JPH1064860A - Substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate processing device of smaller size wherein inversion operation of a substrate is allowed. SOLUTION: A substrate inversion mechanism part 20 comprises a pair of chucks 21 and 21, and with the chuck 21 opened/closed, a substrate W is held or released. The pair of chucks 21 and 21 is inverted by an inversion motor. In addition, the substrate inversion mechanism part 20 is movable in vertical direction by an ascending/descending cylinder 29. At switching of back surface washing/front surface washing of the substrate W, the substrate inversion mechanism part 20 comes down and closes the chuck 21 to hold the substrate W, and then rises to invert the substrate W. Then it comes down again to place the substrate W on a substrate supporting stage 2.

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 provided with a substrate reversing mechanism.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a process of manufacturing a semiconductor device or the like, a cleaning process is performed on a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device (hereinafter, referred to as a substrate). In a substrate cleaning process, a substrate cleaning apparatus is used to supply a cleaning liquid to the surface of the substrate, and further to wash away contamination on the substrate surface with a cleaning brush.

In recent years, not only surface cleaning for cleaning contamination on the surface of a substrate on which semiconductor devices and the like are formed, but also cleaning of the back surface of the substrate for cleaning contaminants adhering to the back surface of the substrate has been performed.

In order to clean both surfaces of a substrate, it is necessary to provide a cleaning brush or the like for cleaning the front and back surfaces of the substrate in the substrate cleaning apparatus. However, such a substrate cleaning apparatus has a complicated structure and increases costs.

[0005] For this reason, a substrate cleaning apparatus has been proposed in which the substrate is turned upside down to enable double-side cleaning. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-163493 discloses a substrate cleaning apparatus including a pair of substrate cleaning units, a transport unit that transports the substrate between the pair of substrate cleaning units, and a reversing unit that reverses the substrate. ing. In the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the first conventional example, after the front surface of the substrate is cleaned by the first substrate cleaning unit, the substrate is transported to the reversing unit by the transport unit, and the uncleaned back surface of the reversing unit becomes the upper surface. After the substrate is turned over as described above, the substrate is again transported to the second substrate cleaning unit by the transport unit, and the back surface of the substrate is cleaned.

[0006]

However, in the above-described substrate cleaning apparatus, there is a problem that the entire substrate cleaning apparatus is increased in size because it is necessary to separately provide a reversing unit in addition to the substrate cleaning unit. Further, when the substrate cleaning apparatus is incorporated as a unit into a substrate processing apparatus including various substrate processing units, a large space is required, and there is a problem that the entire substrate processing apparatus becomes large.

On the other hand, a substrate cleaning apparatus having a mechanism for reversing a substrate inside the substrate cleaning apparatus has also been proposed. The substrate cleaning apparatus according to the second conventional example is disclosed in, for example, JP-A-3-52226. The reversing mechanism of the substrate cleaning apparatus holds the peripheral portion of the substrate held in a horizontal posture on the spin chuck, lifts the substrate to the outside of the spin chuck, and holds the substrate so that the surface of the substrate is oriented vertically. After the substrate is rotated by 180 ° about a vertical axis passing through the center of the substrate, the substrate is mounted on the spin chuck again to invert the substrate. Since the substrate reversing mechanism is disposed adjacent to the spin chuck, the substrate reversing unit can be used in comparison with the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the first conventional example in which the reversing unit is provided separately from the substrate cleaning unit. The size can be reduced.

[0008] However, since the reversing mechanism of the substrate cleaning apparatus cannot hold the substrate horizontally at a place other than the spin chuck, a reversing mechanism is provided between the substrate transport device provided outside the substrate cleaning apparatus and the reversing mechanism. The board cannot be delivered directly. Therefore, a substrate transfer table is separately provided inside the substrate cleaning apparatus, and the substrate is transferred between the reversing mechanism and the substrate transfer device via the substrate transfer table. For this reason, a space for providing a substrate delivery table is required inside the substrate cleaning apparatus, which is a factor that hinders miniaturization.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a downsized substrate processing apparatus capable of performing a substrate inversion operation.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process on a substrate while holding the substrate in a horizontal posture, and an edge of the substrate. And an inverting means for inverting around the horizontal axis while holding

A substrate processing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the reversing means comprises:
The apparatus includes a substrate holding member for holding an edge of a substrate, an inversion driving unit for inverting the substrate holding member around a horizontal axis, and an elevation driving unit for elevating and lowering the substrate holding member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the substrate processing section includes a substrate rotation holding member that rotates while holding the substrate.

In the substrate processing apparatus according to the first to third aspects of the present invention, the reversing means reverses the substrate above the substrate processing section. Therefore, it is not necessary to newly provide a plane space for inverting the substrate, and the space of the substrate processing apparatus can be saved.

In particular, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the invention, the substrate holding member holds the edge of the substrate, the elevating drive unit moves the substrate holding member up and down, and the inversion drive unit moves the substrate holding member horizontally. By operating to flip around the axis, the substrate can be flipped above the substrate processing unit. Thus, it is not necessary to secure an extra space for inverting the substrate, and the space of the substrate processing apparatus can be saved.

In particular, in the substrate processing apparatus according to the third invention, the substrate processing section has a substrate rotation holding member which rotates while holding the substrate. As a result, for example, in a substrate cleaning device or a coating device that performs a coating process on the back surface of the substrate, the inversion operation of the substrate can be performed and the space can be saved.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate cleaning apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a main part of the substrate cleaning apparatus. 1 and 2, the substrate cleaning apparatus is roughly classified according to its function. The spin chuck 1 holds and rotates the substrate W, the nozzle unit 4 that supplies a cleaning liquid to the substrate W to perform cleaning, the brush mechanism unit 7,
And a substrate reversing unit 8 for placing the substrate W on the spin chuck 1 and further reversing the substrate W.

The spin chuck 1 has a rotating shaft 6 of a motor 5.
Has a substrate support 2 fixed to the tip of the substrate. A plurality of substrate holding pins 3 are formed on the upper surface of the substrate support 2 to abut on the edge of the substrate W to regulate the horizontal position. The substrate holding pins 3 are configured to be movable between a position in contact with an edge of the substrate W and a position separated from the edge, and are driven by, for example, a magnetic force.

The spin chuck 1 holds and rotates the substrate W by the rotation of the motor 5. A cup 17 is arranged around the spin chuck 1 so as to surround the periphery of the substrate holder 2. The cup 17 is formed so as to be able to move up and down by means of elevating means (not shown).

The brush mechanism 7 includes a pure water nozzle 15 for supplying pure water to the surface of the substrate W, an N ₂ gas nozzle 16 for assisting the drying of the substrate W, and a cleaning arm 10 having a cleaning brush 11. Have. The cleaning arm unit 10
The cleaning brush 11 attached to the tip portion is configured so as to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction, and is swingable between a standby pot 12 provided outside the spin chuck 1 and the surface of the substrate W. ing. The cleaning brush 11 is configured to be rotatable around a vertical direction, and removes contaminants on the substrate W by rotating while being in contact with the surface of the substrate W.

The substrate reversing unit 8 includes a substrate reversing mechanism 20 for holding and reversing the substrate W, and a substrate reversing mechanism 2.
And a lifting mechanism 27 that raises and lowers 0. FIG.
Is a side view of the substrate reversing mechanism section 20, and FIG. 4 is a plan view of the substrate reversing mechanism section 20 shown in FIG. here,
(A) shows a state where the substrate is held, and (b) shows a state where the substrate is released. FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG.

First, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the substrate reversing mechanism 20 has a pair of chucks 21 and 21 for holding the edge of the substrate W. The chuck 21 is formed in an arc shape, and a plurality of (two in the illustrated example) pins 22 are formed on the side that contacts the edge of the substrate W. The pin 22 is formed of a resin molding such as Teflon having a groove formed at a portion where the edge of the substrate W contacts. The base of the chuck 21 is fixed to a chuck support 23. The chuck support 23 includes a guide 2 attached to the rotating plate 25.
4 so as to be slidable in the horizontal direction.
Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the chuck supports 23, 23 connected to the pair of chucks 21, 21, respectively, are constantly urged by a spring 35 in a direction approaching each other.

Here, referring to FIG.
The opening / closing mechanism and opening / closing operation of Nos. 1 and 21 will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 4A, a link mechanism unit 30 including three links as an opening / closing mechanism of the chucks 21 and 21.
b is used. The center of the first link 31b is rotatably supported by the fixed plate 34b, and a second link 32b and a third link 33b are rotatably attached to both ends thereof. Second link 3
The other end of 2b is rotatably connected to one chuck support 23. The other end of the third link 33b is rotatably connected to the other chuck support 23.
The first to third links 31a to 31a of the link mechanism 30a
33a and the fixing plate 34a are also configured in the same manner as described above.

Also, as described above, the chuck support 2
Each of the reference numerals 3 and 23 is slidably mounted along a guide 24. In a state where the pair of chucks 21 and 21 are closed (a state where the substrate is held), the first to third links 31b to 33b are in a bent state, respectively. The link drive cylinder 36 is disposed so as to face the connecting portion between the first link 31b and the third link 33b.

As shown in FIG. 4B, when releasing the substrate W, the rod of the link drive cylinder 36 is extended, and the connecting portion between the first link 31b and the third link 33b is pushed forward. Then, the first link 31b rotates clockwise, is guided by the guide 24, and the second link 32b and the third link 33b are respectively connected to the chuck holder 23,
23 are extruded away from each other. As a result, the pair of chucks 21 and 21 are opened.

When the rod of the link drive cylinder 36 is retracted to the original position, the pair of chuck supports 23,
The chuck supports 23, 23 are pulled back to the position shown in FIG. 4A by the restoring force of the spring 35 (see FIG. 5) connected between the chucks 23, and the pair of chucks 21, 21 hold the substrate W together. Return to the holding position.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 5, the link mechanisms 30a and 30b constituting the opening / closing mechanism of the pair of chucks 21 and 21 are formed of a pair of chuck support members 2a and 2b.
It is formed in a shape that is rotationally symmetric in the up-down direction with respect to 3, 23. Thus, even if the pair of chucks 21 and 21 and the chuck supports 23 and 23 are inverted by an operation described later, the opening and closing operation of the chucks 21 and 21 can be performed by one link drive cylinder 36.

Next, the structure of the mechanism for reversing the substrate will be described. The chuck support 23 and the guide 24 described above.
And the link mechanisms 30a and 30b are
Fixed or movable. The rotating plate 25 is fixed to a rotating shaft of a reversing motor 26. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, by rotating the reversing motor 26 (see FIG. 3) by 180 °, the rotating plate 25 is similarly rotated by 180 °. This allows
The pair of chucks 21 and the substrate W held thereon are inverted.

Further, the structure and operation of the elevating mechanism 27 for elevating the substrate reversing mechanism 20 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the substrate reversing mechanism 20 includes a lifting member 28.
Supported by The lower end of the elevating member 28 is connected to the movable part of the elevating cylinder 29. Then, in accordance with the elevating operation of the elevating cylinder 28, the substrate reversing mechanism 20
Is located near the spin chuck 1 and the spin chuck 1
To move to the position withdrawn above.

In the above configuration, the spin chuck 1 mainly constitutes the substrate processing section of the present invention. Further, the pair of chucks 21 and 21 and the link mechanisms 30a and 30b constitute a substrate holding member of the reversing means of the present invention, and the rotating plate 25 and the reversing motor 26 constitute a reversing drive of the reversing means of the present invention. The elevating cylinder 29 constitutes an elevating drive unit of the reversing means of the present invention.

Next, the operation of the substrate cleaning apparatus having the above configuration will be described. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the substrate cleaning apparatus. Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIG. 6 and FIGS. 1 to 5.

First, the substrate W is transported into the substrate cleaning apparatus by a substrate transport apparatus provided outside the substrate cleaning apparatus. Then, the substrate W is placed on the substrate holding pins 3 on the upper surface of the substrate support 2 of the substrate cleaning apparatus and retracted outside the substrate cleaning apparatus (Step S1). In this state, the substrate W
Is facing upward.

Next, the substrate reversing mechanism 20 descends with the pair of chucks 21 and 21 opened, and the substrate holding pins 3
The edge of the substrate W placed thereon is held and lifted. Then, the reversing motor 26 is driven to rotate the rotating plate 25, thereby reversing the substrate W such that the back surface of the substrate W faces the upper surface (step S2).

Further, the substrate reversing mechanism 20 descends, places the substrate W on the substrate holding pins 3, opens the chuck 21, and retreats upward (step S3). Then, the back surface cleaning processing of the substrate W is performed according to a predetermined sequence (Step S4).

When the back surface cleaning process is completed, the substrate reversing mechanism 20 descends again with the chuck 21 opened, holds the edge of the substrate W on the spin chuck 1, and moves further upward (step S5). . Then, the rotating plate 25 is rotated again, and the substrate W is turned over so that the surface of the substrate W becomes the upper surface (step S6).

Here, when the substrate cleaning device performs only the back surface cleaning (step S7), the substrate W is carried out of the substrate cleaning device by the substrate transfer device (step S1).
0).

When the two-sided cleaning is performed by the substrate cleaning apparatus (step S7), the substrate reversing mechanism 20 descends while holding the substrate W with the uncleaned surface facing upward, and the substrate holding pin is moved. 3 (Step S)
8). Then, the substrate surface is cleaned according to a predetermined sequence (step S9).

When the cleaning process of the back surface and the front surface of the substrate W is completed, the substrate W is carried out by a substrate transfer device provided outside (step S10). As described above, the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment can perform not only the cleaning process on both surfaces of the substrate W but also the back surface cleaning process.

When only the back surface of the substrate W is to be cleaned, after cleaning the back surface of the substrate W as described above, not only the substrate W is unloaded with the front surface of the substrate facing upward but also the back surface cleaning. May be used so as to carry out the substrate W in a state where is finished, that is, in a state where the back surface is turned to the upper surface.

Further, in the above-described substrate cleaning apparatus, since the reversing operation of the substrate W is performed above the spin chuck 1, a space for reversing the substrate W is secured outside the spin chuck 1. Therefore, the structure of the substrate cleaning apparatus can be reduced in size.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus incorporating the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment. In this substrate processing apparatus, an example of an apparatus capable of performing a cleaning process on a front surface of a substrate and a cleaning process on a rear surface of a substrate by different methods is shown. In this case, a substrate cleaning device provided with the substrate reversing mechanism unit 20 according to the above-described embodiment is arranged for the substrate cleaning device 40 used for back surface cleaning, and a conventionally known single-sided substrate cleaning device 50 for performing the front surface cleaning process is provided. A cleaning device for cleaning can be used. Also in this case, the size of the substrate cleaning apparatus 40 having the substrate reversing mechanism 20 is reduced, so that the entire substrate processing apparatus can be reduced in size.

The substrate processing apparatus provided with the substrate reversing mechanism 20 according to the present invention can be applied not only to a substrate cleaning apparatus but also to a so-called back coater for performing a predetermined coating process on the back surface of a substrate. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the substrate cleaning apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a substrate reversing mechanism.

4A is a plan view of the substrate reversing mechanism in a substrate holding state, and FIG. 4B is a plan view of the substrate reversing mechanism in a state where the substrate is released.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a substrate processing apparatus having the substrate cleaning apparatus according to the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 spin chuck 2 substrate support 8 substrate reversing unit 20 substrate reversing mechanism 21 chuck 22 pin 23 chuck support 24 guide 25 rotating plate 26 reversing motor 27 elevating mechanism 29 elevating cylinder 30a, 30b link mechanism 35 spring 36 link Drive cylinder

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masaru Kitagawa 322 Habushishi Furukawacho, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto-shi Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd. Dainippon Screen Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] A substrate processing unit configured to perform a predetermined process on the substrate while holding the substrate in a horizontal posture; and a reversing unit configured to hold an edge of the substrate and reverse the substrate around a horizontal axis. A substrate processing apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 2. The inverting means includes: a substrate holding member that holds an edge of the substrate; an inversion driving unit that inverts the substrate holding member around the horizontal axis; and a lifting drive that moves the substrate holding member up and down. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a unit. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the substrate processing unit includes a substrate rotation holding member that rotates while holding the substrate.