KR101122863B1 - Apparatus to Dry Substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate drying apparatus of the present invention, the drying unit is a drying operation proceeds to the substrate; A dry material supply unit supplying isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in a liquid state to the substrate in the drying unit and forming a moving line in which the isopropyl alcohol moves in a zigzag shape; And a heating unit for raising or maintaining the temperature of the liquid isopropyl alcohol in the dry matter supply portion. According to the present invention, it is possible to reliably remove water spots and the like remaining on the substrate by supplying isopropyl alcohol in a liquid state when the substrate is dried, and in addition, the liquid isopropyl alcohol supplied when the substrate is dried by the heating unit. It is possible to maintain a high temperature to reduce the surface tension on the substrate, thereby preventing the lining phenomenon between the patterns formed on the substrate (W).

Description

Substrate Drying Equipment {Apparatus to Dry Substrate}

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to a board | substrate drying apparatus. More specifically, It is related with the board | substrate drying apparatus which can improve the drying effect of a board | substrate by supplying high temperature liquid isopropyl alcohol to the board | substrate which is a drying object.

In general, in order to manufacture a semiconductor device, various processes such as lithography, deposition, and etching are repeatedly performed. Particles, metal impurities, organics, etc. remain on the substrate (eg, silicon wafer) during these processes.

Since such contaminants adversely affect the yield and reliability of products, a cleaning process for removing contaminants remaining on the substrate is performed in the semiconductor manufacturing process, and a drying process for the substrate is performed after the cleaning process.

Conventionally known drying methods include spin drying, drying using Marangoni effect by isopropyl alcohol (IPA, Iso-propyl Alcohol), and the like.

Among them, the drying method using isopropyl alcohol is obtained by pulling the substrate vertically in de-ionized water (DIW) and blowing isopropyl alcohol and nitrogen gas (N2) near the gas-liquid interface on the substrate surface. It refers to a method of drying the substrate by generating a marangoni effect.

In general, isopropyl alcohol used in the drying process is provided in the gaseous state from the substrate drying apparatus. Here, the substrate drying apparatus is configured such that the liquid isopropyl alcohol can be vaporized by a direct / indirect heating method using a heater or bubbling by supplying a gas.

However, when the substrate is dried with isopropyl alcohol in the gaseous state as described above, there is a limit in implementing a high concentration of isopropyl alcohol, and thus there is a problem in that parts such as water spots on the substrate cannot be removed reliably.

Accordingly, there is a need for the development of a substrate drying apparatus having a new structure that can reliably perform the drying operation of the substrate by spraying a liquid isopropyl alcohol on the substrate, which can realize a relatively high concentration compared to the gas state. .

An object of the present invention is to provide a substrate drying apparatus which can reliably remove water spots and the like remaining on a substrate by supplying isopropyl alcohol in a liquid state during substrate drying.

It is also an object of the present invention that the liquid isopropyl alcohol supplied during drying of the substrate can maintain a high temperature by the heating unit, thereby reducing the surface tension on the substrate, thereby lining between the patterns formed on the substrate. It is to provide a substrate drying apparatus that can prevent the phenomenon.

Substrate drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, the drying unit is a drying operation proceeds to the substrate; A dry material supply unit supplying isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in a liquid state to the substrate in the drying unit, and forming a moving line in which the isopropyl alcohol moves in a zigzag shape; And a heating unit which raises or maintains the temperature of the liquid isopropyl alcohol in the dry matter supply unit, and by such a configuration, it is possible to surely remove water spots and the like remaining on the substrate during the drying operation on the substrate. Can be.

Here, the dry material supply unit, the supply body disposed along the radial direction of the substrate accommodated in the drying unit; An alcohol receiving space formed in the supply body and filling the isopropyl alcohol in the liquid state supplied from an external alcohol supply device; And a slot shape along a longitudinal direction of the lower end portion of the supply body facing the substrate, in communication with the alcohol receiving space by the moving line, and spraying the isopropyl alcohol in the liquid state to one surface of the substrate. It may include a supply knife. Therefore, the isopropyl alcohol in a liquid state can be sprayed uniformly on the front surface of the rotating substrate.

One end of the moving line may be connected to communicate with the upper end of the alcohol receiving space so that the overflow isopropyl alcohol of the liquid isopropyl alcohol stored in the alcohol receiving space can move.

The heating unit may be mounted to both sides of the supply body along the longitudinal direction of the supply body, thereby heating almost the entire area of the supply body evenly.

The heating unit may be a coil type heater capable of adjusting the degree of heat generation according to the amount of current applied.

The heating unit may heat the liquid isopropyl alcohol supplied by the dry matter supply unit to a temperature of 70 ° C. to 80 ° C., thereby reducing the surface tension of isopropyl alcohol on the substrate to form a substrate. Leaning between patterns can be prevented.

The dry matter supply unit is provided in the supply body so as to communicate with the alcohol receiving space, and a nitrogen gas inlet unit through which an external nitrogen gas supply device receives nitrogen gas (N2) or a heated nitrogen gas (hot N2). Further, the nitrogen gas may be injected to the substrate by moving the supply knife of the alcohol receiving space, the moving line and the slot shape.

The nitrogen gas inlet may include a plurality of inlets that are penetrated along the thickness direction of the upper wall of the supply body disposed above the alcohol containing space and regularly penetrates along the longitudinal direction of the supply body.

The apparatus may further include a nitrogen gas supply unit provided separately from the dry matter supply unit to supply nitrogen gas, and the injection hole of the nitrogen gas supply unit supplying the nitrogen gas to the substrate may be elongated in a slot shape.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, by supplying isopropyl alcohol in a liquid state when drying the substrate, it is possible to reliably remove water spots and the like remaining on the substrate.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the liquid isopropyl alcohol supplied when the substrate is dried can maintain a high temperature by the heating unit to reduce the surface tension on the substrate, thereby lining between the patterns formed on the substrate Leaning can be prevented.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the dry matter supply unit shown in FIG. 1 and the alcohol supply device connected thereto. FIG.
3 is a cross-sectional view of the dry matter supply unit illustrated in FIG. 2 in a different direction.
4 is a cross-sectional view of a dry material supply unit provided in the substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.
5 is a cross-sectional view of a dry matter supply unit and a nitrogen gas supply unit included in the substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, configurations and applications according to embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following description is one of several aspects of the patentable invention and the following description forms part of the detailed description of the invention.

In the following description, well-known functions or constructions are not described in detail for the sake of clarity and conciseness.

The substrate to be described below may be any one of another flat panel display such as a wafer, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), and the like.

1 is a view schematically showing the configuration of a substrate drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a dry material supply unit shown in FIG. 1 and an alcohol supply device connected thereto, and FIG. 3 is FIG. It is sectional drawing in which the dry matter supply part shown in the cross section was processed in the other direction.

As shown in these figures, the substrate drying apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention, the drying unit 110 is accommodated the substrate (W) to be dried and the drying operation proceeds to the substrate (W) And a dry material supply unit 120 provided at an upper portion of the drying unit 110 to supply liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 (IPA, Iso-propyl Alcohol) and nitrogen gas (N2, 105) to the substrate W; The heating unit 160 is mounted to the dry matter supply unit 120 to raise or maintain a temperature of the isopropyl alcohol 103 in a liquid state inside the dry matter supply unit 120.

By such a configuration, a high temperature liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 may be supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W to perform a drying operation. At this time, the isopropyl alcohol 103 maintains a liquid state so that the water on the substrate W Spots such as spots can be removed cleanly, and liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 can be maintained at a high temperature, thereby reducing the surface tension on the substrate W, so that the lining between the patterns formed on the substrate W can be cleaned. The phenomenon can be prevented.

Each structure is demonstrated, and the drying part 110 is provided with the mounting member 111 on which the board | substrate W is mounted. The seating member 111 is rotatable in a state in which the substrate W is seated on the upper surface, and thus the front surface of the substrate W when the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state is supplied from the dry material supply unit 120 to be described later. A drying operation can be done for.

The dry material supply unit 120 serves to dry the substrate W by sequentially supplying the isopropyl alcohol 103 and the nitrogen gas 105 in a liquid state onto the substrate W. At this time, the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state supplied to the substrate W has a high temperature close to the boiling point (82 ° C.), so that the drying operation on the substrate W can be reliably performed.

Referring to the configuration of the dry matter supply unit 120, the dry matter supply unit 120 of the present embodiment, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, the radial direction of the substrate (W) in the drying unit 110 An alcohol accommodating space 123 formed in the supply main body 121 and the supply main body 121 and filled with isopropyl alcohol 103 in a liquid state supplied from an external alcohol supplying device 150; A moving line 125 connected to the alcohol containing space 123 and forming a moving passage of the isopropyl alcohol 103 in a liquid state, and extending along the length direction of the lower end of the supply body 121 facing the substrate W. And a slot-shaped supply knife 127 formed in communication with the alcohol receiving space 123 by the moving line 125.

First, the supply main body 121 has a length corresponding to the radius of the substrate W, as shown in FIG. The supply main body 121 is disposed in the drying unit 110 so that one end of the supply main body 121 is located in the center region of the substrate W and the other end is located in the outer peripheral region of the substrate W. Thus, the substrate W is disposed. During the rotation, the dry material, that is, the isopropyl alcohol 103 and the nitrogen gas 105 in the liquid state may be sequentially supplied to the front surface of the substrate W to perform the drying operation on the substrate W.

The supply body 121 may be provided with a metal material excellent in heat transfer. Therefore, when heat is generated from the heating unit 160 to be described later, the supply body 121 may be heated, thereby raising or maintaining the temperature of the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state therein. .

The alcohol receiving space 123 is formed long along the longitudinal direction of the supply body 121 to have a cross section shown in FIG. 2. The alcohol receiving space 123 is connected to the external alcohol supply device 150 by the alcohol supply line 158.

The alcohol supply device 150 includes a main tank 151 which mainly supplies the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state to the alcohol accommodating space 123, and isotropic liquid in the alcohol accommodating space 123. A sub tank 155 may be provided to auxiliary the propyl alcohol 103. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the alcohol supply device 150 may be formed of one tank part or may be configured of a larger number of tank parts.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main tank unit 151 stores an isopropyl alcohol 103 in a liquid state and is connected to an alcohol receiving space 123 by an alcohol supply line 158. ), A pure water storage tank 153 disposed around the alcohol storage tank 152 and storing pure water 107 and DIW, and a pure water 107 provided in the pure water storage tank 153 under the pure water storage tank 153. ) Is provided with a pure water heater (157).

Accordingly, the pure water 107 in the pure water storage tank 153 is heated by the pure water heater 157, and then the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the alcohol storage tank 152 is heated by the heated pure water 107. The high temperature liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 may be supplied from the external alcohol supply device 150 to the alcohol receiving space 123 of the dry matter supply unit 120.

At this time, when the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state is continuously supplied from the alcohol supply device 150 to the alcohol accommodating space 123, the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state is discharged from the alcohol accommodating space 123. The overflowed and overflowed isopropyl alcohol 103 moves to the supply knife 127 along the movement line 125 provided in the supply body 121.

The moving line 125 of this embodiment is formed in a zigzag manner toward the height direction, as shown in FIG. Thus, the liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 transferred from the alcohol receiving space 123 to the transfer line 125 may reach the feed knife 127 after passing through the relatively long transfer line 125, and then It may be supplied to the substrate W through the supply knife 127.

Here, the reason why the moving line 125 is provided in a zigzag form and formed relatively long is to raise or maintain the temperature of the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state moving along the moving line 125. As described above, since the supply body 121 is heated by the heating unit 160, the inner wall forming the moving line 125 is also heated, wherein isopropyl alcohol 103 is heated to the heated moving line 125. By lengthening the residence time, the temperature of the isopropyl alcohol 103 can be raised or maintained. Therefore, high temperature liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 can be supplied to the substrate W to reliably perform the drying operation of the substrate.

On the other hand, the supply knife 127 is formed to penetrate long in the slot (slot) shape along the lower end of the supply body 121. As can be seen through Figure 3, the inner region of the lower end of the supply body 121 is provided to be inclined so that the liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 flows smoothly downward.

The length of the penetrated portion of the feed knife 127 corresponds to the radius of the substrate W to be dried. Therefore, when the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state is supplied from the supply knife 127, the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state from the supply knife 127 to the front surface of the substrate W because the substrate W rotates. ) May be supplied, and thus a drying operation on the substrate W may be performed.

In addition, since the supply knife 127 is provided in a slot shape, the liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 that has passed through the moving line 125 may have a high flow rate when passing through the supply knife 127, thereby providing a substrate. By supplying the isopropyl alcohol 103 with a fast supply speed to (W), the drying effect of the board | substrate W can be improved.

On the other hand, as described above, the heating unit 160 is mounted along the longitudinal direction of both sides of the supply body 121. The heating unit 160 serves to heat or maintain the temperature of the isopropyl alcohol 103 in a liquid state by heating the metal supply body 121.

The heating unit 160 of the present embodiment may be provided as a coil-type heater that can adjust the heating degree differently according to the amount of current applied. The boiling point of the isopropyl alcohol 103 used as the dry material in this embodiment is approximately 82 ° C., and when too much heat is applied, the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state is in the gaseous isopropyl alcohol 103 state. Since the heating unit 160 may be changed, the heating degree of the heating unit 160 should be properly adjusted.

Therefore, the heating unit 160 of the present embodiment heats the supply body 121 so that the temperature of the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state supplied through the supply knife 127 is maintained at 70 ° C to 80 ° C. Accordingly, as described above, the hot liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 may be supplied to the substrate W to reduce the surface tension of the isopropyl alcohol 103 relative to the substrate W, thereby Leaning between patterns formed on the substrate W can be prevented.

On the other hand, after supplying the isopropyl alcohol 103 in the liquid state, nitrogen gas 105 and N2 are injected to remove the isopropyl alcohol 103 on the substrate W. As shown in FIG. In this embodiment, such nitrogen gas 105 is also injected by the dry matter supply unit 120 described above. In other words, nitrogen gas 105 is injected to the front surface of the substrate W through the supply knife 127.

To this end, the dry matter supply unit 120 of the present embodiment is provided in the supply body 121 so as to communicate with the alcohol receiving space 123 and nitrogen into which the nitrogen gas 105 flows from the external nitrogen gas supply device 170. It further comprises a gas inlet 128.

Nitrogen gas inlet 128 of the present embodiment, as shown in Figures 2 and 3, is formed to penetrate along the thickness direction of the upper wall of the supply body 121 disposed on the upper portion of the alcohol receiving space 123, It includes a plurality of inlets 129 are regularly provided along the longitudinal direction of the supply body 121.

Therefore, the nitrogen gas 105 may smoothly flow into the upper portion of the alcohol receiving space 123 through the plurality of inlets 129 having a predetermined diameter. Nitrogen gas 105 introduced to the upper portion of the alcohol receiving space 123 is injected through the supply knife 127 to the substrate W after passing the moving line 125 described above. At this time, the nitrogen gas 105 may be injected at a high speed by the slot shape of the supply knife 127, and the isopropyl alcohol 103 on the substrate W is reliably removed by the injected nitrogen gas 105. The drying operation | work on the board | substrate W can be completed.

However, in the present embodiment, the nitrogen gas 105 is used to remove the liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 on the substrate W from the substrate W, but the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, gas such as argon (Ar), helium (He) may be used.

In addition, the nitrogen gas 105 may be nitrogen gas hot N2 in a heated state. When the heated nitrogen gas is injected onto the substrate W, the drying effect of the substrate W may be further improved.

Hereinafter, an operation process of the substrate drying apparatus 100 having the above-described configuration will be described.

First, the liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 is supplied from the external alcohol supply device 150 to the alcohol receiving space 123 formed in the supply body 121. In this case, the liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 supplied in advance may be heated in the alcohol supply device 150 to supply the high temperature liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 to the alcohol receiving space 123.

Thereafter, the isopropyl alcohol 103 of the alcohol receiving space 123 moves through the moving line 125 heated by the heating unit 160 to the feeding knife 127. At this time, since the isopropyl alcohol 103 is injected through the supply knife 127 after passing through the zigzag moving line 125, the isopropyl alcohol 103 is moved on the moving line 125 for a relatively long time. The temperature of the isopropyl alcohol 103 may be raised or maintained at a high temperature.

Subsequently, the liquid isopropyl alcohol 103 is supplied onto the substrate W through the supply knife 127. At this time, since the substrate W rotates, the isopropyl alcohol 103 in a liquid state may be supplied to the entire surface of the substrate W. FIG. In addition, the isopropyl alcohol 103 on the substrate W may be removed to the outside by the continuous rotation of the substrate (W).

Next, in order to completely remove the isopropyl alcohol 103 on the substrate W, the nitrogen gas 105 is supplied from the dry matter supply unit 120 to the substrate W. The nitrogen gas 105 enters the nitrogen gas inlet 128 of the dry matter supply unit 120, passes through the movement line 125, and then passes the substrate W through the supply knife 127, as described above. It can be injected into. Therefore, by completely removing the isopropyl alcohol 103 on the substrate W, the drying operation on the substrate W can be completed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, by supplying a high temperature isopropyl alcohol 103 liquid during drying of the substrate W, the remaining water spots and the like on the substrate W may be reliably removed, and the substrate ( The surface tension of the isopropyl alcohol 103 with respect to W) can be reduced, thereby preventing the phenomenon of lining between the patterns formed on the substrate W. FIG.

Meanwhile, hereinafter, a substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, and the same description as that described in the substrate drying apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be omitted.

4 is a cross-sectional view of a dry material supply unit provided in the substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown therein, the dry material supply unit 220 of the substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention may have a moving line that is geometrically different from the moving line 125 (see FIG. 3) of the above-described embodiment. 225). That is, when the moving line 125 of the above-described embodiment is formed in a zigzag manner toward the vertical direction, the moving line 225 of the other embodiment is formed in a zigzag manner toward the left and right directions.

Thus, as in the above-described embodiment, the length of the moving line 225 can be provided long in the supply body 221, which is advantageous for maintaining or raising the temperature of the liquid isopropyl alcohol 203, Accordingly, the hot liquid isopropyl alcohol 203 can be supplied to the substrate W, so that the drying operation of the substrate W can be reliably performed.

However, in the above-described embodiment, the moving line 125 is formed in a zigzag form along the height direction, and in another embodiment, the moving line 225 is formed in the zigzag form along the left and right directions, but is not limited thereto. In other words, if the length of the moving line in the supply body can be extended, it may be provided in other shapes and structures.

On the other hand, in the following, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described a substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, the same as described in the substrate drying apparatus in the above embodiments will be omitted the description thereof .

5 is a cross-sectional view of a dry matter supply unit and a nitrogen gas supply unit included in the substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in the drawing, the substrate drying apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention includes a nitrogen gas supply unit 380 provided separately from the dry matter supply unit 320 to supply the nitrogen gas 305 onto the substrate W. It includes more.

As shown in FIG. 5, a heating unit 360 for heating the nitrogen gas 305 passing through the inside of the nitrogen gas supply unit 380 is mounted on the outside of the nitrogen gas supply unit 380, and thus, in a heated state. Nitrogen gas 305 may be injected onto the substrate W to improve the drying effect of the substrate W.

In addition, the injection port 385 of the nitrogen gas supply unit 380 is provided as a knife having a shape similar to that of the supply knife 327 of the dry matter supply unit 320. In other words, the injection hole 385 of the nitrogen gas supply part 380 is formed to penetrate long in a slot shape. Therefore, the nitrogen gas 305 introduced into the nitrogen gas supply unit 380 may be injected at a high speed through the injection hole 385, and thus, isopropyl alcohol remaining on the substrate W may be quickly removed. The drying effect of (W) can be improved.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, such modifications or variations will have to be belong to the claims of the present invention.

100 substrate drying apparatus 110 drying unit
120: dry matter supply unit 121: supply body
123: alcohol storage space 125: moving line
127: supply knife 128: nitrogen gas inlet
150: alcohol supply unit 160: heating unit

Claims (9)

A drying unit in which a drying operation on the substrate is performed;
A dry material supply unit supplying isopropyl alcohol (IPA) in a liquid state to the substrate in the drying unit, and forming a moving line in which the isopropyl alcohol moves in a zigzag shape; And
A heating unit for raising or maintaining the temperature of the liquid isopropyl alcohol in the dry matter supply portion;
Including;
The dry matter supply unit,
A supply body disposed along a radial direction of the substrate accommodated in the drying unit;
An alcohol receiving space formed in the supply body and filling the isopropyl alcohol in the liquid state supplied from an external alcohol supply device; And
It is provided in a slot shape along the longitudinal direction of the lower end of the supply body toward the substrate, and is in communication with the alcohol receiving space by the moving line to inject the isopropyl alcohol in the liquid state to one surface of the substrate Substrate drying apparatus comprising a supply knife.
delete The method of claim 1,
One end of the movement line, the substrate drying apparatus is connected in communication with the upper end of the alcohol containing space to move the overflow isopropyl alcohol in the liquid isopropyl alcohol stored in the alcohol containing space.
The method of claim 1,
The heating unit is mounted on both sides of the supply body along the longitudinal direction of the supply body substrate drying apparatus.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the heating unit is a coil-type heater capable of adjusting the degree of heat generation according to the amount of current applied thereto.
The method of claim 4, wherein
And the heating unit heats the liquid isopropyl alcohol supplied by the dry matter supply unit to a temperature of 70 ° C to 80 ° C.
The method of claim 1,
The dry matter supply unit,
It is provided in the supply main body so as to communicate with the alcohol receiving space, and further comprises a nitrogen gas inlet for introducing nitrogen gas (N2) or a heated nitrogen gas (hot N2) from the external nitrogen gas supply device,
The nitrogen gas is sprayed on the substrate by moving the supply knife of the alcohol containing space, the moving line and the slot shape.
The method of claim 7, wherein
The nitrogen gas inlet,
And a plurality of inlets penetrating along the thickness direction of the upper wall of the supply body disposed above the alcohol containing space and regularly penetrating along the longitudinal direction of the supply body.
The method of claim 1,
It further comprises a nitrogen gas supply unit provided separately from the dry matter supply unit for supplying nitrogen gas,
The injection port of the nitrogen gas supply unit for supplying the nitrogen gas to the substrate is provided with a slot (slot) elongate substrate.

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