JPH08148465A - Substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a substrate processing device which is low in running cost, wherein the device is equipped with a chamber where a substrate is subjected to chemical processing, cleaning, and drying, and disused gas such as vapor or mist of liquid chemicals generated in a chemical treatment process is capable of being completely removed from the chamber. CONSTITUTION: A vacuum chamber 20 is equipped with a lid 22 provided with an open-close mechanism. When the open-close mechanism is kept open, or an upper slit plate 222 is lifted above a lower slit plate 221, outside air is introduced into the chamber 20 uniformly through the lid 22 through the intermediary of an air inlet 224 and slits 222a and 221a. On the other hand, the vacuum chamber 20 is forcibly and uniformly exhausted by an outer exhauster through an exhaust vent 24 provided to the base of a main body 21. Therefore, disused gas is evenly discharged out of the vacuum chamber and prevented from staying inside it.

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,
More specifically, in semiconductor device manufacturing processes, liquid crystal display manufacturing processes, electronic component-related manufacturing processes, etc., various treatments (chemical solution treatment, cleaning treatment, and drying) are performed on various substrates such as silicon wafers, glass substrates, and electronic components. Processing device).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the structure of a conventional substrate processing apparatus. In FIG. 9, this substrate processing apparatus is
A plurality of substrates 1 are housed in a cleaning tank 3 in a chamber 2, hot pure water is supplied into the cleaning tank from the bottom thereof and overflows from the top thereof, and a rising water flow of the warm pure water is formed inside the cleaning tank. The substrate 1 is immersed in the ascending water flow of 1 to be washed. Also, after cleaning, the substrate 1 is pulled out from the warm pure water and the warm pure water is discharged from the cleaning tank.
After that, the inside of the chamber 2 is evacuated to dry the substrate 1 under reduced pressure. In addition, from warm pure water to substrate 1
At the time of pulling up, the dry steam such as isopropyl alcohol (IPA) compatible with water is supplied into the chamber 2 through the IPA supply pipe 4 to replace the water on the substrate surface with the dry steam. . As a result, water droplets are quickly removed from the substrate surface, and drying can be performed in a short time.

[0003]

As described above, in the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 9, only the cleaning and drying of the substrate are performed, and the chemical treatment for etching, resist film peeling, etc. Was performed by immersing it in a chemical solution (sulfuric acid, hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, buffered hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, etc.) in another device. However, if such chemical treatment can be performed in the same chamber, the substrate transfer step can be omitted and the apparatus cost can be reduced, which is very advantageous in the manufacturing process.
However, if the chemical solution is also processed in the same chamber, the following problems occur.

That is, when the chemical solution is processed in the chamber, the lid of the chamber 2 is closed and the inside of the chamber 2 is closed so that vapor and mist of the chemical solution do not leak from the chamber and adversely affect other peripheral devices. It needs to be a closed space.
However, if the chamber is kept in a hermetically sealed state, the chemical vapor or mist stays in the chamber and adheres to the inner wall surface of the chamber 2. Therefore, the deposits on the inner wall surface may evaporate and re-attach to the substrate 1 during drying under reduced pressure, or reaction products may be generated to generate contamination and particles. Also,
It may react with the next vapor or mist of the chemical liquid to generate a by-product, resulting in pollution and particles.

In order to solve the above problems, IPA
It is conceivable to introduce nitrogen gas from the introduction pipe 4 and to exhaust unnecessary gas in the chamber from the exhaust pipe 5. However, in such a method, as shown in FIG.
A very large retention zone α occurs in the chamber, and the vapor or mist of the chemical liquid is not sufficiently exhausted in this portion. In addition, since nitrogen gas is expensive, there is a problem that running cost becomes high.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to remove unnecessary gas such as vapor and mist of a chemical solution in a chamber in a substrate processing apparatus for performing chemical solution processing, cleaning processing and drying processing of substrates in the same chamber. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can be sufficiently removed from the substrate and has a low running cost.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A substrate processing apparatus for performing a chemical solution treatment, a cleaning treatment, and a drying treatment on a substrate in the same chamber, the chamber comprising:
A main body that houses a processing tank for immersing the substrates arranged inside it in a chemical solution or pure water, a lid that is detachably attached to the upper part of the main body, and a lid that is formed on the bottom of the main body and that is uniform from the outer periphery of the bottom. The chamber includes an exhaust port capable of exhausting the inside of the chamber, and the lid has an open state in which the outside air is uniformly taken in from the entire surface, and an air inflow path between the outside and the outside is shut off to take the air into the chamber. An opening / closing mechanism for switching between a closed state in which the chamber is stopped and a closed state are provided, and a forced evacuation unit for forcibly exhausting the inside of the chamber is further provided, which is connected to the exhaust port.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the opening / closing mechanism opens and closes by relatively moving two plates each having a slit or a through hole formed therein. And

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the opening / closing mechanism is composed of a plurality of rotating plates.
It is characterized in that opening / closing is performed by rotating each rotating plate.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the invention, the lid is further provided with a filter for cleaning the air taken in from the outside.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing a chemical treatment, a cleaning treatment, and a drying treatment on a substrate in the same chamber, wherein the chamber has the substrates arranged therein in a chemical liquid or a pure liquid. A main body for accommodating a treatment tank for immersing in water, a lid detachably attached to the upper part of the main body, and a fluid forcibly introduced from the outside into the inside thereof,
It includes an exhaust port formed in the bottom of the main body and capable of uniformly exhausting the inside of the chamber from the outer periphery of the bottom, the lid is formed with a plurality of slits or through holes, and the introduced fluid is dispersed. A dispersion plate for introducing into the chamber is provided, and the dispersion plate is further provided with a forced exhaust means connected to an exhaust port and forcibly exhausting the inside of the chamber.

[0012]

In the invention according to claims 1 to 4, the chamber uniformly takes in outside air from the entire surface of the lid when the opening / closing mechanism is open. On the other hand, the exhaust port formed at the bottom of the main body cooperates with the forced exhaust means to forcibly exhaust the inside of the chamber evenly from the outer periphery of the bottom of the main body. Therefore, the unnecessary gas in the chamber is exhausted evenly and does not create a retention zone in the chamber. Further, since the chemical vapor or mist is exhausted by supplying air, the running cost is lower than that when nitrogen gas or the like is used.

Further, in the invention according to claim 4,
Since the filter provided on the lid cleans the air taken in from the outside, clean air is always supplied into the chamber, and the generation of particles is minimized.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the fluid from the outside which is forcibly introduced into the chamber lid is dispersed by the dispersion plate and introduced into the chamber. On the other hand, the exhaust port formed at the bottom of the main body cooperates with the forced exhaust means to forcibly exhaust the inside of the chamber evenly from the outer periphery of the bottom of the main body. Therefore, the unnecessary gas in the chamber is exhausted evenly and does not create a retention zone in the chamber.

[0015]

1 is a sectional view showing the structure of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment is similar to the conventional substrate processing apparatus in one decompression chamber, and various substrates (silicon wafers for semiconductor integrated circuits, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, other electronic devices). The cleaning process and the drying process are performed on the substrate (for parts, etc.), and the chemical solution treatment for etching, resist film peeling, etc. can be further performed in the same decompression chamber. The configuration of the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, inside the decompression chamber 20,
The processing tank 30 is detachably or fixedly stored. A plurality of sheets (for example, 5
The (zero) substrates 1 are arranged in parallel at predetermined intervals. An injection pipe 31 is provided at the bottom of the processing tank 30. A chemical liquid or pure water is supplied to the injection pipe 31 from a chemical liquid / pure water supply source outside the decompression chamber 20.

The decompression chamber 20 is composed of a main body 21 for accommodating the processing bath 30 and a lid 22 attached to the upper part of the main body 21. When the lid 22 is attached to the main body 21, the action of the O-ring 23 causes the lid 22 and the main body 21 to move.
And are brought into close contact with each other, and the inside of the decompression chamber 20 is in a sealed state. Further, an IPA (isopropyl alcohol) introducing pipe 40 is attached to the back surface of the lid 22. This IP
The A introduction pipe 40 is a substrate 1 that is housed inside the processing tank 30.
Array direction (that is, the direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. 1)
And both ends thereof penetrate the side surface of the lid 22 and are connected to an external IPA supply source (not shown).

The lid 22 includes a lower slit plate 221 and
It is composed of an upper slit plate 222 and an upper cover 223. Each of the lower slit plate 221 and the upper slit plate 222 is formed with a plurality of slits 221a and 222a for introducing air into the decompression chamber. However, the lower slit plate 221
221a formed in the upper slit plate 22 and the upper slit plate 22
The slit 222a formed in 2 is arranged at a position where they do not overlap each other when viewed from above in the vertical direction. The upper slit plate 222 is configured to be able to move up and down with respect to the lower slit plate 221. Further, an upper cover 223 is attached on the upper slit plate 222. A gap is formed between the upper cover 223 and the upper slit plate 222, and the air intake port 224 is formed.
Is formed. The lower slit plate 2 as described above
Instead of 21 and the upper slit plate 222, a plate having a through hole may be provided.

At the bottom of the body 21 of the decompression chamber, one or more exhaust ports 24 are formed. 1 exhaust port 24
If only one is provided, such an exhaust port is preferably formed over the entire outer circumference of the bottom of the body 21. When a plurality of exhaust ports 24 are provided, such exhaust ports are preferably arranged at equal intervals along the outer circumference of the bottom of the main body 21.

Next, referring to FIG. 2, the lower slit plate 2
The relationship between 21 and the upper slit plate 222 will be described in more detail. In FIG. 2, (a) shows the upper slit plate 2
22 shows a state where the upper slit plate 222 has risen to the top dead center, and (b) shows a state where the upper slit plate 222 has descended to the bottom dead center. In the state of FIG. 2A, since the upper part of each slit 221a of the lower slit plate 221 is not closed, when the atmospheric pressure in the decompression chamber becomes lower than the external pressure due to the exhaust operation, the air flows into the air intake port 224. Air flows into the decompression chamber via slits 222a and 221a. Therefore, at this time, the lid 22 is in an open state. On the other hand, in the state of FIG. 2B, since the upper part of each slit 221a of the lower slit plate 221 is closed by the substantial part of the upper slit plate 222 (the part where the slit 222a is not formed), Even if the air pressure inside the decompression chamber becomes lower than the outside air pressure by the exhaust operation, the air that has flown into the air intake port 224 does not flow into the decompression chamber. Therefore, at this time, the lid 22 is in a closed state. The lower slit plate 221
A gasket 225 made of soft vinyl chloride, silicone rubber, fluororubber, or the like is attached to the upper surface of the above in order to enhance the adhesion with the upper slit plate 222. Naturally, the gasket 225 also has slits of the same size formed at the same positions as the slits 221a.

Next, referring to the flowchart of FIG.
The operation of the above embodiment will be described. Initially, the lid 22 is the main body 2
It is assumed to be removed from 1. Further, it is assumed that the substrate support guide 6 that supports the substrate in the decompression chamber is lifted to a substrate transfer position above the main body 21 by a lifter (not shown). Next, the substrate 1 that has undergone the previous process is transported to the upper portion of the substrate support guide 6 by a transport robot (not shown). And the transfer robot
The chuck that holds the substrate 1 is rotated, and the substrate 1 is released.
As a result, the substrate 1 is transferred from the transfer robot to the substrate support guide 6 (step S1). Next, the lifter lowers the substrate support guide 6 to the cleaning position (step S2). As a result, the substrate 1 becomes the processing tank 3
It is stored inside 0. Next, the main body 21 is covered with the lid 22 (step S3).

Next, the upper slit plate 222 is raised to the top dead center. As a result, each slit 221a of the lower slit plate 221 is opened, and the lid 22 is in the open state shown in FIG. 2A (step S4). Next, an external exhaust device (not shown) connected to the exhaust port 24 starts driving,
The decompression chamber 2 is evacuated (step S5).

Next, the chemical treatment of the substrate 1 is performed (step S6). This chemical treatment is carried out by injecting various chemicals (sulfuric acid, sulfuric acid, etc.) into the treatment tank from an injection pipe 31 provided at the bottom of the treatment tank 30.
Hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, buffered hydrofluoric acid, phosphoric acid, etc.). This chemical solution treatment is repeated a plurality of times while changing the type of chemical solution. Then, when the chemical liquid processing is completed (step S7), the final cleaning processing is performed this time (step S8). This final cleaning process is performed by supplying pure water from the injection pipe 31 to the inside of the processing tank. Pure water is continuously supplied,
Eventually, it overflows from the upper part of the processing tank 30. The overflowed pure water is received by the overflow groove provided on the outer peripheral upper edge of the processing tank 30, and is discharged to the outside of the decompression chamber. When the final cleaning process is completed, the upper slit plate 222
Is lowered to the bottom dead center. As a result, each slit 221a of the lower slit plate 221 is closed, and the lid 22 is closed as shown in FIG.
The state of (b) is opened (step S9).

Next, the substrate 1 is dried (step S10). In this drying process, the substrate 1 is lifted by the substrate support guide 6 to the drying position above the processing bath. At this time, since the substrate 1 is pulled up from the processing tank 30 in which pure water overflows from the upper surface thereof, the particles floating on the surface of the pure water are discharged together with the overflow water, and the particles reattach to the surface of the substrate 3. Can be prevented. Further, IPA vapor is supplied to the IPA introducing pipe 40 from an external IPA supply source (not shown). The IPA introducing pipe 40 spouts the supplied IPA vapor toward the respective substrates 1 evenly. On the surface of each substrate 1, water droplets I
Replaced with PA vapor. That is, IPA lowers the surface tension of water droplets attached to the substrate surface, and therefore the water droplets flow down from the substrate surface due to its own weight. Further, an external exhaust device (not shown) evacuates the inside of the decompression chamber via the exhaust port 24. As a result, the pressure inside the processing tank is reduced. As a result, the boiling point of the IPA vapor is lowered, IPA replaced with pure water on the substrate surface is quickly evaporated, and the substrate surface is dried in a short time. Note that other organic solvent vapors may be used instead of the IPA vapor as long as it is water-soluble and has a property of lowering the surface tension of water droplets remaining on the substrate. Instead of such organic solvent vapor, heated water vapor may be sprayed to dry the substrate surface.

As described above, in the embodiment shown in FIG.
During chemical treatment, the lid 22 of the decompression chamber 20 is opened (see FIG. 2A), and air is taken in from the entire upper portion of the decompression chamber. The unnecessary gas in the decompression chamber is uniformly exhausted from the outer peripheral portion of the bottom surface of the decompression chamber by the exhaust port 24. Therefore, in the substrate processing apparatus of this embodiment, the retention zone α as shown in FIG. 9 does not occur, and the chemical vapor or mist is efficiently exhausted. Therefore, the chemical solution does not adhere to the inner wall of the decompression chamber. In addition, since air is used to discard the vapor of the chemical liquid and the mist, the running cost is lower than that when nitrogen gas is used.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment of the decompression chamber. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, the O-ring 22 is used instead of the gasket 225 of FIG.
6 is provided. The O-ring 226 maintains the close contact between the lower slit plate 221 and the upper slit plate 222 in the closed state. Other configurations of the embodiment of FIG. 4 are the same as those of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a view showing still another embodiment of the decompression chamber. In the embodiment of FIG. 5, the lid of the decompression chamber is provided with a slidable upper slit plate 2220 instead of the vertically movable upper slit plate 222 of FIG. The upper slit plate 2220 has a plurality of slits 2220a formed therein. In the state shown in FIG. 5A, the lower slit plate 2 is viewed from above in the vertical direction.
The slit 221a of 21 and the slit 2220a of the upper slit plate 2220 are aligned with each other, and the lid of the decompression chamber is open. When the upper slit plate 2220 is slid in the horizontal direction from the state shown in FIG. 5A, as shown in FIG.
The first slit 221a is closed by the upper slit plate 2220, and the lid of the decompression chamber is closed. Other configurations of the embodiment of FIG. 5 are similar to those of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a view showing still another embodiment of the decompression chamber. In the embodiment of FIG. 6, the lid 25 of the decompression chamber is provided with a filter 227 for collecting dust, instead of the upper cover 223 of FIG. Therefore, since the lid 25 of the decompression chamber takes in air through the filter 227, clean air is always supplied into the decompression chamber. Other configurations of the embodiment of FIG. 6 are similar to those of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing still another embodiment of the decompression chamber. In the embodiment of FIG. 7, a split slit plate 228 is provided in the lid portion of the decompression chamber in place of the lower slit plate 221 and the upper slit plate 222 of FIG. The split slit plate 228 is composed of a plurality of rotatable plates 229, each of which is rotatable. As shown in FIG. 7A, when the rotary plates 229 are kept horizontal, the rotary plates 229 are connected to each other without a gap, and the split slit plate 228 is in a closed state. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, when each rotating plate 229 rotates upward about the shaft 229a, each rotating plate 2
A gap is created between the air gaps 29, and air flows into the decompression chamber through the gap. That is, the split slit plate 228 is in the same state as that in which a plurality of slits are formed. Other configurations of the embodiment of FIG. 7 are similar to those of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a view showing still another embodiment of the decompression chamber. In the embodiment of FIG. 8, the decompression chamber lid 26 is not provided with the air intake 224 as the lid 22 of FIG. 1 has. Therefore, when the lid 26 is attached to the main body 21, air is not introduced from the outer wall of the lid 26. A dispersion plate 26 having a plurality of slits (or through holes) 261a formed in the center of the inside of the lid 26.
1 is fixedly provided. A plurality of air supply pipes 7 are provided in the space between the back surface of the top plate of the lid 26 and the dispersion 261.
Is provided. These air supply pipes 7 penetrate the side portions of the lid 26 and take in air from an external blower (not shown). That is, when the external blower is driven, the air is forcibly supplied into the decompression chamber, and when the driving is stopped, the supply of air into the decompression chamber is stopped. Here, the dispersion plate 261 has a function of dispersing the air supplied from the air supply pipe 7 into the entire surface of the lid 26 and introducing the air into the chamber. Other configurations of the embodiment of FIG. 8 are similar to those of the embodiment of FIG. Although the running cost is high, nitrogen gas may be supplied from each supply pipe 7 instead of air.

[0031]

According to the first to fourth aspects of the present invention, the outside air is uniformly taken in from the entire surface of the lid, and the chamber is forcibly exhausted uniformly from the outer periphery of the bottom of the main body. The unnecessary gas is completely exhausted, and a retention zone does not occur in the chamber. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vapor or mist of the chemical solution from adhering to the inner wall of the chamber. In addition, since the chemical vapor or mist is exhausted by supplying air, the running cost can be reduced as compared with the case of using nitrogen gas or the like.

Further, according to the invention of claim 4, since the air taken in from the outside is cleaned by the filter, clean air is always supplied into the chamber, and the generation of particles is minimized. be able to.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the fluid from the outside which is forcibly introduced into the inside of the lid is dispersed by the dispersion plate and introduced into the chamber, and the inside of the chamber is evenly distributed from the outer periphery of the bottom of the main body. Since the forced exhaust is performed, the unnecessary gas in the chamber is exhausted uniformly, and the retention zone does not occur in the chamber. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the vapor or mist of the chemical solution from adhering to the inner wall of the chamber.

[Brief description of drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the lid opening / closing mechanism in more detail in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a view showing another embodiment of the lid.

FIG. 5 is a view showing still another embodiment of the lid.

FIG. 6 is a view showing still another embodiment of the lid.

FIG. 7 is a view showing still another embodiment of the lid.

FIG. 8 is a view showing still another embodiment of the lid.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a conventional substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Substrate 20 ... Decompression chamber 21 ... Main body 22, 26 ... Lid 221 ... Lower slit plate 222, 2220 ... Upper slit plate 223 ... Upper cover 224 ... Air intake port 225 ... Gasket 227 ... Filter 228 ... Split slit plate 229 ... Moving plate 24 ... Exhaust port 30 ... Processing tank 40 ... IPA introduction pipe 6 ... Substrate support guide 7 ... Air supply pipe

Continuation of front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Office reference number FI technical display location H01L 21/306 21/308 G // B08B 3/04 Z 2119-3B

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a chemical treatment, a cleaning treatment, and a drying treatment on a substrate in the same chamber, wherein the chamber is for immersing the substrates arranged therein in a chemical liquid or pure water. A main body accommodating the processing tank, a lid detachably attached to the upper part of the main body, and an exhaust port formed in the bottom of the main body and capable of uniformly exhausting the inside of the chamber from the outer periphery of the bottom. The lid is for switching between an open state in which outside air is uniformly taken in from the entire surface and a closed state in which the air inflow path between the outside and the outside is blocked and air intake to the chamber is stopped. A substrate processing apparatus, which is provided with an opening / closing mechanism, and further comprises a forced exhaust unit connected to the exhaust port and forcibly exhausting the inside of the chamber. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing mechanism opens and closes by relatively moving two plates each having a slit or a through hole formed therein. . 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening / closing mechanism is composed of a plurality of rotating plates and is opened and closed by rotating each rotating plate. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the lid is further provided with a filter for cleaning air taken in from the outside. 5. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a chemical treatment, a cleaning treatment, and a drying treatment of substrates in the same chamber, wherein the chamber is for immersing the substrates arranged therein in a chemical liquid or pure water. A main body for accommodating the processing tank, a lid detachably attached to the upper part of the main body, into which a fluid from the outside is forcibly introduced, and a bottom part formed on the bottom part of the main body. An exhaust port capable of uniformly exhausting the inside of the chamber from the outer periphery, and a plurality of slits or through holes are formed in the lid, and the introduced fluid is dispersed and introduced into the chamber. A substrate processing apparatus further comprising: a dispersion plate, further comprising a forced exhaust unit connected to the exhaust port and forcibly exhausting the inside of the chamber.