JP7461269B2 - Substrate Processing Equipment - Google Patents

Description

This invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate by immersing it in a processing liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water stored in a processing tank and supplying air bubbles to the substrate in the processing liquid. The substrates include semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, glass substrates for plasma displays, glass or ceramic substrates for magnetic or optical disks, glass substrates for organic electroluminescence, glass substrates or silicon substrates for solar cells, etc.

2. Description of the Related Art In the field of manufacturing semiconductor devices, there is a need for a technique for forming recesses with a high aspect ratio in order to cope with the increasing density and capacity of semiconductor devices. For example, in the manufacturing process of a three-dimensional NAND type nonvolatile semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as "3D-NAND memory"), a stack of silicon oxide films (SiO2 films) and silicon nitride films (SiN films) is stacked. The method includes a step of forming a recess in the direction, then supplying a processing liquid to the recess and removing the SiN film by wet etching. In order to perform this step, it is being considered to use the substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, for example.

The substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a processing tank that stores a processing liquid for processing a substrate, a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate in the processing liquid of the processing tank, a fluid supply unit that supplies fluid to the processing tank, and a control unit that controls the fluid supply unit. The control unit controls the fluid supply unit so that the fluid supply unit changes the supply of fluid between the start of supplying fluid to the processing tank that stores the processing liquid in which the substrate is immersed and the end of supplying fluid. In this substrate processing apparatus, a first fluid supply pipe and a second fluid supply pipe that supply gas or liquid parallel to the normal direction of the main surface of the substrate extend at the bottom of the processing tank as the fluid supply unit. The control unit switches the period during which gas or liquid is supplied from the first fluid supply pipe and the second fluid supply pipe, in an attempt to suppress uneven processing of the substrate in the processing tank.

Here, when gas is supplied from the fluid supply pipe, the supplied gas rises in the processing liquid as bubbles. It is believed that the speed of the upward flow of the processing liquid is increased by the buoyancy of the bubbles, and when the bubbles pass over the surface of the substrate, they come into contact with the substrate surface and can agitate the processing liquid layer (high concentration layer) with a high silicon concentration present on the substrate surface. This promotes the replacement of the processing liquid on the substrate surface with fresh processing liquid after the bubbles have passed. As a result, the silicon concentration near the top of the pattern formed by wet etching with the processing liquid is reduced, and it is believed that rapid and uniform substrate processing is possible deep into the narrow and deep grooves of the pattern. Here, it is believed that the degree of agitation of the processing liquid by the bubbles is greater when the diameter (bubble diameter) of the bubbles passing over the substrate surface is smaller.

JP2020-47885A

In Patent Document 1, the diameter of the fluid supply pipe is, for example, approximately 8.0 mm, the diameter of the discharge port is approximately 0.3 mm, and the diameter of bubbles discharged from the discharge port is approximately 2.0 mm to approximately 3.5 mm. is within the range of However, it is desired to further reduce the bubble diameter. Immediately after bubbles are generated from the ejection port, the bubbles adhere to the periphery of the ejection port, and as the ejection time elapses, the adhering region spreads radially around the ejection port. Thereafter, the bubbles leave the contact area and are supplied into the processing liquid. Since there is a limit to how small the discharge port can be, it has been difficult to further reduce the bubble diameter.

This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and is provided in a substrate processing apparatus that processes a substrate by immersing the substrate in a processing liquid stored in a processing tank and supplies air bubbles to the surface of the substrate. The purpose is to improve the processing quality of substrates by reducing the bubble diameter.

A first aspect of the present invention includes a processing tank that stores a processing solution in which substrates are immersed and processed, and a substrate that holds the substrates in an upright position while arranging them horizontally while being spaced apart from each other in the processing tank. a holding section; a processing liquid discharging section that forms a flow of the processing liquid from below the substrate held by the substrate holding section upward along the substrate; the processing liquid discharging section and the substrate holding section; a bubble supplying section disposed between the processing liquid and supplying bubbles into the processing liquid stored in the processing tank; The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that it has a bubble discharge port that is provided in the supply pipe and discharges bubbles in the direction in which the substrates are arranged.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the bubble discharge port of the bubble supply unit is provided between the processing liquid discharge unit and the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holder, and discharges the bubbles in the direction in which the substrates are arranged. Therefore, the bubbles can be removed from the bubble discharge port using the flow of the processing liquid. As a result, bubbles having a smaller diameter can be supplied to the surface of the substrate than when the bubbles are removed from the bubble outlet of the gas supply pipe without using the flow of the processing liquid. In addition, by using the rise of the processing liquid to supply air bubbles to the surface of the substrate, the rising speed of the bubbles can be increased, and the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate can be rapidly and continuously replaced with fresh processing liquid. I can do it.

A second aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, in which the gas supply pipe extends along the main surface of the substrate when viewed from above, and is attached to a side wall. The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that it has a plurality of bubble discharge ports, and the bubble discharge ports are positioned so as to be able to supply bubbles to gaps between the substrates that are held by the substrate holder and are adjacent to each other.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the bubble discharge port is located below the gap between the substrates, bubbles with a small bubble diameter can be supplied to the surface of the substrate using the flow of the processing liquid.

A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the treatment liquid discharge section includes a treatment liquid supply pipe into which the treatment liquid is supplied, and a treatment liquid supply pipe into which the treatment liquid is supplied. The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that a side wall of a supply pipe has a plurality of processing liquid discharge ports, and the processing liquid discharge ports are located below a gap between the substrates that are adjacent to each other.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the processing liquid discharge port is located below the gap between the substrates, bubbles with a small bubble diameter can be supplied to the gap between the plurality of arrayed substrates.

The fourth aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus according to the second or third aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the bubble supply section has a plurality of the gas supply pipes, the gas supply pipes are horizontally adjacent to other gas supply pipes, and the bubble discharge port opens in a substantially horizontal direction below the gap between the substrates.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to supply bubbles having even smaller diameters to the surface of multiple arranged substrates.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the bubble discharge port is located at the tip of a hollow protruding portion protruding from the gas supply pipe.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, bubbles having even smaller diameters can be supplied to the surfaces of multiple arranged substrates.

The sixth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the protruding portion has a columnar or tapered shape.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, bubbles having even smaller diameters can be supplied to the surfaces of multiple substrates arranged in an array.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the fourth to sixth aspects of the present invention, wherein the bubble discharge port has a circular shape or an elliptical shape. It is a processing device.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to supply bubbles having even smaller diameters to the surfaces of multiple arranged substrates.

The eighth aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the second to seventh aspects of the present invention, characterized in that the substrate is held by the substrate holder in a state in which the front surfaces or back surfaces of the substrates facing adjacent substrates are opposed to each other.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced, and substrates can be processed efficiently.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, wherein the substrate is adjacent to the back surface of the substrate with the back surfaces facing each other. This is a substrate processing apparatus characterized in that a partition plate is provided between the back surfaces of the substrates.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, more bubbles with smaller diameters can be supplied to the surface of the substrate than when the partition plate is not present.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to ninth aspects of the present invention, wherein the bubble supply section is made of a resin material, and the resin material is made of polyether ether. A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that it is made of at least one member selected from the group consisting of ketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, bubbles having smaller bubble diameters can be supplied to the surfaces of a plurality of arrayed substrates.

The eleventh aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the bubble discharge port has been subjected to a hydrophilic treatment.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, bubbles having smaller bubble diameters can be supplied to the surfaces of a plurality of arrayed substrates.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects of the present invention, characterized in that a rectifying plate is provided below the gas supply pipe. It is.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, bubbles having smaller bubble diameters can be supplied to the surfaces of a plurality of arrayed substrates.

According to the present invention, small-diameter bubbles can be supplied to the surface of the substrate, so that the processing liquid with a high silicon concentration near the top of the pattern can be replaced with new processing liquid to lower the silicon concentration. Furthermore, the processing liquid deep inside the narrow and deep grooves of the pattern on the surface of the substrate can be replaced with fresh processing liquid due to the concentration gradient of silicon. As a result, substrate processing can be performed quickly and uniformly, and the processing quality of the substrate can be improved.

1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system including a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the main components of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. FIG. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship between a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, a bubble discharge port, and a processing liquid discharge port. 3 is a top view of the main configuration of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2. 6 is an enlarged partial view showing a part of the gas supply pipe 842 shown in FIG. 5 when viewed from the (-X) direction. FIG. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing a comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment; FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship among a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, a bubble discharge port, a processing liquid discharge port, and a partition plate. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship among a plurality of substrates held by a lifter, a bubble discharge port, a processing liquid discharge port, and a partition plate. FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view showing another embodiment of a bubble discharge port. FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial view showing another form of gas supply pipe. FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial view showing another form of gas supply pipe. FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view showing another type of gas supply pipe. FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view showing another type of gas supply pipe. FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view showing another type of gas supply pipe. FIG. 7 is an enlarged partial view showing another form of gas supply pipe. FIG. 13 is an enlarged partial view showing another type of gas supply pipe.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system including a first embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 includes a storage container mounting section 2, a shutter drive mechanism 3, a substrate transfer robot 4, an attitude changing mechanism 5, a pusher 6, a substrate transport mechanism 7, a processing unit 8, and a control section. 9. In order to uniformly indicate the directions in each of the following figures, XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are set as shown in FIG. Here, the XY plane represents a horizontal plane. Further, the Z axis represents a vertical axis, and more specifically, the Z direction is the vertical direction.

In the container mounting section 2, a container containing a substrate W is placed. In the present embodiment, as an example of the storage device, a hoop F is used which is configured to be able to store a plurality of (for example, 25) substrates W in a horizontal position stacked in the Z direction. The hoop F is placed on the storage device placement section 2 with an unprocessed substrate W stored therein, or is placed on the storage device placement section 2 in an empty state to store a processed substrate W. Sometimes it happens. In this embodiment, the substrate W housed in the hoop F is a semiconductor wafer forming a 3D-NAND memory, and has a recessed portion with a high aspect ratio. In this embodiment, the substrate W is a disk-shaped substrate.

A shutter drive mechanism 3, a substrate transfer robot 4, an attitude changing mechanism 5, a pusher 6, a substrate transport mechanism 7, and a processing unit 8 are provided in the process space adjacent to the storage container mounting section 2 in the (+Y) direction. is located. The container mounting portion 2 and the process space are separated by a partition wall (not shown) including a shutter 31 that can be opened and closed. The shutter 31 is connected to the shutter drive mechanism 3. The shutter drive mechanism 3 closes the shutter 31 in response to a closing command from the control section 9 to spatially separate the container mounting section 2 and the process space. Further, the shutter drive mechanism 3 opens the shutter 31 in response to an opening command from the control section 9, thereby communicating the container mounting section 2 and the process space. Thereby, unprocessed substrates W can be carried into the process space from the hoop F, and processed substrates W can be carried out to the hoop F.

The above-mentioned loading and unloading process of the substrates W is performed by the substrate transfer robot 4. The substrate transfer robot 4 is configured to be freely rotatable in a horizontal plane. The substrate transfer robot 4 transfers multiple substrates W between the posture conversion mechanism 5 and FOUP F with the shutter 31 open. In addition, the posture conversion mechanism 5 converts the posture of the multiple substrates W between an upright posture and a horizontal posture after receiving the substrates W from FOUP F via the substrate transfer robot 4 or before transferring the substrates W to FOUP F.

The pusher 6 is disposed on the substrate transport mechanism 7 side (+X direction side in FIG. 1) of the attitude conversion mechanism 5. A plurality of substrates W in an upright position are transferred between the attitude conversion mechanism 5 and the substrate transport mechanism 7, and another plurality of substrates W in an upright position are inserted. Each pair of adjacent substrates W can be batch assembled in a state where the front surfaces or back surfaces face each other at a certain distance (i.e., face-to-face state or back-to-back state). Also, each pair of adjacent substrates W can be batch assembled in a state where the front surface and back surface face each other (i.e., face-to-back state). In this embodiment, 50 substrates W are disposed in a face-to-face state in the X direction. The front surface of the substrate W is, for example, the main surface on which a circuit pattern is formed, and the back surface of the substrate W is the surface opposite the front surface. Note that the circuit pattern is not prevented from being formed on the back surface of the substrate W.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transport mechanism 7 moves horizontally from a position facing the pusher 6 (hereinafter referred to as the "standby position") along the arrangement direction (Y direction in FIG. 1) in which the processing units 81 to 85 constituting the processing unit 8 are arranged. The substrate transport mechanism 7 has a pair of suspension arms 71. The pair of suspension arms 71 can be swung to hold or release a plurality of substrates W collectively. More specifically, the lower edges of the arms 71 swing about a horizontal axis in a direction away from each other to release the plurality of substrates W, and the lower edges of the arms 71 swing about a horizontal axis in a direction approaching each other to clamp and hold the plurality of substrates W. Although not shown in FIG. 1, the substrate transport mechanism 7 has an arm moving unit and an arm swinging unit. Of these, the arm moving unit has the function of moving the pair of suspension arms 71 horizontally along the arrangement direction Y in which the processing units 81 to 85 are arranged. Therefore, this horizontal movement positions the pair of suspension arms 71 at positions facing each of the processing sections 81-85 (hereinafter referred to as "processing positions") and at the standby position.

The arm swinging unit has a function of executing the arm swinging operation, and switches between a holding state in which the substrate W is clamped and held, and a release state in which the substrate W is released from the clamped state. Therefore, by this switching operation and the up and down movement of the first lifter 810a functioning as the substrate holding unit of the processing units 81 and 82 and the second lifter 810b functioning as the substrate holding unit of the processing units 83 and 84, it is possible to transfer the substrate W between the first lifter 810a and the hanging arm 71, or between the second lifter 810b and the hanging arm 71. In addition, at the processing position facing the processing unit 85, it is possible to transfer the substrate W between the holding unit provided in the processing unit 85 and the hanging arm 71. Furthermore, at the standby position, it is possible to transfer the substrate W between the posture conversion mechanism 5 and the hanging arm 71 via the pusher 6.

The processing unit 8 is provided with five processing sections 81 to 85 as described above, each of which includes a first chemical processing section 81, a first rinsing processing section 82, a second chemical processing section 83, and a second rinsing processing section. It functions as a section 84 and a drying section 85. Of these, the first chemical processing section 81 and the second chemical processing section 83 store the same or different types of chemical in a processing tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the chemical at once. Apply processing. The first rinsing processing section 82 and the second rinsing processing section 84 each store a rinsing liquid (for example, pure water) in a processing tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the rinsing liquid at once. The surface is subjected to rinsing treatment. These first chemical processing section 81, first rinsing processing section 82, second chemical processing section 83, and second rinsing processing section 84 correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Although the types are different, the basic configuration is the same. Note that the device configuration and operation will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first chemical processing unit 81 and the adjacent first rinse processing unit 82 are paired, and the second chemical processing unit 83 and the adjacent second rinse processing unit 84 are paired. The first lifter 810a not only functions as the "substrate holder" of the present invention in the first chemical processing unit 81 and the first rinse processing unit 82, but also functions as a dedicated transport mechanism for transferring the substrate W that has been chemically processed in the first chemical processing unit 81 to the first rinse processing unit 82. The second lifter 810b not only functions as the "substrate holder" of the present invention in the second chemical processing unit 83 and the second rinse processing unit 84, but also functions as a dedicated transport mechanism for transferring the substrate W that has been chemically processed in the second chemical processing unit 83 to the second rinse processing unit 84.

In the processing unit 8 configured in this manner, the three support members 812 of the first lifter 810a receive multiple substrates W from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 all at once, and, as described in detail later, perform an overflow process in which the processing liquid overflows from the processing tank 821 and an air bubble supply process in which air bubbles V are supplied into the processing liquid stored in the processing tank 821, while lowering the substrates W into the processing tank of the first chemical processing unit 81 and immersing them in the chemical liquid (immersion process). Furthermore, after waiting for a predetermined chemical processing time, the first lifter 810a lifts the support members 812 holding the multiple substrates W from the chemical liquid and moves them laterally to the first rinse processing unit 82, and further lowers the support members 812 into the processing tank 821 of the first rinse processing unit 82 while holding the chemically processed substrates W, and immerses them in the rinse liquid. After waiting for a predetermined rinsing time, the first lifter 810a raises the support member 812 while holding the rinsed substrate W, and lifts the substrate W out of the rinsing liquid. After this, multiple substrates W are collectively transferred from the support member of the first lifter 810a to a pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7.

Similarly, the second lifter 810b receives a plurality of substrates W from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 in a lump, and lowers the plurality of substrates W into the treatment tank 821 of the second chemical processing unit 83 to immerse them in the chemical solution. After waiting for a predetermined chemical processing time, the second lifter 810b raises the support member 812 to lift the plurality of substrates W that have been treated with the chemical solution from the chemical solution, moves the support member 812 sideways to the treatment tank of the second rinse processing unit 84, and further lowers the support member 812 into the treatment tank 821 of the second rinse processing unit 84 to immerse them in the rinse solution. After waiting for a predetermined rinse processing time, the second lifter 810b raises the support member 812 to lift the substrates W from the rinse solution. After this, the plurality of substrates W are handed over in a lump from the support member of the second lifter 810b to the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7. It is also possible to provide a lifter that functions as the "substrate holder" of the present invention in each of the first chemical processing section 81, the first rinsing processing section 82, the second chemical processing section 83, and the second rinsing processing section 84, and to configure the substrate W to be loaded and unloaded from the processing sections 81 to 84 by the substrate transport mechanism 7 or a dedicated transport mechanism.

The drying processing section 85 has a substrate holding member (not shown) that can hold a plurality of (for example, 50) substrates W arranged in an upright position, and is equipped with an organic solvent (isopropyl The substrate W is dried by supplying alcohol (alcohol, etc.) to the substrate W or by shaking off liquid components on the surface of the substrate W by centrifugal force. This drying processing section 85 has a processing tank 824 deeper than processing tanks 821 such as the processing section 84, and a lid that slides in the (-X) direction is attached to the top of the processing tank 824 to make it airtight (not shown). There is an aqueous layer on the lower side of the treatment tank 824, and drying can be performed using organic solvent vapor above the aqueous layer. The lifter of the drying processing section 85 is located below the lid that slides in the (-X) direction, and is configured to be able to transfer the substrate W between it and the pair of hanging arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7. Then, the plurality of substrates W after the rinsing process are collectively received from the substrate transport mechanism 7, and the plurality of substrates W are subjected to a drying process. Further, after the drying process, the plurality of substrates W are transferred from the substrate holding member to the substrate transport mechanism 7 at once.

Next, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. The first chemical processing unit 81, the first rinsing processing unit 82, the second chemical processing unit 83, and the second rinsing processing unit 84 provided in the substrate processing system 1 shown in FIG. 1 differ in part in the processing liquid used (chemical liquid and rinsing liquid), but the apparatus configuration and operation are basically the same. Therefore, in the following, the configuration and operation of the first chemical processing unit 81, which corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, will be described, and descriptions of the first rinsing processing unit 82, the second chemical processing unit 83, and the second rinsing processing unit 84 will be omitted.

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram showing the general configuration of a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Figure 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the main configuration of the substrate processing apparatus shown in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of Figure 2. Figure 5 is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between multiple substrates W held by a lifter, a bubble outlet 845, and a processing liquid outlet 834. Figure 6 is a top view of the main configuration of the substrate processing apparatus shown in Figure 2. Figure 7 is an enlarged partial view showing a part of the gas supply pipe 842 shown in Figure 5 as viewed from the (-X) direction.

The first chemical treatment section 81 is a device that etches and removes a silicon nitride film formed on the surface of the substrate W using a chemical solution containing, for example, phosphoric acid as a treatment liquid. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the first chemical treatment section 81 includes a processing tank 821 for performing a first chemical treatment on the substrate W. This processing tank 821 has a box structure with an upward opening, which is composed of a bottom wall 821a that is rectangular in plan view, and four side walls 821b to 821e rising from the periphery of the bottom wall 821a. Therefore, the processing tank 821 can store the processing liquid in the storage space 821f surrounded by the bottom wall 821a and the side walls 821b to 821e, while simultaneously immersing the plurality of substrates W held by the first lifter 810a. It has become. Further, the processing tank 821 has an upper opening 821g opened in the (+Z) direction, and allows the processing liquid to overflow from the storage space 821f.

An overflow tank 822 is provided around the processing tank 821, and the overflow tank 822 and side walls 821b to 821e of the processing tank 821 form a recovery space 822a for collecting overflowing processing liquid. Further, an outer container 823 is provided so as to surround the processing tank 821 and the overflow tank 822 below and on the sides.

A flow piping system 839 is arranged in a part of the recovery space 822a of the overflow tank 822, more specifically, in the space on the (-X) direction side of the side wall 821d. The inlet of the flow piping system 839 is connected to the processing liquid supply section 832, and the outlet is connected to the processing liquid supply pipe 831 of the processing liquid discharge section 830. Therefore, when the processing liquid supply section 832 operates in response to a processing liquid supply command from the control section 9, the processing liquid is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of processing liquid supply pipes 831 via the flow piping system 839. As a result, the processing liquid is discharged from the processing liquid supply pipe 831 and stored in the storage space 821f. Note that the detailed configuration of the processing liquid supply pipe 831 will be described in detail later.

Further, the processing liquid overflowing from the processing tank 821 is collected into an overflow tank 822. A processing liquid recovery section 833 is connected to this overflow tank 822 . When the processing liquid recovery section 833 operates in response to a processing liquid recovery command from the control section 9, the processing liquid recovered in the overflow tank 822 is sent to the processing liquid supply section 832 via the processing liquid recovery section 833. Offered for reuse. In this manner, in this embodiment, the processing liquid can be stored in the storage space 821f while being circulated and supplied to the processing tank 821.

2, a first lifter 810a is provided to immerse multiple substrates W in a storage space 821f in which the processing liquid is stored while holding them together. The first lifter 810a is configured to be able to move up and down between a "transfer position" where multiple substrates W are transferred between the substrate transport mechanism 7 (FIG. 1) and the storage space 821f. The first lifter 810a includes a back plate 811, three support members 812, and an extension member 813. The back plate 811 extends toward the bottom wall 821a along the side wall 821b of the processing tank 821. The support member 812 extends in the (-X) direction from the lower end side surface of the back plate 811. In this embodiment, three support members 812 are provided. A plurality of V-shaped grooves 812a are arranged at a constant pitch in the X direction on the upper surface of each support member 812. The groove 812a is a V-shaped groove that is slightly wider than the thickness of the substrate W and opens in the (+Z) direction, allowing the substrate W to be latched. Therefore, the three support members 812 can collectively hold multiple substrates W transported by the substrate transport mechanism 7 at a constant substrate pitch PT (FIG. 5). The extension member 813 extends in the (+X) direction from the rear surface of the upper end of the back plate 811. The first lifter 810a is L-shaped overall, as shown in FIG. 2. The uppermost position of the first lifter 810a is set to a height that allows the substrate transport mechanism 7 to pass above the support member 812 even when the substrate transport mechanism 7 is holding multiple substrates W, and is a height at which multiple substrates W can be transferred between the substrate transport mechanism 7 and the substrate transport mechanism 7.

A lifter drive mechanism 814 is provided on the (+X) direction side of the processing tank 821. The lifter drive mechanism 814 includes an elevating motor 815, a ball screw 816, an elevating base 817, an elevating column 818, and a motor drive section 819. The elevating motor 815 is attached to the frame (not shown) of the substrate processing system 1 with its rotating shaft vertically oriented. A ball screw 816 is connected to a rotating shaft of a lifting motor 815. The elevating base 817 is screwed onto a ball screw 816 on one side. The lower end side of the elevating support column 818 is attached to the elevating base 817, and the upper end side is attached to the lower surface of the extending member 813. When the motor drive unit 819 drives the lifting motor 815 in response to a lift command from the control unit 9, the ball screw 816 rotates, and the lifting column 818 rises together with the lifting base 817. This positions the support member 812 at the delivery position. Further, when the motor drive section 819 drives the lifting motor 815 in the opposite direction in response to a lowering command from the control section 9, the ball screw 816 rotates in the opposite direction, and the lifting column 818 is lowered together with the lifting base 817. As a result, the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812 are collectively immersed in the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f.

In the storage space 821f, a processing liquid discharge section 830 and a bubble supply section 840 are arranged below the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812, that is, on the (-Z) direction side. The processing liquid discharge section 830 discharges the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply section 832 via the flow piping system 839 into the storage space 821f, and the bubble supply section 840 discharges the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f. These are designed to supply nitrogen gas bubbles V (FIG. 5) to the reactors, and each is constructed as follows.

As shown in Figures 3 to 6, the processing liquid discharge section 830 has a processing liquid supply pipe 831 extending in the X direction. In this embodiment, four processing liquid supply pipes 831 are arranged spaced apart from each other in the Y direction. The (-X) end of each processing liquid supply pipe 831 is connected to the outlet of the flow piping system 839, and the (+X) end is sealed. In addition, each processing liquid supply pipe 831 has a plurality of processing liquid discharge ports 834 (50 in this embodiment) drilled in the (+Z) side wall. The multiple processing liquid discharge ports 834 are drilled so as to be arranged at regular intervals (substrate pitch PT in this embodiment) on the X side wall. In this embodiment, as shown in Figure 4, each processing liquid discharge port 834 is provided toward the (+Z) direction. Therefore, the processing liquid supplied to the processing liquid supply pipe 831 flows in the (+X) direction inside the pipe, flows upward from each processing liquid outlet 834, and forms a processing liquid flow L toward the upper opening 821g of the processing tank 821, i.e., the overflow surface. In this way, a processing liquid flow L flowing in the (+Z) direction is formed below the substrate W. Note that, to facilitate understanding of the invention, the one of the four processing liquid supply pipes 831 arranged closest to the (-Y) direction will be referred to as the "processing liquid supply pipe 831a," and the ones arranged successively on the (+Y) direction side will be referred to as the "processing liquid supply pipe 831b," "processing liquid supply pipe 831c," and "processing liquid supply pipe 831d." When no distinction is made between these, they will simply be referred to as the "processing liquid supply pipe 831," as described above.

The processing liquid supply pipe 831 is made of quartz or a corrosion-resistant resin material such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The processing liquid discharge port 834 is formed integrally with the processing liquid supply pipe 831 by cutting and drilling the surface of the processing liquid supply pipe 831.

The bubble supply section 840 has a bubbler 841 extending in the Y direction, as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6. In this embodiment, 25 bubblers 841 are spaced apart from each other in the X direction. Each bubbler 841 includes a gas supply pipe 842 through which gas flows through an interior whose longitudinal direction extends in the Y direction, and a plurality of bubble discharge ports 845 formed in the side wall of the gas supply pipe 842 in the (-X) direction. (20 in this embodiment). One end of each gas supply pipe 842 is connected to a gas introduction pipe 846 that is connected to a gas supply section 844 (see FIG. 2) that supplies nitrogen gas, and the other end is sealed. Gas introduction pipe 846 is provided along side walls 821c and 821e of processing tank 821. The gas supply pipes 842 extend alternately in the (+Y) direction or the (-Y) direction and are connected to a gas introduction pipe 846 provided along the side wall 821c or 821e. As shown in FIG. 5, the plurality of bubble discharge ports 845 are provided on the side wall of the gas supply pipe 842 at a pitch 2PT which is twice the constant substrate pitch PT in the X direction. Each bubble discharge port 845 is provided in a circular shape as shown in FIG.
The gas supply pipe 842 is composed of a cylindrical member whose cross section perpendicular to the gas flow direction is circular. The bubble outlet 845 is formed in the side wall of the gas supply pipe 842 so that the center of the opening of the bubble outlet 845 is located on a horizontal line passing through the center of this circle. The gas supply pipe 842 is provided below the substrate W, and the length of the gas supply pipe 842 in the direction in which the gas flows extends along the main surface of the substrate W when viewed from above. Each of the bubble discharge ports 845 of the gas supply pipe 842 is located between horizontally adjacent substrates W. Therefore, the bubbles V discharged from the bubble discharge port 845 are supplied to the flow L of the processing liquid rising between the adjacent gas supply pipes 842. The diameter of the gas supply pipe 842 is, for example, about 8.0 mm, and the diameter of the bubble outlet 845 is about 0.3 mm.

The gas supply pipe 842 is made of quartz or a corrosion-resistant resin material such as polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The bubble outlet 845 is formed integrally with the gas supply pipe 842 by performing cutting and drilling on the surface of the gas supply pipe 842.

Although the bubble outlet 845 is described as being formed in the side wall in the (-X) direction, it may be formed in the side wall in the (+X) direction. Although it is preferable that the bubble outlets 845 of the plurality of bubblers 841 are provided in a fixed direction, for example, the bubble outlets 845 of adjacent bubblers 841 may be provided facing each other. Although the bubble outlet 845 of the bubbler 841 is provided in one direction of the bubbler 841, for example, the bubble outlet 845 is provided in two directions, the (+X) direction and the (-X) direction of the bubbler 841, and The bubbles V may be supplied from two directions, the (+X) direction and the (-X) direction. In addition, the bubble discharge port 845 only needs to be able to supply the bubbles V to the surface of the substrate, and the bubble discharge port 845 may be formed in a substantially horizontal direction in the (-X) direction or (+X) direction from the (+Z) direction or (-Z) direction. It may also be perforated in the horizontal side wall.

In the bubble supply unit 840 configured in this way, when the gas supply unit 844 supplies nitrogen gas to the bubble supply unit 840 in response to a bubble supply command from the control unit 9, the nitrogen gas flowing through the gas supply pipe 842 supplies gas. The gas is discharged from a bubble discharge port 845 provided on the side wall of the pipe 842 toward the flow L of the processing liquid rising from between the plurality of gas supply pipes 842 . As a result, nitrogen gas bubbles V are supplied to the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f from the side wall of the gas supply pipe 842 in a direction toward the overflow surface in the (+Z) direction.

The flow L of the processing liquid from the processing liquid outlet 834 toward the upper opening 821g makes it easier for these bubbles V to leave the bubble outlet 845 in a small state, and then rise in the processing liquid. The bubbles V that rise due to the flow L of the processing liquid promote the replacement of the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate W with fresh processing liquid. The gas supply unit 844 may be configured to supply nitrogen gas from a cylinder filled with nitrogen gas, for example, or a utility provided in the factory in which the substrate processing system 1 is installed may be used.

The configuration of the first chemical processing unit 81, which corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, has been described with reference to Figures 2 to 6. The second chemical processing unit 83 also has the same configuration as the first chemical processing unit 81, except that the processing liquid is the same or different, and corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The first rinse processing unit 82 and the second rinse processing unit 84 also have the same configuration as the first chemical processing unit 81, except that the processing liquid is a rinse liquid such as DIW (deionized water), and correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

As described above, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the gas supply pipe 842 has multiple bubble outlets 845 tilted from the upward (+Z) direction to the (-X) direction or the horizontal (+X) direction. Therefore, the nitrogen gas discharged from each bubble outlet 845 is detached from the bubble outlet 845 by the upward flow of the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid outlet 834, and the bubbles V can be supplied into the processing liquid with their size reduced. The detailed reason for this will be explained by comparing the comparative example shown in Figure 8 with this embodiment (Figure 5).

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing a comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. In this comparative example, a gas supply pipe 842 is provided above the processing liquid discharge port 834 of the processing liquid supply pipe 831, that is, in the (+Z) direction, and a bubble discharge port 845 is provided above, that is, in the (+Z) direction. . The processing liquid is discharged from the processing liquid discharge port 834 in the (+Z) direction, nitrogen gas is discharged from the bubble discharge port 845 in the (+Z) direction, and the processing liquid and bubbles V are supplied to the storage space 821f of the processing tank 821. Ru. In this case, the processing liquid collides with the gas supply pipe 842 and cannot directly induce the bubbles V to leave the bubble discharge port 845. Furthermore, the processing liquid collides with the gas supply pipe 842 and does not directly contribute to the rise of the bubbles V. As a result, the bubbles V adhere closely around the bubble outlet 845 on the surface of the gas supply pipe 842, and as time passes, the bubbles V are centered around the opening of the bubble outlet 845 without detaching from the surface of the gas supply pipe 842. It grows into a spherical shape. When the buoyancy of the enlarged bubbles V exceeds the adhesion force and becomes large enough to be detached, the bubbles V detach from the bubble discharge port 845 and the adhesion region and are supplied into the processing liquid. Since the diameter of the enlarged bubble V may be larger than the substrate pitch PT, it cannot enter between the substrates W, and the replacement of the processing liquid on the surface of the substrate W with fresh processing liquid cannot be sufficiently promoted. .

In contrast, in the first embodiment, the bubbles V discharged from the bubble discharge port 845 are directly separated from the bubble discharge port 845 by the rising processing liquid immediately after generation. The separated bubbles V rise together with the processing liquid, and their rising speed increases because the rising speed of the processing liquid is added to the buoyancy of the bubbles V. As a result, in the first embodiment, the size of the bubbles V is smaller than that in the comparative example (FIG. 8), and bubbles with a smaller diameter than in the comparative example can be supplied to the surface of the substrate between the substrates. The replacement of the treatment liquid on the surface with fresh treatment liquid can be quickly and sufficiently promoted.

In particular, since the first chemical processing unit 81 wet etches the SiN film through a recess with a high aspect ratio, applying the present invention to the first chemical processing unit 81 is important for the manufacture of 3D-NAND memories. That is, in order to improve wet etching performance, it is necessary to perform good replacement of the processing liquid between the inside and outside of the recess. In addition, silicon precipitation occurs near the bottom of the recess due to the etching reaction, but it is possible to discharge the silicon from the recess by replacing the processing liquid. In order to stably and continuously realize this liquid replacement, it is necessary to increase the concentration difference between the inside and outside of the recess, that is, the concentration gradient. Furthermore, in order to satisfy these, reducing the bubble diameter is an important technical matter for efficiently supplying fresh processing liquid to the surface of the substrate W. In this regard, according to the first chemical processing unit 81 that can reduce the size of the bubbles V, the bubbles V promote the supply of fresh processing liquid, and the wet etching of the SiN film can be performed well.

The present invention is not limited to the first embodiment described above, and various modifications other than those described above can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, in the first embodiment, bubbles V are supplied from a gas supply pipe 842 using a bubbler 841 having a hollow cylindrical bubble outlet 845, but the configuration of the bubbler 841 is not limited to this.

Next, a second embodiment will be described using FIGS. 9 and 10. Note that explanations of the same configurations as in the first embodiment will be omitted. 9 and 10, the substrates W are arranged face-to-face in the X direction, and a partition plate 851 is placed between the back surface of the substrate W and the back surface of the adjacent substrate W above the gas supply pipe 842. will be installed. The shape of the partition plate 851 is, for example, a square prism. By providing the partition plate 851, it is possible to suppress the flow of the processing liquid that goes around the gas supply pipe 842 and tries to rise between the back surface of the substrate W and the back surface of the adjacent substrate W, and it is possible to suppress the flow of the processing liquid that goes around the gas supply pipe 842 and rises between the back surface of the substrate W and the back surface of the adjacent substrate W. The discharged bubbles V can be supplied between the surface of the substrate W and the surface of the adjacent substrate W while reducing the influence of the flow of the processing liquid in the X direction. As a result, the air bubbles V can be collected on the surface of the substrate in a face-to-face state, and the replacement speed with fresh processing liquid is increased, so that substrate processing can be performed with even higher quality. Note that although the partition plate 851 is described separately from the gas supply pipe 842, it may be formed integrally with the gas supply pipe 842.

Next, a third embodiment will be described using FIG. 11. Note that descriptions of the same configurations as the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be omitted. In the second embodiment, 50 processing liquid discharge ports 834 are arranged in the X direction at intervals of the substrate pitch PT, as in the first embodiment, but in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 (in this embodiment, 25 pieces) may be provided on the side wall of the processing liquid supply pipe 831 in the (+Z) direction at a pitch 2PT that is twice the constant substrate pitch PT. In this case, even if the flow rate is the same as in the first embodiment or the second embodiment, the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied from one processing liquid discharge port 834 is increased, and the flow rate of the processing liquid is increased from the upper side of the gas supply pipe 842 to the side. The bubbles V discharged from the provided bubble discharge port 845, that is, the plurality of bubble discharge ports 845 drilled in the (-X) direction, can be released from the gas supply pipe 842 in an even smaller state and allowed to rise.

In the first to third embodiments, the gas supply pipe 842 and the plurality of bubble discharge ports 845 are integrated by cutting and drilling the surface of a long resin pipe made of a resin material. It is formed as follows.

Furthermore, although the bubble outlet 845 is circular, the shape is not limited to this and may be arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIG. 12, the bubbles V may be supplied using a bubble outlet 845 having an elliptical tip end face.

Although the bubble outlet 845 is a drilling, the shape is not limited to this and may be any shape as long as the bubble outlet 845 is positioned between adjacent substrates W in the horizontal direction. For example, the bubble outlet 845 is provided at the tip of a hollow cylindrical protruding portion 843a having a columnar shape as shown in FIG. 13, or at the tip of a hollow truncated cone-shaped protruding portion 843b having a tapered shape (tapered shape) in which the outer dimensions become smaller toward the tip as shown in FIG. 14.

The bubble outlet 845a or the bubble outlet 845b is provided at the tip of the protruding portion 843a or the protruding portion 843b, respectively, that protrudes from the gas supply pipe 842. Therefore, the contact area of the bubble supply section 840 where the bubble V is in contact until just before it leaves the bubble outlet 845a or 845b and is supplied to the processing liquid is limited to the tip surface of the protruding portions 843a or 843b, and can be narrower than when the bubble outlet 845 is provided on the side wall of the pipe. As a result, the bubble diameter can be reduced and processing quality can be improved.

The protruding portions 843a and 843b are formed integrally with the gas supply pipe 842 by performing cutting and drilling on the surface of the gas supply pipe 842. It goes without saying that the gas supply pipe 842 and the protruding portions 843a and 843b may be prepared separately, and the protruding portions 843a and 843b may be attached to the gas supply pipe 842 to be integrated.

Further, although the cross section of the gas supply pipe 842 is circular, the bubble discharge port 845 may be located between horizontally adjacent substrates W, and the shape is not limited to this and may be arbitrary. For example, as shown in FIGS. 15 to 17, the gas supply pipe 842b may be a rectangular cylindrical member such as a rectangular member. For example, in FIG. 15, the bubble outlet 845c is provided in the gas supply pipe 842b. In FIG. 16, the bubble outlet 845d is formed at the tip of a hollow cylindrical protruding portion 843d. In FIG. 17, the bubble discharge port 845e is formed at the tip of a hollow truncated cone-shaped protruding portion 843e, which has a tapered shape whose external dimensions become smaller toward the tip. When the bubble discharge port 845 is located at the tip of a hollow cylinder like the bubble discharge ports 845a, 845b, 845d, and 845e, the upward flow of the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid discharge port 834 causes the bubbles V to be removed from the bubble discharge port. Disengagement is encouraged. As a result, the size of the bubbles V can be further reduced.

Further, the gas supply pipes 842 are each connected to a gas supply section 844 via a flow rate regulator 847, as shown in FIG. An on-off valve or a flow rate adjustment valve is provided as the flow rate regulator 847. The flow rate regulator 847 is connected to the control unit 9, and the control unit 9 controls the opening/closing and flow rate of the flow rate regulator 847, thereby controlling the flow rate of the gas flowing through the gas supply pipe 842. Thereby, the flow rate of gas flowing through each of the plurality of gas supply pipes 842 can be adjusted separately, and the amount of bubbles V discharged from the bubble discharge port 845 can be adjusted. By having the flow rate regulator 847 in this way, for example, when there is a difference in the etching amount from the target etching amount among a plurality of substrates arranged in the X direction, the bubbles V can be removed at each position in the X direction. The supply amount can be adjusted. As a result, it is possible to improve the uniformity among the substrates in terms of the etching amount for each of all the substrates that are processed at once in a batch group. Furthermore, when it is desired to change the amount of etching between substrates, the amount of etching can be adjusted as appropriate by increasing or decreasing the amount of bubbles V supplied to the surface of the substrate for which the amount of etching is desired to be changed. In addition, by separately adjusting the flow rate of gas flowing through the plurality of gas supply pipes 842, the amount of bubbles V supplied into the processing tank 821 can be adjusted, and the speed of the upward flow of the processing liquid can be adjusted. It can also be partially adjusted depending on the position.

The inner surface of the bubble outlet 845 may be subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. The hydrophilic treatment may be, for example, a plasma treatment. This plasma treatment makes the tip, i.e., the inner surface of the bubble outlet 845, hydrophilic, facilitating the escape of the bubble V. As a result, the size of the bubble V can be further reduced.

19, a straightening plate 861 may be provided below the gas supply pipe 842. For example, a straightening plate wider than the diameter of the gas supply pipe 842 may be used as the straightening plate 861. By using such a straightening plate, the upward flow of the processing liquid discharged from the processing liquid discharge unit 830 can be supplied to the surface of the substrate W arranged in the X direction from the gap between the straightening plates, which is narrower than the gap between the adjacent gas supply pipes 842. In this case, the speed of the upward flow of the processing liquid increases, which promotes the detachment of the bubbles V from the bubble discharge port 845, and the detached bubbles V can be appropriately supplied to the surface of the substrate W. The straightening plate 861 may be extended along the main surface of the substrate when viewed from above, similar to the gas supply pipe 842. The processing liquid discharge port 834 of the processing liquid supply pipe 831 opens toward the bottom wall 821a or side wall 821c of the processing tank 821 to discharge the processing liquid, and the discharged processing liquid can form an upward flow from the gap between the straightening plates.

In the above embodiment, the processing liquid discharge unit 830 includes four processing liquid supply pipes 831, but the number of processing liquid supply pipes 831 is not limited to this and may be provided according to the storage space 821f, the size of the substrate W, etc. In addition, the number of bubblers 841 included in the bubble supply unit 840 is 25, but the number of bubblers 841 is not limited to this and may be provided according to the storage space 821f, the orientation of the surface of the substrate W, the number of substrates W, etc.

In addition, in the above embodiment, nitrogen gas is sent to the bubbler 841 to supply nitrogen gas bubbles V into the treatment liquid, but gases other than nitrogen gas may be used as the "gas" of the present invention.

Further, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that discharges the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply pipe 831 toward the upper side of the storage space 821f, but the processing liquid supply mode of the present invention is not limited to this. It is not limited. For example, it may be discharged from the lower side of the substrate W toward the bottom wall 821a of the processing tank 821.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs chemical processing using a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid and a substrate processing apparatus that performs rinsing processing, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to substrate processing techniques in general in which a substrate is immersed in a processing solution other than the above chemical solution or rinsing solution and gas bubbles V are supplied to the substrate in the processing solution to perform substrate processing.

This invention can be applied to any substrate processing apparatus that immerses a substrate in a processing liquid, such as a chemical solution or pure water, stored in a processing tank and supplies air bubbles to the substrate in the processing liquid.

81...First chemical processing unit (substrate processing apparatus)
82: First rinse processing unit (substrate processing apparatus)
83: Second chemical processing unit (substrate processing apparatus)
84: Second rinse processing unit (substrate processing apparatus)
810... Lifter (substrate holder)
810a...first lifter (substrate holder)
810b...Second lifter (substrate holder)
821: Processing tank 821f: Storage space 821g: Upper opening 830: Processing liquid discharge section 831: Processing liquid supply pipe 832: Processing liquid supply section 834: Processing liquid discharge port 840: Air bubble supply section 841, 841a to 841d: Bubbler 842, 842b: Gas supply pipe 843, 843a, 843b, 843d, 843e: Perforation section 845, 845a to 845e: Air bubble discharge port V: Air bubble W: Substrate

Claims (12)

a processing tank for storing a processing liquid in which the substrate is immersed for processing;
a substrate holder that holds the substrates in an upright position while arranging the substrates in a horizontal direction and spaced apart from each other in the processing tank;
a processing liquid discharge unit that forms a flow of the processing liquid from below the substrate held by the substrate holder toward above the substrate;
a bubble supply unit disposed between the processing liquid discharge unit and the substrate holding unit, the bubble supply unit supplying bubbles into the processing liquid stored in the processing tank,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bubble supply unit includes a gas supply pipe into which a gas is supplied, and a bubble discharge port provided in the gas supply pipe for discharging bubbles in an arrangement direction of the substrates. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The gas supply pipe extends along the main surface of the substrate when viewed from above, and has a plurality of bubble discharge ports on a side wall,
The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the bubble discharge port is located so as to be able to supply bubbles to a gap between the substrates that are held by the substrate holder and are adjacent to each other. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
the processing liquid discharge unit includes a processing liquid supply pipe into which the processing liquid is supplied, and a plurality of processing liquid discharge ports on a side wall of the processing liquid supply pipe;
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing liquid discharge port is located below a gap between the adjacent substrates. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The bubble supply unit includes a plurality of the gas supply pipes,
2. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a gas supply pipe that is horizontally adjacent to another gas supply pipe; and a bubble discharge port that opens in a substantially horizontal direction below a gap between the substrates. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4,
A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that the bubble discharge port is provided at a tip of a hollow protruding portion protruding from the gas supply pipe. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the protruding portion has a columnar or tapered shape. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 6,
A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that the bubble discharge port has a circular shape or an elliptical shape. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the substrate is held by the substrate holder in a state where the front surface or back surface of an adjacent substrate faces each other. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8,
The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the substrate is provided with a partition plate between the back surface of the substrate and the back surface of the adjacent substrate, with the back surfaces of the substrates facing each other. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 9,
The bubble supply section is made of a resin material,
A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that the resin material is made of at least one selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone, perfluoroalkoxyalkane, and polytetrafluoroethylene. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10,
A substrate processing apparatus characterized in that the bubble discharge port is subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. 12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
4. The substrate processing apparatus comprising: a gas supply pipe; a gas straightening plate disposed below the gas supply pipe;

Images