JPH1012710A - Substrate treatment device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively prevent deterioration in substrate quality due to particles, by appropriately removing the particles attached on a processing table while reducing the work of an operator. SOLUTION: A slit coater 16 is so constituted as to form a thin film of a resist solution on the surface of a substrate W, by vacuum-sucking and holding the substrate W on a table 26, and supplying the resist solution from a solution supply head 31 while sliding the solution supply head 31 in a uniaxial direction along rails 28. A cleaning head 41 for sucking and removing particles on the surface of the table 26 is provided, and this cleaning head is driven by a servo motor 36 so as to be slid in a uniaxial direction along the rails 28. After the substrate W is transported outward, the cleaning head 41 is moved on the table 26 to clean the surface of the table 26.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus applied to the manufacture of various substrates such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate of a liquid crystal display, a PDP (plasma display), and an EL (electroluminescence).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal displays, PDPs (plasma displays), ELs
In many manufacturing processes such as (electroluminescence), a substrate is mounted and held on a work table in many steps, and processing is performed. For example, a substrate is vacuum-adsorbed on a work table and photo-processed. Forming a coating film such as a resist solution, or placing and holding a substrate on a work table via a projecting support pin or the like, and heating or cooling the substrate in this state is performed. I have.

[0003]

By the way, in this type of substrate processing apparatus, rarely large foreign matter may be generated due to breakage of the substrate during processing or scattering of solidified resist solution. This penetrates between the support surface of the table and the substrate and the substrate, and in the process of scratching or breaking the substrate, or in the process of forming a thin film, the flatness of the substrate is impaired, resulting in poor formation of the thin film, etc. This is one cause.

Conventionally, such foreign matter on the table has been treated afterwards by the operator wiping it when it is deemed necessary, such as when the substrate is damaged or when a substrate failure occurs. No effective measures were taken to solve the problem. However, in recent years, substrates have become larger and thinner, and even relatively small foreign substances, which are difficult to visually confirm, attached to a table tend to greatly affect the substrate quality. Therefore, it is necessary to clean the table regularly and frequently in order to reliably remove foreign substances on the table. However, it is difficult to leave such work to the operator because of workability or new dust generation. There are problems such as factors.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to appropriately remove foreign substances adhering to a processing table while reducing the work of an operator, and effectively reduce the deterioration of substrate quality caused by the foreign substances. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing the above problem.

[0006]

According to the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process while holding a substrate to be processed carried in on a work table surface and carrying out the next process. A cleaning device that removes foreign matter adhering to the table, a driving unit that enables the cleaning device to move between a work position facing the work table surface and a retreat position outside the work table, and retreats the cleaning device. And a control means for controlling the cleaning device and the driving means so as to move from the position to the work position and remove foreign matter on the work table (claim 1).

According to this apparatus, the work table surface can be automatically cleaned periodically or at an arbitrary timing, so that complicated cleaning work by an operator is not required, and the table is mechanically cleaned. It is possible to secure a certain work accuracy.

In particular, if the cleaning device is caused to scan along a predetermined path from the retracted position on the side of the work table, and the driving means and the cleaning device are configured to remove foreign substances on the work table during the scan (claim) Item 2), the cleaning device itself can be made compact, and the space efficiency around the work table can be improved.

As the cleaning device, a non-contact type device for sucking at least foreign matter on a work table,
A contact-type device provided with a means for wiping the work table surface can be applied (claims 3 and 4). In these cleaning devices, the non-contact type device can protect the work table surface, and the contact type device can enhance the foreign matter removal performance. Further, if these cleaning devices are further provided with a peeling promoting means for promoting the peeling of the foreign matters by reducing the adhesion of the foreign matters to the work table (claim 5), a higher foreign matter removing performance can be obtained. . In particular, when a cleaning liquid supply device is provided as a peeling promotion unit, and the cleaning liquid is supplied to the work table while the work table surface is wiped off,
Further, by providing a drying means for drying the surface of the work table after wiping (claim 6), it is possible to improve the efficiency of the cleaning work. In addition, if a means for blowing ionized air to the work table is adopted as the separation promoting means (claim 7), it is possible to effectively remove the foreign matter electrostatically adsorbed on the work table.

In an apparatus for performing processing by holding a substrate on the work table surface by suction, if the substrate is held by suction while foreign matters adhere to the work table surface, the substrate is often significantly deformed and damaged. . Therefore, when the work table is for holding the substrate by suction (claim 8), it is possible to improve the substrate quality by appropriately removing the foreign matter on the work table.

Further, when the substrate processing apparatus is operating,
Further, if the control means is configured to operate the cleaning device and the driving means only when the substrate is not placed on the work table (claim 9), the work table can be operated without obstructing the substrate processing work. Can be properly cleaned. In particular, if the cleaning device and the driving unit are operated at every predetermined timing (claim 10), the work table can be cleaned without impairing the processing efficiency of the substrate.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 schematically shows a substrate processing system to which the present invention is applied. As shown in the figure,
The substrate processing system 10 has an upstream side (the left side in the figure)
A standby unit 12, a coater unit 14 and a bake unit 18 are provided in this order, and the transfer robot 1 transports the substrate after the cleaning process carried into the standby unit 12.
5 is configured to perform predetermined processing while sequentially transporting between units. That is, the standby unit 1
First, a thin film made of a resist solution is formed on the surface of the substrate carried in 2 in the coater unit 14.
After the substrate is heated and cooled in the bake unit 18, the substrate is carried out to the next step.

In the present embodiment, the substrate is a square substrate, and the formation of a thin film of the resist solution in the coater unit 14 is performed by a slit coater 16 as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the slit coater 16 will be described.

As shown in FIG.
Is provided with a stage 25 serving as a base, and a table 26 for holding the substrate W is integrally provided on the upper surface of the stage 25. The table 26 has a rectangular shape slightly larger than the substrate W, and a number of suction holes 27 communicating with a negative pressure generator (not shown) are formed at appropriate positions on the surface. That is, the substrate W is carried in from the standby unit 12 by the transfer robot 15 and placed on the table 26, and the suction hole 2
By being vacuum-sucked from the lower surface via 7, it is fixed to the surface of the table 26.

A liquid supply head 31 for supplying a resist solution onto the substrate W and a cleaning head 4 for cleaning the surface of the table 26 are provided above the table 26.
1 are provided, each of which is movable in a uniaxial direction (a direction indicated by a white arrow in FIG. 2: hereinafter, referred to as a front-rear direction).

That is, the stage 25 has a pair of rails 28 extending in the front-rear direction, and servomotors 36 and 4.
Ball screw shafts 35, 4 which are respectively driven to rotate by
3 are provided. Also, below the stage 25,
A pair of front and rear U-shaped frames 3 extending in the width direction (a direction orthogonal to the front-rear direction and the plane on the plane) and rising at both ends.
4 and 42 are provided, and both ends of the frames 34 and 42 are mounted on the rails 28, respectively. The cleaning head 41 is supported between both ends, and the frame 34 is
The ball screw shaft 3 is attached to the nut (not shown)
5, a ball screw shaft 43 is screwed into a nut portion (not shown) provided on the frame 42, respectively. Accordingly, the liquid supply head 31 moves in the front-rear direction along the rail 28 integrally with the frame 34 by the rotation of the ball screw shaft 35 by the operation of the servo motor 36, while the ball screw shaft 43 by the operation of the servo motor 44 The rotation causes the cleaning head 41 to move integrally with the frame 42 in the front-rear direction.

The liquid supply head 31 has a slit-like supply port 32 extending in the width direction at a lower portion, and a resist solution (not shown) is connected through a feed pipe 33 connected to an upper portion of the liquid supply head 31. The resist liquid supplied from the supply tank at a constant pressure is supplied onto the substrate W through the supply port 32.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning head 41 has a pressure chamber 52 provided with an ultrasonic generator 53 inside a box-shaped housing 50 having a lower opening extending in the width direction, and an exhaust gas. Pipe 56 (see FIG. 2)
And a vacuum unit 54 connected to a negative pressure supply device for dust collection through the pressure unit 52.
Then, the ultrasonic air is generated and blown onto the surface of the table 26 to peel off the foreign matter adhering to the table 26, and to suck and discharge the foreign matter through a slit-shaped opening 55 formed in the vacuum section 54. It is configured. The pressure section 52 and the vacuum section 54 are configured to be able to suck foreign matter while blowing ultrasonic air over the entire area of the table 26 in the width direction.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 29 denotes a table 2
6, a liquid supply head 31 is disposed above the solvent pot 29, which is a solvent pot for storing a drying prevention solvent which is provided on the stage 25 so as to be vertically movable via a lifting mechanism (not shown). By raising the solvent pot 29 in this state, the supply port 32 of the liquid supply head 31 is arranged in a solvent atmosphere, and the resist liquid present in the supply port 32 is prevented from drying.

The slit coater 16 configured as described above has a controller having a microcomputer as a component, although not shown,
Devices for operating the liquid supply head 31 and the cleaning head 41, such as the servomotors 36 and 44, are all connected to the controller. When the substrate processing system 10 is operated, the liquid supply head 31 is operated in accordance with a program stored in advance to form a thin film of the resist liquid on the substrate W, and the cleaning head 41 is operated at a predetermined timing to activate the table 26. The servo motors 36, 44 and the like are controlled by the controller in a comprehensive manner to clean the surface.

Here, the slit coater 16 having the above configuration is used.
An example of the substrate processing operation in the above will be described with reference to FIG.

Before the operation of the slit coater 16, FIG.
As shown in (a), the liquid supply head 31 and the cleaning head 41 are set at the retracted positions outward in the front-rear direction with the table 26 interposed therebetween, and the solvent pot 29 is held at the raised position in this state. Thereby, the supply port 32 of the liquid supply head 31 is disposed in the solvent atmosphere.

When the slit coater 16 is operated, the substrate W is loaded by the transfer robot 15 and
6 and simultaneously with the suction hole 2
Negative pressure is supplied to the lower surface of the table 26 via 7, whereby the substrate W is vacuum-adsorbed and fixed to the surface of the table 26. The solvent pot 29 is moved to the lower end position before the setting of the substrate W on the table 26 is completed.

When the setting of the substrate W is completed, the movement of the liquid supply head 31 is started, and the liquid supply head 31 is moved to the cleaning head 41 on the right side in the figure. Then, the liquid supply head 31 is moved from the right side to the left side of the substrate W (from the right side to the left side in FIG. 4) to form a thin film of the resist liquid on the substrate W (FIG. 4). (B)).

When the thin film is formed, the liquid supply head 31 is reset to the retracted position (see FIG. 4).
(C)) The supply of the negative pressure to the suction holes 27 is cut off, and then the substrate W is carried out to the next step, that is, the bake unit 18 by the transfer robot 15.

When the substrate W is carried out, the movement of the cleaning head 41 is started, and the cleaning head 41 is reciprocated from the right side to the left side of the table 26. The surface of the table 26 is cleaned by operating the cleaning head 41 during this forward movement (FIGS. 4D and 4E). That is, during the forward movement of the cleaning head 41, the ultrasonic air is generated in the pressure section 52, so that the foreign matter adhered to the table surface is blown off while the vacuum section 5 is moved.
4 and is discharged to the outside through the exhaust pipe 56 while being collected by suction.

When the cleaning head 41 is reset to the retracted position in this way, the next substrate W is carried into the table 26 by the transfer robot 15, and the liquid supply head 31 is operated, and the resist W A thin film is formed.

By the way, in the series of substrate processing operations of the slit coater 16 as described above, the cleaning head 41 is operated by setting the program by the controller or by manual operation. For example, when the slit coater 16 is operated and stopped by the end of work. Before or at any one of these times, every time the processing of one substrate W is completed, each time the processing of one lot of substrates W composed of a predetermined number of substrates W is completed, or when the substrate W is damaged And so on, when it is deemed necessary, in any combination of the above.

Further, the number of operations, that is, the number of times the coater unit 14 is reciprocated, is not limited to one reciprocation as described above. For example, when the substrate W is damaged, it is necessary to perform the cleaning especially intensively. In this case, control is performed so as to clean the table 26 while reciprocating the coater unit 14 a plurality of times, or to focus on cleaning the portion while reciprocating only a specific portion on the table 26.

As described above, according to the slit coater 16, the table 26 can be automatically cleaned by operating the cleaning head 41.
It is no longer necessary for the operator to wipe the table surface as in the related art, thereby reducing the operator's work. Moreover, the cleaning head 41
Thus, since the table 26 is mechanically cleaned, the work accuracy can be kept constant. Therefore, for example, by operating the cleaning head 41 regularly and frequently, the surface of the table 26 can be maintained in an appropriate state,
As a result, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being damaged or scratched due to the foreign matter adhering to the table surface, which has been a problem in this type of conventional apparatus, and as a result, the substrate quality can be more reliably ensured. it can.

In particular, according to the cleaning head 41, since the surface of the table 26 is cleaned without any contact with the table 26, the table 26 may be damaged while the surface of the table 26 is properly cleaned. No new foreign matter is generated.

The cleaning head for cleaning the surface of the table 26 may be, for example, a so-called non-contact type in which a foreign substance is sucked and discharged while generating ultrasonic air, as shown in FIGS. A contact-type cleaning head 60 as shown in FIG. Hereinafter, this example will be described.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cleaning head 60 is provided with a box-shaped housing 61 having a lower opening extending in the width direction similarly to the cleaning head 41. Inside the housing 61, a nozzle 62 for discharging the cleaning liquid to the table 26,
A surface wiping device 63 is provided, and an exhaust pipe 67 for sucking and discharging the atmosphere inside the housing 61 to the outside is connected to the side of the housing 61.

The nozzle 62 is connected to a cleaning liquid storage tank via a pump, and discharges a cleaning liquid such as isopropyl alcohol, ECA (ethylcellosol acetate), propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate, etc., to the table 26. It has become.

On the other hand, the wiping device 63 includes a driving roller 65a rotated by the driving of the stepping motor 64, a driven roller 65c horizontally disposed at an appropriate distance from the driving roller 65a, A press roller 65b arranged at a position facing the table 26 from the lower opening, and mounted over these rollers;
For example, a clean cloth 6 made of long fiber and hard to generate dust is used.
6 is comprised. Each of the rollers 65a to 65c and the clean cloth 66 is set so that its width dimension is longer than the width dimension of the table 26.

In the cleaning of the table 26 by the cleaning head 60, the cleaning head 60 is first moved from the retracted position to the end of the table 26 as shown by arrows 1 to 3 in FIG. Is lowered, and the cleaning cloth 66 of the wiping device 63 is brought into contact with the table 26 while being pressed by the pressing roller 65b (arrow). And
In this state, the cleaning head 60 is moved while discharging the cleaning liquid from the nozzle 62, and the cleaning cloth 66 is removed while the foreign matters adhering to the surface of the table 26 are removed with the cleaning liquid.
The table 26 is cleaned by wiping (arrow). After the cleaning head 60 has been moved to the end of the table 26, the cleaning head 60 is raised and reset to the retracted position (arrow).

After performing the above-described cleaning operation a predetermined number of times, the stepping motor 64 is operated to rotate and move the clean cloth 66 so that a new clean cloth 66 is brought into contact with the table 26. To do. That is, by doing so, the wiping of the table 26 is continuously performed appropriately. At this time, in the housing 61, as described above, the exhaust pipe 6
Since the atmosphere is sucked and discharged through the, the foreign matter already wiped off by the clean cloth 66 does not dry and scatter and adhere to the table 26 again.

With the structure of the cleaning head 60 as described above, the surface of the table 26 can be cleaned. In particular, according to the cleaning head 60, the cleaning cloth 6 is reduced while the adsorbing force of foreign substances is reduced by the cleaning liquid.
Since the surface of the table 26 is wiped in step 6, the cleaning head 41 described above is used to remove relatively firmly adhered foreign substances such as a resist solution solidified on the surface of the table 26, for example.
It is advantageous as compared with.

As a modification of the cleaning head 60, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. 7 can be adopted. That is, the cleaning head 60
In addition, a warm air heater 70 for blowing warm air to the table 26 may be provided, so that drying of the surface of the table 26 after wiping is promoted. According to this configuration, even when a cleaning agent having a low volatility is used, the cleaning liquid can be dried at an early stage to improve the efficiency of the cleaning operation.
Therefore, it is advantageous in a case where a highly volatile cleaning agent cannot be used because a decrease in the temperature of the table 26 affects the quality of the substrate W.

Further, as a modified example of the wiping device 63 of the cleaning head 60 shown in FIG. 5, a wiping device 75 as shown in FIG. 8 can be constituted. That is, the reel 76 on which the strip-shaped clean cloth 80 is wound is rotatably supported, and the clean cloth 80 derived from the reel 76 is rotated via the pressing roller 77 by the driving of the stepping motor 79 via the take-up roller 78. The wiping device 75 can be configured to be wound up. According to the wiping device 75, since many clean cloths 80 can be stored and used in a small space, the replacement cycle of the clean cloth 80 can be lengthened as compared with the wiping device 63 shown in FIGS. This is advantageous in terms of maintenance.

Incidentally, the cleaning head 60 described above is used.
Is applied, it is necessary to raise and lower the cleaning head 60 during the cleaning operation as described above. Such an operation can be performed by adopting, for example, a configuration as shown in FIG. it can. That is, rods 68a that can move up and down
And a cleaning head 60 is attached to the tip of a rod 68a of the air cylinder 68 via a support member 69, and the controller controls the supply and discharge of air pressure to and from each air cylinder 68. The cleaning head 60 can be moved up and down.

The slit coater 1 of the above embodiment
Reference numeral 6 denotes an example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention, the specific configuration of which can be appropriately changed without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, in the cleaning head 41, an ultrasonic generator 53 is provided as a peeling promoting means for promoting the peeling of the foreign matter adhering to the table 26, and the peeling of the foreign matter is promoted by the ultrasonic air thereby. However, in addition to this, for example, an ionizer that blows ionized air to the table 26 is provided to thereby facilitate the separation of the foreign matter electrostatically adsorbed to the table 26, or a high-pressure compression is provided by providing an air injection nozzle. Air may be blown to the table 26. Further, in order to simplify the structure, the cleaning head 41 is used.
, The pressure section 52 is omitted and the vacuum section 5 is omitted.
The foreign matter may be removed only by suction by the suction nozzle 4, or the cleaning head may be provided with only an air injection nozzle to blow off the foreign matter with compressed air. However,
When the cleaning head is provided with only an air injection nozzle to blow off foreign matter on the table 26, it is desirable to separately provide a forced exhaust means or the like in the periphery of the table 26, for example, in order to prevent scattering of particles.

In the slit coater 16, the table 26 is provided horizontally.
As shown in FIG. 7, a table 81 is provided vertically on a stage 80, and a liquid supply head 8 is extended along a guide 86 in an extending direction while a substrate W is vacuum-sucked on the surface of the table 81.
In the case of a slit coater that performs processing on the substrate W while moving the substrate 2 by a ball screw mechanism or the like (not shown), a cleaning head 85 similar to the cleaning head 41 or the like is moved along the guide 86 by a ball screw mechanism or the like. By moving the table 81 up and down, the surface of the table 81 can be cleaned appropriately as in the case of the slit coater 16.

In the above embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to the slit coater 16 has been described. However, the present invention can be applied to other than the slit coater 16. 1
8 can also be applied to the present invention. The bake unit 18 generally includes a plurality of plates such as hot plates 18a to 18c and a cool plate 18d, as shown in FIG.
When the present invention is applied to the bake unit 18, for example, as shown in FIG. 12 (a) are provided so as to be vertically movable and horizontally movable, and the cleaning is performed while moving the cleaning head 41 over the respective plates 18a to 18d as shown by arrows (a) to (d) in FIG. I just need. Of course, each plate 18
A cleaning head can be provided for each of the plates 18a to 18d.
There is an advantage that d can be cleaned by a common cleaning head. In addition, an obstacle such as a suction duct may be installed between the plates 18a to 18d for the purpose of removing particles. In such a case, as shown in FIG. The plates 18a to 18d may be cleaned while moving the cleaning head 41 up and down between the positions 18 to 18d to avoid the suction duct and the like.

In addition to the above-described baking unit 18, the present invention can be applied to a baking unit configured to heat a substrate to a predetermined temperature with one hot plate. For example, FIG. 13 shows an example of such a bake unit. Bake unit 90 shown in this figure
In this embodiment, a hot plate 92 having a fixed support portion 94 called a proxy ball and a vertically movable lift pin 93 is provided inside the container 90,
The substrate W is led out. Then, first, after the substrate W is placed on the lift pins 93 projecting from the rising end position, the lift pins 93 are gradually lowered and placed on the fixed support portions 94, whereby the substrate W It is designed to be heated to a predetermined temperature. In the case of the bake unit 90, as shown in the figure, for example, the cleaning head 41 is provided above and below the container 90 so as to be vertically movable and horizontally movable. The cleaning can be performed while moving 41 from the initial position above the inner part (the inner part with respect to the entrance 95 of the substrate W; the left part in the same figure) as shown by arrows in FIG.

In an apparatus for forming a thin film of this type other than the slit coater 16 such as a spin coater and a roll coater, the processing is performed in a state where the substrate is vacuum-adsorbed on a table. It is effective to provide a cleaning device for these work tables. Further, in an apparatus using a spin coater, an edge cleaning unit for cleaning and removing an unnecessary thin film portion formed on an edge of a substrate is generally provided as a subsequent process, and even in such an edge cleaning unit. Since the work is performed in a state in which the substrate is vacuum-sucked on the work table, it is effective to provide the above-described cleaning device for the table.

[0048]

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention removes foreign matter adhering to a work table in a substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process while holding a substrate on the work table surface. A cleaning device, driving means for moving the cleaning device between a work position facing the work table surface and a retracted position on the side of the work table, and moving the cleaning device from the retracted position to the work position to move the cleaning device on the work table. The cleaning device and the control means for controlling the driving means are provided to remove the foreign matter, so that the work table surface can be automatically cleaned periodically or at an arbitrary timing. Work is unnecessary, and work accuracy can be kept constant. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the substrate from being damaged or damaged due to the foreign matter adhered to the work table surface, which has been a problem in the conventional device of this type, and to ensure the substrate quality more reliably. .

In such a configuration, the cleaning device itself is scanned by scanning the cleaning device along a predetermined path, and the driving unit and the cleaning device are configured to remove foreign substances on the work table during the scanning. The configuration can be made compact, and the space efficiency around the work table can be improved.

As the cleaning device, a non-contact type device for sucking at least foreign matter on the work table or a contact type device having a means for wiping the work table surface can be applied. According to the non-contact type device, the work table surface can be protected, and according to the contact type device, the performance of removing foreign substances can be enhanced. In addition, these cleaning devices
Further, by providing a peeling acceleration means for reducing the adhesion of the foreign matter to the work table and promoting the peeling of the foreign matter, higher foreign matter removing performance can be obtained. In particular, in the case where a cleaning liquid supply device is provided as a peeling promotion unit and the surface of the work table is wiped while supplying the cleaning liquid to the work table, a drying unit for drying the work table surface after the wiping is further provided. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of the cleaning operation. In addition, if a device that blows ionized air to the work table is adopted as the separation promoting means, the foreign matter electrostatically adsorbed on the work table can be more effectively removed.

In an apparatus for performing processing while holding a substrate on a work table surface by suction, if the substrate is held by suction while foreign matters adhere to the work table surface, the substrate is often significantly deformed or damaged. . Also, in a slit coater for applying a resist solution or the like to the substrate surface, interference fringes are generated on the film surface, and the film thickness distribution is likely to be deteriorated. for that reason,
When the work table is to hold the substrate by suction, the quality of the substrate can be improved by removing foreign substances on the work table.

Further, the cleaning device and the driving means are operated for each lot composed of a predetermined number of substrates.
When the control unit is configured to operate the cleaning device and the driving unit when the substrate processing apparatus is operating and the substrate is not placed on the work table, the work table can be efficiently cleaned. It can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a substrate processing system.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view showing a slit coater to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a cleaning head.

FIGS. 4A to 4E are views for explaining operations of a liquid supply head and a cleaning head in a slit coater.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing a modification of the cleaning head.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining a cleaning operation of the table by the cleaning head shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing a modified example of the cleaning head shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a schematic sectional view showing a modification of the cleaning head shown in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing an example of a configuration for moving the cleaning head shown in FIG. 5 up and down.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing another example of the slit coater.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example in which a cleaning head is provided in a bake unit.

12A and 12B are diagrams illustrating a cleaning operation of the cleaning head shown in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating another example in which a cleaning head is provided in a bake unit.

14 is a diagram illustrating a cleaning operation of the cleaning head illustrated in FIG.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate processing system 14 Coater unit 16 Slit coater 25 Stage 26 Table 27 Suction hole 28 Rail 29 Solvent pot 31 Liquid supply head 32 Supply port 33 Feed pipe 34, 42 Frame 35, 43 Ball screw shaft 36, 44 Servo motor 41 Cleaning head

Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for carrying out a predetermined process while carrying a substrate to be processed carried in on a surface of a work table and carrying out the next process, wherein a cleaning device for removing foreign substances adhered to the work table; Drive means for moving the cleaning device between a work position facing the work table surface and a retreat position outside the work table; and moving the cleaning device from the retreat position to the work position to remove foreign matter on the work table. A substrate processing apparatus comprising: the cleaning device and a control unit that controls a driving unit so as to remove the toner. 2. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit is configured to scan the cleaning device with respect to a work table surface from a retracted position on a side of the work table along a predetermined path. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein foreign substances on the work table are removed during the scanning. 3. The cleaning device according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning device is configured to remove foreign matter in a non-contact state with the work table, and is configured to suck at least the foreign matter on the work table. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to 1 or 2. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning device includes means for wiping the surface of said work table. 5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the cleaning device includes a peeling promotion unit that reduces the adhesion of the foreign matter to the work table to promote the peeling of the foreign matter. . 6. The cleaning device includes a means for wiping the surface of the work table, and a cleaning agent supply device for supplying a cleaning agent to the surface of the work table as the separation promoting means. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising drying means for drying the table surface. 7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein said peeling promoting means blows ionized air onto a work table. 8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the work table is configured to adsorb and hold a substrate on a surface thereof. 9. The control means for operating the cleaning device and the driving means only when the substrate processing apparatus is operating and the substrate is not placed on the work table. 9. The method according to claim 1, wherein:
A substrate processing apparatus according to any one of the above. 10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said control means operates said cleaning device and driving means at predetermined timings.