JPH11254296A - Substrate treating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a substrate treating device for dealing with the increased size of a substrate by supplying treating solution to the surface of the substrate, generating an elastic progressive wave on the surface of the substrate, and using this as a driving source to move the treating solution on the substrate. SOLUTION: Treating solution such as resist, developing solution or the like is supplied onto a substrate and, when an elastic advancing wave is generated in the vicinity of the surface of the substrate, the treating solution is moved in the direction opposite the progressive direction of the elastic progressive wave, and thus the treating solution is spread on the surface of the substrate without rotating the substrate at a high speed. According to a driving principle, an object OB is placed on a vibration surface VS, and the elastic progressive wave excited by ultrasonic vibration is progressive in the right direction. At this time, each point on the vibration surface VS draws an elliptic track counterclockwise. The object OB is driven by the movement of this track to progress in the left direction. The surface of the substrate is used as a vibration surfaced VS, and the treating solution as the object OB on the substrate is driven by the elastic progressive wave on the substrate surface.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a semiconductor wafer,
The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate such as a glass substrate for a photomask, a glass substrate for a liquid crystal display device, and a substrate for an optical disk.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one type of substrate processing apparatus, there is a rotary substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate surface while rotating the substrate. In a rotary substrate processing apparatus, by supplying a chemical solution or the like to the substrate surface while the substrate is rotated at a high speed,
Various processes (chemical solution application, cleaning, polishing, etc.) are performed.

[0003]

However, in recent years,
2. Description of the Related Art Along with high integration of semiconductor devices, the diameter of a semiconductor wafer is increasing, and the size of a liquid crystal panel substrate is also increasing. However, in the conventional rotary substrate processing apparatus, various problems are expected to occur such as difficulty in holding the substrate as the size of the substrate increases. Therefore,
In order to cope with an increase in the size of the substrate, a technique capable of processing the substrate by a method different from that of a conventional rotary substrate processing apparatus has been required.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and has an object to provide a technique capable of processing a substrate by a method different from a conventional rotary substrate processing apparatus. Aim.

[0005]

In order to solve at least a part of the above problems, a first substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate using a processing liquid. And a processing liquid supply unit for supplying a processing liquid on the surface of the substrate, and by generating an elastic traveling wave on the surface of the substrate, the processing liquid supplied on the surface of the substrate is formed on the substrate. And an elastic traveling wave generator for moving.

In the first substrate processing apparatus, the processing liquid on the substrate is moved by an elastic traveling wave generated on the surface of the substrate. Therefore, the processing liquid on the substrate is moved by a method different from that of the conventional rotary substrate processing apparatus. Can be done.

[0007] The elastic traveling wave generating section may include an ultrasonic vibrator that generates the elastic traveling wave on the surface of the substrate by generating ultrasonic vibration.

In this case, the processing liquid can be moved by the elastic traveling wave of the ultrasonic vibration.

[0009] The elastic traveling wave generating section may have a holding section for holding the substrate in a state of being pressed against the ultrasonic vibrator.

This has the advantage that an elastic traveling wave is more easily generated on the surface of the substrate.

A second substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises: an elastic traveling wave generating section for generating an elastic traveling wave on the surface of the substrate; and a polishing plate to which a polishing cloth for polishing the substrate is attached. In the state where the polishing cloth of the polishing plate is pressing the substrate against the elastic traveling wave generating section, the elastic traveling wave generating section generates an elastic traveling wave on the surface of the substrate, thereby performing the polishing. The polishing of the substrate with a cloth is performed.

In the second substrate processing apparatus, the surface of the substrate is polished by an elastic traveling wave generated on the surface of the substrate.
The surface of the substrate can be polished by a method different from a conventional rotary substrate processing apparatus.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Basic Configuration of Elastic Traveling Wave Generation Unit: Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a driving principle in a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. The object OB is placed on the vibration surface VS, and the elastic traveling wave excited by the ultrasonic vibration is traveling rightward on the vibration surface VS. At this time, it is known that each point on the vibration surface VS draws a counterclockwise elliptical orbit as shown in FIG. Object OB
Is driven by the movement of the elliptical orbit and advances leftward. The principle of driving the object OB by such an elastic traveling wave is used in an ultrasonic motor. The present invention has one feature in that the surface of the substrate is used as the vibration surface VS, and the processing liquid as the object OB on the substrate is driven by the elastic traveling wave on the substrate surface. In addition, as the processing liquid,
A resist or a developer is used.

FIGS. 2A to 2D are explanatory views showing transfer modes of various processing liquids according to the present invention.

In FIG. 2A, the processing liquid CH is supplied to the center of the circular substrate W. At this time, as shown by an alternate long and short dash line, when an elastic traveling wave traveling from the outer periphery of the substrate W toward the center is generated, the processing solution CH
Spreads toward the outer periphery of the substrate W. Concentric circles drawn by broken lines show how the processing liquid CH gradually spreads.

In FIG. 2B, an elastic traveling wave traveling from the outer periphery of the substrate W toward the center and an elastic traveling wave traveling in the circumferential direction of the substrate W are generated. Then, the processing liquid CH spreads toward the outer periphery of the substrate W while rotating.

In FIG. 2C, a processing liquid C is applied to one end of the substrate W.
H is supplied in a band shape, and the elastic traveling wave travels in the direction of the processing liquid CH from the end opposite to this. As a result, the processing liquid CH travels in the opposite direction to the elastic traveling wave and spreads over substantially the entire substrate W.

In FIG. 2D, the processing liquid CH is supplied to one end of the rectangular substrate W in a strip shape, and the elastic traveling wave travels in the direction of the processing liquid CH from the opposite end. .
As a result, the processing liquid CH travels in the opposite direction to the elastic traveling wave and spreads over substantially the entire substrate W.

As described above, when the processing liquid CH is supplied onto the substrate W and an elastic traveling wave is generated near the surface of the substrate W, the processing liquid CH moves in a direction opposite to the traveling direction of the elastic traveling wave. The processing liquid CH can be spread on the surface of the substrate W without rotating the substrate W at high speed.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the configuration of an elastic traveling wave generator for realizing the movement modes shown in FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C). As shown in FIG. 3A, the elastic traveling wave generator includes an ultrasonic vibrator 10a disposed below a central portion of the substrate and a plurality of ultrasonic vibrators disposed below a peripheral portion of the substrate. Child 10b to 10i. The substrate W is placed on the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10a to 10i. In order to facilitate generation of an elastic traveling wave on the surface of the substrate W, a holding mechanism (not shown) for holding the substrate W in a state of being pressed against the surfaces of the ultrasonic transducers 10a to 10i is provided. Can be As such a holding mechanism, for example, a mechanism is conceivable in which a groove is formed on the surface of the ultrasonic transducers 10a to 10i and the substrate W is vacuum-adsorbed by maintaining the groove in a vacuum. Further, a holding mechanism that presses down from the upper side of the substrate W toward the ultrasonic vibrators 10a to 10i is also conceivable.

FIG. 3B is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of one ultrasonic transducer 10. The ultrasonic transducer 10 has a piezoelectric element part 12 and a vibration transmitting member 14. The piezoelectric element section 12 includes a piezoelectric element 16, a ground electrode 17 provided on the lower surface of the piezoelectric element 16, and an electrode 18 provided on the upper surface of the piezoelectric element 16. When a drive signal is given to the electrode 18 on the upper surface of the piezoelectric element 16, ultrasonic vibration is generated in the piezoelectric element section 12, and the ultrasonic vibration is transmitted to the substrate W via the vibration transmitting member 14. Note that a magnetostrictive element can be used as the ultrasonic transducer 10.

The elastic traveling wave generator shown in FIG.
When generating an elastic traveling wave as shown in (A),
By using the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10b to 10i in the outer peripheral portion as a vibrator and using the central ultrasonic transducer 10a as a vibration absorber, an elastic traveling wave traveling from the outer periphery of the substrate W toward the center can be generated. Can be generated.
That is, the plurality of outer ultrasonic transducers 10b to 10i are vibrated in phase, and the central ultrasonic
a is connected to a load having an appropriate impedance, and the elastic traveling wave is absorbed by generating electric power by the vibration of the elastic traveling wave. Instead of using the central ultrasonic transducer 10a as a vibration absorber, the elastic traveling wave may be absorbed by a mechanical method (for example, replacing the transducer 10 with an ultrasonic absorber).

The elastic traveling wave generator shown in FIG.
It is also possible to generate two types of elastic traveling waves (elastic traveling waves traveling from the outer periphery to the center and elastic traveling waves traveling in the circumferential direction) as shown by the dashed line in (B). That is, in FIG. 3, when the phases of the driving signals applied to the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10b to 10i on the outer periphery are sequentially shifted, not only the elastic traveling wave traveling from the outer periphery to the center but also the elastic traveling wave rotating in the circumferential direction are obtained. Can also be generated at the same time.

The elastic traveling wave generator shown in FIG.
It is also possible to generate an elastic traveling wave traveling in one direction on the substrate W, as indicated by a dashed line in FIG. That is, some ultrasonic transducers (for example, 10b, 10c) at the end to which the processing liquid CH is supplied are used as vibration absorbers, and some ultrasonic transducers (for example, 10f, 10f, at the opposite end) are used. By using 10g) as a vibrator, it is possible to generate an elastic traveling wave traveling in one direction from the vibrator side to the vibration absorber side on the substrate W.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing another configuration of the elastic traveling wave generator having substantially the same function as that shown in FIG. The elastic traveling wave generating unit is configured to connect the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10b to 10i on the outer periphery in FIG.
Of the ultrasonic transducer 20 of FIG. The ring-shaped ultrasonic vibrator 20 is equally divided into a plurality of divided portions 20a to 20h, similarly to those used for the ultrasonic motor. The ultrasonic vibrator 20 includes a plurality of divided portions 2
By sequentially supplying drive signals having different phases to 0a to 20h, it is possible to generate an elastic traveling wave rotating in the circumferential direction. In addition, by supplying drive signals of the same phase to the plurality of division units 20a to 20h, the driving signals of FIG.
It is also possible to realize the movement mode shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an elastic traveling wave generator for realizing the movement mode shown in FIG. 2D. The elastic traveling wave generator has a plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10 arranged in a matrix, and a substrate W is mounted on the plurality of ultrasonic transducers 10. For example, three ultrasonic transducers 10a to 10c at the end to which the processing liquid CH is supplied are used as a vibration absorber, and three ultrasonic transducers 10d to 10f at the opposite end are used as a vibrator. Thereby, an elastic traveling wave traveling in one direction on the substrate W can be generated.

B. Embodiment of Substrate Processing Apparatus FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a first embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 6A is a perspective view of the elastic traveling wave generating unit 30, and FIG. 6B is a cross-sectional view taken along line BB. However, FIG.
2B, the substrate W and the processing liquid supply nozzle 100 are also illustrated.

The elastic traveling wave generating section 30 has a ring shape as a whole and includes two semicircular split ring sections 32 and 34. Two split ring parts 3
2, 34 are connected by a pin 36.
Can be opened and closed at the opposite cutting position. Nipping portions 33 and 35 for holding the substrate W are provided on the inner peripheral surfaces of the two split ring portions 32 and 34, respectively. 2
The two split ring portions 32 and 34 are opened to carry the substrate W into the center thereof, and the split ring portions 32 and 34 are closed to hold the holding portion 3.
The substrate W can be held by sandwiching the substrate W between 3, 35. As shown in FIG. 6 (B), ultrasonic vibrators 21 and 22 are provided in a ring shape under the holding portions 33 and 35, respectively, inside the split ring portions 32 and 34. The ultrasonic vibrator 10 is also arranged at the center of the split ring portions 32 and 34. That is, 2
An elastic traveling wave generator is formed by the two semicircular ultrasonic oscillators 21 and 22 and the ultrasonic oscillator 10 at the center.

The substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG.
2A, 2B, and 2C, the processing liquid on the substrate W can be moved in the movement modes shown in FIGS. 2A, 2B, and 2C. It is possible.

In the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 6, the ultrasonic vibrator 10 at the center can be omitted. At this time, if the processing liquid CH is also supplied to the lower surface of the substrate W, the processing liquid CH can be simultaneously spread on both surfaces of the substrate W.

FIGS. 7 and 8 are a perspective view and a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 7 shows a configuration of the elastic traveling wave generator. The elastic traveling wave generating section includes a ring-shaped piezoelectric element section 40 and a ring-shaped vibration transmitting member 42.

FIG. 8 shows the piezoelectric element section 40 and the vibration transmitting member 42.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an elastic traveling wave generation unit including the following. The piezoelectric element section 40 has a piezoelectric element 52, a ground electrode 54 provided on the lower surface of the piezoelectric element 52, and a split electrode 56 provided on the upper surface of the piezoelectric element 52. As shown in FIG. 7, the divided electrode 56 has a ring shape as a whole and is divided into widths substantially equal to each other. Also,
Adjacent divided electrodes are insulated.

The piezoelectric element portion 40 includes a ring-shaped rubber base 6.
0. The vibration transmitting member 42 is attached and fixed on the piezoelectric element section 40. A vacuum suction groove 44 is formed on the surface of the vibration transmitting member 42. When the substrate W is placed on the vibration transmitting member 42, the vacuum suction groove 44 is evacuated by the vacuum pump 70, and as a result, the substrate W is suctioned on the vibration transmitting member 42. Accordingly, the substrate W is held while being pressed against the surface of the vibration transmitting member 42. With the substrate W thus held, the processing liquid CH is supplied onto the substrate W by the processing liquid supply nozzle 100.

When drive signals having different phases are sequentially supplied to the plurality of divided electrodes 56, ultrasonic vibration is transmitted through the ring-shaped vibration transmitting member 42, and travels in the circumferential direction on the surface of the substrate W. An elastic traveling wave is generated. The processing liquid CH supplied near the center of the substrate W is driven by the elastic traveling wave, and moves toward the outside of the substrate W while rotating spirally. Therefore, the processing liquid C is rotated without rotating the substrate W at a high speed.
H can be spread on the surface of the substrate W.

The frequency f _fin of the vibration generated in the ring-shaped vibration transmitting member 42 is given by the following equation (1).

[0036]

(Equation 1)

Here, E is the Young's modulus of the ring-shaped vibration transmitting member 42, ρ is the density, σ is the Poisson's ratio, A is the cross-sectional area,
r is the average radius, and I is the second moment of area.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an elastic traveling wave generator used in the third embodiment of the present invention. The third embodiment has a configuration in which the piezoelectric element section 40 in the elastic traveling wave generating section of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 7 is formed in a double concentric ring shape. The inner ring-shaped piezoelectric element portion 82 and the outer ring-shaped piezoelectric element portion 84 each generate an elastic traveling wave traveling in the circumferential direction. At this time, the region between the two ring-shaped piezoelectric element portions 82 and 84 becomes a node of the traveling wave,
This is a region where vibration does not substantially occur. Therefore, by utilizing the area of this node, the piezoelectric element portion 80 is mounted on a pedestal (not shown).
Can be fixed.

In the substrate processing apparatus using the elastic traveling wave generating section shown in FIG. 9, a traveling wave in the circumferential direction is generated by the two ring-shaped piezoelectric elements 82 and 84, respectively. It is possible to efficiently generate an elastic traveling wave on the surface of W. When multiple ring-shaped piezoelectric element portions are provided as shown in FIG. 9, individual vibration transmitting members may be fixed on each of the ring-shaped piezoelectric element portions.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a substrate polishing apparatus using the elastic traveling wave generator shown in FIG. In this substrate polishing apparatus, a polishing plate 9 with a polishing cloth 92 is placed on a substrate W from above.
0 is pressed down. In this state, the substrate W
When an elastic traveling wave is generated on the surface of the substrate W, the surface of the substrate W can be polished. The elastic traveling wave generator of the substrate polishing apparatus includes the above-described FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 5, FIG.
It is also possible to use each of the elastic traveling wave generators shown in FIG.

In the substrate processing apparatuses of the above various embodiments,
There are various advantages as follows.

(1) Since a substrate rotating mechanism is unnecessary, the apparatus can be made compact and thin as compared with a rotary substrate processing apparatus. Further, by stacking such a compact substrate processing apparatus as one processing unit in multiple stages, a substrate processing system including a plurality of processing units can be configured. As a result, space saving of the entire substrate processing system can be achieved.

(2) Since it is not necessary to rotate the substrate at high speed to spread the processing liquid or perform polishing, it is particularly difficult to rotate a large-sized substrate at high speed (for example, difficulty in holding the substrate). Can be alleviated. Further, since the substrate is not rotated at a high speed, a substrate holding structure for holding the substrate at the end can be employed, and as a result, contamination of the substrate can be reduced.

(3) When a processing liquid such as a resist or an SOG liquid is applied to a substrate on which a pattern having a step is formed, the effect of the processing liquid penetrating into the step of the pattern is enhanced by ultrasonic vibration. . As a result, the step coverage characteristics are greatly improved. Similarly, when a treatment liquid for resist development or etching is applied, the treatment liquid is uniformly supplied to the step portion, so that the development and etching characteristics are greatly improved. In addition, since the apparent viscosity and surface tension of the processing liquid are reduced by the ultrasonic vibration, the effect of applying the processing liquid is enhanced, and as a result, the amount of the coating liquid may be reduced.

(4) In the case of performing the cleaning using the cleaning liquid, the ultrasonic vibration of the substrate enhances the effect of removing particles adhering to the substrate surface.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described examples and embodiments, but can be implemented in various modes without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a driving principle of a substrate in a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a transfer mode of various processing liquids according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an elastic traveling wave generator for realizing the movement modes shown in FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing another configuration of the elastic traveling wave generator having the same function as the elastic traveling wave generator shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an elastic traveling wave generator for realizing the movement mode shown in FIG. 2 (D).

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an elastic traveling wave generator used in a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a second embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an elastic traveling wave generator used in a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a substrate polishing apparatus using the elastic traveling wave generator shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10, 10a to 10i: ultrasonic vibrator 12: piezoelectric element portion 14: vibration transmitting material 16: piezoelectric element 17: ground electrode 18: electrode 20: ultrasonic vibrator 30: elastic traveling wave generator 32, 34: split ring Parts 33, 35 ... Nipping parts 36, 38 ... Ultrasonic vibrator 36 ... Pin 40 ... Piezoelectric element part 42 ... Vibration transmitting material 44 ... Vacuum suction groove 52 ... Piezoelectric element 54 ... Ground electrode 56 ... Split electrode 60 ... Rubber pedestal 70 ... Vacuum pump 80 ... Piezoelectric element parts 82 and 84 ... Ring-shaped piezoelectric element part 90 ... Polishing plate 92 ... Polishing cloth 100 ... Processing liquid supply nozzle

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate using a processing liquid, comprising: a processing liquid supply unit configured to supply a processing liquid on a surface of the substrate; and an elastic traveling wave generated on the surface of the substrate. And an elastic traveling wave generator for moving the processing liquid supplied onto the surface of the substrate over the substrate. 2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastic traveling wave generation unit includes an ultrasonic vibrator that generates the elastic traveling wave on the surface of the substrate by generating ultrasonic vibration. A substrate processing apparatus. 3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the elastic traveling wave generating unit has a holding unit for holding the substrate in a state pressed against the ultrasonic vibrator. apparatus. 4. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising: an elastic traveling wave generating unit configured to generate an elastic traveling wave on a surface of the substrate; and a polishing plate to which a polishing cloth for polishing the substrate is attached. In a state in which the polishing cloth of the polishing plate is pressing the substrate against the elastic traveling wave generating section, the elastic traveling wave generating section generates an elastic traveling wave on the surface of the substrate. A substrate processing apparatus for polishing a substrate with the polishing cloth.