JPH10137710A - Washing treatment device and its washing treatment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the reverse transfer of the foreign matter removed by a washing brush to wash by washing the wash by swiveling and vertically moving the washing brush, then bringing this washing brush into contact with the wash. SOLUTION: A semiconductor wafer 22 is held in a rotary chuck 11 of a spin treatment device A and a horizontal arm 33 is swiveled and positioned upward of this spin treatment device A. While the washing brush of a washing rail 31 is rotated, a washing liquid is injected. Simultaneously, the horizontal arm 33 is lowered to bring the washing brush into contact with the front surface of the semiconductor wafer 22. The horizontal arm 33 is moved back and forth in this state in the diametral direction of the semiconductor wafer 22 and the washing is executed by rotating the rotary chuck 1 at a low speed. The horizontal arm 33 is risen and swiveled like alternate long and two short dashes lines to bring the washing brush into contact with the perforated section 67 in a washing tank 61 to get rid of the foreign matter sticking to the washing brush, by which the reverse transfer of the foreign matter to the wash is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus and a cleaning method for cleaning an object to be cleaned such as a semiconductor wafer or a liquid crystal glass substrate using a cleaning brush.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus and a liquid crystal manufacturing apparatus, there is a lithography process for forming a circuit pattern on a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate as an object to be cleaned.
In this lithography process, as is well known, a resist is applied to the semiconductor wafer and a circuit pattern is applied to the resist.
Irradiating light through a mask on which the resist is formed, then removing the part of the resist that is not irradiated with light (or the part irradiated with light), and processing the removed part by developing, peeling or etching. By repeating a series of steps several tens of times, a circuit pattern is formed.

In the above-mentioned series of steps, if the semiconductor wafer is contaminated, it becomes impossible to form a circuit pattern precisely, which causes defective products. Therefore, when forming a circuit pattern in each step, the semiconductor wafer is washed in a clean state in which fine particles such as resist and dust do not remain.

[0004] As the apparatus for cleaning the object to be cleaned, there are a batch type in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers are immersed in a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid for cleaning, and a method for rotating one object to be cleaned, and There is a single-wafer type in which a cleaning liquid is sprayed on an object to perform cleaning, and a single-wafer type having a high cleaning effect tends to be used as an object to be cleaned becomes larger.

A single-wafer type cleaning apparatus includes a spin cleaning method for cleaning an object to be cleaned while rotating the object. In this spin cleaning method, the object to be rotated is driven in order to further enhance the cleaning effect. A cleaning brush is brought into contact with the upper surface of the substrate, and a cleaning liquid is supplied to the contact portion for cleaning.

[0006] By bringing the cleaning brush into contact with the object to be cleaned, foreign substances such as fine particles and metal ions adhering to the object to be cleaned can be efficiently cleaned and removed. However, the foreign matter removed from the object to be cleaned is transferred to the cleaning brush, and the transfer amount is cumulatively increased.
In some cases, foreign matter transferred to the cleaning brush during the cleaning of the object to be cleaned is reversely transferred to the object to be cleaned, and the cleanliness of the object to be cleaned is reduced.

[0007]

As described above, if a cleaning brush is brought into contact with an object to be cleaned in order to improve the effect of cleaning the object to be cleaned, foreign matter transferred to the cleaning brush increases. As a result, the foreign matter may be transferred back to the object to be cleaned.

An object of the present invention is to prevent foreign matter removed from an object to be cleaned by the cleaning brush from being transferred back to the object to be cleaned when the object to be cleaned is cleaned with the cleaning brush. An object of the present invention is to provide a cleaning apparatus and a cleaning method.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning apparatus for supplying a cleaning liquid to an object to be cleaned held in a predetermined state, and for bringing the cleaning object into contact with a cleaning brush which is driven to rotate. Holding means for holding the object to be cleaned in a predetermined state, and a cleaning brush for rotating the cleaning brush up and down and moving the cleaning brush on the object to be cleaned when cleaning the object to be cleaned held by the holding means. And cleaning means for cleaning the cleaning brush which has cleaned the object to be cleaned.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the cleaning means is provided in the vicinity of the holding means and in the area of the swiveling motion of the cleaning brush swiveled by the driving means. It is characterized by the following.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the invention, the cleaning means includes a cleaning tank to which a cleaning liquid is supplied, and an ultrasonic wave for applying ultrasonic vibration to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid. And a vibrator.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claims 1 to 3.
In the invention according to any one of the above, the cleaning means comprises a cleaning tank to which a cleaning liquid is supplied, and a contact member provided in the cleaning tank for contacting the cleaning brush.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the fourth aspect, the contact member is formed of a porous member having a large number of through holes. According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning method in which a cleaning liquid is supplied to an object to be cleaned held in a predetermined state, and the cleaning is performed by bringing a cleaning brush that is driven to rotate into contact with the cleaning liquid. A cleaning step of cleaning the object to be cleaned held in the holding step with a cleaning brush, and a cleaning brush if the object to be cleaned is cleaned in the work cleaning step. A retreating step of retreating, and a brush cleaning step of cleaning the cleaning brush when carrying out the uncleaned object after carrying out the cleaned object after the retreating step. .

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning means for cleaning the cleaning brush which has cleaned the object to be cleaned is provided, the cleaning means can clean the cleaning brush which has cleaned the object to be cleaned. it can. For this reason, the object to be cleaned can be cleaned with the clean cleaning brush, so that foreign substances are prevented from being reversely transferred from the cleaning brush to the object to be cleaned.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cleaning means for cleaning the cleaning brush is provided in the area of the swiveling motion of the cleaning brush, so that the cleaning brush is rotated when the object to be cleaned is not cleaned. Can be washed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning effect of the cleaning brush can be enhanced by cleaning the cleaning brush with the cleaning liquid to which the ultrasonic vibration is applied. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the contact member for contacting the cleaning brush is provided in the cleaning tank for cleaning the cleaning brush, foreign substances attached to the cleaning brush can be efficiently removed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the contact member is formed of a porous member having a large number of through-holes, the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank when the ultrasonic vibration is applied. It reliably acts on the cleaning brush that has passed through the hole and has come into contact with the contact member.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the object to be cleaned is cleaned by the cleaning brush, the cleaning brush is retracted, the cleaned object to be cleaned is carried out, and the uncleaned object is supplied. In the meantime, the cleaning brush is cleaned, so that the cleaning brush can be cleaned without increasing the tact time required for cleaning the object to be cleaned.

[0019]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 shows a spin processing apparatus A as a holding means of the cleaning processing apparatus of the present invention. The spin processing device A has a spin cup 1. This spin cup 1 comprises a bottomed cup 1a having an open upper surface, and an upper cup 1b provided slidably with respect to the lower cup 1a and having an upper end portion of a peripheral wall inclined radially inward. The upper cup 1b can be lowered by a drive mechanism (not shown) as shown by a chain line in the figure.

At the bottom of the lower cup 1a, one end of a plurality of discharge pipes 2 is connected to the periphery, and an insertion hole 4 whose periphery is surrounded by a flange 3 is formed at the center. The support shaft 5 is inserted through the insertion hole 4. The upper part of the support shaft 5 projects into the inside of the spin cup 1, and the lower end thereof has a base plate 6 disposed below the spin cup 1.
It is fixed to. The exhaust pipe 2 is connected to a suction pump via a steam separator (not shown). Exhaust pipe 2
When the cleaning liquid, mist, and gas are sucked in, the water and gas are separated by the water / water separator, and the water is discharged to a waste liquid tank (not shown).

A rotary chuck 11 is rotatably provided on the support shaft 5. The rotary chuck 11 has a disk-shaped base 12 having a through hole 12a formed in the center. At the lower surface of the base 12, that is, at a position corresponding to the through hole 12a, a cylindrical support portion 13 is vertically provided. The support portion 13 is fitted around the support shaft 5, and the upper and lower portions are rotatably supported by the support shaft 5 by bearings 14.

A driven pulley 15 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the lower end of the support portion 13. The base plate 6 has a metal
A motor 16 is provided, and a driving pulley 17 is fitted on a rotating shaft 16a of the motor 16. This drive pulley 17
A belt 18 is stretched between the driven pulley 15 and the driven pulley 15. Therefore, when the motor 16 operates, the rotary chuck 11 is driven to rotate integrally with the support portion 13.

On the upper surface of the base 12, four columns 19 are erected at intervals of 90 degrees in the circumferential direction. A support pin 21a and an engagement pin 21b outside the support pin 21a and taller than the support pin 21a protrude from the upper end of each of the columns 19.

On the upper end of the column 19, for example, a semiconductor wafer 22 as an object to be processed is placed on the lower surface of the peripheral portion by the support pin 2.
1a, and is detachably held by engaging the outer peripheral surface with the engaging pin 21b. Therefore, the semiconductor wafer 22 is driven to rotate integrally with the rotary chuck 11.

The support shaft 5 is provided at its upper end with a conical head 5a having a diameter larger than that of the support shaft 5. The support shaft 5 has a gas supply path 30 of an inert gas such as N ₂ having a tip opened to the upper surface of the head 5a, and a tip opened to the upper surface of the head 5a through a nozzle hole 32a. The cleaning liquid supply path 30a thus formed is formed along the axial direction. The gas supply path 30 communicates with a gas supply source (not shown), and the cleaning liquid supply path also communicates with a supply source of a cleaning liquid (not shown).

The inert gas supplied to the gas supply path 30 and the cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning liquid supply path 30a are:
Each is jetted toward the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 22.

On the upper surface side of the semiconductor wafer 22 held by the rotary chuck 11, a cleaning tool 31 for cleaning the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 22 is arranged. The cleaning tool 31 includes a cleaning brush 31a and a chuck 31.
b, a rotating motor 31c, and a rotating shaft 31d of this motor.
It is composed of The cleaning brush 31a is turned by a turning mechanism 32 along the radial direction of the semiconductor wafer 22.

That is, the turning mechanism 32 has a horizontal arm 33 having a hollow cylindrical shape. A rotating motor 31c of the cleaning tool 31 has a rotating shaft 31d in the tip of the horizontal arm 33.
It is built vertically. The rotating shaft 31d protrudes from the lower surface of the horizontal arm 33, and the cleaning brush 31a is detachably attached thereto via a chuck 31b.

A first supply pipe 35 connected to a cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) is inserted through the horizontal arm 33. The tip of the first supply pipe 35 is connected to the horizontal arm 3
3 is drawn downward from the front end of the cleaning brush 31a, and the front end opening is directed to the outer peripheral surface of the cleaning brush 31a. Therefore, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the first supply pipe 35 from outside in the radial direction of the cleaning brush 31a.

The base end of the horizontal arm 33 is connected to the upper end of a pivot 36 whose axis is vertical. The lower end of the pivot shaft 36 projects downward from a through hole 6a formed in the base plate 6.

The lower end of the turning shaft 36 is rotatably supported by a support 37 provided to be vertically movable. The support 37 has a hollow box shape, and has an upper wall formed with an insertion hole 38 for inserting the turning shaft 36 therein, and inside the turning shaft 36 inserted through the insertion hole 38.
A bearing 39 is provided to rotatably support the lower end of the housing. The lower end of the turning shaft 36 projects from the bearing 39, and a driven pulley 40 is fitted therein.

A pair of guides 41 are provided on one side of the support 37 at predetermined intervals along the vertical direction, and the guides 41 are slidably engaged with the rails 43. The rail 43 is provided on one side surface of a mounting plate 42 suspended from the lower surface of the base plate 6 along the vertical direction.

The mounting plate 42 is provided with a vertical drive cylinder 44 as a vertical drive source. The rod 44a of the vertical drive cylinder 44 is connected to the support 37 via a bracket 45 at the lower end surface. Therefore,
When the vertical drive cylinder 44 operates, the horizontal arm 33 is vertically driven within a predetermined range via the support 37.

That is, when the horizontal arm 33 is lowered, the cleaning brush 31a comes into contact with the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 22 held by the rotary chuck 11 at a predetermined pressure, and when the cleaning brush 31a is raised, the cleaning brush 31a is positioned above the upper cup 1b. Then, it is possible to turn to the cleaning device B.

On the other side of the support 37, there is provided an oscillating drive 46 which constitutes a drive means with the vertical drive cylinder 44. The swing drive unit 46 has a storage box 47 attached to the other side surface of the support 37. A motor 48 is provided on the lower surface of the storage box 47. The rotation shaft 48a of the motor 48 projects into the storage box 47, and is connected to a speed reduction portion 49 provided inside the storage box 47. A drive pulley 52 is fitted on the output shaft 51 of the speed reducer 49.

An internal space between the support 37 and the storage box 47 is communicated by an opening 53. A timing belt 50 stretched between the driving pulley 52 and the driven pulley 40 is inserted through the opening 53.

Therefore, when the motor 48 is operated and the output shaft 51 of the speed reduction section 49 is driven in the forward and reverse directions,
Since the rotation is transmitted to the turning shaft 36 via the timing belt 53, the horizontal arm 3 is moved together with the turning shaft 36.
The cleaning brush 31a provided at the tip of the third wafer 3 swings on the surface of the semiconductor wafer 22.

The turning angle of the turning shaft 36 is set by a control device 54 for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, in the area of the swirling motion of the cleaning brush 31a that swivels on a horizontal plane by the swinging motion of the horizontal arm 33 near the spin processing device A, the cleaning brush 31a is cleaned. Cleaning device B for cleaning
Is provided.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning device B has a bottomed cylindrical cleaning tank 61 having an open upper surface. This washing tank 6
1 has an opening 62 formed at the bottom thereof.
Are closed in a liquid-tight manner by the diaphragm 63. An ultrasonic vibrator 64 is adhesively fixed to the lower surface of the vibrating plate 63. The ultrasonic transducer 64 is connected to an ultrasonic oscillator 65. Therefore, the ultrasonic oscillator 64 is ultrasonically vibrated by operating the ultrasonic oscillator 65.

A bracket 66 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the washing tank 61 at an intermediate position in the height direction. The bracket 66 supports a porous member 67 as a contact member such as a wire mesh, a punched metal, or a synthetic resin plate having a large number of through holes 67a.

Further, a cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning tank 61 through a second supply pipe 68. This cleaning liquid overflows from the upper opening of the cleaning tank 61. Overflow
The cleaning liquid thus collected is received by a drain pan 69 and discharged through a drain pipe 70 connected to the drain pan 69.

The porous member 67 is cleaned by rotating the cleaning brush 31a as shown by a chain line in the drawing or by swinging the cleaning brush 31a while the rotation is stopped. At this time, since the ultrasonic vibration propagating the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 61 passes through the through hole 67a of the porous member 67 and acts on the cleaning brush 31a, the cleaning brush 31a is efficiently ultrasonically cleaned. Is available.

Next, steps for cleaning the semiconductor wafer 22 by the cleaning apparatus having the above-described structure will be described. When the semiconductor wafer 22 is supplied and held by the rotary chuck 11 of the spin processing apparatus A, the motor 4 of the swing drive unit 46
8, the horizontal arm 33 is pivotally positioned above the spin processing device A.

Next, the cleaning brush 31a provided at the end of the horizontal arm 33 is rotated and the supply pipe 35 is rotated.
The horizontal arm 33 is lowered by a predetermined distance by operating the vertical drive cylinder 44 while injecting the cleaning liquid from above.

As a result, the cleaning brush 31a comes into contact with the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 22 held by the rotary chuck 11 at a predetermined pressure, and the cleaning liquid is sprayed on the contact portion. In this state, the horizontal arm 33 reciprocates, that is, swings along the radial direction of the semiconductor wafer 22, and the rotary chuck 1 is rotated at a low speed, so that the entire upper surface of the semiconductor wafer 22 is brush-cleaned. Will be.

At this time, if the cleaning liquid is sprayed from the cleaning liquid supply passage 30a formed on the support shaft 5 toward the lower surface of the semiconductor wafer 22, the lower surface can be cleaned at the same time. When the cleaning of the semiconductor wafer 22 is completed, the horizontal arm 33 rises and pivots above the cleaning device B. Next, the horizontal arm 33 descends, and the cleaning brush 31a provided at the tip thereof contacts the porous member 67 supported in the cleaning tank 61 while rotating or swinging while the rotation is stopped. Let it.

As a result, the cleaning brush 31a is rubbed against the porous member 67, so that the adhered foreign matter is efficiently removed. At the same time, the ultrasonic oscillator 64 is ultrasonically vibrated by operating the ultrasonic oscillator 65 to apply ultrasonic vibration to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank 61. Since this ultrasonic vibration acts on the cleaning brush 31a through the through hole 67a of the porous member 67, the cleaning effect of the cleaning brush 31a is also enhanced.

If the horizontal arm 33 is reciprocated within the range of the inner diameter of the cleaning tank 61 during cleaning of the cleaning brush 31a, the cleaning of the cleaning brush 31a can be performed more efficiently. .

While the cleaning brush 31a is being cleaned by the cleaning device B, in the spin processing device A, the upper cup 1a of the spin cup 1 is driven downward, and the rotary chuck 1 is rotated.
The semiconductor wafer 22 held at 1 is exposed to the outside. Then, the semiconductor wafer 22 cleaned by, for example, a robot (not shown) is discharged from the rotary chuck 11, and the uncleaned semiconductor wafer 22 is supplied thereto. Then, the upper cup 1a is driven up.

That is, the cleaning of the cleaning brush 31a is completed while the cleaned semiconductor wafer 22 is carried out from the spin processing apparatus A and the uncleaned semiconductor wafer 22 is supplied. Therefore, when the supply of the uncleaned semiconductor wafer 22 to the rotary chuck 11 is completed, the horizontal arm 3
3, the cleaning brush 31a is positioned above the rotary chuck 11 of the spin processing apparatus A, and then lowered, whereby the semiconductor wafer 22 held on the rotary chuck 11 by the clean cleaning brush 31a is lowered. Can be washed, so that when washing with the washing brush 31a,
Transfer of foreign matter from the brush 31 to the semiconductor wafer 22 can be prevented.

In addition, since the cleaning of the cleaning brush 31a is performed while the semiconductor wafer 22 is being attached to and detached from the rotary chuck 11, the tact time required for cleaning the semiconductor wafer 22 may be increased. There is no. That is, even if the cleaning brush 31a is cleaned, the processing efficiency does not decrease.

FIGS. 4A to 4C show modified examples of the contact member held in the cleaning tank 61. FIG. FIG. 7A shows a flat plate 71 made of resin having a flat surface in contact with the cleaning brush 31a, and FIG. 7B shows a plurality of ridges 72a on the surface in contact with the cleaning brush 31a at predetermined intervals. It is a convex strip 72 formed along a predetermined direction. FIG. 3C shows the cleaning brush 3.
A projection plate 73 to which a resin molded product or the like having a plurality of projections 73a projecting from a plate surface in contact with 1a is attached.

In the contact members shown in FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (c), if a through hole is formed in the same manner as in the above embodiment, the ultrasonic vibration from the lower surface side of each contact plate can be applied to the upper surface. Side, that is, the cleaning brush 31a.

In the above-described embodiment, the contact member for bringing the cleaning brush into contact with the cleaning tank of the cleaning device is provided. However, even if the contact member is not provided, only the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the cleaning liquid. Cleaning effect can be obtained.

Further, the cleaning brush is not limited to a brush made of brush bristles, but may be of any configuration that can swing over the object to be cleaned to remove foreign matter, such as a sponge brush or other material. May be used.

Further, a screw shaft may be used in place of the cylinder as a driving means for vertically driving the horizontal arm. If a screw shaft is used, the positioning of the horizontal arm in the height direction can be performed with high accuracy. Can be set.

[0057]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the cleaning means for cleaning the cleaning brush which has cleaned the object to be cleaned is provided, the cleaning brush which has cleaned the object to be cleaned by this cleaning means is cleaned. be able to. Therefore, the object to be cleaned can be cleaned with a clean cleaning brush, so that foreign substances are prevented from being transferred from the cleaning brush to the object to be cleaned in reverse.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the cleaning means for cleaning the cleaning brush is provided in the area of the turning movement of the cleaning brush, so that the cleaning brush is turned when the object to be cleaned is not cleaned. Can be washed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the cleaning effect of the cleaning brush can be enhanced by cleaning the cleaning brush with the cleaning liquid to which ultrasonic vibration has been applied. According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the contact member for contacting the cleaning brush is provided in the cleaning tank for cleaning the cleaning brush, foreign substances attached to the cleaning brush can be efficiently removed.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the contact member is formed of a porous member having a large number of through holes, the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank when the ultrasonic vibration is applied to the cleaning liquid. It reliably acts on the cleaning brush that has passed through the hole and has come into contact with the contact member.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, when the object to be cleaned is cleaned by the cleaning brush, the cleaning brush is retracted, the cleaned object to be cleaned is carried out, and an uncleaned object is supplied. In the meantime, the cleaning brush is cleaned, so that the cleaning brush can be cleaned without increasing the tact time required for cleaning the object to be cleaned.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of the spin processing apparatus in a partially sectioned manner.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the cleaning device.

FIGS. 4A to 4C are cross-sectional views each showing a modification of a contact member.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: Spin processing device (holding device) B: Cleaning device (cleaning device) 31a: Cleaning brush 44: Vertical drive cylinder (drive device) 46: Revolving drive unit (drive device) 61: Cleaning tank 64: Ultrasonic vibrator 67 ... Porous member (contact member) 67a ... Through hole

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning apparatus for supplying a cleaning liquid to an object to be cleaned held in a predetermined state and for cleaning the cleaning object by contacting a cleaning brush which is driven in rotation, wherein the object to be cleaned is held in a predetermined state. Holding means, driving means for rotating the cleaning brush and vertical movement, and for bringing the cleaning brush into contact with the cleaning object when cleaning the cleaning object held by the holding means; and A cleaning means for cleaning the cleaning brush after cleaning the cleaning brush. 2. The cleaning process according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning means is provided in the vicinity of said holding means and in an area of a turning movement of said cleaning brush turned by said driving means. apparatus. 3. The cleaning means according to claim 1, wherein the cleaning means comprises a cleaning tank to which a cleaning liquid is supplied, and an ultrasonic vibrator for applying ultrasonic vibration to the cleaning liquid in the cleaning liquid. 3. The cleaning apparatus according to 2. 4. The cleaning means according to claim 1, wherein said cleaning means comprises a cleaning tank to which a cleaning liquid is supplied, and a contact member provided in said cleaning tank for contacting said cleaning brush. The cleaning treatment device according to any one of the above. 5. The cleaning apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said contact member comprises a porous member having a large number of through holes. 6. A cleaning method in which a cleaning liquid is supplied to an object to be cleaned held in a predetermined state, and the cleaning is performed by bringing a cleaning brush that is driven to rotate into contact therewith, wherein the object to be cleaned is held in a predetermined state. A work cleaning step of cleaning the object to be cleaned held in the holding step with a cleaning brush; and retreating the cleaning brush if the object to be cleaned is cleaned in the work cleaning step. A cleaning process comprising: a retreating step; and a brush cleaning step of carrying out the object to be cleaned washed after the retreating step and cleaning the cleaning brush while supplying an uncleaned object to be cleaned. Method.