JPH10125640A - Apparatus and method for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus and a method for treating substrates, wherein almost all the areas on the front side and underside of a substrate will be cleaned well. SOLUTION: A wafer W is clamped between end face support hands 31, 32, and then the front side and underside of the wafer W are scrubbed by a double side brushing device 40. After the completion of the first scrub, the wafer W is released from the clamp by the end face support hands 31, 32 and is turned through approx. 90 deg. by a rotary chuck 50. Thereafter, the end face support hands 31, 32 clamp the wafer W again, and the front side and underside of the wafer W is subjected to the second scrub by the double side brushing device 40. Thereby a pair of boat-shaped areas, that has remained unscrubbed after the first scrub, are cleaned during the second scrub.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus and a method for processing various kinds of substrates such as semiconductor wafers and glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or a liquid crystal display device, if necessary, a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as a "wafer") or a glass substrate may be brushed or sponged. The scrub cleaning process is performed by the scrub member. 1 for cleaning the wafer
One prior art is shown in FIG. That is, in the configuration of the related art, the spin vacuum chuck 1 that can hold the wafer W by vacuum-sucking the back surface of the wafer W and rotate in that state is used. The surface of the wafer W is scrub-cleaned by a revolving brush device. That is, the cleaning brush 2 is disposed above the spin vacuum chuck 1. The cleaning brush 2 is attached to the tip of a swing arm (not shown). Then, while rotating, the cleaning brush 2 revolves due to the swing of the swing arm, and repeatedly scans the rotating wafer W from the center toward the peripheral edge. Thereby, scrub cleaning of the surface of wafer W is achieved.

However, in this prior art, the central portion of the back surface of the wafer W is sucked by the spin vacuum chuck 1, so that it is impossible to clean the central portion of the back surface of the wafer W, and
Since the wafer W is in contact with the center of the back surface, there is a problem that contamination of the center of the back surface of the wafer W cannot be avoided. Another prior art for cleaning a wafer is shown in FIG. In this conventional technique, the support of the wafer W is achieved by the end faces of the wafer W being sandwiched by a pair of end face support hands 5 and 6. Then, the surface of the wafer W is scrub-cleaned by the self-revolving brush device having the cleaning brush 4 similarly to the conventional technique of FIG.
The back surface of the wafer W is scrub-cleaned by the back surface brush 7.

According to this prior art, unlike the prior art shown in FIG. 9, there is no problem of contamination of the central portion of the back surface of the wafer W. However, there is another problem that scrub cleaning of the peripheral portion of the wafer W cannot be performed due to the necessity of avoiding mechanical interference between the end face supporting hands 5 and 6 and the cleaning brush 2. On the other hand, one conventional technique for cleaning a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device is shown in FIG. In this conventional technique, substrate supporting pins 11 for supporting the back surface of a glass substrate S are provided.
A spin chuck 15 having a configuration in which a pair of corner pins 12 provided at positions corresponding to four corners of a glass substrate S and standing on a chuck body 13 is used. Then, the spin chuck 15 is driven to rotate, and the surface of the glass substrate S is scrub-cleaned by a rotating and revolving brush device having the cleaning brush 14.

However, in this prior art, it is necessary to avoid mechanical interference between the corner pins 12 and the cleaning brush 14, so that the scrubbing of the peripheral portion of the glass substrate S cannot be performed. There is a similar problem. Another conventional technique for cleaning a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device is shown in FIG. In this prior art, an edge supporting roller 2 for transporting a glass substrate S while nipping the edges near a pair of side edges of the glass substrate S from above and below.
1 is used. A pair of roll brushes 22 are arranged above and below the glass substrate S held by the edge support rollers 21 so as to be orthogonal to the direction in which the glass substrate S is transported. Therefore, scrub cleaning of the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate S is achieved by driving the roll brush 22 to rotate around each axis 22a while transporting the glass substrate S by the edge support rollers 21.

In this prior art, a roll brush 22 having a length that covers the entire width of the glass substrate is used, and the arrangement of the roll brush 22 and the edge support roller 21 is shifted along the transport direction of the substrate S. The entire area of the front and back surfaces of the glass substrate S can be scrub-cleaned. However, at the edges along the pair of side edges of the glass substrate S, contamination occurs due to the contact of the edge support roller 21, and thus there is a problem that cleaning at these portions becomes insufficient.

As shown in FIG. 13, a plurality of rotating brushes 25 can be fixedly installed on the front and back sides of the glass substrate S, for example, in a staggered arrangement. However, this does not necessarily solve the problem of contamination by the edge support roller 21.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method which can solve the above-mentioned technical problems and can satisfactorily clean almost the entire front and back surfaces of a substrate. To provide.

[0009]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding means for holding a substrate at an end face of the substrate, and the substrate holding means. A rotary chuck that is arranged at a position corresponding to one surface side of the sandwiched substrate and that can rotate while holding the substrate, and a double-side cleaning that scrubs the front and back surfaces of the substrate sandwiched by the substrate clamping unit Means, a rotating means for rotating the rotary chuck by a predetermined angle, a vertical moving means for relatively moving the substrate holding means and the rotary chuck up and down, the substrate holding means and the double-sided cleaning And a horizontal movement means for relatively horizontally moving the means.

According to this structure, the holding of the substrate is achieved by sandwiching the substrate at the end face. Therefore, contamination of the front and back surfaces of the substrate does not occur. Also,
The front and back surfaces of the substrate are scrub-cleaned by the double-sided cleaning means by relatively horizontally moving the substrate holding means and the double-sided cleaning means. If it is necessary to avoid mechanical interference between the double-sided cleaning means and the substrate holding means when scrub-cleaning the substrate by the double-sided cleaning means, an uncleaned area is generated after one scrub cleaning. Therefore, after one scrub cleaning is completed, the holding of the substrate by the substrate holding means is once released, the substrate is rotated by a predetermined angle by the rotating chuck, and then the scrub cleaning is performed again. Scrub cleaning can be achieved. If an uncleaned area remains after two scrub cleanings, the rotation of the substrate and the scrub cleaning may be repeated in a similar manner. The transfer of the substrate between the substrate holding means and the rotary chuck can be performed by moving the substrate holding means and the rotary chuck relatively up and down.

The above-mentioned predetermined angle when the substrate is rotated may be appropriately determined so that the uncleaned area is sufficiently cleaned by the scrub cleaning after the rotation. Good. The invention according to claim 2, wherein the substrate holding means, the rotary chuck, the double-sided cleaning means,
Each of the rotating means, the vertical moving means, and the horizontal moving means is provided one by one, and the horizontal moving means reciprocates the double-sided cleaning means horizontally with respect to the substrate holding means. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:

According to this configuration, since the double-sided cleaning means is horizontally moved, the scrub cleaning of the substrate can be repeatedly performed by one double-sided cleaning means. Therefore, since only one substrate holding means, one rotating chuck, one rotating means, one vertical moving means and one horizontal moving means are sufficient, space saving of the apparatus is realized. The invention according to claim 3 is a first substrate clamping step of clamping the substrate by the end face of the substrate, a first double-side cleaning step of scrub-cleaning the front and back surfaces of the substrate during the period in which the substrate is clamped by the end face, After the completion of the first double-side cleaning step, a substrate releasing step of releasing the holding of the substrate held in the first substrate holding step, a substrate rotating step of rotating the released substrate by a predetermined angle, and a rotation of the predetermined angle A substrate processing method comprising: a second substrate holding step of holding the cut substrate again at an end face thereof; and a second double-side washing step of scrubbing the front and back surfaces of the held substrate again.

According to this method, almost all areas of the front and back surfaces of the substrate can be scrub-cleaned as described in relation to the first aspect. It is preferable that a cleaning liquid supply step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the front surface and the back surface of the substrate is further included during a period in which the scrub cleaning of the substrate is performed.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 are conceptual diagrams showing a basic configuration of a wafer cleaning apparatus as a substrate processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.
This wafer cleaning apparatus is for scrub cleaning the front and back surfaces of the wafer W while holding the wafer W horizontally. FIG. 1 shows an outline of a configuration viewed from above, and FIG. Shows an outline of the configuration viewed from the front (the direction of arrow II in FIG. 1).

This apparatus comprises a pair of end face support hands 31, 32 for holding the wafer W in contact with the end faces thereof.
(Substrate holding means), a double-sided brush device 40 (double-sided cleaning means) for scrubbing the front and back surfaces of the wafer W supported by the end surface support hands 31 and 32, and the wafer W can be held horizontally. The wafer W held horizontally is moved about 9 mm around a vertical axis passing through the center thereof.
And a rotary chuck 50 for rotating by 0 degrees.

The pair of end surface support hands 31 and 32 are formed on a support surface 31 curved in an arc shape corresponding to the end surface shape of the wafer W.
a, 32a. And each support surface 31a, 3
End face support hands 31, 32 are arranged so that 2a faces each other. The end face support hands 31 and 32 are configured to be displaceable in a direction approaching the center of the wafer W and in a direction away from the center of the wafer W, respectively. Accordingly, the wafer W can be held between the pair of end surface support hands 31 and 32, and the holding of the wafer W can be released. Such an end surface support hand 3
Hand driving mechanism 33 for driving the end face supporting hands 31 and 32 in order to realize the approach / separation displacement of the end faces 1 and 32
Is provided.

The double-sided brush device 40 includes an upper roll brush 41 for scrubbing the front surface of the wafer W and a lower roll brush 42 for scrubbing the back surface of the wafer W.
And Upper roll brush 41 and lower roll brush 42 (hereinafter collectively referred to as “roll brush 4
1, 42 ". ) The length L is the end face support hand 3
In order to avoid interference with the hands 1 and 32, the distance D between the hands 31 and 32 holding the wafer W is shorter than the distance D. The shaft 41a of the upper roll brush 41 is horizontally arranged along the direction in which the pair of end face support hands 31, 32 are arranged. The shaft 42a of the lower roll brush 42
The shaft 4 immediately below the shaft 41a of the upper roll brush 41
1a are arranged in parallel. On the shafts 41a and 42a,
The brush rotating mechanism 43 is connected, and thereby the roll brushes 41 and 42 are respectively driven to rotate forward and backward. At the time of scrub cleaning, as described later, the upper roll brush 41 and the lower roll brush 42 rotate in directions opposite to each other.

In relation to the roll brushes 41, 42, these pair of roll brushes 41, 42 are connected to shafts 41a, 42a.
And a brush transport mechanism 44 (horizontal moving means) for simultaneously transporting in the horizontal direction intersecting with. Therefore, the pair of roll brushes 41, 42 are attached to each shaft 41a, 42.
By transporting these while rotating around a, scrub cleaning can be performed while scanning the front and back surfaces of the wafer W supported by the end surface support hands 31 and 32.

In order to supply a cleaning liquid to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W during scrub cleaning, the end face supporting hand 3 is used.
The cleaning liquid supply nozzles 6 are located at positions above and below the wafer W supported by the cleaning liquid supply nozzles 1 and 32, respectively.
1, 62 (cleaning liquid supply means) are arranged. A cleaning liquid is supplied to these cleaning liquid supply nozzles 61 and 62 via a valve 63, respectively.

On the other hand, the rotary chuck 50 is arranged at a position corresponding to a position below the wafer W supported by the end face supporting hands 31 and 32. The rotary chuck 50 has a disk-shaped chuck body 51, four guide pins 52 erected vertically upward near the periphery of the chuck body 51, and vertically vertically inside the guide pins 52. And three support pins 53 erected. A rotating shaft 54 is fixed to the lower surface of the chuck body 51. The rotating shaft 54 is driven to rotate forward and backward by a chuck driving mechanism 55 (a rotating unit and a vertical moving unit), and is moved in a vertical direction.

The tip of the guide pin 52 is
1, and forms a guide surface for guiding the wafer W to a predetermined position.
The support pins 53 are provided at positions corresponding to the peripheral edge of the wafer W, and are configured to support the back surface of the wafer W by point contact. The above-described hand drive mechanism 33, brush rotation mechanism 43, brush transport mechanism 44, chuck drive mechanism 55, and valve 63 for controlling the supply of the cleaning liquid
0 is totally controlled. The control unit 70 controls the CP
U, ROM and RAM, wherein the ROM
The above-described units are controlled based on a control program stored in the CPU or a processing program loaded in the RAM, and a scrub cleaning operation described below is realized.

FIGS. 3 (a) to 3 (c), FIGS. 4 (d) to 4 (f)
, And FIGS. 5 (g) and 5 (h), the wafer W
The scrub cleaning process will be described. In these figures, the upper part shows the outline of the configuration of the apparatus in plan view,
The lower part shows an outline of the configuration of the apparatus as viewed from the front. An uncleaned area on the surface of the wafer W is indicated by hatching. n is
This represents a notch formed on the end face of the wafer W.

First, when a wafer W is carried into the wafer cleaning apparatus by a transfer robot (not shown), the wafer W is held at one end by a rotary chuck 50 at a raised position (a position shown in FIG. 3C). Is done. After that, the control unit 70
Controls the drive of the hand drive mechanism 33, so that the wafer W is held between the end face support hands 31 and 32. Thereafter, the rotary chuck 50 is lowered and guided to the lowered position, and the state shown in FIG. 3A is obtained, and the preparation for scrub cleaning is completed. At this time, the double-sided brush device 40 is at a position avoiding the wafer W sandwiched between the end surface support hands 31 and 32.

Next, the control unit 70 controls the brush transport mechanism 44 and the brush rotating mechanism 43 so that the double-sided brush device 40 is transported toward the wafer W in the direction of the arrow R1. 42 is driven to rotate. At this time, the roll brushes 41 and 42 are respectively driven to rotate in a direction in which the contaminated material after cleaning is swept out in the transport direction of the roll brushes 41 and 42. As a result, the pair of roll brushes 41 and 42 They are driven to rotate in opposite directions.

Thus, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W sandwiched by the end surface support hands 31 and 32 are scanned while being scrubbed by the roll brushes 41 and 42, respectively. Double-sided brush device 40
FIG. 3 (b) shows a state where scanning has been completed.
In this state, a pair of boat-shaped areas near the end face support hands 31 and 32 on the front and back surfaces of the wafer W
Left unwashed. The length L1 of the pair of boat-shaped regions is shorter than the length L of the roll brushes 41 and 42. That is, the length L of the roll brushes 41 and 42 and the shape of the end face support hand 31 are formed such that the length L1 of the pair of boat-shaped regions is shorter than the length L of the roll brushes 41 and 42. ing.

The wafer W by the double-sided brush device 40
The control unit 70 opens the valve 63 during the scrub cleaning of the front and back surfaces. Thus, scrub cleaning is performed in a state where the cleaning liquid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzles 61 and 62 to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W. next,
The control unit 70 controls the chuck driving mechanism 55 to guide the rotary chuck 50 to the raised position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3C, the lifting of the rotary chuck 50 is stopped while the support pins 53 are in contact with the back surface of the wafer W.

Next, the control unit 70 controls the hand drive mechanism 33
As shown in FIG. 4D, the end face supporting hands 31, 32 are retracted from the end face of the wafer W, and the holding of the wafer W is released. At this time, the wafer W is exclusively supported by the support pins 53 of the rotary chuck 50. From this state, the control unit 70 controls the chuck driving mechanism 55 to rotate the chuck main body 51 substantially 90 degrees as shown in FIG. FIG. 4E shows an example in which the chuck body 51 is rotated clockwise, but it may be rotated counterclockwise.
Thus, the wafer W is rotated by approximately 90 degrees together with the chuck body 51. As a result, as shown in FIG.
1,42.

Next, the controller 70 controls the hand driving mechanism 33
And the end face supporting hand 3 is controlled as shown in FIG.
The wafer W is sandwiched between the wafers 1 and 32. Thereafter, the control unit 70 controls the chuck driving mechanism 55 to guide the rotary chuck 50 to the lowered position. As a result, the state shown in FIG. The control unit 70 controls the brush rotation mechanism 43
, The upper and lower roll brushes 41 and 42 are rotated, and the brush transport mechanism 44 is controlled to transport the roll brushes 41 and 42 toward the wafer W in the arrow R2 direction. Further, the control unit 70 supplies the cleaning liquid to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W from the cleaning liquid supply nozzles 61 and 62 above and below the wafer W by opening the valve 63. The upper and lower roll brushes 4
The rotation direction of the roll brushes 41, 4
This is a direction in which contaminants are swept out toward the transport direction of No. 2 and the rotation directions of the upper and lower roll brushes 41 and 42 are opposite to each other.

As described above, since the boat-shaped uncleaned area is on the path of the roll brushes 41 and 42, after the roll brushes 41 and 42 are transported to the opposite side of the wafer W,
As shown in FIG. 5H, no uncleaned area remains on the front and back surfaces of the wafer W. In this way, the entire area of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W is scrub-cleaned. After this, the control unit 70 controls the brush rotation mechanism 43 to
The rotation of the roll brushes 41 and 42 is stopped, and the brush transfer mechanism 44 is controlled to stop the transfer of the double-sided brush device 40. Further, the controller 70 closes the valve 63 and stops the supply of the cleaning liquid from the cleaning liquid supply nozzles 61 and 62 to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W.

Next, the control unit 70 controls the chuck driving mechanism 55 to guide the rotary chuck 50 to the raised position,
By controlling the hand driving mechanism 33, the end face supporting hands 31, 3 are controlled.
2 is released. Thereafter, the wafer W held by the rotary chuck 50 is carried out by a transfer robot (not shown). As described above, according to this embodiment, the wafer W is sandwiched between the end faces, and the front and back surfaces of the wafer W in this state are scrub-cleaned by the double-sided brush device 40. Then, the double-sided brush device 40 scans the wafer W twice.
Between the first scan and the second scan, the wafer W is rotated by approximately 90 degrees. This leaves the boat-shaped area left uncleaned after the first scan,
Scrub cleaning will be performed during the second scan.
In this way, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W are scrub-cleaned thoroughly, and moreover, since the support of the wafer W is achieved by being sandwiched between the end surfaces, contamination may occur on the front and back surfaces of the cleaned wafer W. Absent.

Further, since the double-sided brush unit 40 is configured to move horizontally, the scrub cleaning of the wafer W can be repeatedly performed by one double-sided brush unit 40. Therefore, the end face supporting hand, the rotary chuck, and the components related to them need only be provided one by one, so that the device can be configured to be small and the device can be saved in space. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic configuration of a wafer cleaning apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention. The apparatus according to the first embodiment has a configuration in which the double-sided brush apparatus 40 moves to scrub the wafer W, whereas the apparatus according to the second embodiment has a fixed arrangement of the double-sided brush apparatus and the wafer W
Is held horizontally by an end face support hand that holds the end face at the end face.

More specifically, this wafer cleaning apparatus has first and second double-sided brush units 40A having the same configuration as the double-sided brush unit 40 in the first embodiment.
And 40B. However, these double-sided brush devices 40A and 40B are fixedly arranged and are not configured to be movable. Double-sided brush device 4
0A and 40B are spaced apart in the horizontal direction so that the roll brushes are parallel to each other. The first chuck 50A and the rotary chuck 50B are arranged so as to sandwich the first double-sided brush device 40A. This rotary chuck 50B is, after all, a first double-sided brush device 40A and a second double-sided brush device 40A.
B.

Further, on the opposite side of the rotary chuck 50B of the second double-sided brush device 40B, there is provided a second chuck 50C for temporarily placing the wafer W on which the scrub cleaning process has been completed. Here, the rotary chuck 50B
Has substantially the same configuration as the rotary chuck 50 in the first embodiment. The first chuck 50A and the second chuck 50C are configured to be able to move up and down. Also, the first and second chucks 5
As 0A and 50C, a rotary chuck that can move up and down may be used.

This device is also provided with two pairs of end face support hands 31A, 32A; 31B, 32B.
That is, the first end face supporting hands 31A, 32A are provided in relation to the first chuck 50A, and the second end face supporting hands 31A, 32A are related to the rotary chuck 50B.
B, 32B. The configuration of the first and second end face support hands 31A, 32A; 31B, 32B is the same as the configuration of the end face support hands 31, 32 in the first embodiment, but these are two-sided brush devices 40A, 4A.
OB is different in that it is configured to be able to move horizontally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of each of the roll brushes 0B. That is, the first end face support hands 31A, 32A can reciprocate in a range 100A from the illustrated position to the illustrated position of the second end face support hands 31B, 32B. Further, the second end face support hands 31B and 32B can reciprocate in a range 100B from the illustrated position to a position indicated by a virtual line in relation to the second chuck 50C.

The process flow for scrubbing the wafer W will be described. The unprocessed wafer W is carried into and held by the first chuck 50A. The held wafer W is held between the first end surface support hands 31A and 32A. After the first chuck 50A descends and retreats, the first end surface support hand 31A holding the wafer W,
32B moves horizontally in the direction of arrow R11. At this time, the upper and lower roll brushes of the first double-sided brush device 40A are driven to rotate, and the double-sided brush device 40A is rotated.
Cleaning liquid supply nozzle (not shown) provided in connection with
Supplies the cleaning liquid to the front and back surfaces of the wafer W which is being conveyed while being held between the end surface support hands 31A and 32A.

Thus, the first end surface supporting hand 31A,
When 32A moves to the illustrated position of the second end surface support hands 31B and 32B, the scrub cleaning of the wafer W by the double-sided brush device 40A is completed. At this time, the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W are shown in FIG.
As in the case of (b), a pair of boat-shaped unwashed areas are formed near the end face supporting hands 31A and 32B.

The first end surface support hands 31A, 32
When A moves horizontally, the second end surface support hand 31B,
32B also moves horizontally. That is, they always move in parallel. First end face support hand 3
When 1A and 32A reach a position above the rotary chuck 50B, the rotary chuck 50B rises and supports the wafer W. Then, the first end surface supporting hands 31A, 32A
Are displaced in a direction away from the wafer W, respectively, to release the holding of the wafer W. Thereafter, the first end surface support hands 31A and 32A are displaced in the direction of arrow R12, and
To the position of the chuck 50A.

The wafer W held by the rotary chuck 50B
Are rotated approximately 90 degrees. Thus, the boat-shaped uncleaned area is oriented substantially parallel to the roll brush of the double-sided cleaning device 40B. The rotated wafer W is transferred to the rotary chuck 50 in synchronization with the operation of the first end surface support hands 31A and 32A.
The second end face supporting hands 31B and 32B returning to the position B are sandwiched.

Thereafter, after the rotary chuck 50B descends and retracts, the second end surface support hands 31B and 32B move horizontally in the direction of arrow R11. On the other hand, the upper and lower roll brushes of the second double-sided brush device 40B are driven to rotate, and the cleaning liquid supply nozzles provided in association with the double-sided brush device 40B are used to feed the end face supporting hands 31B, 3B.
The cleaning liquid is supplied to the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W transported while being sandwiched by 2B.

In the process in which the second end face supporting hands 31B and 32B are transported to the position of the second chuck 50C, the front and back surfaces of the wafer W undergo scrub cleaning by the double-sided brush device 40B. At this time, the boat-shaped area left uncleaned at the time of scrub cleaning by the first double-sided brush device 40A is scanned and cleaned by the roll brush of the double-sided brush device 40B. As a result, the entire area of the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W undergoes scrub cleaning.

When the second end face supporting hands 31B and 32B reach the second chuck 50C, the second chuck 50C
Rise to support the wafer W. Thereafter, the second end face support hands 31B and 32B are displaced in a direction away from the wafer W, respectively, and release the holding of the wafer W. Thus, the wafer W having undergone the scrub cleaning process is carried out of the second chuck 50C by the transfer robot (not shown). When the second chuck 50C is a rotary chuck, the wafer W may be rotated by 90 degrees to return to the attitude at the time of loading, and then transferred to the transfer robot.

The second end face supporting hands 31B, 32B are
Thereafter, it is horizontally moved in the direction of arrow R12 to the position of the rotary chuck 50B. When the end face supporting hands 31B and 32B return to the rotary chuck 50B, the next wafer W is held by the rotary chuck 50B. That is, while the second end face supporting hands 31B and 32B are moving and the scrub cleaning of the wafer W is being performed, the first end face supporting hands 31A and 32A are simultaneously moved horizontally to scrub another wafer. Cleaning has been performed. Therefore, in this apparatus, scrub cleaning for two wafers can be performed in parallel.

As described above, according to the second embodiment, the front surface and the back surface of the wafer W supported on the end surface are scanned twice by the double-sided brush device, and 1
Between the second scan and the second scan, the wafer W
Is rotated approximately 90 degrees. Thereby, the same effect as in the case of the first embodiment can be achieved. FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram showing a basic configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. This substrate cleaning device is for scrub cleaning a rectangular substrate S such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, and has a configuration similar to that of the device of the second embodiment. That is, a pair of double-sided brush devices 81 and 82 arranged in parallel, a first chuck 83 and a rotary chuck 84 arranged on both sides of the double-sided brush device 81, and a second substrate on which the substrate subjected to the cleaning process is placed. Second chuck 87, first chuck 83 and rotary chuck 8
4 and end face support hands 88 and 89 that can move between the rotary chuck 84 and the second chuck 87.

The configuration and operation of the double-sided brush devices 81 and 82 are substantially the same as the configuration and operation of the first and second double-sided brush devices 40 in the second embodiment.
However, in this embodiment, since the substrate S to be processed is rectangular, the length of the roll brush of the double-sided brush device 81 is slightly shorter than the short side of the substrate S, Is slightly shorter than the long side of the substrate S.

The rotary chuck 84 has a configuration similar to that of the rotary chuck 50B in the second embodiment, and the first and second chucks 83 and 87 include the second chuck 83 and 87 in the second embodiment.
The first and second chucks 50A,
It has a configuration similar to that of 50C and operates almost the same. However, a pair of corner pins 97 are provided upright at positions corresponding to the four corners of the substrate S, so that the rectangular substrate S, which is much larger than the wafer, can be held and rotated. Are different.

End supporting hands 85, 86; 88, 89
Has a configuration similar to the first and second end face support hands 31A, 32A; 31B, 32B in the second embodiment, and operates in substantially the same manner. However, the substrate contact surfaces of the end surface support hands 85, 86; 88, 89 are linear flat surfaces according to the shape of the substrate S. With this configuration, as in the case of the second embodiment, the direction of the substrate S is made to differ from the rectangular substrate S by approximately 90 degrees,
Two scrubbing treatments are performed. At that time, reference numeral 90
As shown by, uncleaned areas are left at the four corners of the substrate S, but practical problems will not occur if the uncleaned areas are outside the use area of the substrate S as a product.

FIG. 8 is a view for explaining a configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Since the device of this embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the device of the third embodiment, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. In the first end surface supporting hands 91 and 92 provided in the apparatus of this embodiment, the substrate contact surfaces 91a and 92a have the same angle with respect to the substrate S transport direction R21 (θ / (An angle inclined by 2). In addition, the second end surface support hand 9
3 and 94, the substrate contact surfaces 93a and 94a are inclined by the same angle (the angle inclined by θ / 2 with respect to the transport direction of the substrate S) in the opposite direction to the first facing support hands 91 and 92. It is formed as follows. On the other hand, the rotary chuck 84 between the two-sided brush devices 81 and 82 is provided with first end face support hands 91 and 92 and second end face support hands 93 and 94.
The substrate S is rotated clockwise by the supplementary angle θ of the angle formed by each substrate contact surface in the horizontal plane.

The operation of the first end surface support hands 91 and 92 is the same as the operation of the first end surface support hands 31A and 32A in the second embodiment, and the operation of the second end surface support hands 93 and 94. Is the same as the operation of the second end surface support hands 31B and 32B in the second embodiment. According to this configuration, one-sided brush device 81
On the front surface and the back surface of the substrate S after the second scrub cleaning, triangular uncleaned regions are respectively formed near a pair of diagonals. However, this uncleaned area is not
By the rotation of the angle θ in 4, scanning is performed at the time of the second scrub cleaning by the double-sided brush device 82. As a result, the entire area of the front and back surfaces of the substrate S can be scrub-cleaned.

The substrate S is supported by the end face support hand in a state inclined with respect to the transport direction R21. However, the transport robot transports the substrate into the first chuck 83 or the second chuck 87. When the substrate is unloaded from the substrate, the substrate may be held along the transport direction R21. That is, by rotating the first chuck 83 and the second chuck 87 by θ / 2, the direction of the substrate when transferred by the transfer robot and the direction of the substrate when supported by the end face support hand are changed. Difference can be absorbed.

Further, the substrate S is supported with the sides along the longitudinal direction of the double-sided brush device as in the case of the third embodiment, and the substrate S is tilted with respect to the double-sided brush device.
, The substrate S can be scanned obliquely by a roll brush. Therefore, even in this case, as in the case described above, the entire area of the front and back surfaces of the substrate S can be scrub-cleaned.

Although four embodiments of the present invention have been described, the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, in the description of the first embodiment, the scanning of the wafer W by the
Although the scanning is performed twice, the scanning of the wafer W by the double-sided brush device 40 may be performed three times or more. In this case, it is not necessary to complete the scrub cleaning of the entire area of the front and back surfaces of the wafer W by two cleanings. Therefore, the wafer W is rotated by an angle smaller than 90 degrees between each scan. You can also.

In the first and second embodiments, the wafer W is rotated by 90 degrees after the first scan of the wafer W by the double-sided brush device. However, the first scan is performed. If the length of the uncleaned area remaining after the step is sufficiently shorter than the length of the roll brush, the wafer W is rotated by an angle smaller than 90 degrees or an angle larger than 90 degrees. Also, the scrub cleaning of the wafer W can be performed by the second scan without generating an uncleaned area.

Further, in the second, third, and fourth embodiments, two double-sided brush units are provided. However, three or more double-sided brush units are provided, and the wafer W or scrubbed wafer W for scrub cleaning is provided. The substrate S may be scanned three or more times. In this case, since it is not necessary to complete the scrub cleaning of the entire front and back surfaces of the wafer W or the substrate S by two cleanings, the wafer W or the angle smaller than θ by 90 degrees or θ between each scan. The substrate may be rotated.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the structure in which the front and back surfaces of the wafer W or the substrate S are cleaned by the roll brush has been described. Alternatively, a double-side cleaning means using a disk brush may be used. May be applied. Further, in the first to fourth embodiments, the chuck for rotating or vertically moving the wafer W or the substrate S is provided below the wafer W or the substrate S. It may be provided above the wafer W or the substrate S.

In the first to fourth embodiments, the chuck that can move up and down is used to hold the wafer W or the substrate S on the chuck, but instead of moving the chuck up and down, The end surface support hand may be moved up and down. In addition, various changes can be made within the scope described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a basic configuration of a wafer cleaning apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram mainly showing a configuration of the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment as viewed from the front.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a flow of a scrub cleaning process by the wafer cleaning apparatus according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a flow of a scrub cleaning process by the wafer cleaning apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining a flow of a scrub cleaning process by the wafer cleaning apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a plan view illustrating a basic configuration of a wafer cleaning apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view illustrating a basic configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a plan view illustrating a basic configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a conventional technique for cleaning a wafer.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing another conventional technique for cleaning a wafer.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual view showing a conventional technique for cleaning a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing another conventional technique for cleaning a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing still another conventional technique for cleaning a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 31, 32 End face support hand 33 Hand drive mechanism 40 Double-sided brush device 41 Upper roll brush 42 Lower roll brush 43 Brush rotation mechanism 44 Brush transport mechanism 50 Rotary chuck 55 Chuck drive mechanism 61, 62 Cleaning liquid supply nozzle 70 Control unit 31A, 32A End face Support hands 31B, 32B End support hands 40A, 40B Double-sided brush device 50B Rotary chuck 81, 82 Double-sided brush device 84 Rotary chuck 85, 86 End support hands 88, 89 End support hands 91, 92 End support hands 93, 94 End support hands

Claims (4)

[Claims] A substrate holding means for holding the substrate at an end face of the substrate; a substrate holding means provided at a position corresponding to one side of the substrate held by the substrate holding means; and rotating while holding the substrate. A rotating chuck that can scrub the front and back surfaces of the substrate held by the substrate holding means; a rotating means for rotating the rotating chuck by a predetermined angle; and the substrate holding means. A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a vertical moving means for relatively vertically moving the rotary chuck; and a horizontal moving means for relatively horizontally moving the substrate holding means and the double-sided cleaning means. 2. The apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising one of each of the substrate holding means, the rotary chuck, the double-side cleaning means, the rotating means, the vertical moving means, and the horizontal moving means. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said double-sided cleaning means is reciprocated horizontally with respect to the substrate holding means. A first substrate clamping step of clamping the substrate at an end face of the substrate; a first double-side cleaning step of scrub-cleaning the front and back surfaces of the substrate during a period in which the substrate is clamped at the end face; After the completion of the double-sided cleaning step, a substrate releasing step of releasing the clamping of the substrate clamped in the first substrate clamping step, a substrate rotating step of rotating the released substrate by a predetermined angle, and a substrate rotating by a predetermined angle And a second double-side cleaning step of scrubbing the front and back surfaces of the re-pinched substrate. 4. The substrate processing method according to claim 3, further comprising a cleaning liquid supply step of supplying a cleaning liquid to the front surface and the back surface of the substrate while the substrate is being scrubbed.