JPH0845889A - Cleaning apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a cleaning apparatus provided with pipes that will not be adversely affected by the restoring nature of the piping, by using resin pipes for the pipes for feeding and discharging cleaning liquid, and attaching retainers to the bends in the piping to retain its bent posture. CONSTITUTION:Pipes 35, 36, 37 are bent into a desired shape by thermoforming or the like before installation so that cleaning liquid can be circulated among containers and feed tanks as required. The bends 40 in the piping 35, 36, 37 are formed by bending the pipes 35, 36, 37, made of fluororesin, such as PTFE and PFA, at desired angles by thermoforming or the like. Each of retainers 50 consists of two halves 51, 52, and these halves are attached to the inside and outside of each bend 40 in the piping 35, 36, 37 in such a manner that they can be freely attached/detached. Thus the pipes will not return to the linear form even when they are heated.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a cleaning process in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device such as an LSI will be described. Conventionally, a cleaning apparatus has been used to remove contaminants such as particles, organic contaminants, and metal impurities on the surface of a semiconductor wafer. Among them, among them, the wet cleaning device is widely used because it can effectively remove particles and can perform batch processing.

In such a wet cleaning apparatus, a loading mechanism for loading a cassette containing, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers, a wafer transporting apparatus for transporting, for example, 50 semiconductor wafers loaded by the loading mechanism, and this wafer A plurality of cleaning processing tanks arranged to collectively clean the wafers transferred by the transfer device, and an unload mechanism for unloading the semiconductor wafers cleaned by each cleaning processing tank are configured. .

In each cleaning treatment tank, for example, sulfuric acid as a chemical solution for removing the photoresist on the semiconductor wafer, hydrogen peroxide solution as an activator, and a chemical solution for removing organic particles adhering to the wafer surface are used. Ammonia and hydrogen peroxide solution as an activator, HCl as a chemical solution for removing metal particles, and hydrogen peroxide solution as an activator, QDR (quick dump rinse)
And various cleaning liquids such as pure water for performing final rinse. Also, in each of these cleaning treatment tanks,
For example, a large number of pipes for circulating and supplying a chemical solution, pure water, or the like from a supply tank or the like are connected.

Pipes made of resin such as fluororesin are generally used as the pipes used in the above-mentioned cleaning apparatus from the viewpoint of corrosion protection against chemicals and rust prevention. Then, conventionally, such a resin pipe is appropriately connected using a joint such as an elbow to form a pipe between each cleaning treatment tank and its supply tank.

[0006]

However, when the pipe is constructed by connecting a large number of pipes using a joint such as an elbow, the connecting portion between the pipe and the joint is loosened and the cleaning liquid is discharged from there. There was a problem that leaked. Further, the pipe may come off the joint during long-term use. In addition, there is a problem that a joint such as an elbow is expensive, and the cost of the device increases due to the use of many joints.

On the other hand, in order to avoid the problems such as the leakage of the cleaning liquid and the increase in the cost of the apparatus as described above, the use of the joint is reduced as much as possible, and the pipe is bent into a desired shape by, for example, thermoforming. Is desirable. However, the chemical liquid or pure water filled in each of the cleaning treatment tanks may be heated to a high temperature in order to enhance the cleaning efficiency. Therefore, when the pipe is formed by a thermoformed pipe, the heat of the cleaning liquid causes the pipe to flow. Is heated and tries to restore the original linear shape. When the pipe is restored to its original linear shape in this way, a problem occurs in which the pipe or a connecting portion between the pipe and each cleaning treatment tank is abruptly stressed and the cleaning liquid leaks.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning device provided with a pipe which is not adversely affected by the restoring property of the pipe.

[0009]

According to the present invention, there is provided one or more cleaning tanks filled with a cleaning liquid for cleaning an object to be processed, and the cleaning liquid to be supplied to the cleaning tank is supplied. A cleaning device in which a pipe for discharging is provided, the pipe is made of a resin pipe, and a holder for holding the bent posture is attached to a bent portion of the pipe. Will be provided.

The cleaning device can further have the following features. -The resin pipe is made of fluororesin. -The above-mentioned holder is composed of two or more holder pieces for holding the bent posture of the pipe and a stopper for maintaining the state where the two or more holder pieces are attached to the pipe. The holding tool is composed of two or more holding tool pieces for holding the bent posture of the pipe, and the holding means has an engaging means for keeping the two or more holding tool pieces mounted on the pipe. Formed in one piece.

[0011]

In the cleaning apparatus of the present invention, for example, various pipes for connecting each cleaning treatment tank and its supply tank,
A pipe made of resin is formed by bending it into a desired shape by, for example, thermoforming, and connecting it, and a joint such as an elbow is not used as much as possible. Then, a holder is attached to the bent portion of the pipe to hold the bent posture. Therefore, according to the present invention, even if the pipe is warmed by the heat of the cleaning liquid, it is possible to prevent the pipe from being restored to the original linear shape by the holder, and the pipe configuration in the cleaning device can be favorably maintained. become.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on a cleaning apparatus 1 for cleaning an object to be processed W such as a semiconductor wafer. As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning apparatus 1 is roughly classified into a carry-in section 2 for loading a pre-cleaning target object W together with a carrier C, a cleaning processing section 3 for cleaning the target object W, and a cleaning section. The carrying-out section 4 is provided for taking out the processed object W together with the carrier C.

The carrying-in section 2 aligns the carrier 5 on which a carrier C having a predetermined number, for example, 25, of the objects W to be cleaned is loaded and mounted, and the carrier C on which the carrier C is mounted. A transfer device 7 for transferring to the section 6 is provided. Three transfer devices 11, 12, and 13 are arranged on the front side (front side in FIG. 1) of the cleaning processing unit 3, and each of the transfer devices 11, 12, and 13 has a wafer chuck 14,
15 and 16 are provided respectively. The wafer chuck 14 of the transfer device 11 collectively takes out 50 objects W to be processed from the two carriers C carried into the aligning section 6, and then appropriately transfers the objects W to the cleaning processing tanks 21 to 29. To do.

The carry-out section 4 has a placing section 8 having substantially the same configuration as the placing section 5, an unillustrated aligning section having the same configuration as the aligning section 6, and a configuration similar to that of the transfer device 7. Each transfer device (not shown) is provided.

The cleaning processing unit 3 has, in order from the mounting unit 5 side,
A chuck cleaning / drying processing tank 21 for cleaning and drying the wafer chuck 14 of the transfer device 11, and a chemical solution for cleaning impurities such as organic contaminants, metal impurities, and particles adhered to the surface of the object to be processed W with a chemical solution. Cleaning tank 2
2. Two water washing treatment tanks 2 for washing the object W washed in the chemical liquid washing treatment tank 22 with, for example, pure water
3, 24, a chemical solution cleaning treatment tank 25 for performing a cleaning treatment with a chemical solution different from the chemical solution in the chemical solution cleaning treatment tank 22, and two treatments for cleaning the object W cleaned in the chemical solution cleaning treatment tank 25 with, for example, pure water. Washing and washing treatment tanks 26, 27, a chuck washing / drying treatment tank 28 for washing and drying the wafer chuck 16 of the transfer device 13, and an object W to which impurities have been removed
A drying treatment tank 29 is provided for steam-drying, for example, with IPA (isopropyl alcohol).

The cleaning treatment tanks 21 to 29 have basically the same constitution, and the constitution of the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25 will be described below as a representative thereof. As shown in FIG. 2, the chemical cleaning treatment tank 25 has a structure in which an overflow container 31 is attached around a container 30 made of, for example, quartz. A supply tank 32 containing an alkaline chemical liquid such as ammonia or an acidic chemical liquid such as HCl is disposed above the container 30, and a new cleaning liquid 33 filled in the supply tank 32 is provided with a valve 38.
Is supplied into the container 30 through a pipe 37 made of a fluororesin such as PTFE or PFA. Further, from the bottom surface of the container 30, the pump 34 is operated to heat the chemical solution heater 45 and the filter 4
The cleaning liquid 33 filtered in 6 is, for example, PTFE or PFA.
It is supplied through a pipe 35 made of fluororesin or the like. Then, the object W to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer is cleaned in the container 30 by utilizing the chemical reaction action of the cleaning liquid 33. The cleaning liquid 33 thus cleaned by the chemical reaction overflows from the upper end opening of the container 30 and is received by the overflow container 31. For example, PTFE or P
It is returned to the pump 34 via a pipe 36 made of fluororesin such as FA.

The pipes 35, 36, and 37 are bent and formed into a desired shape by thermoforming, for example, and are configured to appropriately circulate the cleaning liquid 33 between the container 30 and the supply tank 32. There is. FIG.
It is drawing which expanded and showed the bending part 40 of these pipes 35, 36, 37, and this bending part 40 is PT, for example.
Pipe 3 made of fluorocarbon resin such as FE and PFA
5, 36 and 37 are bent at a desired angle by thermoforming or the like. However, the chemical cleaning tank 25
In many cases, the cleaning liquid 33 filled in, for example, is heated to, for example, about 50 to 80 ° C. in order to improve the cleaning efficiency, and when such heated cleaning liquid 33 is circulated in the pipe 35 or the like, The heat heats the pipe 35 and the like, and the bent portion 40 tries to restore the original linear shape 41.

Therefore, in the present invention, by mounting a holder for holding the bent posture on the bent portion of the pipe, the pipe is prevented from restoring its original linear shape, and the cleaning device It is configured so that the internal piping configuration can be maintained well. Below, the specific example of the holder suitably used for the washing | cleaning apparatus of this invention is demonstrated.

As shown in FIG. 4, the holder 50 is a pipe 3
It can be configured by two holder pieces 51 and 52 which are detachably attached to the inside and the outside of the bent portions 40 of 5, 36 and 37, respectively. The shapes of the inner surfaces (the surfaces that contact the bent portion 40) of the holder pieces 51 and the holder pieces 52 are configured to match the inside and the outside of the bent portion 40, respectively. Holder pieces 51, 52
Can be made of various materials such as resin, plastic, metal, wood, ceramic, etc. However, resin, plastic, ceramic and the like are preferable in consideration of moldability and corrosion resistance.

As shown in FIG. 5, these holder pieces 51,
The holder pieces 51, 52 are attached to the inside of the bent portions 40 of the pipes 35, 36, 37 and outside thereof, respectively.
By fitting the ring-shaped stoppers 53, 54 to the outside of the holder, the holder pieces 51, 52 are connected to the pipes 35, 3
It is possible to maintain the state of being attached to 6, 37. In addition, the stopper 5 is attached to the outside of the holder pieces 51 and 52 in this way.
In order to hold the state in which the parts 3 and 54 are fitted together, for example, by forming the protrusion 55 on the one holding piece 52 as shown in FIG. 6, the stoppers 53 and 54 are abruptly detached. It is desirable to have a configuration that prevents this.

In this way, the holder pieces 51, 52 are connected to the pipe 3
It is possible to maintain the posture of the bent portion 40 by mounting the fasteners 53 and 54 from the outside and mounting the pipes 35, 36 and 37 to the original straight line. Although it is possible to prevent an attempt to restore the shape, the embodiment described above has the stopper 5
Since the rings 3, 54 are formed in a ring shape, when they are fitted to the outside of the holder pieces 51, 52, they must be attached through the stoppers 53, 54 from the ends of the pipes 35, 36, 37. I won't. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, a band 56, such as a bundle band, is provided on the outside of the holder pieces 51 and 52 attached to the bent portions 40 of the pipes 35, 36, and 37, for example. The holder piece 5 is wound around the holder 56 and the tip portion 57 of the band 56 is engaged with a stopper portion 58 provided at the rear end of the band 56.
Such a problem can be eliminated by adopting a configuration in which the fasteners 1, 52 are fixed around the bent portions 40 of the pipes 35, 36, 37. It should be noted that if the band pieces 59 are formed in the holder pieces 51 and 52 as shown in the figure, and the band 56 is passed through the band pieces 59 when the holder piece pieces 51 and 52 are mounted, the band 56 is unexpectedly inserted. It can be prevented from coming off.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, holder pieces 51, 5
Of course, 2 can have a rectangular configuration. The holder pieces 51 and 52 thus configured in a rectangular shape are shown in FIG.
The bent portion 4 of the pipe 35, 36, 37 as shown in FIG.
The posture of the bent portion 40 can also be maintained by mounting around the 0 and fitting the stoppers 60, 60 to the outside thereof, and the restoration of the pipes 35, 36, 37 can be prevented. In addition, the stopper 60 of this embodiment is the holder piece 5.
It is needless to say that it is configured in a rectangular tube shape so as to match the outer shape of 1, 52, but in addition, a band-shaped stopper such as a bundled band as described above with reference to FIGS. The holder pieces 51, 52 may be tightened and fixed from the outside by using them.

Next, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 11, an engaging projection 62 and a stopper portion 63 are formed on a holder piece 51 mounted inside the bending portion 40, while it is mounted outside the bending portion 40. The holding piece 52 has an engaging projection 64 and a stopper portion 65. In this embodiment, the engaging protrusion 62 of the holder piece 51 is engaged with the stopper portion 65 of the holder piece 52, and the engaging protrusion 64 of the holder piece 52 is used as the stopper of the holder piece 51. Part 63
It is possible to combine the holder pieces 51 and the holder pieces 52 by engaging them with each other. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the pipe 35 is formed by the holding piece 51 and the holding piece 52 which are combined by the engagement of the engaging projection 62 and the stopper portion 65 and the engagement of the engaging projection 64 and the stopper portion 63. It is possible to maintain the posture of the bent portions 40 of the Nos. 36, 37 and there is an advantage that no special stopper is required.

Further, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 12, only the stopper portion 66 is formed on the holder piece 51 mounted inside the bent portion 40, and the holder piece 52 mounted outside the bent portion 40. Alternatively, only the engaging protrusion 67 may be formed. According to this embodiment, the pipes 35, 3
When attaching the holder pieces 51, 52 to the bent portions 40 of 6, 37, it is only necessary to engage the engaging protrusion 67 with the stopper portion 66, which is advantageous in that the attaching operation is simple. Note that, contrary to the one shown in the drawing, the holder piece 51
It goes without saying that only the engaging protrusions may be formed on the holder and only the stopper portion may be formed on the holder piece 52.

Thus, in any of the above-described embodiments, the holder pieces 51, 52 are connected to the pipes 35, 36, 3 respectively.
By mounting it on No. 7, it is possible to maintain the posture of the bent portion 40, and it is possible to prevent the pipe 35 or the like having a high temperature from trying to restore its original linear shape. In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the holder is composed of the two holder pieces, the holder may be composed of three or more holder pieces. Further, although the case where the embodiment of the present invention is applied to the cleaning processing tank in the semiconductor wafer cleaning apparatus has been described, the present invention is not limited to this, and includes a cleaning tank filled with a cleaning liquid for cleaning an object to be processed. It is also applicable to other general cleaning devices, and other devices such as a pure water heating device and a chemical liquid heating device provided as a unit separate from the cleaning device.

[0026]

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to prevent the pipe, which has been heated to a high temperature, from trying to restore its original linear shape due to the holder piece mounted on the bent portion. According to the present invention, the pipe for supplying and discharging the cleaning liquid to and from the cleaning treatment tank can be formed by bending the pipe into a desired shape by, for example, thermoforming, and thus is widely used in conventional pipes. It is possible to reduce the number of joints such as elbows as much as possible, and it is possible to avoid problems such as leakage of cleaning liquid and soaring device costs.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cleaning processing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a drawing showing a simplified piping configuration of a cleaning treatment tank.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the bent portion of the pipe.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of two holder pieces constituting the holder according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a view showing a state in which the holder of the embodiment of the present invention is attached to a bent portion of a pipe.

FIG. 6 is a view showing an embodiment of a holder having a protrusion formed thereon.

FIG. 7 is a drawing showing an embodiment of a holder configured to be tightened and fixed from the outside by using a band-shaped stopper.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along arrow of FIG. 7A-A.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a holder having a rectangular configuration.

FIG. 10 is a drawing showing a mounting state of the holder of the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a holder in which an engaging projection and a stopper portion are formed on both of the holder pieces.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a holder in which an engaging projection is formed on one side of the holder piece and a stopper portion is formed on the other side.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Object to be treated 33 Cleaning liquid 25 Cleaning tank 35, 36, 37 Piping

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. One or more cleaning tanks filled with a cleaning liquid for cleaning an object to be processed, and a pipe for supplying and discharging the cleaning liquid filled in the cleaning tank are provided. A cleaning device in which the pipe is made of a resin pipe, and a holder for holding the bent posture is attached to the bent portion of the pipe. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the resin pipe is made of a fluororesin. 3. The holder comprises two or more holder pieces for holding the bent posture of the pipe, and a stopper for keeping the two or more holder pieces attached to the pipe. Item 3. The cleaning device according to item 1 or 2. 4. The holder comprises two or more holder pieces for holding the bent posture of the pipe, and an engagement means for keeping the two or more holder pieces mounted on the pipe. 4. The holding piece is formed with
The cleaning device according to any one of 1.