JPH10223584A - Substrate cleaning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent cleaning by an improper brush without erroneously recognizing the type of brush by successively replacing a plurality of types of brushes and performing washing treatment, based on cleaning conditions that are selected by a selection means. SOLUTION: A first brush, a second brush, and a third brush are allowed to correspond to a nylon brush 10a, a polyvinyl alcohol brush 10b, and a static elimination brush 10c for storage at a storage part 64. Then, either brush out of the three types of brushes 10a-10c is used according to the type of a substrate W, and the order of use is inputted to a control part 60 in advance from an input part 66. The control part 60 reads the data and brush information of a recipe selected by a selection means from the storage part 64, refers to the brush information according to the data of the selected recipe, sequentially replacing a plurality of types of brushes 10a-10c of the substrate W, and executes a cleaning treatment.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, a substrate for an optical disk (hereinafter simply referred to as a substrate), and the like. The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning apparatus for performing a cleaning process while slightly floating, and more particularly to a technique for performing a cleaning process while replacing a plurality of types of brushes.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus of this type, there is, for example, an apparatus for cleaning a substrate using one kind of brush. As the type of brush, nylon brush,
There are PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) brushes and the like, and the brush to be used is manually replaced by an operator. That is, according to the degree of contamination, a nylon brush is attached for cleaning or replaced with a PVA brush. For example, when cleaning the substrate after performing an insulating film treatment such as oxidation, use a nylon brush in consideration of the relatively high degree of contamination in the furnace. It is common practice to use a PVA brush because of the low degree of contamination.

[0003]

However, the prior art having such a structure has the following problems. That is, while cleaning using a nylon brush, relatively large dust adhering to the substrate can be efficiently removed, but it is difficult to remove small dust, so that the substrate cannot be properly cleaned. There is a problem. Further, when cleaning is performed using a PVA brush, even small dust adhering to the substrate can be removed, but the contamination of the brush is accelerated and the PVA brush must be frequently replaced. In addition, since the brush is manually replaced by the operator, if the type of the brush is misidentified, the cleaning process may be performed by an inappropriate brush.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and by appropriately replacing a plurality of types of brushes according to the type of a substrate and washing them, it is possible to perform appropriate cleaning regardless of the type of the substrate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus capable of performing a cleaning process on a substrate.

[0005]

The present invention has the following configuration in order to achieve the above object. That is, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1 is a substrate cleaning apparatus that cleans a substrate surface with a brush, and includes a plurality of types of brushes, brush types used in processing, and brush information indicating a use order thereof. Storage means for storing a plurality of sets of processing conditions including a plurality of sets of cleaning conditions, selecting means for selecting a desired cleaning condition from a plurality of sets of cleaning conditions stored in the storage means, and a plurality of cleaning conditions based on the cleaning conditions selected by the selecting means. And control means for performing a cleaning process while sequentially changing types of brushes.

Further, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 2 is
2. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, if the substrate has been processed with an insulating film and has an insulating film on a surface thereof, the brush information is stored in a nylon brush and a PVA ( It is characterized in that a (polyvinyl alcohol) brush and a brush for changing electrical characteristics of the substrate surface are set in that order.

[0007]

The operation of the first aspect of the invention is as follows. When a desired cleaning condition is selected from a plurality of sets of cleaning conditions stored in the storage unit by the selection unit, the control unit based on the brush information included in the selected cleaning condition,
The substrate is cleaned while replacing the brush according to the use order indicated in the brush information. Therefore, it is possible to automatically select an appropriate brush according to the type of the substrate, and to perform the cleaning process on the substrate while replacing the brush in an appropriate order of use.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the substrate has been subjected to the treatment with an insulating film and the insulating film is formed on the surface thereof, the degree of contamination of the substrate is relatively low. As it is big, we use nylon brush and PV
There are three types of brushes, A brushes and brushes for changing the electrical characteristics of the substrate surface, and the order of use is set as brush information. As a result, rough cleaning with a nylon brush is performed first, followed by precision cleaning with a PVA brush. Finally, in order to change the electrical characteristics of the substrate surface and remove fine particles, the electrical cleaning of the substrate surface is performed. The cleaning is performed with a brush for changing the characteristic. By cleaning the substrate in the plurality of types of brushes and the order of the brushes, it is possible to remove small dust and large dust while suppressing contamination of each brush, and to prevent reattachment of dust.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a brush-type substrate cleaning apparatus (also referred to as a brush scrubber) according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing the configuration, and FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a spin chuck which supports a substrate W in a horizontal posture with the surface of the substrate W facing upward by vacuum suction, for example, and is rotated around a rotation center CP by an electric motor 3 via a rotation shaft 2. It is designed to be driven.
Around the spin chuck 1, a scattering prevention cup 4 for preventing the cleaning liquid supplied from the nozzle NZ to the surface of the substrate W from scattering around.

The brush 10 for cleaning while abutting or slightly floating on the surface of the substrate W includes a standby pot TP disposed at a position distant from the side of the substrate W and a rotation center CP of the substrate W. It is moved by one swing arm 12 over the washing position. The base end side of the swing arm 12 is attached to the tip end of an arm support shaft 14 disposed on the side of the scattering prevention cup 4. The arm support shaft 14 is attached to the base 1
The rotation of the electric motor 20 is transmitted via a belt 18 to the lower end of the motor 6. Therefore, the swing arm 12 swings around the swing axis S by rotating the electric motor 20.

An air cylinder 22 is provided below the lower end of the arm support shaft 14. This air cylinder 22
By expanding and contracting the rod 22a of the arm support shaft 14
Is moved up and down to move the swing arm 12 up and down. Also, near the center of the arm support shaft 14,
An annular stopper 24 is attached, and a support 26
And restricts the lowering position of the arm support shaft 14. Further, the arm support shaft 14 has a built-in air cylinder 28, and the arm support shaft 1
4 expand and contract.

A brush chuck 30 is provided at the tip of the swing arm 12. The brush chuck 30 is rotatably mounted below the tip of the swing arm 12. The electric motor 32 disposed on the upper surface on the base end side of the swing arm 12 rotates the brush chuck 30 via a belt (not shown) provided in the swing arm 12. By rotating the electric motor 32, the brush 10 supported by the brush chuck 30 rotates on its own. Four claws 34 are attached to the lower end of the brush chuck 30 so as to be openable and closable in a cross direction, and are opened and closed by driving an air cylinder 36 disposed on the upper surface of the tip of the swing arm 12. By opening and closing the claws 34, the upper outer peripheral surface of the brush 10 is sandwiched and supported from all sides.

In the standby pot TP, three standby cups 40 are formed along the swing locus of the brush chuck 30 provided at the tip of the swing arm 12. In each of the standby cups 40, the bristles of each of the brushes 10 are stored so as to be freely inserted and withdrawn in a state where the bristles are directed downward. In the present embodiment, as an example, three types of different brushes 10 (10a, 10b, 10c) are provided in the standby pot TP. Specifically, a nylon brush 10a provided with nylon bristles suitable for rough cleaning and a PVA brush 10 provided with a sponge made of PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) suitable for precision cleaning.
b and a static elimination brush 10c having bristles made of a conductive material (for example, conductive nylon) having a property of removing static electricity on the substrate surface as a brush for changing the electrical characteristics of the substrate surface. The standby pot TP includes a cleaning unit (not shown) that cleans the hairs of the brush 10 stored in the standby cup 40 and removes dust attached from the substrate W.

The above-mentioned nozzle NZ, an electric motor 20 for oscillating the oscillating arm 12, an air cylinder 22, 28 for elevating and retracting the arm support shaft 14, and an electric unit for rotating / clamping the brush 10 are described. The motor 32 and the air cylinder 36 are totally controlled by a control unit 60 corresponding to the control means of the present invention. Storage unit 64 corresponding to storage means
Stores in advance brush information as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 4 and a processing program (hereinafter, referred to as a recipe) that defines the procedure of the cleaning process as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG.

The brush information is inputted in advance by an operator from an input unit 66 composed of a keyboard or the like, and indicates the types of the brushes 10 and the order in which the brushes 10 are used. It is set. Note that the type of the substrate W differs depending on the type of film formed on the substrate W and the content of the immediately preceding process. For example, processing contents such as oxidation processing, diffusion processing, photolithography processing, etching processing, silicon, oxide film, nitride film,
It depends on the surface condition of the photoresist film and the like.

The first to third brushes in the brush information correspond to the positions of three standby cups 40 formed in the standby pot TP (FIG. 3), and correspond sequentially from the right side. ing. Therefore, in this example, the first
Brush is nylon brush 10a, second brush is PVA
The third brush corresponds to the brush 10b, and the third brush corresponds to the discharging brush 10c. Then, three types of brushes 1 depending on the type of the substrate W
Which of the brushes 0a to 10c is to be used and in what order should be input in advance. For example, after the substrate W is subjected to an oxidizing process as a process with an insulating film, and after an oxide film is formed on the surface of the substrate W and an etching process is performed on the substrate W. Since the degree of contamination is different from that in which an oxide film is formed on the surface, the former is, for example, a recipe No. 1, the three types of brushes 10a to 10c are input so as to be used in that order. 2
Is input so that the two types of brushes 10b and 10c are used in that order. As a specific example, as shown in the brush information of FIG. In the column of the first brush, the second brush, and the third brush,
2, 3 and a numerical value indicating the order of use are input.
In the column of the second brush and the third brush, numerical values indicating the order of use and 1 and 2 are input in association with 2. When inputting brush information and a recipe described later, the monitor 68
The operator inputs / edits the contents while displaying the contents.

The recipe corresponds to the cleaning conditions together with the brush information, and is previously input by the operator from the input unit 66 similarly to the brush information, and defines the procedure of the cleaning process. In this example, for each recipe, the number of rotations (rpm) of the electric motor 3 that rotates the substrate W around the rotation center CP during cleaning, the number of rotations (rpm) of the electric motor 32 that rotates for each brush, and processing Time (rpm). Then, the brush information and the recipe are selected by the operator from the input unit 66 as the selection means.

Next, the operation of the above-described apparatus will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In this example, a single-wafer processing mode in which one lot includes one substrate W will be described as an example. In the initial state, as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the tip of the swing arm 12 is waiting above the waiting pot TP. At this time, the stopper 24 of the arm support shaft 14 is in contact with the support base 24, the rod 28a of the air cylinder 28 is extended, and the arm support shaft 14 is extended.

First, an example will be described in which a substrate W (lot) that has just been oxidized immediately before is processed, and then a substrate W (lot) that has just been etched is processed.

Step S1 (selection) The operator selects from the input section 66 brush information and a recipe corresponding to the cleaning process of the substrate W after the oxidation process. In this case, since the type of the substrate W has been subjected to the oxidation process, the recipe No. is selected from the brush information in FIG. 4 and the recipe in FIG. One is selected.

Step S2 (Washing) The substrate W that has been subjected to the oxidizing process is carried by the transport means (not shown) and held on the spin chuck 1. Control unit 60
Reads the data of the recipe and the brush information selected in step S1 from the storage unit 64, and executes the cleaning process on the substrate W while referring to the brush information according to the data of the selected recipe. The specific cleaning operation is as follows.

First, the controller 60 selects the brush 10 to be used first with reference to the brush information. In this example, the electric motor 20 is driven to swing the swing arm 12 so that the brush chuck 30 of the swing arm 12 is positioned above the nylon brush 10a stored in the standby cup 40 of the standby pot TP. . And the air cylinder 3
6, the pawl 34 is opened, the rod 28a of the air cylinder 28 is contracted, and the brush chuck 30 is lowered. Next, the nail 34 is closed by operating the air cylinder 36, the nylon brush 10 a is held by the brush chuck 30, and the rod 28 a of the air cylinder 28 is extended to take out the held nylon brush 10 a from the standby cup 40.

Next, the rod 22a of the air cylinder 22 is extended to lift the arm support shaft 14 upward. In this state, the electric motor 20 is rotated forward to swing the swing arm 12, and the nylon brush 10a is mounted on the substrate. It is moved above the rotation center CP of W.

Then, the electric motor 3 is rotated forward and the recipe No. The rotation of the substrate W is started at the rotation speed R1 specified in FIG.
is contracted, and the nylon brush 10a is lowered to bring the hair of the nylon brush 10a into contact with the surface of the substrate W. Note that the hair of the nylon brush 10a may be washed with the hair slightly lifted without contacting the substrate W.
Further, the supply of the cleaning liquid from the nozzle NZ is started, and the electric motor 32 is driven to rotate the nylon brush 10a at the rotation speed R2, and the electric motor 20 repeats the reverse rotation / normal rotation for the processing time T1. As a result, the nylon brush 10a repeatedly moves from the rotation center CP to the outer edge of the substrate W, as shown in FIG. 3, and cleans the entire surface of the substrate W. Since the substrate W has been subjected to an oxidation treatment in a furnace and has a high degree of contamination, first, rough cleaning for efficiently removing large dusts is performed by the nylon brush 10a.

When the processing time T1 elapses after washing with the nylon brush 10a, the above-described operation is performed in the reverse order, and the nylon brush 10a is moved to and stored in the standby cup 40 of the standby pot TP. Then, referring to the brush information, the PVA brush 10b to be used next is held by the brush chuck 30 by the above-described operation.

In the same manner as the nylon brush 10a described above, the PVA brush 10b is brought into contact with the substrate W while rotating at a rotation speed R3, and the processing is performed for a processing time T2 while the swing arm 12 is swung. By this treatment, nylon brush 1
Precision cleaning is performed to remove small dust that has not been removed by the coarse cleaning of Oa. At this time, the nylon brush 10a
, The contamination of the PVA brush 10b can be reduced. Therefore, the frequency of replacement of the PVA brush 10b due to contamination can be reduced, and the operation rate of the apparatus can be improved.

When the processing time T2 has elapsed, the PVA brush 10b is housed in the standby cup 40, and the neutralizing brush 10c is held by the brush chuck 30. And the static elimination brush 1
The processing is performed over the processing time T3 by oscillating the oscillating arm 12 while rotating 0c at the rotation speed R4. By this process, the static electricity on the substrate W can be removed, and the removed dust can be prevented from reattaching.

As described above, the cleaning process for one substrate W is completed by a series of cleaning processes in which three different types of brushes are sequentially replaced and rough cleaning, precision cleaning, and anti-redeposition treatment are performed. As described above, in each cleaning, a brush suitable for processing is used, so that cleaning can be appropriately performed.

Next, a case where a new substrate W that has just been subjected to the etching process is processed will be described.

Step S1 (selection) The operator selects from the input section 66 brush information and a recipe corresponding to the cleaning processing of the substrate W after the etching processing. In this case, since the type of the substrate W has been subjected to the etching process, the recipe No. is selected from the brush information in FIG. 4 and the recipe in FIG. Two are selected.

Step S2 (Washing) The substrate W that has been subjected to the etching process is carried by the transport means (not shown) and is suction-held by the spin chuck 1. The control unit 60 reads the data of the selected recipe and the brush information from the storage unit 64, and causes the substrate W to execute the cleaning process while referring to the brush information according to the data of the selected recipe.

The cleaning process for a new substrate W is performed as follows. First, reference is made to brush information. Here, since the second brush (PVA brush 10b) is set to be used first, the brush chuck 3 is used.
The cleaning is performed over the processing time T11 while holding the PVA brush 10b at 0, rotating the new substrate W at the rotation speed R10, and rotating the PVA brush 10b at the rotation speed R12. In this case, the recipe No. 2
Even if data (R10, T10) has been input in the first brush column, the order is not set because the use order is not set for the first brush in the brush information.

Next, the PVA brush 10b is connected to the neutralizing brush 1
0c, and the processing time T
The cleaning process is performed only for twelve. As described above, the precision cleaning is first performed using the PVA brush 10b, and then the anti-redeposition treatment is performed using the static elimination brush 10c. However, since the new substrate W has been subjected to the etching process, the degree of contamination is as described above. It is extremely small as compared with that after processing. Therefore, even if the nylon brush 10a is not used, the PVA brush 10b is not suddenly contaminated, and a new substrate W can be efficiently cleaned.

As described above, for a new substrate W,
Since the degree of contamination is small, a series of processes of performing precision cleaning and anti-redeposition treatment without performing rough cleaning,
The cleaning of one new substrate W is completed. Also in this case, since a suitable brush is used in each cleaning, the cleaning can be appropriately performed.

Further, since a plurality of types of brushes are used by selecting recipes and brush information and referring to the brush information, it is possible to prevent an operator from erroneously recognizing a brush to be attached, and to perform appropriate cleaning regardless of the type of substrate. It can be carried out. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a decrease in yield due to poor cleaning.

In addition, since brush information and recipe information are stored and continuous processing using a plurality of brushes can be automatically performed only by selecting the information, new processing is performed at each brush replacement timing. There is no need to set or select conditions, and the throughput can be improved.

In the above-described embodiment, the recipe is stored in the storage unit 64 together with the brush information. However, the recipe is transmitted to the storage unit 64 from a host computer that controls and controls each device. Only the brush information may be stored in the storage unit 64.

In the above embodiment, an example was described in which a brush for removing static electricity was used as a brush for changing the electrical characteristics of the substrate surface, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, for dust attached to the substrate surface because it is negatively charged, use a charging brush to change the electrical characteristics so that the substrate surface is positively charged, and make the dust rise. May be washed. Conversely, for dust attached to the substrate surface which is positively charged, the electrical characteristics are changed using a charging brush so that the substrate surface is negatively charged, and the dust is raised. It may be washed as described above.

In the above description, one substrate W is used for one substrate.
Although the description has been made by taking the form of single-wafer processing constituting a lot as an example, the present invention can obtain the same effect even when one lot is composed of a plurality of (for example, 25) substrates W. it can. Further, the type of the brush is not limited to the above-mentioned one, and may be a mohair brush, a PP (polypropylene) brush, a PEEK (polyether ether ketone) brush, or the like.

[0041]

As is clear from the above description, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a single substrate is cleaned while automatically changing to a plurality of types of appropriate brushes according to the type of the substrate. Is performed, the operator does not misunderstand the type of the brush, and it is possible to prevent the cleaning with an inappropriate brush. Therefore, various types of substrates can be reliably and appropriately cleaned, and can be appropriately cleaned regardless of the type of substrate. As a result, it is possible to avoid inconveniences such as reduced yield due to poor cleaning.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when a substrate with a relatively high degree of contamination is processed by performing a process with an insulating film, a rough cleaning with a nylon brush is performed and then a precision cleaning with a PVA brush. Since the cleaning is performed, and then the fine dust removal processing is sequentially performed by the electrical property changing brush on the substrate surface, the cleaning can be appropriately performed while minimizing contamination of each brush. Therefore, the substrate can be appropriately cleaned, and the frequency of replacing each brush can be reduced, so that the operation rate of the apparatus can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view showing the configuration of the substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the substrate cleaning apparatus.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing brush information.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing a recipe.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a cleaning process.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W ... Substrate NZ ... Nozzle 1 ... Spin chuck 10 ... Brush 10a ... Nylon brush 10b ... PVA brush 10c ... Electrification removing brush 12 ... Swinging arm 60 ... Control unit (control unit) 64 ... Storage unit (storage unit) 66 ... Input unit (Selection means) TP… Standby pot

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate surface with a brush, wherein a plurality of types of brushes and a plurality of sets of processing conditions including types of brushes used in processing and brush information indicating the order of use are stored. Storage means; selecting means for selecting a desired cleaning condition from a plurality of sets of cleaning conditions stored in the storage means; and sequentially changing a plurality of types of brushes based on the cleaning conditions selected by the selecting means. Control means for performing a cleaning process while performing the cleaning process. 2. The apparatus for cleaning a substrate according to claim 1, wherein, if the substrate has been processed with an insulating film and has an insulating film on its surface, the brush information is stored in nylon. A substrate cleaning apparatus, wherein a brush, a PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) brush, and a brush for changing electrical characteristics of a substrate surface are set in that order.