JPH11111664A - Treatment equipment of substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent atmosphere in a treatment tank from leaking to the outside by installing a filter unit in a treatment tank, in which a spin equipment is accommodated, and controlling the supply amount of clean air to the treatment tank by the filter unit, on the basis of result of pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the treatment tank. SOLUTION: A spin equipment 3 for cleaning and dry-treating a substrate 2 such as a semiconductor wafer is installed in a treatment tank 1. A filter unit 11 is installed above the treatment tank 1 and introduces clean air in a clean room R into the treatment tank 1 by using a blower 12. A filter part 13 for further cleaning the introduced air is arranged. A differential pressure detector 16 is connected with the treatment tank 1, and the difference of pressure between the treatment tank 1, and the clean room R is detected. On the basis of the detected result, the supply amount of the clean air to the treatment tank 1 by the filter unit 11 is controlled through a control equipment 17.

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 spin device for processing a substrate by rotating the substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a liquid crystal manufacturing apparatus or a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus has a step of cleaning a substrate such as a liquid crystal glass substrate or a semiconductor wafer with a high degree of cleanliness. As a method of cleaning such a substrate, there are a dip method in which a plurality of substrates are immersed in a cleaning liquid and a single-wafer method in which a cleaning liquid is sprayed toward a substrate to wash one by one. In addition to this, a single-wafer method that is advantageous in terms of cost is often used.

[0003] As one of the single-wafer systems, a spin device for cleaning a substrate while rotating it is known. In the case of a spin device, cleaning can be performed by applying a cleaning liquid while rotating the substrate at a low speed, and then drying can be performed by rotating the substrate at a high speed. That is, the spin device has an advantage that the cleaning process and the drying process can be performed continuously.

When the substrate is rotated by the spin device, particles contained in the outside air adhere to the substrate due to the air flow generated by the rotation, which may cause contamination. Therefore, not only the processing of the substrate by the spin device is performed in a clean room, but also the spin device is accommodated in a processing tank and clean air is circulated in the processing device.

By circulating clean air through the processing tank, the amount of particles adhering to the substrate can be reduced.
However, it is inevitable that the pressure in the processing tank fluctuates due to a change in the circulation amount of clean air, a change in the rotation speed according to the processing mode of the substrate, and the like.

[0006] When the pressure in the processing tank becomes lower than the pressure of the outside air, the outside air flows into the processing tank, and the particles contained in the outside air may adhere to the substrate. Also, if the pressure in the processing tank is higher than the outside air, the atmosphere in the processing tank may leak to the outside, especially when the substrate is cleaned with a chemical solution. Leakage to the outside is undesirable.

Further, since the pressure outside the processing tank, that is, the pressure of the clean room, is not constant, the amount of particles attached to the substrate increases due to the pressure fluctuation.
The atmosphere in the processing tank may leak to the outside.

[0008]

As described above, conventionally, when a substrate is subjected to spin processing, a spin apparatus is installed in a processing tank in order to suppress particles from adhering to the substrate. However, particles may flow into the cleaning tank due to pressure fluctuations between the processing tank and the outside, and the atmosphere in the cleaning tank may leak to the outside.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus which prevents external air from flowing into the processing tank and the atmosphere in the processing tank from leaking to the outside even if the pressure in the processing tank or outside fluctuates. Is to do.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a processing apparatus for rotating and processing a substrate, comprising: a spin device for holding and rotating the substrate; and a processing device containing the spin device. A tank, a filter unit provided in the processing tank and supplying clean air to the processing tank, an exhaust unit for discharging air from the processing tank, and a detection unit for detecting a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the processing tank. Means, and control means for controlling a supply amount of clean air to the processing tank by the filter unit based on a detection result of the detection means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the control means controls a supply amount of clean air by the filter unit such that a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the processing tank becomes substantially zero. It is characterized by doing.

According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, a pressure difference between the inside and outside of the processing tank is detected, and the amount of clean air supplied to the processing tank is controlled based on the detection result. It is possible to prevent the outside air from flowing into the processing tank and the internal atmosphere from leaking to the outside.

In particular, according to the second aspect of the present invention, since the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the processing tank is controlled to be substantially zero, the inflow of outside air into the processing tank and the internal atmosphere leak to the outside. Can be reliably prevented.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The processing apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 has a processing tank 1 installed in a clean room R. The processing tank 1 has a box shape, and a spin device 3 for cleaning and drying a substrate 2 such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for liquid crystal is installed therein.

An opening which is opened and closed by an opening / closing door (not shown) is provided in one side wall of the processing tank 1, and the substrate 2 is put in and out of the spin device 3 through this opening.

The spin device 3 has a cup body 4 having an open upper surface, and a rotating body 5 for holding the substrate 2 is rotatably provided inside the cup body 4. A drive shaft 6 is connected to the lower surface of the rotating body 5, and the drive shaft 6 is driven to rotate by a drive source 7.

A nozzle body 8 is arranged above the rotating body 5, and a cleaning liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water is sprayed from the nozzle body 8 toward the substrate 2 held by the rotating body 5. Has become.

Therefore, by rotating the substrate 2 together with the rotating body 5 while spraying the cleaning liquid from the nozzle body 8,
The substrate 2 can be subjected to a cleaning process. If the rotating body 5 is rotated at a high speed without spraying a cleaning liquid after the cleaning, the substrate 2 can be subjected to a drying process.

A filter unit 11 is provided above the processing tank 1. The filter unit 11 includes a blower unit 12 for introducing clean air in the clean room R into the processing tank 1 and a filter unit for further purifying the clean air introduced into the processing tank 1 by the blower unit 12. 13 Although clean air is supplied to the clean room R through a purifying device (not shown), the pressure in the clean room R may fluctuate due to a change in the amount of clean air supplied.

An exhaust pipe 14 for exhausting an atmosphere containing particles, mist, and the like generated in the cup body 4 to the outside of the processing tank 1 is connected to the bottom of the cup body 4. The exhaust pipe 14 is connected to an exhaust pump (not shown) that collectively exhausts a plurality of processing apparatuses installed in the clean room R.

Therefore, it is inevitable that the exhaust pressure fluctuates somewhat when all of the plurality of processing apparatuses are operating and when they are not. That is, the pressure in the cup body 4 may fluctuate.

The processing tank 1 and the cleaning tank 1
A differential pressure detector 16 that detects a pressure difference from the room R, converts the pressure difference into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal is connected. The detection signal S from the differential pressure detector 16 is input to the control device 17. The control device 17 outputs a drive signal D to the drive unit 18 in accordance with the magnitude of the detection signal S, and thereby the drive unit 1
8 is an output of the blower unit 12 of the filter unit 11;
For example, the number of rotations is controlled.

That is, when the differential pressure detected by the differential pressure detector 16 is almost zero, for example, when the differential pressure is within a set range of 0 to -0.5 mmAq, the blower unit 12 is controlled to maintain the differential pressure. Is not changed, but when the differential pressure is out of the set range, the supply amount of the clean air to the processing tank 1 by the blower unit 12 is controlled to increase or decrease, and the pressure in the processing tank 1 is set to the set range. Is to be maintained within.

For example, when the pressure in the washing tank 1 is higher than the external pressure, the number of rotations of the blower section 12 is reduced to reduce the amount of blown air. Is raised to increase the air flow.

Next, a case where the substrate 2 is processed by the processing apparatus having the above configuration will be described. When the unprocessed substrate 2 is supplied to the rotating body 5 of the spin device 3, the rotating body 5 is rotated at a low speed, and the processing liquid is jetted from the nozzle body 8 toward the substrate 2. Thereby, the substrate 2 is subjected to, for example, a cleaning process by the processing liquid.

When the cleaning process with the processing solution is completed,
Pure water is supplied from the nozzle body 8 (or another nozzle body) to the substrate 2 and the substrate 2 is rinsed. Then
By rotating the substrate 2 at a high speed, the substrate 2 is dried by the centrifugal force.

In such a series of processing operations, a clear
A differential pressure between the room R and the inside of the processing tank 1 is detected by a differential pressure detector 16. If the detection range of the differential pressure by the differential pressure detector 16 is within the range of 0 to -0.5 mmAq, the operation of the blower unit 12 of the filter unit 11 in that state is continued.

However, when the pressure difference between the clean room R and the inside of the processing tank 1 is out of the set range, the operation of the blower unit 12 is controlled by the drive unit 18 so that the pressure difference falls within the set range. Will be maintained.

The fluctuation factors of the differential pressure include pressure fluctuation of the clean room R, fluctuation of the exhaust pressure by the exhaust pipe 14 connected to the spinning device 3, and change of the rotation speed of the rotating body 5 according to the processing mode. This may cause fluctuations in the internal pressure.

Then, the pressure in the processing tank 1 becomes clean.
If the pressure is higher than the pressure of the chamber R, the atmosphere in the processing tank 1 may leak from the clean room. -The gas in the cup body 4 including the tickle and the mist may not be discharged smoothly, and the substrate 2 may be contaminated.

If the pressure in the processing tank 1 becomes lower than the pressure of the clean room R, the outside air in the clean room R may enter the processing tank 1. Although the gas in the clean room R is purified, the cleanliness is lower than that of the air that is purified by the filter unit 11 and supplied to the processing tank 1. Therefore, in this case, the substrate 2 may be contaminated. is there.

However, in the present invention, as described above, the differential pressure between the clean room R and the inside of the processing tank 1 is detected by the differential pressure detector 16, and the processing tank 1 is detected based on the detection result. Since the internal pressure of the blower unit 12 is changed so that the internal pressure is within a predetermined range and the amount of air blown to the processing tank 1 is controlled, the atmosphere in the cleaning tank 1 leaks to the outside or the outside air is washed. Intrusion into the tank 1 and the like are prevented, and the processing of the substrate 2 can be performed safely and reliably.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but can be variously modified without departing from the gist of the invention. For example, the amount of clean air supplied to the processing tank is controlled by changing the number of rotations of the blower unit to a damper between the blower unit and the filter unit, and controlling the opening of the damper. You may.

[0034]

As described above, according to the first and second aspects of the present invention, the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the processing tank is detected, and based on the detection result, the clean air is supplied to the processing tank. The supply amount was controlled.

Therefore, when the substrate is processed in the processing bath, the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the processing bath can be maintained within a predetermined range, so that the outside air flows into the processing bath and the substrate is contaminated. Also, it is possible to reliably prevent the atmosphere in the processing tank from leaking to the outside.

In particular, according to the invention of claim 2, since the pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the processing tank is controlled to be substantially zero, the inflow of outside air into the processing tank and the internal atmosphere leak to the outside. Can be reliably prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Processing tank 2 ... Substrate 3 ... Spin device 11 ... Filter unit 12 ... Blower part 14 ... Exhaust pipe 16 ... Differential pressure detector 17 ... Control device

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A processing apparatus for processing a substrate by rotating the substrate, a spin device for holding and rotating the substrate, a processing tank accommodating the spin device, and a processing tank provided in the processing tank. A filter unit that supplies clean air into the processing tank, an exhaust unit that discharges air in the processing tank, a detecting unit that detects a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the processing tank, And a control means for controlling a supply amount of clean air to the processing tank by the filter unit. 2. The substrate according to claim 1, wherein the control means controls a supply amount of clean air by the filter unit such that a pressure difference between the inside and the outside of the processing tank becomes substantially zero. Processing equipment.