JPH0817722A - Substrate rotation-type treatment-liquid coating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the rear of a substrate from being contaminated in a chain manner in a substrate rotation-type treatment-liquid coating apparatus. CONSTITUTION:A rotary stand 1 which is provided with a plurality of substrate support pins 6 is coupled to the upper end of a shaft 3 which can be turned around the rotation center PI, a vertical shaft 7 which is coupled to a suction stand 10 which sucks and supports a substrate-'W is fitted internally to the shaft 3 via spline fitting mechanisms 8. The suction stand 10 can be raised and lowered by the expansion and contraction of a rod 16a for an air cylinder 16. By its raising and lowering action, the substrate W is delivered between the substrate support pins 6 and the suction stand 10. While the substrate W which has been supported by the substrate support pins 6 is being turned, a cleaning liquid is jetted from a cleaning-liquid supply nozzle 20, a suction region on the rear of the substrate is cleaned, and the substrate W is then delivered. While the substrate W which has been supported by the suction stand 10 is being turned, the surface of the substrate is coated with a treatment liquid which is discharged from a treatment-liquid supply nozzle 22.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a glass substrate for a photomask, a substrate for an optical disk, etc. The present invention relates to a substrate rotation type processing liquid coating device for coating a substrate surface with a processing liquid such as a photoresist discharged onto the substrate surface while horizontally rotating the substrate around the rotation center.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional substrate rotating type processing liquid coating apparatus of this type includes a substrate rotating table for vacuum-sucking a suction area near a rotation center on a back surface of a substrate to horizontally rotate the substrate around the rotation center, and a substrate rotation table. A processing liquid discharge nozzle for discharging the processing liquid onto the surface of the substrate supported by the table is installed in the processing chamber.

The suction area of the back surface of the substrate carried into the processing chamber is vacuum-sucked by the substrate rotating table, and while the substrate is horizontally rotated, the substrate is discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle to the surface of the substrate by the centrifugal force. A treatment liquid (photoresist or the like) is uniformly applied to the entire surface of the substrate.

[0004]

However, the prior art having such a structure has the following problems. That is, in the conventional apparatus, the substrate turntable vacuum sucks the suction area on the back surface of the substrate, and the back surface of the substrate and the substrate turntable are in close contact with each other. In the case of such a configuration, for example, when a substrate whose back surface (particularly, the suction area) is dirty is carried in, the dirt on the substrate adheres to the substrate turntable and the dirt adhered to the substrate turntable There is a problem that a vicious cycle of repeating the vicious cycle of adhering to the suction area on the back surface of the substrate carried in and contaminating the substrate that has not been soiled.

When the back surface of the substrate is contaminated, a focus abnormality occurs in the exposure step which is the next step of coating the processing liquid (photoresist). In this type of substrate processing step, the contamination of the substrate is the quality of the product. It is known that the above cannot be ignored.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate rotary processing liquid coating apparatus capable of preventing chained back surface contamination of the substrate.

[0007]

The present invention has the following constitution in order to achieve such an object. That is, according to the present invention, the processing liquid discharged onto the surface of the substrate is vacuum-sucked in the suction area near the rotation center of the back surface of the substrate loaded into the processing chamber to horizontally rotate the substrate around the rotation center. In a substrate rotating type processing liquid coating device for coating on the front surface of the substrate, a suction region of the back surface of the substrate is vacuum-sucked to horizontally rotate the substrate around the rotation center.
Substrate rotating means, a processing liquid discharge nozzle for discharging the processing liquid onto the surface of the substrate suction-supported by the first substrate rotating means,
Second substrate rotating means for supporting the end portion of the back surface of the substrate to horizontally rotate the substrate around the rotation center, and supplying the cleaning liquid to the adsorption area of the substrate supported by the second substrate rotating means. And a substrate transfer means for transferring the substrate between the first substrate rotating means and the second substrate rotating means.

[0008]

The operation of the present invention is as follows. For example, the substrate carried into the processing chamber is transferred to the second substrate rotating means,
The edge is held, and the suction area on the back surface of the substrate is cleaned with the cleaning liquid supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle while horizontally rotating the substrate. Next, the substrate transfer means transfers the substrate held by the second substrate rotating means to the first substrate rotating means, and the first substrate rotating means vacuum-sucks the suction area on the back surface of the received substrate. . Then, in this state, the substrate is horizontally rotated around the rotation center to apply the treatment liquid ejected from the treatment liquid ejection nozzle onto the substrate surface.

That is, since the suction area can be cleaned with the cleaning liquid before the suction area on the back surface of the substrate is vacuum-sucked, even if a substrate whose back surface (particularly the suction area) is dirty is carried in, It is possible to prevent the dirt from being diffused in a chain that is subsequently carried in via the first substrate rotating means. Further, since the cleaning of the adsorption area and the application of the processing liquid are performed in the same processing chamber, the processing liquid can be applied immediately after cleaning the adsorption area, and the adsorption area of the substrate is contaminated between these processings. Can be prevented, and cleaning of the suction area is not wasted. Further, since the first and second substrate rotating means, the processing liquid ejecting nozzles, the cleaning liquid supplying nozzles, and the substrate transferring means are provided in the same processing chamber, the substrate cleaning device before being carried into the processing liquid coating device. It is also possible to save space as compared with an apparatus configured to clean the substrate with.

Further, contrary to the above procedure, the application of the treatment liquid may be performed first, and the adsorption area may be washed after the application of the treatment liquid. In this case, when the substrate is unloaded from the apparatus, Since the adsorption area is cleaned, it is possible to prevent the chain diffusion of the contamination of the substrate that occurs via the first substrate rotating means.

[0011]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate rotary type processing liquid coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.
Is a longitudinal sectional view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line AA of FIG. In the present embodiment and each of the following embodiments, a substrate rotation type processing liquid coating apparatus for semiconductor wafers will be described as an example.
Hereinafter, the semiconductor wafer is referred to as the substrate W.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 indicates a rotary table, which is integrally connected to an upper end of a hollow rotary shaft 3 which is rotatably supported by a base 2 around a rotation center P1. . The rotating shaft 3 is interlocked with a motor 5 via a belt type transmission mechanism 4. That is, when the motor 5 is rotationally driven, the rotary base 1 is rotated around the rotation center P1.

A plurality of (six in the figure) substrate support pins 6 are provided on the upper surface of the turntable 1. These substrate support pins 6 are formed in a crank shape, the end of the back surface of the substrate W is placed on the first bent portion 6a, and the second bent portion 6b contacts the side edge of the substrate W. Touching substrate W
Is configured to regulate the horizontal movement of the.
In the present embodiment, the rotary base 1, the rotary shaft 3, the belt type transmission mechanism 4, the motor 5, and the substrate support pin 6 are the second parts of the present invention.
Of the substrate rotating means.

A hollow vertical shaft 7 is vertically slidable through a spline fitting mechanism 8 in the hollow portion of the rotary shaft 3, and is rotatably fitted in the hollow portion of the rotary shaft 3 in association with the rotation of the rotary shaft 3. ing. A suction base 10 having a plurality of suction holes 9 is integrally connected to the upper end of the vertical shaft 7. These suction holes 9
Is connected to a vacuum suction source 14 via a suction table 10, a tube 12 arranged in the vertical shaft 7, and a tube 13 connected to a rotary joint section 11 described later.

On the other hand, the lower end of the vertical shaft 7 is supported by the rotary joint portion 11, and the rotary joint portion 11
Are supported by the tip of a support arm 15 connected to an air cylinder 16 described later. The rotary joint portion 11 rotatably supports the vertical shaft 7, and is configured to always maintain the pipes 12 and 13 in a communicating state regardless of the stopped or rotated state of the vertical shaft 7. It is a member.

That is, when the vacuum suction source 14 is driven by suction, the portion of the substrate W placed on the suction table 10 (suction area) is suction-supported by the suction table 10, and When the motor 5 is rotationally driven, the vertical shaft 7 is rotated via the rotary shaft 3 and the spline fitting mechanism 8, and as a result, the substrate W is horizontally rotated. During this rotation, as described above, the pipe 1 is inserted through the rotary joint 11.
Since 2 and 13 are always in communication with each other, the vacuum suction of the substrate W on the suction table 10 is maintained. Further, the vacuum suction source 14 is configured so as not to suck air in a gas-liquid separated state and suck water into a suction pump or the like.

In this embodiment, the belt type transmission mechanism 4, the motor 5, the vertical shaft 7, the spline fitting mechanism 8, the suction hole 9, the suction base 10, the rotary joint portion 11, the pipes 12 and 1 are provided.
3. The vacuum suction source 14 constitutes the first substrate rotating means in the present invention.

The base end of the support arm 15 is connected to the rod 16a of the air cylinder 16, and the expansion and contraction of the rod 16a of the air cylinder 16 raises and lowers the rotary joint portion 11 and the vertical shaft 7, Adsorption table 1
0 is moved up and down between an upper position (a position indicated by a chain double-dashed line in FIG. 2) and a lower position (a position indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2). The substrate W is transferred between the substrate support pins 6 and the suction table 10 by the lifting operation of the suction table 10. When the pipe 13 is made of a non-deformable rigid material, the pipe 13 is configured so that it can be expanded and contracted according to the elevation of the suction table 10 and the rotary joint portion 11, and the pipe 12 and the pipe 13 When the pipe 13 is made of a deformable soft material, the pipe 13 is made longer and the suction base 10 and the rotary joint portion 11 are moved up and down. Is deformed to maintain the communication state between the pipe 12 and the pipe 13.

In this embodiment, the support arm 15 and the air cylinder 16 form the substrate transfer means of the present invention.

A cleaning liquid supply pipe 17 standing on the base 2 penetrates through the vertical shaft 7, and a base end portion of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 17 is connected to a cleaning liquid supply source 19 via a pipe 18. ing. On the other hand, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 20 is attached to the tip of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 17, and when the suction table 10 is located at the lower position, the tip of the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 20 is projected from the suction table 10. Yes, substrate support pin 6
The cleaning liquid can be jetted toward the suction area including the rotation center P1 of the back surface of the substrate W supported by the back surface of the substrate W. In addition, adsorption table 1
When 0 is located at the upper position, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 20 is accommodated in the suction table 10 so as not to interfere with the vacuum suction of the substrate W by the suction table 10.

A processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 is attached to the tip of the processing liquid supply pipe 21 which is swung about the first swing fulcrum Y1 on the side of the rotary table 1. A processing liquid supply source (not shown) is communicatively connected to the base end of the processing liquid supply pipe 21. Further, due to the swing motion of the processing liquid supply pipe 21, the upper discharge position near the rotation center P1 of the surface of the substrate W suction-supported by the suction table 10 located at the upper position (two-dot chain line in FIGS. 1 and 2). Between the processing liquid ejection nozzle 22 and the substrate at the ejection position at the ejection position. The treatment liquid is discharged onto the surface.

Further, in this embodiment, a back rinse mechanism for back rinsing during the coating treatment of the treatment liquid is additionally provided. This back rinse mechanism includes a crank-shaped cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 that is swung about a second swing fulcrum Y2 on the side of the rotary table 1 and a cleaning liquid supply source 2 at the base end thereof.
4 and a motor 25 for swinging the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 and the like. The back rinse position between the rotation center P1 and the edge of the substrate W on the back surface of the substrate W suction-supported by the suction table 10 located at the upper position due to the swing motion of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 (FIGS. 1 and 2). (The state indicated by the two-dot chain line) and the standby position on the side thereof (the state indicated by the solid line in FIGS. 1 and 2) are configured so that the tip portion of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 is displaced. During the liquid application process, the back rinse is performed by supplying the cleaning liquid from the tip of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 located at the back rinse position.

In this embodiment, the above-mentioned first and second
Substrate rotating means, substrate transfer means, processing liquid discharge nozzle 2
2, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 20, the back rinse mechanism, and the like are provided in the processing chamber SR indicated by the chain double-dashed line in the figure.

Next, the procedure of applying the treatment liquid by the apparatus of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. 4 and the operation explanatory diagram shown in FIG. In this procedure, when the substrate W is carried into the processing chamber SR, the suction area on the back surface of the substrate is cleaned, and then the processing liquid is applied to the front surface of the substrate. Therefore, in the initial state, the suction table 10
The first substrate rotating means such as is positioned at the lower position, the vacuum suction is released, and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 of the back rinse mechanism are on standby at their respective standby positions. is there.

First, the substrate W carried into the processing chamber SR by the transport mechanism (not shown) from the previous step is supported by the substrate support pins 6 (second substrate rotating means) as shown in FIG. 5A. (Step S1).

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, the turntable 1
The (second substrate rotating means) is rotated, and in this state, the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 20 to clean the suction area on the back surface of the substrate (step S2). At this time,
Since the cleaning process is performed while rotating the substrate W, the dirt attached to the suction area on the back surface of the substrate is shaken off from the edge of the substrate W together with the cleaning liquid flowing toward the edge of the substrate W, and the dirt is removed. Does not remain on the backside of the board. Further, since the substrate W is supported by the substrate support pins 6 simply by mounting the substrate W, the cleaning liquid flowing toward the edge of the substrate W is
When the substrate W enters the contact portion between the substrate W and the substrate support pin 6, the substrate W
The contact portion of the substrate supporting pin 6 with is also cleaned at the same time,
The substrate support pins 6 are also cleaned.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the injection of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 20 is stopped, the second substrate rotating means is rotated at high speed, and the cleaning liquid adhering to the back surface of the substrate is shaken off and dried. (Step S3).

When the back surface of the substrate is dried, the rotation of the second substrate rotating means is stopped, and as shown in FIG. 5 (d), the suction table 10 (first substrate rotating means) is raised to the upper position. Then, the substrate W is received from the substrate support pins 6 to the suction table 10 (the suction area is placed on the suction table 10), vacuum suction is performed to suction-support the substrate W on the suction table 10, and the substrate W is delivered. Perform (step S4).

Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (e), the treatment liquid discharge nozzle 22 is positioned at the discharge position, and the tip of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 of the back rinse mechanism is positioned at the back rinse position to rotate the first substrate. While rotating the means, a predetermined amount of the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection nozzle 22 onto the surface of the substrate W is uniformly applied to the substrate surface by centrifugal force (step S5). During the process liquid application process, the cleaning liquid is sprayed and back rinsed from the tip of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 of the back rinse mechanism. Since this cleaning liquid flows toward the edge of the back surface of the substrate by centrifugal force, mist of the processing liquid shaken off from the edge of the front surface of the substrate is prevented from flowing into the back surface of the substrate and contaminating the back surface of the substrate. Also, regarding the contact portion between the substrate W and the substrate support pin 6 in step S2,
This back rinse cleans the contact area more completely.

When the processing liquid application processing is completed, the rotation of the first substrate rotating means is stopped, the injection of the cleaning liquid is stopped, and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 of the back rinse mechanism stand by respectively. Position, the vacuum suction of the substrate W is released, the first substrate rotating means is lowered to the lower position, and the processed substrate W is delivered to the substrate support pins 6.
In that state, the processed substrate W is carried out of the processing chamber SR by a carrying mechanism (not shown) and carried to a post-process (exposure process) (step S6). The rotation of the first substrate rotating means needs to be stopped in a state in which the substrate supporting pin 6r shown on the right side of FIG. 1 can support the predetermined portion fp of the orientation flat portion OR of the substrate W that is subsequently loaded. However, this may be achieved, for example, by controlling the rotation stop position using an optical sensor or the like. In addition, this step S
When 6 is finished, the initial state is restored, and the same process is repeated for the substrate W that is loaded next.

As described above, since the suction area on the back surface of the substrate is cleaned before the suction area is vacuum-sucked, even if the substrate W having the suction area contaminated is carried in, the contamination is caused by the first substrate rotation. It is possible to prevent the substrate W that is subsequently carried in from being contaminated via the means (suction table 10). In addition, since the cleaning of the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate and the application of the processing liquid are performed in the same processing chamber, it is possible to apply the processing liquid immediately after cleaning the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate, and the adsorption area becomes dirty in the meantime. Therefore, the cleaning of the adsorption area is not wasted.

In the above procedure, step S5
After the coating process of the processing liquid in step S6 is completed and before the processed substrate W is unloaded in step S6, the substrate W is rotated by the second substrate rotating means.
May be supported, and a step for cleaning the suction area of the back surface of the substrate by the first substrate rotating means may be inserted.

That is, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 and the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 of the back rinse mechanism are moved to their respective standby positions, the first substrate rotating means is lowered to the lower position, and the first substrate rotating means moves to the first substrate rotating means. The substrate W is transferred to the second substrate rotating means, and then the adsorption region is cleaned and dried by the same process as steps S2 and S3, and then the process of step S6 is executed.

According to this procedure, the back surface of the substrate centering on the suction area of the substrate W is cleaned immediately before the substrate W is carried out, so that the back surface of the substrate W (particularly, the suction area) is more accurately cleaned. It is well removed and can be carried out to the subsequent process, and the inconvenience of focus abnormality in the exposure process of the subsequent process can be further reduced.

Further, the procedure opposite to the procedure of the flow chart of FIG. 4 is performed, that is, when the substrate W is loaded into the processing chamber SR, the processing liquid is applied to the front surface of the substrate, and then the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate is applied. The device may be operated in a procedure such that the cleaning is performed. According to such a procedure, the back surface of the substrate centering on the suction region of the substrate W is cleaned immediately before the substrate W is unloaded, so that the substrate W is transferred between the substrates W via the first substrate rotating means (suction table 10). Even if the transfer of dirt occurs, the back surface of the substrate W (particularly the suction area) is not conveyed to the subsequent process in a state where the back surface is still dirty, and as a result, the chain of dirt through the first substrate rotating means. Diffusion can be prevented.

In the first embodiment described above, the first substrate rotating means (suction table 10 or the like) moves up and down to deliver and receive the substrate W, but the first substrate rotating means moves up and down. Instead, for example, the rotary table 1, the rotary shaft 3 and the like are raised and lowered to raise and lower the second substrate rotating means side, and in conjunction with this, the processing liquid cleaning nozzle 17 is raised and lowered to transfer the substrate W. You may comprise.

Next, the configuration of the second embodiment device of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a partially omitted side view showing the schematic configuration of the second embodiment device, and FIG.
6 is a view taken along the line BB of FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration of the second substrate rotating means. The same components as those in the first embodiment described above are designated by the same reference numerals as those in FIGS. 1 to 3 and their detailed description is omitted.

A specific configuration will be described below. First, the first
In the substrate rotating means, the base end of the vertical shaft 7 is connected to the rotary joint 11, and the suction table 1 is attached to the upper end of the vertical shaft 7.
0 is integrally connected. Then, as in the first embodiment, the substrate W is sucked and supported by vacuum suction by the vacuum suction source 14, and the belt type transmission mechanism 4,
The substrate W sucked and supported by the motor 5 is horizontally rotated around the rotation center P1. However, in this embodiment, the rotary joint portion 11 is fixed to the base 2 and does not move up and down as in the first embodiment.

On the side of the first substrate rotating means, a back rinse mechanism (cleaning liquid supply pipe 23, cleaning liquid supply source 24, etc.) having a construction similar to that of the first embodiment is provided and the first A mechanism for discharging the processing liquid (processing liquid supply pipe 21, processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 and the like) having the same configuration as that of the embodiment is provided. In this embodiment, since the cleaning liquid supply pipe 23 of the back rinse mechanism does not need to swing, a motor or the like for swinging is not provided and it is fixedly attached.

The second substrate rotating means is arranged above the first substrate rotating means. The second substrate rotating means includes a rotary base 32 having a plurality of openable / closable (four in the figure) substrate support members 31 protruding downward, a lower end portion integrally connected to the rotary base 32, and an upper end portion. Is rotatably supported by the tip of the support arm 33, and a spindle 35 that horizontally rotates the rotary table 32 around the rotation center P1 by the rotation of the motor 34.
And air cylinders 36 and 37 connected in series for raising and lowering the base end of the support arm 33.

Each substrate supporting member 31 is provided with a horizontal portion 31a for mounting the end portion of the back surface of the substrate and a vertical portion 31b for restricting the horizontal movement of the substrate W during horizontal rotation. . These substrate support members 31 open and close to release the support of the substrate W and support the substrate W. The mechanism for opening and closing the substrate support member 31 will be described with reference to FIG.

Each substrate supporting member 31 is projected from the elongated hole 40 below the rotary table 32 and is rocked about a rocking fulcrum 41 in the rotary table 32, and its base end is a disc-shaped member 42. It is rotatably attached to. Each disk-shaped member 42 is mounted on the mounting table 43. The mounting table 43 is urged upward by the coil spring 44, and the disc-shaped members 42 are urged upward. As a result, as shown in FIG. 8A, the substrate support members 31 are maintained in the closed state. . A push-down member 46 that is pushed down by the extension of the rod 45a of the air cylinder 45 is arranged above each disc-shaped member 42. When the pressing member 46 is displaced downward, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the disk-shaped members 42 and the mounting table 43 are pushed downward, and the substrate support members 31 are swung about the swing fulcrums 41, and as a result, they are brought into the open state. Further, the rod 45a of the air cylinder 45 is contracted so that the pushing member 46 is pressed.
Is displaced upward, the mounting table 43 and the disc-shaped members 42 are returned upward by the restoring force of the coil spring 44, and as a result, the substrate support members 31 are returned to the closed state. At this time, the position of the substrate support member 31 in the closed state is regulated by the stopper 47 provided in the elongated hole 40, as shown in FIG.

As described above, the rotary table 32, in which the respective substrate supporting members 31 for supporting and releasing the substrate W by opening and closing, are projected downward, the rotating arm 32 rotates the supporting arm 33.
On the other hand, it is configured to be rotated around the rotation center P1 and to be moved up and down between the heights of UP, MP, and DP in accordance with the elevation of the support arm 33. This raising and lowering is realized by a combination of expansion and contraction of the rods 36a and 37a of the air cylinders 36 and 37. That is, the rotary table 32 is positioned at UP by extending the rods 36a and 37a of both air cylinders 36 and 37, and the rotary table 32 is extended by extending only the rod of one of the air cylinders (36 in FIG. 6). Is located at MP, and the rotary base 32 is located at DP by contracting the rods 36a and 37a of both air cylinders 36 and 37. Note that U
P is a standby position, MP is a position for receiving the loaded substrate W, handing over the processed substrate W, and cleaning the suction area on the back surface of the substrate, and DP is the first substrate rotating means. It is a position for delivering the substrate W to and from.

A mechanism for cleaning the suction area on the back surface of the substrate is provided on the side of the first substrate rotating means. This cleaning mechanism includes a crank-shaped cleaning liquid supply pipe 52 that is swung about a swing fulcrum Y3 by the rotation of a motor 51, a cleaning liquid supply source 53 that is connected to the base end of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 52, and a cleaning liquid. It is composed of a cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 attached to the tip of the supply pipe 52, a waterproof plate 55 and the like. By the swinging motion of the cleaning liquid supply pipe 52, the cleaning liquid is ejected toward the rotation center P1 of the back surface of the substrate supported by the second substrate rotating means located at MP (FIG. 6,
The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 is configured to be displaced between the standby position (the state indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7) and the standby position on the side thereof (the state indicated by the solid line in FIGS. 6 and 7). While the substrate W is supported by the positioned second substrate rotating means and is horizontally rotated, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 sprays the cleaning liquid at the cleaning position to clean the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate. The waterproof plate 55 is provided to prevent the cleaning liquid from dripping on the suction table 10 during the cleaning process of the suction area on the back surface of the substrate.

The procedure of applying the treatment liquid by the apparatus of the second embodiment is basically the same as that of the apparatus of the first embodiment, but the operation of the apparatus is the first because the apparatus configuration is different.
Different from the embodiment. This will be briefly described with reference to the operation explanatory diagram of FIG. Note that FIG. 9 shows the operation according to the procedure of the flowchart of FIG. 4, and the application of the processing liquid according to the procedure will be described below.

The initial state of this embodiment in the case of this procedure is
The turntable 32 (second substrate rotating means) stands by at the UP, each substrate support member 31 is in the closed state, and the processing liquid supply nozzle 2
2. The cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 stands by at each standby position, and the vacuum suction of the suction table 10 is released.

First, in step S1, when the transfer mechanism (not shown) carries in the substrate to the position shown by the solid line in FIG.
The substrate rotating means of FIG. 9 opens each substrate supporting member 31 and lowers the turntable 32 to MP, closes each substrate supporting member 31 at that position, and carries in the substrate as shown in FIG. 9A. The received substrate W is received and supported.

Next, in step S2, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 is positioned at the cleaning position, and as shown in FIG. 9B, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 5 is rotated while rotating the turntable 32.
The cleaning liquid is sprayed from 4 to clean the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate. At this time, since the waterproof plate 55 is arranged above the suction table 10, the cleaning liquid is prevented from dripping on the suction table 10. The other effects are the same as those of the first embodiment.

Next, in step S3, as shown in FIG. 9C, the injection of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 is stopped, and the rotary table 32 is rotated at a high speed to dry the substrate W.

Next, in step S4, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 is made to stand by at the standby position, and as shown in FIG. 9 (d), the rotary table 32 is lowered to DP to pick up the substrate W.
No. 0, and then each substrate support member 31 is opened to raise the turntable 32 to MP (or UP), so that the substrate from the second substrate rotating means to the first substrate rotating means is increased. The W is transferred, and the suction table 10 sucks the vacuum to support the mounted substrate W by suction.

Next, in step S5, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 is positioned at the discharge position, and as shown in FIG. 9E, the substrate is discharged from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 while rotating the first substrate rotating means. A predetermined amount of the processing liquid discharged onto the surface of W is uniformly applied to the surface of the substrate by centrifugal force.

Then, in step S6, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 22 is moved to the standby position, the suction table 10 releases the suction support of the substrate W, and the second substrate rotating means opens the substrate support member 31. , Descend the turntable 32 to DP,
At that position, the substrate supporting member 31 is closed to receive the substrate W, and then the rotary table 32 is raised to MP and stands by, and a transport mechanism that transports the processed substrate W to a subsequent process is provided.
The second substrate rotating means receives the substrate supporting member 31
Is opened and the rotary table 32 is raised to UP to transfer the processed substrate to the transfer mechanism. After that, the second substrate rotating means closes the substrate support member 31 to return it to the initial state, and prepares for processing of the substrate W which is loaded next. Also, in this embodiment, as in the first embodiment, in order to align the position of the orientation flat portion of the substrate W and the position of the substrate supporting member 31, the rotational position of the substrate W is used with an optical sensor or the like. The rotation stop positions of the first and second substrate rotating means are controlled while being detected.

In this embodiment, when the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate is washed again after the treatment liquid is applied, in step S6, the substrate W on which the treatment liquid is applied is supported to rotate the turntable 32. Is raised to MP, the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 54 is positioned at the cleaning position, and step S
The same operation as 2, S3 (see FIGS. 9B and 9C) may be repeated.

Further, in the present embodiment, when the processing in this apparatus is executed by the procedure opposite to the procedure of FIGS. 4 and 9 (the procedure of cleaning the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate after the application of the treatment liquid). The second substrate rotating means receives the loaded substrate W, transfers the substrate W to the first substrate rotating means, and then the treatment liquid is applied as shown in FIG.
The second substrate rotating means receives the substrate W coated with the processing liquid from the first substrate rotating means, and in the MP, as shown in FIG.
The same processing as in (b) and (c) is performed.

As described above, also in the second embodiment, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the above-described second embodiment, the second substrate rotating means (rotating table 32, etc.) moves up and down to transfer the substrate W. However, for example, the suction table 10 and the vertical shaft 7 are provided.
Alternatively, the substrate W may be delivered by elevating the first substrate rotating means side and the like.

In the configuration of the second embodiment described above, the second
It is configured to receive the substrate that has been carried in from the transfer mechanism or to transfer the processed substrate to the transfer mechanism via the substrate rotating means of FIG. 9, but in the case of the procedure of FIG. 9 (FIG. 4), The processed substrate may be delivered to the transfer mechanism via the first substrate rotating means (the transfer mechanism receives the substrate W placed on the suction table 10), or FIG. 9 (FIG. 4).
In the case of the procedure reverse to the procedure (the procedure of cleaning the adsorption area on the back surface of the substrate after applying the processing liquid), the loaded substrate is received from the transport mechanism via the first substrate rotating means ( The transport mechanism may mount the substrate on the suction tenth). Further, in the case of a procedure of applying the treatment liquid after cleaning the suction area on the back surface of the substrate and then cleaning the suction area on the back surface of the substrate, the loaded substrate is first cleaned.
It may be configured to receive from the transport mechanism via the substrate rotating means, and / or deliver the processed substrate to the transport mechanism via the first substrate rotating means.

The first and second embodiments and their modifications are examples of the present invention, and other structures are used for the first and second substrate rotating means and the substrate transferring means. However, the present invention may be realized with these configurations.

Although the first and second embodiments and their modifications have been described with respect to the apparatus for processing the semiconductor wafer, the present invention is also applicable to the apparatus for processing other substrates. Applicable. For example, if the substrate is a rectangular substrate, the substrate support of the second substrate rotating means is as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG.
The device may be configured to be supported by (in the case of the first embodiment) or the substrate support member 31 (in the case of the second embodiment).

[0060]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, the adsorption area of the substrate can be cleaned in the apparatus (processing chamber) for applying the processing liquid.
Before the suction area on the back surface of the substrate is vacuum-sucked, the suction area can be washed with a cleaning liquid, and even if a substrate whose back surface (particularly the suction area) is dirty is carried in, the dirt is
It is possible to prevent the substrate from being subsequently carried in from being diffused in a chain through the vacuum suction operation of the substrate.

Further, according to the present invention, after the treatment liquid is applied, the adsorption area can be washed, and even when the treatment is carried out by such a procedure, when the substrate is unloaded from the apparatus. As the adsorption area is cleaned, chain diffusion of dirt can be prevented as a result.

Therefore, even when the adsorption area is washed before or after the application of the treatment liquid, the diffusion of the dirt on the substrate can be prevented.

Moreover, the cleaning of the adsorption area and the application of the treatment liquid are
Since the processing is performed in the same processing chamber, the back surface of the substrate is not contaminated between the cleaning and the application of the processing liquid, and the cleaning of the adsorption area is not wasted. Further, since the means for cleaning the adsorption area and the means for applying the processing liquid are provided in the same processing chamber, space saving can be achieved as compared with the case where the cleaning of the adsorption area and the application of the processing liquid are performed by different apparatuses. Can be achieved.

[0064]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate rotary processing liquid coating apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of the first embodiment device.

FIG. 3 is a view as viewed in the direction of arrows AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation procedure of the embodiment apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the first embodiment device.

FIG. 6 is a partially omitted side view showing a schematic configuration of a second embodiment device.

FIG. 7 is a view taken along the line BB of FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration of a second substrate rotating means.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the second embodiment device.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a second substrate rotating unit of the device for a rectangular substrate.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 32 ... Rotating base 3 ... Rotating shaft 4 ... Belt type transmission mechanism 5, 34 ... Motor 6 ... Substrate support pin 7 ... Vertical shaft 10 ... Adsorption base 20, 54 ... Cleaning liquid supply nozzle 22 ... Treatment liquid discharge nozzle 31 ... Substrate Support member W ... Substrate

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The processing liquid discharged onto the surface of the substrate is vacuum-sucked in a suction area near the center of rotation of the back surface of the substrate loaded into the processing chamber to horizontally rotate the substrate around the center of rotation. In a substrate rotation type processing liquid coating apparatus for coating a substrate front surface, a first substrate rotating means for vacuum-sucking an adsorption region on the back surface of the substrate to horizontally rotate the substrate around the rotation center; A processing liquid discharge nozzle for discharging a processing liquid onto the surface of the substrate suction-supported by the means; a second substrate rotating means for supporting the end portion of the back surface of the substrate and horizontally rotating the substrate around the rotation center; A cleaning liquid supply nozzle that supplies a cleaning liquid to the adsorption area of the substrate supported by the second substrate rotating means, and a substrate that transfers the substrate between the first substrate rotating means and the second substrate rotating means. Hander When, the substrate rotating treatment liquid application device, wherein a provided in the processing chamber.