KR100306087B1 - Cleaning equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate cleaning apparatus includes a cleaning tank containing a cleaning liquid for cleaning a plurality of substrates, a protection holding portion for holding the plurality of substrates in parallel with each other in the cleaning tank, a liquid supply port formed at the bottom of the cleaning tank, A liquid supply system which is connected to the liquid supply port and supplies the cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank through the liquid supply port, and is installed between the plurality of substrates held in the protective holding part and the liquid supply port, It has a rectifying plate having a rectifying hole. These several rectifying holes form a plurality of rows arranged side by side along the array of substrates, and the holes of each row are positioned to alternate with respect to the substrate, and are arranged to be out of position with the adjacent holes. .

Description

Cleaning device

1 is a perspective perspective view showing an overall overview of a cleaning system.

2 is an external perspective view showing a substrate cleaning apparatus.

3 is a block sectional view showing a cleaning liquid circulation circuit in a cleaning tank of a substrate cleaning apparatus according to an embodiment.

4 is an exploded perspective view showing the inside by cutting the cleaning tank of the substrate cleaning apparatus.

5 is a partially enlarged view showing an upper opening / closing shutter of the cleaning tank.

6 is a perspective view schematically illustrating the cleaning tank.

7 is an exploded perspective view showing a rectifier tube and a diffusion plate.

8 is an enlarged plan view of a part of the rectifying plate.

9 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view showing a part of the rectifying plate and the wafer.

10 is a schematic diagram showing a tank body, a main tank and an auto cover.

11 is a perspective view showing a window provided in a partition wall which partitions the substrate cleaning device from the surroundings.

12 is a cross-sectional view showing a window provided in a partition wall which partitions the substrate cleaning device from the surroundings.

13 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus.

14 is a perspective view schematically showing a cleaning tank of another embodiment.

FIG. 15 is a schematic view for explaining the flow of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank of another embodiment. FIG.

FIG. 16 is a plan view showing a rectifying plate manufactured for the purpose of investigating the cleaning performance of the cleaning tank. FIG.

17 is a schematic diagram for explaining the flow of a cleaning liquid in a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus.

18 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the interior of a cleaning tank according to another embodiment.

19 is a partial sectional view showing a lower part of a cleaning tank according to another embodiment.

20 is a perspective view showing a diffusion plate attached to the rectifying plate

21 is a perspective view showing a diffusion plate attached to the rectifying plate.

22 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the inside of a cleaning tank according to another embodiment.

23 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a lower part of the cleaning tank according to another embodiment.

24 is a partially exploded perspective view showing the interior of the cleaning tank according to another embodiment.

25 is a perspective view showing a part of a cleaning tank cut in accordance with another embodiment.

Fig. 26 is a partial longitudinal sectional view showing a lower part of a cleaning tank according to another embodiment.

27 is a plan view showing a rectifying plate of another embodiment.

Fig. 28 is a characteristic diagram showing a change in the specific resistance value at the time of cleaning.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: Carry-in part 2: Return robot

2a: wafer chuck 2b: conveying path

3: process part 4: carrying out part

5: loader part 6: waiting part

7: carrier carrier arm 8: carrier cleaning drying line

10: cleaning tank piping area 11: chuck cleaning drying treatment

12a, 12b: first and second chemical cleaning processing unit

13a-13d: 1st-4th water washing process parts

14: drying treatment tank 15, 142: cleaning tank

15a: main tank 15b: overflow tank

15c: outlet 15e: short side

17: liquid supply port 18: supply piping

19: clearance 20, 20J: rectification means

21, 2 lJ: commutation hole 21a, 120: first commutation hole

21b, 121: 2nd commutation hole 22, 22a, 22J, 122: commutation plate

23, 26: storage wall 24, 24a, 24J: dispersion plate

25a: dispersion hole 25b: slot hole

27: support rod 30: confirmation detection device

31 light emitting unit 32 light receiving unit

33: cover 33a: inclined fixing cover

34: support shaft 35: arm

36 frame 37 cover member

38: opening window 39: transparent plate

40: main frame 41: mounting table

42: level adjusting mechanism 43: attachment leg

44: mounting plate 45: adjustment plate

45a: through hole 46: positioning block

47: high information bolt 48: adjustment plate bolt

49: spacer 70: pump

71 filter 77 support rod

80: boat 81, 82: protection zone

90: bulkhead 91: window

92: threshold 93: sliding door

94: tape 98a: main flow

98b: flow 99: washing liquid

100: outer tank 101: auto cover

102: rotary actuator 122a: horizontal rectifier

122b: inclined rectifier 152: tank bottom

159: center horizontal portion 160: inclined portion

C: carrier Dl, D2: diameter

H, S: area L _l : spacing of columns

L ₂ : distance P ₁ , P ₂ : pitch interval

W: semiconductor wafer θ ₁ , θ ₂ : angle

The present invention relates to a cleaning apparatus for cleaning a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer.

In the semiconductor manufacturing process, a cleaning system is used to remove contaminations such as particles, organic contaminants, metal impurities, or the like, and natural oxide films formed on the surfaces of semiconductor wafers. The cleaning system includes a plurality of substrate cleaning apparatuses, and each substrate cleaning apparatus has its own cleaning treatment tank.

Wafers are sequentially subjected to ammonia treatment, water washing treatment, hydrofluoric acid treatment, water washing treatment, sulfuric acid treatment, water washing treatment, hydrochloric acid treatment, and water washing treatment in these substrate cleaning apparatuses.

The cleaning tank is equipped with a wafer holding boat and a rectifying plate. In the rectifying plate, a plurality of rectifying holes are arranged in a row at the same pitch. The wafer holding boat is adapted to enter and exit the cleaning tank with several wafers. When the wafer is immersed in the cleaning liquid, fresh cleaning liquid is supplied into the tank from the inlet of the tank bottom, and an upward flow of the cleaning liquid is formed in the tank. The cleaning liquid passes through the rectifying holes of the rectifying plate to contact the upper wafer and overflows from the tank.

By the way, in the conventional apparatus, since the pitch spacing of the commutation holes is matched to the pitch spacing of the wafer or any other space, when the number of wafers increases, the pitch spacing of the commutation holes decreases, making it difficult to drill holes. In this case, when the diameter of the adjacent rectifying holes becomes small, the flow rate of the liquid is insufficient and the time required for cleaning the wafer becomes long.

In the conventional apparatus, even though the rectifying holes of the same diameter are formed over the whole of the rectifying plate, the area space where the wafer is present (the space between the sidewall of the tank and the wafer) where the wafer is not present ( Since the gap between the wafers is significantly larger than that of the wafers, the cleaning liquid flows a lot into the former space and only a small amount flows into the latter space.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 58-61632 discloses a cleaning tank in which a rectifying hole is provided in the rectifying plate so that the flow rate of the cleaning liquid increases at a position away from the liquid supply port. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-42374, the rectifying hole is made larger in the first part corresponding to the center portion of the wafer, and the rectifying hole is made smaller than the first part in the second part corresponding to the wafer peripheral portion. In the third portion corresponding to the portion where the wafer does not exist, a cleaning tank having a rectifying hole smaller than the second portion is disclosed.

However, in the rectifying plate described in the above publication, it is necessary to form flow holes having different sizes in the vicinity of the liquid supply port, the lower side of the wafer, and the region where the wafer does not exist, and the manufacturing management of the rectifying plate becomes complicated. Moreover, since many types of rectifying holes are processed, the manufacturing cost of a rectifying plate becomes high.

Moreover, in the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus, since a circular wafer is put in a substantially rectangular tank body, there is much space which cannot contribute to cleaning of a wafer, and the total volume of a cleaning tank is large.

Since chemical liquids (fluoric acid, etc.) are relatively expensive, overflowed chemical liquids are circulated and discarded if more than a certain amount of contamination occurs. For this reason, when the volume of the cleaning tank is large, the amount of chemical liquid consumed increases and the operating cost becomes high.

In addition, in the case where the chemically processed wafer is washed with washing water such as pure water, the introduced washing water is discarded at the time of overflow without using the water in circulation. Both the washing time and the amount of water used are proportional to the volume of the washing tank. In particular, today, when the wafer size is switched from a 6 inch diameter to an 8 inch diameter, since the tank itself is enlarged, it is strongly requested to obtain a high cleaning efficiency with a small amount of the cleaning liquid.

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate cleaning apparatus which can obtain a high cleaning efficiency with a small amount of the cleaning liquid.

It is also an object of the present invention to provide a low cost substrate cleaning apparatus with a small capacity.

In order to achieve the above object, according to the substrate cleaning apparatus of the present invention, there is provided a cleaning tank for storing a predetermined cleaning liquid, a workpiece protection holding means disposed in the cleaning tank for protecting and maintaining a plurality of workpieces, and the workpiece protection holding. And a rectifying plate having a plurality of rectifying holes disposed below the sphere, wherein the cleaning liquid supplied from the liquid supply port on the bottom surface of the cleaning tank is distributed and supplied to the object through the plurality of rectifying holes of the rectifying plate. In the configured washing apparatus, the plurality of rectifying holes of the rectifying plate are arranged in a plurality of rows in a straight line immediately below each of the plurality of workpieces, and the rectifying holes of adjacent straight lines are shifted one by one. Arranged in.

Therefore, since the rectifying holes of each row are positioned by one with respect to the object to be processed, the flow of liquid rises as it is without interfering with adjacent rectifying holes. Then, when the flow of the liquid impinges on the object, the liquid splits toward one side and the other side of the object. At this time, the liquid passing through the rectifying holes of a certain row and the liquid passing through the rectifying holes of a row next to each other join at mutual intervals of the workpieces, and complement each other. As a result, even if the rectification hole pitch spacing in each row is taken relatively large, the amount of liquid supplied to the substrate spacing is sufficient.

In addition, while reducing the liquid flow rate in the region not used for cleaning the workpiece, the liquid flow rate can be increased only in the region used for cleaning the workpiece, while remaining the liquid in the tank.

In addition, the present invention provides a plurality of rectifying holes of the rectifying plate, a plurality of first rectifying holes arranged below the object to be processed, and a plurality of rectifying holes arranged along the outer side of the object to be processed and smaller than the first rectifying hole. A plurality of rows of second rectifying holes, the first rectifying holes are arranged one by one with respect to the plurality of objects to be processed, and arranged in a plurality of rows as straight rows, and the first rectifying holes of neighboring linear rows are shifted one by one. It is a configuration arranged in position.

Therefore, since the first rectifying holes are arranged every other object to be processed, the number of the first rectifying holes can be reduced to make the diameter larger than the second rectifying holes.

In addition, since the first rectifying holes in the adjacent rows are arranged one by one, the sufficient amount of liquid can be supplied to the entire spacing between the fur treatment bodies by the first rectifying holes in each row. The diameters of the rows may be the same diameters or may be different diameters for each row. In the latter case, it is preferable to make the rectifying hole belonging to the heat close to the object to be larger than the rectifying hole belonging to the heat far from the object. In this way, a sufficient amount of the cleaning liquid flows easily between the target object and the target object.

In addition, it is preferable to install the dispersion plate directly above the liquid supply port. In this case, it is preferable to also form a hole in the dispersion plate. Even in this way, a sufficient amount of the cleaning liquid flows easily between the target object and the target object.

EXAMPLE

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the board | substrate cleaning apparatus concerning various Example of this invention is described, referring an accompanying drawing.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cleaning system consists of three main parts. 1 is a carrying-in part which temporarily stores the semiconductor wafer W which is a to-be-processed object before cleaning. The wafer W is loaded into the cleaning system through the loading section 1. 3 is a process unit for chemical liquid treatment and water washing treatment of the wafer W. As shown in FIG. Three transfer robots 2 are provided in this process part 3, and the wafer W is conveyed to each process tank in the process part 3 by these. The conveyance robot 2 catches (chucks) 50 wafers W at once by the wafer chuck 2a, and conveys them along the conveyance path 2b. Moreover, the conveyance robot 2 is provided so that a movement in each direction of an X-axis direction, a Y-axis direction, and a Z-axis direction is possible.

4 is a carrying out portion where the wafer W after cleaning is temporarily stored. The wafer W is carried out from the cleaning system through the carrying section 4.

The carrying-in part 1 is equipped with the loader part 5, the waiting part 6, and the carrier conveyance arm 7. As shown in FIG. In the loader section 5, the orientation flat alignment of the wafer W and the longevity of the wafer W are detected. In the waiting section 6, several wafer carriers C are temporarily held.

As the carrier conveyance arm 7, the carrier C taken out of the carrier C from the carrier C and carried in from the outside is conveyed to the standby part 6, and the standby part 6 and the loader part 5. Carrier C is conveyed between them.

Above the process section 3, a carrier cleaning drying line 8 is provided along the process section 3. In the carrier cleaning drying line 8, the empty carrier C is cleaned and dried.

Moreover, the cleaning liquid tank piping area 10 is provided in the back side of the process part 3. In this piping area 10, a tank or piping group (not shown) which accommodates chemical liquids, such as hydrofluoric acid, is provided.

The process unit 3 includes the chuck washing and drying processing unit 11, the first and second chemical liquid cleaning processing units 12a and 12b, the first to fourth water cleaning processing units 13a to 13d, A drying treatment tank 14 is provided.

Subsequently, since the first and second chemical liquid cleaning processing units 12a and 12b and the first to fourth water cleaning processing units 13a to 13d have the same configuration, only the second water cleaning processing unit 13b is an example. This will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 12.

As shown in FIG. 2, the washing tank 15 is provided in the 2nd water washing processing apparatus 13b, and the opening-closing lid 33 is covered in the upper opening of the washing tank 15. As shown in FIG. The lid 33 is formed so that the center thereof is opened, and the wafer W can enter and exit the cleaning tank 15 through the center opening. In addition, a lifting mechanism (not shown) is provided above the cleaning tank 15.

The cleaning tank 15 has a main tank 15a and an overflow tank 15b. Two liquid supply ports 17 are provided at the bottom of the main tank 15a. These liquid supply ports 17 are connected to the discharge side of the pump 70 through the supply pipe 18, and the pure water as the cleaning liquid 99 is supplied to the main tank 15a. The overflow tank 15b is provided around the whole upper end of the main tank 15a, and the discharge port 15c is provided in the bottom part. The outlet 15c is connected to the suction side of the pump 70. The cleaning liquid 99 flows through a circulation circuit composed of the main tank 15a, the overflow tank 15b, the supply pipe 18, the pump 70, and the filter 71. In addition, as described above, the overflowed cleaning liquid 99 may not only be circulated, but may be discharged as it is.

As shown in FIGS. 3, 4, and 6, the dispersion plates 24 are respectively provided directly above the two liquid supply ports 17, and the cleaning liquid 99 is diffused around the liquid supply ports 17. have. In addition, a rectifying plate 22 is provided directly on the dispersion plate 24.

The wafer W is cleaned on the rectifying plate 22. The rectifying means 20 is comprised by these rectifying plates 22 and the dispersion plate 24.

As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, the frame 36 of the lid 33 is supported by two support shafts 34 via a pair of arms 35. As shown in FIG. The transparent plate 39 made of quartz is fitted in the frame 36, and the inside of the cleaning tank 15 is visible. Two support shafts 34 are provided on the short side 15e of the cleaning tank 15, respectively. The cover member 37 is attached to one frame 36, and the gap between the frames 36 is blocked by the cover member 37. The frame 36 is made of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). Incidentally, the inclined fixing cover 33a is provided so as to cover the gap between each frame 36 and the overflow tank 15b.

As for the support shaft 34, one end is attached to the main tank 15a, and the other end is respectively connected to the motor drive shaft (not shown). The start time is controlled by the controller (not shown) of the two drive motors, and one frame 36 is operated slightly later than the other frame 36. Moreover, the lid | cover 33 is formed high in the center and low in both ends. Even if the chemical liquid adheres on the lid 33, the chemical liquid flows therefrom and falls off, so that the chemical liquid component crystallizes on the lid 33 and does not become a source of contamination such as particles. In addition, since the droplets stay on the upper surface of the transparent plate 39, when a drain hole (not shown) is formed in the lower frame of the opening window 38, the liquid remaining on the transparent plate 39 is drained. It is preferable because it can discharge from a sphere to the outside.

Next, the level adjusting mechanism 42 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

The level adjustment mechanism 42 is provided in the lower part of the washing tank 15, and the washing tank 15 is mounted stably on the mounting base 41 of the main frame 40. As shown in FIG. The level adjusting mechanism 42 includes a mounting plate 44, an adjusting plate 45, a positioning block 46, a high information bolt 47, and an adjusting plate bolt 48. The mounting plate 44 is processed on the lower surface by a sliding surface, and is attached to the lower end of the attachment leg 43 fixed to the lower surface of the bottom of the cleaning tank 15.

The adjustment plate 45 is precisely surface-treated to have a plan view. One side of the adjustment plate 45 is fixed by the fixing bolt 47 on the mounting table 41 of the main frame 40. The other side of the adjustment plate 45 is supported by the adjustment plate bolt 48 so that jacking up is possible. The through hole 45a of the adjustment plate 45 is slightly larger than the diameter of the high information bolt 47. The high information bolt 47 is fixed on the mounting table 41 via the spacer 49.

When the cleaning tank 15 is mounted using the level adjusting mechanism 42, first, the adjusting plate 45 is horizontally adjusted by the adjusting plate bolt 48. Subsequently, the mounting plate 44 is brought into contact with the positioning block 46 and fixed. By finely moving the adjustment plate 45, the cleaning tank 15 is placed in a horizontal position. At this time, pure water is put into the cleaning tank 15 and horizontal fine adjustment of the adjustment plate 45 is performed to overflow from the periphery of the blind spot.

Next, the rectifying means 20 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9.

The rectifying means 20 is provided between the liquid supply port 17 and the wafer W, and has a function of uniformly and largely distributing the cleaning liquid 99 between the wafers W. The rectifying plate 22 is a rectangular plate made of quartz or fluorine resin. The dispersion plate 24 is a disc made of quartz or fluorine resin. Further, each part of the rectifying means 20 may be made of a ceramic excellent in chemical resistance such as silicon nitride, without being limited to quartz or fluorine resin.

As shown in FIG. 7, the storage walls 23 are provided on four sides of the rectifying plate 22. The storage wall 23 extends downward from the end of the rectifying plate 22 at a right angle. These storage walls 23 are welded to the end of the rectifying plate 22. The width of the storage wall 23 is similarly about 20 mm, and preferably 10 to 50 mm.

On the other hand, each dispersion plate 24 is attached to the lower surface of the rectifying plate 22 by four support rods 27, respectively.

As shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of rectifying holes 21 are formed in the rectifying plate 22 so as to be located directly below the wafer W. As shown in FIG. All the rectifying holes 21 are substantially the same diameter, and several rows are lined up at equal intervals. Specifically, one row of rectifying holes 21 is disposed immediately below the odd row wafer W, and the other row of rectifying holes 21 is immediately below the even row wafer W. ) Is arranged.

As shown in Fig. 9, the rectifying holes 21 in any one row are formed directly under the wafer W across one sheet. That is, the mutual pitch P ₂ of the rectifying holes 21 is twice the mutual pitch spacing P ₁ of the wafer W. FIG. In this case, the diameter of the rectifying holes 21 is 5.6 mm, the rectifying holes 21 are arranged in four rows, and the total number is 130 pieces. The pitch interval P ₁ is 6.35 mm and the pitch P ₂ is 12.7 mm. It is preferable that the diameter of the rectifying hole 21 is larger than the thickness of the wafer (W). In addition, the interval L ₁ between the rows of the rectifying holes and the rows is 26 mm, which is preferably smaller than the diameter of the wafer W. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 10, the inclination fixing cover 33a is disposed in the overflow tank 15b of the chemical cleaning tank 15, and the inclination fixing cover 33a suppresses the evaporation of the cleaning liquid 99. At the same time, heat radiation from the cleaning liquid 99 is suppressed. The inclined fixing lid 33a is made of, for example, a corrosion-resistant inorganic material such as quartz, a fluorine resin such as polytetrafluoroethylene, or an organic material such as polyfluoropropylene resin. In addition, auto-opening 101 of both types is provided in the left and right upper ends of the outer tank 100 which accommodates the washing tank 15, respectively. Each auto cover 101 is attached to the main frame 40 via a rotary actuator 102.

11 and 12, the whole board | substrate cleaning apparatus is isolate | separated from the circumference | surroundings by the partition 90. As shown to FIG. A window 91 is attached to a suitable place of the partition wall 90. The sliding door 93 is provided in the threshold of the window 91 so that a slide is possible. Moreover, the tape 94 which consists of fluorine-type resins, such as polytetrafluoroethylene which is excellent in a sliding characteristic, is stuck to the threshold 92 so that dust may not generate | occur | produce when sliding the sliding door 93. The tape 94 may be attached to a portion where the sliding door 93 other than the threshold 92 slides. Moreover, you may make it stick to the tape 94, the threshold 92, and / or the less than 93 door. The partition wall 90 is formed of a resin such as polyvinyl chloride resin. In addition, the sliding door 93 is made of vinyl chloride resin, acrylic resin or the like which is excellent in transparency.

Next, operation | movement of the board | substrate cleaning apparatus of an Example is demonstrated.

First, a conventional substrate cleaning apparatus will be described for comparison with reference to FIG.

In the conventional substrate cleaning apparatus, the rectifying holes 21J are arranged substantially in a lattice shape on the rectifying plate 22J of the rectifying means 20J. That is, the rectifying holes 21J in each row are located directly under the wafer W for each wafer.

However, since the rectifying plate 22J is made of quartz, the working accuracy is lower than that of the metal member. For this reason, the end of the rectifying plate 22J is provided in the cleaning tank 15 with a clearance 19 of about 1 mm so as to be separated from the side wall of the cleaning tank 15. Therefore, the flow of the cleaning liquid 99 passing through this clearance 19 tends to flow faster than the flow of the cleaning liquid passing through the rectifying holes 21J to cause turbulence. As shown in FIG. 17, according to the conventional rectifying plate 22J, the flow of the cleaning liquid 99 is weak in the central region and strong in the peripheral region.

As a result, the flow of the cleaning liquid 99 in the cleaning tank 15 becomes nonuniform. In addition, in the region S immediately above the dispersion plate 24J, the flow rate of the cleaning liquid 99 is slower than that of the other regions, and consequently, the region is larger than the flow rate to the upper region H without the dispersion plate 24J. The flow rate on the (S) side becomes small. For this reason, the supply amount of the washing | cleaning liquid 99 to the area | region S is insufficient, the washing | cleaning shortage of the wafer W located in the area | region S generate | occur | produces, and 50 wafers W are unevenly cleaned. As a result, a large amount of pure water must be used in order to reduce the cleaning treatment efficiency of the wafer W and to clean up to a predetermined specific resistance value in the cleaning treatment process by pure water in the final process.

Next, the substrate cleaning apparatus of this embodiment is described.

In a state where the 50 wafers W are held by the boat 80, first, they are placed in the cleaning tank 15 of the first chemical liquid cleaning processing unit 12a. In the cleaning tank 15, the cleaning liquid 99 is supplied from the liquid supply port 17, and the cleaning liquid 99 overflows from the upper opening. The wafer W is immersed to enter all of the cleaning liquid 99 in the cleaning tank 15. The cleaning liquid 99 is dispersed in all directions by the dispersion plate 24, and is controlled to flow upward by the rectifying plate 22.

9, in the wafer W on the left side, the cleaning liquid 99 flows along both sides of the wafer W from the cleaning hole 21 immediately below, and on the wafer W on the right side. As described above, the cleaning liquid flows along both surfaces of the wafer W from the cleaning hole 21 immediately below it. On the other hand, in the wafer W in the center, the cleaning liquid separated from both cleaning holes 21 adjacent to both surfaces flows.

As a result, the cleaning liquid 99 is supplied to the mutual gaps of all the wafers W. As shown in FIG.

In addition, since the arrangement of the cleaning holes 21 is arranged in four rows in series, the flow of the cleaning liquid is formed at the mutual intervals of the wafers W as described above even in the rows of the cleaning holes 21, respectively. The reliable flow of the cleaning liquid in the full width of the wafer W can be formed. On the other hand, since there is no cleaning hole 21 in the rectifying plate 22 of the portion where the wafer W is not above, a large amount of the cleaning liquid 99 flows in the portion where the wafer W is above.

As described above, when the cleaning of the wafer W in the first chemical cleaning processing unit 12a is completed, the wafer chuck 2a of the transfer robot 2 is transferred to the next first water cleaning processing unit 13a, and as described above. The washing operation is performed by the same operation, and then the same washing operation is performed in the next second washing washing processing unit 13b to finish the primary washing processing. Subsequently, the secondary cleaning process is completed through the second chemical liquid cleaning processing unit 12b, the third and fourth water cleaning processing units 13c and 13d, and then the wafer W is dried in the drying tank 14. Steam dry by IPA. Then, the finally cleaned wafer W is discharged to the cassette unit in the following process via the carrying buffer mechanism.

According to the above embodiment, since the number of the rectifying holes 21 in the rectifying plate 22 is small, and only the rectifying holes 21 having the same diameter are provided, the rectifying plate 22 is produced at the time of manufacturing the rectifying plate 22. Processing of the cleaning hole 21 can be facilitated. This reduces the manufacturing cost of the rectifying plate 22.

In addition, since each of the wafers W held in the cleaning tank is formed with a rectifying hole 21 having a size larger than the thickness of the wafer W at each bottom, each of the wafers W at mutual intervals. The cleaning liquid flows smoothly to the entire surface of the wafer to increase the cleaning efficiency of the wafer (W).

In addition, since the storage wall 23 is attached to the edge portion of the rectifying plate 22, the cleaning liquid 99 that tries to pass through the clearance 19 is hindered by the storage wall 23 and actually passes through the clearance 19. The flow velocity of the cleaning vein 99 becomes slow. For this reason, the upward flow passing through the small rectifying hole 21 of the rectifying plate 22 does not become turbulent due to the flow of the liquid passing through the clearance 19 (turbulence is prevented).

Next, the board | substrate cleaning apparatus of another Example is demonstrated, referring FIGS. 14-17. In addition, description of the part which this embodiment is the same as the said embodiment is abbreviate | omitted.

As shown in Figs. 14 and 16, the rectifying plate 22a is formed with two types of first and second rectifying holes 21a and 21b. The first rectifying holes 21a are arranged in four rows at the central portion of the rectifying plate 22a. The second rectifying holes 21b are arranged in one row at both edge portions of the rectifying plate 22a. The diameter of the first rectifying hole 21a is larger than the diameter of the second rectifying hole 21b. The diameter of the first rectifying hole 21 a is 5.6 mm, and the diameter of the second rectifying hole 21 b is 3.4 mm.

The mutual pitch interval of the first rectifying holes 21a is smaller than the mutual pitch interval of the second rectifying holes 21b. Like the rectifying holes 21 shown in FIG. 8, the first rectifying holes 21a in adjacent rows are arranged to be shifted by half pitches from each other. In the case of 50 six-inch diameter wafers W, 130 first rectifying holes 21a are formed in the rectifying pipe 22a, and a total of 18 second rectifying holes 21b are formed in two rows of nine. .

According to the above embodiment, since the second rectifying holes 21b are formed even at a place other than the region just below the wafer W, as shown in FIG. The side stream 98b is formed. For this reason, the residual flow 98b prevents the remaining of the cleaning liquid 99 in both side regions, and improves the circulation efficiency of the cleaning liquid 99.

Subsequently, the relationship between the number and size of the rectifying holes of the rectifying plate and the cleaning effect by the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank in which 50 sheets of 6-inch semiconductor wafers W were held were tested under the following conditions.

In this test, pure water to which hydrochloric acid was added is used as the initial cleaning liquid, and the pure water is supplied to the cleaning liquid, thereby cleaning the liquid by the long and short time required to recover the specific resistance of the pure water to a specific resistance of 15 MΩ · cm. The cleaning efficiency by was evaluated.

[Exam conditions]

1.Cleaning tank: Width 320mm, Width 238mm, Depth 202mm

2. Specific resistance value at pure water supply port: 17.3MΩ · cm

3. Supply rate of pure water: see Table 1 and Table 2 below

4. Washing liquid: A solution in which 1cc of about 18% hydrochloric acid is added to pure water

5. Supply rate of pure water: see Table 1 and Table 2 below

6. Number and diameter of the first and second rectifying holes of the rectifying plate: see Table 1 and Table 2 below

7. Measurement condition of specific resistance

Measuring location: near the top of the semiconductor wafer

Measurement interval: From 60 seconds after adding hydrochloric acid to 780 seconds every 20 seconds

As shown in FIG. 16, the first rectifying hole 21a arranged in four rows below the wafer W and the second flow holes 21b arranged one row along both outer sides of the wafer W are provided. 12 types of rectifying plates 22a were produced. The twelve types of rectifying plates 22a differ in size and number of the respective first rectifying holes 21a and the second rectifying holes 21b.

And the specific resistance value of the washing | cleaning liquid in the washing | cleaning tank at the time of using each rectifying plate 22a was measured intermittently, and each result is shown in following Table 1 as Test Examples 1-12.

According to the result shown in following Table 1, the diameter of the 1st rectifying hole 21a and the 2nd rectifying hole 21b is 5.6 mm, and the case of the test example 12 using the rectifying plate 22a of 148 of both numbers is The shortest time of all the test examples and the specific resistance reached 15 MΩ · cm, which ultimately proved to be the best cleaning efficiency. As for the rectifying holes of the rectifying plate used in this Test Example 12, 130 of the 148 are the first commutation holes 21a and 18 are the second commutation holes 21b.

Subsequently, as shown in Table 2 below, the number of the rectifying holes is set to 148 based on the test results, and the size of the first rectifying holes 21a is set to 130 at 5.6 mm, and the 18 second Three types of rectifying plates 22a were produced by changing only the diameters of the rectifying holes 21b, and the specific resistance values of the cleaning liquid in the case of using each were measured intermittently, and the results are shown in Table 2 below. As a result, it was found that Test Example 14 using the rectifying plate 22a having the second rectifying hole 21b having a diameter of 3.4 mm was the shortest time in all the Test Examples and reached a specific resistance value of 15 MΩ · cm. As a result of examining Test Example 12 and Test Example 14 with respect to the amount of pure water used, it was found that the rectifying plate of Test Example 14 had a smaller amount of pure water than that of Test Example 12.

From these results, it turned out that the washing | cleaning apparatus using the rectifying plate of Test Example 14 mentioned above is excellent in washing efficiency.

TABLE 1

TABLE 2

However, in Table 2, since the magnitude | size of only the 2nd rectifying hole 21b changes, the rectifying plate is shown only by the diameter and the number of 2nd rectifying holes.

Moreover, it is preferable that the diameter of the 1st rectifying hole 21a is larger than the thickness of the wafer W. As shown in FIG. Incidentally, in the above embodiment, the case where the semiconductor wafer W is cleaned as the object to be processed has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the present invention is also used for cleaning other front substrates and LCD substrates as the object to be processed. Can be applied.

Next, a cleaning tank according to various other embodiments will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 to 24.

As shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 19, the washing tank 15 forms a rectangle and stores washing liquids, such as ammonia water heated at high temperature. The wafer protecting holding portions 81 and 82 are provided in the cleaning tank 15 to hold 50 wafers W. As shown in FIG.

The rectifying plate 22 is disposed substantially below the wafer protecting holding portions 81 and 82, and a plurality of rectifying holes 21 are formed. The supply pipe 18 is connected to the cleaning liquid supply source (not shown) and connected to the liquid supply port 17 of the main tank 15a. Two liquid supply ports 17 are provided, and the cleaning liquid is introduced into the region immediately below the rectifying plate 22 through these liquid supply ports 17.

Moreover, the dispersion plate 24a is arrange | positioned in the substantially upper part of each liquid supply port 17, and these dispersion plates 24a disperse | distribute a washing | cleaning liquid toward the full width of the rectifying plate 22. As shown in FIG. In addition, the wafer protection holding parts 81 and 82 are made of corrosion-resistant and oscillation-resistant materials, such as quartz or PEEK.

As shown in FIG. 20, the dispersion plate 24a is attached to the lower surface of the rectifying plate 22 by four supporting rods 27, and the distribution plate 24a has two rows of circular dispersion holes 25a. Formed.

As shown in FIG. 21, two long slot holes 25b may be formed in the dispersion plate 24a.

22 and 23, the storage wall 23 extends downward from the peripheral portion of the rectifying plate 22, and the dispersion plate 24a faces downward from the peripheral portion. A dispersion hole 25a may be formed in the dispersion plate 24a at the same time as the extending storage wall 26 is formed. By this structure, a part of the cleaning liquid introduced into the cleaning tank 15 from the liquid supply port 17 flows upward from the dispersion hole 25a. On the other hand, a part of the cleaning liquid flowing toward the clearance 19 between the cleaning tank 15 and the rectifying plate 22 is blocked by the storage plate 23 so that the flow of the cleaning liquid through the clearance 19 is delayed. The difference with the flow of the washing | cleaning liquid which flows into the rectification hole 21 of () can be made small. Therefore, the uniformity of the flow of the cleaning liquid into the cleaning tank 15 can be more assured.

As shown in FIG. 24, the lower shape of the cleaning tank 15 may be modified to reduce the capacity of the cleaning tank 15. As shown in FIG. In this case, it is preferable to bend both sides of the rectifying plate 22 in the shape of the tank bottom portion, and to form a substantially same flow area of the liquid below the rectifying plate 22.

3 and 4, when the wafer W is received between the wafer protection holding portions 81, 82 and the wafer chuck above the cleaning tank 15, the wafer ( A wafer confirmation detection device 30 is provided for detecting whether or not the retention of W) is secure. The wafer confirmation detecting device 30 includes, for example, a light emitting portion 31 formed of a light emitting element disposed on one side of the side of the cleaning tank 15 arranged on the opposite side of the cleaning tank 15, and the light receiving unit disposed on the opposite side. It consists of the light receiving part 32 formed of an element.

According to the wafer confirmation detecting device 30 configured as described above, the wafer W is reliably held in the holding groove of the wafer chuck or the holding grooves of the wafer protection holding portions 81 and 82 when the wafer W is received. If not, the wafer W is floated or excessively inclined, so that the wafer W may fall off or contact between the wafers may be prevented.

Next, another Example is described, referring FIGS. 25-28. As shown in Fig. 25, the cleaning tank 142 is provided in the cleaning processing section, and the cleaning tank 142 is formed such that the lower portion thereof has a smaller cross sectional area than the upper portion thereof.

As shown in FIG. 26, in the tank bottom part 152, both inclination parts 160 incline with respect to the center horizontal part 159 by the angle (theta) ₁ . In addition, the center horizontal part 159 may be arbitrary, and the tank bottom part 152 may be formed only with the inclination part 160. FIG. A rectifying plate 122 is provided at a distance L ₂ from the tank bottom 152. This rectifying plate 122 is formed substantially the same as the shape of the tank bottom part 152, and is supported by four support bars 77 (refer FIG. 27). The distance L ₂ is 20 mm, preferably in the range of 15 to 30 mm. The bending angle θ ₂ of the rectifying plate 122 is preferably the same as the bending angle θ ₁ of the tank bottom 152.

As shown in FIG. 27, 31 horizontal rectifying parts 122a are provided with a total of 31 first rectifying holes 120 in four rows. In addition, each of the inclined rectifying portions 122b is provided with eleven second rectifying holes 121 in total. In this case, the diameter Dl of the first rectifying hole 120 is 5.6 mm, for example, and the diameter D2 of the second rectifying hole 121 is 3.4 mm, for example. Therefore, the ratio of the longitudinal cross-sectional area of the first rectifying hole 120 and the longitudinal cross-sectional area of either of the second rectifying holes 121 in the horizontal rectifying part 122a should be about 10: 1.

The cleaning tank 142 and the rectifying plate 122 are both made of quartz having high corrosion resistance in the case of a chemical liquid cleaning device using highly reactive sulfuric acid, ammonia water or the like, and in the case of a water cleaning device using pure water, quartz or poly Preference is given to making with vinyl chloride.

The drilling direction Y of the second rectifying hole 121 formed in the inclined rectifying part 122b is not set in the height direction of the cleaning tank 142 but is substantially perpendicular to the plane direction of the inclined rectifying part 122b. It is desirable to. In addition, the washing liquid overflowed from the washing tank 142 is circulated and reused as necessary, or not reused without circulating, and the specific resistance value of the overflow liquid is measured at the time of final rinsing with rinsed water.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

Since the cleaning liquid is supplied to the cleaning tank 142 through the supply pipe 18, the supplied cleaning liquid is dispersed on the front surface of the rectifying plate 122 by the distribution plates 24 of the two liquid supply ports 17. The first and second rectifying holes 120 and 121 of the rectifying pipe 122 flow toward the wafer W evenly.

The cleaning liquid is dispersed by the dispersion plate 24, reaches the horizontal rectifying part 122a of the rectifying plate 122, passes through the first rectifying hole 120, and at the same time, the second rectifying hole of the inclined rectifying part 122b. Pass 121. The cleaning liquid rises in the laminar flow state at the mutual intervals of the wafers W and particles are removed from the wafer surface. In the case of chemical liquid cleaning, after the cleaning liquid overflowed from the cleaning tank 142 is purified, it is led to the supply pipe 18 and circulates. In the case of washing with pure water, such as a water washing device, the overflowed washing water is discarded as it is.

Here, in this embodiment, since the tank bottom portion 152 side of the cleaning tank 142 is formed as described above, the total capacity of the cleaning tank 142 itself can be reduced by that amount. Therefore, the usage amount of the cleaning liquid, such as the chemical liquid and pure water used, can be reduced significantly. For example, in the case of an 8-inch wafer cleaning apparatus, the capacity of about 10 percent can be reduced by the apparatus of this embodiment compared with the conventional apparatus.

Next, with reference to FIG. 28, the resistivity recovery characteristic of the wash water in the Example and the conventional apparatus is demonstrated.

The cleaning tank 142 of the above-described embodiment was used as a water washing treatment apparatus, and the results of the investigation of the resistivity recovery characteristics of the washing water were shown by curve A in FIG.

Moreover, the result of having investigated the specific resistance recovery characteristic of the washing | cleaning water in the conventional apparatus is shown by the curve B in FIG. As is clear from the figure, even in the cleaning tank 142 of this embodiment, the time for replacing the cleaning liquid is shortened, and therefore, efficient cleaning can be performed. For example, when the present embodiment is applied to a water cleaning device, the specific resistance value of the overflow cleaning water for inspecting the degree of cleaning of the wafer reaches a predetermined value, for example, 15 MΩ in a short time, and the water can be washed efficiently. It was found that the time for reaching the specific resistance value of 15 MΩ indicating the final rinse completion by pure water was shorter than that of the conventional device.

If the hole diameter of the second rectifying hole 121 on the side of the inclined rectifying part 122b is set too large, the amount of the liquid to be driven to the inside of the wafer is increased, and normal cleaning is not performed, which is not preferable.

Therefore, the ratio of the longitudinal cross-sectional area of the first rectifying hole 120 on the horizontal rectifying part 122a and the total cross-sectional area of the second rectifying hole 121 on the one inclined rectifying part 122b is preferably 30: 1 or less. Set to.

According to the above embodiment, since the bottom of the cleaning tank is inclined and the rectifying plate is also inclined in correspondence with this, the capacity of the cleaning tank can be reduced without causing turbulence in the cleaning liquid at the time of cleaning.

Therefore, the usage-amount of washing | cleaning liquids, such as a chemical | medical liquid and pure water, can be reduced, and running cost (running cost) can be reduced significantly.

In addition, since the replacement rate of the cleaning liquid in the cleaning tank is fast, the cleaning can be performed quickly, and particularly, in the case of cleaning with pure water, the recovery of the specific resistance can be accelerated.

Claims (4)

A cleaning tank having a supply port for supplying a cleaning liquid for cleaning the substrate to be processed at the bottom thereof, and a plurality of substrates installed in the cleaning tank such that the main surfaces of the substrate to be processed are substantially parallel in the vertical direction and substantially equidistantly spaced from each other. A protective holding zone for protecting and holding the substrate to be processed, a rectifying plate provided below the protective holding zone and having a plurality of rectifying holes, and provided between the rectifying plate and the supply port, and supplied into the cleaning tank through the supply port. A cleaning apparatus comprising a dispersion plate for dispersing the cleaning liquid to be directed to a plurality of rectifying holes of the rectifying plate, wherein the plurality of rectifying holes of the rectifying plate are formed on a plurality of to-be-processed plates protected by the protective holding area. Are arranged in a plurality of rows as straight rows immediately below the substrate to be processed, and rectifying holes of adjacent straight rows are respectively Arranged in the position shifted by one, the cleaning liquid is introduced into the cleaning tank through the supply port, impinges on the dispersion plate and is dispersed throughout the rectifying plate, and passes through each of the rectifying holes of the rectifying plate to be treated. And a substrate flowing upward through the gap between the substrate to be processed and the substrate to be processed after colliding with the lower end of the substrate. A cleaning tank having a supply port for supplying a cleaning liquid for cleaning the substrate to be processed at the bottom thereof, and a plurality of treatment targets disposed in the cleaning tank such that the main surface of the substrate to be processed is substantially vertically parallel and substantially equidistantly spaced. A protective holding zone for protecting and holding the substrate, a rectifying plate provided below the protective holding zone and having a plurality of rectifying holes, and a cleaning liquid provided between the rectifying plate and the supply port and supplied into the cleaning tank through the supply port. A cleaning apparatus comprising a dispersion plate for dispersing the components toward the plurality of rectifying holes of the rectifying plate, wherein the plurality of rectifying holes of the rectifying plate is disposed below the plurality of substrates to be protected and kept in the protective holding hole. Arranged in a plurality of rows in a straight line immediately below the substrate to be treated by filtering one of the plurality of substrates to be processed. A plurality of first rectifying holes arranged at positions where the first rectifying holes in a straight line are shifted one by one, and the first rectifying holes are filtered one by one with respect to the plurality of substrates to be processed, The rows are arranged, the first rectifying holes of adjacent straight lines are arranged one by one, and the first rectifying is arranged outside the bottom of the plurality of substrates to be protected and maintained in the protective holding area. And a plurality of second rectifying holes having a diameter smaller than that of the holes, wherein the cleaning liquid is introduced into the cleaning tank through the supply port, impinges on the dispersion plate, and is dispersed throughout the rectifying plate. After passing through the first and second rectifying holes and exiting the first rectifying hole and colliding with the lower end of the substrate, the mutual processing between the substrate and the substrate to be processed is performed. To flow to rise through the remote cleaning apparatus according to claim. The cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the second rectifying holes are the same size, and the diameter of the first rectifying holes is larger than or equal to the thickness of the object to be processed. The cleaning device according to claim 2, wherein the liquid supply ports are provided at two bottom surfaces of the cleaning tank, respectively.