JPH07326570A - Substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a substrate processing device that does not cause a reduction in filter performance resulting from dryness in a filter. CONSTITUTION:While chemical liquid stored in a processing bath 22 circulates via a circulating pipe path 36, particles, etc., are removed by a filter device 50. The filter device 50 comprises a bag-like filter 54 having a filter internal chamber 54a, and chemical liquid is passed through the circulating pipe path 36 from an external unit of the filter 54 to the filter internal chamber 54, whereby particles, etc., are removed to be cleaned. As the chemical liquid becomes under decompression conditions when passing through the filter 54. gas melted in the chemical liquid generates. This gas is apt to remain in the filter internal chamber 54a, but discharged from the filter internal chamber 54a via a gas extracting pipe 71 without drying the filter 54.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates such as semiconductor substrates and glass substrates for liquid crystals with a processing liquid stored in a processing tank, and more particularly to a filter for removing particles in the processing liquid. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus having.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a substrate processing apparatus of this type, a chemical solution is circulated outside the processing tank in order to maintain the chemical solution in the processing tank at a constant temperature when cleaning or etching a wafer or chip. However, a device for heating with a heater is known (Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 1-82453).

FIG. 6 shows a schematic structure of the substrate processing apparatus 100. As shown in the figure, this substrate processing apparatus 100
Includes a processing tank 102, an overflow tank 106 that receives the chemical liquid overflowing from the processing tank 102, and a circulation system 110 that returns the chemical liquid from the overflow tank 106 to the processing tank 102. The circulation system 110 includes a pump 114, a filter device 120, and a heater 130 provided in the middle of the circulation pipeline 112. The filter device 120 includes a bag-shaped filter 124 having a filter inner chamber 124a in a housing 122, and a cleaning process is performed by passing a chemical solution through the filter 124.

In the substrate processing apparatus 100, the chemical liquid overflowing from the processing tank 102 is overflowed into the overflow tank 106.
And is circulated in the circulation system 110 from here. The circulation system 110 removes particles of the chemical liquid with the filter 124, heats the chemical liquid to a predetermined temperature with the heater 130, and returns the chemical liquid to the processing tank 102 through the upflow pipe 113. In this way, the particles are removed and the temperature of the chemical liquid is controlled while circulating the chemical liquid in the processing tank 102.

[0005]

However, in the above substrate processing apparatus 100, the filter 12 is processed by circulating the chemical solution.
There was a problem that the capacity of No. 4 decreased in a shorter period than expected, and the load of the pump 114 increased as the number of particles increased. As a result of investigating the cause of this problem, the following facts were revealed.

That is, when the chemical solution passes through a narrow area of the filter 124, the pressure is reduced and gas (bubbles) dissolved in the chemical solution appears. Since the filter 124 has a bag shape, the gas accumulates on the upper part of the filter 124,
The filter 124 is dried. When the filter 124 is dried, the filter 124 made of resin and subjected to the hydrophilic treatment is made to be hydrophobic, and the wettability of the chemical liquid is deteriorated. For this reason, it was found that the chemical solution was difficult to pass through the filter 124, the filter performance was reduced, and the load on the pump 114 was increased.

The present invention has been made by investigating the problems of the above-mentioned conventional techniques, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus which does not cause a decrease in filter ability due to drying of a filter.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention of claim 1 is provided with a processing tank for processing a substrate, and the processing liquid stored in the processing tank is provided outside the processing tank. In a substrate processing apparatus that cleans a processing liquid while circulating it through a pipeline, a processing liquid that is interposed between a first chamber and a second chamber and flows through the circulation pipeline is passed from the first chamber to the second chamber. Thus, a filter for performing a cleaning process and a gas discharge means for discharging the gas in the second chamber to the outside of the second chamber are provided.

According to the second aspect of the invention, as the filter of the first aspect, a bag-shaped member surrounding the second chamber is applied.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, as the gas discharging means according to the first or second aspect, there is provided a second inlet having an inlet in the second chamber.
The one provided with a gas vent pipe having an outflow port outside the room is applied.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the gas vent pipe of the third aspect is provided with a throttle valve for restricting the flow rate of the processing liquid flowing out from the gas vent pipe.

[0012]

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid stored in the processing tank is circulated through the circulation pipeline. A filter is provided in the middle of the circulation pipe, and the filter removes particles and the like by passing the processing liquid from the first chamber to the second chamber to perform a cleaning process. When the processing liquid passes through the filter from the first chamber and enters the second chamber, it is in a depressurized state, so that the gas dissolved in the processing liquid is generated as bubbles. The bubbles try to accumulate in the second chamber, but are discharged to the outside through the gas venting means connected to the second chamber. Therefore, the gas is not accumulated in the second chamber to dry the filter, so that the wettability of the filter is maintained and the filter performance is not deteriorated.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the gas in the second chamber of the bag-shaped filter that allows the gas to easily collect and does not easily escape from the gas can be discharged.

According to a third aspect of the invention, as the gas discharging means according to the first or second aspect, there is provided a second inlet having an inlet in the second chamber.
By using a gas vent tube with an outlet outside the room,
The gas in the second chamber can be evacuated with a simple structure.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by providing the gas vent pipe of the third aspect with a throttle valve, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid from flowing out when the gas is discharged.

[0016]

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in order to further clarify the structure and operation of the present invention described above.

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a substrate processing apparatus 20 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 20 includes a processing tank 22 made of quartz glass for storing a chemical solution, an overflow tank 24 provided on the outer periphery of the processing tank 22 for receiving the chemical solution overflowing from the processing tank 22, and an overflow tank. Circulation system 30 for returning the chemical liquid of 24 to the processing tank 22
With. The circulation system 30 starts from the chemical solution outlet 32 provided on the bottom wall of the overflow tank 24, and the treatment tank 2
2, the upflow pipes 34a, 34b are provided inside the circulation pipe line 36.

A pump 40, a filter device 50 and a heater device 60 are provided in this order from the overflow tank 24 side in the middle of the circulation line 36 of the circulation system 30.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the filter device 50 includes a housing 52 having a housing chamber 52a as a first chamber. At the lower part of the housing 52, an inflow port 53a, an outflow port 53b and a gas outlet port 53c for the chemical liquid are provided. The connection portion 36a of the circulation pipeline 36 is connected to the inflow port 53a, while the connection portion 36b of the circulation pipeline 36 is connected to the outflow port 53b.

A filter 54 is housed in the housing chamber 52a of the housing 52. The filter 54 is
It is folded in a bag shape having a filter inner chamber 54a as a second chamber and is supported by the support frame 56. The filter 54 is formed from tetrafluoroethylene (PTEF), and its surface is coated with isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to impart hydrophilicity.

The filter inner chamber 5 of the filter 54 is also provided.
A gas vent pipe 71 formed of a thin pipe is inserted into 4a. The gas vent pipe 71 has an inflow port 71a in the upper part of the filter inner chamber 54a, and the outflow port 71b at the other end is connected to the overflow tank 24 via the gas vent port 53c of the housing 52.

The housing 52 of the filter device 50
Is provided with an upper return pipe 80 for removing the gas in the housing chamber 52a, and is connected to the overflow tank 24 to return the gas in the chemical liquid sent from the pump 40.

On the other hand, in the heater device 60 shown in FIG. 1, the heater 62 is covered on the outer peripheral surface of the heater inner pipe line 61, and the outer side is covered with a cylindrical housing 63. The coating of the heater 62 is fixed to the outer peripheral surface of the heater inner pipe line 61 by heat resistant coating. The circulation conduit 36 connected to the outlet of the heater inner conduit 61 of the heater device 60 is connected to the upflow pipes 34a and 34b. The upflow pipes 34a and 34b are pipe-shaped and have a plurality of holes formed in the longitudinal direction, and spray the chemical liquid circulated through the circulation pipe line 36 into the processing tank 22 in a shower shape.

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 20 will be described. In the substrate processing apparatus 20, the chemical liquid in the overflow tank 24 is sent by the pump 40 to the filter device 50 through the circulation pipe 36, purified through the filter device 50, and sent under pressure to the heater device 60. Heater device 60
The chemical liquid pressure-fed to is heated by the heater 62 and is sent into the processing tank 22 through the circulation conduit 36 and the upflow pipes 34a and 34b. The chemical solution pumped into the processing tank 22 stirs the chemical solution in the processing tank 22 and causes the chemical solution to overflow into the overflow tank 24. After that, overflow tank 2
The chemical solution received in 4 is filtered by the pump 40 in the filter device 5
It is sent to the 0 side. By such an operation, the cleaning liquid is circulated in the processing tank 22 and the filter device 50 performs the cleaning process and the heater device 60 maintains the predetermined temperature.

In the filter device 50 according to the above embodiment, when the chemical liquid passes through the filter 54 and enters the filter inner chamber 54a by the filter device 50, a reduced pressure atmosphere is created, and the gas dissolved in the chemical liquid is stored in the filter inner chamber 54a. Trying to accumulate at the top. However, this gas is
It is compressed by the hydraulic pressure of a and is discharged to the overflow tank 24 through the gas vent pipe 71.

Therefore, the gas is not accumulated in the filter inner chamber 54a of the filter 54, and the upper portion of the filter 54 is not dried. Therefore, the filter 54 maintains hydrophilicity and does not cause the performance of the filter 54 to deteriorate.

Further, since there is no clogging caused by the drying of the filter 54, the load of the pump 40 for pumping the chemical liquid does not increase with use, and therefore the small pump 4 is used.
It is possible to use 0, and the life of the pump 40 is extended.

Further, since the flow rate of the chemical solution is not suppressed in the filter 54 portion, the cleaning process can be maintained at a stable flow rate.

The gas vent pipe 71 is provided in the overflow tank 24 so that when the chemical solution partially flows out of the filter device 50 through the gas vent pipe 71, the overflow tank 24 is provided in the overflow tank 24. This is so that the drug solution can be received.

In the embodiment of FIG. 1 described above, the filter device 50 is provided between the pump 40 and the heater 62, but the positional relationship is not particularly limited as long as the filter device 50 cleans the chemical liquid. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, the filter device 50B may be provided on the downstream side of the heater device 60B. In this case, the heater 60B
The gas generated when heated in can also be removed at the same time.

Further, in the above embodiment, as means for returning the gas in the filter device to the overflow tank 24,
Although the thin pipe is used to reduce the liquid amount, the present invention is not limited to this, and the gas vent pipe 71B shown in FIG. 5 may be provided with the throttle valve 70B. In this case, depending on the flow rate of the chemical solution,
The amount of gas escape can be adjusted.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be carried out in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention, and the following modifications can be made.

(1) In the above embodiment, an embodiment having a heater device was described, but it goes without saying that it can be applied to a mechanism without a heater device.

(2) In the above embodiment, the bag-shaped filter is described, but the filter is not limited to this, and the filter is interposed between the first chamber and the second chamber, and the second chamber is a closed chamber. Therefore, it can be applied to various filters in which gas easily accumulates.

[0035]

As described above, according to the substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, the degassing means is provided in the second chamber of the filter for passing the processing liquid from the first chamber to the second chamber for cleaning. As a result, the gas generated in the second chamber is quickly discharged to the outside and the filter is not dried.
The wettability of the filter is maintained and the filter performance is not deteriorated.

According to the second aspect of the invention, as the filter of the first aspect, it is possible to remove the gas in the second chamber in the bag-shaped filter in which the gas easily collects and is difficult to escape.

According to the invention of claim 3, as the gas discharging means of claim 1 or 2, by using a gas vent pipe having an inflow port inside the second chamber and an outflow port outside the second chamber, The gas in the two chambers can be removed with a simple configuration.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, by providing the gas vent pipe of the third aspect with a throttle valve, it is possible to suitably prevent the processing liquid from flowing out together with the gas.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a filter device of the same embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the filter device of the embodiment with a part thereof cut away.

FIG. 4 is a horizontal sectional view of the filter device according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 ... Substrate processing apparatus 22 ... Processing tank 24 ... Overflow tank 30 ... Circulation system 32 ... Outflow port 34a, 34b ... Upflow pipe 36 ... Circulation pipeline 36a ... Connection part 36b ... Connection part 40 ... Pump 50 ... Filter device 50B ... Filter device 52 ... Housing 52a ... Housing chamber 53a ... Inflow port 53b ... Outflow port 53c ... Outlet 54 ... Filter 54a ... Filter inner chamber 56 ... Support frame 60 ... Heater device 60B ... Heater device 61 ... Heater inner conduit 62 ... Heater 63 ... Housing 70B ... Throttle valve 71 ... Gas vent pipe 71a ... Inflow port 71b ... Outflow port 71B ... Gas vent pipe 80 ... Upper return pipe

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Masato Goto 2426-1 Kuchinogawara, Mikami, Yasu-machi, Yasu-gun, Shiga Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. Yasu Plant

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus comprising a processing bath for processing a substrate, wherein the processing liquid stored in the processing bath is circulated through a circulation pipe provided outside the processing bath to clean the processing liquid. A filter which is interposed between the chamber and the second chamber and cleans the treatment liquid flowing through the circulation conduit from the first chamber to the second chamber, and the gas in the second chamber to the outside of the second chamber A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the filter has a bag shape surrounding the second chamber. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas discharge means includes a gas vent pipe having an inflow port inside the second chamber and an outflow port outside the second chamber. 4. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the gas vent pipe according to claim 3 is provided with a throttle valve for throttling the flow rate of the processing liquid flowing through the gas vent pipe.