JPH10261613A - Substrate processor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processor which can process a substrate in a state such that chemicals does not deteriorate and remains fresh, even after a replacement of chemicals. SOLUTION: In the case that a scheduled time for termination of chemicals replacement in a chemicals tub comes after a scheduled time for arrival of a 1st at the chemicals tub, a lot is started to be carried and processed. When the chemicals in the tub comes to the end of its life time, the chemicals is immediately replaced. On the other hand, in the case that the scheduled time for termination of the chemicals replacement comes before the scheduled time for arrival of a lot at the chemicals tub, a chemical replacement is delayed, such that the scheduled time for termination of chemical replacement may be the same as the scheduled time for the arrival of a lot at the tub. In either case, the lot can be carried into the chemicals the before the chemical replacement is finished, and therefore a substrate can be processed with a fresh chemicals just after the chemicals has been replaced.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for immersing a thin plate-like substrate (hereinafter simply referred to as a "substrate") such as a semiconductor substrate, a liquid crystal glass substrate, a glass substrate for a photomask, and a substrate for an optical disk in a processing liquid. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs various processes such as cleaning and etching on a surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, the above-described substrate processing apparatus has a chemical solution tank for storing a chemical solution and a washing tank for storing pure water. Then, according to a predetermined procedure, a set of a plurality of substrates (hereinafter, referred to as a “lot”) is circulated and transported to each processing tank, and the plurality of substrates are immersed for a predetermined processing time in each processing tank at the destination. Through the process, a series of substrate treatments of removing contaminants on the substrate surface, etching an oxide film on the substrate surface, and stripping a resist film is achieved.

[0003] A chemical solution has a liquid life depending on the type of the chemical solution. In this specification, the term “liquid life” means an upper limit time in which the chemical solution can be used after supplying the chemical solution to the chemical solution tank or an upper limit number of times the substrate can be immersed in the chemical solution. If the immersion process is performed using the chemical solution after the liquid life has expired, the processing may be defective.If the chemical liquid in the chemical tank reaches the liquid life, the discharge of the substrate is temporarily stopped and the liquid is discharged. After the chemical liquid whose life has expired is drained and a new chemical liquid is supplied, that is, after the liquid is replaced, the processing is restarted. When the processing is restarted, the substrate is discharged again, and the substrate processing is performed by a series of circulating conveyance.

[0004]

However, after the processing is resumed, a certain period of time such as the transfer time or the processing time in the circulating transfer path is required until the first discharged substrate reaches the chemical solution tank where the liquid has been exchanged. It takes time. Therefore, when the first substrate after the restart of the process is carried into the chemical solution tank, the chemical solution is not necessarily in a fresh state, but deteriorates with time according to the time required until the chemical solution is carried in.

[0005] Such a problem becomes more serious as the liquid life of the liquid chemical is shorter and the liquid tank whose liquid has been exchanged is located downstream of the circulating conveyance.

Further, since a series of circulating conveyance is stopped during the liquid exchange, there is a problem that the throughput is reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of performing a substrate processing in a fresh state in which a chemical solution has not deteriorated with time even after liquid replacement. I do.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of suppressing a decrease in throughput during liquid exchange.

[0009]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing immersion processing on a substrate, comprising: (a) storing a chemical solution; A chemical solution tank for performing the immersion process, (b) a substrate loading section for loading the substrate into the substrate processing apparatus, and (c) a scheduled arrival time at which the substrate reaches the chemical solution tank from the substrate loading section. Scheduled arrival time calculating means, and (d) a liquid at which the liquid exchange ends when the liquid exchange of the chemical liquid tank is performed at any time until the substrate reaches the chemical liquid tank from the substrate charging section. A liquid exchange scheduled end time calculating means for calculating a scheduled replacement end time, and (e) an exchange delay means for delaying the liquid exchange according to a difference between the expected arrival time and the scheduled liquid exchange end time. I have.

[0010] In a second aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the replacement delay means includes a step of, if the scheduled liquid exchange end time is earlier than the expected arrival time. The liquid exchange is delayed such that the expected liquid exchange end time and the expected arrival time are the same.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, when the scheduled liquid exchange end time is later than the expected arrival time, the exchange delay means is provided. The substrate is inserted into the substrate input section without delaying the liquid exchange.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

A. Overall schematic configuration of substrate processing apparatus:
The overall configuration of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a chemical solution tank C
B1, CB2, washing tanks WB1, WB2, FR, a drying unit SD, and a substrate transport robot TR for transporting substrates. Further, the substrate processing apparatus 100 has, at both ends thereof,
The apparatus includes a loader section (substrate loading section) LD on which a cassette 20 containing unprocessed substrates W is placed and an unloader section ULD on which a cassette 20 for storing processed substrates W is placed.

The chemical tanks CB1 and CB2 are tanks capable of storing a chemical such as sulfuric acid, ammonia, hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, hydrogen peroxide or a mixture thereof (hereinafter, simply referred to as "chemical"). This is a processing tank for performing an etching process or the like on the substrate. The washing tanks WB1 and WB2 are processing tanks that contain pure water and wash chemicals attached to the substrate W. The washing tank FR is also a washing tank containing pure water, and is mainly used for finishing washing.
Further, the drying unit SD rotates the substrate W while rotating the substrate W.
This is a processing unit that removes water drops adhering to the surface and dries it.

The substrate transfer robot TR is movable in the horizontal and vertical directions, pays out unprocessed lots from the loader section LD, and executes a predetermined processing procedure (hereinafter, referred to as a predetermined processing procedure).
The robot is a robot that circulates and transports a lot between the processing tanks according to a “recipe” and transfers the processed lot to an unloader unit ULD. The substrate transport robot TR includes a pair of openable and closable hands 11, and a plurality of grooves for holding the substrate W are provided in the hand 11 in parallel at a constant pitch (shown in the figure). (Omitted), lots are held by the plurality of grooves. When the substrate transport robot TR receives the lot from the loader section LD, the pair of hands 11 of the substrate transport robot TR grips the lot raised from the cassette 20 by a holder (not shown) provided below the cassette 20. It is done by doing. When transferring the lot to the unloader unit ULD, the lot is transferred from the hand 11 to a holder (not shown), and the lot is stored in the cassette 20 by descending the holder. You. Note that the example shown here is an apparatus of a type in which a lot is taken out from the cassette 20 and the lot is directly gripped and transported by the substrate transport robot TR.
May be a so-called cassette transfer type device for transferring a lot while holding the same.

B. Control mechanism of substrate processing apparatus: Next, a control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described. FIG.
FIG. 3 is a functional block diagram for explaining a control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus 100. The substrate processing apparatus 100 incorporates a desktop computer 30. An operator can give commands to the apparatus and set processing patterns and processing conditions via the desktop computer 30.

The desktop computer 30 has a CPU 31 as its main body and a ROM as a read-only memory.
32, a RAM 33 which is a readable and writable memory,
A magnetic disk 34 for storing control software, data, etc., an input / output port 35 as an interface with associated input / output devices, and a network port 36 as an interface with a device that directly controls the substrate processing apparatus 100. A communication port 3 for communicating with a host computer or the like provided outside the substrate processing apparatus 100
7 is provided. The desktop computer 30 is also provided with a display 38 and a keyboard 39 via an input / output port 35.
You can enter commands and parameters from. Then, the operator can set and input the scheduled arrival time of the substrate and the scheduled end time of the liquid exchange in the chemical tank from the keyboard 39.

The command input to the desktop computer 30 is processed based on processing software, and is transmitted from the desktop computer 30 to the master controller 40 and the tank controller 50 via the network port 36 as necessary. Is done. The master controller 40 controls the operation of the substrate transport robot TR (see FIG. 1). Further, the master controller 40 can calculate the scheduled arrival time of the lot to reach the chemical solution tank and the scheduled liquid exchange end time of the chemical solution tank, and give a liquid exchange command to the tank controller 50 as necessary. .

The tank controller 50 that has received the liquid exchange command
Are a chemical liquid discharging means 51 and a chemical liquid supplying means 53 which will be described later.
And the like, and controls the injection and drainage of each processing tank. Further, the tank controller 50 includes a timer 56 and a counter 57, and uses these to manage the life of the chemical solution.

C. Configuration of Chemical Solution Tank: Next, Substrate Processing Apparatus 1
The configuration of the chemical solution tank CB2 provided in 00 will be described. The following description is for the chemical solution tank CB2, but the same applies to the chemical solution tank CB1.

FIG. 3 shows a chemical solution tank CB of the substrate processing apparatus 100.
FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the configuration of FIG. The chemical solution tank CB2 includes an inner tank 60, an outer tank 65, a bat 68, and a liquid supply / drainage mechanism associated therewith.

The inner tank 60 is a tank for storing a chemical solution and performing an etching process with the chemical solution on the immersed substrate W. The outer tank 65 is a tank for collecting a chemical solution overflowing from the inner tank 60. The chemical liquid overflowing into the outer tank 65 is circulated to the inner tank 60 by the circulation pump 70, and is purified by the circulation filter 71 in the path.

A chemical solution can be supplied from the chemical solution supply means 53 to the inner tank 60. The chemical solution is supplied to the inner tank 60
This is performed by supplying a chemical solution directly into the inner tank 60 from above, but is not limited to this. For example,
A new chemical solution may be supplied in the circulation path from the outer tank 65 to the inner tank 60, or may be supplied to the outer tank 65 while the circulation pump 70 is operating.

The vat 68 is a container for collecting the chemical liquid overflowing from the inner tank 60 and the outer tank 65.

The inner tank 60, the outer tank 65, and the butt 6
The chemical solution stored in 8 can be drained by the chemical solution draining means 51 via drain air valves 73, 72, 74, respectively. It should be noted that the chemical liquid discharging means 51, the chemical liquid supplying means 53, the circulation pump 70, and the air valves 72, 73, 74 shown in FIG.
) Controls its operation.

When the immersion process is performed in the chemical solution tank CB2 shown in FIG. 3, first, a chemical solution is supplied from the chemical solution supply means 53, and a predetermined amount of liquid necessary for the immersion process is stored in the inner tank 60 and the outer tank 65. Then, after the supply of the chemical solution is stopped, the lot is immersed in the chemical solution in the inner tank 60, and the etching process on the substrate W is started. While the immersion processing is being performed on the substrate W, the air valves 72, 73, 7
Reference numeral 4 is closed, and the circulation pump 70 recirculates the chemical solution. That is, in the steady state of the immersion processing, the overflowing chemical solution among the processing chemical solutions in the inner tank 60 is
The operation of being collected in the outer tank 65, being purified by the circulation filter 71 via the circulation pump 70, and then being supplied to the inner tank 60 again is repeated.

When the liquid is exchanged in the chemical tank CB2, all the chemicals stored in the inner tank 60 and the outer tank 65 are drained through the air valves 72 and 73, respectively. This is performed by supplying a new chemical solution and storing a predetermined amount of liquid necessary for the immersion process in the inner tank 60 and the outer tank 65 again. Further, at the time of liquid exchange, cleaning of the tank and temperature control of the chemical solution are also performed by cleaning means and temperature adjusting means (not shown).

D. Substrate processing procedure: Next, substrate processing apparatus 1
The liquid exchange delay processing which is a feature of the substrate processing procedure in 00 will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate processing procedure in the substrate processing apparatus 100. FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an aspect of the liquid exchange delay processing in the substrate processing apparatus 100.

First, the operator selects a processing tank to be subjected to the liquid exchange delay processing, which is a technique according to the present invention, from among the processing tanks provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100, and inputs settings from the keyboard 39 (step S1). S1). Usually, a chemical tank is selected, and here, the chemical tank CB2 is set as a target tank.

Next, it is determined whether or not the lot to be processed is carried into the set processing tank, that is, the chemical tank CB2 (step S2). This determination is made by the master controller 40 identifying the recipe corresponding to the lot. If the result of the determination is that the lot is not carried into the chemical solution tank CB2, there is no need to delay the liquid exchange, so the process proceeds to step S7c, where the lot is discharged from the loader unit LD and transported and processed according to the recipe.

On the other hand, when the lot is carried into the chemical tank CB2, the process proceeds to step S3, and the lot is transferred to the chemical tank CB2.
The estimated time to reach B2 is calculated. The scheduled arrival time is a parameter calculated by the master controller 40, and is a time required for the lot to be carried into the chemical solution tank CB2, in other words, each processing tank immersed before the lot is carried into the chemical solution tank CB2. Is calculated based on the sum of the processing time and the transport time between the processing tanks. For example,
The lot paid out from the loader section LD is the chemical solution tank CB1.
And when it is carried into the chemical tank CB2 after passing through the washing tank WB1, the total immersion processing time in the washing tank WB1 and the chemical tank CB1, the distance between the loader section LD and the chemical tank CB1,
The estimated arrival time is calculated based on the sum of the total transport time between the chemical tank CB1 and the washing tank WB1 and between the washing tank WB1 and the chemical tank CB2. The scheduled arrival time may be set and input by the operator via the keyboard 39.

Next, the process proceeds to step S4, and it is determined whether or not the chemical solution tank CB2 has a longer life until the lot reaches the chemical solution tank CB2 (the chemical solution in the tank reaches the liquid life). This judgment is made by the tank controller 5 that manages the liquid life.
0 refers to the expected arrival time. If the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid tank CB2 does not reach the liquid life by the time the lot reaches the chemical liquid tank CB2, there is no need to delay the liquid exchange. It is paid out and transported and processed according to the recipe.

On the other hand, if the chemical in the chemical tank CB2 reaches the liquid life before the lot reaches the chemical tank CB2,
The master controller 40 calculates the scheduled time for ending the liquid replacement (step S5). At this time, the liquid exchange is not actually performed, and the time required for the liquid exchange is added to the time when the chemical solution reaches the liquid life, to calculate the scheduled liquid exchange end time. In addition, the operator may set and input the scheduled liquid exchange end time via the keyboard 39.

Next, proceeding to step S6, the master controller 40 compares the expected arrival time with the expected liquid exchange end time. If the scheduled liquid exchange end time is after the scheduled arrival time, the process proceeds to step S7b, where the lot is paid out from the loader unit LD without delaying the liquid exchange, and the lot is conveyed and processed according to the recipe. Thereafter, when the chemical in the chemical tank CB2 reaches the liquid life, the liquid is exchanged. In this case, since the scheduled liquid exchange end time is after the scheduled arrival time, before the lot is carried into the chemical solution tank CB2, it is necessary to wait for the difference between the estimated liquid exchange end time and the estimated arrival time. Become.

On the other hand, if the scheduled liquid exchange end time is earlier than the expected arrival time, the process proceeds to step S7a, where the lot is discharged from the loader unit LD, and the liquid exchange is performed while executing the transfer and processing according to the recipe. Is delayed (step S
8). At this time, in step S8, the master controller 40 delays the liquid exchange so that the expected liquid exchange end time and the expected arrival time are the same. Then, when the scheduled liquid exchange end time and the scheduled arrival time become the same, the process proceeds to step S9, and the liquid exchange is performed. In this case, the lot can be carried into the chemical solution tank CB2 at the same time as the completion of the liquid exchange.

An example of a processing mode according to the above processing procedure will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows that the lot is a chemical solution tank C.
B2 shows the carry is the scheduled time (estimated time of arrival), a lot that has been paid out from the loader section LD at time t ₀ reaches the chemical tank CB2 time t _5. Therefore, at time t ₅
Is the estimated arrival time calculated in step S3.

FIGS. 5 (b) to 5 (e) show examples of the timing of liquid exchange in the chemical liquid tank CB2. In the example shown in FIG. 5E, the time when the chemical solution in the chemical solution tank CB2 reaches the liquid lifetime is time t.
Is _6, the lot arrives at the chemical tank CB2 (time t ₅₎
Later than. Therefore, from step S4 to step S
Proceeding to 7c, the lot is discharged from the loader section LD without delaying the chemical solution processing, and the processing is started.

On the other hand, in the example shown in FIGS.
Lot to reach the chemical tank CB2 until the (time t _5),
Since all of the chemicals in the chemical solution tank CB2 reach the liquid life, the expected liquid replacement end time is calculated (step S5), and the expected arrival time is compared with the expected liquid replacement end time (step S6).

Of these, in the example shown in FIG.
Since the scheduled liquid exchange end time t ₇ is later than the expected arrival time t ₅ , when the processing of the lot is started (step S7b), the chemical liquid in the chemical liquid tank CB2 eventually reaches the liquid life (time t ₄ ). Immediate liquid exchange is performed (step S9). 5 In the example (d), the but between lots from arrival scheduled time t ₅ to liquor exchange scheduled end time t ₇ is to wait, the drug solution is performed by the immersion treatment in a fresh state immediately after the liquid exchange Can be.

Further, in the example shown in FIG. 5 (c), the liquid exchange expected ending time t ₅ is concurrent and scheduled arrival time t _5. In this case as well, the lot processing starts (step S7).
b) After that, when the chemical solution in the chemical solution tank CB2 eventually reaches the solution life (time t ₃ ), the solution is immediately replaced (step S9). At the same time when the liquid exchange is completed, the lot is
Since it is carried into B2, the immersion treatment can be performed in a fresh state immediately after the liquid solution is exchanged.

[0041] However, in the example shown in FIG. 5 (b), the liquid exchange expected ending time t ₂ is before the estimated time of arrival t _5.
In this case, the processing of the lot is started (step S7a), and the liquid exchange is delayed. That is, an amount corresponding liquid exchange expected ending time of the elapsed time by the processing of the lot is delayed from time t ₂ (step S8), and the liquid exchange is not started even after reaching the time t ₁ is a chemical liquid lifetime. Thereafter, the development processing of the lot is further eventually when it reaches the time t _3, the liquid exchange expected ending time is equal to the estimated time of arrival t _5, the liquid exchange is performed (step S9). Since the lot is carried into the chemical solution tank CB2 at the same time as the completion of the liquid exchange, the immersion treatment can be performed in a fresh state immediately after the liquid exchange of the chemical solution.

In the examples shown in FIGS. 5B to 5D, the transfer and processing of the lot is performed at least in part during the liquid exchange period, so that the liquid exchange is performed. A decrease in throughput during replacement can be suppressed. In particular, in the examples shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, since the transport and processing of the lot are executed concurrently during the entire period of the liquid exchange, the effect of suppressing the decrease in the throughput is great.

Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described example. For example, the substrate processing apparatus 100 in the above-described embodiment is an apparatus for processing a substrate W in lot units. But this was 1
It may be a single-wafer-type substrate processing apparatus that processes one by one.

The liquid exchange delay processing is performed in the chemical tank C
Even if B1 is set as the target tank, the present invention can be similarly applied.

[0045]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the liquid exchange is delayed according to the difference between the expected arrival time and the liquid exchange end scheduled time. Then, the substrate is carried into the chemical solution tank, and the substrate processing can be performed in a fresh state in which the chemical solution has not deteriorated with time immediately after the liquid exchange.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the scheduled liquid exchange end time is earlier than the expected arrival time, the liquid exchange is performed so that the estimated liquid exchange end time and the expected arrival time are the same. Is delayed, in addition to the same effect as the first aspect of the present invention, the substrate processing is executed concurrently with the liquid exchange during the entire period of the liquid exchange, and a decrease in throughput during the liquid exchange can be suppressed. .

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the scheduled liquid exchange end time is later than the expected arrival time, the substrate is loaded without delaying the liquid exchange. The effect of can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing an example of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for explaining a control mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a chemical solution tank of the substrate processing apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a substrate processing procedure in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram showing an aspect of a liquid exchange delay process in the substrate processing apparatus of FIG. 1;

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 40 Master controller 50 Tank controller 51 Chemical liquid discharging means 53 Chemical liquid supplying means 72, 73, 74 Air valve 100 Substrate processing device CB1, CB2 Chemical liquid tank LD Loader unit W substrate

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification symbol FI // G11B 7/26 G11B 7/26

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for performing an immersion process on a substrate, comprising: (a) a chemical solution tank for storing a chemical solution and performing an immersion process on the substrate in the chemical solution; (C) an expected arrival time calculating means for calculating an expected arrival time at which the substrate reaches the chemical solution tank from the substrate insertion portion, and (d) the substrate from the substrate input portion. A liquid-exchange scheduled time calculating means for calculating a scheduled liquid-change end time at which the liquid exchange ends when the liquid is exchanged in the chemical tank at any time before reaching the chemical solution tank; A substrate processing apparatus comprising: an exchange delay unit that delays the liquid exchange according to a difference between the expected arrival time and the expected liquid exchange end time. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the replacement delay unit determines that the liquid replacement end time and the arrival time are shorter when the liquid replacement end time is earlier than the arrival time. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the liquid exchange is delayed so that a scheduled time becomes the same. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the scheduled liquid exchange end time is after the scheduled arrival time, the exchange delay unit does not delay the liquid exchange. A substrate processing apparatus, wherein the substrate input section inputs the substrate.