JPH08250408A - Rotary substrate treating apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To prevent drying a treating solution satisfactorily by supplying vapor sufficiently to the tip part of a nozzle in a waiting pot. CONSTITUTION: A nozzle 6, for supplying a treating solution to a substrate held rotatably, is mounted so that it is movable to an ejecting position and to a waiting position, and a waiting pot 35, into which the tip part of the nozzle 6 at the waiting position is inserted, is provided and the solution is stored in that waiting pot 35, and a gas is supplied through a gas supplying tube 39 into the solution to promote the evaporation of the solution and at the same time to supply the produced vapor to the tip part of the nozzle 6 to prevent drying the treating solution at the tip part of the nozzle 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device,
Substrate holding means for rotatably holding the substrate in order to perform a surface treatment by supplying a treatment liquid such as a photoresist liquid, a dopant liquid, an SOG liquid, a developing liquid, and an etching liquid onto the surface of a substrate for an optical disk or the like. The present invention relates to a rotary substrate processing apparatus including a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to a substrate and a standby pot that surrounds the tip end side of the nozzle so as to be separable. The present invention relates to a technique for preventing the treatment liquid from drying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been the following techniques for preventing the above-mentioned treatment liquid from drying.

A. First conventional example (Shokaisho 60-13677)
No. 7) A downward coating liquid drop lowering nozzle is provided so as to be movable in the vertical direction, while a cap is horizontally movable so that the cap is positioned below the coating liquid droplet lowering nozzle when not coated. The lower surface of the coating liquid drop lower nozzle is joined to the cap, thereby forming a closed structure, and the coating liquid drop lowering nozzle is placed in the solvent vapor atmosphere in the cap.

B. Second conventional example (Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 1-23358) A nozzle is provided so as to be movable between a treatment liquid supply position for supplying a treatment liquid and a nozzle retreat position for not supplying a treatment liquid, and flows down from a drain pipe below a chamber. A treatment liquid collection box for collecting the treatment liquid is provided, and the nozzle receiver is arranged so as to face the nozzle tip at the nozzle retreat position, and the nozzle receptacle and the treatment liquid collection box are connected to form a treatment liquid collection box. The processing solution recovery box and the nozzle receiver are filled with the solvent vapor of the recovered processing solution, and the solvent vapor is supplied to the tip of the nozzle to prevent the deterioration of the processing solution.

[0005]

However, in both the above-mentioned first and second conventional examples, the solvent vapor supplied to the tip of the nozzle is generated by spontaneous evaporation, and the tip of the nozzle is exposed. However, there is a drawback that it is difficult to sufficiently fill the solvent atmosphere with steam, and it is not possible to sufficiently prevent the treatment liquid from drying.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and the rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention sufficiently supplies steam to the tip of the nozzle in the standby pot, An object of the present invention is to prevent drying of the processing liquid, and the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 2 stabilizes the characteristics of the vapor supplied to the tip of the nozzle, The purpose is to be able to better prevent the liquid from drying.

[0007]

The invention according to claim 1 is
In order to achieve the above-described object, a rotation including a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate rotatably, a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate, and a standby pot that separably surrounds the tip side of the nozzle. In the substrate processing apparatus, a liquid storage container for storing the liquid and a gas supply unit for supplying gas into the liquid of the liquid storage container are provided, and the gas passing through the liquid is supplied into the standby pot. There is.

Further, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 2 is housed in a standby pot in the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the invention according to claim 1. A temperature sensor that measures the temperature of the steam in the vicinity of the nozzle is installed, and a heating means that heats the gas supplied into the liquid in the liquid storage container is installed, and the temperature of the steam measured by the temperature sensor is maintained within the set range. A heating control means for operating the heating means as described above is provided and configured.

[0009]

According to the structure of the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, the gas is supplied into the liquid in the liquid container to promote the evaporation of the liquid, and the evaporated vapor is transferred to the gas carrier. Can be supplied to the tip of the nozzle in the standby pot.

According to the structure of the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, the temperature change of the steam in the vicinity of the nozzle in the standby state is automatically suppressed, and the steam temperature is close to the saturated vapor pressure. The characteristics of can be stabilized.

[0011]

1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a first embodiment of a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, in which an electric motor 2 is interlocked with a base 1 for sucking and holding a substrate W by vacuum suction. The substrate holding means 3 is connected to each other, and a scattering prevention cup 4 for preventing scattering of the processing liquid is provided around the substrate W rotatably held on the base 1. The scattering prevention cup 4 is an air cylinder. 5 is configured to be able to move up and down to a scattering prevention position and a retracted position below it.

Displaceable over a position above the center of the substrate W rotatably held on the base 1, an ejection position set near the center of rotation of the substrate W, and a standby position deviated from above the substrate W. Further, a nozzle 6 for supplying a resist solution, which is an example of the processing solution, is provided.

As shown in the plan view of the main part of FIG. 2, the partially cutaway side view of the main part of FIG. 3, and the partially cutaway enlarged side view of the main part of FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. Gallon bin (not shown) is connected via a tube 8 as a processing liquid supply pipe, and the tube 8 is a temperature control pipe 9 for circulating constant temperature water for keeping the temperature of the processing liquid inside the tube 8 constant. Is covered.

The nozzle 6 is provided at the tip of a highly rigid metal pipe 9a which also serves as a part of the temperature control pipe 9, and the tip side of the tube 8 is inserted and supported inside the metal pipe 9a. Further, a return tube 10 is inserted into the metal pipe 9a, and the constant temperature water supplied into the metal pipe 9a keeps the treatment liquid in the tube 8 at a constant temperature and then collects it through the return tube 10. It is supposed to be done. The constant temperature water flows in the opposite direction to the above,
That is, the temperature may be supplied into the temperature control pipe 9 through the return tube 10.

A support block 11 is integrally attached to the base of each metal pipe 9a, and a metal cylinder shaft 12 is integrally connected to one end of the support block 11, and the lower end of the cylinder shaft 12 is connected. A constant temperature water supply tube 13 that constitutes the temperature control pipe 9 is connected to the, and the processing liquid supply tube 8 and the return tube 10 are inserted into the constant temperature water supply tube 13. The constant temperature water supply tube 13 is connected to a constant temperature water supply source (not shown).

Each of the cylinder shafts 12 is rotatably supported by the rotary support 14 about the axis of the cylinder shaft 12. Further, the rotary supports 14 are supported in parallel on a common movable frame 15 via respective guide rails 16 so as to be vertically movable up and down.

The movable frame 15 is supported by an apparatus frame 17 (immovable) of the rotary substrate processing apparatus so as to be horizontally movable via a guide rail 16, and a rack 18 provided on the movable frame 15 can be rotated in the normal direction. It is engaged with the pinion 20 driven by the electric motor 19, and the electric motor 1
The rotation support 14 is configured to move in the parallel direction by the forward and reverse drive of 9.

An elevating frame 22 which is vertically moved by a pair of air cylinders 21a and 21b connected in series is provided on a side portion of the rotary support 14, and the elevating frame 22 is vertically arranged by an air cylinder 23. A movable bracket 24 is provided which is moved in the direction. Lifting frame 2
A support shaft 25 that is rotatable around a rotation center P at a predetermined position is provided on the upper part of 2, and a drive arm 26 is provided below the support shaft 25 so as to be rotatable around the rotation center P.

A cylindrical shaft 12 is provided on the upper surface of each support block 11.
A conical engagement concave portion 27 is formed on the axis of the above, and an engagement pin 28 is provided at a position away from the conical concave portion 27 on the nozzle 6 side.

On the other hand, on the lower surface of the drive arm 26, there is provided a conical engagement projection 29 which is coaxial with the rotation center P, and which is separated from the rotation center P and corresponds to the engagement pin 28. Engagement holes 30 are formed. Then, by the movable frame 15, the electric motor 19, etc., the cylindrical shaft 12
When the axis of the drive arm 26 is moved to a predetermined position located directly below the center of rotation P of the drive arm 26, the drive arm 26 is lowered, so that the engagement recess 27 and the engagement pin 28 are engaged with each other. The engagement protrusion 29 and the engagement hole 30 are engaged with each other to integrally engage and hold the drive arm 26 and the predetermined cylinder shaft 12, and the axis of the cylinder shaft 12 is the drive arm 26.
It is configured so as to be positioned so as not to be displaced in the horizontal direction from the rotation center P of the.

Further, the support shaft 25 of the drive arm 26 is linked to an electric motor 31 mounted on the movable bracket 24 and capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions through a timing belt 32. The cylinder shaft 12 engaged and held as described above is rotated about the rotation center P defined at a predetermined position, and the nozzle 6 integrated with the cylinder shaft 12 is detached to the side of the substrate W at a standby position and a discharge position near the substrate center. Is configured to move across.

The operation for supplying the processing liquid having the above structure will be described below. (1) In the initial state, as shown by the solid line in FIG. 3, all the nozzles 6 are retracted to the standby position which is off the side of the substrate W, and the rotary support 14 is also in standby at the lowered position L. ing. Each of the nozzles 6 standing by at the lowered position L is positioned and held in a fixed posture by the engagement of the positioning protrusion 33 provided on the lower surface of the support block 11 and the positioning recess 34 provided on the upper surface of the movable frame 15. In this standby state, each nozzle 6 is thrust into the standby pot 35 for drying prevention provided corresponding to each standby position from above and placed in a wet atmosphere.

(2) In supplying the processing liquid, first, the movable frame 15 is driven by the electric motor 19 so that the desired support block 11 of the nozzle 6 is located at the rotation center P, that is, a position directly below the drive arm 26. .

(3) Next, the air cylinder 23 is extended to lower the movable bracket 24, and the drive arm 26 is lowered accordingly.
Engage 6 As a result, the cylinder shaft 12 integrated with the nozzle 6 to be used is positioned so as to coincide with the rotation center P of the drive arm 26.

(4) After that, the air cylinders 21a, 2
1b is extended together to raise the elevating frame 22. In the initial stage, the abutment portion 36 provided on the elevating frame 22 comes into abutment against the upper end projection 37 of the rotary support 14 from below, whereby the support block 11 acts as the drive arm 26 and abutment portion 36 of the movable bracket 24. It is clamped up and down. In this clamped state, the elevating frame 22 is further raised to raise the metal pipe 9a together with the rotary support 14 to the upper limit (H) as shown in the partially cutaway side view of FIG.

(5) Next, the electric motor 31 is normally rotated, the drive arm 26 is rotated by a predetermined angle, and the nozzle 6 is moved to the substrate W.
It is rotationally moved to a predetermined upper discharge position.

(6) Next, the air cylinders 21a and 21b
1 is shortened to lower the nozzle 6 to a predetermined supply height (F) above the substrate W, and in this state, a predetermined amount of the processing liquid is applied onto the substrate W which has begun to rotate before or at a low speed. The substrate is immediately rotated at a high speed so that the substrate is dropped and supplied and is uniformly coated by rotation.

(7) When the supply of the processing liquid is completed, the shortened one of the air cylinders 21a or 21b is extended again to move the metal pipe 9a, the support block 11 and the nozzle 6 to a predetermined height (H) above the substrate W. ) To evacuation,
After that, the electric motor 31 is rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the metal pipe 9a backward to the standby position. With the metal pipe 9a in the standby position, the air cylinders 21a and 21b are both shortened to lower the elevating frame 22 to the lower limit. At the same time, the air cylinder 23 is operated to be shortened, whereby the movable bracket 24 and the drive arm 26 are raised and returned, and the engagement between the drive arm 26 and the support block 11 is released. After that, when changing the nozzle 6 to be used, the movable frame 15 is appropriately driven to select the support block 11 connected to the drive arm 26, and the above operation is performed.

The standby pot 35 has an opening 35a formed in a top plate, as shown in the partially cutaway perspective view of the main part of FIG.
The distal end of the nozzle 6 is configured to be insertable in a non-contact state through the through-hole, and is formed of a liquid storage container capable of storing a liquid therein, and the air supply hole 38 is provided in the liquid stored therein.
Is provided with a plurality of gas supply pipes 39 dispersed in the longitudinal direction, such as a gas cylinder, an air supply pump or a compressor, or a gas supply pipe previously arranged in a building such as a clean room. A gas source 40 is connected to the liquid in the standby pot 35 while foaming the gas to promote the evaporation of the liquid and supply the generated vapor to the tip of the nozzle 6, It is configured so that the treatment liquid can be prevented from drying and solidifying due to the outside air. A configuration including the gas supply pipe 39 and the gas source 40 is referred to as gas supply means.

A heating device 41 for heating the gas and a cooling device 42 for cooling the gas are provided at a position near the connection point of the gas supply pipe 39 with the standby pot 35. The standby pot 35 is provided with a temperature sensor 43 that measures the temperature of the steam in the vicinity of the nozzle 6 housed therein. The temperature sensor 43 is connected to a controller 44 as heating control means, the controller 44 is connected to the heating device 41 and the cooling device 42, and a desired temperature is artificially input and set in the controller 44. The device 45 is connected.

In the controller 44, the temperature sensor 4
The temperature of the steam measured in 3 is compared with the temperature set by the temperature setter 45, and when the temperature of the steam is lower than a predetermined range including the set temperature, an operation signal is output to the heating device 41 to output gas. On the other hand, when the temperature of the steam is higher than the predetermined range, an operating signal is output to the cooling device 42 to cool the gas, and the temperature of the steam in the vicinity of the nozzle 6 is
It is configured to be maintained within a set range such as a temperature suitable for obtaining a saturated vapor pressure or a state close to the saturated vapor pressure.

With the above configuration, the atmosphere of the nozzle 6 in the standby state housed in the standby pot 35 can be maintained in a state where sufficient steam exists, and the tip portion of the nozzle 6 can be prevented from drying.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the essential part of the second embodiment, in which the gas supply pipe 39 has a tip with a standby pot 35.
Is provided on the side wall 35a of the gas supply pipe 39, the tip end of the gas supply pipe 39 is expanded in a trumpet shape, and the air supply holes 46 are dispersedly formed therein, so that gas can be supplied from the side wall 35a into the standby pot 35 in a foamed state. Has been done. The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the essential parts showing the third embodiment. The differences from the first embodiment are as follows. That is, the liquid storage container 48 is connected to the standby pot 35 via the pipe 47.
Is connected, and the gas supply pipe 39 is connected to the liquid storage container 48 to supply gas into the liquid in the liquid storage container 48 to evaporate the liquid and to use the vapor generated using the gas as a carrier in the standby pot 35. To maintain the atmosphere of the nozzle 6 in the standby state housed in the standby pot 35 in a state where there is sufficient steam, and to prevent the tip portion of the nozzle 6 from drying. . Other configurations are first
This is the same as the embodiment, and the explanation is omitted by giving the same drawing number.

In the above embodiment, as the liquid stored in the standby pot 35 or the liquid reservoir 48, for example, when the processing liquid is a photoresist liquid, a liquid containing a solvent component of the processing liquid such as acetone is used. However, water or the like may be used. Also, as the gas to be supplied,
It is preferable to use an inert gas such as nitrogen gas that does not react with the treatment liquid, but depending on the treatment liquid, air or oxygen gas may be used.

In the above embodiment, the gas supply pipe 39 is provided with the heating device 41 and the cooling device 42.
Only one of the cooling device 42 and the cooling device 42 may be provided, which is referred to as heating means for heating the gas (including cooling).

In the above-described embodiment, since the steam can be supplied into the standby pot 35, the nozzle 6 can be inserted into the standby pot 35 through the opening 35a in a non-contact state so that the particles adhered to the standby pot 35 can be prevented. Although it is possible to prevent the particles from adhering to the nozzle 6 due to the contact and the nozzle 6 from rubbing the standby pot 35 to generate particles, the nozzle 6 may be in contact with the opening 35a.

Further, if the present invention is applied to a rotary substrate processing apparatus of the type that selectively uses a plurality of nozzles 6 as in the above-mentioned embodiment, the time during which the nozzles 6 are in the standby position is long. , But more preferably, it can be applied to a rotary substrate processing apparatus having one nozzle 6.

Further, in the above embodiment, the nozzle 6 is configured to be movable to the discharge position and the standby position. However, in the present invention, the nozzle 6 is fixed to the discharge position and the standby pot is used. 35 may be configured to be moved to a position away from the nozzle 6 and a standby position surrounding the nozzle 6.

[0040]

According to the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the first aspect of the present invention, gas is supplied into the liquid in the liquid reservoir to promote evaporation of the liquid, and the evaporated vapor is stored in the standby pot. Since the liquid is supplied to the tip of the nozzle, it is possible to surely avoid that the vapor cannot be brought into contact with sufficient vapor as in the case of natural evaporation, and it is possible to favorably prevent the drying of the treatment liquid. Also, since steam is supplied into the standby pot,
There is an advantage that the pressure in the standby pot becomes high, particles can be prevented from entering the standby pot from the outside, and particles can be prevented from adhering to the tip of the nozzle.

Further, according to the rotary substrate processing apparatus of the second aspect of the present invention, since the change in the temperature of the steam in the vicinity of the nozzle in the standby state is automatically suppressed, the processing such as a state close to the saturated vapor pressure is performed. It is possible to stably supply the vapor having the characteristics suitable for preventing the drying of the liquid, and it is possible to prevent the drying of the processing liquid better.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view showing a first embodiment of a rotary substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway side view of a main part.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway enlarged side view of a main part.

FIG. 5 is a partially cutaway perspective view of a main part.

FIG. 6 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a main part of a second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of an essential part showing a third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 ... Substrate holding means 6 ... Nozzle 35 ... Standby pot 39 ... Gas supply pipe 40 ... Gas source 41 ... Heating device 42 ... Cooling device 43 ... Temperature sensor 44 ... Controller as heating control means 48 ... Liquid storage container W ... Substrate

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A rotary substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate holding unit that holds a substrate rotatably; a nozzle that supplies a processing liquid to the substrate; and a standby pot that separably surrounds the tip end side of the nozzle. A liquid storage container for storing the liquid; and a gas supply unit for supplying gas into the liquid in the liquid storage container, wherein the gas passed through the liquid is supplied into the standby pot. Substrate processing equipment. 2. The standby pot according to claim 1, further comprising a temperature sensor for measuring the temperature of the vapor in the vicinity of the nozzle housed therein, and heating for heating the gas supplied into the liquid in the liquid reservoir. A rotary substrate processing apparatus comprising means, and heating control means for operating the heating means so that the temperature of the vapor measured by the temperature sensor is maintained within a set range.