JPH07263389A - Substrate cleaner - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a device which can automatically perform the setting of the quantity of push in of a cleaning brush into the surface of a substrate when the kind of the board or kind of cleaning changes. CONSTITUTION:This substrate cleaner is constituted so that the position of a stopper 102 may be automatically adjusted by providing this with a final control element 110 into which to set the quantity of push in of a cleaning brush 12 into the surface of a substrate W, and sending a signal from CPU 108 to a controller 106, and driving the controller 104 by the controller 106. The quantity of push in of the cleaning brush is adjusted by regulating the down position of an arm support shaft 20 and a totary arm 16 through a weight placing plate 32, a both-arm lever 36, and a weight receiving plate 30 by a stopper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for cleaning various substrates such as semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices or photomasks, substrates for optical disks, etc. The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus that supplies a cleaning liquid onto the substrate while rotating it around and cleans the substrate surface with a cleaning brush.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a device for cleaning a substrate surface with a brush by supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate while rotating the substrate, for example, a semiconductor wafer around a vertical axis in a horizontal plane,
Conventionally, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 57-90941 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1
A swing-type cleaning device disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 107129 is known. The structure of a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus of this type will be briefly described with reference to the apparatus shown in FIG.

Although not shown in the drawing, this substrate cleaning apparatus is
A substrate rotation device unit including a spin chuck that holds the substrate in a horizontal posture and rotates about a vertical axis, a cleaning liquid supply nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid such as pure water to the surface of the substrate, and a cleaning brush 12, and the substrate A brush cleaning device unit 10 for cleaning the surface of the substrate which is rotated in the rotating device unit and supplied with the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle, and a brush cleaning device 12 for gently contacting the cleaning brush 12 with the surface of the rotating substrate. The contact cushioning device section 14 is provided.

The brush cleaning device section 10 is provided with a rotating arm 16 which holds the cleaning brush 12 in a vertical posture and is rotatably held around a vertical axis. The rotating arm 16 is disposed on the rotating arm 16 and drives the cleaning brush 12 to rotate. The brush rotation drive mechanism 18 and the rotation arm 16 are fixedly supported on the upper end portion thereof, and are fixedly mounted on the upper surface side of the arm support shaft 20 and the base 22 that are rotatably and vertically movable.
A support base 24 that supports 20 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction and rotatable about an axis, and an arm rotation drive mechanism that rotates the arm support shaft 20 so that the position of the arm support shaft 20 can be controlled.
26, an arm elevating and lowering drive mechanism 28 for elevating and lowering the rotating arm 16 by driving the arm supporting shaft 20 up and down, and an arm load receiving plate 30 fixed to the arm supporting shaft 20 for receiving the load of the rotating arm 16. It consists of

Further, the contact cushioning device portion 14 includes a rotating arm 16
A weight 34 for decelerating the descending speed of is placed on the weight mounting plate 32 and the support 24 which are arranged so as to be able to move up and down, with the spindle 38 attached thereto as a center within the vertical plane. Both arm levers are swingably supported and have rollers 40 and 42 attached to both ends.
36, a deceleration cylinder 44 for decelerating the rising speed of the weight mounting plate 32, and a micrometer 48 are provided, and the uppermost position of the weight mounting plate 32 is regulated to be finely adjustable, and a cleaning brush.
It is provided with a stopper 46 that finely adjusts the pushing amount of the lower end of the cleaning brush 12 with respect to the substrate surface when the substrate 12 comes into contact with the substrate surface.

In the contact cushioning unit 14, both arm levers 36
In the state where the roller 42 attached to one arm is always in contact with the lower surface of the weight mounting plate 32 and the cleaning brush 12 is not located above the substrate arranged in the substrate rotating device section, The weight placing plate 32 is lowered to the lowermost position by the weight of the weight 34, and the lower end contact surface of the stopper 46 is separated from the upper surface of the weight placing plate 32. Further, when the cleaning brush 12 is not located above the substrate, the roller 40 attached to the other arm of the both arm levers 36 engages with the arm load receiving plate 30 fixed to the arm support shaft 20. I haven't. From that state, in order to clean the substrate, the arm lifting / lowering drive mechanism 28 raises the arm support shaft 20 to lift the rotary arm 16 fixed to the upper end of the arm support shaft 20, and then the arm rotation drive. When the arm support shaft 20 is rotated by the mechanism 26 and the rotating arm 16 is rotated in the horizontal plane so that the cleaning brush 12 moves to the position above the substrate, the other arm of the two levers 36 is attached. The mounted roller 40 contacts the lower surface of the arm load receiving plate 30. In this state, the cleaning brush 12 is moved to the brush rotation drive mechanism 18
When the arm support shaft 20 is lowered by the arm lifting drive mechanism 28 in order to bring the lower end of the cleaning brush 12 into contact with the surface of the substrate while rotating by, the load of the rotating arm 16 is
A weight mounting plate via the arm load receiving plate 30 and both arm levers 36.
Acts on the underside of 32. Then, the rotating arm 16 is lowered by the action of the weight 34 of the weight mounting plate 32 and the deceleration cylinder 44 while being lowered against the pushing force of the weight 34 due to the gravity, and is held there. The lower end of the cleaned cleaning brush 12 is gently brought into contact with the substrate surface, and the weight mounting plate 32
The lowering operation of the cleaning brush 32 is stopped when the upper surface of the cleaning brush contacts the lower end contact surface of the stopper.
The more specific mechanism and operation of the device will be described later in more detail with reference to FIG.

In the substrate cleaning apparatus as described above,
It is necessary to optimally adjust the pressing amount of the cleaning brush with respect to the surface of the substrate depending on the type of substrate and the type of pre-cleaning process. For example, in the cleaning operation after the substrate is subjected to the CVD process or the sputtering process, the pushing amount of the cleaning brush is generally increased, and in the cleaning operation after the etching process, the pushing amount of the cleaning brush is generally reduced. Further, in order to completely prevent the occurrence of fine scratches on the surface of the substrate, the lower end of the cleaning brush is floated from the substrate surface and the cleaning brush is rotated, and a slight amount of dust is always present between the lower end of the cleaning brush and the substrate surface. In some cases, the cleaning may be performed with the gap left (in this case, the contact cushioning device such as the above-mentioned device is unnecessary). Therefore, in the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus, the stopper 46 is provided with the micrometer 48,
By finely adjusting the restriction position of the stopper 46 by the micrometer 48, it is possible to appropriately set the pushing amount of the lower end of the cleaning brush 12 with respect to the surface of the substrate (or the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush). Has become.

[0008]

However, it is not possible to manually set the pushing amount of the cleaning brush 12 with respect to the surface of the substrate by manually operating the micrometer 48 each time the type of the substrate or the type of cleaning process changes. It is troublesome and the workability is poor.

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and the amount of pushing of the cleaning brush with respect to the surface of the substrate, which has been conventionally performed manually every time the type of substrate or the type of cleaning process changes. Alternatively, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus capable of automatically setting the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush, thereby improving workability.

[0010]

According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding / rotating means for holding a substrate in a horizontal posture and rotating it about a vertical axis, and a cleaning liquid on the surface of the substrate rotated by the substrate holding / rotating means. Cleaning liquid supply means for supplying, a cleaning brush for cleaning the substrate surface with the lower end in contact with or close to the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding / rotating means, and a brush holding means for holding the cleaning brush in a vertical posture An elevating means for elevating and lowering the brush holding means, and a restricting means such as a stopper for restricting the descending position of the brush holding means elevating and lowering by the elevating and lowering means,
Displacement means for displacing the regulating means so as to adjust the pushing amount of the lower end of the cleaning brush with respect to the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding / rotating means or the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush. In the substrate cleaning apparatus having the above-mentioned, the displacement means is provided with a driving means, and the input means for setting and inputting the pushing amount of the lower end of the cleaning brush with respect to the surface of the substrate or the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush, and Control means for controlling the driving means of the displacement means based on the setting input by the input means is provided.

[0011]

In the substrate cleaning apparatus configured as described above,
When the type of substrate or the type of cleaning process is changed, the input means sets and inputs the pushing amount of the lower end of the cleaning brush to the surface of the substrate or the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush. The drive means is controlled by the control means based on the drive means, the displacement means is driven by the drive means, the regulating means is displaced by the displacing means, and the lowered position of the brush holding means regulated by the regulating means is adjusted. The pushing amount or the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush is automatically set according to a new type of substrate or cleaning processing.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of the present invention and is a side view showing a partial cross-section of the entire structure of a substrate cleaning apparatus. In FIG. 1, the same reference numerals as those used in FIG. 4 are the same as those described with reference to FIG.
A duplicate description will be omitted. Reference numeral 50 in FIG. 1 is a spin chuck for holding the substrate W in a horizontal posture and rotating it about a vertical axis, and 52 is a cleaning liquid supply nozzle for supplying a cleaning liquid such as pure water to the surface of the substrate W.

First, the structure of the brush cleaning device section 10 will be described in detail. The brush rotation drive mechanism 18 is a rotating arm.
It comprises a drive motor 54 disposed on the base end side of 16, and a transmission belt 56 connecting the rotary drive shaft of the drive motor 54 and the rotary shaft of the cleaning brush 12 to each other. As the cleaning brush 12, one made of an appropriate material such as sponge-like or feather-like is selected and used according to the type of substrate and the type of cleaning treatment. A non-rotating cleaning brush may be used depending on the type of cleaning process.

The lower end portion of the arm support shaft 20 penetrating the base 22 is a spline shaft 58.
The spline sleeve 60 is fitted on the outside. The spline sleeve 60 is rotatably mounted on the base 22 via a bearing 64.
The pulley mounting shaft portion 62 of the spline sleeve 60 has a driven pulley 66 fixed thereto. Also, the base
A drive motor 70 for forward and reverse rotation driving is fixed to the lower surface side of the bracket 22 via a bracket 68, and a drive pulley 72 is fixed to the rotary drive shaft of the drive motor 70, and a drive pulley 72 and a driven pulley 66 are provided. Are connected by a transmission belt 74. Further, three sensors 76a, 76b, 76c for position control are arranged on the upper surface side of the base 22, and a drive motor is also provided.
Three discs 80a, 80b, 80c having slits formed at different predetermined positions are fixed to an extension shaft portion 78 of the rotary drive shaft 70 penetrating the base 22. Then, by detecting the slit positions of the disks 80a, 80b, 80c by the sensors 76a, 76b, 76c, the cleaning brush 12 attached to the tip end side of the rotating arm 16 is in the standby position (indicated by a chain double-dashed line). (Shown position), the center position of the substrate W or the peripheral position of the substrate W is detected, and the cleaning brush 12
Position control is performed. The arm rotation drive mechanism 26 is configured as described above.

The arm lifting drive mechanism 28 fixes an air cylinder 84 to the lower surface side of the base 22 via a bracket 82, and the upper end surface of the output rod 86 of the air cylinder 84 is a spline of the lower end portion of the arm support shaft 20. The arm rod shaft 20 and the rotary arm 16 are vertically moved by pressing the lower end surface of the shaft 58 and moving the output rod 86 forward and backward. Reference numerals 88a and 88b in the figure are sensors for detecting the forward / backward position of the output rod 86, and are attached along the forward / backward stroke of the output rod 86.

Next, a supplementary description will be given of the structure of the contact cushioning device section 14. The weight mounting plate 32 is slidably engaged with an elevating guide rod 92 that is erected on the base 22 via a fixture 90, and is guided by the elevating guide rod 92 to move vertically. It is designed to move back and forth. Weight to be placed on the weight rest 32
The weight of 34 is appropriately adjustable, and at least the couple moment due to the total load of the rotating arm 16 and the arm support shaft 20 is set to be slightly larger than the couple moment of the weight 34. It In addition, the reduction cylinder 44 fixed to the horizontal holding plate 94 fixed to the upper surface of the base 22.
Is a cleaning brush through the weight mounting plate 32 and both arm levers 36 by appropriately adjusting the orifice (not shown).
It has a configuration capable of reducing the descending speed of 12 to a desired speed. A mechanism for restricting the raised position of the weight mounting plate 32, and hence the lowered position of the cleaning brush 12, will be described later.

The support base 24 slidably supporting the arm support shaft 20 is provided with a brush rotation start sensor 98 via a support plate 96.
On the other hand, the plate 100 to be inspected is erected on the weight mounting plate 32 of the contact cushioning device portion 14. Then, the weight mounting plate 32 moves upward to a predetermined height, and the sensor 98 detects the test plate 100, so that the lower end of the cleaning brush 12 contacts the surface of the substrate W before the cleaning brush. 12 is configured to start rotating.

The operation of the brush cleaning device section 10 configured as described above will be described. Before starting the cleaning operation of the substrate, the rotating arm 16 is in the standby position shown by the chain double-dashed line, and at this time, the arm load receiving plate 30 is stopped while resting on the upper surface of the support base 24. ing.

In cleaning the substrate, from the above-described state, first, the output rod 86 of the air cylinder 84 is advanced upward, the arm support shaft 20 is pushed up by the output rod 86, and the rotating arm 16 is raised to the uppermost position. At this time, the lower end of the cleaning brush 12 is at a position higher than the upper surface of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 50. Next, the drive motor 70 is driven in the forward direction to rotate the arm support shaft 20 about its axis, thereby rotating the rotating arm 16 and mounting the cleaning brush 12 attached to the tip thereof on the substrate. Move the center of W upward. When the cleaning brush 12 stops above the central position of the substrate W, the output rod 86 of the air cylinder 84 is retracted downward, and the rotating arm 16 and the arm support shaft 20 are lowered. In the descending process of the arm support shaft 20, the arm load receiving plate 30 rests on the roller 40 attached to one arm of the both arm levers 36, and the load of the rotating arm 16 is output by the air cylinder 84. Transition from rod to lever 36. At this time, the brush rotation start sensor 98 operates to drive the drive motor 54 to rotate, and the cleaning brush 12 starts to rotate via the transmission belt 56. Then, the levers 36, the weight 34 on the weight mounting plate 32
The deceleration cylinder 44 functions as described above to reduce the descending speed of the rotating arm 16 and the cleaning brush 12
The lower end of the contact gently contacts the surface of the substrate W.

Although the above-described structure and operation are not particularly different from those of the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus, this apparatus has a weight mounting plate which is raised as the rotating arm 16 and the arm support shaft 20 are lowered.
An automatic adjustment mechanism for the stopper 102 is provided which contacts the upper surface of the weight 32 and regulates the rising position of the weight mounting plate 32. That is, the stopper 102 is connected to the output shaft of an actuator 104 having a built-in drive motor, the actuator 104 is connected to a controller 106, and the controller 106 is a CPU.
Connected to 108. Further, the CPU 108 is connected to an operation unit 110 for setting and inputting the pressing amount of the cleaning brush 12 with respect to the surface of the substrate W. Then, when the type of substrate or the type of cleaning process changes, the operator operates the operation unit 110 to input a new set value into the CPU 108, and a signal is sent from the CPU 108 to the controller 106.
The actuator 104 is drive-controlled by the controller 106, and the stopper 102 is displaced to a desired position and stopped. By automatically adjusting the position of the stopper 102 in this way, the uppermost position of the weight mounting plate 32 is defined, and the pushing amount of the cleaning brush 12 is quickly adjusted to a value according to a new substrate or cleaning process. To be done. In the first embodiment, the "stopper 102" corresponds to the "regulating means" in the claims, and the "actuator 104" corresponds to the "displacement means" in the claims. The "motor" incorporated in the actuator 104 corresponds to the "driving means" described in the claims.

The pushing amount of the cleaning brush 12, that is, the displacement amount of the stopper 102 is stored in the memory in association with the type of substrate or the type of cleaning process, and the operator operates the type of substrate or the type of cleaning process. The stopper 102 may be configured to be automatically displaced to a desired position when selected and input in the section 110.

The substrate cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with a contact buffer device section 14. However, when the impact when the cleaning brush contacts the surface of the substrate does not pose a problem, or when the lower end of the cleaning brush is removed. In an apparatus in which the substrate is washed while being floated from the surface of the substrate, it is not necessary to particularly provide the contact cushioning device section. In such a substrate cleaning apparatus, a mechanism for automatically adjusting the pressing amount of the cleaning brush or the gap amount between the lower end of the cleaning brush and the substrate surface is provided, for example, in FIG. 2 as the second embodiment and in FIG. 3 as the third embodiment. It may be configured as shown in. 2 and FIG. 3 that are assigned the same reference numerals as those used in FIG. 1 are the same members as those described with reference to FIG.

A substrate cleaning apparatus as a second embodiment of which a partial side view is shown in FIG. 2 has an eccentricity in which a pulse motor 112 is fixedly mounted on a support 24 and a radial bearing is attached to the outer periphery of its rotation shaft. By fixing the cam 114, an automatic adjustment mechanism of the pushing amount of the cleaning brush or the gap amount between the lower end of the cleaning brush and the substrate surface is configured. In the apparatus having this configuration, although not shown in the drawings, like the apparatus shown in FIG. 1, when the type of substrate or the type of cleaning process changes, the operator operates the operation unit to make a new setting. The value is C
When input to PU, the controller drives and controls the pulse motor 112 based on the signal from the CPU, and the eccentric cam 114 rotates to stop at the desired angular position. In this way, the height position of the uppermost point of the eccentric cam 114 changes, and in the process of lowering the rotating arm 16 and the arm support shaft 20, the arm support shaft
The lower surface of the arm load receiving plate 30 fixed to 20 is the eccentric cam 11
By contacting the uppermost point of 4, the lower position of the rotating arm 16 is regulated, and the pushing amount of the cleaning brush 12 or the gap amount between the lower end of the cleaning brush and the substrate surface is regulated. In the second embodiment, the "eccentric cam 114" corresponds not only to the "regulating means" and also to the "displacement means" described in the claims, but also to the "pulse motor 112".
Corresponds to the "driving means" described in the claims.

Further, in the substrate cleaning apparatus of the third embodiment, a partial side view of which is shown in FIG. 3, the arm support shaft 20 is not provided with an arm load receiving plate, and the spline shaft 58 at the lower end of the arm support shaft 20 is used.
The lower end surface of the rotary cylinder 16 and the upper end surface of the output rod 86 of the air cylinder 84 are always in contact with each other, so that the rotating arm 16
The load of the arm support shaft 20 is received by the output rod 86 of the air cylinder 84. And the automatic adjustment mechanism of the pushing amount of the cleaning brush or the gap between the lower end of the cleaning brush and the substrate surface is the air cylinder.
The slide engaging member 120 is attached to the vertical plate portion 118 of the inverted T-shaped support member 116 integrally fixed to the 84, and the base is
The linear guide bearing 124 is attached to the frame 122 fixed to the lower surface side of the air cylinder 22, and the slide engagement tool 120 and the linear guide bearing 124 are engaged with each other to make the air cylinder 8
4 is movably held in the vertical direction, on the other hand, a pulse motor 128 is fixedly mounted on a frame 122 via a bracket 126, and an eccentric cam 130 having a radial bearing attached to the outer periphery is attached to the rotary shaft of the pulse motor 128. The eccentric cam 130 and the supporting member 116 are arranged so that the eccentric cam 130 is always in contact with the lower surface of the horizontal plate portion of the supporting member 116. In the apparatus having this configuration, when the operator operates the operation unit, the controller operates the pulse motor 12 based on the signal from the CPU, as in the apparatus shown in FIG.
8 is driven and controlled, the eccentric cam 130 rotates to stop at a desired angular position, and the height position of the uppermost point of the eccentric cam 130 changes, so that the height position of the air cylinder 84 is changed via the support member 116. Change. Then, as the height position of the air cylinder 84 changes, the vertical position of the arm support shaft 20 that is always in contact with the output rod 86 changes, and the rotation of the arm support shaft 20 fixed to the upper end portion of the arm support shaft 20 changes. The lowering position of the moving arm 16 is regulated, and the pushing amount of the cleaning brush 12 or the gap amount between the lower end of the cleaning brush and the substrate surface is regulated. In the third embodiment, the "output rod 86" is
Corresponding to the "restricting means" in the claims, the "eccentric cam 130" corresponds to the "displacement means" in the claims, and "pulse motor 128"
Corresponds to the "driving means" described in the claims.

[0026]

Since the present invention is constructed and operates as described above, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present invention can be used to clean the surface of a substrate when the type of substrate or the type of cleaning process changes. The pushing amount of the brush or the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush can be automatically set, and the workability is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention and a partial cross-sectional view of the entire structure of a substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a partial side view of a substrate cleaning apparatus showing another configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial side view of a substrate cleaning apparatus showing still another configuration example of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing an example of a configuration of a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 Brush cleaning device part 12 Cleaning brush 14 Contact cushioning device part 16 Rotating arm 18 Brush rotation drive mechanism 20 Arm support shaft 22 Base 24 Support 26 Arm rotation drive mechanism 28 Arm lifting drive mechanism 30 Arm load receiving plate 32 Weight mounting plate 36 Both arms lever 50 Spin chuck 52 Cleaning liquid supply nozzle 102 Stopper 104 Actuator with built-in drive motor 106 Controller 108 CPU 110 Operating part 112, 128 Pulse motor 114, 130 Eccentricity with radial bearing mounted on the outer circumference Cam 120 Slide engagement tool 124 Linear guide bearing W PCB

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A substrate holding / rotating means for holding a substrate in a horizontal posture and rotating it about a vertical axis, a cleaning liquid supplying means for supplying a cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate rotated by the substrate holding / rotating means, A cleaning brush for cleaning the substrate surface with the lower end in contact with or close to the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding / rotating means, a brush holding means for holding the cleaning brush in a vertical posture, and a lifting and lowering of the brush holding means. Elevating means for controlling, a regulating means for regulating the lowered position of the brush holding means which is raised and lowered by the elevating means, and displacing the regulating means for cleaning the surface of the substrate held by the substrate holding / rotating means. Substrate cleaning including displacement means for adjusting the pushing amount of the lower end of the brush or the gap between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush. In the cleaning apparatus, the displacement means is provided with a driving means, and the input means for setting and inputting the pushing amount of the lower end of the cleaning brush with respect to the surface of the substrate or the gap amount between the substrate surface and the lower end of the cleaning brush, and the input means. 2. A substrate cleaning apparatus, comprising: a control unit that controls a drive unit of the displacement unit based on a setting input by the.