JPH10275846A - Substrate-holding member and substrate-treating device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate holding member with which for draining performance is improved. SOLUTION: A holding groove 58 for holding a wafer W is provided with a groove bottom 150, with almost width and a pair of inclined surfaces 151 which face each other and area open up towards the top. When viewed from the front, a V-shaped groove is formed by inclined sides 151a and 151b of the inclined surfaces 151. The width of the lower end of the V-shaped groove is almost zero. Accordingly, the wafer W is in contact with the inclined sides 151a and 151b at the ends of both sides. Namely, the wafer W is contact with the holding groove 58 at a point. In this way, no liquid remains on the wafer W. Since the draining performance improved, no water mark is formed on the wafer at the time of drying. A high-quantity substrate can be provided accordingly.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a substrate holding member for holding various substrates to be processed, such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device and a glass substrate for a PDP (plasma display panel), and the above various substrates to be processed. The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a semiconductor device manufacturing process, a batch-type wafer processing apparatus for processing a plurality of semiconductor wafers (hereinafter, simply referred to as "wafers") collectively is sometimes used. This type of wafer processing apparatus is used to collectively immerse a plurality of wafers in a chemical solution or the like, thereby cleaning the wafer surface or removing a thin film formed on the wafer surface. A plurality of chemical processing units for performing a chemical processing, and a reduced-pressure drying unit for washing the wafer after the chemical processing with water and further drying under reduced pressure.

In order to carry out uniform processing over the entire area of a wafer, for example, a so-called cassetteless system is employed for transferring the wafer between the processing sections. That is, the wafer processing apparatus includes a wafer transfer robot having a wafer holding chuck provided with a plurality of holding grooves and capable of moving between each chamber. The plurality of wafers are aligned and held so as to be sandwiched by the wafer holding chuck while being fitted into the holding grooves.

[0004] The reduced-pressure drying section is for washing the wafer with pure water and drying the wafer using IPA (isopropyl alcohol) vapor. More specifically, the wafer conveyed by the wafer holding robot is transferred to a vertically movable wafer guide in the reduced-pressure drying unit, and is collectively vertically aligned and held by the wafer guide. Thereafter, the wafer guide is lowered, accommodated in a storage tank storing pure water, and washed in the storage tank. Thereafter, the IPA vapor is supplied into the reduced-pressure drying section, and the wafer guide is raised to lift the wafer from pure water. As a result, the water droplets adhering to the wafer are replaced with the IPA vapor, the water droplets are removed from the wafer, and the wafer surface is covered with the IPA vapor. Further, in this state, the pressure in the chamber is reduced. As a result, the IP covering the wafer surface
A vapor evaporates. Thereby, the wafer is dried.

FIGS. 16 and 17 show examples of the configuration of a wafer guide. FIG. 16 is a side view showing the configuration of the wafer guide, and FIG. 17 is a plan view showing the configuration of the wafer guide. The wafer guide 600 is configured to align and hold a plurality of wafers W along a predetermined direction x, and each wafer W is held by three holding grooves 602.

That is, the wafer guide 600 has three base portions 601 extending in the predetermined direction x and arranged in parallel, and a plurality of holding grooves 602 attached to each base portion 601. I have. The holding groove 602 includes a pair of groove side portions 603 opposed to each other and shifted by a length substantially corresponding to the width of the wafer W, and a pair of the groove side portions 60.
3 has a groove bottom portion 604 which is a bottom portion sandwiched between the grooves 3.

A holding groove attached to one of the base portions is attached to the other two base portions, and is arranged along a direction y substantially perpendicular to the direction x with respect to the holding groove. Together with the two holding grooves, a group is formed. The three holding grooves in one group have a positional relationship in which two outsides are arranged above the center so as to conform to the end face shape of the wafer W. With this configuration, one wafer W is It is held by three holding grooves in one group.

[0008]

When the wafer W is held by the wafer guide 600, the end face of the wafer W is formed as shown in FIG. It is held in contact with the bottom 604. That is, the wafer W is held in a state of being in line contact with the groove bottom 604. Therefore, when the wafer W is lifted, water droplets flowing down from the wafer W are generated by the groove bottom 604.
And the problem of poor drainage occurred.

When the wafer W is held by the wafer guide 600, one of the surfaces of the wafer W comes into surface contact with the groove side portion 603 of the holding groove 602. Gets worse. Therefore,
An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to provide a substrate holding member with improved liquid drainage performance and a substrate processing apparatus using the same.

[0010]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface facing each other so as to open in one direction. A substantially V-shaped holding groove including a groove bottom formed to have a width less than the thickness of the substrate near the intersection of the first and second inclined surfaces; This is a substrate holding member configured to hold a substrate by contacting peripheral portions of both surfaces.

According to the present invention, since the width of the groove bottom of the holding groove is smaller than the thickness of the substrate, the substrate makes point contact with the first and second inclined surfaces at the peripheral edges on both surfaces thereof. Therefore, when the substrate holding member is used with the pair of inclined surfaces arranged so as to open upward, even when holding a wet substrate, the liquid flowing down from the substrate is easily discharged from the holding groove. Become. Therefore, the liquid drainage performance can be improved. Therefore, when the present invention is applied to an apparatus for drying while holding a wet substrate, the substrate can be dried well. Therefore, a high-quality substrate can be provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the substrate holding member according to the first aspect, wherein the groove bottom is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane along a depth direction crossing the width direction. It is. According to the present invention, since the groove bottom is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, the liquid drainage performance can be further improved as compared with the first aspect of the present invention. Therefore, a higher quality substrate can be provided.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate holding member according to the first or second aspect, wherein tapered surfaces inclined with respect to a horizontal plane are provided on both sides of the holding groove. According to the present invention, since both sides of the holding groove are tapered, the liquid drainage performance can be further improved as compared with the inventions described in the first and second aspects. Therefore, an even higher quality substrate can be provided.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate holding member according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising a discharge portion through which the liquid can flow out, in relation to the groove bottom. . According to the present invention, for example, when the substrate holding member is used with the pair of inclined surfaces disposed so as to expand upward, the liquid flowing down from the substrate can be discharged from the discharge unit, so that the liquid drainage performance is further improved. Can be improved. Therefore, an even higher quality substrate can be provided.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate holding member according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, and a storage tank for storing a processing liquid for immersing the substrate held by the substrate holding member. , For the treatment liquid stored in the storage tank,
A substrate processing apparatus comprising: a moving unit that relatively moves the substrate holding member and the processing liquid to immerse or lift the substrate held by the substrate holding member.

According to the present invention, an apparatus for immersing a substrate in a processing liquid stored in a storage tank for processing is provided with the substrate holding member according to any one of claims 1 to 4 above. Even when the substrate is dried by lifting the substrate to remove the processing liquid, the removed processing liquid does not remain on the groove bottom of the substrate holding member. Therefore, the substrate can be dried well, and a high-quality substrate can be provided.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect, wherein the substrate holding member holds the substrate at at least three positions on the periphery of the substrate. According to the present invention, the substrate is held at least at three positions on the periphery thereof, so that the substrate can be held stably. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of troubles such as tilting of the substrate. For example, even when the substrate holding member aligns and holds a plurality of substrates collectively,
There is no contact between the substrates. Therefore, a high-quality substrate can be provided without damaging the substrate.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a wet station to which a reduced-pressure drying apparatus as a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention is applied. This wet station 1 has a cassette C
(For example, 26) wafers W stored in the wafer W
To perform chemical treatment on the

The wet station 1 has an alignment section 2 for adjusting the orientation of two cassettes (for example, 52) of wafers W (for example, 52), and for taking out the adjusted wafers W from the cassette C collectively. And a plurality of chemical processing units 4, 5, 6, for performing a chemical processing on the wafer W taken out of the cassette by the extraction unit 3.
7, 8 and 9 and a reduced-pressure drying unit 10 for collectively washing the plurality of wafers W after the chemical treatment with water and drying under reduced pressure. Alignment unit 2, take-out unit 3, chemical processing units 4 to 9
The reduced-pressure drying unit 10 is linearly arranged along a predetermined processing unit arrangement direction a.

The chemical processing sections 4 to 9 collectively immerse a plurality of wafers W in a predetermined chemical to
Is to be processed. That is, each of the chemical processing units 4 to 9
A storage tank (not shown) capable of storing a chemical such as ammonia, hydrofluoric acid, sulfuric acid, or the like is disposed inside the wafer, and the wafer W is immersed in the storage tank in which the chemical is stored. The surface of W is cleaned or the thin film formed on the surface of wafer W is removed.

The wet station 1 further includes a wafer transfer robot 11 for transferring a plurality of wafers W at one time between the unloading section 3 and the reduced-pressure drying section 10. The wafer transfer robot 11 is movable along the processing unit arrangement direction a, and has a wafer holding chuck 12 that can be opened and closed in the processing unit arrangement direction a. The wafer holding chuck 12 is attached to the wafer transfer robot 11 so as to be able to move up and down. With this configuration, the wafer W can be transferred to the inside of the chemical processing units 4 to 9 and the reduced-pressure drying unit 10.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the structure of the wafer holding chuck 12. The wafer holding chuck 12 has a pair of chuck portions 13 arranged to face each other in the processing unit arrangement direction a. Each chuck part 13
Are a pair of arms 14 (only one side is shown) arranged at a predetermined interval in a wafer arrangement direction b substantially orthogonal to the processing unit arrangement direction a, and extend along the wafer arrangement direction b. And a pair of upper and lower holding portions 15 connecting the arm portions at the lower end of the holding portion. A large number of V-shaped holding grooves 16 are formed in the holding portion 15 of each chuck portion 13.

When holding the wafer W, the chuck portions 13 separated from each other are brought close to each other. As a result, the peripheral edges of the wafer W are engaged with the holding grooves 16 of the chuck portions 13 corresponding to each other. Thereby, the wafer W is
The wafer is held vertically by the wafer holding chuck 12. Therefore, the plurality of wafers W are vertically aligned and held by the wafer holding chuck 12 along the wafer arrangement direction b.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the internal configuration of the reduced-pressure drying unit 10 as viewed from the side where the chemical processing unit 9 is located. FIG. It is sectional drawing seen. The reduced-pressure drying section 10 is for washing away the chemical solution and the like adhering to the wafer W using pure water and drying the washed wafer W using IPA (isopropyl alcohol) vapor. The reduced-pressure drying unit 10 includes a chamber 20, a wafer guide 40 for collectively holding a plurality of wafers W in the chamber 20, a lifter 60 for raising and lowering the wafer guide 40, and a lower part in the chamber 20. A storage tank 80 is provided and stores pure water, and a shielding unit 100 is provided in an upper part of the chamber 20 and prevents air containing particles from hitting the wafer W.

The chamber 20 is substantially rectangular in plan view and is surrounded by side walls 21, 22, 23 and 24. An auto cover 1 is provided on the upper surface of the chamber 20.
20 are mounted. The auto cover 120 can be automatically opened and closed by an opening / closing mechanism 122 using a fulcrum 121 on a side opposite to the side on which the wafer holding robot 11 is provided as a fulcrum. Thereby, the auto cover 12
In the open state of 0, the wafer holding chuck 13 can enter the chamber 20.

A lip seal 1 is provided on the upper surface of the chamber 20 for sealing between the auto cover 120 and the chamber 20 when the auto cover 120 is closed.
23 are provided. This prevents air containing particles from entering the chamber 20 from outside the chamber 20 and prevents the IPA vapor from
It is prevented from leaking out.

The shielding portion 100 is provided on the side wall 21 of the chamber 20.
Are disposed along the side walls 21 to 24 in the vicinity of the first to fourth side walls, and four side walls 101, 102, 103, 104 formed with step portions 101 a, 102 a, 103 a, and 104 a entering the inside of the chamber 20 at the upper portion thereof And the four side walls 101 to 104 form a housing space 105. Both the upper and lower surfaces of the shielding unit 100 are open. Moreover, each side wall 101-
The side wall 10 of the side on which the lifter 60 is disposed
2, a notch 106 that is long in the vertical direction for allowing the lifter 60 to pass therethrough is formed.

With this configuration, the wafer guide 40 can be moved up through the opening on the lower surface side of the shielding portion 100 until the wafer W fits in the accommodation space 105. The wafer guide 40 is formed to be long along the wafer arrangement direction b, and includes four guide portions 41, 42, 43, and 44 which are separated from each other by a predetermined distance in a processing unit arrangement direction a orthogonal to the wafer arrangement direction b. A connecting portion 45 for connecting the distal ends of the guide portions 41 to 44 to each other is provided. Two holding plates 46 and 47 which are opposed to the guide portion 41 with the guide portion 41 interposed therebetween and which are long in the wafer arrangement direction b are attached by bolts 52 and 53, respectively. Two holding plates 48 and 49 which are opposed to the guide portion 44 with the guide portion 44 therebetween and which are long along the wafer arrangement direction b are attached by bolts 54 and 55. Also,
One holding plates 50 and 51 long along the wafer arrangement direction b are attached to the guide portions 42 and 43 by bolts 56 and 57 on the outer surfaces of the guide portions 42 and 43, respectively.

A plurality of substantially V-shaped holding grooves 58 are formed on the upper sides of the holding plates 46 to 51, respectively.
One holding groove formed in one of the holding plates forms one group together with the other five holding grooves located on a straight line along the processing unit arrangement direction a in plan view of the other holding plate. ing. The six holding grooves 58 included in this one group are arranged along the shape of the peripheral edge of the wafer W. One wafer W is held vertically with its peripheral edge engaged with the holding groove 58 included in one group. In the wafer guide 40, a group constituted by the six holding grooves 58 as described above has a wafer arrangement direction b.
Thus, the wafer guide 40 can collectively align and hold the plurality of wafers W along the wafer arrangement direction b.

As described above, the wafer W has six holding grooves 5
8, the holding state is very stable. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a problem such as a fall of the wafer W. Therefore, it is possible to avoid damaging the wafer W, so that a high-quality wafer W can be provided. The lifter 60 raises and lowers the wafer guide 40 between a predetermined lower position (shown by a solid line) and an upper position (shown by a two-dot chain line). The lower position is inside the storage tank 80 and is set to a position such that when pure water is stored in the storage tank 80, the wafer W is completely immersed in the pure water. The upper position is set such that the lower end of the wafer W held by the wafer guide 40 is completely contained in the storage space 105 of the shielding unit 100. Wafer guide 4
0 is lowered to the lower position mainly when the wafer W is subjected to pure water cleaning processing. In addition, the wafer guide 4
0 is raised to the upper position because the wafer holding chuck 1
2 and a case where the wafer W is dried after the pure water cleaning process is completed.

The lifter 60 connects the guide portions 41 to 44 on the side wall 22 side and supports them, a support portion 62 attached to the upper end of the support arm 61, and a support portion 6.
Support shaft 6 attached to the lower end of
3 and an elevating mechanism 64 for moving the support shaft 63 in the vertical direction. Reference numeral 78 indicates the wafer W
This is a bellows for protecting the elevating mechanism 64 and the like from IPA vapor used when drying is performed, and for preventing particles generated by the elevating mechanism 64 from entering the chamber 20.

FIG. 5 is a view for explaining the lifting mechanism 64.
It is the side view which looked at FIG. 3 from g direction. The lifting mechanism 64 is
A base 65, a ball screw mechanism 66 attached to the upper portion of the base 65 and extending upward, and a motor housing 67 attached to the base 65 and having a motor M provided therein are provided. . The ball screw mechanism 66 includes a ball screw shaft 68 elongated along the vertical direction and a ball screw shaft 6.
8 and a vertically movable table 70 that is vertically movable along a linear guide 69. The ball screw shaft 68 is rotatably attached to upper and lower ends 66 a and 66 b of the ball screw mechanism 66 via bearings 71 and 72. The elevating table 70 is connected to the support shaft 63 via a connecting portion 73. A pulley 74 is attached to the ball screw shaft 68. The pulley 74 has
A belt 77 is wound around a pulley 76 attached to a rotation shaft 75 of the motor M.

With this configuration, the driving force of the motor M is transmitted to the ball screw shaft 66 via the belt 77. As a result, since the lifting table 70 moves in the vertical direction, the support shaft 63 eventually moves in the vertical direction. As a result, the lifter 60 moves up and down. as a result,
The wafer guide 40 moves up and down. Returning to FIGS. 3 and 4, the storage tank 80 is substantially rectangular in plan view.
It has side walls 81, 82, 83 and 84, and a bottom wall 85, and the upper surface is open. A nozzle 86 is arranged near the bottom wall 85 of the storage tank 80. The nozzle 86 has a pure water supply path 8 through which pure water is guided from a pure water tank (not shown).
7 are connected. A pure water supply valve 88 is interposed in the middle of the pure water supply passage 87. With this configuration, pure water can be supplied to the storage tank 80 by controlling opening and closing of the pure water supply valve 88.

On the upper side of the side walls 81 to 84 of the storage tank 80,
A plurality of V-shaped notches 90 having a predetermined depth are formed at predetermined intervals. With this configuration, the pure water stored in the storage tank 80 can overflow to the outside of the storage tank 80 via the notch 90. As a result, the chemical solution, particles, and the like originally attached to the wafer W and dissolved in the pure water during the pure water cleaning process can be discharged out of the storage tank 80.

The bottom wall 25 of the chamber 20 has a chamber 2
A drain discharge path 26 extending to outside 0 is connected.
Thereby, the pure water in which the chemical solution or particles overflowed from the storage tank 80 during the pure water cleaning process and have been dissolved can be discharged out of the chamber 20. Further, a drain discharge path 92 in which a drain valve 91 is interposed is connected to the bottom wall 85 of the storage tank 80. With this configuration, by controlling the opening and closing of the drain valve 91, the pure water stored in the storage tank 80 can be discharged to the outside of the storage tank 80. Thereby, the used pure water can be discharged after the pure water cleaning process.

Two IPA tubes 140 extending long in the wafer arrangement direction b are arranged in the upper part of the accommodation space 105. The IPA pipe 140 has a plurality of IPA discharge holes 141 for supplying IPA vapor into the chamber 20. IPA vapor is discharged from the IPA discharge hole 141 during the drying process after the pure water cleaning process. On the other hand, after the pure water cleaning process,
The wafer guide 40 is raised toward the upper position. During this ascent, the IP supplied into the chamber 20 is
The A vapor is replaced with water droplets adhering to the surface of the wafer W. That is, the water droplets are removed from the surface of the wafer W, and the surface of the wafer W is covered with the IPA vapor.

An exhaust pipe 30 is connected to an intermediate portion of the discharge path 26. The pure water supply path 87 is connected to the pure water discharge valve 9.
5 is connected to the exhaust pipe 30 via a pure water discharge path 96 in which the filter 5 is interposed. A vacuum pump 31 is connected to the exhaust pipe 30. The decompression pump 31 is driven during the drying process. In this case, the air in the chamber 20 is sucked through the exhaust pipe 30, and the pressure in the chamber 20 is reduced. As a result, the IPA covering the surface of the wafer W
The vapor evaporates. Thereby, the wafer W can be dried.

At the same time that the pressure reducing pump 31 is driven, the pure water discharge valve 95 is opened. As a result, the nozzle 8
The pure water in the pure water supply path 87 from 6 to the pure water supply valve 88 in the closed state is sucked through the pure water discharge path 96. Thus, the pure water supply passage 87 is dried. By the way, when the air in the chamber 20 is sucked, if the sealing surface of the lip seal 123 has deteriorated, air containing particles is sucked into the chamber 20 from outside the chamber 20. However, at the time of the drying process, the wafer W is completely contained in the accommodation space 105, and the air sucked from outside the chamber 20 does not pass through the accommodation space 105 along the side walls 101 to 104 of the shielding portion 100. Since the wafer W is guided to the exhaust pipe 30, air containing particles does not hit the wafer W.

FIG. 6 shows the structure of the holding groove 58.
FIG. 4 is a front view of the vicinity of the upper end of the holding plate 46 viewed from the direction e in FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the holding groove 58, and FIG.
VIII-VIII sectional view of FIG. Hereinafter, the configuration of the holding groove 58 will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8 taking the holding groove 58 formed in the holding plate 46 as an example. In addition,
In the following description, a horizontal direction orthogonal to the wafer arrangement direction b will be referred to as a depth direction d.

In the vicinity of the upper end of the holding plate 46, a tapered surface 155 inclined from the rear surface 153 to the front surface 152 of the holding plate 46 is formed. The holding groove 58 is formed continuously at a position where the tapered surface 155 is formed along the wafer arrangement direction b which is the longitudinal direction of the holding plate 46. That is, both sides of the holding groove 58 in the wafer arrangement direction b are tapered.

The holding groove 58 has a groove bottom 150 inclined with respect to the horizontal plane along the depth direction d, and a pair of inclined surfaces 151 facing the groove bottom 150 so as to open upward.
When viewed from the front side, each inclined surface 151
V-grooves are formed by the inclined sides 151a and 151b. The groove bottom 150 is a valley formed by a pair of inclined surfaces 151 intersecting with each other.
It is a straight line that connects the upper end P and the end Q set above the end P on the back surface 153. That is, the groove bottom 150 is located on the rear surface 1 of the holding plate 46.
The length inclining downward from 53 toward the front portion 152 and its length width in the wafer arrangement direction b (hereinafter referred to as “width of groove bottom portion 150”) is substantially zero.

The inclined surface 151 has a triangular shape with the bottom 150 as the bottom. That is, the pair of inclined surfaces 15
One of the left side as viewed from the front side of No. 1 is an end portion P and an end portion Q, and a back portion 153 above the end portions P and Q.
The upper end R1 is the vertex. In this case, a line segment connecting the end Q and the upper end R1 corresponds to the inclined side 151a. The other is at the same height as the ends P and Q and the upper end R1,
The upper end R2, which is shifted from the upper end R1 by a predetermined distance in the wafer arrangement direction b, is set as the vertex. In this case, a line segment connecting the end Q and the upper end R2 corresponds to the inclined side 151b.

When the wafer W is transferred from the wafer holding chuck 12 to the wafer guide 40, the wafer W
8 to be engaged. On the other hand, the width of the groove bottom 150 is substantially zero as described above. In this case, the width of the V-groove formed by each of the inclined sides 151a and 151b of the pair of inclined surfaces 151 is zero at the lower end. That is, the value is smaller than the thickness m of the wafer W. Therefore, the wafer W is formed such that the peripheral edges of both sides of the wafer W are respectively inclined sides 151 a and 15 a of the pair of inclined surfaces 151.
1b.

Since the peripheral portion of the wafer W has an arc shape, the wafer W comes into point contact with the holding groove 58. Therefore, even when the wafer W is held in a state where water droplets are attached and the water droplets flow down from the wafer W,
The water droplets are discharged below the holding plate 46 without collecting in the holding groove 58. More specifically, after the pure water cleaning process is completed and the wafer W is lifted from the pure water, a large amount of water droplets adhere to the wafer W. The attached water drops flow down by the action of gravity. The dropped water droplet is guided to the groove bottom 150 because the wafer W and the holding groove 58 are in point contact with each other. As a result, the water droplet is guided to the end P side by the groove bottom 150 inclined downward, and finally discharged below the holding plate 46.

As described above, according to the first embodiment,
Since the width of the groove bottom 150 of the holding groove 58 is less than the thickness m of the wafer W and the groove bottom 150 is inclined with respect to the horizontal plane, water drops flowing down to the groove bottom 150 are easily discharged. Moreover, both sides of the holding groove 58 are tapered surfaces 1
Since it is 55, it is easy to discharge water droplets dropped between the adjacent holding grooves 58. Therefore, the liquid drainage performance can be remarkably improved as compared with a conventional apparatus in which the wafer W makes line contact and surface contact with the holding groove. Therefore, for example, a water mark does not remain on the wafer W during the drying process, so that a watermark or the like is not formed on the wafer W. Therefore, a high quality wafer can be provided.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a configuration of a holding groove formed on a holding plate which is a substrate holding member according to a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the holding groove. 1
1 is a sectional view taken along the line XI-XI in FIG. 9 to 11, the same reference numerals are used for the same functional portions as those in FIGS. 6 to 8. In the first embodiment,
While the holding groove 58 is constituted by a single V groove, in the second embodiment, the holding groove 58 is formed in the depth direction d.
The first V-groove 200 and the second V-groove 2
20.

More specifically, the first V-shaped groove 200 is formed horizontally between an end S near the center of the holding plate 46 in the depth direction d and an end T on the back surface 153 of the holding plate 46. First groove bottom 201, and a pair of first inclined surfaces 202 opposing open from the first groove bottom 201 upward.
including. The first inclined surface 202 has a triangular shape,
Each end S and T of the groove bottom 201, and the upper end U on the back surface 153 set above each end S and T
1 and U2 are the vertices. The width of the first groove bottom 201 is substantially zero. Second V-groove 220
Are a second groove bottom 221 descending from the end S of the first groove bottom 201 to an end V on the front part 152 of the holding plate 46, and a pair of opposing arms that open upward from the second groove bottom 221. The second inclined surface 222 is included. A pair of second inclined surfaces 2
Reference numeral 22 denotes a triangular shape having the ends S and V of the second groove bottom 220 and the upper ends U1 and U2 as vertices.

When the wafer W is transferred from the wafer holding chuck 12 to the wafer guide 40, the wafer W is transferred so as to be engaged with the first V groove 200. On the other hand, the first V groove 20
The width of the first groove bottom 201 of 0 is almost 0 as described above. That is, the value is smaller than the thickness m of the wafer W. Therefore, the wafer W is in a state where the peripheral portions of both surfaces of the wafer W are in point contact with the first inclined surface 202, respectively. Therefore, even when the wafer W is held in a state where water droplets are attached and the water droplets flow down from the wafer W, the water droplets are discharged to below the holding plate 46 without collecting in the holding grooves 58. . That is, the dropped water droplets are guided to the first groove bottom 201 because the wafer W and the holding groove 58 are in point contact with each other. Then, the water droplets overflowing from the first groove bottom 201 are guided to the second groove bottom 221 inclined downward on the back surface 153 or the opposite side, and finally,
It is discharged below the holding plate 46.

As described above, also in the second embodiment, the width of the first groove bottom 201 of the first V-shaped groove 200 for holding the wafer W is set to be less than the thickness m of the wafer W. Similarly, the drainage performance can be significantly improved. Moreover, since the wafer W is held not by the side but by the surface, the strength of the portion where the wafer W and the V-groove abut is larger than in the first embodiment, and the holding stability of the wafer W can be improved. .

FIG. 12 is a front view showing a configuration of a holding groove formed in a holding plate which is a substrate holding member according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a configuration of the holding groove.
FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV of FIG. In FIGS. 12 to 14, the same reference numerals are used for the same functional parts as in FIGS. 6 to 8. In the second embodiment, the upper end points of the first inclined surface 202 and the second inclined surface 222 are common, whereas in the third embodiment,
The upper end points of the first inclined surface 202 and the second inclined surface 222 are set at different positions. That is, the upper end points of the pair of second inclined surfaces 222 are at the upper end U1 as in the first embodiment.
And U2, the pair of first inclined surfaces 202
Upper end point of the rear portion 15 below the ends U1 and U2.
3 are upper ends X1 and X2. In this connection, the second inclined surface 222 includes both ends S and V of the second groove bottom 221, an upper end U1 or U2, and an upper end X1.
Or it becomes a square-shaped surface having X2 as a vertex.

As described above, also in the third embodiment, the liquid drainage performance can be improved and the holding stability of the wafer W can be improved as in the second embodiment.
FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a holding groove formed in a holding plate that is a substrate holding member according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
In FIG. 15, the same reference numerals are used for the same functional portions as in FIG.

The feature of the fourth embodiment is that the first groove bottom 201 of the holding groove 58 in the second or third embodiment is used.
In addition, a plurality of drain holes 250 are formed which communicate with the horizontal hole 251 formed in the back surface 153 and the first groove bottom 201 and extend downward. According to this configuration, the water droplets guided to the first groove bottom 201 can be discharged below the holding plate 46 not only through the second groove bottom 221 but also through the drain hole 250 and the horizontal hole 251. The liquid drainage performance can be further improved as compared with the second and third embodiments.

The drain hole 250 may be formed in, for example, the second groove bottom 221 instead of the first groove bottom 201, or a groove may be formed in place of the drain hole 250. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the holding groove 58 provided in the wafer guide 40 is described. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, the holding unit 15 formed on the chuck unit 13 of the wafer holding chuck 12. In short, the present invention can be applied to any member having a groove as a configuration for holding the wafer W.

In the above embodiment, the wafer guide 40 holding the wafer W is lifted by the lifter 60 after the pure water cleaning process, whereby the wafer W is pulled up from the pure water and the drying process is performed. The case where the invention is applied is taken as an example. However, the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which pure water is discharged from the storage tank 80 without raising the wafer guide 40 after the pure water cleaning processing, and the drying processing is performed in this state. . In short, the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which the pure water stored in the storage tank 80 and the wafer guide 40 holding the wafer W are relatively moved.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to an apparatus for cleaning with pure water after chemical treatment and thereafter drying the same is described. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an apparatus in which a wafer W is immersed in a chemical solution to perform a chemical process on the wafer W. Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the case where the wafer W is applied as the substrate has been described. However, as the substrate, various other substrates to be processed such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device and a glass substrate for a PDP (plasma display panel) can be applied. For example, in the case of a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, unlike the wafer W, since the peripheral portion is straight, the glass substrate is in line contact with the groove bottom. However, in a conventional device, a rectangular substrate such as a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device is held in surface contact, so that the liquid drainage performance can be improved as compared with the conventional device.

In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope described in the claims.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a wet station including a reduced-pressure drying apparatus which is a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a wafer holding chuck.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an internal configuration of a reduced-pressure drying unit as viewed from a side where a chemical solution processing unit is located.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the internal configuration of the reduced-pressure drying unit as viewed from a side where a wafer holding robot is located.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a lifting mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a front view of FIG. 4 viewed from the direction d to show a configuration of a holding groove formed in a holding plate of the wafer guide.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a configuration of a holding groove.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII in FIG. 6;

FIG. 9 is a front view illustrating a configuration of a holding groove formed in a holding plate that is a substrate holding member according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a holding groove.

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a front view illustrating a configuration of a holding groove formed in a holding plate that is a substrate holding member according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a holding groove.

14 is a sectional view taken along the line XIV-XIV in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a holding groove formed in a holding plate that is a substrate holding member according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a side view of a conventional wafer guide.

FIG. 17 is a view of a conventional wafer guide as viewed from above.

FIG. 18 is a view of FIG. 17 as viewed from an arrow direction f.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Decompression drying part 40 Wafer guide 58 Holding groove 60 Lifter 80 Storage tank 150 Groove bottom 151 Inclined surface 155 Tapered surface 200 1st V-groove 201 1st groove bottom 202 First inclined surface 250 Drainage hole

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A substantially V-shape including a pair of inclined surfaces facing each other so as to open in one direction, and a groove bottom formed with a width less than the thickness of the substrate near an intersection of the pair of inclined surfaces. A substrate holding member having a holding groove, and holding the substrate by bringing the peripheral edges of both surfaces of the substrate into contact with the pair of inclined surfaces. 2. The substrate holding member according to claim 1, wherein the groove bottom is inclined with respect to a horizontal plane along a depth direction intersecting the width direction. 3. The substrate holding member according to claim 1, wherein tapered surfaces inclined with respect to a horizontal plane are provided on both sides of the holding groove. 4. The substrate holding member according to claim 1, further comprising a discharge portion through which a liquid can flow out, in relation to said groove bottom portion. 5. A substrate holding member according to any one of claims 1 to 4, a storage tank for storing a processing liquid for immersing the substrate held by the substrate holding member, For immersing or lifting the substrate held by the substrate holding member with respect to the stored processing liquid,
A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: a moving unit that relatively moves the substrate holding member and the processing liquid. 6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the substrate holding member holds the substrate at at least three positions on the periphery of the substrate.