
The step of emitting vacuum ultraviolet rays from the exit part ,
At least one of the emitting portion and the holding portion is moved relative to the other in one direction so that the vacuum ultraviolet rays emitted by the emitting portion are irradiated to the substrate held by the holding portion through the atmosphere. Steps to make and
The step of detecting the illuminance of the vacuum ultraviolet rays radiated to the substrate by the emitting part,
A substrate including a step of feedback-controlling the relative moving speed between the holding portion and the emitting portion based on the detected illuminance in order to adjust the amount of ozone generated on the substrate to a predetermined amount. Processing method.

Images