JPWO2006049302A1 - Liquid processing apparatus and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

  The wafer W is washed in the processing container 10 filled with the processing liquid while rotating while being held by the wafer holder 30. The rotary shaft 21 coupled to the wafer holder 30 is housed in a shaft housing 22. A first seal structure 24 and a variable second seal structure 26 that seal a gap between the shaft housing 22 and the rotary shaft 21 are provided. When the liquid processing of the wafer W is performed in the processing container 10, the second sealing structure 26 is in the non-sealing state. When the wafer W is dried in the processing container 10, the second seal structure 26 is brought into a sealed state, and the intermediate space 26d between the first seal structure 24 and the second seal structure 26 is cleaned. And dried. When the next liquid processing is performed, the processing liquid is not contaminated by the residue in the intermediate space 26d.

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus that supplies a processing liquid to an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer and an LCD glass substrate to perform processing, and more particularly to a seal structure of a rotating mechanism thereof. The present invention further relates to a method of operating the liquid treatment device.

  Generally, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, an object to be processed such as a semiconductor wafer and a glass substrate for an LCD is housed in a processing tank, and the object to be processed is supplied while supplying a processing solution such as a chemical solution and a rinse solution to the processing tank. 2. Description of the Related Art A liquid processing method in which a target object is processed while being immersed in the processing liquid is widely adopted.

  An example of a liquid processing apparatus for carrying out such a liquid processing method is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication JP10-223585A. This liquid processing apparatus includes a plurality of rotating rods that support lower portions of a plurality of objects to be processed in a processing tank in which the processing liquid is stored and rotate the objects to be processed in an upright state. One of the rotating rods is connected to the motor via a power transmission mechanism having a crank and a connecting rod. The other rotating rods are connected to the one connecting rod via a driving force transmission gear, and all the rotating rods rotate in the same direction about their respective central axes. As a result, the object to be processed in contact with the rotating rod rolls on the rotating rod.

  However, in the liquid processing apparatus disclosed in JP10-223585A, since the driving force transmission gear is exposed to the processing liquid in the processing tank, particles due to wear of the gear may diffuse into the processing liquid. Particles may also be generated on the contact surface between the rotating rod and the object to be processed, which is exposed to the processing liquid.

  Although not specified in JP10-223585A, it is considered that both ends of the rotating rod are rotatably supported by bearings. In this case, a seal member would be provided to prevent the treatment liquid from entering the bearing and protect the bearing from the treatment liquid. However, complete sealing is difficult with a dynamic seal member that seals the rotating shaft while allowing its rotation. For this reason, the processing liquid may intrude into the gap between the seal member and the rotary rod or the bearing. The invading treatment liquid may flow back into the treatment tank later to contaminate the treatment liquid in the treatment tank. In addition, particles generated in the bearing portion may enter the processing bath together with the processing liquid flowing back.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to prevent particles generated in the bearing portion of the rotating shaft of the holder of the object to be processed from flowing into the processing chamber, and to rotate the particles. This is to prevent the processing liquid from staying in the narrow gap around the shaft.

  In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a holder capable of holding an object to be processed, a rotary shaft connected to the holder, a motor for rotationally driving the rotary shaft, and the holder. A processing container that defines a processing chamber to be housed, a processing liquid discharge port that supplies a processing liquid into the processing chamber, and at least a part of the processing container are connected to house the rotary shaft and communicate with the processing chamber. Between the shaft housing and the rotating shaft, the shaft housing defining the space, a bearing rotatably supporting the rotating shaft in the shaft housing, and a bearing provided closer to the processing chamber than the bearing. Between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft, which is provided closer to the processing chamber than the first seal structure and seals the gap of the rotary shaft while allowing rotation of the rotary shaft. A second seal structure for sealing a gap, which is capable of taking a first state in which a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft is sealed and a second state in which the gap is not sealed A liquid processing apparatus having a seal structure.

  The liquid treatment device is connected to an intermediate space between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft between the first seal structure and the second seal structure, and can supply a fluid to the intermediate space. A discharge passage may be provided to discharge fluid from the supply passage and the intermediate space. In this case, a cleaning liquid supply source and a dry gas supply source connected to the supply passage, and a switching valve that allows any one of the cleaning liquid supply source and the dry gas supply source to communicate with the intermediate space via the supply passage. And can be further provided.

  An intermediate space between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft between the first seal structure and the second seal structure is partially narrowed on the inner surface of the shaft housing or the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft. The shape can be given.

  The second seal structure may include a flexible annular hollow seal member that swells by supplying a working gas to the inner space thereof to be in the first state.

  In a preferred embodiment, the first seal structure includes a pair of seal members arranged at intervals in the axial direction of the rotary shaft, and the shaft housing and the rotary shaft are provided between the pair of seal members. A seal space is defined between the seal space and the seal space, and a supply path capable of supplying the fluid to the seal space and a discharge path capable of discharging the fluid from the seal space are connected to the seal space. In this case, a drying gas supply source can be connected to the supply path.

  In a preferred embodiment, the liquid treatment device is capable of supplying a cleaning liquid to an intermediate space between the shaft housing and the rotating shaft between the first seal structure and the second seal structure. A supply system, a drying gas supply system capable of supplying a drying gas to the intermediate space, a fluid discharge system capable of discharging a fluid from the intermediate space, the second seal structure, and the cleaning liquid supply A controller capable of controlling a system, the drying gas supply system, and the fluid discharge system, wherein the rotating shaft rotates and the object to be processed is processed by the processing liquid while rotating in the processing chamber. At this time, the second seal structure and the second seal structure are in the second state, and the processing liquid that has entered the intermediate space via the fluid discharge system is discharged therefrom. The second seal structure controls the fluid discharge system, and when the object to be processed is being processed by the processing fluid while the rotating shaft is not rotating and the object is stationary in the processing chamber. The second seal structure, the cleaning liquid is supplied to the intermediate space through the cleaning liquid supply system, and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the intermediate space through the fluid discharge system. And a controller that controls the cleaning liquid supply system and the fluid discharge system.

  In one embodiment, the processing liquid is a chemical liquid and the processing fluid is a drying gas.

  Preferably, the controller supplies the cleaning liquid to the intermediate space via the cleaning liquid supply system when the object to be processed is processed in a stationary state in the processing chamber without the rotation shaft rotating. In addition, after the cleaning liquid is discharged from the intermediate space via the fluid discharge system, a drying gas is supplied to the intermediate space via the drying gas supply system and the cleaning liquid is discharged via the fluid discharge system. The dry gas supply system and the fluid discharge system are controlled so that the drying gas is discharged from the intermediate space.

  Preferably, the controller has a discharge rate of the cleaning liquid via the fluid discharge system when the object to be processed is treated with a processing fluid in a state where the object to be processed is stationary in the processing chamber, The fluid discharge system is configured so as to be higher than the discharge rate of the processing liquid through the fluid discharge system when being processed by the processing liquid while rotating in the processing chamber.

  In a preferred embodiment, the holding body has a rotating base connected to the rotating shaft, and a pair of holding rods for holding the object to be processed, and the liquid processing apparatus has a radius of the rotating shaft. A holding rod moving mechanism for moving the holding rods in a direction in which the holding rods approach each other and in a direction in which the holding rods move away from each other, and the holding rod moving mechanism is provided on the rotating base to move the holding rods. A cylinder actuator for moving, a spring member for urging the holding rods in a direction in which the holding rods approach each other or a direction in which the holding rods move away from each other, and the cylinder for moving the holding rods against the spring members. A working fluid passage for supplying a working fluid to the actuator, and the pipeline formed in the internal space of the rotating shaft and the rotating base body constitutes a part of the working fluid passage.

  In a preferred embodiment, the processing container has a tubular processing container body whose one end has an opening through which the object to be processed can be passed and the other end is closed, and whose axis is oriented in a substantially horizontal direction. And a lid for sealing the opening of the processing container body.

  In a preferred embodiment, the shaft housing is coupled to the lid body.

  The present invention further includes a holder capable of holding an object to be processed, a rotation shaft coupled to the holder, a processing container defining a processing chamber accommodating the holder, and at least the processing container. A shaft housing that is coupled to a part of the shaft housing and that houses the rotation shaft and defines a space that communicates with the processing chamber; a bearing that rotatably supports the rotation shaft in the shaft housing; A first seal structure which is provided at a position close to the first seal structure and seals a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft while allowing the rotation of the rotary shaft, and a processing chamber more than the first seal structure. A second seal structure which is provided at a close position and seals a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft, wherein the first seal structure seals a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft. There is provided a method for operating a liquid treatment apparatus including a second sealing structure capable of taking a state and a second state in which no sealing is performed. In this method, a liquid processing step of rotating the object to be processed in the processing chamber while being held by the holding body and supplying a processing liquid into the processing chamber, thereby performing liquid processing of the object to be processed with the processing liquid. And a fluid treatment step of, after the liquid treatment step, supplying a treatment fluid into the treatment chamber while the rotation of the treatment object is stopped, thereby treating the treatment object with the treatment fluid. While performing the liquid treatment step, the second seal structure is set to the second state, and the shaft housing is provided between the first seal structure and the second seal structure. The processing liquid that has entered the intermediate space from the processing chamber is discharged from an intermediate space between the rotary shaft and the second sealing structure, and the second state is in the first state when performing the fluid processing step. And, the intermediate space is cleaned by discharging the cleaning liquid supplied while supplying the cleaning liquid to the intermediate space from the intermediate space, and then the drying gas supplied while supplying the drying gas to the intermediate space. Is discharged from the intermediate space to dry the intermediate space.

  Preferably, the discharge rate of the processing liquid discharged from the intermediate space when the fluid processing step is performed is the discharge rate of the cleaning liquid discharged from the intermediate space when the liquid processing step is performed. Higher than.

  In one embodiment, the treatment liquid used in the liquid treatment step is a chemical solution, and the treatment fluid used in the fluid treatment step is a drying gas for drying the object to be treated.

It is a top view which shows schematically an example of the processing system provided with the liquid processing apparatus by this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows schematically the principal part of the processing system shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the processing container main body and lid which comprise the processing container of a liquid processing apparatus, and the components relevant to this. It is a piping system diagram of a liquid processing apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the processing container of the liquid processing apparatus. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view along the axial direction of the liquid processing apparatus. It is a figure which expands and shows a part of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows roughly the principal part of the wafer holding mechanism of a liquid processing apparatus. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the axial direction of the nozzle shown in FIG. 5.

Explanation of symbols

10 Processing Container 10a Processing Chamber 11 Lid 12 Processing Container Main Body 17, 17A Drain Port 18 Air Venting Port 19 Drying Gas Supply Port 20 Wafer Rotating Motor 21 Rotating Shaft 21a Rotating Shaft Internal Space 22 Shaft Housing 24 Sealing Member Seal structure)
24a Seal space 24b Air supply port 24c Exhaust port 25 Circumferential projection 26 Second sealing structure 26a Hollow seal member 26b Hollow seal member internal space 26d Intermediate spaces 26e, 27A, 28c, V0 Cleaning liquid supply system 26e for intermediate space 27, 28c, V0 Dry gas supply system 26f, 29a, 29b, V2, V3 for intermediate space Fluid discharge system 27 for intermediate space 27 N2 gas (dry gas) supply source 27A Pure water (cleaning liquid) supply source 30 Wafer Holding body 31 Rotating substrate 32 Holding rod 40 Processing liquid supply valve 43 Discharge port 60 Expansion and contraction moving mechanism (holding rod moving mechanism)
63 spring (spring member)
64 cylinder actuator 65 air (working fluid) supply system 110 for holding rod moving mechanism CPU (controller)
W Semiconductor wafer (Processing object)
V0 switching valve

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the processing system includes a carrying-in/carrying-out unit 1, a pitch converting/carrying unit 3, and a wafer carrying unit located between the carrier carrying-in/carrying-out unit 1 and the pitch converting/carrying unit 3. It includes a unit 5 and a processing unit including the liquid processing apparatus 6 according to the present invention. The semiconductor wafer W, that is, the carrier C containing the object to be processed is received by the processing system via the carrying-in/carrying-out section 1, and is also paid out from the processing system. In the carrier C, a plurality of, for example, 25 semiconductor wafers W are horizontally held at a predetermined interval of 10 mm in the vertical direction. Two wafer holders 2a and 2b are arranged in the pitch conversion/transfer unit 3. Each of the wafer holders 2a and 2b is configured to hold a plurality of wafers W, for example, 25 wafers W at predetermined intervals, for example, 3 mm in the vertical direction. The wafer transfer unit 5 is provided with a wafer transfer arm 4 that is movable in horizontal directions (X, Y directions) and vertical directions (Z directions) and is rotatable (θ) about a vertical axis. The wafer transfer arm 4 can transfer the wafer W in the carrier C in the loading/unloading section 1 to the wafer holders 2a and 2b or vice versa. A processing container main body 12 is arranged in the processing part, and the processing container main body 12 is combined with a lid 11 arranged in the pitch converting/conveying part 3 to form a closed processing container 10.

  The lid 11 provided in the pitch conversion/conveyance unit 3 is located in the middle of the two wafer holders 2a and 2b arranged in the Y direction (see FIG. 1). As shown in FIG. 3, the lid 11 is attached to the posture changing/moving mechanism 7. The lid 11 is provided with a wafer holder 30 which will be described in detail later. The wafer holder 30 can hold a plurality of wafers W, for example, 25 wafers W at equal intervals, for example, 3 mm intervals (the same as the wafer holding intervals of the wafer holders 2a and 2b). By operating the posture changing/moving mechanism 7 while the wafer holder 30 holds the wafer W, the wafer W and the lid 11 are vertically erected, and the lid 11 is moved toward the processing container body 12. Then, the opening 13 of the processing container body 12 can be closed.

  The liquid processing apparatus 6 includes a wafer holder 30 that can hold the wafer W in an upright state, and a sealed processing container 10 that has a processing chamber 10a that houses the wafer W held by the wafer holder 30. A processing liquid supply nozzle 40 (see FIG. 5) forming a part of the processing liquid supply system for supplying the processing liquid into the processing container 10, and a nozzle rotation motor 50 capable of rotating the processing liquid supply nozzle 40 forward and backward (see FIG. 9) ) And a wafer rotation motor 20 (see FIG. 6) that rotationally drives the wafer holder 30. The wafer rotation motor 20 can rotate the rotation shaft 21 of the wafer holder 30 to rotate the wafer W held by the wafer holder 30 with the center of the wafer W as the center of rotation.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the processing container body 12 has a cylindrical shape whose central axis is oriented in the horizontal direction, and one side surface (that is, the bottom surface of the cylinder) of the processing container body 12 is closed by a side wall. The other side surface is open to form an opening 13. As shown in FIG. 5, an accommodating portion 14 for accommodating the treatment liquid supply nozzle 40 is provided from one side (the left side in FIG. 5) of the peripheral wall of the processing container body 12 to a lower portion. There is a gap 15 between the outer peripheral surface of the treatment liquid supply nozzle 40 and the inner surface of the accommodating portion 14. The internal space of the housing portion 14 communicates with the processing chamber 10 a via the communication port 16. A rapid drainage port 17A is provided at the lower end of the peripheral wall of the processing container body 12. An air vent port 18 and a drying gas supply port 19 are provided above the peripheral wall of the processing container body 12.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the lid 11 is formed in a disc shape so as to close the opening 13 of the processing container body 12. An O-ring 11 a is attached to the surface of the lid 11 facing the opening 13. Therefore, by pressing the lid body 11 against the open end of the processing container body 12 by the posture changing/moving mechanism 7, the lid body 11 engages with the processing container body 12 in a gas-watertight manner, whereby the sealed processing chamber 10a is formed. It is formed.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the wafer holder 30 has a rotary base 31 connected to a rotary shaft 21 penetrating the lid 11. The rotary base 31 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and extends in a direction orthogonal to the rotation axis 21, that is, in the radial direction of the wafer W. Movable members 35 that are movable in the radial direction of the wafer W are connected to both ends of the rotary base 31, and holding rods 32 extend in parallel with the rotary shaft 21 from the tips of the movable members 35. In order to hold the outer peripheral edge of the wafer W, a plurality of holding grooves 33 are formed on the inner side surface of each holding rod 32 at predetermined intervals. The wafer holder 30 is provided with a telescopic movement mechanism 60, that is, a holding rod movement mechanism. By operating the expansion and contraction moving mechanism 60, the pair of holding rods 32 are moved between a proximity position where they are close to each other and hold the wafer W, and a separation position where they are separated from each other to release the wafer W. You can move it with.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the rotation shaft 21 of the wafer holder 30 is hollow. The rotary shaft 21 is housed in an internal space of a shaft housing 22 configured by connecting a plurality of components in the axial direction of the rotary shaft 21. An end portion of the shaft housing 22 on the lid body 11 side is connected around a through hole 11b provided in the lid body 11, so that the internal space of the shaft housing 22 and the processing chamber 10a communicate with each other. The space between the shaft housing 22 and the lid 11 is airtightly sealed by a packing 22a. The rotary shaft 21 is rotatably supported by the shaft housing 22 via a bearing 23 at the end of the rotary shaft 21 far from the lid 11. A driven pulley 21b is attached to the end of the rotary shaft 21 far from the lid 11. A timing belt 20c is stretched between the driven pulley 21b and the drive pulley 20b mounted on the drive shaft 20a of the wafer rotation motor 20.

  The wafer rotation motor 20 can be moved together with the lid 11 and the wafer holder 30 by the posture changing/moving mechanism 7. It should be noted that, in FIG. 3, components such as the shaft housing 22 and the wafer rotary motor 20 below the lid 11 are omitted for simplification of the drawing. The wafer rotation motor 20 is electrically connected to the controller shown as the CPU 110 (central processing unit) in FIG. Based on the control signal from the CPU 110, the rotation direction of the wafer rotation motor 20 and the rotation speed (for example, 1 to 60 rpm) of the wafer rotation motor 20 are controlled. When the wafer W is transferred between the wafer holders 2 a and 2 b and the wafer holder 30 described above, the wafer holder 30 is driven by the wafer rotation motor 20 to an angular position suitable for the transfer of the wafer W. Positioned.

  At a position closer to the processing chamber 10a than the bearing 23, the shaft housing 22 is provided with a first seal structure including a pair of ring-shaped seal members 24 arranged at intervals. The seal member 24 hermetically seals the peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 21 while allowing the rotary shaft 21 to rotate, and seals the space in the shaft housing 22 closer to the processing chamber 10 a than the seal member 24 and the seal member 24. The space on the side closer to the bearing 23 is isolated.

  A peripheral projection 25 is provided on the inner peripheral surface of the shaft housing 22 at a position closer to the processing chamber 10a than the seal member 24, that is, the first seal structure, and between the peripheral projection and the peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 21. A narrow gap is defined. This narrow gap acts like a “throttle” to limit the flow of fluid therethrough and reduce the load on the seal member 24. The narrow gap is preferably provided at a position close to the second seal structure 26 described later. If it is possible in manufacturing, the rotary shaft 21 may be provided with a circumferential protrusion to define the narrow gap.

  A variable seal structure 26, that is, a second seal structure is provided in the shaft housing 22 at a position closer to the processing chamber 10a than the narrow gap. The seal structure 26 can be in an isolated state in which the processing chamber 10a and the inner space of the shaft housing 22 are separated from each other in a watertight manner, and in a communication state in which a fluid is allowed to flow between them.

  The rotary shaft 21 and the shaft housing 22 are made of a material having high chemical resistance and corrosion resistance, for example, synthetic resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

The second seal structure 26 is a ring-shaped hollow seal member 26a having flexibility, which is attached to the shaft housing 22, and an operation for supplying a working gas such as nitrogen (N ₂ ) gas to the internal space 26b of the seal member 26a. And a gas supply system. The working gas supply system includes an N ₂ gas supply source 27, a first N ₂ gas supply pipeline 28a connected to the N ₂ gas supply source 27 and having an opening/closing valve V1 interposed therebetween, and the first N ₂ gas supply pipe 28a. There is provided a communication passage 26c provided in the shaft housing 22 for connecting the N ₂ gas supply pipeline 28a and the internal space 26b of the hollow seal member 26a. The hollow seal member 26a is made of a soft material having excellent chemical resistance and corrosion resistance, for example, a fluororesin.

When by opening the closing valve V1 to supply the _{N 2} gas supply source 27 and _{N 2} gas into the hollow seal member 26a inner space 26b of the hollow seal member 26a is expanded. As a result, the hollow seal member 26a comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 21, and the internal space of the shaft housing 22 farther from the processing chamber 10a than the hollow seal member 26a can be isolated from the processing chamber 10a (second). “Isolated state” of the seal structure 26 of FIG. On the other hand, when the opening/closing valve V1 is closed, the N ₂ gas is not supplied into the internal space 26b of the hollow seal member 26a, so that the hollow seal member 26a is deflated, and the internal space of the shaft housing 22 and the processing chamber 10a are separated from each other. Communicate (the "communicating state" of the second seal structure 26).

An intermediate space 26d is defined between the inner surface of the shaft housing 22 and the peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 21 between the seal member 24 (first seal structure) and the hollow seal member 26a (second seal structure). The shaft housing 22 is provided with a supply passage 26e and a discharge passage 26f which open at the upper portion and the lower portion of the intermediate space 26d. A pure water supply source 27A, which is a cleaning liquid supply source, and a N ₂ gas supply source 27, which is a dry gas supply source, are connected to the supply passage 26e via a supply pipe 28c provided with a switching valve V0 which is a switching means. Has been done. In the illustrated embodiment, the pure water supply source 27A, the supply conduit 28c, the switching valve V0 and the supply conduit 26e form a cleaning liquid supply system for the intermediate space 26d, and the N ₂ gas supply source 27 and the supply conduit are provided. 28c, the switching valve V0 and the supply passage 26e form a drying gas supply system for the intermediate space. A drain conduit 29a for draining and exhausting liquid is connected to the discharge passage 26f. An opening/closing valve V2 is provided in the drain conduit 29a. A branch conduit 29b that bypasses the opening/closing valve V2 is further connected to the drain conduit 29a on the upstream side and the downstream side of the opening/closing valve V2, and an opening/closing valve V3 is interposed in the branch conduit 29b. .. These form a fluid discharge system for the intermediate space 26d.

The rotary shaft 21 and the shaft housing 22 facing the rotary shaft 21 can be washed and dried by switching the switching valve V0 to sequentially supply pure water and N ₂ gas into the intermediate space 26d. When the second seal structure 26 is in the communication state, only one of the opening/closing valves V2 and V3 (V2) is opened, and the processing liquid (chemical liquid or pure liquid) that has entered the gap between the shaft housing 22 and the rotary shaft 21. Water is drained through the drain pipe 29a having a relatively small flow rate (small discharge rate). Further, when the second seal structure 26 is in the isolated state, both the open/close valves V2 and V3 are opened, and the pure water used for cleaning the rotary shaft 21 is discharged at a relatively large flow rate (large discharge rate). It

A space is defined between the pair of seal members 24, and this space is referred to as a seal space 24a. The shaft housing 22 is provided with an air supply passage 24b and an exhaust passage 24c which open at the upper portion and the lower portion of the seal space 24a. An N ₂ gas supply source 27 is connected to the air supply passage 24b via a second N ₂ gas supply pipeline 28b provided with an opening/closing valve V4. Further, a drain conduit 29c having an opening/closing valve V5 interposed therein is connected to the exhaust conduit 24c.

Even if the processing liquid enters the sealing space 24a from the processing chamber 10a side, the N ₂ gas is supplied and discharged from the sealing space 24a to remove the droplets by the N ₂ gas. The rotary shaft 21 can be dried quickly.

  The extension/contraction mechanism 60 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 8. The expansion/contraction mechanism 60 urges the cylinder body 61 provided on the rotary base 31 of the wafer holder 30, the piston rod 62 slidably provided on the cylinder body 61, and the piston rod 62 in the shortening direction. A cylinder actuator 64 having a spring 63 and an air supply system 65 for supplying a working fluid such as air to the cylinder body 61 of the cylinder actuator 64, that is, a working fluid supply system are provided. When air is not supplied to the cylinder body 61 (when the opening/closing valve V6 is closed), the pair of holding bars 32 are biased toward each other by the springs 63, and the elastic force of the springs 63 causes the wafer to move. W can be firmly held. When air is supplied to the cylinder body 61 (when the opening/closing valve V6 is open), the elastic force of the spring 63 is overcome to move the piston rod 62 in the extension direction, and the pair of holding rods 32 are separated from each other. The wafer W is released. An elastic member 34 such as a bellows surrounds each cylinder actuator 64, and both ends of each elastic member 34 are connected to the rotary base 31 and the movable member 35 in a watertight manner. The expansion/contraction member 34 protects the cylinder actuator 64 from the processing liquid while allowing the relative displacement of the rotary base 31 and the movable member 35, and prevents particles generated in the cylinder actuator 64 from entering the processing chamber 10a. is doing.

  In the air supply system 65, the air supply path for supplying air from the air supply source 67 to the cylinder body 61 includes a first air supply pipeline 66a provided in the rotary base 31 and the first air supply pipeline. The rotary shaft 21 includes an internal space 21a connected to the internal shaft 21a, and a second air supply pipe line 66b connected to the internal space 21a and provided with an opening/closing valve V6.

  The spring 63 may urge the holding bars 32 so as to separate them from each other. In this case, the cylinder actuator 64 is configured to act to bring the holding rods 32 closer to each other when air is supplied.

  In the extension/contraction moving mechanism 60 of this embodiment, the cylinder actuator 64 is incorporated in the rotary base 31, and the air supply path for supplying the working air to the cylinder actuator 64 is incorporated in the rotary base 31 and the rotary shaft 21. Therefore, the occupied space is small, which contributes to downsizing of the liquid processing apparatus 6.

  When the wafer W is transferred from the wafer holder 2a (2b) holding the unprocessed wafer W to the wafer holder 30, first, the holding rod 32 is moved to the outer side in the radial direction of the wafer W by the expansion and contraction moving mechanism 60. The wafer holder 2a holding the is inserted between the pair of holding bars 32. Next, when the holding rod 32 is moved inward in the radial direction of the wafer W by the extension/contraction moving mechanism 60, the holding rod 32 holds the wafer W. Next, the wafer holder 2 a separates the wafer W and moves it away from the wafer holder 30. After that, the posture changing/moving mechanism 7 raises the wafer W to a vertical posture, and then the wafer W is housed in the processing container body 12. The wafer W processed in the processing container 10 is returned to the wafer holder 2b (2a) in the reverse order of the above procedure. That is, the processed wafer W is taken out of the processing container main body 12 by the attitude changing/moving mechanism 7 and then placed in the horizontal attitude. Next, the wafer holder 2b (2a) is inserted between the pair of holding rods 32, and the extension/contraction moving mechanism 60 moves the holding rods 32 outward in the radial direction of the wafer W. As a result, the wafer W is transferred to the wafer holder 2.

  Next, the processing liquid supply nozzle 40 (hereinafter simply referred to as “nozzle 40”) will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 9. The nozzle 40 has a substantially cylindrical nozzle body 42 having a treatment liquid supply passage 41 in the center thereof, and a single slit-shaped discharge port 43 extending in the axial direction of the nozzle body 42 opening on the peripheral surface thereof, or the nozzle body. It is formed by providing a plurality of discharge ports 43 arranged in a line at intervals in the axial direction of 42. The nozzle 40 is housed in the nozzle housing portion 14 of a nozzle case 44 attached to the processing container body 12. A gap 15 is provided between the inner surface of the nozzle housing portion 14 and the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle body 42. The nozzle rotation shaft 53 projects from one side surface of the nozzle body 42. The nozzle rotation shaft 53 is inserted in the guide cylinder 45 integrated with the nozzle case 44 with a gap. By driving the nozzle rotation motor 50, the nozzle 40 can rotate and/or swing without contact with the processing container body 12 (actually, the nozzle housing portion 14 of the nozzle case 44). As shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5, it is preferable to provide the through holes 46 at one or a plurality of angular positions (three positions in the illustrated example) different from the ejection port 43 of the nozzle 40. By discharging the processing liquid into the gap 15 from the through hole 46, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid from staying in the gap 15.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the nozzle rotation motor 50 includes a bottomed cylindrical nozzle motor main body 50 a fitted to the outer peripheral surface of the guide cylinder 45, that is, a stator portion. A levitation electromagnet 51 is embedded in the tip end portion and the base end portion of the nozzle motor main body 50a, and a rotation electromagnet 52 is embedded between the levitation electromagnets 51. A magnet 54 is embedded in the nozzle rotation shaft 53. By energizing and exciting the levitation electromagnet 51, the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle rotating shaft 53 can be separated from the inner peripheral surface of the guide cylinder 45, and by energizing and exciting the rotating electromagnet 52, the nozzle rotation The shaft 53 and the nozzle body 42 connected thereto can be rotated. In this configuration, since the nozzle rotating shaft 53 does not slide with other members due to the rotation of the nozzle rotating shaft 53, it is possible to prevent the treatment liquid from being contaminated by particles derived from the abrasion powder. The nozzle motor main body 50a and the nozzle rotation shaft 53 are formed of a material having high chemical resistance and corrosion resistance, for example, synthetic resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The nozzle rotation motor 50 has its rotation operation and/or swing operation controlled by a control signal from the CPU 110 shown in FIG.

  The piping system attached to the liquid processing apparatus 6 will be described below with reference to FIG. One end of the main supply conduit 70 is connected to the processing liquid supply passage 41 (see FIG. 5) of the nozzle 40 via a first opening/closing valve V7 for supplying the processing liquid. A pure water supply source 71 is connected to the other end of the main supply pipeline 70. A second opening/closing valve V8, a filter F1, a flow meter FM1, and a heating mechanism H for adjusting the temperature of the processing liquid to a predetermined processing temperature are provided in this order from the pure water supply source 71 side in the main supply pipeline 70. ing. A branch pipe 72 that bypasses the second opening/closing valve V8, the filter F1, the flow meter FM1, and the heating mechanism H branches from the main supply pipe 70 at the upstream side portion of the valve V8 and at the downstream side portion of the heating mechanism H. It joins the main supply line 70 again. A third opening/closing valve V9, a filter F2, and a flow meter FM2 are provided on the branch line 72 in order from the pure water supply source side.

Chemical solution tanks 74a, 74b, 74c, 74d are provided in the middle of the main supply pipeline 70 via chemical solution supply pipelines 73a, 73b, 73c, 73d in which switching supply valves Va, Vb, Vc, Vd are provided. Are connected respectively. The chemical liquid tanks 74a, 74b, 74c, 74d store chemical liquids of different types, for example, ammonia (NH ₄ OH), hydrochloric acid (HCl), hydrofluoric acid (HF), and the like. One of the switching supply valves Va, Vb, Vc, and Vd is opened depending on the purpose of the treatment, whereby one of the above-mentioned chemicals is mixed with the pure water flowing in the main supply conduit 70, and the nozzle 40 causes the treatment container to proceed. Supplied within 10.

  A drainage port 76 (see FIG. 5) is provided in the nozzle housing portion 14 of the nozzle case 44. A drain pipe 75 in which an opening/closing valve V10 is provided is connected to the drain port 76. The drainage conduit 75 is connected to the drainage conduit 78A.

  A drainage line 17 having an opening/closing valve V11 is connected to the drainage port 17 (see FIG. 5) of the processing container body 12. To this drainage conduit 78, four drain conduits 79 in which a drain valve DV1 for pure water and drain valves DV2, DV3, DV4 for chemicals are respectively interposed are connected in parallel.

  To the air vent port 18 (see FIG. 5) of the processing container body 12, an exhaust pipe line 80 in which an opening/closing valve V12 that can adjust the opening degree is provided is connected. Bubbles that may be contained in the processing liquid filled in the processing chamber 10a can be discharged through the air vent port 18, for example. The exhaust pipe line 80 is connected to the drainage pipe line 78.

A drying gas (medium) supply conduit, for example, a cool N ₂ gas supply conduit 81 or a hot N ₂ gas is supplied to the drying gas supply port 19 (see FIG. 5) of the processing container body 12 via the opening/closing valve V13. The supply line 82 and the isopropyl alcohol (IPA) supply line 83 are connected. Cool or hot N ₂ gas or IPA vapor is supplied into the processing container 10 from an N ₂ gas supply source or an IPA supply source (not shown) as necessary.

  A branch pipe is connected to the supply pipe 84 connected to the supply pipes 81, 82, 83, and the seal member 24 and the seal structure described above are connected from the branch pipe via the switching valve V0 (see FIG. 6). The drying gas may be supplied into the intermediate space 26d formed between the drying space 26 and the intermediate space 26.

  The rapid drainage port 17A (see FIG. 5) of the processing container body 12 is connected to a large-diameter drainage line 78A provided with an opening/closing valve V14. By opening and closing the opening/closing valve V13 after the liquid processing of the wafer W in the processing container 10 is completed, the processing liquid (chemical liquid or pure water) used for the liquid processing in the processing container 10 is drained in a short time. It can be discharged to the outside of the processing container 10 via the liquid conduit 78A.

  A drainage conduit 78B is provided which is separate from the drainage conduit 78A. A drainage conduit 78 and a return conduit 84 are connected to the drainage conduit 78B. A switching valve VA is provided in the return conduit 84.

  Referring to FIG. 5 again, the fall prevention mechanisms 90 are provided at two positions on the left and right of the upper portion of the processing chamber 10a of the processing container 10. The fall prevention mechanism 90 prevents adjacent wafers W held by the wafer holder 30 from coming into contact with each other, particularly when the liquid is discharged from the rapid liquid discharge port 17A. The fall prevention mechanism 90 includes a fall prevention member 92 having a plurality of support pieces 91 arranged in a comb shape, and a rotation mechanism (not shown) for changing the angular position of the fall prevention member 92. By driving the rotation mechanism, the position of the tilt-preventing member 92 is set so that each supporting piece 91 is inserted into the gap between the adjacent wafers W to engage with the wafer W, and as shown in FIG. It is possible to switch between the non-engagement position where 91 is separated from the gap between the wafers W.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the ultrasonic transducer 100 may be attached to the upper peripheral surface of the processing container body 12. The ultrasonic oscillator 100 can apply ultrasonic vibration to the processing liquid filling the processing chamber 10a to ultrasonically clean the wafer W.

  The switching valve V0 and the opening/closing valves Vl to Vl4 are electrically connected to the CPU 110, that is, the controller, and are switched or opened/closed based on a control signal from the CPU 110.

Next, the operation of the liquid processing device 6 will be described.
The carrier arm 4 takes out the wafer W from the carrier C placed on the carry-in/carry-out section 1 and transfers it to the wafer holder 2a. By repeating this, a plurality of wafers in the carrier C are transferred to the wafer holder 2a. In the exemplary embodiment, the carrier C is configured to hold the wafer W such that the distance between the adjacent wafers W is 10 mm, and the wafer holder 2a holds the wafer W such that the distance between the adjacent wafers W is 3 mm. Since the wafer W is transferred from the carrier C to the wafer holder 2a by the transfer arm 4, the pitch of the wafer W is converted (from 10 mm to 3 mm) as a result.

  Next, the plurality of wafers W held by the wafer holder 2a are transferred to the holding rod 32 of the wafer holder 30 mounted on the lid 11. After the wafer W is transferred to the wafer holder 30, the wafer holder 2 a is retracted from the wafer holder 30. The posture changing/moving mechanism 7 operates to change the posture of the wafer W held by the lid 11 and the wafer holder 30 from the horizontal posture to the vertical posture, and moves toward the processing container body 12. As a result, the wafer W is loaded into the processing container body 12, and the lid 11 seals the opening 13 of the processing container body 12.

  With the wafer W accommodated in the processing container 10 in a vertical posture, the opening/closing valve V8 is opened to allow the pure water whose temperature is controlled to flow from the pure water supply source 71 to the main supply pipe line 70, and to switch the opening/closing. A selected one of the valves Va, Vb, Vc, Vd is opened to mix the chemical liquid with pure water, and the temperature-controlled diluted chemical liquid is supplied to the nozzle 40. At the start of supplying the diluted chemical liquid, the discharge port 43 of the nozzle 40 faces the lower space of the processing chamber 10a. After the supply of the diluted chemical liquid is started, the nozzle rotation motor 50 rotates the discharge port 43 of the nozzle 40 so as to gradually face upward, and while the splash of the diluted chemical liquid is prevented from splashing on the wafer W, the dilute chemical liquid is introduced into the processing container 10. Supply mixed chemicals. Simultaneously with the supply of the chemical liquid, the wafer holder 30 and the wafer W held thereby by the wafer rotation motor 20 slowly rotate around the center of the wafer W. When the chemical liquid is supplied from the nozzle 40, the opening/closing valve V12 provided in the exhaust pipe line 80 connected to the air vent port 18 is opened. Therefore, the flow of the chemical liquid supplied to the processing chamber 10a becomes smooth. In this way, while rotating or rocking the nozzle 40 disposed in the lower portion of the processing container 10, or while rotating the nozzle 40 after rocking the nozzle 40 several times, the nozzle 40 is ejected from the ejection port 43 toward the rotating wafer W. By discharging the chemical liquid, the chemical liquid is evenly spread over the entire surface of the wafer W, and a uniform chemical liquid treatment, for example, an etching treatment is performed.

  The peripheral portion of the wafer W can be etched more by increasing the time during which the direction of the ejection port 43 is in the direction of the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG.

  During the chemical liquid processing, the inside of the processing chamber 10a is filled with the chemical liquid, the chemical liquid is supplied from the nozzle 40 into the processing chamber 10a, and at the same time, the chemical liquid is drained from the processing chamber 10a through the drain port 17.

  By rotating the nozzle 40 by 360 degrees and discharging the chemical liquid from the discharge port 43 into the gap 15 between the inner surface of the housing portion 14 and the outer peripheral surface of the nozzle 40, the chemical liquid retained in the gap 15 is changed to a new chemical liquid. Can be driven out by. Therefore, the old chemical liquid staying in the gap 15 does not adversely affect the liquid processing.

At the time of chemical treatment, the opening/closing valve V1 is closed, and N ₂ gas is not supplied to the internal space 26b of the hollow seal member 26a, so the second seal structure 26 is in a communicating state. Therefore, the chemical liquid filling the processing chamber 10a passes through the gap between the seal structure 26 and the rotary shaft 21 and rotates with the shaft housing 22 between the seal structure 26 and the seal member 24 (first seal structure). It penetrates into the intermediate space 26d between the shaft 21 and the shaft 21. At this time, only one opening/closing valve V2 of the opening/closing valves V2, V3 is opened, and the chemical liquid that has entered the intermediate space 26d is drained through the drain conduit 29a. Therefore, there is no adverse effect on the treatment of the chemical liquid that may occur due to the chemical liquid staying in the intermediate space 26d. Further, the chemical solution is prevented from entering the seal space 24a through the seal surface between the rotary shaft 21 and the seal member 24 on the processing chamber 10a side of the two seal members 24.

Further, during processing of the chemical liquid, the opening/closing valve V4 is also opened, and N ₂ gas is supplied from the N ₂ gas supply source 27 into the seal space 24a between the seal members 24. At this time, the opening/closing valve V5 is also opened, and the N ₂ gas supplied into the seal space 24a is discharged through the drain pipe line 29c. Therefore, even if the chemical solution enters the seal space 24a beyond the seal member 24 on the processing chamber 10a side, is it discharged from the seal space 24a together with the N ₂ gas flowing in the seal space 24a? , or it is discharged from the sealed space 24a with N ₂ gas after being evaporated by N ₂ gas. Further, even if particles generated by the wear of the bearing 23 enter the seal space 24a beyond the seal member 24 on the bearing 23 side of the two seal members 24, the N ₂ gas flowing in the seal space 24a. Is discharged from the sealed space 24a together with.

  As described above, at the time of chemical treatment, the first seal structure including the two seal members 24 may cause the chemical to enter the bearing 23 side and particles generated in the bearing 23 to enter the processing container 10 side. To be prevented.

  It should be noted that it is also preferable to keep the pressure in the seal space 24a high. This makes it possible to more effectively prevent the chemical liquid and particles (via the bearing 23) from entering the sealed space 24a. In order to increase the pressure in the seal space 24a, it is conceivable to reduce the diameter of the drain conduit 29c or provide a throttle there.

  After performing the chemical treatment for a predetermined time, the open switching open/close valve (one of Va, Vb, Vc, Vd) is closed to stop the supply of the chemical, and only pure water is supplied from the rotating nozzle 40 into the treatment container 10. To perform rinsing treatment. At this time, the opening/closing valve V8 is closed and the opening/closing valve V9 is opened to supply pure water that is not temperature-controlled. Since the wafer W is rotated by the wafer rotation motor 20 even during this rinsing process, the pure water supplied from the rotating nozzle 40 is evenly distributed over the entire surface of the wafer W, and a uniform rinsing process is performed.

Although the seal structure 26 is in the communication state even during the rinse process, the pure water that has entered the intermediate space 26d is drained through the drain pipe line 29a, and the pure water enters the seal space 24a between the two seal members 24. N ₂ gas is supplied. As a result, the same effect as when the chemical solution is processed is achieved.

After performing the rinsing process for a predetermined time, based on the control signal from the CPU 110, the opening/closing valve V9 is closed, the supply of pure water is stopped, the drive of the nozzle rotation motor 50 is stopped, and the drive of the wafer rotation motor 20 is further performed. Is stopped. Then, the opening/closing valves V14 and V10 are opened, and the pure water in the processing container 10 is discharged from the rapid drainage port 17A and the drainage port 76 via the drainage conduit 78A. Simultaneously with the drainage of the pure water, a drying gas such as N ₂ gas or a mixed gas of N ₂ gas and IPA is supplied into the processing container 10 for a predetermined time from the drying gas supply port 19 to adhere to the wafer W. The remaining droplets are removed and the wafer W is dried.

When the drying of the wafer W is started, is opened closing valve V1 based on the control signal from the CPU 110, _{N 2} gas from the _{N 2} gas supply source 27 to the interior space 26b of the hollow seal member 26a of the sealing structure 26 Is supplied. As a result, the hollow seal member 26a swells, comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft 21, and separates the processing chamber 10a from the intermediate space 26d. In this state, the surfaces of the intermediate space 26d and the members (the shaft housing 22, the rotary shaft 21, the seal member 24, and the hollow seal member 26a) facing the intermediate space 26d are cleaned.

That is, first, the switching valve V0 is switched to the pure water supply source 27A side to supply pure water into the intermediate space 26d between the seal member 24 and the seal structure 26, and the intermediate space 26d and the intermediate space 26d. The surface of the member facing to is cleaned. After that, the switching valve V0 is switched to the N ₂ gas supply source 27 side to supply the N ₂ gas into the intermediate space 26d to dry the intermediate space 26d and the surface of the member facing the intermediate space 26d. At the time of this cleaning and drying, the opening/closing valves V2 and V3 are opened so that the pure water and the N ₂ gas can be discharged from the intermediate space 26d at a large flow rate. Also during this cleaning and drying, N ₂ gas is supplied into the seal space 24a between the two seal members 24. By cleaning the surface of the intermediate space 26d and the member facing the intermediate space 26d as described above, it is possible to prevent the chemical liquid or particles from remaining in this portion, and during the next chemical liquid treatment, the inside of the processing chamber 10a is removed from this portion. There is no risk of chemicals and particles getting into the.

  A series of liquid processing steps is completed by drying the wafer W and cleaning and drying the intermediate space 26d.

  Next, the attitude changing/moving mechanism 7 is driven to separate the lid 11 from the processing container body 12, the wafer W held by the wafer holder 30 is taken out from the processing container body 12, and the attitude of the wafer W is changed. Is converted from a vertical posture to a horizontal posture. The processed wafer W in the horizontal posture is received not by the wafer holder 2a handling the unprocessed wafer W but by another wafer holder 2b, and then accommodated in the empty carrier C by the wafer transfer arm 4 to be transferred to another wafer. It is transported to the processing device.

  Although the present invention has been described based on the preferred embodiments shown in the drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the badge type liquid processing apparatus that processes a plurality of wafers W at the same time is illustrated as the liquid processing apparatus according to the present invention, but a single-wafer type liquid processing apparatus that processes only one wafer W at a time. It may be a processing device.

  Further, although the wafer holder 30 is attached to the lid 11 in the above-described embodiment, the wafer holder 30 may be provided in the processing container body 12. In this case, a structure is required so that the wafer can be transferred to and from the transfer mechanism in the processing container body 12.

  Further, although the object to be processed is the semiconductor wafer in the above embodiment, the object to be processed may be, for example, a glass substrate for LCD or a disk substrate.

Claims (17)

A holding body capable of holding the object to be processed,
A rotary shaft connected to the holder,
A motor for rotationally driving the rotary shaft,
A processing container that defines a processing chamber that houses the holder,
A processing liquid discharge port for supplying a processing liquid into the processing chamber,
A shaft housing that is coupled to at least a part of the processing container and that houses the rotating shaft and defines a space that communicates with the processing chamber;
A bearing that rotatably supports the rotating shaft in the shaft housing,
A first seal structure which is provided at a position closer to the processing chamber than the bearing, and seals a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft while allowing rotation of the rotary shaft;
A second seal structure which is provided closer to the processing chamber than the first seal structure and seals a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft, wherein the shaft housing and the rotary shaft are A second sealing structure capable of taking a first state in which a gap between them is sealed and a second state in which the gap is not sealed,
A liquid processing apparatus equipped with. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1,
A supply path connected to an intermediate space between the shaft housing and the rotating shaft between the first seal structure and the second seal structure and capable of supplying a fluid to the intermediate space, and the intermediate space. A liquid processing apparatus further comprising a discharge path capable of discharging a fluid from the liquid processing apparatus. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 2,
A cleaning liquid supply source and a dry gas supply source connected to the supply path,
A switching valve that allows either the cleaning liquid supply source or the dry gas supply source to communicate with the intermediate space via the supply passage,
A liquid processing apparatus further comprising: The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1,
A shape that partially narrows an intermediate space between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft between the first seal structure and the second seal structure on the inner surface of the shaft housing or the outer peripheral surface of the rotary shaft. The liquid processing apparatus is characterized by being given. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The liquid processing apparatus, wherein the second seal structure has a flexible annular hollow seal member that swells by supplying a working gas to the internal space thereof and becomes the first state. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The first seal structure is composed of a pair of seal members arranged at intervals in the axial direction of the rotating shaft,
A seal space is defined between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft between the pair of seal members,
A liquid processing apparatus, wherein a supply path capable of supplying a fluid to the seal space and a discharge path capable of discharging a fluid from the seal space are connected to the seal space. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 6,
A liquid processing apparatus, wherein a drying gas supply source is connected to the supply path. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1,
A cleaning liquid supply system capable of supplying a cleaning liquid to an intermediate space between the shaft housing and the rotating shaft between the first seal structure and the second seal structure,
A drying gas supply system capable of supplying a drying gas to the intermediate space,
A fluid discharge system capable of discharging fluid from the intermediate space;
A controller capable of controlling the second seal structure, the cleaning liquid supply system, the drying gas supply system, and the fluid discharge system,
When the rotating shaft rotates and the object to be processed is being processed by the processing liquid while rotating in the processing chamber, the second seal structure is in the second state, and the fluid discharge system is The second seal structure and the fluid discharge system are controlled so that the processing liquid that has entered the intermediate space via the intermediate space is discharged therefrom.
Further, the second seal structure is in the first state when the object to be processed is being processed by the processing fluid in a state where the object to be processed is stationary in the processing chamber without the rotation shaft rotating, and the cleaning liquid. The second seal structure, the cleaning liquid supply system, and the fluid discharge so that the cleaning liquid is supplied to the intermediate space via a supply system and the cleaning liquid is discharged from the intermediate space via the fluid discharge system. A controller that controls the system,
A liquid processing apparatus further comprising: The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 8,
The controller supplies the cleaning liquid to the intermediate space via the cleaning liquid supply system and the fluid when the object to be processed is processed in a stationary state in the processing chamber without the rotation shaft rotating. After the cleaning liquid is discharged from the intermediate space via the discharge system, the drying gas is supplied to the intermediate space via the drying gas supply system and the intermediate space is discharged from the intermediate space via the fluid discharge system. The liquid processing apparatus is configured to control the dry gas supply system and the fluid discharge system so that the drying gas is discharged. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 8,
In the controller, the discharge rate of the cleaning liquid through the fluid discharge system when the object to be processed is being processed by the processing fluid in a stationary state in the processing chamber is such that the object to be processed rotates in the processing chamber. While being treated with the treatment liquid, the fluid discharge system is configured to be controlled so as to be higher than the discharge rate of the treatment liquid through the fluid discharge system. Processing equipment. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 8,
The liquid processing apparatus, wherein the processing liquid is a chemical liquid and the processing fluid is a drying gas. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The holding body has a rotating base connected to the rotating shaft, and a pair of holding rods for holding the object to be processed,
The liquid treatment apparatus further includes a holding rod moving mechanism that moves the holding rods in a radial direction of the rotation shaft in a direction in which the holding rods approach each other and in a direction in which the holding rods move away from each other,
The holding rod moving mechanism includes a cylinder actuator that is provided on the rotary base body and moves the holding rod, and a spring member that urges the holding rod in a direction in which the holding rods approach each other or in a direction in which they are separated from each other. A working fluid passage for supplying a working fluid to the cylinder actuator to move the holding rod against the spring member.
The liquid processing apparatus, wherein the internal space of the rotary shaft and a conduit formed in the rotary base form a part of the working fluid passage. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The processing container has a cylindrical processing container body whose one end has an opening through which the object to be processed can pass and the other end is closed, and the axis of which is substantially horizontal, and the opening of the processing container body. And a lid for sealing the liquid. The liquid processing apparatus according to claim 13,
A liquid processing apparatus, wherein the shaft housing is coupled to the lid body. A holder capable of holding an object to be processed, a rotary shaft coupled to the holder, a processing container defining a processing chamber accommodating the holder, and at least a part of the processing container. A shaft housing that houses the rotary shaft and defines a space that communicates with the processing chamber; a bearing that rotatably supports the rotary shaft in the shaft housing; and a position closer to the processing chamber than the bearing. And a first seal structure that seals a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft while allowing the rotation of the rotary shaft, and a position closer to the processing chamber than the first seal structure. And a second sealing structure for sealing a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft, which seals a first state in which a gap between the shaft housing and the rotary shaft is sealed. In a method for operating a liquid treatment device, the second seal structure being capable of being in a second state that does not exist,
A liquid processing step of rotating the object to be processed in the processing chamber while being held by the holder and supplying a processing liquid into the processing chamber, thereby performing a liquid process on the object to be processed with the processing liquid,
A fluid processing step of supplying a processing fluid into the processing chamber in a state where the rotation of the object to be processed is stopped after the liquid processing step, thereby processing the object to be processed by the processing fluid;
Equipped with
When the liquid processing step is being performed, the second seal structure is in the second state, and the second seal structure is rotatable with the shaft housing between the first seal structure and the second seal structure. From the intermediate space between the shaft, the processing liquid that has entered the intermediate space from the processing chamber is discharged,
While the fluid treatment step is being performed, the second seal structure is in the first state, and the cleaning liquid supplied while supplying the cleaning liquid to the intermediate space is discharged from the intermediate space. The intermediate space is cleaned, and then the intermediate space is dried by discharging the supplied drying gas from the intermediate space while supplying the drying gas to the intermediate space. The method of claim 15, wherein
The discharge rate of the processing liquid discharged from the intermediate space during the fluid processing step is higher than the discharge rate of the cleaning liquid discharged from the intermediate space during the liquid processing step. A method characterized by the following. The method of claim 15, wherein
A method in which the treatment liquid used in the liquid treatment step is a chemical solution, and the treatment fluid used in the fluid treatment step is a drying gas for drying the object to be treated.

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