JPH11145102A - Substrate drying method and device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To dry a substrate more securely and more quickly. SOLUTION: While a substrate W after water cleaning processing is supported substantially horizontally and carried by a carrier mechanism 16, a mixed gas is ejected to the substrate W by gas ejection nozzles 30 arranged above and below the substrate W, thus removing pure water adhered to the substrate W. As the mixed gas, a nitrogen gas containing IPA is ejected to the substrate W.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for drying a substrate such as a flat panel display substrate such as a liquid crystal display substrate, a photomask glass substrate, a printed circuit board, a semiconductor substrate and the like, and particularly to a method for spraying a gas. The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for drying a substrate for removing a processing liquid adhered to the substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the processing of the above various substrates,
For example, while horizontally supporting and transporting the substrate, a processing liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water is sequentially supplied to the surface of the substrate for cleaning, development,
There is known a so-called wet surface treatment technique of performing a chemical treatment such as etching and film removal.

[0003] In this type of treatment, for example, a washing treatment with pure water is performed after a chemical solution treatment. However, if the pure water supplied for washing keeps adhering to the substrate surface or the like, it may cause uneven drying or generation of particles. Therefore, after the washing process, the attached pure water is forcibly removed to dry the substrate.

As a drying method, for example, a nozzle having a slit-shaped discharge port is used, and an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or air is applied to the substrate from the downstream side to the upstream side in the substrate transport direction. A so-called air knife type drying method in which pure water attached to a substrate is removed while blowing while blowing is well known.

[0005]

In the air knife type drying method as described above, the pure water attached to the substrate is blown off by nitrogen gas or the like, so that the pure water can be effectively removed without contact. .

However, pure water may not be completely removed in some cases. For example, pure water may remain on the end face of the substrate. Further, when an uneven pattern is formed on the surface of the substrate, it is difficult to completely blow off the pure water adhered to the concave portions, and pure water tends to remain.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a method and apparatus for drying a substrate by spraying a gas onto the substrate to remove a processing liquid attached to the substrate, and a method for drying the substrate more reliably. It is another object of the present invention to provide a substrate drying method and an apparatus capable of quickly removing a processing liquid and drying a substrate.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to removing a processing liquid attached to a substrate by spraying a mixture containing a volatile solvent on the substrate. According to this method, the processing liquid adhering to the substrate is removed by the blowing of the air-fuel mixture, and the processing liquid adhering to the substrate is removed during the blowing of the air-fuel mixture. It is replaced by the volatile solvent in the mixture. Since the volatile solvent thus substituted evaporates quickly, the removal of the processing liquid on the substrate is accelerated. In particular, even when the processing liquid on the substrate is difficult to completely remove due to the shape of the substrate or the like, the removal of the processing liquid on the substrate is promoted by replacing the processing liquid with the volatile solvent as described above. Is done.

In this method, it is desirable to use an alcohol-based solvent as the volatile solvent and to use air or an inert gas containing the alcohol-based solvent as the mixture. This type of drying treatment method is often applied to drying of a substrate after washing with water, and if a water-soluble alcohol-based solvent is used as described above, the substitution property between the washing water and the volatile solvent becomes good, and The effect of removing the attached washing water is enhanced.

[0010] In the method of claim 1 or 2, if either the air or the inert gas is blown to the substrate, the air-fuel mixture is blown (claim 3). Spraying removes most of the processing liquid adhering to the substrate, so that the above-described effect of removing the processing liquid by the replacement of the volatile solvent is more effectively exerted. Therefore, the processing liquid on the substrate can be more quickly and reliably removed.

Depending on the type of the substrate, the degree of importance in removing the processing liquid may be different between the front and back of the substrate. Any of the active gases may be blown, and the air-fuel mixture may be blown to the other main surface. This makes it possible to perform a reasonable drying process that matches the type of the substrate.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate drying apparatus for removing a treatment liquid adhered to a substrate by spraying a gas onto the substrate. And a moving means for relatively moving the first gas blowing means along the substrate.

According to this apparatus, while the first gas blowing means is relatively moved along the substrate, a gas mixture containing a volatile solvent is blown from the first gas blowing means to the substrate. Thus, the substrate drying method according to the first or second aspect is performed.

In this apparatus, a second gas blowing means capable of blowing either a gas of air or an inert gas to the substrate is further provided, and the second gas blowing means is provided by the first gas blowing means. By arranging the gas so that it can be sprayed onto the substrate before spraying the air-fuel mixture (claim 6), the substrate drying method according to claim 3 can be performed.

Further, in the apparatus according to the fifth or sixth aspect, the first gas blowing means is arranged so as to be able to blow the air-fuel mixture to one main surface of the substrate, and air is blown to the other main surface of the substrate. Alternatively, if a third gas blowing means capable of blowing any of inert gas is further provided (claim 7), the substrate drying method according to claim 4 can be carried out.

[0016]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention is applied. The substrate processing apparatus 10 illustrated in FIG. 1 is configured to sequentially supply a processing solution such as a chemical solution or pure water to the substrate W while transporting the rectangular substrate W to perform various processes. In the direction from the upstream side (the left side in the figure)
A washing section 12b and a drying section 12c are provided.

Each of the processing sections 12a to 12c has a box-shaped processing tank, and the transfer mechanism 16 provided in the processing tank transfers the substrate W while opening the opening formed in each processing tank. The substrate W is transferred to the adjacent processing unit via the unit 14. The transport mechanism 16 is a roller conveyor, and includes a plurality of transport rollers 17 that are supported in parallel in the transport direction, and a drive mechanism (not shown) that rotates these transport rollers 17 in synchronization with a motor as a drive source. Have. The transport rollers 17 transport the substrate W while supporting it horizontally.

The chemical processing section 12a includes, for example, a substrate W
The surface (the upper surface in FIG. 1) is subjected to a predetermined chemical solution treatment, and although not shown, a chemical solution supply nozzle is disposed in the processing tank so as to face the surface of the substrate being conveyed.

The rinsing section 12b is for cleaning the substrate W after chemical treatment by spraying pure water on the substrate W. A plurality of rinsing sections 12b for spraying pure water on the upper and lower sides of the substrate W being transported are provided in the processing layer. Nozzles 18 for pure water supply are arranged side by side in the transport direction.

These pure water supply nozzles 18 are connected to a water storage tank 22 via a pure water supply pipe 20. In addition, a pump 24 is provided in the middle of the pure water supply officer 20, and the pure water in the water storage tank 22 is supplied to the pure water supply nozzle 18 by the pump 24 and is ejected.

Next, the drying section 12c will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 shows the drying section 1
It is a plane schematic diagram which shows 2c. The drying processing unit 12c is for drying the substrate W by spraying an air-fuel mixture described later on the substrate W, and the substrate drying apparatus of the present application is applied to the drying processing unit 12c.

A plurality of gas injection nozzles 30 (first gas blowing means) for spraying an air-fuel mixture on the upper and lower sides of the substrate W being transported are provided in the processing layer of the drying processing unit 12c. In the illustrated example, two upper and lower sides of the substrate W are respectively provided.
Two nozzles 30 are provided, and they are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the substrate W.

Each gas injection nozzle 30 is connected to a substrate W
The direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal plane (called the width direction)
The substrate W has a slit-shaped injection port 31 extending to
Is configured to be able to spray the air-fuel mixture over the width direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, each gas injection nozzle 30 is disposed so as to be inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the surface of the substrate being transported, so that the air-fuel mixture is located on the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate W. It is to be squirted toward.

Each of the gas injection nozzles 30 is connected to a storage tank 34 that stores a volatile solvent, in this embodiment, 2-propanol (isopropyl alcohol: “IPA”), through a gas supply pipe 32. . A gas supply pipe 36 connected to a nitrogen gas supply source (not shown) is connected to the tank 34 so that nitrogen gas is supplied into the IPA stored in the tank 34 via the gas supply pipe 36. It has become. That is, after the nitrogen gas is passed through the IPA, it is supplied to the gas injection nozzle 30 through the air / fuel mixture supply pipe 32, so that a gas mixture, that is, a nitrogen gas containing IPA is generated. 30
It is to be injected from.

According to the substrate processing apparatus 10 as described above,
The substrate W that has been subjected to the chemical treatment in the chemical treatment unit 12a is transported to the water washing treatment unit 12b, where it is subjected to cleaning treatment with pure water, and further transported to the drying treatment unit 12c for drying treatment.

In the drying section 12c, the gas jet nozzle 3
A gas mixture is blown from 0, whereby the pure water attached to the substrate W is blown off and removed. Further, by spraying the air-fuel mixture as described above, the pure water adhering to the substrate W is replaced by the IPA contained in the air-fuel mixture, and the IPA thus replaced is vaporized. This facilitates the removal of pure water on the substrate.

Therefore, according to the drying treatment in the drying treatment part 12c, a conventional drying treatment of this type is used in which an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or air is simply blown to blow off pure water adhering to the substrate. As compared with the above, the substrate W can be dried quickly and reliably and the substrate W can be dried.

In particular, when an uneven pattern or the like is formed on the surface of the substrate W, for example, pure water collected in the concave portions often remains without being blown away.
According to the drying process described above, such pure water is replaced by IPA. Therefore, the pure water accumulated in the concave portion
Pure water is effectively removed by this IPA being vaporized while being replaced by A. Therefore, even when a concavo-convex pattern or the like is formed on the surface of the substrate W, pure water can be quickly and reliably removed.

The drying processing section 12c applied to the substrate processing apparatus 10 is an embodiment of the substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention, and the specific configuration does not depart from the gist of the present invention. It can be changed appropriately within the range.

For example, in the drying section 12c, an alcohol-based solvent (IPA) is used as a volatile solvent contained in the air-fuel mixture. As the volatile solvent, a solvent other than such an alcohol-based solvent is used. It may be used. However, since the alcohol-based solvent is water-soluble and has good replaceability with water, it is particularly effective in the above-described drying treatment after the water washing treatment of the substrate W. Note that I
As an alcohol-based solvent other than PA, ethanol, methanol, or the like can be used.

In the drying processing section 12c, the IPA
Is used as an air-fuel mixture.
Inert gas other than nitrogen gas including PA, or IPA
May be used as an air-fuel mixture.

Further, in the drying section 12c, the air-fuel mixture is ejected from all the gas injection nozzles 30. However, the effective surface of the substrate W and the like, especially the main surface where cleaning water remains particularly problematic. The mixture may be blown only to the air. In this case, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or a gas such as air may be blown to the other main surface, that is, a surface different from the surface to which the air-fuel mixture is blown. With this configuration, a rational configuration in which the air-fuel mixture is blown only to a portion where the remaining cleaning water is a problem is obtained.

Of the two gas injection nozzles 30 arranged in the transport direction on both the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or air from the gas injection nozzle 30 on the upstream side in the transport direction of the substrate W. May be ejected, and the air-fuel mixture is ejected from the gas injection nozzle 30 on the downstream side. According to this configuration, when the substrate W is transported, first, air or the like is blown onto the substrate W, so that the substrate W
Most of the cleaning water adhering to the substrate W is removed, and thereafter, when the mixture is blown to the substrate W, the amount of the cleaning water adhering to the substrate W is reduced. Therefore, the replacement of the washing water with the IPA is performed more favorably, and the effect of removing the washing water is improved. Therefore, according to such a configuration, the cleaning water can be more reliably removed and the substrate W can be dried.

In the above-described embodiment, an example has been described in which pure water is used as a treatment liquid, and a substrate is dried by spraying an air-fuel mixture after the cleaning treatment. However, the substrate drying method and apparatus of the present invention employ pure water. The present invention is also applicable to drying of the substrate W after processing using a processing liquid other than the above.

[0036]

As described above, the present invention is directed to a method of spraying an air-fuel mixture containing a volatile solvent onto a substrate to blow off and remove the processing solution, and replacing the processing solution attached to the substrate with the volatile solvent. Therefore, the removal of the processing solution is effectively promoted. Therefore, compared with this type of conventional drying method, the substrate can be dried by removing the processing liquid more quickly and more reliably.

In particular, if an alcohol-based solvent is used as the volatile solvent and air or an inert gas containing the alcohol-based solvent is used as the above-mentioned mixture, it is effective in drying the substrate after the water-washing process. .

Further, if either the air or the inert gas is blown onto the substrate and then the above-mentioned mixture is blown, the effect of removing the processing liquid as described above by replacing the volatile solvent is obtained. Will be more effectively demonstrated,
The processing liquid can be more quickly and reliably removed.

Further, if one of the air and the inert gas is blown to one main surface of the substrate, and the above-mentioned air-fuel mixture is blown to the other main surface, the type of the substrate is matched. A reasonable drying process can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a substrate processing apparatus to which a substrate drying apparatus according to the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view illustrating a drying processing unit in the substrate processing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Substrate processing apparatus 12a Chemical liquid processing part 12b Rinsing processing part 12c Drying processing part 14 Opening 16 Transport mechanism 18 Pure water supply nozzle 20 Pure water supply pipe 22 Water storage tank 24 Pump 30 Gas injection nozzle 32 Mixed gas supply pipe 34 Storage tank 36 Gas supply pipe

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A method for drying a substrate, comprising spraying an air-fuel mixture containing a volatile solvent onto a substrate to remove a processing liquid attached to the substrate. 2. The method for drying a substrate according to claim 1, wherein an alcohol-based solvent is used as the volatile solvent, and air or an inert gas containing the alcohol-based solvent is used as the mixture. 3. The method for drying a substrate according to claim 1, wherein the air-fuel mixture is blown after air or an inert gas is blown onto the substrate. 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein one of the air and the inert gas is blown to one main surface of the substrate, and the mixture is blown to the other main surface.
4. The method for drying a substrate according to any one of items 1 to 3. 5. A substrate drying apparatus for removing a processing liquid attached to a substrate by blowing a gas to the substrate, wherein the first gas blowing means is provided so as to be able to blow a gas mixture containing a volatile solvent, and And a moving means for relatively moving the gas blowing means along the substrate. 6. The apparatus further comprises a second gas blowing means capable of blowing either a gas of air or an inert gas to the substrate, wherein the second gas blowing means is an air-fuel mixture by the first gas blowing means. 6. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the substrate is arranged so that the gas can be sprayed on the substrate before the spraying. 7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first gas blowing means is arranged to be capable of blowing a mixture to one main surface of the substrate.
7. The substrate drying apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising third gas blowing means capable of blowing air or an inert gas to the other main surface of the substrate.