JPH08264626A - Sample-and-hold method, method for treating fluid on sample surface, and devices for those methods - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To realize a fluid treating apparatus which has a small volume and the high cleanability by performing the stable holding in a simple apparatus structure in a Bernoulli's holder. CONSTITUTION: The shape of a sample holding surface is formed substantially the same as a sample or a holder 20 in which an area for generating Bernoulli's effect and an area for surrounding the area are formed by the combination of specific members is used, fluid supply sources 70, 71 are connected to the holder 20 to supply one or more fluids containing the treatment agent of the sample 10. Thus, since the force for suppressing the positional deviation is generated at the end face of the sample 10, the sample can be stably held, and treated. Since the space between the sample and the holder is narrow and the fluids are always externally fed from the treating space, the fluid treating apparatus which has the high treating efficiency, the small possibility of the recontamination of the sample 10 and small volume can be provided.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for holding a plate-shaped sample in a non-contact state, a method for treating a sample surface using the holding method, and an apparatus for realizing the method, and particularly to cleanliness. The present invention relates to a method for holding a plate-like sample, which is suitable for a manufacturing process of a thin film device, and the like, a method for fluid treatment of a sample surface using the holding method, and an apparatus for realizing them.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, the structure of thin film devices such as semiconductors and liquid crystal displays has been miniaturized, and there is an increasing demand for higher performance of these manufacturing techniques and high cleanliness of the manufacturing process. In the case of a semiconductor thin film device, the size of removed foreign matter is 0.3 μm or more, the amount of adsorbed ions is 10 ⁹ atoms / cm ² or less, and the thickness of the oxide film formed by contact with air is 1 nm or less. Is required. Further, although the substrate for a thin film device at the time of manufacturing has become large-sized, there is an increasing demand for preventing an increase in the volume of the device and reducing the cost of the device. Furthermore, a significant improvement in processing speed is desired.

As one specific measure against these demands, there is a method (commonly called single-wafer processing) of processing substrate samples (hereinafter referred to as "samples") one by one, for example, in a semiconductor manufacturing process. It is being put to practical use in the film forming process and the like.

However, it cannot be said that the present single-wafer processing apparatus satisfies all of the above requirements. This point will be described separately for sample holding and processing.

The main sample holding methods in single-wafer processing are:
There are a method of placing a sample on a holder, a method of sucking and holding by a vacuum chuck, and a method of mechanically grasping the sample end. However, in both cases, the holder directly contacts the sample. Therefore, the contact area of the sample is contaminated,
This contributes to an increase in the defective rate of products. Further, the jig for holding and carrying has a space limitation for a driving device for operation and a power transmission path, so that the processing device becomes large and complicated.

A specific example related to the single-wafer processing method is, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-287922 (hereinafter, referred to as "first").
(Referred to as a conventional example). This first conventional example is:
The sample is fixed by a substrate rotating means (spin chuck), and a fluid is jetted onto the surface of the sample for mechanical surface rotation to perform surface treatment.

As a method for avoiding the above-mentioned inconvenience,
As described in JP-B-53-29550 (hereinafter, referred to as a second conventional example), there is a non-contact holding method for a sample (hereinafter referred to as Bernoulli holding or Bernoulli chuck) utilizing the Bernoulli effect of a fluid.

FIG. 1A is a cross-sectional view of essential parts showing a typical structure for holding Bernoulli. In the second conventional example, this occurs when the sample 10 having a flat surface and the flat plate (holding tool) 20 having the fluid supply hole 30 formed in the surface thereof are opposed to each other in parallel and the fluid 100 is supplied from the fluid supply hole 30. Sample 10
The non-contact holding of the sample 10 is performed by utilizing the negative pressure p between the holder 20 and the holder 20, that is, the well-known Bernoulli effect. F in the figure indicates the fluid ejection force that the sample 10 receives by fluid ejection.

Since the principle of the negative pressure p between the sample 10 and the holder 20 is known from Bernoulli's theorem, detailed description thereof will be omitted. If this negative pressure p is used as an attractive force, the fluid ejection force F becomes a repulsive force. The sample 10 is held by the holder 2 at a position where these attractive force and repulsive force balance with the gravity due to the weight of the sample.
It is held in a non-contact state at 0.

This Bernoulli holding is established in the same manner as in the case of FIG. 1A even when the positional relationship between the sample 10 and the holder 20 is reversed upside down as shown in FIG. 1B.

Since the Bernoulli holding is a non-contact holding, it is possible to hold a sample with low contamination. In addition, this holding method does not require the use of a large-sized drive device and power transmission path, so that the device can be downsized.

However, in the method of the prior art as described above, since the force for suppressing the lateral displacement of the sample does not work, the displacement easily occurs. As a method of solving this, there are a method of mechanically contacting a stopper, a method of detecting and correcting a positional deviation, and the like. However, the former method cannot be said to be a complete non-contact holding because the position deviation prevention means and the like partially contact the sample. Further, the latter positional deviation preventing means makes the device complicated and is difficult to miniaturize.

Another non-contact holding method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Sho 60
-74438 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-69420, a fluid ejecting substrate is provided on both upper and lower sides or one side of a wafer as a sample, and the wafer is rotated in a floating state. There is a method of processing (hereinafter referred to as a third conventional example).

In these prior arts, the force for suppressing the displacement of the wafer in the vertical direction and in the lateral direction of the wafer does not work. In addition, the wafer has a missing part called the orientation flat, which is not axially symmetric. Therefore, in order to enable the floating and rotation of the wafer, it is necessary to accurately control the fluid ejection amount.

That is, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-211225, a sensing means for detecting the position of the wafer and a control means for determining the location, direction and amount of the fluid to be ejected are required. This leads to a large size, complexity, and high price of the device, which is contrary to the demands of the times as described above.

The gas flow velocity is about half of the speed of sound (173
In the range of m / s) or less, gas can be treated as an incompressible fluid like liquid, so that it is the same in the above-mentioned related art whether the fluid is a gas or a liquid. It is well known from the field of mechanics.

[0017]

However, in the technique shown in the first conventional example, since the holder is a holding method in which the holder directly contacts the sample, contamination of the contact portion of the sample cannot be avoided. Further, since the sample holding, washing, and drying are performed by separate independent mechanisms, the device volume becomes large.

The technique shown in the second conventional example is as follows.
This is a method of holding through a fluid, which is superior to the first conventional example in terms of device volume and cleanliness, but the protrusion provided on the outer periphery of the holding plate contacts the sample in order to stabilize the holding position. ing. Therefore, contamination of the sample contact site is still unresolved.

Further, in the technique shown in the third conventional example, the sample is levitated and rotated by jetting the cleaning liquid, but there is no means for ensuring the stability of the sample holding position. Therefore, the sample is misaligned due to the ejection unevenness caused by vibration, pulsation, uneven rotation, pressure change, bubble entrainment, etc. of the pump that ejects the cleaning liquid. In a remarkable case, it collides with the side wall connecting the upper injection part and the lower injection part, and the upper and lower injection parts. The collision part of the sample may be destroyed by the collision, and contamination by fragments may occur.
In particular, a semiconductor wafer has a notch called an orientation flat, and is not a perfect circle, but the center of rotation and the center of gravity are different. For this reason, positional displacement is likely to occur during levitation and rotation by this method.

As described above, according to the conventional technique, a device that meets the demands of the times described above, that is, stable holding in a non-contact state, high cleanliness can be obtained by processing, and mechanical There was no realization of a device that is small in size and low in cost because it has few mechanical mechanisms, that growth of an oxide film is suppressed because it does not come into contact with air, and that high-speed processing is possible because the flow velocity of the processing fluid is high.

An object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-mentioned problems of the prior art. The first object is to hold a stable sample by Bernoulli holding, and the second object is to hold a sample by this holding method. A third object is to provide a plate sample holding device and a fourth object to provide a plate sample fluid processing device.

[0022]

Means for achieving each of the above objects will be described below.

The above-mentioned first object is a sample for holding the sample in a non-contact manner by utilizing the Bernoulli effect generated by flowing a fluid between the sample to be held and the sample holding surface facing the sample. In the holding method, the magnitude of the tension acting between the outer peripheral edge of the held sample and the sample holding surface changes abruptly, the size of the region surrounded by the boundary formed on the sample holding surface, The size of the sample and the sample holding surface having substantially the same configuration in the direction in which the displacement of the sample with respect to the sample holding surface is suppressed,
This is achieved by a sample holding method characterized by holding the sample in a non-contact manner by utilizing the Bernoulli effect.

More specifically, for example, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in the sample holding method for holding the plate-shaped sample 10 on the holder 20 in a non-contact state via a fluid, the holder 20 The size of the region of the sample holding surface 20a facing the sample 10 (the region where the Bernoulli effect is generated, which is hereinafter referred to as the Bernoulli effective region) is +4 mm, which is equal to the size of the sample.
Same within -8 mm. As the sample 10, for example, a disk-shaped sample such as a semiconductor substrate wafer, a rectangular or rectangular plate-shaped sample, or the like can be used.

According to the above structure, when the fluid is a liquid, the surface tension is generated at the end faces of the sample 10 and the holder 20, and when the fluid is a gas, an oblique flow or gas is generated at the end face of the sample 10. Holder 20 and sample 10 generated by flow
Due to the electrostatic force between them, it is possible to suppress the lateral (lateral) displacement of the sample 10 in the figure.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2A, for example, in the method of holding the sample 10 by sandwiching it with two holders 20, the distance between the sample holding surface 20a of the holder 20 and the surface of the sample 10 is set. When the thickness is 2.5 mm or less, repulsive force (F) and attractive force (p) are exerted on the sample 10 due to the Bernoulli effect, and the vertical displacement of the sample 10 in the figure can be suppressed.

The above-mentioned second object is achieved by using, in the sample holding method for achieving the above-mentioned first object, a fluid to be used, which has a property of subjecting a sample holding surface to a specific treatment. .

In this case, the fluid is appropriately selected depending on the purpose of treating the sample surface. As a typical application example, in the case of a liquid, a rinsing process with pure water is an example of a process that does not involve a chemical reaction. Further, examples of the processing involving a chemical reaction include etching processing with an etching solution and development processing with a developing solution in various lithography processes. When the fluid is a gas, a dry treatment with an inert gas such as nitrogen gas can be given as an example of a treatment that does not involve a chemical reaction, and a dry etching treatment with an etching gas can be given as an example of a treatment that involves a chemical reaction. To be

In this type of surface treatment, it is effective to give a physical vibration to the sample as a means for enhancing the treatment effect. This can be realized by providing, for example, an ultrasonic oscillator as a vibration source on the surface of or inside the holder.

As another means for enhancing the processing effect,
It is effective to dispose a groove extending from the center of the holder in the radial direction, that is, in the direction orthogonal to the rotation direction. The structure of the groove is a groove extending continuously from the center of the holder to the periphery and having an equal width, a groove extending in a curved shape and having an equal width or different widths, for example, a crescent-shaped groove, and symmetrically about the rotation center ( It is preferable to dispose a plurality of (radially). A hole for discharging fluid may be provided in this groove. With the above configuration, for example, the flow of the cleaning liquid or the rinse liquid can be easily controlled.

The above-mentioned third object is a structure capable of exhibiting the suppressing force for suppressing the displacement of the sample, which is described in the means for achieving the first object, as the sample holding means of the apparatus for transporting or processing the sample. This is achieved by using a holder having

The holder is connected to, for example, the tip of an arm of a robot, and the arm is moved while holding the sample to convey the sample. The attachment method of the holder is selected from a method of turning the holding surface upward and a method of turning the holding surface downward as required.

When the fluid is a liquid, it is possible to stop the supply of the fluid at the time of transportation and transport the sample in a stationary state. The sample holding in this case utilizes the surface tension of the liquid. In addition, when the fluid is a gas, it is desirable to constantly inject the gas.

A fourth object of the present invention is, as a sample holding means used in a sample processing apparatus, a holder having a structure capable of exhibiting a sample position deviation restraining force as described in the means for achieving the third object. Is achieved by using

As the constitution of the apparatus, for example, one holding tool is used to process only the holding surface of the sample and the opposite surface is processed by another means, and two holding tools are used to sandwich the sample. There is a method of processing both sides only.

Further, it is also effective to arrange a plurality of fluid supply sources and switch a path by a switching valve to supply a desired fluid to a holder so that a plurality of treatments can be continuously performed by the same holder. Is. This can be applied, for example, to the step of treating a semiconductor wafer with an etching solution, then switching the fluid to pure water for rinsing, and then switching to nitrogen gas for drying.

It is also effective to provide a fluid temperature control means inside the holder as means for making the apparatus smaller.

[0038]

According to the invention of the sample holding method capable of achieving the first object, the instability of the sample position, which is a problem of the conventional Bernoulli holding and processing method, can be overcome. Therefore, stable non-contact holding of the plate-shaped sample can be realized by a holder having a simple structure. Furthermore, by using the holder, it is possible to hold, convey and process the sample,
It is possible to realize a compact and low-priced device.

Regarding the force that acts on the sample held by the present invention to suppress the displacement of the sample in the vertical direction, FIG. 2A is used by taking the sample 10 sandwiched between two holders 20 to which the present invention is applied as an example. Explain.

Sample 10 is made of Fu, Pu, Fl, P in the figure.
In addition to the four forces of l, the five forces of sample weight (w) float stably at a balanced location. Since there is no means to measure the magnitude of each force individually, the magnitude of each force and the floating height of the sample were obtained by calculation from the hydrodynamic relational expression based on the well-known law of conservation of energy.

Note that this calculation is an example when a semiconductor substrate wafer is used as the sample 10. Here, the diameter of the holder: 125 mm, the diameter of the fluid ejection hole: 1 mm, the position of the ejection hole: the center of the holding surface, the fluid: water, the ejection amount: 5 liters / min both above and below, the sample diameter: 125 mm, and the sample weight: 15.6.
g, sample thickness: 0.55 mm. An example of the calculation result is shown in FIG. 2B.

According to the calculation result, when the distance between the holders (gap excluding the thickness of the wafer) exceeds about 5 mm,
Suction force P of the sample 10 to the holder according to Bernoulli's principle
u and Pl become almost zero. This indicates that the sample 10 floats due to the balance of the forces of only the fluid ejection outputs Fu and Fl.

Usually, it is difficult to keep the flow rates Qu and Ql of the fluid constant at all times due to the pulsating flow of the pump and the generation of bubbles. Therefore, when the gap exceeds about 5 mm, the vertical force balance is lost, and the sample 10 starts oscillating vertically,
It may come into contact with the lower holder 20.

In addition, the diameter, angle, and roughness of the inner surface of the ejection hole 30 through which the fluid is ejected pass through the ejection hole 30 and the sample 10
Dimensional parameters that affect the momentum of the fluid injected into
It is difficult to make the lower holders exactly the same. Therefore, the momentum of the fluid ejected onto the sample 10 does not usually match exactly due to the deviation of the dimensions of the ejection holes 30 of the upper and lower holders. In such a state, for example, when the sample is rotated axisymmetrically, the vertical deflection of the sample is further increased, and in the worst case, the sample 10 and the holder 2 are moved.
Contact with 0 may occur.

Therefore, as in the present invention, the vertical swing of the wafer can be prevented by the strong suction effect of Bernoulli generated by setting the gap excluding the thickness of the sample 10 to 5 mm (2.5 mm on one side) or less.

Next, the effect of preventing lateral displacement of the sample 10 that can be realized by the present invention will be described.

First, the case where the fluid is a liquid will be described. FIG. 3A shows a state in which the wafer 10 is floating at the center positions of the upper holder and the lower holder. The liquid flows down from a part of the periphery of each holder, but most of the periphery of the holder forms a gas-liquid interface (hereinafter referred to as a meniscus) S between the holder and the wafer due to the surface tension of the fluid. To do.

By some force to the right, the wafer 1
A state in which 0 is displaced is shown in FIG. 3B. In this state,
The meniscus S is formed in a shape in which the surface area is increased by the amount of the generated positional deviation. Then, the surface tension, which is a force that works to minimize the surface area of the meniscus S, acts to immediately return the state shown in FIG. 3B to the stable state shown in FIG. 3A.

At this time, the suppressing force acting in the direction for returning the lateral displacement of the sample 10 generated corresponding to the surface tension is, as will be shown in Examples described later, the area of the wafer 10 and the wafer 10. It changes depending on the relative relationship with the area of the sample holding surface of the holder 20 that faces the surface of the holder.

In particular, by making the area of the sample 10 and the area of the sample holding surface of the holder 20 substantially the same, a larger suppressing force works. Therefore, according to the configuration of the present invention, the lateral displacement of the sample 10 can be prevented more effectively.

Next, the case where the fluid is gas will be described. In this case, it is considered that the following two restraining forces act as the restraining force for preventing the lateral displacement of the sample 10.

The first suppressing force is an electrostatic attractive force generated by the charging of the sample 10 and the holder 20. Figure 4A
Shows the charged state of the sample 10 and the holder 20, "+" in the figure is a positive charge, "-" is a negative charge, and the dotted line is a line of electric force.

Whether metal, organic material or inorganic material,
It is well known in the field of surface chemistry that a charging phenomenon occurs on a solid surface where a solid and a fluid are in contact with each other. The generation mechanism of such a phenomenon is complicated and has not been completely clarified. However, it is clear that it is caused by the contact of different substances, and depending on its form, it is called triboelectric charging, contact charging, spray charging, or flow charging.

Sample 1 in the charged state, line of electric force in FIG. 4A
If 0 is displaced as shown in FIG. 4B, for example,
The lines of electric force between the holder 20 and the holder 20 are distorted, and an attempt is made to immediately return to the stable state shown in FIG. 4A by the attractive force (Coulomb force) of static electricity. Here, as shown in Examples described later,
The area of the sample 10 and the area of the sample holding surface of the holder 20 are
If they are significantly different, the suppressing force due to the electrostatic attractive force that acts in the direction of returning the lateral shift is small.

Further, when the member constituting the holder 20 is an electrically insulating material, the suppressing force due to the Coulomb force is likely to work. It is considered that this is because the electric charges are less likely to move on the sample holding surface of the holder 20 made of an electrically insulating material, so that the distortion of the lines of electric force generated when the sample 10 is laterally displaced becomes large.

Therefore, according to Bernoulli's theorem, the sample 10 and the holder 20 are arranged in parallel at a minute interval so that the sample 10 and the holder 20 have substantially the same shape.
First caused by the charging effect of gas flowing as a fluid
Due to the suppression force of 1, the positional displacement of the sample 10 in the lateral direction can be prevented.

The second restraining force acting when the fluid is gas is as follows.

To utilize this second restraining force, see FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the suppression holes 30s, 30s ′ ... For controlling the lateral displacement of the sample 10 are axially symmetric on the outer circumference of the lower holder 20.
・ Provide It should be noted that 100 in the figure indicates the state of the airflow flowing around the sample 10 in the floating state. At the end of the sample 10 and the lower holder 20, the lateral airflow along the sample holding surface of the lower holder 20 and the suppression holes 30s, 30.
s' ... Due to the merging of the upward airflow, the lower holder 2
An air flow in an oblique direction with respect to the sample holding surface of 0 is generated.

When the sample 10 is displaced laterally for some reason, the state shown in FIG. 5B is obtained. In this state, due to the displacement of the sample 10, the suppression hole 30s at the right end is opened toward the drawing, but the suppression hole 30s' at the left end is closed on the surface of the sample 10. For this reason,
The oblique airflow is further concentrated at the end of the sample 10. As a result, the force in the right lateral direction, that is, the second suppressing force acts on the sample 10, and the state immediately returns to the state shown in FIG. 5A.

Here, as shown in Examples described later, the sample 10 and the upper and lower holders 20 have substantially the same shape, and the suppressing hole 30 for control is provided on the outer periphery of the sample holding surface of the lower holder 20.
By providing s, 30s ′ ..., The second suppressing force effectively acts, so that the lateral displacement of the sample can be prevented.

As described above, the dimension of the sample holding surface of the holder 20 is set in accordance with the required restraining force and the size of the sample 10, and the holding with the sample holding surface having the set dimension is performed. By holding the sample using the tool 20, it is possible to provide a sample holding method that enables stable and non-contact holding of the sample 10.

In particular, by making the area of the sample 10 and the area of the sample holding surface of the holder 20 substantially the same, it is possible to more effectively prevent the lateral displacement of the sample 10.

According to the invention of the fluid treatment method capable of achieving the above-mentioned second object, highly clean continuous treatment using several kinds of fluids can be realized.

That is, since the sample and the holder have almost the same dimensions, the sample is completely divided into the upper surface and the lower surface. Therefore, the fluid can always treat the front and back surfaces of the sample independently. The sample is always held in a small processing space formed by the upper holder and the lower holder in a non-contact manner, and due to the processing action of the ejected fluid, it does not come into contact with contaminants from the outside and is kept clean. It is processed.

Furthermore, in the present invention, since the fluid always flows from the inside of the processing space to the outside, the removed contaminants are carried away to the outside, and there is no vertical movement or backflow, so there is no recontamination phenomenon. Further, by further increasing the flow rate of the processing liquid flowing in the minute processing space, the chemical and physical reaction between the fluid and the sample can be further enhanced, and as a result, the processing speed can be increased.

Further, regardless of whether the fluid is liquid or gas, the sample can be stably held and processed in the minute processing space without contact. For this reason, continuous switching processing from liquid to gas such as processing, rinsing, and drying can be carried out promptly without wasting the processing liquid.

According to the invention of the sample holding device which can achieve the third object, it is possible to provide a device which can hold a stable sample without mechanical contact and which can be miniaturized. .

According to the invention of the sample processing apparatus which can achieve the above-mentioned fourth object, highly compact sample processing without mechanical contact, rinsing, drying, and sample transportation are possible, and downsizing is possible. It is possible to provide various devices.

[0069]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

Example 1 In this example, a holder using a fluid as a liquid and having a sample holding surface of substantially the same size as the sample to be held will be described. Further, in the following description, the suppressing force that acts on the sample held by the holder of the present embodiment and that suppresses the positional displacement in the lateral direction will be described.

(1) Device Configuration As shown in FIG. 6A, the holder 21 of the present embodiment is a disc-shaped fluororesin plate having a diameter of 125 mm and a thickness of 10 mm, for example, polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon). A sample floating hole 16 (jetting hole) for floating the sample 10 having a diameter of 1.0 mm is formed in the center of the plate-making.

The holder of this embodiment is also shown in FIG. 6B.
The configuration may be as shown in. That is, in the holder 22 of the present embodiment, a disc-shaped Teflon plate B having a diameter of 205 mm and a thickness of 10 mm is provided with an alumina ceramic plate A having a diameter of 125 mm and a thickness of 1.0 mm and a purity of 95%. By fitting, a Bernoulli effective area facing the wafer 10 is formed. Further, a sample floating hole 16 having a diameter of 1.0 mm is formed at the center of the Bernoulli effective region.

In this example, a 5-inch (diameter: 125 mm) silicon wafer was used as the sample 10, and ultrapure water was ejected as a fluid from the sample levitation hole 16 at a flow rate of 2 liters / minute. At this time, the wafer 10 floated by 0.85 mm. Ultrapure water is supplied from a fluid tank included in the fluid supply mechanism by a fluid pump included in the fluid supply mechanism (not shown).

Sample 1 held by the holder of this example
The suppression force acting on 0 is measured by the following configuration, for example. That is, the thread 11 is bonded to the end portion of the wafer 10 held by the holder 21 of this embodiment. This thread 11 is connected through a pulley 12 to a weight 13 having a weight of 10 g placed on an electronic balance 14. The electronic balance 14 is supported by the jack 15. In this state, if the position of the jack 15 is lowered by a predetermined amount, the wafer 10
Shifts to the right. Here, the restraining force acting on the wafer 10 acts in the direction opposite to the gravity of the weight 13. Therefore,
The restraint force is obtained by measuring a change in the load on the electronic balance 14 by the weight 13 on which the restraint force acts.

(2) Description of Operation As described in detail in the above section of action, the suppressing force for suppressing the lateral displacement of the sample 10 is the meniscus formed between the sample 10 and the holder 21 or 22. This is due to the surface tension of S.

The holder 21 of this embodiment is provided with a sample holding surface having substantially the same size and shape as the sample 10 to be held, so that the sample holding surface can be deformed even when the meniscus S is deformed due to the lateral displacement of the sample 10. The contact portion between the and meniscus S does not easily move. Therefore, when the sample 10 is laterally displaced, the surface tension of the meniscus S that is deformed due to the lateral displacement exerts a force for suppressing lateral displacement on the edge of the sample 10.

Further, in the holder 22 of this embodiment, the sample 1
The sample holding surface (Bernoulli effective area) is formed of a material that has almost the same shape as 0 and is easily wetted by the liquid to be used (indicates extended wetting), and does not wet the liquid outside the sample holding surface (adhesion wetting). , Which is surrounded by a material. According to the above configuration, a stable meniscus S is formed similarly to the holder 21, and a force that suppresses lateral displacement due to surface tension acts on the end of the sample 10.

The surface tension of the liquid used to produce the Bernoulli effect is generally 30 dyn / cm or more,
It is 21 dyn / cm or more including wider applications. Therefore, as the material exhibiting the extended wetting that can be used in the present embodiment, nylon, vinyl chloride, inorganic oxide, nitride having a critical surface tension (wetting a liquid having a surface tension smaller than this) of 21 dyn / cm or more is used. Materials, carbides, etc. can be used. On the other hand, as a material exhibiting adhesion and wetting, a fluororesin (Teflon or the like) having a critical surface tension of 21 dyn / cm or less, polyethylene, polypropylene resin or the like can be used.

In the construction of the holder 22, the Bernoulli effective area A is formed by a material having a critical surface tension larger than the surface tension of the liquid used, and a material having a critical surface tension smaller than the surface tension of the liquid is used. The outer area B of the Bernoulli effective area is formed.

(3) Performance Evaluation When the holder 21 was used, the relationship between the deviation amount of the wafer 10 and the restraining force acting on the wafer 10 was measured as shown by the curve (1) in FIG. 6C. In the region where the deviation amount is small, the wafer 1
Due to the equilibrium of 0 circle, the restraint is also small. However, when the displacement exceeds 2 mm, the restraining force rapidly increases to 6 m.
When it is more than m, it becomes almost constant 7 mN, and when it exceeds 8 mm, the wafer 10 comes into contact with the holder 21 and measurement becomes impossible.

When the holder 22 was used, the relationship between the deviation amount of the wafer 10 and the restraining force was measured as shown by the curve (2) in FIG. 6C. The amount of deviation and the restraining force showed the same tendency as that of the holder 21, but as a whole, the restraining force larger than that of the holder 21 was obtained. This is a holder 2 located below the wafer 10.
It is presumed that a large restraining force acts because the sample holding surface of No. 2 exhibits extended wetting.

The relationship between the diameter of the holder 21 and the restraining force when the 5-inch wafer is laterally displaced 2 mm from the center of the holder 21 is shown by the curve (1) in FIG. 6D. The vertical axis of FIG. 6D represents the suppressing force when the wafer 10 is laterally displaced 2 mm from the surface center of the holder 21 or 22. The maximum suppression force was measured when the diameter of the holder 21 was smaller than the wafer diameter D by 4 mm. Further, the diameter of the holder 21 is (D + 4) mm to (D−) with respect to the diameter D of the wafer 10.
In the range of 8) mm, a large suppression force that was practically satisfactory was measured.

The relationship between the diameter of the holder 22 and the restraining force when the 5-inch wafer is laterally displaced 2 mm from the center of the holder 22 is shown by the curve (2) in FIG. 6D. The Bernoulli effective area A in this case is composed of a silicon carbide substrate having a diameter of 125 mm and a thickness of 1 mm. Also in the case of the holder 22, the same relationship as the curve (1) was obtained.

Further, when the diameters of the holders 21 and 22 are smaller than the wafer diameter D by about 4 mm, the phenomenon that the maximum restraining force works is that the shape of the meniscus S due to the weight of the ultrapure water ejected from the sample levitation hole 16 is different. It is presumed that it includes deformation.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, depending on the size of the sample to be held and the desired suppression force,
Area that causes Bernoulli effect (Bernoulli area)
A sample holding method and apparatus capable of stably holding a sample in a non-contact manner by determining the size of the sample and configuring the holder so as to have a sample holding surface corresponding to the Bernoulli region. You can do it.

In this embodiment, the case where one sample levitation hole 16 for ejecting the fluid to the sample 10 is provided at the center of the sample holding surface of the holder 20 has been described, but a plurality of holes for ejecting the fluid are provided. The same effect can be obtained even with a configuration in which individual pieces are provided.

In this embodiment, the case where a wafer for semiconductor substrate is used as the sample 10 has been described, but samples having other shapes, weights, and constituent members are almost the same as those in this embodiment. The effect is obtained.

In this embodiment, the method of holding the sample 10 by using the single holder 20 has been described. Of course, as shown in FIG. 3, the sample 10 is arranged above and below the sample 10 so as to sandwich it. Even with the configuration in which the holder 20 provided is used, stable non-contact holding of the sample 10 can be realized.

<Embodiment 2> As described in detail in the above section, the restraining force acting on the sample is generated by the surface tension of the meniscus formed between the sample and the end face of the holder. Therefore, by adjusting the outer peripheral shape or the end surface shape of the holder so as to obtain a larger change in surface tension, that is, a change in the surface area of the meniscus, a larger suppressing force can be obtained. Although the end surface of the holder of the first embodiment is a surface that is perpendicular to the sample holding surface, in the present embodiment, the structure of the holder having an outer circumference or an end surface shape capable of obtaining a larger suppressing force. An example will be described.

(1) Device Configuration As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the holders 23 and 24 of the present embodiment have the same structure as the holder 2 of the first embodiment except for the end face shape.
1 (see FIG. 6A).

In this embodiment, the holder 2 made of Teflon is used.
As shown in FIG. 7A, reference numeral 3 denotes a stepped portion 23d having a depth of 3 mm and a width of 5 mm provided on the outer periphery thereof to increase the surface area of the meniscus S. Further, as shown in FIG. 7B, the holder 24 has an outer circumference of about 21 mm with the sample holding surface of the holder 24 with a dimension of 2 mm in the depth direction and 5 mm in the lateral direction.
The surface area of the meniscus S is increased by providing a tapered portion 24t forming a tapered surface forming an angle of 8 degrees.

(2) Description of Operation In the holders 23 and 24 of the present embodiment, the magnitude of the suppressing force when the wafer 10 as a sample is laterally displaced 2 mm from the center of the sample holding surface of the holder, FIG. 7C shows the result of comparison by the same method as that used in Example 1 above.

Both of the holders 23 and 24 were able to obtain a larger restraining force as compared with the holder 21 shown in FIG. 6A. Particularly, like the holder 24, the taper portion 24t
Was formed on the outer circumference of the holder, a large suppressing force of 8.8 mN, which is about 10 times as large as the suppressing force obtained by the rectangular simple shape of the end face of the holder 21, could be obtained.

From the experimental results of the suppressing force according to this example, it was found that increasing the surface area of the meniscus S increases the suppressing force. Considering this result together with the measurement result regarding the suppression force in the above-mentioned Example 1,
It becomes clearer that the restraining force that works to return the sample to the center position of the sample holding surface of the holder when the sample is laterally displaced depends on the surface tension of the meniscus S.

Further, according to the experimental results of this embodiment and the above-mentioned first embodiment, it is possible to increase the suppressing force for suppressing the lateral displacement of the sample 10 by making the sample and the holder have substantially the same shape. It becomes clear that the effect is achieved.

(3) Performance Evaluation According to the present embodiment, the end face shape of the holder is formed so that the surface area of the meniscus S is increased, thereby suppressing the lateral direction acting on the held sample. It is possible to increase the force, and it is possible to provide a holder that is more stable against lateral displacement of the sample and that is capable of non-contact holding.

In this embodiment, in order to increase the surface area of the meniscus when the fluid is a liquid, a step or a tapered portion is provided on the outer circumference of the holder, but the outer circumference of the holder is adjusted even when the fluid is gas. By doing so, the stability of the sample 10 can be enhanced.

More specifically, the outer peripheral portion of the holder has a reverse taper structure, that is, the distance to the sample 10 at the end surface position of the sample holding surface of the holder is smaller than that at the center of the sample holding surface. The structure will be According to such a structure, the flow of gas in the outer peripheral portion changes, and the suppressing force acts in the direction of suppressing the displacement of the sample 10.

<Embodiment 3> In the above Embodiments 1 and 2, the relationship between the size and end face shape of the holder and the magnitude of the restraining force was described from the sectional shape of the holder. In this embodiment, an example of the surface shape of the sample holding surface of the holder that facilitates the recovery of the liquid that has produced the Bernoulli effect will be described.

(1) Device Configuration The holder described in Embodiments 1 and 2 has, for example, FIGS. 6A and 6B.
As described above, a Bernoulli effective region made of a material exhibiting adhesion wetting, such as Teflon or polypropylene, which is hard to get wet with liquid, or a material exhibiting extended wetting is surrounded by a material exhibiting adhesion wetting.

In the holder having these configurations, the sample floating hole 1
The liquid ejected from 6 does not uniformly flow out from the periphery of the holding tool, but radially flows out from a plurality of positions (3 to 5 positions) separately. Therefore, if a place where the liquid easily flows out is provided in advance, the liquid that flows out can be collected.

An example of the surface shape of the sample holding surface in the holder of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 8A. Holder 25 of the present embodiment
Has the same configuration as the holder 21 (see FIG. 6A) of Example 1 except for the following points.

On the sample holding surface of the holder 25, four sample levitation holes 31 through which liquid is ejected are formed, and
A groove 32 having a depth of 0.3 mm and a width of 2 mm is formed toward the outer periphery from each of the sample levitation holes 31. Further, on the sample holding surface of the holder 25, there are provided recovery holes 33 which are located at the tips of the outer peripheries of the grooves 32 and which collect the liquid ejected from the sample floating holes 31. Recovery hole 33
The liquid recovered in step (1) is stored in, for example, a recovery liquid tank connected to the recovery hole 33.

The groove 32 formed on the sample holding surface of the holder 25 does not actually have to be a groove. For example, nylon, vinyl chloride, or the like that exhibits extended wetting that is easily wet with liquid may be attached in a tape shape. In short, each sample floating hole 3
The specific configuration is not limited as long as one or the jetted liquid can give a condition in which it easily flows.

Another example of the surface shape of the sample holding surface in the holder of this embodiment is shown in FIG. 8B. The holder 26 of the present embodiment enables non-contact holding by floating the sample while rotating it. The basic structure of the holder 26 is the holder 2 described above.
5, but the shape of the sample floating hole 31 and the shape of the groove 32 are different from those of the holder 25.

That is, the sample levitation hole 31 is formed at an angle with respect to the sample holding surface so that the liquid can be jetted onto the surface of the sample along a predetermined angle direction. From the sample floating hole 31 having such a configuration to the sample 10
When the liquid is ejected to the surface, the sample 10 is given a rotational force in a direction of rotation about the normal line direction of the sample holding surface as an axis. As a result, the sample 10 rotates on a plane parallel to the sample holding surface while being held in a non-contact state on the sample holding surface.

Further, the groove 32 on the sample holding surface of the holder 26 is provided.
Are formed in a spiral shape in the rotation direction of the sample. Such a spiral groove has the effect of allowing the liquid flow between the rotating sample 10 and the sample holding surface to flow more quickly without stagnation.

As with the holder 25 described above, the groove 32
Instead of providing, a tape-shaped member made of a material exhibiting extended wetting may be attached in a spiral shape. Any of these may be used as long as the liquid ejected from the sample levitation hole 32 is along the streamline flowing on the sample holding surface of the holder 26.

(2) Description of Operation In the holders 25 and 26 of this embodiment, the sample levitation hole 31 is used.
The liquid ejected from the sample to the sample flows to the recovery hole 33 along the groove 32 and is recovered in the recovery hole 33.

In the holders 26, 26, the peripheral end face shape of the holder other than the portion where the recovery hole 33 is located is a right angle (see FIG. 6A) and a tapered portion (see FIG. 7B). For the above, the suppression force was determined in the same manner as in Example 2 above.

In the holders 25 and 26 of this embodiment, although the recovery hole 33 was provided, the restraining force was not reduced. In both holders 25 and 26, a suppressing force of about 1.0 mN was obtained when the end face shape was a right angle, and a suppressing force of about 9 mN was obtained when the same taper portion as in FIG. 7B was provided.

(3) Performance Evaluation According to the present embodiment, the Bernoulli effect is produced by attaching a groove or a tape-shaped member made of a material exhibiting extended wetting on the sample holding surface of the holder. The collected liquid can be collected more efficiently.

<Embodiment 4> In the present embodiment, when the fluid is a gas, it is possible to obtain a suppressing force for suppressing the lateral displacement of the sample, and the sample has a size substantially the same as the size of the sample. A holder provided with a holding surface will be described.

(1) Apparatus Configuration FIG. 9A is a side view showing the holder 21 of this embodiment and the floating sample 10 held by the holder 21 in a non-contact manner. 9B is a top view showing the state of the sample holding surface of the holder 21, and FIG. 9C is a perspective view of the holder 21.

In the holder 21 of this embodiment, four sample levitation holes 1 for ejecting a gas for holding the sample 10 in a non-contact state while rotating the sample 10 and a restraint for suppressing the lateral displacement of the sample 10 are suppressed. Six suppression holes 2 that generate a part of the force are formed. An electrically insulating member is used as a constituent material of the holder 21, and more specifically, vinyl chloride, polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon), or acrylic resin having a thickness of 10 mm is used. The sample holding surface of the holder 21 is circular with a diameter of 125 mm.

The four sample levitation holes 1 are through holes each having a diameter of 1 mm and formed so as to be axially symmetrical to each other and to form an angle of 60 ° with respect to the sample holding surface. Further, the suppression hole 2 is arranged on the outer circumference of the holder 21. More specifically, each suppression hole 2 has a center on the outer peripheral line of the sample 10 to be held, toward the center of the sample holding surface of the holder 21.
It is a through hole having a diameter of 1 mm, which is formed so as to form an angle of 80 ° with the sample holding surface.

The sample levitation hole 1 and the suppression hole 2 are respectively connected to a gas supply mechanism (not shown) including a gas tank and a flow rate adjusting device for supplying the gas to be jetted, through predetermined pipes. . In this embodiment, nitrogen gas of 10 atm is used as the gas to be ejected. Nitrogen gas is supplied from the nitrogen tank to the levitation hole 1 and the suppression hole 2 at a desired flow rate through a flow rate adjusting valve.

The sample 10 used in this embodiment is a 5 inch (125 mm diameter) silicon wafer, as in the first embodiment. The wafer is etched by immersing it in a solution of water: 99% and hydrofluoric acid: 1% at 25 ° C. for 5 minutes. Further, it is immersed in ultrapure water for 3 minutes, rinsed, dried using a spin dryer, and used as a wafer having a pure Si surface. In addition, this wafer is left in the air for one day
A wafer in which i was naturally oxidized to form a SiO ₂ surface was also used as the sample 10.

(2) Description of Operation The sample 10 held by the holder 21 of this example.
The electrostatic attractive force that acts between the holder 21 and the sample 10, which is one of the causes of the restraint force that restrains the lateral displacement of the sample, will be described.

FIG. 10A shows an example of a charged state of static electricity generated between the holder 21 and the wafer 10 by the high-speed airflow ejected from the sample levitation hole 1. In this figure, the shape of the sample floating hole 1 is omitted for clarity.

When the holder 21 is negatively charged, for example, the wafer 10 held in non-contact is polarized. Therefore, it is considered that the surface of the wafer facing the sample holding surface of the holder 21 is positively charged and the back side thereof is negatively charged. Further, as shown in FIG. 10B, when the wafer floats between the upper and lower holders, the wafer held in a non-contact manner is positively charged by the induced charge on both the front and back sides.

In the holder 21 of this embodiment, an electrostatic field meter Model FM-
FIG. 11 shows the result of measuring the amount of charge on the charged wafer surface using 300 (manufactured by SIMCO, UK). FIG. 11 shows the sample levitation hole 1 to 20 liters / min and the suppression hole 2
Shows the time variation of the amount of electrostatic charge on the wafer when nitrogen is jetted at a flow rate of 10 liters / minute to levitate the wafer. The charge amount was measured on the upper surface of the wafer 10, that is, the back surface of the surface of the holder 21 facing the sample holding surface.

In the holder 21 of the present embodiment, as can be seen from the above measurement results, the amount of charge on the wafer before floating was almost zero, but the amount of charge on the wafer increased with the jetting of nitrogen for 40 seconds. Later, it became ± 1-2 KV. Further, it was found that the electric charge charged on the wafer was different depending on the material forming the holder 21. The charge was positive when the material forming the holder 21 was acrylic resin, but negative when using Teflon or vinyl chloride resin.

Even when the surface of the wafer was Si or SiO ₂ , there was no difference in the measured charge amount, its change over time, and charge.

The initial charging value of the holder 21 is 7.8 KV when the constituent material of the holder 21 is acrylic resin, -0.8 KV for Teflon, and -8.2 KV for vinyl chloride resin. Met.

Next, the magnitude of the restraint force for restraining the lateral displacement of the held sample in the holder of this embodiment will be described.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 12A, the holder 21 is tilted by an angle θ, and the floating hole 1 and the restraining hole 2 necessary for preventing the wafer from being laterally displaced in this state. The relationship of the nitrogen flow rate from was calculated (see FIG. 12B). The holder 21 here is made of vinyl chloride.

In the structure of the holder 21 of the present embodiment, the wafer 10 is about 50 by the gas ejected from the sample levitation hole 1.
0-1500 rpm. Therefore, the suppression force cannot be directly measured. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the suppression force is the weight of the wafer (0.0156 k) when the holder 21 is tilted.
g) lateral force, ie 0.0156
It is calculated as × g × sin θ. Here, g is the gravitational acceleration, which is 9.8 m / s ² . The results are shown in Figure 12B.

When the flow rate of the suppression hole 2 was zero, the wafer 10 was not displaced even if tilted by 0.5 °. From this fact, it is presumed that the suppression force by electrostatic force has 1.33 mN. When nitrogen gas is ejected from the suppression hole 1.
The position did not shift even when tilted by 5 °. That is,
The suppression force by the nitrogen jet of the suppression hole 2 has 2.7 mN,
A large force of 4.03 mN combined with the electrostatic force suppresses lateral displacement of the wafer 10.

The positions of the sample levitation hole 1 and the suppression hole 2 and the dimensions of the sample holding surface shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B, and 9C are the same, but the outer diameter of the holder is 200 mm, and The same measurement as in FIG. 12A was performed using a holder having a size larger than 125 mm in outer diameter. In the holder,
Ejection of nitrogen (floating hole: 20 liters / minute, suppression hole: 10
It was possible to hold the sample in a non-contact manner by (l / min), but the restraining force that restrains the position shift did not work, and once the position of the sample shifted, it did not return to the original position. .

Further, the holder 2 shown in FIG. 9A and the like.
11 using a holder made of a material (here, aluminum) having the same shape and size as that of 1 and having high electrical conductivity.
The wafer charge amount was measured as described above. With respect to the wafer held in non-contact with the holder made of aluminum, the time change of the charge amount could not be measured, and the initial value of the charge amount of the wafer was maintained. Further, the same measurement as in FIG. 12A was performed, but it was not possible to measure the restraint force that restrains the lateral displacement of the wafer.

From the relationship between the constituent material of the holder 20 and the restraining force as described above, an insulating material having a volume resistivity of 10 ¹⁴ Ωcm or more is used as a member that can be used as the constituent material of the holder. it can.

(3) Performance Evaluation According to the present embodiment, when a fluid is used as a gas, it is composed of a member having a sample holding surface of substantially the same size as the sample and charged by flowing a gas. The sample can be stably held in a non-contact manner by using the holding tool.

In this embodiment, as a component of the holder,
The case of using acrylic, Teflon, or vinyl chloride has been described, but the constituent members of the holder are not limited to these. In general, the holding member may be any member as long as it can be charged with a certain amount or more of electric charge when a gas is flowed along its surface. For example, an electrically insulating material is used. You can

Further, in the present embodiment, the sample holding surface of the holder was charged by the gas flowing to generate the Bernoulli effect, and the sample was charged by the electric effect thereof. An electrode or the like may be arranged on the surface to more positively charge the holder and the sample. With such a configuration, more stable non-contact holding can be realized.

The number of sample levitation holes 1 and suppression holes 2
The arrangement, drilling angle, and hole diameter are not limited to those shown in this embodiment. For example, the sample levitation hole 1 only needs to satisfy the condition of applying the rotational force without shifting the position of the sample 10. Specifically, the ejection forces of the fluids ejected from the plurality of sample levitation holes give moments of approximately the same magnitude with respect to the sample rotation center, and the vector sum of the ejection forces becomes approximately zero. It suffices that various hole conditions are set.

<Embodiment 5> This embodiment is an example of a fluid processing apparatus which, when a fluid is a liquid, holds the sample surface in a non-contact manner with the liquid that produces the Bernoulli effect and executes the treatment of the sample surface with the liquid. Is. Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given with reference to FIG. 13 showing a main configuration of the processing apparatus and FIG. 14 showing a configuration of the holder.

(1) Device Configuration The fluid processing device of this embodiment is for holding a semiconductor substrate wafer,
In addition to the holder 20 utilizing the Bernoulli effect as described in Examples 1 to 4 as described in Examples 1 to 4, the Bernoulli effect is generated and the sample 10 is suitable for the cleaning treatment. A cleaning liquid tank 70 and an ultrapure water tank 71 for storing a fluid for surface treatment, and a piping system for connecting these tanks 70, 71 and the holder 20 are included as a basic configuration.

The fluid processing apparatus of this embodiment has, in addition to the above basic structure, a processing tank containing the sample 10 and the holder 20, a drying apparatus for drying the sample 10, and a recovery apparatus for discarding or recovering the used cleaning liquid. , And a jig for carrying and delivering the sample 10. In the description of the present embodiment, the principle is mainly described, and thus these configurations are not shown in the drawing.

As the holder 20, for the reason described in each of the above-mentioned embodiments, a holder having a sample holding surface having substantially the same shape as the sample 10 is used. Further, the base portion forming the sample holding surface of the holder 20 is a disc made of polytetrafluoroethylene having a diameter of about 150 mm, and four fluid supply holes 31 having a diameter of 2 mm are formed in the central portion thereof.

Each fluid supply hole 31 is on the apex angle of a square as shown in FIG. 14A, and as shown in FIG. 14B, the jetted fluid has a velocity component in the tangential direction and rotates to the sample 10. In order to apply a force, the holder 20 is perforated at an inclination angle of 45 ° with respect to the sample holding surface.

Cleaning solution tank 70 and ultrapure water tank 71
Is a square tank made of polytetrafluoroethylene having a volume of 30 l, and the pipe 50 is connected to the side surface portion near the bottom portion. Inside the cleaning liquid tank 70, a heater (not shown) coated with a substance resistant to the chemical liquid is installed to bring the chemical liquid to a predetermined liquid temperature.

The piping system includes a fluid supply branch pipe 51 connected to each of the four fluid supply holes 31, a fluid supply pipe 50 'in which these are integrated, an opening / closing valve 52, and a switching valve capable of switching two pipes. 53, a cleaning liquid tank pump 60, and an ultrapure water tank pump 61.

In this embodiment, the sample holding surface of the holder 20 is limited to the one having substantially the same shape as that of the sample 10, but like the holder illustrated in the above Example 3 (see FIG. 6B). The material of the sample holding surface may be changed inside or outside the Bernoulli effective area. Further, the end face shape may be a shape as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B. Further, as illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, a groove, a recovery hole, and the like are provided on the sample holding surface of the holder, and a mechanism for more efficiently recovering the liquid ejected from the fluid supply hole 31 is provided. It may be configured.

Further, the number, position, arrangement and perforation angle of the fluid supply holes 31 are not limited to the above example, and for example, as shown in FIG. 15, a large number of perforations may be perforated on the sample holding surface of the holder 20.
Also, the drilling angle is not limited to 45 °, and is, for example, 3
It may be 0 ° to 90 °. Furthermore, the positional relationship between the holder 20 and the sample 10 may be reversed upside down. The supply of ultrapure water may be directly connected to the ultrapure water supply facility without using the ultrapure water tank 61.

(2) Description of Operation As shown in FIG. 13, the holder 20 of the present embodiment has a sample (6 inch Si wafer, diameter) indicated by a broken line at a position about 1 to 2 mm above the holder 20. 150 mm) 10
Is held in parallel in a non-contact manner at a position facing the sample holding surface of the holder 20.

In the fluid treatment method of this embodiment, first, the switching valve 53 is opened to the cleaning liquid tank 70 side, and then the valve 52 is opened to start supplying the cleaning liquid. The sample 10 is given a rotation speed by the jetting force of 2 liters / minute of the cleaning liquid from the fluid supply hole 31, and the rotation speed is about 50 in the arrow direction.
It is held in non-contact while rotating / mining.

At this time, a gas-liquid interface is formed between the end surface of the sample 10 and the end surface of the holder 20. Due to this gas-liquid interface, the sample 10 is stably held in non-contact with the holder 20, and the surface of the sample 10 facing the sample holding surface of the holder 20 by the liquid maintaining the gas-liquid interface. (Hereinafter referred to as the sample holding surface) is cleaned.

Next, when the switching valve 53 is opened to the ultrapure water tank 71 side and the supply of ultrapure water (2 liters / minute) is started, the ultrapure water is ejected from the fluid supply hole 31 and the sample 1
The holding surface of 0 is rinsed. At this time, the sample 10 is held in a non-contact state while being stably rotated as in the case of the above cleaning. In this embodiment, the rinsed sample 10 is
After drying with a spin dryer, the following performance evaluation was performed.

(3) Performance Evaluation According to the fluid processing apparatus of this embodiment, stable non-contact holding of the sample 10 can be realized. Further, the switching from the cleaning liquid to the rinse liquid in the cleaning process is also performed in the sample 10
It could be carried out satisfactorily without touching or detaching the holder 20. This means that once the liquid is filled between the sample 10 and the sample holding surface of the holder 20, even if the supply of the liquid is stopped, as long as an external force is not applied to the sample 10, This is because the filled liquid does not completely flow out due to the surface tension.

Further, the non-contact treatment ability according to this embodiment is superior to the conventional method as a result of cleaning the sample 10 intentionally contaminated with fine particles and a result of cleaning the sample intentionally contaminated with metal ions. Was confirmed. Hereinafter, the two types of processing will be described in detail.

(3-1) When a sample intentionally contaminated with fine particles was washed As sample 10, a 6-inch silicon wafer not surface-treated was used, and the concentration of silicon powder having a particle size of 0.2 μm was about 0.5%. It was prepared by immersing it in the aqueous hydrofluoric acid solution. By the above treatment, about 9000 pieces of silicon powder adhered to the wafer surface. The measurement of the fine particles was performed using a laser surface inspection device manufactured by Hitachi Device Engineering.

The cleaning liquid is an aqueous solution of ammonia water + hydrogen peroxide water, and the concentrations are about 0.5% by weight, about 2.5% by weight, and the liquid temperature is about 80 ° C., respectively.

FIG. 16A shows the cleaning time dependency of the silicon powder removal rate when the cleaning process is performed by the apparatus of this embodiment. For comparison, the results of well-known spin cleaning and immersion cleaning are also shown in FIG.

In the cleaning according to this embodiment, the holder 2
The cleaning liquid flows at a high speed through a minute gap between 0 and the wafer 10.
This is because the outflow rate of the cleaning liquid ejected from the fluid supply hole 31 becomes higher due to the Bernoulli effect. According to the treatment with the cleaning liquid flowing at such a high speed, the cleaning effect is physically and chemically enhanced, the cleaning speed is faster than the other two known methods, and more efficient cleaning can be realized.

(3-2) When a sample intentionally contaminated with metal ions was washed As sample 10, a liquid containing iron, copper, nickel, and chromium at predetermined concentrations was spun onto a 6-inch silicon wafer not surface-treated. It is made by coating. By the above processing,
On the wafer surface, each of the metal ions is approximately 10 ¹² atoms /
cm ^{2 It} adheres. The measurement of this attached metal ion is
The measurement was performed using a total reflection fluorescent X-ray analyzer manufactured by Technos.

The cleaning solution is an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid + hydrogen peroxide solution, and the concentrations are about 4.6% by weight and about 0.3% by weight, respectively.
The liquid temperature is about 80 ° C.

FIG. 16B shows the amount of metal ions adhering to the wafer 10 measured after cleaning for 3 minutes by the apparatus of this embodiment. For comparison, the figure also shows the measurement results of wafers cleaned by well-known spin cleaning and immersion cleaning.

According to the cleaning process of this example, no more than 5 × 10 ⁹ atoms / cm ² of metal ions were attached to the wafer after cleaning, and the results of spin cleaning and immersion cleaning were as follows. A higher removal rate of 99% or more could be realized.

According to the present embodiment, when a fluid is a liquid, a fluid treatment method and apparatus for holding the sample surface with the liquid in a non-contact manner with the Bernoulli effect is provided. You can

<Embodiment 6> In this embodiment, a fluid treatment method and a fluid treatment apparatus capable of continuously performing a washing treatment using a plurality of washing liquids and a drying treatment will be described. Hereinafter, a detailed description will be given with reference to FIG. 17 showing a configuration of a main part of the fluid treatment apparatus according to the present embodiment.

(1) Device Configuration The basic configuration of the device of this embodiment is as shown in FIG.
In addition to the configuration of the fifth embodiment, a second cleaning tank 70 ', a second cleaning tank pump 60', and a nitrogen gas cylinder 7 are provided in parallel with the cleaning liquid tank 70 and the ultrapure water tank 71.
It is configured by adding two. Further, in the present embodiment, the switching valve 53 used in the above-mentioned fifth embodiment is replaced with the switching valve 54 capable of switching to the four-system piping due to the addition of the tank.

Also in this embodiment, as in the case of the above-mentioned fifth embodiment, although not shown, in addition to the above-mentioned basic structure, the sample 1
0 and a holder 20 are included in the processing tank, a drying device for drying the sample 10, a collecting device for discarding or collecting the used liquid, a jig for carrying and delivering the sample, and the like.

(2) Description of Operation As shown in FIG. 17, in the holder 20 of this embodiment, the sample 10 is parallel to the sample holding surface of the holder 20 at a position about 1 to 2 mm above the holder 20. It is to be held in non-contact with.

In the fluid treatment method of this embodiment, first, the switching valve 54 is opened to the side of the first cleaning liquid tank 70, then the opening / closing valve 52 is opened, and the supply of the first cleaning liquid is started at, for example, 2 liters / minute. To do. As a result, the sample 10 is subjected to the non-contact stable holding by the Bernoulli effect and the first cleaning process of the holding surface of the sample 10 as in the case of the fifth embodiment.

Next, by sequentially switching the switching valve 54, as in the case of the first cleaning liquid, ultrapure water, a second cleaning liquid, and ultrapure water are supplied one after another as the fluid to be supplied. 10 holding surfaces are processed. The supply amount of each liquid is, for example, 2 liters / minute.

Finally, the switching valve 54 is switched to the nitrogen gas cylinder 72 side, nitrogen gas is supplied at, for example, 20 l / min, and the sample 10 after the final rinsing is dried.

According to the above processing, the surface of the sample 10 is kept in contact with the outside air without contacting the surface of the sample 10 with the rinse, the second cleaning, the rinse, and the drying performed by the same holder. It can be carried out continuously.

(3) Performance Evaluation The cleaning / drying performance of the apparatus of this example was evaluated under the following conditions.

As a sample 10, a 6-inch silicon wafer not surface-treated was dipped in a hydrofluoric acid aqueous solution containing silicon powder having a particle diameter of 0.2 μm and a concentration of about 0.5%.
It was produced by spin-coating a liquid containing iron, copper, nickel, and chromium in predetermined concentrations. By the above treatment, about 9000 pieces of the silicon powder and the metal ions of about 10 ¹² atoms / cm ² were attached to the surface of the wafer.

In contrast to the sample 10 intentionally contaminated as described above, in the present embodiment, an aqueous solution of ammonia water + hydrogen peroxide solution (concentration: about 0.5% by weight, respectively) was used as the first cleaning.
The treatment was performed for 3 minutes at about 2.5% by weight and a liquid temperature of about 80 ° C., and then rinsed with ultrapure water for 3 minutes. further,
As the second cleaning, an aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid + hydrogen peroxide solution (concentrations of about 4.6% by weight, about 0.3% by weight, respectively, and a liquid temperature of about 8% by weight)
The treatment was performed at 0 ° C.) for 3 minutes, followed by rinsing with ultrapure water for 3 minutes. Finally, drying with nitrogen gas was performed for 2 minutes.

According to the above-mentioned washing / drying treatment according to this embodiment, 99% or more of the silicon powder and metal ions adhering to the surface of the sample 10 were removed. Furthermore, the occurrence of a watermark, which is an indicator of poor drying, was not seen.

According to this embodiment, the sample can be stably held in a non-contact manner, and the contaminants adhering to the surface of the sample can be removed more efficiently and dried in a good state. did it.

<Embodiment 7> This embodiment is an apparatus in which the holder 20 described in Embodiment 6 is attached to the tip of the arm of a known transfer robot, and is held by the holder 20. The sample 10 that is carried can be transported and the sample 10 that is being held can be processed such as cleaning. Less than,
This will be described with reference to FIG.

(1) Apparatus Configuration As shown in FIG. 18, the apparatus of this example has a sample carrier 8
0, the transfer robot 90, and the holder 20. The vacuum chuck 83 is a sample carrier of another device.

The sample carrier 80 has four holding claws 81 for receiving the sample 10 indicated by the broken line in a base 82, and has a structure corresponding to the single-wafer processing. The transfer robot 90 is composed of a rotary pedestal 91, a column 92, and an arm 93, and has a configuration in which the pedestal 91 can be used as a rotation axis to rotate, for example, 180 ° or more and the arm 93 can be vertically moved. .

The holder 20 has the structure shown in the sixth embodiment and is attached to the tip of the arm 93 of the transfer robot 90 with the sample holding surface of the holder 20 facing downward.

In FIG. 18, only the main parts of the apparatus of this embodiment are shown, and the sample carrier 80, the vacuum chuck 83, the accessory parts of the transfer robot 90, the fluid supply mechanism, etc. are omitted. In this embodiment, the holder of Example 6 is used as the holder 20, but another holder to which the present invention is applied may be used.

(2) Description of Operation In this embodiment, first, the carrier robot 90 causes the holder 20 to move about 20 mm above the sample 10 on the sample carrier 80.
Move to the position. Next, in the same manner as in Embodiment 5 or 6 above, the holder 20 is supplied while supplying ultrapure water from the fluid supply hole (not shown in this figure) of the holder 20.
Is lowered to a position approximately 3 mm above the sample 10 and the sample 10
Hold Bernoulli.

When the sample 10 is held by the holder 20 by Bernoulli, the sample chuck of the sample carrier 80 is released, and the column 92 of the transfer robot 90 is raised to hold the sample 10 in a non-contact manner. Lift up. As a result, the sample 10 is also lifted together. At this time, even if the supply of the ultrapure water is stopped, the non-contact holding state of the sample 10 is maintained due to the surface tension of the ultrapure water.

The sample 10 is transferred to the vacuum chuck 83 together with the holding tool 20 by the vertical movement and rotation of the transfer robot 90, and then mounted on the vacuum chuck 83. In response to this operation, the vacuum chuck 83 is activated, and then the chuck 20 of the holder 20 is released by setting the ultrapure water supply amount of the holder 20 to 0.3 to 1.0 liter / min.

Next, the sample 10 held by the vacuum chuck 83 is processed by the holder 20. That is, by operating the switching valve, 3 at 2 liters / minute
A cleaning solution is supplied for cleaning for 1 minute, and then ultrapure water is supplied at 2 liters / minute for 2 minutes for rinsing. Finally, nitrogen gas is supplied for 2 minutes at 30 liters / minute to dry, and the vacuum chuck 83 is evacuated.

(3) Performance Evaluation In this embodiment, the holder 20 which produces the Bernoulli effect is produced.
Includes a non-contact holder for transporting the sample 10 and cleaning,
It was shown that it also serves as a processing holder for rinsing and drying.

The function as the non-contact holder is exerted because it has a stable holding action capable of withstanding the acceleration generated in the sample 10 by the vertical movement and rotation of the arm 93. Further, although the case where ultrapure water is supplied for non-contact holding is shown as an example, a configuration in which nitrogen gas is ejected may be used instead.

According to this embodiment, by adopting a system in which the Bernoulli holder made of a liquid and the liquid treatment apparatus are used in common, the volume of the apparatus can be greatly reduced. Further, if a method of stopping the supply of ultrapure water during holding or transportation of the sample is adopted, compared with the case of continuous supply, for example, under the processing conditions using a typical semiconductor substrate wafer, About 2 liters of ultrapure water can be saved per transportation.

The sample holders at the transfer source and the transfer destination are not limited to the above examples. Further, the operation function of the upper and lower holders is not limited to the above example, and the upper and lower holders may be interchanged. That is, the upper holding tool may be fixed, and the lower holding tool may be vertically movable.

The transport sequence and its set value are not limited to the above values. Further, the transfer robot is not limited to the type shown in the figure, and its drive mode and system are not limited as long as the above-mentioned transfer is possible.

<Embodiment 8> In this embodiment, one surface of a sample is treated by the method shown in the above Embodiment 5 or 6,
By treating the other surface with, for example, a spray method,
It is a device that enables simultaneous processing of both sides of a sample. Less than,
This will be described with reference to the perspective view of the apparatus of this embodiment shown in FIG.

(1) Device Configuration As shown in FIG. 19, the device configuration of the present embodiment is a spray.
Nozzle 40 and pipe 5 for connecting it to pipe 50
It is exactly the same as the sixth embodiment except that 1'is provided. The spray nozzle 40 is connected by a pipe 51 ′ branched from the liquid supply pipe 50 and is installed at a position facing the sample holding surface of the holder 20, and the liquid can be jetted to the back surface side of the sample 10. .

The fluid ejected from the spray nozzle 40 is the switching valve 5 attached to the pipes 50 and 51 '.
4. It can be arbitrarily selected by the open / close valve 52 '.

In FIG. 19, only the portion which briefly shows the features of this embodiment is shown. That is, only the holder 20, the spray nozzle 40, a plurality of fluid supply sources, a pipe system connecting these, and the sample 10 are shown, and a processing tank including the holder 20 is provided, a device for discarding or collecting a used liquid, and Jigs for carrying and delivering the sample 10 are omitted in this figure.

In this embodiment, the holder 20 and the spray nozzle 40 are connected to the same fluid supply source, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a separate fluid supply source may be connected to each. However,
In such a case, it is necessary to use a combination of treatment liquids that do not cause chemical reaction with each other.

The method of treating the surface (rear surface) opposite to the holding surface of the sample 10 (the surface of the holder 20 facing the sample holding surface) is not limited to the above-mentioned method. Method, brush scrubbing method, or Bernoulli treatment using the holder according to the present invention may be used. The method using the Bernoulli process will be described in the next embodiment.

(2) Description of Operation In the fluid treatment method of this example, the sample 10 was replaced with the sample of Example 5 described above.
After being held in non-contact with the holder 20 by the method shown in (1), the fluid is supplied from the spray nozzle 40 to the back surface of the holding surface of the sample 10. Thereby, each surface of the sample 10 is processed. The supplied fluid and its switching method can be the same as those shown in the sixth embodiment.

Fluids supplied from the spray nozzle 40 and the holder 20 may be of the same kind or of different kinds. However, when different types are used, it is necessary to use a combination in which the fluids do not chemically change.

(3) Performance Evaluation According to this example, the front and back of the sample 10 can be processed simultaneously. Furthermore, by appropriately selecting the configuration of the spray nozzle 40, the back surface of the sample 10 can be treated with a liquid that is jetted with strong energy such as ultrasonic waves, jet streams, and scrubs. Further, the ultrasonic vibrator may be attached to, for example, a holder to vibrate the liquid and the sample to further enhance the cleaning effect.

<Embodiment 9> In all of the above embodiments, only one holder was used, but in this embodiment, two holders are used and a wafer as a sample is sandwiched. , An example of an apparatus capable of simultaneously processing both surfaces of a wafer is shown. Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to FIGS. 20A and 20B.

(1) Device Configuration The part configuration of this embodiment uses two holders, and
Except that a vertical hole 32 is formed at the center of the fluid supply hole 31, it is exactly the same as the sixth embodiment. The two holders 20 and 20 'are arranged to face each other, as shown in FIG. 20A. In this embodiment, the upper holder 20 'is fixed and the lower holder 20 is movable.

Since the lower holder 20 is movable, the pipe connected to the lower holder 20 has a spiral structure as shown in FIG. 20A, and the pipe 56 is expanded and contracted within a desired range. Make it possible.

Note that in FIG. 20A, a portion that briefly shows the characteristics of this embodiment, that is, two holders 20 and 20 ',
The piping system connected to these is illustrated part way.
Further, in addition to the above configuration, a plurality of fluid supply sources, a mechanism for vertically moving the lower holder 20 and a power source thereof, and a processing tank including two holders, which are included in the present embodiment, are used. A device for discarding or recovering the liquid, a jig for carrying and delivering the sample 10 and the like are not shown.

The movable holder is not limited to the lower holder 20, but the upper holder 20 'may be movable or both the upper and lower holders may be movable.

The angle direction formed by the fluid supply hole (tilted hole) 31 for rotating the wafer 10 and the sample holding surface of each holder is
As shown in FIG. 20B, the upper and lower holders are arranged in directions opposite to each other. One of them is used to eject a fluid for starting the rotation of the wafer, and the other is used to eject a fluid for rotational braking.

The holding holes 20 and 20 'are provided with the above-mentioned inclined holes 3
In addition to 1, vertical holes 32 are formed respectively. The vertical hole 32 is arranged at the center of the sample holding surface of the holder.
The vertical hole 32 achieves the following two effects. First,
By injecting the fluid at the same time as the inclined holes 31, the fluid that tends to stay in the area surrounded by the four inclined holes 31 is easily moved. Second, by injecting the fluid alone,
While the fluid is ejected from the inclined hole 31 of the other holder, the Bernoulli holding of its own holder and the sample is maintained without applying a rotational force in the opposite direction to the sample.

The inclined hole 31 of the upper and lower holders in this embodiment
With the configuration of the vertical holes 32, the rotational state of the sample 10 can be arbitrarily controlled, which is extremely advantageous in practical use.

For example, according to an experiment using the apparatus shown in FIG. 20A, a 6-inch wafer is rotated at about 1100 rotations / minute by the nitrogen injection of 20 liters / minute from the lower holder 20. In such a state, the rotation of the wafer did not stop even if the valve 53 'of the lower holder 20 was closed, and it took 98 seconds to stop the rotation. However, open the valve 52 'of the holder 20',
By spouting 0 liter / min of nitrogen gas for 5 seconds, the rotation stop could be shortened to 21 seconds.

(2) Description of Operation In the fluid treatment method of this embodiment, first, the lower holder 20 is placed.
With the sample 10 retracted to a position where loading (installation) of the sample 10 is not hindered, the valve 52 is opened to supply nitrogen of 10 liters /
Minute injection is performed and the sample 10 is held in the upper holder 20 'in a non-contact manner. After that, the lower holder 20 is moved to a position facing the sample 10, and the sample 10 is installed so as to be sandwiched between the two holders. The sample 10 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow in the figure.

Next, a plurality of fluids are supplied from each liquid source to the above two holders, and the respective holding surfaces are processed. The liquid to be supplied and the switching method thereof can be the same as those shown in the sixth embodiment. At the end of the process, the gas source is switched on and the valves 52, 53,
53 'is opened, gas is supplied, and the sample 10 is dried.

Next, the valve 53 'is closed and the valve 5
2'is opened and the rotation of the sample 10 is braked and stopped. Next, the valve 53 is also closed, and the lower holding tool 20 is retracted to a position that does not interfere with sample unloading. Finally,
The valves 52, 52 'are closed and the sample 10 is unloaded.

In the above process, the same type of fluid may be supplied to the two holders or different types may be used. However, when different types are used, it is necessary to make a combination in which the fluids do not cause a chemical change.

(3) Performance Evaluation According to this example, the sample 10 was sandwiched between the two holders to freely control the rotation state of the sample and
Both sides can be processed simultaneously.

<Embodiment 10> In each of the above embodiments, the case where one holder or only one set is used and the processing is completed in the same holder has been described. In this embodiment, two pairs are used. An example of a fluid treatment device using the above holders and capable of being transported between the holders will be shown. Hereinafter, description will be given using a perspective view of the apparatus shown in FIG.

(1) Apparatus Configuration As shown in FIG. 21, the apparatus of this embodiment has a loading / unloading section 94, a sample holding section 95, and a cleaning / rinsing section 9.
6, a drying unit 97, and a transfer arm robot unit 98.

The loading / unloading section 94 has a sample table 80 in which four sample holding tabs 81 are planted. The loading / unloading unit 94 exchanges a sample with an external device (not shown) via the sample table 80.

The sample holding section 95 includes four sample holding claws 95c for holding the sample 10 and a drain port 95a for collecting the fluid ejected to the sample 10 when holding the sample 10. And a drainage tank 95b provided with.

The cleaning / rinsing unit 96 includes a cleaning tank 96a,
The holder 21 according to the present invention installed in the cleaning tank 96a.
With C and. The cleaning / rinsing unit 96 further has a liquid supply source (not shown) for the holder 21C, and a device for discarding or collecting the used liquid.

The holder 21C holds the sample above it, and is a cleaning Bernoulli holder having a plurality of fluid supply holes 31 formed therein. The fluid supply hole 31 is, for example, similar to the holder 20 of the fifth embodiment (see FIG. 13), the holder 21 so as to rotate the sample 10 to be held in one direction.
It is perforated so as to form a predetermined angle with the sample holding surface of C.

The fluid supply hole 31 is provided with a cleaning liquid and ultrapure water supply sources 70 (cleaning liquid tank), 71, as in the liquid supply system illustrated in the sixth embodiment (see FIG. 17).
It is connected to the (ultra pure water tank), and either of the liquids can be supplied by switching the valve 52.

The drying section 97 has a holder 21D which is a Bernoulli holder for gas. The holder 21D holds the sample above it, and has a built-in temperature raising device for increasing the temperature of the ejected gas.

The transfer arm robot section 98 has two arm robots 90a and 90b. One of the arm robots 90b is provided with the above-mentioned cleaning and fluid supply source 7 of ultrapure water.
A liquid Bernoulli holder connected to 0 and 71, and a holder 21B for holding the sample is attached below the holder. The arm robot 90b holds the sample 10 held by the holding tool 21B, the sample holding tab 95c of the sample holding section 95, the holding tool 21C for cleaning of the cleaning / rinsing section 96,
And, it can be moved to a position facing any one of the holders 21D of the drying section 97.

The other arm robot 90a is a Bernoulli holder for gas, which is connected to a nitrogen gas supply source not shown in the figure, and a holder 21A for holding a sample is attached below the Bernoulli holder for gas. Arm robot 90a
Holds the sample 10 held by the holder 21A from the sample table 80 of the loading / unloading section 94 to the sample holding claw 95c of the sample holding section 95, and the holder 2 of the drying section 97.
It is configured such that it can be transported from 1D to the sample table 80 of the loading / unloading unit 94. Holder 21A
Is a Bernoulli holder for gas having the same configuration as the holder 21D of the drying section 97.

The liquid supply source, the device for discarding or recovering the used liquid, the well-known drive device used for driving the transfer arm robot, and the like are incorporated in the lower part of the device of the present embodiment. It is not shown in FIG. 21 to clarify the features of the example device configuration. Further, a well-known transfer robot for transferring a sample to and from an external device of the load / unload unit 94, a cover for covering the entire device, and the like are omitted.

(2) Description of Operation (2-1) Cleaning / Rinse Step Sample 10 sent from an apparatus external to the apparatus of this example.
Are mounted on the sample table 80 of the loading / unloading unit 94. The sample 10 mounted on the sample table 80 is held in a non-contact manner by the gas holder 21A, and is held by the arm robot 90a.
Is carried to the sample holding section 95,
It is placed on the sample holding claw 95c.

After the holder 21A is retracted, the arm robot 9
It is held by the holder 21B for liquid attached to 0b, for example, by the method in Embodiment 7 (see FIG. 18).
After that, about 5% above the holder 21C located on the lower side for cleaning provided in the cleaning tank 96a of the cleaning / rinsing unit 96.
It is transported to the position of mm.

In the following description, in order to clarify the positional relationship of the plurality of holders included in the apparatus of this embodiment,
The holders 21A and 21B holding the sample below are called upper holders, and the holders 21C and 21D holding the sample above
Is called the lower holder.

Interlocking with the approach of the sample 10, the supply of the cleaning liquid is started from the lower holder 21C for cleaning and the holder 21B located on the upper side, and Bernoulli cleaning of both surfaces of the sample 10 is performed. This double-sided cleaning can be performed, for example, by the method of the above-mentioned Example 9 illustrated in FIG.

After cleaning, both upper and lower holders 21B, 2
The liquid supplied from 1C is switched to ultrapure water, and the rinse process is executed.

(2-2) Drying Step After the rinsing process is completed, the amount of ultrapure water supplied from the lower holder 21C is set as the amount for releasing the chuck, so that the lower holder 2
The chuck of 1C is released, and the sample 10 is held in a non-contact manner only by the upper holding tool 21B. Thereafter, the supply of ultrapure water from the upper holder 21B is also stopped, and when the arm robot 90b is operated and raised in this state, the sample 10 rises together while being held by the upper holder 21B.

This is because even if the supply of ultrapure water is stopped, the sample 10 is stably held by the upper holder 21B due to the surface tension of the liquid remaining at the interface between the sample 10 and the upper holder 21B. Is. Further, the arm robot 90b is operated to convey the sample 10 above the lower holding tool 21D for drying in the drying tank of the drying section 97.

When the sample 10 came to a position about 5 mm above the lower holder 21D for drying, heated nitrogen gas was ejected from the lower holder 21D, and at the same time from the upper holder 21B. An amount of ultrapure water for releasing the chuck of the sample 10 is supplied. As a result, the sample 10 becomes the lower holder 2
Held in 1D.

After the upper holding tool 21B is retracted from the drying section 97, the arm robot 90a is operated to move the upper holding tool 2b.
1A is moved above the sample 10 held by the lower holder 21D of the drying unit 97. Next, the upper holding tool 21A
Also, the hot nitrogen gas spraying to the sample 10 is started, and both surfaces are dried by the upper and lower holders 21A and 21D.

After the completion of drying, the sample 10 is held by the upper holder 21A, and then the arm robot 90a is operated to load the sample 10 onto the sample table 80 of the loading / unloading section 94.
And the series of processes for the sample 10 is completed.

(3) Performance Evaluation According to this embodiment, the upper holding tool 2 for cleaning / rinsing treatment is used.
Since 1B also serves as a jig for transporting the sample 10, it has an effect of reducing the volume of the entire apparatus and further an effect of completing the processing without exposing the wafer as the sample to the air. Further, the same effect can be obtained with the upper holding tool 21A having both functions of carrying and holding and drying. Further, by using a plurality of holders, the treatment liquid used as a fluid can be effectively collected and reused.

Furthermore, by connecting the apparatus of this embodiment to the front stage of, for example, a single-wafer type film forming apparatus or a single-wafer type heat treatment apparatus, pre-cleaning and post-cleaning required for film-forming processing or heat treatment are performed. The transport of the sample and the subsequent film forming process or heat treatment can be sequentially and continuously performed.

Similarly, by connecting the apparatus according to the present embodiment to the subsequent stage of, for example, a single-wafer type ion implantation process or a single-wafer type etching process, the ion plantation process or etching process and the subsequent process are performed. It can also be carried out sequentially and continuously.

Furthermore, by adopting the sample holding and processing apparatus according to this embodiment in the semiconductor device manufacturing process,
More processing steps can be single-wafer processing.
In particular, by performing the pre-cleaning with the device according to the present embodiment,
The waiting time from the pre-washing to the single-wafer processing is reduced and becomes constant. Therefore, according to the semiconductor manufacturing method to which the present invention is applied, the change over time in the surface during the main processing standby time is reduced and becomes constant, so that it is possible to reduce defects and characteristic variations due to the change over time.

In this example, the Bernoulli process was used for both sides of the sample in the cleaning / rinsing process, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the other side may be another cleaning means, for example, as shown in Example 8 above. It is also possible to adopt a configuration that uses simple spray cleaning. Further, although Bernoulli treatment with hot nitrogen gas is used as the method for drying the sample, the present invention is not limited to this, and other drying means such as spin drying may be used.

In the first to tenth embodiments described above, the apparatus for holding the sample in a non-contact manner or treating the fluid was described. However, the present invention is a sample transport method capable of transporting a circular or rectangular plate sample in a non-contact state. It can also be applied to a device.

The sample transport apparatus according to the present invention is shown in FIG.
2A to 22C, the rectangular or rectangular plate-shaped sample 10 is conveyed in the conveying direction 221.
A transport road surface 224 in which a plurality of fluid supply holes 31 are perforated
The holding table 20 having When the fluid is supplied to the fluid supply hole 31 to the holding table 20, the fluid is ejected along the direction 223, and the Bernoulli effect is generated between the sample 10 and the transport path surface 224.

With such a structure, the sample 10 is held on the transport path surface 224 in a non-contact manner while being movable in the transport direction. In this state, the sample 10 can be transported by ejecting the same or different fluid as the fluid supplied from the fluid supply hole 31 to the sample 10 along the direction 222.

Here, due to the meniscus formed between the sample 10 and the transport path surface 224, in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction 221, the sample 10 and the sample stage 20 as described in each of the above-described embodiments are separated. Suppressing force works to prevent displacement. Therefore, the sample 10 is stably transported on the transport path surface 224.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 23A and 23B, for example, a fluid supply hole 31 which is bored in the holding table 20 is bored at a predetermined angle with respect to the transport path surface 224, and the fluid supply hole 31 The sample 10 can be
It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a force for moving in the transport direction 221 is applied to transport the sample.

[0242]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, the first to fourth objects can be achieved. That is, by making the Bernoulli effective region of the Bernoulli holder have substantially the same shape as the sample, it is possible to provide a sample holding method and apparatus capable of stably holding the sample in a non-contact manner.

By using a desired fluid as the fluid used for holding the sample of the present invention, it becomes possible to treat the surface of the sample while holding it in Bernoulli without touching the air. A fluid treatment method and device can be provided. Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a highly clean and single-wafer type physical and chemical treatment with a fluid, and further, it is possible to realize a fluid treatment apparatus which can be miniaturized.

[0244]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is an explanatory diagram for explaining the principle of Bernoulli holding. FIG. 1B: Explanatory diagram for explaining the principle of Bernoulli holding.

FIG. 2A is an explanatory diagram illustrating a relationship between forces acting on a sample when Bernoulli holders are used above and below. FIG. 2B: A graph showing the relationship between each force acting on the sample and the distance between the upper and lower holders.

FIG. 3A: Explanatory diagram showing a meniscus when an upper and lower holder is used. FIG. 3B: Explanatory diagram showing a meniscus shift that occurs when the sample is laterally displaced in FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is an explanatory view showing a charged state of the sample held by the upper and lower holders when a gas is used. FIG. 4B: Explanatory diagram showing changes in the charging state that occur when the sample is laterally displaced in FIG. 4A.

FIG. 5A: Explanatory diagram illustrating a force acting on a sample when gas is ejected from a suppression hole. FIG. 5B: Explanatory diagram showing a change in the air flow from the suppression hole, which occurs when the sample is laterally displaced in FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is an explanatory view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a holder having substantially the same dimensions as a sample to which the present invention is applied, and a measuring mechanism of a restraining force acting on the held sample. FIG. 6B: A cross-sectional view showing an example of the configuration of a holder having the Bernoulli effective region of substantially the same size as the sample to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 6C: A graph showing the relationship between the amount of deviation and the restraining force acting on the sample held by the holder of FIGS. 6A and 6B. FIG. 6D: A graph showing the relationship between the holder diameter of the sample held by the holders of FIGS. 6A and 6B and the suppressing force that acts when the sample is displaced by 2 mm from the center.

FIG. 7A is a cross-sectional view showing an example (step) of an end face shape of a holder to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 7B: A sectional view showing another example (taper) of the end face shape of the holder to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 7C: A graph showing the magnitude of the restraining force in the holder shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.

FIG. 8A is a cross-sectional view showing an example of a sample holding surface shape of a holder to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 8B: A sectional view showing another example of the shape of the sample holding surface of the holder to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 9A is a side view showing a holder with suppression holes to which the present invention is applied and a sample held therein. 9B: Top view of the retainer of FIG. 9A. FIG. 9C: A perspective view of the holder of FIG. 9A.

10A is an explanatory view showing a charged state of a sample in the holder shown in FIG. 9A. FIG. 10B: Explanatory diagram showing a charged state of both surfaces of the sample in the upper and lower holders according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a graph showing a change over time in a charged state of a sample held by a holder according to the present invention, which is composed of different members.

FIG. 12A is an explanatory view showing a measuring method of a restraining force acting on a sample in a holder using a gas according to the present invention. FIG. 12B: A graph showing the relationship between the flow rates ejected from the suppression hole and the levitation hole when the sample of FIG. 12A can be held stably.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a main configuration of an embodiment of a holding and processing device according to the present invention.

FIG. 14A is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the shape of a sample floating hole (fluid supply hole) formed in the holder according to the present invention. FIG. 14B: a-a ', bb', c- showing the angle formed by the sample holding surface and the sample levitation hole in the holder shown in FIG. 14A.
c ', dd sectional view.

FIG. 15 is a top view showing an example in which a large number of sample floating holes are provided in the holder according to the present invention.

FIG. 16A is a graph showing a silicon powder removal rate by the holding processing apparatus of FIG. 13A. FIG. 16B: A graph showing the metal ion removal rate by the holding processing apparatus of FIG. 13A.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram showing a main configuration of an embodiment of a holding processing apparatus capable of performing a cleaning process and a nitrogen drying process according to the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing a main configuration of an embodiment of an apparatus capable of carrying, holding, and cleaning according to the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram showing a main configuration of an embodiment of an apparatus that enables Bernoulli retention and spray cleaning processing according to the present invention.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a main configuration of an embodiment of an apparatus capable of holding and processing upper and lower Bernoulli according to the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing a main part configuration of an embodiment of a multi-chamber apparatus using Bernoulli holding and processing according to the present invention.

FIG. 22A is a top view showing an example of a sample holding surface shape of a holder to which the present invention is applied. 22B: Side sectional view of the retainer of FIG. 22A. 22C: A front cross-sectional view of the holder of FIG. 22A.

FIG. 23A is a top view showing an example of a sample holding surface shape of a holder to which the present invention is applied. FIG. 23B: Side sectional view of the retainer of FIG. 23A.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Sample, 20-2
7 ... Retainer, 30-32 ... Fluid supply hole (sample floating hole),
40 ... Spray nozzle, 50, 50 '... Fluid supply pipe,
51 ... Fluid supply pipe branch pipe, 52 ... Open / close valve, 53 Three-way valve, 54 ...
Four-way valve, 55 ... Pressure reducing valve, 5
6 ... spiral type fluid supply pipe, 60, 60 '
… Pump, 70… (first) cleaning liquid tank,
70 '... second cleaning liquid tank, 71 ... ultrapure water tank,
72 ... Nitrogen cylinder, 80 ... Sample carrier, 81 ... Holding claw, 82 ... Base, 83 ... Vacuum chuck, 90 ... Transport robot, 91 ...
Rotating mount, 92 ... Support,
93 ... Arm, 94 ... Load / unload section,
95 ... Sample changing section, 95a ... Drainage port,
95b ... Drainage tank, 95c ... Sample holding claw, 96 ... Cleaning / rinsing section, 97
... Drying unit, 98 ... Transport arm robot unit.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI technical display location // B23Q 3/08 B23Q 3/08 Z (72) Inventor Satoshi Oka Yoshida Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture 292, Machi, Ltd. Production Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Haruo Ito 5-20-1, Kamisuihonmachi, Kodaira-shi, Tokyo Within Hitachi, Ltd. Semiconductor Division

Claims (43)

[Claims] 1. A sample holding method for holding a sample in a non-contact manner by utilizing the Bernoulli effect generated by flowing a fluid between a sample to be held and a sample holding surface facing the sample. The magnitude of the tension acting between the outer peripheral edge of the sample and the sample holding surface changes abruptly, the size of the region surrounded by the boundary formed on the sample holding surface is the size of the sample, A sample holder characterized by holding the sample in a non-contact manner by utilizing the Bernoulli effect on the sample holding surface having substantially the same configuration in a direction in which the displacement of the sample with respect to the sample holding surface should be suppressed. Method. 2. The sample holding surface according to claim 1, wherein when the sample is plate-shaped and the width in the direction in which the positional deviation is to be suppressed is Dmm, the sample holding surface is set in the direction in which the positional deviation is to be suppressed. The method for holding a sample is characterized in that the width at 1 is in the range of (D-8) mm to (D + 4) mm. 3. The sample holding surface according to claim 1, wherein the sample holding surface has a diameter within a range of (D-8) mm to (D + 4) mm when the sample has a substantially disk shape and a diameter of D mm. A sample holding method, characterized in that the sample holding method is a substantially circular shape. 4. The surface of the sample is treated in a non-contact holding state by utilizing the Bernoulli effect generated by flowing a fluid between the sample to be held and the sample holding surface facing the sample. In the fluid treatment method to The magnitude of the tension to be drastically changed, the size of the region surrounded by the boundary formed on the sample holding surface is in the direction of suppressing the positional deviation of the sample with respect to the size of the sample and the sample holding surface. The fluid treatment method is characterized in that the selected fluid is caused to flow through the sample holding surface having substantially the same structure to hold the sample in a non-contact manner and to perform treatment of the sample surface. 5. The sample holding surface according to claim 4, wherein when the sample is plate-shaped and the width in the direction in which the positional deviation is to be suppressed is D mm, the sample holding surface is arranged in the direction in which the positional deviation is to be suppressed. The method for treating a fluid is characterized in that the width at is within a range of (D-8) mm to (D + 4) mm. 6. The sample holding surface according to claim 4, wherein the sample holding surface has a diameter within a range of (D-8) mm to (D + 4) mm when the sample has a substantially disk shape and a diameter of D mm. A method for treating a fluid, which has a substantially circular shape. 7. A sample transport method for transporting a sample in a non-contact holding state by utilizing the Bernoulli effect generated by flowing a fluid between a sample to be held and a sample holding surface facing the sample. The sample holding surface forms a carrying surface extending in the direction of carrying the sample, and the magnitude of the tension acting between the outer peripheral edge of the held sample and the carrying surface is The size of the region surrounded by the boundary formed on the transport surface, which changes abruptly, and the size of the sample,
A sample transport method, comprising: transporting the sample in a non-contact holding state by the Bernoulli effect on the transport surface having a substantially same shape in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. 8. A sample having the sample holding surface, which holds the sample in a non-contact manner by utilizing the Bernoulli effect generated by flowing a fluid between the sample to be held and the sample holding surface facing the sample. In the holding device, the sample holding surface is surrounded by a boundary formed on the sample holding surface where the magnitude of the tension acting between the outer peripheral edge of the held sample and the sample holding surface changes abruptly. The sample holding device, wherein the size of the region is substantially the same as the size of the sample in the direction in which displacement of the sample with respect to the sample holding surface should be suppressed. 9. The width according to claim 8, wherein the sample has a width D in a direction in which the positional deviation should be suppressed.
In the case of having a plate shape of mm, the sample holding surface has a width (D−
8) A sample holding device which forms a surface shape within a range of 8 mm to (D + 4) mm. 10. The method according to claim 8, wherein when the sample has a substantially disc shape and a diameter of Dmm, the sample holding surface has a substantially circular shape, and the diameter thereof is
In the sample holding within the range of (D-8) mm to (D + 4) mm, using the dependency between the lateral displacement of the sample and the size of the sample holding surface obtained in advance by experiment, A sample holding device, wherein the sample holding device is determined according to a magnitude of a required restraining force for restraining lateral displacement of the sample. 11. The sample holding device according to claim 8, wherein when the fluid is a liquid, the sample holding surface is formed of a material surface having a critical surface tension smaller than the surface tension of the liquid. . 12. The material surface according to claim 8, further comprising a surface region surrounding the sample holding surface when the fluid is a liquid, the sample holding surface having a critical surface tension larger than a surface tension of the liquid. And a surface region surrounding the sample holding surface is formed of a material surface having a critical surface tension smaller than the surface tension of the liquid. 13. The sample holding device according to claim 8, wherein when the fluid is a gas, the sample holding surface is formed of an insulating material surface having a volume resistivity of 10 ¹⁴ Ωcm or more. 14. The sample holding device according to claim 13, further comprising a charging unit for charging the surface of the sample holding surface. 15. The fluid supply device according to claim 8, further comprising a fluid supply means for supplying the fluid, wherein the sample is rotated on the sample holding surface with a normal line direction of the surface of the sample being held being a rotation axis direction. The sample holding device is characterized in that a fluid supply hole for ejecting the fluid supplied from the fluid supply means to the surface of the sample is formed along a direction in which a rotational force for applying the fluid is applied. 16. The sample holding surface according to claim 15, wherein a plurality of the fluid supply holes are provided, and the ejection force of the fluid ejected from each fluid supply hole is relative to the center of rotation of the sample. The sample holding device, wherein the plurality of fluid supply holes are configured so that moments of substantially the same magnitude are given and the vector sum of the ejection forces is substantially zero. 17. The fluid supply means according to claim 15, wherein, in addition to the fluid supply holes, the fluid is supplied to the sample holding surface along a direction substantially coincident with a normal line direction of the surface of the sample. The sample holding device further comprising a fluid supply hole for ejecting the fluid onto the surface of the sample. 18. The fluid supply device according to claim 8, further comprising a fluid supply means for supplying the fluid, wherein the sample holding surface is provided with the fluid supplied from the fluid supply means at least in the vicinity of the center and the outer peripheral portion. A sample holding device, characterized in that a fluid supply hole for ejecting onto the surface of the sample is formed. 19. The fluid supply hole formed in the outer peripheral portion according to claim 18, wherein a plurality of fluid supply holes are formed, and the fluid ejected from the plurality of fluid supply holes to the sample is A sample holding device, characterized in that the fluid is jetted to the outer peripheral portion of the sample so as to generate a restraining force for restraining displacement of the sample. 20. When the fluid is a liquid according to claim 8, the sample holding surface has a gas-liquid interface formed between the flat main surface portion which produces the Bernoulli effect and the sample. The outer peripheral portion surrounding the main surface portion is located, and the distance from the surface of the sample at the outer peripheral end of the outer peripheral portion is greater than the distance from the surface of the sample in the main surface portion. A sample holding device characterized by the above. 21. The sample holder according to claim 20, wherein the outer peripheral portion has a taper structure such that a distance from the outer surface of the outer peripheral portion increases with the surface of the sample. apparatus. 22. When the fluid is a gas according to claim 20, the sample holding surface has a flat main surface portion which produces a Bernoulli effect and an outer circumference which surrounds the main surface portion corresponding to the outer edge of the sample. The sample holding device is characterized in that the outer peripheral portion has an inclined structure such that a distance from the sample surface decreases toward the outer side thereof. 23. When the fluid is a liquid according to claim 8, a groove is formed in the sample holding surface as a flow path for the liquid so as to extend in the radial direction from the vicinity of the center of the sample holding surface. A sample holding device characterized in that: 24. When the fluid is a liquid according to claim 8, the surface tension of the liquid is arranged on the sample holding surface so as to extend in the radial direction from the vicinity of the center of the sample holding surface. With a belt-shaped member having a large critical surface tension,
A sample holding device, wherein a flow path for the liquid is formed. 25. The sample holding device according to claim 23, wherein a plurality of liquid channels are radially formed on the sample holding surface. 26. The pair of sample holding surfaces are provided according to claim 8, the pair of sample holding surfaces are arranged at positions facing each other with a predetermined gap therebetween, and the sample is held in a non-contact manner therebetween. A sample holding device characterized by: 27. The distance between the pair of sample holding surfaces according to claim 26, wherein the distance from each surface of the sample to each sample holding surface closer to the surface is equal to 2.5 mm or less. A sample holding device, characterized in that: 28. The fluid supply means for supplying the fluid according to claim 26, further comprising: a fluid supply means for supplying the fluid, wherein the pair of specimen holding surfaces rotates the specimen about a rotation axis which is a direction normal to the surface of the specimen. Fluid supply holes for ejecting the fluid supplied from the fluid supply means to the surface of the sample are formed along the direction in which the rotational force for 2. The sample holding device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid supply holes are configured so that the directions of the rotational forces applied to the sample by the fluids ejected from the fluid supply holes are opposite to each other. 29. The sample sandwiched between the pair of sample holding surfaces and held in a non-contact manner by rotating the sample by a fluid jet from a fluid supply hole of the one sample holding surface, The sample holding device characterized in that the rotational speed of the sample is decelerated and braked by the fluid injection from the fluid supply hole of the sample holding surface. 30. Using the Bernoulli effect generated by flowing a fluid between a sample to be held and a sample holding surface facing the sample, the surface of the sample is treated in a non-contact holding state. In the fluid processing device, the sample holding means having the sample holding surface is formed, and a fluid for flowing the space between the sample holding surface and the sample to generate the Bernoulli effect and treating the sample surface is supplied. And a fluid supply means, wherein the sample holding surface is formed on the sample holding surface, in which the magnitude of the tension acting between the outer peripheral edge of the held sample and the sample holding surface changes abruptly. The size of the region surrounded by the boundary is substantially the same as the size of the sample in the direction in which the displacement of the sample with respect to the sample holding surface should be suppressed. 31. The sample according to claim 30, wherein the sample holding surface has a substantially circular shape, and the sample holding surface has a substantially circular shape when the sample has a substantially disk shape and a diameter of Dmm.
In the sample holding within the range of (D-8) mm to (D + 4) mm, using the dependency between the lateral displacement of the sample and the size of the sample holding surface obtained in advance by experiment, A fluid treatment apparatus, wherein the fluid treatment apparatus is determined according to a magnitude of a restraining force required to restrain lateral displacement of the sample. 32. The sample holding surface according to claim 30, wherein the sample holding surface is provided with a rotational force for rotating the sample with a normal line direction of the surface of the sample being held being a rotation axis direction. A fluid processing apparatus, wherein a fluid supply hole for ejecting the fluid supplied from the fluid supply means to the surface of the sample is formed. 33. The liquid supply means for supplying a liquid used in a liquid processing step of a sample to be held, and the gas used in a gas processing step of a sample to be held, to the fluid supply means. At least one of the gas supply means is included. 34. The fluid supply means according to claim 30, comprising a plurality of supply means for respectively supplying different fluids to each other, and the plurality of the plurality of supply means are provided in accordance with a process to be performed on the sample. The fluid processing apparatus further comprising a selecting unit that selects one of the supplying units and supplies the fluid from the selected one supplying unit. 35. The liquid supply means for supplying a liquid used in a liquid treatment step of a sample to be held, and the gas used in a gas treatment step of a sample to be held, to the plurality of supply means. At least a gas supply means for supplying is included, and the liquid processing step includes at least a cleaning step with cleaning water, and the gas processing step includes at least a drying step with a drying gas. Fluid treatment equipment. 36. The fluid treatment according to claim 35, wherein the liquid supply unit supplies at least one of pure water and a predetermined cleaning liquid, and the gas supply unit supplies nitrogen gas. apparatus. 37. The method according to claim 30, wherein the sample is held on the sample holding surface,
The fluid processing apparatus further comprising moving means for moving the position of the sample holding means. 38. The method according to claim 30, wherein the sample is held on the sample holding surface,
The fluid processing apparatus further comprising a processing unit that sprays a predetermined fluid to a surface of the sample on the back side of the surface facing the sample holding surface to process the back surface. 39. The pair of sample holding means is provided according to claim 30, and the sample holding surfaces formed on each of the pair of sample holding means are spaced apart from each other by a predetermined distance. The fluid treatment apparatus further comprising a supporting means for supporting the pair of sample holding means so as to be arranged at positions facing each other. 40. The pair of fluid supply means for supplying a fluid to each of the pair of sample holding means is provided, and the sample holding surface formed on each of the sample holding means is opposed to each other. The fluid processing apparatus further comprises a selection unit that selects a fluid to be supplied from each of the fluid supply units to each of the sample holding units in accordance with a process performed on each surface of the sample. 41. A plurality of sets of the sample holding means and a fluid supply means for supplying a fluid to the sample holding means are provided corresponding to a plurality of processing steps to be performed on the sample. A sample holding means, a fluid supply means, and a moving means for moving the arrangement positions of the sample holding means, further comprising a carrying means for carrying the sample between the plurality of sample holding means, The set of fluid supply means is for respectively supplying a fluid used in each of the plurality of processing steps, the transport means, according to the order of the plurality of processing steps,
A fluid processing apparatus, wherein the sample is conveyed between the plurality of sample holding means so that the sample is processed. 42. A fluid treatment method for treating a surface of a sample with a fluid, wherein a fluid selected according to a treatment to be performed on the sample is held at a position facing the sample and the sample. A fluid treatment method, wherein the sample is held in a non-contact state by performing a flow between the sample and the surface to cause the Bernoulli effect, and the sample surface is treated. 43. A plate-shaped sample whose surface is treated with a fluid, in which a fluid selected in accordance with a process to be performed on the plate-shaped sample is arranged at a position facing the plate-shaped sample. The surface treatment is performed by pouring it between the support surface and the Bernoulli effect, and the surface treatment is performed by the fluid treatment method according to any one of claims 4 to 6. Plate sample.