JPH10335292A - Substrate-treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate-treating device that can smoothly supply a liquid to a treatment tank via a liquid supply line. SOLUTION: A treatment liquid is prepared by mixing a chemical liquid into pure water. A chemical liquid replenishment line 16 for replenishing a treatment tank 50 with the chemical liquid is connected to a tank 10 or measuring the chemical liquid. A chemical liquid replenishment valve 18, consisting of a chemical replenishment pump 17 and a check vale, is placed at the middle part of the chemical liquid replenishment line 16. An air discharge path 19, where an air discharge valve 20 is placed at the middle part, is connected between the chemical replenishing pump 17 and the chemical liquid replenishment valve 18. The air discharge valve 10 is opened, and the chemical liquid replenishment pump 17 is driven before replenishing the chemical liquid. As a result, the chemical liquid and air are led into the air discharge path 19, eliminating air in the replenishment line 17 and hence positively replenishing a treatment tank 50 with the specific amount of the chemical liquid.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing on substrates to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display, and a glass substrate for a PDP (plasma display panel).

[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. In this type of wafer processing apparatus, a plurality of wafers are collectively immersed in a processing liquid stored in a processing tank, thereby cleaning the wafer surface or removing a thin film formed on the wafer surface.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration example of a conventional batch type wafer processing apparatus. This wafer processing device
Chemical solution stored in chemical solution measuring tank 100 and pure water measuring tank 101
Is mixed with pure water stored in the processing tank 102 to prepare a processing liquid, and a plurality of wafers W are immersed in the processing liquid.
In this state, the wafer W is processed by overflowing the processing liquid.

The chemical weighing tank 100 has a chemical supply path 110 through which a chemical is introduced from a chemical supply source (not shown), and a chemical introduction path through which the chemical stored in the chemical weighing tank 100 is introduced to the processing tank 102. 111 are connected. A chemical solution supply valve 112 and a chemical solution supply valve 113 are provided in the middle of the chemical solution supply channel 110 and the chemical solution supply channel 111, respectively.

When supplying a chemical solution to the chemical weighing tank 100, the chemical solution supply valve 113 is closed and the chemical solution supply valve 11 is closed.
2 is opened. As a result, the chemical is supplied to the chemical supply path 110.
Is supplied to the chemical solution weighing tank 100 via the Chemical supply valve 1
Reference numeral 12 is closed at the timing when the first stored amount of the drug solution is stored in the drug solution weighing tank 100. Thereby, the chemical solution of the first storage amount is stored in the chemical solution weighing tank 100. Thereafter, the chemical solution supply valve 113 is opened at a predetermined timing,
The medicinal solution stored in the medicinal solution weighing tank 100 is supplied to the medicinal solution charging path 1.
It is put into the processing tank 102 by its own weight via 11.

Similarly, when supplying pure water to the pure water measuring tank 101, the pure water input valve 123 is closed and the pure water supply valve 122 is opened. As a result, pure water is supplied to pure water supply channel 1
The water is supplied to the pure water weighing tank 101 via the reference numeral 20. And
The pure water supply valve 122 is closed at the timing when the second stored amount of pure water is stored in the pure water weighing tank 101, and then the pure water input valve 123 is opened at a predetermined timing. The pure water stored in the pure water weighing tank 101 is charged into the processing tank 102 by its own weight via the pure water charging path 121.

As described above, since a predetermined amount of the chemical solution and the pure water are supplied to the processing tank 102, a predetermined concentration and a predetermined amount of the processing liquid are prepared in the processing tank 102. This processing liquid is usually used repeatedly over a plurality of wafer processes. By the way, many chemical solutions are generally easily vaporized, so the concentration of the processing solution is
It becomes thinner as the processing proceeds. In this case, the wafer W cannot be processed with the processing liquid having the desired liquid quality.

When the wafer W is taken out of the processing tank 102 after the completion of the wafer processing, the processing liquid adheres to the wafer W, and the processing liquid is taken out of the processing tank 102. As a result, the amount of the processing liquid in the processing tank 102 decreases. in this case,
Since the entire wafer W may not be immersed in the processing liquid, the wafer W cannot be satisfactorily processed.

Therefore, the wafer processing apparatus is usually provided with a structure capable of appropriately replenishing the processing tank 102 with a chemical solution and pure water. Specifically, the chemical solution weighing tank 100 is connected to a chemical solution replenishment line 130 extending to the processing tank 102. In the middle of the chemical solution replenishing line 130, a chemical solution replenishing pump 131 and a check valve 132 are interposed. Similarly, a pure water replenishing line 140 extending to the treatment tank 102 is connected to the pure water weighing tank 101, and a pure water replenishing pump 141 and a check valve 142 are interposed in the middle thereof. I have. As the replenishing pumps 131 and 141, bellows pumps having high quantitativeness are usually used.

The processing tank 102 has a concentration detecting sensor 150 for detecting the concentration of the processing liquid in the processing tank 102 and a liquid amount detecting sensor 151 for detecting the amount of the processing liquid in the processing tank 102. It is arranged. With this configuration, when the concentration detection sensor 150 detects that the concentration of the processing liquid has become lower than the predetermined concentration, the chemical liquid replenishment pump 131 is driven. As a result, the chemical solution weighing tank 10
From 0, a predetermined amount of the chemical is taken into the chemical replenishment line 131, and the check valve 132 is opened by the pressure of the chemical. Thereby, the chemical is replenished to the processing tank 102,
The concentration of the processing liquid in the processing tank 102 is adjusted.

When the liquid amount detecting sensor 151 detects that the amount of the processing liquid is smaller than a predetermined amount, the chemical liquid replenishing pump 131 and the pure water replenishing pump 1
41 is driven, and a predetermined amount of chemical solution and pure water
Replenish to 2. Thereby, the amount of the processing liquid is adjusted.

[0012]

However, in the above-described wafer processing apparatus, a predetermined amount of a chemical solution is supplied to the processing tank 10.
2 had a problem that it could not be reliably replenished. More specifically, when heat is applied to the chemical replenishment line 130, such as when a device that dissipates heat is arranged around the chemical replenishment line 130, the chemical in the chemical replenishment line 130 is discharged. Vaporized. Further, even if the influence of heat does not reach the chemical solution replenishment line 130, the chemical solution in the chemical solution replenishment line 130 is vaporized if the chemical solution replenishment interval is long. In such a case, an air reservoir is formed in the chemical solution replenishment line 130. As a place where the air pool is generated, a portion of the chemical solution replenishment line 130 where there is no escape of the air vaporized, for example, a horizontal portion 1 of the chemical solution replenishment line 130
60, near the inlet 161 of the chemical solution replenishing pump 131, and near the inlet 162 of the check valve 132.

This air accumulation becomes a factor that hinders the flow of the chemical solution. For example, when there is an air pocket near the entrance 162 of the check valve 132, even if a predetermined amount of the chemical is pushed out by the chemical replenishment pump 131, all the pushed-out amount of the chemical cannot be circulated. That is, since the air is a compressive fluid, the pressure of the chemical solution is absorbed by the air. Therefore, the processing tank 102 cannot be replenished with a required amount of the processing liquid. For this reason, the concentration of the processing liquid and the amount of the processing liquid cannot be satisfactorily adjusted, resulting in a problem that wafer processing is adversely affected.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned technical problems and to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of smoothly supplying a liquid via a liquid supply line for supplying a liquid to a processing tank. is there.

[0015]

Means for Solving the Problems and Effects of the Invention According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing tank for storing a processing liquid for performing immersion processing on a substrate; A processing liquid supply path connected to a liquid supply source for supplying the processing liquid to the processing tank; and an intermediate part of the processing liquid supply path, which can be opened and closed to permit / prohibit the supply of the processing liquid. A processing liquid valve, a pumping means interposed upstream of the processing liquid valve in the middle of the processing liquid supply path for pumping the processing liquid, and a processing liquid valve and a pressure supply means of the processing liquid supply path. And an air discharge path for discharging air in the processing liquid supply path, and an openable and closable air discharge valve interposed at an intermediate portion of the air discharge path. A substrate processing apparatus.

In the present invention, since the air discharge path is connected between the processing liquid valve of the processing liquid supply path and the pressure feeding means, the processing liquid valve is closed and the air discharge valve is opened, so that the pressure feeding means is opened. When operated, the processing liquid in the processing liquid supply path is guided to the air discharge path. In this case, the air in the processing liquid supply path is also guided to the air discharge path, and the air discharge operation is performed. on the other hand,
If the processing liquid valve is opened and the air discharge valve is closed and the pressure feeding means is operated, the processing liquid is guided to the processing tank via the processing liquid supply path, and the processing liquid supply operation is performed. Therefore, for example, if the processing liquid supply operation is performed after the air discharge operation, the processing liquid supply can be performed smoothly.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the end of the air discharge path opposite to the processing liquid supply path is connected to the processing liquid supply source. Processing device. According to the present invention, the processing liquid guided to the air discharge path together with the air can be returned to the processing liquid supply source, so that the processing liquid can be saved.

When the air is discharged through the air discharge path, the processing liquid is guided to the air discharge path, so that the processing liquid valve hardly receives the pressure of the processing liquid. Therefore, when the pressure of the processing liquid is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, the processing liquid valve is allowed to flow in the processing liquid supply direction, and the processing liquid valve is opposite to the processing liquid supply direction. If a check valve for inhibiting the liquid flow in the direction is used, the control becomes very simple. That is, at the time of air discharge, the air discharge valve is opened and the pressure of the processing liquid is hardly applied to the processing liquid valve. Therefore, the processing liquid valve (check valve) is automatically closed, and the processing liquid valve (check valve) is opened. It is not necessary to perform control for closing the operation. When replenishing the processing liquid, the air discharge valve is closed and the pressure of the processing liquid is applied to the processing liquid valve (check valve), so that the processing liquid valve (check valve) is automatically opened. In addition, there is no need to perform control to open the processing liquid valve (check valve).

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the processing liquid supply passage is configured to supply a new processing liquid to the processing tank for adjusting the concentration or the amount of the processing liquid already stored in the processing tank. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is a processing liquid replenishing line for replenishing the substrate. As described above, according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the air in the processing liquid supply path can be discharged prior to the supply of the processing liquid to the processing tank.
The processing liquid can be smoothly supplied to the processing tank. Therefore, the present invention is particularly effective when the processing liquid supply path is a processing liquid replenishment line. That is, the processing liquid replenishment is performed to adjust the concentration or the liquid amount of the processing liquid already stored in the processing tank. In this case, the processing liquid amount to be supplied to the processing tank is strictly set. It is necessary.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a wafer processing apparatus which is a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wafer processing apparatus mixes a chemical solution stored in a chemical solution weighing tank 10 and pure water stored in a pure water weighing tank 30 in a processing tank 50, mixes the processing solution, and inputs the mixed solution. The wafer W is immersed. In this state, the processing liquid overflows, and the overflowed processing liquid is pressure-fed to the processing tank 50 by a pump (not shown) or the like to circulate the wafer W.
Is to be processed.

The chemical solution weighing tank 10 is supplied with a chemical solution from a chemical solution supply source (not shown) via a chemical solution supply path 11. As the chemical solution, ammonia, sulfuric acid / hydrogen peroxide, phosphoric acid / hydrogen peroxide, hydrochloric acid / hydrogen peroxide or the like is applied. A chemical solution supply valve 12 that can be opened and closed is interposed in the middle of the chemical solution supply passage 11.
Thus, the start and stop of the supply of the chemical to the chemical weighing tank 10 can be controlled.

The chemical weighing tank 10 is provided with the chemical weighing tank 10.
A chemical solution supply path 13 for supplying the chemical solution stored in the processing tank 50 to the processing tank 50 is connected. A chemical solution supply valve 14 that can be opened and closed is interposed in the middle of the chemical solution supply passage 13. With this configuration, the chemical solution stored in the chemical solution weighing tank 10 can be charged into the processing tank 50, and the chemical solution weighing tank 10
It is possible to prohibit the introduction of the chemical solution into the processing tank 50 from above.

A chemical level meter 15 with upper and lower limit sensors is provided in connection with the chemical solution weighing tank 10. That is,
The chemical level meter 15 outputs a supply completion signal when the stored amount of the chemical reaches the first storage amount, and also processes a required amount of the chemical 50 in the chemical stored in the chemical weighing tank 10. When the charging to the power supply is completed, a power supply completion signal is output.

The pure water weighing tank 30 is supplied with pure water from a pure water supply source (not shown) via a pure water supply path 31. Road 3
This is achieved by controlling the opening and closing of the pure water supply valve 32 interposed in the middle of the step 1. In the pure water weighing tank 30,
The pure water stored in the pure water weighing tank 30 is transferred to the treatment tank 50.
A pure water introduction path 33 for supplying the pure water is connected, and the introduction start and the introduction stop thereof are achieved by controlling the opening and closing of a pure water introduction valve 34 provided in the middle of the pure water introduction path 33. Is done.

Further, a pure water level meter 35 with upper and lower limit sensors is provided in connection with the pure water weighing tank 30. That is, the pure water level meter 35 outputs the supply completion signal when the storage amount of the pure water becomes the second storage amount,
When the necessary amount of the pure water stored in the pure water weighing tank 30 is completely introduced into the processing tank 50, an input completion signal is output.

Reference numeral 21 denotes an air vent pipe for discharging air in the chemical solution weighing tank 10 out of the apparatus.
Reference numeral 41 denotes an air vent pipe for discharging air in the pure water weighing tank 30 to the outside of the apparatus. One end of a chemical replenishing line 16 for replenishing the processing tank 50 with a chemical in order to adjust the concentration and the amount of the processing liquid stored in the processing tank 50 is connected to the chemical weighing tank 10. Also,
One end of a pure water replenishment line 36 for replenishing the processing tank 50 with pure water is connected to the pure water weighing tank 30 in order to adjust the amount of the processing liquid stored in the processing tank 50. .
The other ends of the replenishment lines 16 and 36 reach the processing tank 50.

In the middle of each of the replenishment lines 16 and 36, a chemical replenishment pump 17 and a pure water replenishment pump 37 are provided, respectively.
Is interposed. Each of the refill pumps 17 and 37 is constituted by, for example, a bellows pump having a high quantitative property. Each replenishing pump 17, 37 in the middle of each refilling line 16, 36
Further downstream, a chemical liquid replenishing valve 18 and a pure water replenishing valve 38 are interposed. Each refill valve 18, 38
Is opened when the supply pressure of the chemical solution and the pure water becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, and the circulation thereof is permitted. On the other hand, the processing liquid supply direction from each of the replenishment pumps 16 and 36 to each of the replenishment valves 18 and 38 And a check valve with a spring for inhibiting the flow in the opposite direction.

Chemical replenishment pump 17 of chemical replenishment line 16
One end of an air discharge path 19 for discharging the air in the chemical liquid replenishing line 16 to the outside of the chemical liquid replenishing line 16 is connected between the liquid chemical replenishing valve 18 and the chemical liquid replenishing valve 18. The other end of the air discharge path 19 reaches the chemical solution measuring tank 10. An air discharge valve 20 is interposed in the middle of the air discharge path 19, and by controlling the opening and closing of the air discharge valve 20, the permission and prohibition of air discharge can be controlled. .

In the processing tank 50, a concentration detecting sensor 51 is provided. The concentration detection sensor 51 is connected to the processing tank 50.
This is to detect the concentration of the processing liquid in the inside and output a concentration detection signal. The processing tank 50 includes a liquid amount detection sensor 52.
Are arranged. The liquid amount detection sensor 52 is turned on when the liquid amount of the processing liquid in the processing tank 50 becomes smaller than a predetermined liquid amount, and outputs a liquid amount detection signal.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical configuration of the wafer processing apparatus. This wafer processing apparatus includes a control unit 60 as a control center. The control unit 60
It is constituted by a microcomputer or the like, and executes various processes including a process solution preparation process and a solution replenishment process according to a predetermined control program. More specifically, the control unit 60 includes a control program and the chemical level meter 15.
And the opening and closing of the chemical supply valve 12, the pure water supply valve 32, the chemical supply valve 14, and the pure water supply valve 34 based on the supply completion signal and the supply completion signal output from the pure water level meter 35, Execute the blending process.

The control unit 60 opens and closes the air discharge valve 20 based on the control program, the concentration detection signal output from the concentration detection sensor 51, and the liquid amount detection signal output from the liquid amount detection sensor 52. In addition to the control, the operations of the chemical liquid replenishment pump 17 and the pure water replenishment pump 37 are controlled to execute the liquid replenishment process. The treatment liquid preparation process is performed as follows. For example, at the timing when the charging completion signal is output from the chemical solution level meter 15 and the pure water level meter 35, the control unit 60 controls the weighing tanks 10 and 3 of the chemical solution and the pure water.
Start feeding to zero. Specifically, each input valve 14,
34 is closed, and each supply valve 12, 32 is opened. Thereafter, the control unit 60 determines whether or not the supply completion signal has been output from the chemical level meter 15. When the supply completion signal is output from the chemical solution level meter 15, it is considered that the chemical solution has been stored in the chemical solution weighing tank 10 by the first storage amount, and the control unit 60 closes the chemical solution supply valve 12. Similarly,
The controller 60 determines whether or not a supply completion signal has been output from the pure water level meter 35, and closes the pure water supply valve 32 when the supply completion signal has been output. This allows
A second storage amount of pure water is stored in the pure water weighing tank 30.

Thereafter, the control unit 60 opens each of the input valves 14, 34 at a predetermined timing. As a result, a chemical solution and pure water are put into the treatment tank 50 from each of the weighing tanks 10 and 30. Further, the control unit 60 determines whether or not a charging completion signal has been output from the chemical level meter 15 and determines whether the pure water level meter 3
It is monitored whether or not the input completion signal has been output from 5. If the injection completion signal is output from the chemical level meter 15, it is considered that the required amount of the chemical has been injected into the processing tank 50.
The control unit 60 closes the chemical solution supply valve 14 in response to the input completion signal output from the chemical solution level meter 15. Similarly, if the charging completion signal is output from the pure water level meter 35, it is considered that the required amount of pure water has been supplied to the treatment tank 50. Therefore, the control unit 60 outputs the charging completion signal from the pure water level meter 35. In response to the output, the pure water input valve 34
Is closed.

By the above processing, predetermined amounts of the chemical and pure water are supplied to the processing tank 50. As a result, in the processing tank 50, a predetermined concentration and a predetermined amount of the processing liquid are prepared. As described above, the liquid replenishment is performed for the purpose of adjusting the concentration and the amount of the processing liquid. However, one of the concentration and the liquid volume may be adjusted. Therefore, in the following, the liquid replenishment processing for adjusting the concentration of the processing liquid and the liquid replenishment processing for adjusting the amount of the processing liquid will be described separately.

In the liquid replenishment process for adjusting the density, the control unit 60 monitors the density detection signal output from the density detection sensor 51, and determines whether the density of the processing liquid is within a predetermined allowable range. Monitoring. One of the causes of the decrease in concentration is evaporation of the chemical solution. If the concentration of the processing liquid is not within the above-mentioned allowable range, there is a possibility that the wafer W may not be satisfactorily processed. Therefore, in order to adjust the concentration, it is necessary to replenish the processing bath 50 with a chemical solution. On the other hand, the amount of the chemical solution required for adjusting the concentration of the processing solution is usually a small amount, and therefore, the amount of the chemical solution to be replenished to the processing tank 50 must be accurate. But,
If there is an air pool in the chemical replenishment line 16, the processing tank 50
May be replenished with a different amount of the chemical to be replenished. Therefore, the control unit 60 executes a process of discharging the air in the chemical solution replenishment line 16 prior to the chemical solution replenishment.

The control section 60 opens the air discharge valve 20 and drives the chemical liquid replenishing pump 17. as a result,
The chemical in the chemical weighing tank 10 is taken into the chemical replenishment line 16. As a result, the chemical solution remaining in the chemical solution replenishment line 16 is pushed out toward the air discharge path 19. And
The liquid is returned to the chemical solution weighing tank 10 via the air discharge path 19. Thereby, the chemical solution remaining in the chemical solution replenishment line 16 can be reused. In this case, the air existing in the chemical replenishment line 16 is also discharged together with the chemical to the air discharge path 1.
The solution is led to a chemical solution weighing tank 10 through 9. The control unit 60
In response to a lapse of a predetermined time (for example, 10 seconds) from the start of this processing, the air discharge valve 20 is closed and the driving of the chemical liquid replenishing pump 17 is stopped. Accordingly, during this time, the air in the chemical solution replenishment line 16 is almost completely discharged out of the chemical solution replenishment line 16. The air guided to the chemical weighing tank 10 is discharged out of the apparatus via the air pipe 21.

During this process, the chemical is pushed out toward the air discharge path 19, so that the chemical is not guided to the chemical replenishing valve 18. That is, the chemical solution refill valve 18
Hardly receives the pressure of the chemical. On the other hand, as described above, the chemical solution refill valve 18 is a check valve with a spring,
Unless the pressure of the chemical solution becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined pressure, the circulation of the chemical solution is not allowed. Therefore, the chemical solution is not erroneously supplied to the processing tank 50 during the air bleeding.

After the above air bleeding is completed, the control unit 60
Drives the chemical replenishment pump 17 again to start the chemical replenishment operation. In this case, since the air discharge valve 20 is closed, the chemical liquid is not guided to the air discharge path 19 but is pushed out toward the chemical liquid supply valve 18. In addition, in this case, since there is no air in the chemical liquid replenishment line 16, the amount of the chemical liquid pushed by the chemical liquid replenishment pump 17 passes through the chemical liquid replenishment valve 18 as it is. Therefore, the amount of the chemical solution pushed out by the chemical solution replenishing pump 17 is directly used as the chemical solution replenishing line 1.
The processing tank 50 is replenished through the processing tank 6. In this way,
The concentration of the processing tank 50 is adjusted.

In the liquid replenishment process for adjusting the liquid amount, the control unit 60 monitors the liquid amount detection signal output from the liquid amount detection sensor 52, and when the liquid amount of the processing liquid has decreased below a predetermined allowable range. It monitors whether or not. The decrease in the amount of the processing liquid may be caused, for example, by the fact that the wafer W
When the processing liquid is taken out from the wafer W, the processing liquid adheres to the wafer W,
One of the causes is that the processing liquid is taken out of the processing tank 50. If the amount of the processing solution is reduced to below the allowable range, the wafer W may not be able to be satisfactorily processed. Therefore, in order to increase the amount of the processing solution, a chemical solution and pure water are added to the processing tank 50. Need to refill.

On the other hand, also in this case, if there is air in the chemical solution replenishment line 16, an appropriate amount of the chemical solution is supplied to the processing tank 50.
Can not be replenished. Therefore, similarly to the above, first, air bleeding in the chemical solution replenishment line 16 is performed, and thereafter, the chemical solution and pure water are replenished to the treatment tank 50 via the chemical solution replenishment line 16 and the pure water replenishment line 36, respectively. In this case, a predetermined amount of the chemical solution and pure water can be accurately replenished to the treatment tank 50. Thereby, a required amount of the processing liquid can be newly prepared, and thus the amount of the processing liquid can be satisfactorily adjusted.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the air in the chemical solution replenishment line 16 can be evacuated prior to the chemical solution replenishment, so that a predetermined amount of the chemical solution can be accurately refilled into the processing tank 50. Therefore, the concentration and amount of the processing solution in the processing tank 50 can be adjusted almost accurately.
Therefore, wafer processing can be performed favorably. In addition, since the chemical discharged together with the air when the air is removed is returned to the chemical weighing tank 10, the chemical can be saved as compared with the case where the chemical is discharged outside the apparatus.

Further, since check valves are used as the chemical liquid replenishment valve 18 and the pure water replenishment valve 38, each of the replenishment valves 18, 3
8 does not need to be controlled. Therefore, control becomes very simple. Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the timing of air bleeding and liquid replenishment is obtained by monitoring the concentration and amount of the processing liquid in the processing tank 50. For example, air bleeding and liquid replenishment are performed periodically. Is also good. Specifically, a predetermined replenishment time is set in advance,
Air bleeding and liquid replenishment may be performed every time the replenishment time elapses. Further, every time the wafer W to be processed is replaced, air bleeding and liquid replenishment may be performed. According to this configuration, since the concentration detection sensor 51 and the liquid amount detection sensor 52 become unnecessary, the configuration is further simplified.

In the above embodiment, a bellows pump is used as the chemical liquid replenishing pump 17, but a diaphragm pump may be used, for example. In this case, since the diaphragm pump is less quantitative than the bellows pump, even if the diaphragm pump is started at a predetermined timing, it is not always possible to accurately replenish the processing tank 50 with a predetermined amount of the chemical solution.

Therefore, when this diaphragm pump is used, a check valve is similarly used as the chemical liquid replenishing valve 18, and
The air discharge valve 20 is always opened, and the chemical liquid replenishment pump 17 is constantly driven. The air discharge valve 20 may be closed only when replenishing the liquid medicine. In addition, an openable and closable air valve is used as the chemical liquid replenishing valve 18, the air discharge valve 20 is always opened, and the chemical liquid replenishing pump 17 is constantly driven. And
Only when refilling the chemical, close the air discharge valve 20,
Further, the chemical liquid replenishing valve 18 may be opened for a predetermined time.

According to these configurations, the chemical solution is supplied to the processing tank 50.
During the period in which the chemical solution is not replenished, the air in the chemical solution replenishment line 16 is constantly discharged out of the line via the air discharge path 19, so that when the chemical solution is replenished,
The air inside is almost completely exhausted. Moreover, since the flow rate of the chemical in the chemical replenishment line 16 is constant,
The amount of the chemical corresponding to the opening time of the chemical replenishment valve 18 is stored in the treatment tank 5.
It will be led to 0. Therefore, a predetermined amount of the chemical can be accurately replenished to the processing tank 50.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an apparatus provided with one chemical solution weighing tank 10 has been described as an example. However, the present invention provides, for example, two or more chemical solution weighing tanks for storing different types of chemical solutions. The present invention can be applied to an apparatus having the same. Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, the air discharge path 19 is directly connected to the chemical solution replenishment line 16, but, for example, as shown in FIG.
May be connected to the chemical replenishment line 16 via the three-way valve 70. According to this configuration, since the switching of the flow path can be realized only by the three-way valve 70, it is not necessary to provide the chemical liquid replenishment valve 18 and the air discharge valve 20. This simplifies pipe connection work.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the liquid replenishment process for adjusting the concentration, the chemical solution is replenished to adjust the concentration of the processing solution because the evaporation of the chemical solution is large. In the case where a chemical solution having a small volume is used and pure water evaporates more, the concentration of the processing solution may be increased. In this case, pure water may be replenished for concentration adjustment. In consideration of this case, it goes without saying that an air discharge path may be provided on the pure water replenishment line 36 side.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, an apparatus for preparing a processing solution by mixing a chemical solution and pure water in the processing tank 50 has been described as an example. The present invention is also applicable to an apparatus in which a chemical solution and pure water are used alone as processing solutions, instead of preparing a processing solution. Further, in the above embodiment, the apparatus for processing the wafer W is described. However, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an apparatus for processing a glass substrate for liquid crystal display and an apparatus for processing a glass substrate for PDP. it can.

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

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration of a wafer processing apparatus that is a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the wafer processing apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing the vicinity of a connection point between a chemical replenishment line and an air discharge path in a wafer processing apparatus which is a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating a configuration example of a conventional wafer processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 Chemical solution weighing tank (treatment solution supply source) 16 Chemical solution replenishment line (treatment solution supply path, treatment solution replenishment line) 17 Chemical solution replenishment pump (pressure feeding means) 18 Chemical solution replenishment valve (treatment solution valve) 19 Air discharge path 20 Air discharge valve Reference Signs List 30 pure water weighing tank 36 pure water replenishment line 37 pure water replenishment pump 38 pure water replenishment valve 50 treatment tank 60 control unit W wafer

Claims (4)

[Claims] A processing tank for storing a processing liquid for performing immersion processing on a substrate; a processing liquid supply path connected to a processing liquid supply source for supplying the processing liquid to the processing tank; An openable / closable processing liquid valve interposed in the middle of the processing liquid supply path for permitting / prohibiting the supply of the processing liquid; and a processing liquid valve upstream of the processing liquid valve in the middle of the processing liquid supply path. A pressure feeding means for pressure-feeding the processing liquid, an air discharging path connected between the processing liquid valve and the pressure feeding means of the processing liquid supply path and discharging air in the processing liquid supply path; A substrate processing apparatus, comprising: an openable and closable air discharge valve interposed at an intermediate portion of the air discharge path. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an end of the air discharge path opposite to the processing liquid supply path is connected to the processing liquid supply source. 3. The processing liquid valve permits a liquid flow in a processing liquid supply direction when the pressure of the processing liquid is equal to or higher than a predetermined pressure, and prohibits a liquid flow in a direction opposite to the processing liquid supply direction. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is a check valve. 4. A processing liquid replenishing path for replenishing a new processing liquid to the processing tank in order to adjust a concentration or a liquid amount of the processing liquid already stored in the processing tank. 4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing apparatus is a line.