JPH10284459A - Cleaning/drying apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the throughput and yield by reducing the entire apparatus for cleaning and drying works. SOLUTION: An apparatus comprises a cleaning tank 22 for housing a semiconductor wafer W cleaning liq., a drying chamber 23 disposed above the cleaning tank 22, a wafer boat 24 which houses and carries semiconductor wafers W in the cleaning tank 22, a drying chamber 23 composed of a fixed base 37 communicating with an opening 22c of the tank 22, and a drying chamber body 39 contacted to the fixed base 37 through an O-ring 38. The drying chamber body 39 is movable up and down by a first lifting means 44.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cleaning / drying method in which a substrate to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD glass substrate is immersed in a cleaning liquid such as a chemical solution or a rinsing liquid, and then dried.
The present invention relates to a drying apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a substrate to be processed (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer or the like) such as a semiconductor wafer or LCD glass is subjected to a chemical solution or a rinsing solution (cleaning solution).
A cleaning method of sequentially immersing in a processing tank in which a processing liquid such as the above is stored for cleaning is widely adopted. Further, in such a cleaning apparatus, a dry gas composed of a vapor of a volatile organic solvent such as IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is brought into contact with the surface of a wafer or the like after cleaning,
A drying processing apparatus is provided for condensing or adsorbing the vapor of the drying gas to remove and dry the moisture of the wafer or the like by the Marangoni effect (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-148458).
Reference).

In this type of conventional cleaning / drying apparatus, a hood (lid) can be opened and closed at an upper opening of a cleaning tank for storing a cleaning liquid such as a chemical solution or a rinsing liquid. Generally, the lid is formed of a material having strength, for example, a member made of polypropylene, stainless steel, or the like because the lid is sealed from the outside air during the drying process. According to this cleaning / drying processing apparatus, after the wafer to be processed is held by the transfer arm and transferred to the holding means for moving the transfer section from the opening where the lid is opened, the transfer arm is retracted to move the lid. Close
Then, as described above, after the cleaning is performed in the cleaning tank, the substrate can be pulled up from the cleaning tank and dried.

[0004]

However, in this type of conventional cleaning / drying processing apparatus, a wafer as a substrate to be processed is loaded from above a transfer section provided above a cleaning tank, and after processing, the wafer is processed. Because of the structure for carrying out, there is a problem that the vertical length (height) of the transfer arm becomes large, and the entire apparatus becomes large. In particular, with the recent trend toward larger diameters of wafers from 8 inch wafers to 12 inch wafers due to the trend toward finer integration and mass production of semiconductor devices, the overall apparatus has become larger and the soot has been accordingly increased. There was a problem of lowering.

In addition, since the lid and the cleaning tank are formed of a member made of polypropylene or stainless steel, there is a problem that particles are liable to be generated, and metal impurities and the like are deposited or eluted due to aging. There is also a problem that these metal impurities and the like adhere to the wafer and lower the product yield.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it has been made possible to improve the throughput by reducing the size of an entire apparatus for performing a cleaning process and a drying process and to improve the product yield. It is an object to provide a processing device.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is configured as follows.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning tank for storing a cleaning liquid for a substrate to be processed, a drying chamber located above the cleaning tank, and a cleaning chamber for holding the substrate to be processed and cleaning the substrate. Comprising a holding means that moves into the tank and the drying chamber,
The drying chamber includes a fixed base communicating with the opening of the cleaning tank and a drying chamber main body that is in close contact with the fixed base, and the drying chamber main body is formed so as to be able to move up and down. .

In the first aspect of the present invention, the form of the drying chamber main body may be arbitrary as long as it can be raised and lowered with respect to the fixed base on the opening side of the cleaning tank. It is preferable to interpose a seal member between the fixed base and the drying chamber main body (claim 2).
It is preferable to provide a shutter at the opening of the cleaning tank to shield the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber (claim 3). Further, it is preferable that the drying chamber main body is formed of a quartz member having an inverted U-shaped cross section (claim 4). Further, it is preferable that the drying chamber main body is formed of a quartz member having an inverted U-shaped cross section, and the fixed base and the cleaning tank are formed of a quartz member.

When the drying chamber main body is formed of a quartz member, a heating source can be provided outside the drying chamber main body. In this case, a reflecting plate is provided on the back side of the heating source. It is preferable to dispose them (claim 6). In this case, for example, a heating lamp or a rubber heater can be used as the heating source.

It is preferable to provide a drying gas supply unit for supplying a drying gas into the drying chamber. In this case, it is preferable to provide the drying gas supply unit on the fixed base of the drying chamber (claim 8). More preferably, the drying gas supply unit supplies the drying gas upward from the side of the drying chamber. It is better to provide it in such a way as to perform (claim 9). Further, it is preferable to provide a drying gas discharge portion on the fixed base in the drying chamber (claim 10).

As the dry gas, an inert gas can be used, and in addition, a vapor gas of an organic solvent or a mixed gas of an inert gas and an organic solvent can be used. .

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid for a substrate to be processed, a fixed base communicating with an opening of the cleaning tank, and a fixed member interposed between the fixed base and a sealing member. A drying chamber including a drying chamber main body, holding means for holding the processing target substrate and moving the processing target substrate in the cleaning tank and the drying chamber, and first elevating means for raising and lowering the drying chamber main body; A second elevating means for elevating and lowering the holding means, wherein the first elevating means and the second elevating means are respectively formed by a ball screw mechanism and slidable on a common guide rail. It is characterized by being formed.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, a rod connected to the holding means passes through a through hole provided in the drying chamber main body and is connected to a second elevating means, so that a gap between the through hole and the rod is provided. In addition, it is preferable to interpose a sealing mechanism composed of an airtight flexible member and a gas sealed in the flexible member (claim 14).

Further, it is preferable that a stopper for restricting the upward movement of the holding means is provided in the first elevating means.

[0016] The invention according to claim 16 is the invention according to claim 1 or 1.
3. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to 3, wherein the holding means comprises: a pair of lower holding members that stand and hold a plurality of substrates to be processed at appropriate intervals; and a pair of lower members that are positioned on upper sides of the lower holding members. An upper holding member, the lower holding member is formed of a rigid core material, and a synthetic resin coating layer provided on the surface of the core material and having liquid resistance to different types of cleaning liquids, and A substrate supporting groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section is formed in the lower holding member, and a substrate inclination preventing groove having a substantially Y-shaped cross section is formed in the upper holding member. Features.

According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the drying chamber is constituted by the fixed base communicating with the opening of the cleaning tank, and the drying chamber main body in close contact with the fixed base. Since the drying chamber main body can be raised and the space for inserting the substrate to be processed can be secured above the opening of the cleaning tank by being formed so as to be able to move up and down, the transport of the substrate to be processed moving from the side into the space can be performed. The substrate to be processed can be transferred between the means and the holding means. Therefore,
The size of the apparatus can be reduced, and the throughput can be improved.

According to the invention described in claim 4 or 5, since the drying chamber main body is formed of a quartz member having an inverted U-shaped cross section,
The volume of the drying chamber can be minimized, the size of the apparatus can be further reduced, and generation of particles can be suppressed without precipitation or elution of metal impurities and the like. In this case, by forming the fixed base and the cleaning tank out of the main body of the drying chamber using a quartz member, it is possible to further suppress the generation of particles and the like. In addition, by disposing a heating light source at an outer position of the drying chamber main body and disposing a reflector on the back side of the heating light source, the drying chamber can be heated using the heating light source. So you can
Drying efficiency can be improved (claim 6).

Further, according to the present invention, by providing the drying gas supply unit for supplying the drying gas into the drying chamber, the drying gas can be brought into uniform contact with the substrate to be processed. Drying can be performed reliably and quickly.

According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the first elevating means for elevating and lowering the drying chamber main body and the second elevating means for elevating and lowering the holding means are each formed by a ball screw mechanism. By slidably forming on the guide rail, the structures of the drive unit of the drying chamber main body and the holding means can be simplified, and the driving accuracy can be improved.

According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the rod connected to the holding means penetrates through the through hole provided in the drying chamber main body and is connected to the second elevating means, and the gap between the through hole and the rod is provided. Further, by interposing a sealing mechanism composed of an airtight flexible member and a gas sealed in the flexible member, the sealing performance between the drying chamber main body and the elevating portion of the holding means is improved. be able to. Also, by providing a stopper for restricting the ascending movement of the holding means in the first elevating means,
It is possible to prevent the holding means from inadvertently rising and colliding with the drying chamber main body (claim 15).

According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the holding means comprises a pair of lower holding members for vertically holding a plurality of substrates to be processed at appropriate intervals, and an upper side of the lower holding members. A lower holding member formed of a rigid core material and a synthetic resin coating layer provided on the surface of the core material and having liquid resistance to different types of cleaning liquids. The lower holding member is formed with a substrate supporting groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section, and the upper holding member is formed with a groove for preventing substrate to be tilted having a substantially Y-shaped cross section. That is, the volume of the holding means can be made as small as possible. Therefore, it is possible to secure a predetermined amount of stored cleaning liquid without increasing the size of the cleaning tank, reduce the size of the entire apparatus, and hold the substrate to be processed in a stable state.

[0023]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, a case where the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer cleaning processing system will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a cleaning processing system to which the substrate transfer processing apparatus of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 2 is a schematic side view thereof.

The cleaning system includes a transfer unit 2 for loading and unloading a container, for example, a carrier 1 for storing a semiconductor wafer W (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) as a substrate to be processed in a horizontal state, It mainly includes a processing unit 3 that performs a liquid process such as a cleaning liquid and a drying process, and an interface unit 4 that is located between the transfer unit 2 and the processing unit 3 and that performs transfer of the wafer W, position adjustment, and posture change. Have been.

The transport section 2 includes a carry-in section 5 and a carry-out section 6 which are provided alongside one end of the cleaning system. The carrier 1 of the loading unit 5 and the unloading unit 6
At the carry-in entrance 5a and the carry-out exit 6b, a slide-type mounting table 7 that allows the carrier 1 to enter and exit the carry-in section 5 and the carry-out section 6 is provided. In addition, the loading unit 5 and the unloading unit 6
A carrier lifter 8 (container transport means) is provided, and the carrier lifter 8 can transport the carrier 1 between the loading section and the unloading section, and the empty carrier 1 is provided above the transport section 2. The transfer to the carrier waiting unit 9 and the reception from the carrier waiting unit are performed (see FIG. 2).

The interface section 4 includes a partition wall 4c.
A first chamber 4a adjacent to the loading section 5 and a loading section 6
And a second chamber 4b adjacent to the second chamber 4b. And
In the first chamber 4a, a horizontal (X, Y direction), a vertical direction (Z direction), and a rotatable (θ direction) wafer for taking out and transporting a plurality of wafers W from the carrier 1 of the loading unit 5 are provided. Take-out arm 10 (substrate take-out means) and wafer W
Notch aligner 11 for detecting a notch provided in
(Position detecting means) and an interval adjusting mechanism 12 for adjusting an interval between a plurality of wafers W taken out by the wafer take-out arm 10, and a first attitude conversion for converting a horizontal wafer W to a vertical state. A device 13 (posture changing means) is provided.

In the second chamber 4b, a wafer transfer arm 14 (substrate transfer means) for receiving and transferring a plurality of processed wafers W from the processing section 3 in a vertical state.
And a second attitude conversion device 1 for converting the wafer W received from the wafer transfer arm 14 from a vertical state to a horizontal state.
3A (posture conversion means) and the second posture conversion device 13
The horizontal direction (X, Y directions), the vertical direction (Z direction), and the rotation (θ) of receiving a plurality of wafers W converted into a horizontal state by A and storing them in the empty carrier 1 conveyed to the unloading section 6. Direction), a wafer storage arm 15 (substrate storage means) is provided. The second chamber 4b is sealed from the outside, and is configured so that the inside of the second chamber 4b is replaced by an inert gas (not shown), for example, N2 gas supplied from a supply source of nitrogen (N2) gas.

On the other hand, the processing section 3 includes a first processing unit 16 for removing particles and organic contaminants adhering to the wafer W, and a second processing unit 17 for removing metal contaminants adhering to the wafer W. The cleaning / drying processing unit 18 and the chuck cleaning unit 19 of the present invention, which are cleaning / drying processing units for removing and drying the chemical oxide film attached to the wafer W, are linearly arranged. A wafer transfer arm 21 (transfer means) that can rotate in the X and Y directions (horizontal direction), the Z direction (vertical direction), and rotate (θ) is disposed in a transfer path 20 provided at a position facing the transfer path 19. .

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the cleaning / drying processing device 18 stores (contains) a cleaning solution such as a chemical solution such as hydrofluoric acid or pure water, and transfers the wafer W to the stored cleaning solution. A cleaning tank 22 to be immersed, a drying chamber 23 positioned above the cleaning tank 22, and holding means for holding a plurality of, for example, 50 wafers W and moving the wafers W into the cleaning tank 22 and the drying chamber 23, for example. It is mainly composed of a wafer boat 24.

In this case, the cleaning tank 22 includes an inner tank 22a formed of, for example, a quartz member or polypropylene, and an outer tank 22a disposed outside the upper end of the inner tank 22a to receive the cleaning liquid overflowing from the inner tank 22a. And a tank 22b. Further, cleaning liquid supply nozzles 25 for spraying the cleaning liquid toward the wafers W located in the cleaning tank 22 are provided on both lower sides of the inner tank 22a, and a chemical liquid supply source (not shown) connected to the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 25 and a pure liquid supply source (not shown). A chemical solution or pure water is supplied from a water supply source by a switching valve and the cleaning tank 2
A chemical solution or pure water is stored in 2. A discharge port is provided at the bottom of the inner tank 22a, and a drain pipe 26 provided with a discharge valve 26a is connected to the discharge port. A drain pipe 27 provided with a discharge valve 27a is also connected to a discharge port provided at the bottom of the outer tank 22b. Note that the exhaust box 2 is provided outside the outer tank 22b.
An exhaust pipe 29 provided with a valve 29 a is connected to an exhaust port provided in the exhaust box 28.

The cleaning tank 22 and the exhaust box 28 configured as described above are disposed in a cylindrical box 30 having a bottom, and an upper chamber on the cleaning tank side is partitioned by a partition plate 31 that horizontally partitions the box 30. 32a, inner tank 22a and outer tank 22b
Are connected to drain pipes 26 and 27 and a drain port of the exhaust pipe 29 and a lower chamber 32b on the exhaust port side. As a result, the atmosphere of the lower chamber 32b and the scattering of the waste liquid are prevented from entering the upper chamber 32a, and the interior of the upper chamber 32a is kept clean. The exhaust window 33 is provided on the side wall of the upper chamber 32a.
Is provided, and an exhaust window 34 is provided on an upper side wall of the lower chamber 32b.
A drain port 35 is provided on the lower side wall.

The drying chamber 23 is provided with the opening 2 of the cleaning tank 22.
Fixed base 3 communicating with shutter 2c via shutter 36
7 and a drying chamber main body 39 which is in close contact with the fixed base 37 via a sealing member such as an O-ring 38. In this case, the drying chamber main body 39 is formed of a quartz member having an inverted U-shaped cross section, and the fixed base 37 is also formed of a quartz member so that the state of the internal wafer W can be visually observed from the outside. I have. Also, the fixed base 3 in the drying chamber 23
A drying gas supply unit 40 made of, for example, IPA solvent vapor and a discharge unit 41 for discharging the drying gas are provided on the side of the upper side 7. The drying gas supply unit 40 is connected to an IPA gas generation unit (not shown) and a pressure gas for drying gas, for example, a nitrogen (N2) gas heating unit. An exhaust device (not shown) is connected to the discharge unit 41. Thus, the dry gas supply unit 40 and the discharge unit 41
Is provided, the drying chamber 2 is supplied from the drying gas supply unit 40.
The drying gas supplied into the inside 3 flows upward along the inner wall surfaces on both sides of the drying chamber main body 39 as shown by arrows in FIG.
Since the gas flows downward from the central part and is discharged from the discharge part 41, the dry gas uniformly contacts the wafer W, and the vapor of the dry gas can be condensed and replaced to dry uniformly.

Further, at both outer positions of the drying chamber main body 39,
A heating lamp 42 (light source for heating) is provided, and a reflection plate 43 is provided on the back side of the heating lamp 42. By arranging the heating lamp 42 in this way, the drying chamber 23 is heated by irradiating the inside of the drying chamber 23 with light reflected directly from the heating lamp 42 or from the reflection plate 43, so that the drying chamber 23 is heated. Drying of the wafer W in 23 is promoted.

On the other hand, the drying chamber main body 39 is formed so as to be able to move up and down by a first elevating means 44, that is, to be able to contact and separate from the fixed base 37. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the first lifting / lowering means 44 is a ball comprising a screw shaft 47 rotated by a motor 46 and a movable element 48 screwed to the screw shaft 47 via a ball. Two sliders 4 formed by a screw mechanism and sliding on two guide rails 50 arranged in parallel with the screw shaft 47
The drying chamber main body 39 is configured to be able to move up and down by connecting the drying chamber main body 39 to the first elevating means 44 via a bracket 51.

The wafer boat 24 is formed so as to be able to move up and down by the second lifting means 45, that is, to be movable in the cleaning tank 22 and the drying chamber 23. In this case, the second lifting / lowering means 45 is provided in parallel with the screw shaft 47 of the ball screw mechanism forming the first lifting / lowering means 44, and is rotated by a motor 46A. A ball screw mechanism comprising a mover 48A screwed through a ball, and a screw shaft 4
The two sliders 49A sliding on the two guide rails 50 parallel to 7A and the mover 48A are connected to each other. The rod 24a of the wafer boat 24 is connected to the second lifting / lowering means 45 via the bracket 51A. Are connected so that the wafer boat 24 can move up and down.

With the above configuration, the drying chamber main body 39 is raised by driving the first lifting / lowering means 44 to form a space for inserting a wafer above the opening 22 c of the hand cleaning tank 22. In this state, the wafer W is loaded from the side by the transfer arm 21 and then the second
The wafer boat 24 can be lifted by driving the lifting means 45 to receive the wafer W on the transfer arm 21 (see FIG. 6).

As described above, the first elevating means 44
And a second lifting means 45 formed by a ball screw mechanism, and a slider 4 sliding on a common guide rail 50.
By providing 9, 49A, the driving mechanism can be simplified, and the vertical movement of the drying chamber main body 39 and the wafer boat 24 can be performed with high accuracy.

A through hole 39a is provided on one side of the top of the drying chamber main body 39, and the rod 24a of the wafer boat 24 is slidably inserted into the through hole 39a. A seal mechanism 5 is provided in a gap between the rod 39a and the rod 39a.
2, the airtightness of the gap between the through hole 39a and the rod 24a is maintained. In this case, the sealing mechanism 52
As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the flexible tube 52a is made of an airtight flexible tube 52a and a gas such as air sealed in the flexible tube 52a.
The gap between the through hole 39a and the rod 24a is sealed when the tube 52a is expanded by the gas sealed in the space a.

The mover 4 of the first elevating means 44
8 and the movable part of the slider 49 are provided with a second lifting means 45.
A stopper 53 for restricting upward movement of the movable part of the movable element 48A and the slider 49A is fixedly provided (see FIGS. 5 and 6). By providing the first lifting means 44 with the stopper 53 for restricting the upward movement of the second lifting means 45 in this way, it is possible to prevent the wafer boat 24 from being carelessly raised and colliding with the drying chamber main body 39. be able to.

Further, the wafer boat 24 is arranged as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), a pair of lower holding members 54 that stand and hold a plurality of, for example, 50 wafers W at appropriate intervals, and a pair of lower holding members 54 located on the upper side of these lower holding members 54. The upper holding member 55 is provided between the supporting plate (not shown) for connecting the lower holding member 54 and the upper holding member 55 to the rod and a connecting plate 56. In this case, the lower holding member 54 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), a rigid core material such as a stainless steel pipe 57a and a different type of cleaning liquid provided on the surface of the stainless steel pipe 57a such as a chemical liquid and pure water have liquid resistance. 9 and a coating layer 57b made of a synthetic resin member such as polyether ether ketone (PEEK).
As shown in FIG. 10B and FIG. 10A, support grooves 58 having a substantially V-shaped cross section are provided at appropriate intervals. On the other hand, the upper holding member 55 is formed of a synthetic resin member such as PEEK, for example, and has an expanded tapered surface 59a and a narrow tapered surface 59b on the upper portion thereof, as shown in FIG. Slope preventing grooves 59 having a substantially Y-shaped cross section are provided at appropriate intervals.

By forming the lower holding member 54 from the rigid stainless steel pipe 57a for the core material and the PEEK coating layer 57b as described above, the lower holding member 54 can have strength and can have a large volume. Can be significantly reduced. Therefore, the storage amount of the cleaning liquid can be increased by the reduced volume of the lower holding member 54, so that the volume of the cleaning tank 22 can be reduced as a result. Further, the wafer W is supported by the support groove 58 provided in the lower holding member 54, and the side portion slightly lower than the center of the wafer W is positioned in the inclination preventing groove 59 of the upper holding member 55, For example, a large-diameter wafer W such as a 12-inch wafer can be held in a stable state.

Next, the operation of the cleaning / drying apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The following operation is performed by a control unit (not shown).

First, the shutter 36 at the opening 22c of the cleaning tank 22 is closed, and the drying chamber main body 39 is raised by driving the first lifting / lowering means 44 to form a space above the cleaning tank 22. Then, the transfer arm 21 holding the wafer W moves into the space and carries in the wafer W (see FIG. 11). At this time, the second raising / lowering means 45 is driven to move the wafer boat 24 up, and the wafer boat 24 receives the wafer W held by the transfer arm 21 (see FIG. 12).
After the transfer arm 21 that has transferred the wafer W is retracted, the shutter 36 is opened, and the wafer boat 24 is lowered by the driving of the second lifting / lowering means 45 to carry the wafer W into the cleaning tank 22 (see FIG. 13). . At this time, the first lifting / lowering means 4
4 is driven and the drying chamber main body 39 is lowered to come into close contact with the fixed base 37. Note that the shutter 36 may be open from the beginning.

Thereafter, a chemical such as hydrofluoric acid is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 25 to clean the wafer W with the chemical. Note that the chemical solution may be supplied to the cleaning tank 22 in advance. Next, pure water is supplied from the cleaning liquid supply nozzle 25 and replaced with a chemical solution, and then a cleaning process is performed (see FIG. 14). Wafer W
Is cleaned, the second lifting / lowering means 45 is driven to raise the wafer boat 24, and the wafer W is transferred into the drying chamber 23 (see FIG. 15). At this time, the shutter 36 is closed, and the inside of the drying chamber 23 is cut off from the cleaning tank 22 and the outside air.
Note that the shutter 36 may be closed while the wafer W is being processed in the cleaning tank 22.

Thereafter, a dry gas, for example, a mixed gas of IPA and N 2 is supplied from the dry gas supply unit into the drying chamber 23 to make the inside of the drying chamber 23 an IPA atmosphere.
And the drying process is performed (see FIG. 16). At this time, a part of the dry gas is discharged from the discharge unit 41.

After the water adhering to the wafer W and the IPA have been replaced, or after the drying process has been completed, the N 2 gas is supplied from the drying gas supply unit 40 and the IPA atmosphere is removed from the drying chamber 23, and then the first drying process is performed. Of the drying chamber main body 3
9 rises to form a space with the cleaning tank 22 (see FIG. 17). Then, the transfer arm 21 moves below the wafer boat 24 in the space from the side (see FIG. 18), and the second lifting means 45 drives the wafer boat 2
4 descends and transfers the wafer W to the transfer arm 21 (see FIG. 19). After receiving the wafer W, the transfer arm 21
Retreats from above the cleaning tank 22 and is conveyed to the next processing step (see FIG. 20).

As described above, by raising the drying chamber main body 39 to form a space above the cleaning tank 22, the transfer arm 21 can be moved from the side to transfer the wafer W. The height of the apparatus can be reduced and the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced as compared with an apparatus of this type which has a structure in which the wafer W is transferred from above the drying chamber 23. Further, since the moving amount of the transfer arm 21 can be reduced, the moving time can be shortened and the throughput can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the case where the cleaning / drying processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a semiconductor wafer cleaning processing system has been described. However, it is needless to say that the cleaning / drying processing apparatus can be applied to processing systems other than the cleaning processing. Needless to say, the present invention can be applied to glass substrates for LCDs other than semiconductor wafers.

[0050]

As described above, according to the cleaning / drying treatment apparatus of the present invention, the following advantages can be obtained because it is configured as described above.

1) According to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the drying chamber is provided with a fixed base communicating with the opening of the washing tank.
The drying chamber main body is formed so as to be able to move up and down, and the drying chamber main body is raised to secure a space for inserting a substrate to be processed above the opening of the cleaning tank by forming the drying chamber main body up and down. Therefore, the substrate to be processed can be transferred between the transporting means and the holding means for the substrate to be moved into the space from the side. Therefore, the size of the apparatus can be reduced, and the throughput can be improved.

2) According to the invention described in claim 4 or 5,
Since the main body of the drying chamber is formed of a quartz member having an inverted U-shaped cross section, the volume of the drying chamber can be minimized. In addition to the above-mentioned 1), the apparatus can be further downsized, and furthermore, metal impurities can be obtained. The generation of particles can be suppressed without precipitation or elution of the like, and the yield can be improved. Further, by forming the fixed base and the cleaning tank out of the drying chamber main body with a quartz member, the generation of particles and the like can be further suppressed, and the yield can be improved.

3) According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a heating light source is provided at a position outside the drying chamber main body, and a reflecting plate is provided on the back side of the heating light source, so that heating is performed. Since the drying chamber can be heated using the light source, the drying efficiency can be improved in addition to the above 2).

4) According to the seventh to twelfth aspects of the present invention, since the dry gas supply section for supplying the dry gas into the drying chamber is provided, the dry gas is uniformly supplied to the substrate to be processed in addition to the above 1). Contact can be made, and drying can be performed reliably and quickly.

5) According to the thirteenth aspect of the present invention, the first elevating means for elevating and lowering the drying chamber main body and the second elevating means for elevating and lowering the holding means are each formed by a ball screw mechanism. Since the common guide rail is formed so as to be slidable, the structures of the drying chamber main body and the driving unit of the holding means can be simplified, and the driving accuracy can be improved.

6) According to the fourteenth aspect of the present invention, the rod connected to the holding means passes through the through hole provided in the drying chamber main body and is connected to the second elevating means, so that the rod and the rod are connected to each other. Since a seal mechanism composed of an airtight flexible member and a gas sealed in the flexible member is interposed in the gap,
In addition to the above 5), the sealing performance between the drying chamber main body and the elevating part of the holding means can be improved.

7) According to the fifteenth aspect of the present invention, the first
The lifting means is provided with a stopper for restricting the upward movement of the holding means, whereby it is possible to prevent the holding means from inadvertently rising and colliding with the drying chamber main body. Performance and reliability can be improved.

8) According to the sixteenth aspect of the present invention, the holding means comprises a pair of lower holding members for vertically holding a plurality of substrates to be processed at appropriate intervals, and an upper side of the lower holding members. The lower holding member is formed of a rigid core material and a synthetic resin coating layer provided on the surface of the core material and having liquid resistance to different types of cleaning liquids. The lower holding member is formed with a substrate supporting groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section, and the upper holding member is formed with a groove for preventing substrate to be tilted having a substantially Y-shaped cross section. That is, the volume of the holding means can be made as small as possible. Therefore, in addition to the above 1) and 5), it is possible to secure a predetermined amount of cleaning liquid without increasing the size of the cleaning tank, to reduce the size of the entire apparatus, and to stabilize the substrate to be processed. Can be held.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a cleaning system to which a cleaning / drying apparatus of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the cleaning processing system.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a cleaning / drying processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the cleaning / drying apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the drying chamber main body and the elevating means of the holding means in the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing a driving state of the elevating means.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are a perspective view of a cross section of a sealing mechanism according to the present invention and an enlarged cross section of a main part thereof, respectively.

FIG. 8 is a plan view of a main part of the holding means according to the present invention (a).
And its front view (b).

9A and 9B are a front sectional view and a side sectional view of a lower holding member of the holding means.

10A and 10B are an enlarged sectional view showing a support groove of a lower holding member and an enlarged sectional view showing an inclination preventing groove of an upper holding member according to the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state before delivery of a substrate to be processed.

FIG. 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state when a substrate to be processed is delivered.

FIG. 13 is a schematic sectional view showing a state in which a substrate to be processed is carried into a cleaning tank.

FIG. 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a cleaning state of a substrate to be processed.

FIG. 15 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state where a substrate to be processed is carried into a drying chamber.

FIG. 16 is a schematic sectional view showing a dry state of a substrate to be processed.

FIG. 17 is a schematic sectional view showing a rising state of a drying chamber main body after a drying process.

FIG. 18 is a schematic sectional view showing a state before receiving a substrate to be processed after a drying process.

FIG. 19 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a state of receiving a substrate to be processed after a drying process.

FIG. 20 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the unloading state of a substrate to be processed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W Semiconductor wafer (substrate to be processed) 22 Cleaning tank 22c Opening 23 Drying chamber 24 Wafer boat (holding means) 24a Rod 36 Shutter 37 Fixed base 38 O-ring (seal member) 39 Drying chamber main body 39a Through hole 40 Dry gas supply section 41 Ejector 42 Heating lamp (heat source) 43 Reflector 44 First raising / lowering means 45 Second raising / lowering means 46, 46A Motor 47, 47A Screw shaft 48, 48A Mover 49, 49A Slider 50 Guide rail 52 Sealing mechanism 52a Flexible tube 53 Stopper 54 Lower holding member 55 Upper holding member 57a Stainless steel pipe (core material) 57b Synthetic resin coating layer 58 Support groove 59 Slope preventing groove

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] June 4, 1997

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0041

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Further, the wafer boat 24 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), a pair of lower holding members 54 that stand and hold a plurality of, for example, 50 wafers W at appropriate intervals, and a pair of lower holding members 54 located on the upper side of these lower holding members 54. The upper holding member 55 is provided between the supporting plate (not shown) for connecting the lower holding member 54 and the upper holding member 55 to the rod and a connecting plate 56. In this case, the lower holding member 54 is configured as shown in FIG.
As shown in (a) and (b), a rigid core material such as a stainless steel pipe 57a and a different type of cleaning liquid provided on the surface of the stainless steel pipe 57a such as a chemical liquid and pure water have liquid resistance. synthetic resin member for example port
9 and a coating layer 57b made of polyether ether ketone (PEEK).
As shown in FIG. 10B and FIG. 10A, support grooves 58 having a substantially V-shaped cross section are provided at appropriate intervals. On the other hand, the upper holding member 55 is formed of a synthetic resin member such as PEEK, for example, and has an expanded tapered surface 59a and a narrow tapered surface 59b on the upper portion thereof, as shown in FIG. Slope preventing grooves 59 having a substantially Y-shaped cross section are provided at appropriate intervals.

[Procedure amendment 2]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0043

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

Next, an operation mode of the cleaning / drying processing apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
You . The following operation is performed by a control unit (not shown).

[Procedure amendment 3]

[Document name to be amended] Drawing

[Correction target item name] FIG.

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

FIG. 11 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ───

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] January 23, 1998

[Procedure amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] 0002

[Correction method] Change

[Correction contents]

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a substrate to be processed (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer or the like) such as a semiconductor wafer or LCD glass is subjected to a chemical solution or a rinsing solution (cleaning solution).
A cleaning method of sequentially immersing in a processing tank in which a processing liquid such as the above is stored for cleaning is widely adopted. Further, in such a cleaning apparatus, for example IP on the surface of the cleaning liquid
A dry gas consisting of a vapor of a volatile organic solvent such as A (isopropyl alcohol) is brought into contact with Marangoni.
A drying apparatus for removing and drying water from a wafer or the like by the effect is provided (JP-A-8-148458).
Reference).

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Takeshi Nomura 1375, Nishishinmachi, Tosu City, Saga Prefecture 41 Tokyo Electron Kyushu Corporation Saga Office

Claims (16)

[Claims] 1. A cleaning tank for storing a cleaning liquid for a substrate to be processed, a drying chamber located above the cleaning tank, and a substrate holding the substrate to be processed, and the substrate to be processed being placed in the cleaning tank and the drying chamber. The drying chamber comprises a fixed base communicating with the opening of the cleaning tank, and a drying chamber main body closely contacting the fixed base, and the drying chamber main body is formed so as to be able to move up and down. A washing / drying treatment apparatus characterized by the following. 2. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sealing member is interposed between the fixed base and the drying chamber main body. 3. The cleaning / drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a shutter provided at an opening of the cleaning tank to shield the cleaning chamber from the drying chamber. 4. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying chamber main body is formed of a quartz member having an inverted U-shaped cross section. 5. The cleaning and drying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drying chamber main body is formed of a quartz member having an inverted U-shaped cross section, and the fixed base and the cleaning tank are formed of a quartz member. A cleaning / drying processing apparatus comprising: 6. The cleaning / drying apparatus according to claim 4, wherein a heating source is provided outside the drying chamber main body, and a reflection plate is provided on the back side of the heating source. A cleaning / drying processing apparatus. 7. The cleaning / drying apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a drying gas supply unit for supplying a drying gas into the drying chamber. . 8. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drying gas supply unit is provided on a fixed base in a drying chamber. 9. The cleaning / drying apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the drying gas supply section is provided on a fixed base so as to be supplied upward from a side of the drying chamber.
Drying processing equipment. 10. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a drying gas discharge unit is provided on a fixed base of the drying chamber. . 11. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the drying gas is an inert gas. 12. The cleaning / drying apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the drying gas is a vapor gas of an organic solvent or a mixed gas of an inert gas and an organic solvent. 13. A cleaning tank for storing a cleaning liquid for a substrate to be processed, a fixed base communicating with an opening of the cleaning tank, and a drying chamber main body in close contact with the fixed base via a sealing member. A drying chamber; holding means for holding the substrate to be processed and moving the substrate to be processed into the cleaning tank and the drying chamber; first elevating means for elevating the main body of the drying chamber; and elevating the holding means. A second elevating means, wherein the first elevating means and the second elevating means are respectively formed by a ball screw mechanism and slidably formed on a common guide rail. A washing / drying processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 14. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the rod connected to the holding means passes through a through hole provided in the drying chamber main body, and is connected to the second lifting / lowering means. A cleaning / drying apparatus characterized in that a sealing mechanism comprising a gas-tight flexible member and a gas sealed in the flexible member is interposed in a gap between the hole and the rod. 15. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the first lifting / lowering means is provided with a stopper for restricting the upward movement of the holding means. 16. The cleaning / drying processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said holding means comprises a pair of lower holding members for vertically holding a plurality of substrates to be processed at appropriate intervals, and said lower holding members. A pair of upper holding members located on the upper side of the core material, wherein the lower holding member is made of a rigid core material, and a synthetic resin provided on the surface of the core material and having liquid resistance to different types of cleaning liquids. The lower holding member is formed with a substrate supporting groove having a substantially V-shaped cross section, and the upper holding member is formed with a substantially Y-shaped cross section for preventing inclination of the processed substrate. Cleaning characterized by forming a groove
Drying processing equipment.