JPH07171477A - Substrate treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a substrate treating device capable of reducing the running cost required for cup rinse. CONSTITUTION:The waste liquid after cup rinse is stored in a waste liquid storage tank 20 discharged form a waste liquid drain 10. A waste liquid supply pipe 21 communicated and connected at one end to this waste liquid tank 20 is communicated and connected to one end of a pipe 50 via a pump 22, etc. The other end side of the pipe 50 is branched to two directions and are communicated and connected to washing conduits 6, 8 respectively via needle valves 51, 52. At the time of cup rinse, the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 is supplied to the respective washing conduits 6, 8 by driving a pump 22. The execution of the cup rinse is made possible by reutilizing the washing liquid, by which the running cost required for the cup rinse is reduced.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention holds a semiconductor substrate, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, etc. (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate) held by a spin chuck and rotated. However, photoresist, photosensitive polyimide, photosensitive resin such as color filter material, coating liquid for forming silica film, liquid material such as dopant material, etc. are evenly applied on the surface of the substrate by a spin coating device, or the substrate is spin chucked. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus such as a development processing apparatus that uniformly supplies a developing solution to the surface of a substrate while holding and rotating it to perform development processing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a conventional spin coating apparatus of this type, a scattering prevention cup for receiving a scattering liquid agent when a liquid agent is spin-coated on a substrate and an exhaust flow in the scattering prevention cup are prepared. The straightening sloping plate is provided. When the liquid agent spattered during spin coating adheres to the splash prevention cup or straightening sloping plate, and when it dries and solidifies, it floats as fine powdery dust due to vibration during rotation, etc. It is known that it adheres to the surface and causes defective products. Therefore, as a spin coating device equipped with a mechanism for cleaning the liquid agent adhering to the splash prevention cup and the straightening sloping plate,
For example, there is one disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 3-7978. The configuration of this spin coating apparatus will be briefly described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 is a spin chuck which holds a substrate W by suction and horizontally rotates. Above the spin chuck 1, there is a liquid agent supply nozzle 2 for supplying a liquid agent such as a photoresist onto the substrate W. A splash prevention cup 3 is arranged around the spin chuck 1, and the liquid agent splashed during spin coating is received by the splash prevention cup 3. An exhaust duct 4 is connected to the bottom of the shatterproof cup 3 so that the interior of the shatterproof cup 3 is exhausted. In order to rectify the exhaust flow in the scattering prevention cup 3, a rectifying inclined plate 5 circular in a plan view is provided below the substrate W.

An annular inner peripheral surface cleaning conduit 6 is integrally formed on the outer side of the scattering prevention cup 3, and the cleaning liquid supplied to the inner peripheral surface cleaning conduit 6 is provided with a large number of discharge holes formed in the wall surface of the cup. The liquid agent adhering to the inner peripheral surface of the cup is washed away by flowing it down from 7. Further, an annular inclined surface cleaning conduit 8 is integrally formed inside the flow straightening inclined plate 5, and the cleaning liquid supplied to the inclined surface cleaning conduit 8 is provided with a large number of discharge holes 9 formed in the flow adjustable inclined plate 5. The liquid agent adhering to the inclined surface of the straightening sloping plate 5 is washed away by washing the liquid agent from above. The cleaning liquid after cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the cup and the rectifying inclined plate 5 is discharged from the drain drain 10. The discharged cleaning liquid after cleaning is subjected to a waste liquid treatment as a waste liquid and then discarded.

According to the spin coater having the above-mentioned structure, the liquid agent adhering to the scattering prevention cup 3 and the straightening sloping plate 5 can be effectively washed and removed, so that the dust produced by the solidification of the liquid agent is covered. The inconvenience of adhering to the processing substrate W can be eliminated in advance.

[0006]

However, the above conventional device has a problem that the running cost for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3 and the rectifying inclined plate 5 (hereinafter referred to as "cup rinse") is high. .

That is, in the conventional apparatus, the cleaning liquid after the cup rinse is discarded after the waste liquid is treated as a waste liquid, and the costly waste liquid treatment must be performed for each cup rinse, and the running cost for that is required. Overwhelmed. In addition, a new cleaning liquid is required for each cup rinse, which increases the running cost.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of reducing the running cost required for coupling and rinsing.

[0009]

The present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve such an object. That is, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a spin chuck that rotates a substrate while holding it, a liquid agent supply nozzle that supplies a liquid agent onto the substrate, and a substrate processing container that surrounds the substrate held by the spin chuck. A substrate processing apparatus provided with a cleaning conduit provided in the substrate processing container for cleaning a liquid agent scattered and attached to the inside of the substrate processing container with a cleaning liquid during rotation processing of the substrate, A waste liquid tank for storing the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid after the cleaning, and a waste liquid supply means for supplying the waste liquid stored in the waste liquid tank to the cleaning conduit.

[0010]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. The substrate held by the spin chuck is rotated, and the liquid agent (for example, a photoresist agent or a developing solution) supplied onto the substrate from the solution agent supply nozzle is evenly spread over the surface of the substrate to perform a predetermined rotation process (spin coating process). Or development processing) is performed. The liquid agent attached to the substrate processing container during the rotation processing is cleaned with the cleaning liquid discharged from the cleaning conduit.

The waste liquid of the cleaning liquid after cleaning is collected and stored in the waste liquid tank. The waste liquid stored in the waste liquid tank is supplied to the cleaning conduit by the waste liquid supply means and reused for cleaning the substrate processing container.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. In this first embodiment apparatus, the spin coating apparatus described in the conventional example will be described as an example.

The present embodiment is provided with a spin chuck 1 which holds a substrate W by suction and horizontally rotates it, and a liquid agent supply nozzle 2 which supplies a liquid agent onto the substrate W. Further, a shatterproof cup 3 is arranged around the substrate W, and a straightening rectifying plate 5 circular in a plan view is also provided below the substrate W. Note that reference numeral 4
Is an exhaust duct. Anti-scatter cup 3, straightening ramp 5
The inner surface of the cup 3 is cleaned and the rectifying inclined plate 5
Cleaning conduits 6 and 8 for discharging a cleaning liquid for cleaning the above are integrally formed. Further, a large number of discharge holes 7 and 9 for discharging the cleaning liquid from the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 are provided.
And the straightening sloping plate 8 are opened. The cleaning liquid after cleaning is discharged from the drain drain 10.

The feature of the present embodiment having the above-mentioned structure is that the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid after the coupling rinse is collected and the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid is used again for the coupling rinse.

A specific configuration will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 20 is a waste liquid tank for collecting and storing the waste liquid OS of the cleaning liquid after cleaning, which is discharged from the drain drain 10 after the coupling rinse. This waste liquid tank 20
One end of a waste liquid supply pipe 21 is communicatively connected to. The other end of the waste liquid supply pipe 21 is connected to one end of a pipe 50 via a pump 22, a filter (filter) 23, and a check valve 24. The other end of the pipe 50 is branched in two directions, and one end of the pipe 50 is connected to the washing conduit 6 via a flow rate adjusting needle valve 51. The other branch pipe of the pipe 50 is connected to the cleaning conduit 8 via a needle valve 52.

The pump 22 sucks the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 and sends it to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 via the waste liquid supply pipe 21 and the pipe 50. This pump 22
The drive control of is configured to be performed by the control unit 25 described later. The pump 22, the waste liquid supply pipe 21, and the pipe 50 correspond to the waste liquid supply means in the present invention. Further, in this embodiment, the scattering prevention cup 3 cleaned by the cleaning conduit 6 and the straightening inclined plate 5 cleaned by the cleaning conduit 8 correspond to the substrate processing container in the present invention.

The filter 23 is for filtering fine solid matters mixed in the waste liquid OS supplied from the waste liquid tank 20 to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 by the pump 22. That is, the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20.
Since it is after the cup rinse, solid matter such as solidified material of the liquid agent adhering to the scattering prevention cup 3 and the like may be mixed. With the waste liquid OS which filtered those solid matter,
By cleaning as described below, the cleaning effect can be enhanced, and the discharge ports 7, 9 of the cleaning conduits 6, 8 can be prevented from being clogged with solid matter.

The check valve 24 is provided to prevent the cleaning liquid from flowing back to the waste liquid tank 20 side when the cleaning liquid is supplied from the auxiliary tank as described later.

The waste liquid tank 20 is provided with a sensor for detecting the storage state of the waste liquid OS. The upper limit sensor 26 is a sensor for detecting the upper limit of the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20, and is provided mainly for preventing overflow of the waste liquid tank 20. The lower limit sensor 27 is a sensor for detecting the lower limit of the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20. When the cleaning liquid is reused as described later, the cleaning liquid may decrease due to evaporation or the like, and the amount of the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 may decrease. When the amount of the waste liquid OS is equal to or less than the predetermined amount, it becomes difficult to supply the waste liquid OS from the waste liquid tank 20 to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8. The lower limit sensor 27 is mainly configured to store the waste liquid OS.
It is provided in order to detect whether the lower limit of supply is possible.

The sensors 26 and 27 are, for example, capacitance type sensors. Each sensor 26, 27
Are installed at positions corresponding to the upper and lower limits to be detected.
For example, when the upper limit sensor 26 is installed at the position shown in FIG. 1, when the liquid level of the waste liquid OS is below the upper limit UL,
The electrostatic capacitance detected by the sensor 26 changes depending on whether the upper limit is equal to or higher than UL. The detection signal corresponding to the electrostatic capacity is given to the control unit 25 described later. The control unit 25 determines whether or not the liquid level of the waste liquid OS is above the upper limit UL based on the given detection signal. Similarly, the lower limit sensor 27 also gives a detection signal to the control unit 25, and the control unit 25 causes the liquid level of the waste liquid OS to be the lower limit DL based on the given detection signal.
It is determined whether it is below.

The sensor for detecting the storage state such as the upper and lower limits of the waste liquid OS is not limited to the above capacitance type sensor, but may be realized by other sensors. For example, the waste liquid tank 20
The liquid level of the waste liquid OS may be detected by an ultrasonic sensor provided on the upper surface of the inner wall of the
A transmissive optical sensor may detect whether or not the liquid surface of the waste liquid OS exceeds a predetermined position.

The lower surface of the waste liquid tank 20 is connected to one end of a discharge pipe 28 for discharging the waste liquid OS from the waste liquid tank 20. The other end of the discharge pipe 28 is connected to, for example, a waste liquid processing device (not shown) so as to flow the waste liquid OS to the waste liquid processing device. When the waste liquid OS is discharged from the waste liquid tank 20, the open / close valve 29 is opened, and when not discharged, it is closed. The control of opening / closing of the opening / closing valve 29 is configured to be performed by the control unit 25 described later. A pump is installed in place of the open / close valve 29, and when discharging the waste liquid OS, the pump is driven,
The waste liquid OS may be discharged from the waste liquid tank 20.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 40 denotes an auxiliary tank in which a new cleaning liquid NS is stored, and a pipe 4 is provided in this auxiliary tank 40.
One end of 1 is connected for communication. The other end of the pipe 41 is communicatively connected to the pipe 50 via an opening / closing valve 42 and a check valve 43.

In the auxiliary tank 40, a new cleaning liquid NS is stored in a container 45 installed in a closed container 44. One end of the pipe 41 faces the cleaning liquid NS. A pipe 46 is introduced into the closed container 44, and nitrogen gas (N ₂ ) is constantly supplied from the pipe 46.
The closed container 44 is pressurized by the supplied nitrogen gas, and the cleaning liquid NS in the container 45 is pressure-fed to the opening / closing valve 42 side via the pipe 41 by the pressure.

The supply of the cleaning liquid NS from the auxiliary tank 40 to the cleaning conduits 6, 8 is switched by opening / closing the opening / closing valve 42. When the opening / closing valve 42 is “closed”, the cleaning liquid N
S is not supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8, while when “open”, the cleaning liquid NS is supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 via the pipe 41 and the pipe 50. The control of opening / closing of the opening / closing valve 42 is configured to be performed by the control unit 25 described later.

The check valve 43 is provided to prevent the waste liquid OS from flowing back to the auxiliary tank 40 side when the waste liquid OS is supplied from the waste liquid tank 20.

As described below, the mechanism for supplying the new cleaning liquid NS from the auxiliary tank 40 to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 is provided when the amount of the waste liquid NS in the waste liquid tank 20 decreases, as will be described later. This is for supplying new cleaning liquid NS to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8. When the new cleaning liquid NS in the container 45 is reduced, it is replenished by the operator as needed. If a pipe or the like to which the cleaning liquid is constantly fed under pressure is provided in a factory or the like in which the present apparatus is installed, the pipe 41 should be connected to the pipe.
May be connected in communication to replenish a new cleaning liquid.

The needle valves 51 and 52 are provided with waste liquid OS (or cleaning liquid N) supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8, respectively.
This is for adjusting the supply amount of S). According to the adjustment states of these needle valves 51, 52, a fixed amount of waste liquid OS (or cleaning liquid NS) is always supplied to the cleaning conduits 6, 8 per unit time. This needle valve 5
The operator adjusts the flow rates of 1 and 52 in advance. Further, the control unit 25, which will be described later, controls the supply of the waste liquid OS (or the cleaning liquid NS) to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 by timer control. For example, the waste liquid OS (or cleaning liquid NS) required for cleaning the inner peripheral surface of the cup 3 is M [ml], and the waste liquid OS (or cleaning liquid NS) required for cleaning the flow straightening sloping plate 5 is N [ml]. ml], and the control unit 25
If the waste liquid OS (or the cleaning liquid NS) is controlled so as to be supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8, the needle valve 51 is M / T [ml] of the waste liquid OS (or the cleaning liquid NS) per second.
Is supplied to the cleaning conduit 6, and the needle valve 52 is pre-adjusted to supply N / T [ml] of waste liquid OS (or cleaning liquid NS) to the cleaning conduit 8 per second.

Based on the detection signals from the sensors 26 and 27, the control unit 25 performs the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 by the procedure described later.
It is selected whether to supply the waste liquid OS or the cleaning liquid NS to the cleaning liquid NS and the pump 22 or the opening / closing valve 42 is controlled so that the selected waste liquid OS or the cleaning liquid NS is supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 by the timer control. This control unit 25 is a CPU
(Central processing unit), RAM (random access memory), ROM (read-only memory) and the like. That is, RO
A control procedure (program) performed by the control unit 25 is stored in M, and the CPU executes processing in accordance with the program. The RAM is used for temporary storage of data during the processing of the CPU.

The cleaning start signal input to the control section 25 is given from an apparatus drive control section (not shown) which controls the spin coating process by the spin coating apparatus. That is, the device drive control unit controls the rotation of the spin chuck 1 and the supply of the liquid agent from the liquid agent supply nozzle 2, and controls the spin coating process on the substrate W. Then, a predetermined number (for example, 5
When the spin coating process on 0 (zero) substrates W is completed, the device drive control unit gives a cleaning start signal to the control unit 25. When the cleaning start signal is given, the control unit 25 starts the coupling rinse.

The cleaning end signal output from the controller 25 is given to the apparatus drive controller when the coupling rinse by the controller 25 is completed. When the cleaning completion signal is given, the apparatus drive control unit starts the spin coating process for the next substrate W.

Next, an example of the control procedure by the control unit 25 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, it is determined whether or not a cleaning start signal is given from the apparatus drive control unit to check whether or not cleaning is started (step S).
1). If the cleaning start signal is not given from the apparatus drive control unit, the process proceeds to step S2 to perform the cleaning preparation process. On the other hand, if the cleaning start signal is given, the process proceeds to step S8 to start the coupling rinse.

Steps S2 to S7 are a cleaning preparation process, in which the stored state of the waste liquid in the waste liquid tank 20 is detected based on the detection signals from the sensors 26 and 27, and the waste liquid OS is replenished according to the state. Whether or not it is determined.

In this cleaning preparation process, first, it is checked by the detection signal of the lower limit sensor 27 whether or not the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 is below the lower limit (step S2). If the waste liquid OS is below the lower limit, the replenishment flag is set to "ON" (for example, "1") (step S3), and if the waste liquid OS is not below the lower limit,
The refill flag proceeds to step S4 as it is. This replenishment flag is a new cleaning liquid NS at the time of a cup rinse described later.
Is a flag indicating whether or not to replenish the waste liquid tank 20 with the waste liquid OS. This refill flag is RA
It is a flag (data) stored in M.

Next, by the detection signal of the upper limit sensor 26,
It is checked whether or not the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 exceeds the upper limit (step S4). If the waste liquid OS has not exceeded the upper limit, the process returns to step S1. If the waste liquid OS has exceeded the upper limit, it is next checked by the refill flag whether or not the waste liquid OS is being refilled (step S5).

If replenishment is in progress, the replenishment flag is set to "OFF" (for example, "0") to cancel the replenishment (step S6). That is, when the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 falls below the lower limit due to evaporation or the like, the waste liquid O
In order to replenish the waste liquid tank 20 with S, the replenishment flag is set to “O”.
When the waste liquid OS exceeds the upper limit, the replenishment flag is set to “OFF” as that the replenishment is completed (the waste liquid OS is stored up to the upper limit of the waste liquid tank 20). During the replenishment (while the replenishment flag is “ON”), a new cleaning liquid N is supplied from the auxiliary tank 40 in the cup rinse described later.
S is controlled so as to be supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8, and the waste liquid OS after the coupling rinse is collected and stored (supplemented) in the waste liquid tank 20. On the other hand, if replenishment is not in progress (while the replenishment flag is "OFF"), in the rinse described below, the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 is controlled to be supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8. It

If the waste liquid OS stored in the waste liquid tank 20 exceeds the upper limit and the replenishment is not being performed, the waste liquid tank 20 may overflow, so that it is stored in the waste liquid tank 20. The waste liquid OS is discarded (step S7).

In the disposal process, as shown in FIG. 3, first, the opening / closing valve 29 is opened to discharge the waste liquid OS from the waste liquid tank 20 to the waste liquid processing device (step S2).
1). Next, the detection signal from the upper limit sensor 26 monitors whether the waste liquid OS in the waste liquid tank 20 has fallen below the upper limit (step S22). Then, as soon as the waste liquid OS in the waste liquid tank 20 falls below the upper limit, the opening / closing valve 29 is closed to complete the discharge of the waste liquid OS. When the disposal process is completed, the waste liquid OS is stored in the waste liquid tank 20 to a position slightly below the upper limit.

When the cleaning preparation process is completed, step S1
Return to. The cleaning preparation process is repeated while the cup rinse is not performed, that is, while the spin coating process is performed by the spin coating device.

Next, the coupling rinse processing in steps S8 to S13 will be described. In this cup rinse treatment, first,
Whether the waste liquid OS is being replenished to the waste liquid tank 20 is checked based on whether the replenishment flag is "ON" or "OFF" (step S8). If the cleaning liquid NS in the auxiliary tank 40 is supplied to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 as described above during replenishment, the opening / closing valve 42 is opened (step S).
9). On the other hand, if the cleaning pipes 6 and 8 are not being replenished,
Since the waste liquid OS in the waste liquid tank 20 is supplied, the pump 2
2 is started (step S10).

Then, it waits for the lapse of a predetermined time (step S11). Within this time, as described above, the amount of waste liquid O necessary for cleaning is passed through the needle valves 51 and 52.
S or cleaning liquid NS will be supplied to the cleaning conduits 6, 8.

When the predetermined time has elapsed, the supply of the waste liquid OS or the cleaning liquid NS to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 is stopped (step S12). That is, if the opening / closing valve 42 is “open” in the above process, the opening / closing valve 42 is “closed”, and if the drive of the pump 22 is started, the pump 2
2 is stopped.

Then, a cleaning end signal is output to notify the device drive control section of the end of the coupling rinse (step S1).
3). When the cup rinse is completed, the process returns to step S1.

Next, another control procedure by the control unit 25 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this control procedure, first, the input of the cleaning start signal is waited for (step S31), and when the cleaning start signal is input, the coupling rinse processing of steps S32 to S37 is performed.

In the coupling rinse process, first, it is checked by the detection signal from the lower limit sensor 27 whether the waste liquid OS is below the lower limit (step S32). Waste liquid O
If S is below the lower limit, the opening / closing valve 42 is opened in order to supply the new cleaning liquid NS from the auxiliary tank 40 to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 (step S3).
3). On the other hand, if the waste liquid OS is not below the lower limit, the drive of the pump 22 is started to supply the waste liquid OS from the waste liquid tank 20 to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 (step S34). Subsequent steps S35 to S37 are the same as steps S11 to S13 of the flowchart of FIG. 2 described above, and therefore description thereof will be omitted here.

In this control procedure, whether to supply the waste liquid OS or the cleaning liquid NS to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 is switched based on only the detection signal from the lower limit sensor 27.
Therefore, when controlling in this way, the upper limit sensor 26 is not particularly necessary.

Further, in the case of controlling in this way, if the lower limit sensor 27 is installed at the position as shown in FIG.
S is not stored and the waste liquid tank 20 cannot be effectively used. Therefore, it is preferable to attach the lower limit sensor 27 above the waste liquid tank 20, for example, to the position where the upper limit sensor 26 of FIG. 1 is attached.

The control unit 25 may control the supply of the waste liquid OS to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 by a control procedure other than the above. In short, the purpose of the present invention is to reduce the running cost required for the coupling rinse, so that the control procedure is not particularly limited as long as the waste liquid OS is recovered and the waste liquid OS is controlled to be reused.

By the way, if the waste liquid OS is reused at least once, the running cost required for the cup rinse can be reduced as compared with the prior art. For example, with the same cleaning solution,
If the cup rinse is performed 0 times (the waste liquid after washing is reused 9 times), the waste liquid treatment for 9 times is unnecessary, and
Since the cleaning solution required for each batch rinse is not required,
The running cost can be reduced accordingly. Therefore, the waste liquid OS that has been reused to some extent is discarded from the waste liquid tank 20, a new cleaning liquid NS is supplied from the auxiliary tank 40 for cleaning in the next cleaning process, and the cleaning liquid is discarded if reused to some extent. You may control.

By controlling the opening / closing of the opening / closing valve 42,
The configuration of supplying the cleaning liquid NS from the auxiliary tank 40 to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 through the pipes 41 and 50 is a mechanism for supplying the cleaning liquid to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 in the conventional apparatus. That is, in this embodiment, the existing cleaning liquid supply mechanism (auxiliary tank 40, opening / closing valve 42, needle valves 51, 52,
While utilizing the pipes 41, 50), a check valve 43 is attached to the existing equipment, and the waste liquid tank and the waste liquid supply means of the present invention are also attached. Therefore, the device according to the present embodiment can be realized with a simple structure of the device and at a reduced manufacturing cost.

The mechanism for supplying the cleaning liquid NS from the auxiliary tank 40 may be configured without using the existing cleaning liquid supply mechanism. In addition, in the configuration of FIG. 1, the cleaning liquid NS is supplied from the auxiliary tank 40 to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8 by pressure feeding using nitrogen gas. However, for example, a pump is used to supply the auxiliary tank 40. Washing liquid NS from the washing conduit 6,
It may be configured to supply the data to the No. 8 device. In this case, since the supply control of the cleaning liquid NS from the auxiliary tank 40 can be performed by the pump, the opening / closing valve 42 becomes unnecessary. Also,
In the control procedure of the control unit 25 as described above, the opening / closing valve 4
Instead of the opening / closing control of No. 2, the drive control of the pump is controlled by the control unit 25.
You can do it in.

Further, in this embodiment, in order to evaporate the waste liquid OS or to discard the waste liquid OS reused to some extent as described above and replenish the new cleaning liquid NS, the auxiliary tank 4 is used.
Although 0 is provided, the cleaning liquid supply mechanism from the auxiliary tank 40 is not particularly required unless it is necessary to replenish the new cleaning liquid NS. Further, even when it is necessary to replenish the new cleaning liquid NS, the new cleaning liquid NS is directly supplied to the waste liquid tank 2
If it is configured such that the cleaning liquid can be supplied to zero, it is not necessary to provide a cleaning liquid supply mechanism from the auxiliary tank 40.

Further, in the configuration of FIG. 1, the filter 23 is attached to the waste liquid supply pipe 21, but the filter 23 is attached, for example, between the drain drain 10 and the waste tank 20 to remove the waste liquid. It may be configured to filter when collecting the OS. According to this structure, it is possible to prevent solid matters and the like from accumulating in the waste liquid tank 20. However, it is conceivable that the waste liquid OS simply drops spontaneously from the waste liquid drain 10 to the waste liquid tank 20, and the waste liquid OS is clogged by the filter, so that the waste liquid OS is not discarded from the inside of the cup 3. When there is such an inconvenience, it is preferable to attach a filter to the waste liquid supply pipe 21 as shown in FIG. In addition,
In the configuration of FIG. 1, since the waste liquid OS is sent out by the pump 22, clogging of the waste liquid OS in the filter 23 is reduced. The filter 23 is provided for the purpose of enhancing the cleaning effect as described above, but the filter 23 is not necessarily provided.

In addition to the structure of this embodiment, a conduit switching means is provided in the middle of the drainage drain 10, and the waste liquid of the liquid agent itself such as photoresist generated during the coating process is discharged to the outside of the waste liquid tank 20. Alternatively, the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid generated at the time of the coupling rinse may be collected in the waste liquid tank 20. With such a configuration, it is possible to prevent the liquid agent from being undesirably mixed into the reused cleaning liquid, and prevent the reused cleaning liquid from being undesirably contaminated.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. The configuration of the second embodiment device is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment device described above (see FIG. 1), but is characterized by the control procedure by the control unit 25.

That is, in the cup rinse, the waste liquid OS is first subjected to the cup rinse, and finally the new cleaning liquid NS is subjected to the finish rinse. For example, in order to supply the waste liquid OS or the cleaning liquid NS required for cleaning to the cleaning conduits 6 and 8, the control unit 25 drives the pump 22 or keeps the open / close valve 42 "open" for a time T (for example, 20 seconds). Suppose At this time, first, the pump 22 is driven for t ₁ (T> t ₁ : for example, t ₁ = 15 seconds) to perform the rinse with the waste liquid OS, and the remaining time t ₂ (T = t ₁ + t ₂ : For example, t ₂ = 5
In the second), the opening / closing valve 42 is opened, and a control is performed so that a new cleaning liquid NS is used for coupling rinse. By controlling in this way, since the waste liquid OS is reused, the running cost of the cup rinse can be reduced, and the finishing rinse is performed with the new cleaning liquid NS, so that the cleaning effect can be enhanced. You can get the effect of another meaning at the same time.

A specific control procedure will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the input of the cleaning start signal is waited (step S41). If the cleaning start signal is not input, the cleaning preparation processing of steps S42 to S43 is performed, and when the cleaning start signal is input, the step S4 is performed.
The coupling rinse process of 4 to S50 is performed.

In the cleaning preparation process, the waste liquid O stored in the waste liquid tank 20 is detected by the detection signal of the upper limit sensor 26.
It is checked whether S exceeds the upper limit (step S42). If the waste liquid OS exceeds the upper limit, the waste liquid is treated (step S43). Since the waste liquid disposal process is the same as the control procedure of FIG. 3 described above, the description thereof is omitted here.

Since a new cleaning liquid NS is always used in the coupling rinse described later, the amount of the waste liquid OS is collected in the waste liquid tank 20. Therefore, since the waste liquid tank 20 may overflow, the waste liquid is discarded in the cleaning preparation process. The cleaning preparation process is repeated while the cup rinse is not performed.

In the cup rinse treatment, first, a cup rinse with the waste liquid OS is performed. That is, the drive of the pump 22 is started (step S44), and the process waits until the coupling rinse time t ₁ by the waste liquid OS elapses (step S4).
5) After a lapse of t ₁ time, the driving of the pump 22 is stopped (step S46).

Next, a coupling rinse with a new cleaning solution NS is performed. That is, the opening / closing valve 42 is opened (step S47), and waits for the rinsing time t _{2 of} the new cleaning liquid NS to elapse (step S48).
After the lapse of t ₂ hours, the opening / closing valve 42 is closed (step S49).

Finally, a cleaning end signal is output to notify the device drive controller of the end of the coupling rinse (step S5).
0), the coupling rinse process is ended, and the process returns to step S1.

In the control procedure described above, it is not checked whether the waste liquid OS is below the lower limit. This is because a new cleaning liquid NS is always used in the coupling rinse, so that the amount of the waste liquid OS is recovered in the waste liquid tank 20 and the waste liquid OS does not fall below the lower limit. Therefore, in this case, it is not necessary to provide the lower limit sensor 27.

In the above embodiments, the spin coater was used as an example for description, but the present invention can be similarly applied to the developing processor. That is, also in the development processing apparatus, a scattering prevention cup for receiving the developing solution scattered when the substrate is rotated to perform the development processing is provided, and it is necessary to wash the development solution attached to the scattering prevention cup or the like. Also in the case of the rinse in such a developing apparatus, if the waste liquid is collected and reused for the cup rinse as in the first and second embodiments described above,
The running cost required for the coupling rinse in the development processing apparatus can be reduced.

[0065]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, since the waste liquid of the cleaning liquid after the cup rinse can be used again for the cup rinse, it is necessary to perform the waste liquid treatment for each cup rinse. In addition, since no new cleaning liquid is used for each cup rinse, the running cost required for the cup rinse can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a main part of a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for each unit of the control unit.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for discarding excess waste liquid from a waste liquid tank.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing another control procedure for each unit of the control unit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for each unit of the control unit in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a main part of a substrate processing apparatus according to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Spin chuck 2 ... Liquid agent supply nozzle 3 ... Scatter prevention cup 5 ... Rectifying inclined plate 6, 8 ... Cleaning conduit 10 ... Drainage drain 20 ... Waste liquid tank 21 ... Waste liquid supply pipe 22 ... Pump 50 ... Pipe W ... Substrate OS ... Waste liquid of cleaning liquid NS ... Cleaning liquid

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A spin chuck that rotates while holding a substrate, a liquid agent supply nozzle that supplies a liquid agent onto the substrate, a substrate processing container that surrounds the substrate held by the spin chuck, and a substrate rotation process. In a substrate processing apparatus provided with a cleaning conduit provided in the substrate processing container for cleaning a liquid agent scattered and attached to the inside of the substrate processing container with a cleaning liquid, a cleaning liquid after cleaning the substrate processing container And a waste liquid supply means for supplying the waste liquid stored in the waste liquid tank to the cleaning conduit.