KR101470686B1 - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

There is provided a substrate processing apparatus capable of preventing a lift pin from being broken even when the substrate lift member is raised to an upper position in a state in which the top plate is lowered when the lift operation of the substrate lift member is not restricted The purpose.
The substrate processing apparatus 22 of the present invention for supplying the processing liquid to the substrate W placed at a predetermined processing position and processing the substrate W by the supplied processing liquid is capable of processing the substrate W at the processing position A substrate elevating member 90 provided so as to be able to move up and down between a position above the processing position and a substrate W disposed upwardly from the substrate elevating member 90, An upper plate 110 installed on the upper side of the substrate W disposed at the processing position and covering the substrate W from the upper side in a state of being lowered, And a contact prevention part 130 for preventing contact between the arrangement part 91b and the upper plate part 110 when the substrate lift member 90 contacts the upper plate part 110. [

Description

[0001] SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS [0002]

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate by using a process liquid or a process gas.

In a semiconductor device manufacturing process or a flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing process, a process liquid or a process gas is supplied to a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate, which is a substrate to be processed A substrate processing process is frequently used.

As one of such substrate processing processes, there is a substrate processing process in which a process liquid is supplied to a back surface or a periphery of a substrate, and a substrate process is performed on the back surface or periphery of the substrate by the supplied process liquid.

For example, in a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device or the like, a film forming process may be performed to form various thin films on the surface of a substrate. In the film forming step, a thin film may be formed not only on the surface of the substrate but also on the back surface or peripheral portion of the substrate. The thin film formed on the back surface or the periphery of the substrate is preferably removed because it may cause warping in the substrate during the subsequent manufacturing process, for example, in the heat treatment. Therefore, there is a case where a substrate processing process is performed in which the process liquid is supplied to the back surface or peripheral edge of the substrate, and the back surface or the peripheral edge of the substrate is etched by the supplied process liquid.

As a substrate processing apparatus for performing such a substrate processing process, there is known a substrate processing apparatus for performing a substrate process on a lower surface and a peripheral portion of a substrate by supplying a process liquid to a lower surface of the substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the example shown in Patent Document 1, the substrate processing apparatus has a support portion, a rotation driving portion, a substrate lift member, a gas injection / suction portion, and a treatment liquid supply portion. The support portion has a support plate for supporting the substrate from the lower side in a state where the substrate is in a predetermined processing apparatus, and a rotating body connected to the lower side of the support plate. The rotation drive unit rotates the support about the axis extending in the vertical direction. The substrate lift member is provided so as to be able to move up and down within the rotating body of the support portion, and a lift pin for transferring the substrate is provided on the upper surface thereof. The gas injection / suction unit has a substantially disc-shaped base member (top plate) extending in a substantially horizontal direction, a support arm for supporting the base member from above, and an elevating member provided at the base end of the support arm. The top plate covers the substrate in the processing position from the upper side in the lowered state. The treatment liquid supply portion has a treatment liquid supply pipe provided inside the substrate elevating member and the upper end of the treatment liquid supply pipe is opened upward in a region below the substrate disposed on the upper side of the support plate.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-147146

However, the substrate processing apparatus for processing the substrate as described above has the following problems.

In the conventional substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus as shown in Patent Document 1, the top plate is raised, then the substrate lift member is raised from the processing position to the upper position, Thereby transferring the substrate from the mechanism to the substrate elevating member. Next, the substrate elevating member is lowered, and the transferred substrate is transferred from the processing position to the supporting portion to carry the substrate. After the substrate is carried in, the top plate is lowered, and the treatment liquid is supplied to the substrate to perform the treatment. After the process is completed, the operation is carried out in the reverse order to that at the time of carrying-in, and the substrate is transferred from the supporting portion to the transport mechanism via the substrate lift member. In the above-described normal operation, since the elevating operation of the substrate elevating member is restricted in a state in which the top plate is lowered by, for example, interlocking, the substrate elevating member does not come into contact with the top plate.

However, when the elevating operation of the substrate elevating member is not regulated, for example, when performing maintenance work on the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate elevating member is raised to the upper position in a state in which the top plate is lowered, There is a fear that the lift pin of the first plate is brought into contact with the lower surface of the top plate and the lift pin is damaged.

The reason why the lift pins of the substrate lift member are brought into contact with the lower surface of the top plate and the lift pins are broken when the elevating operation of the substrate elevating member is not restricted is that the process gas is supplied instead of the process liquid, The same is true of the substrate processing apparatus.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a lift mechanism for a lift mechanism that prevents lift pins from being broken even when the substrate lift member is raised to an upper position in a state in which the top plate is lowered The substrate processing apparatus comprising:

In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is characterized in that means described below are devised.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate disposed at a predetermined processing position, the substrate processing apparatus comprising: a substrate lift mechanism for moving the substrate between a processing position and a position above the processing position, A holding member for holding the substrate in the processing position at the time of processing the substrate; a positioning part for projecting upward from the substrate elevating member and for positioning the substrate to be moved up and down; An upper plate portion provided on the upper side of the substrate and capable of being lifted and lowered to cover the substrate from the upper side in a state of being lowered, and a lower plate portion provided on the upper plate portion, wherein when the substrate lift member contacts the upper plate portion, And a contact preventive portion for preventing contact between the upper plate portion and the upper plate portion, Wherein the contact preventive portion is capable of moving up and down from a position above the processing position independently of the holding member, and the contact preventing portion includes a region opposed to a region on the center side of the upper plate portion, And the substrate processing apparatus is located at a position higher than the holding member when the upper plate portion is lowered and covers the substrate from above.

According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the lift pin from being damaged even when the substrate lift member is lifted to the upper position in a state in which the top plate is lowered when the lift operation of the substrate lift member is not restricted.

1 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of a liquid processing system according to an embodiment.
2 is a cross-sectional view of the front side taken along the line AA in Fig.
3 is a cross-sectional side view taken along line BB in Fig.
4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
5 is a perspective view of a rotating cup of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
6 is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view of the vicinity of the substrate lifting member of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
7 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the top plate of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment as viewed from obliquely below.
8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the top plate and the substrate lifting member in a state in which the top plate and the substrate lifting member are lowered in the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
9 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the top plate and the substrate lifting member when the substrate lifting member is lifted in a state in which the top plate is lowered in the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
10 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the top plate and the substrate lifting member when the substrate lifting member is lifted in a state where the top plate is lowered in the liquid processing unit according to the first modification of the embodiment.
11 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the top plate and the substrate lifting member when the substrate lifting member is lifted in a state in which the top plate is lowered in the liquid processing unit according to the second modification of the embodiment.
12 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the top plate and the substrate lifting member when the substrate lifting member is lifted in a state in which the top plate is lowered in the liquid processing unit according to the third modification of the embodiment;

Next, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. Here, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs backside cleaning of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as " wafer ").

(Embodiments)

First, with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, a schematic configuration of a liquid processing system for mounting a liquid processing unit according to the embodiment will be described.

The liquid processing unit corresponds to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic structure of a liquid processing system 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1, Sectional side view taken along the line A-B in FIG.

This liquid processing system 10 is provided with a carry-in / out station (substrate carry-in / out station) 1 in which a wafer carrier C accommodating a plurality of wafers W is placed and which carries in and out the wafers W, And a processing station (liquid processing section) 2 for performing a cleaning process on the wafer W. The loading / unloading station (substrate loading / unloading unit) 1 and the processing station (liquid processing unit) 2 are provided adjacent to each other.

The loading and unloading station 1 has a carrier arrangement section 11, a carry section 12, a transfer section 13 and a case 14. A wafer carrier C for holding a plurality of wafers W in a horizontal state is disposed in the carrier arrangement portion 11. [ The carry section 12 carries the wafer W. The transfer section 13 transfers the wafer W. The case 14 houses the carry section 12 and the transfer section 13.

The carrier arrangement section 11 can arrange four wafer carriers C. The arranged wafer carrier C is brought into close contact with the vertical wall portion 12a of the case 14 so that the wafer W in the wafer carrier C can be brought into the carry section 12 without being exposed to the atmosphere.

The case 14 has a partition member 14a that vertically divides the carry section 12 and the transfer section 13. The carry section 12 has a transport mechanism 15 and a fan filter unit (FFU) 16 for supplying a down flow of clean air provided thereon. The transfer mechanism 15 has a wafer holding arm 15a for holding the wafer W and a mechanism for moving the wafer holding arm 15a back and forth. The transport mechanism 15 includes a mechanism for moving along the horizontal guide 17 (see Fig. 1) extending in the X direction which is the arrangement direction of the wafer carrier C, a vertical guide 18 2), and a mechanism for rotating within a horizontal plane. The wafer W is transferred between the wafer carrier C and the transfer section 13 by the transfer mechanism 15.

The transfer unit 13 has a transfer stage 20 having a plurality of transfer units 19 and arrangement units capable of placing wafers W placed thereon. The transfer section 13 is adapted to transfer the wafer W to and from the processing station 2 via the transfer shelf 20.

As shown in Fig. 3, the processing station 2 has a case 21 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape. The processing station 2 includes a transfer chamber 21a constituting a transfer path extending along the Y direction orthogonal to the X direction which is the arrangement direction of the wafer carrier C at the center upper portion in the case 21, And two unit chambers 21b and 21c provided on both sides of the transport chamber 21a. In the unit chambers 21b and 21c, twelve liquid processing units 22 in total are arranged horizontally, six each along the transport chamber 21a.

Below the unit chambers 21b and 21c in the case 21, driving areas 21d and 21e accommodating the driving systems of the respective liquid processing units 22 are provided. Beneath the drive regions 21d and 21e, pipe boxes 21f and 21g accommodating pipes are provided, respectively. Below the piping boxes 21f and 21g, chemical liquid supply units 21h and 21i as processing liquid reservoirs, respectively, are provided. On the other hand, an exhaust space 21j for exhausting is provided below the transport chamber 21a.

A fan filter unit (FFU) 23 is provided on the upper side of the transport chamber 21a to supply a down flow of clean air to the transport chamber 21a. A transport mechanism 24 is provided in the transport chamber 21a. The transport mechanism 24 has a wafer holding arm 24a for holding the wafer W and a mechanism for moving the wafer holding arm 24a back and forth. The transport mechanism 24 has a mechanism for moving in the Y direction along a horizontal guide 25 (see FIG. 1) provided in the transport chamber 21a and a vertical guide 26 A mechanism for moving it along, and a mechanism for rotating it in a horizontal plane. The carrying mechanism 24 is used to carry the wafer W into and out of each of the liquid processing units 22.

The transfer stage 19 is provided at a position higher than the carrier arrangement section 11 and the liquid processing unit 22 is provided at a position higher than the transfer stage 19. [

The processing liquid pipe group 30, the drain pipe group 31 and the exhaust pipe group 32 are horizontally arranged in the pipe boxes 21f and 21g. The treatment liquid pipe group 30 includes an SC1 pipe 30a for supplying ammonia and water SC1 formed by mixing ammonia water and hydrogen peroxide, a DHF pipe 30b for supplying diluted hydrofluoric acid (DHF) And a pure water pipe 30c. The drain pipe group 31 has, for example, a drain pipe 31a for draining drainage and a drain pipe 31b for draining drainage. The exhaust pipe group 32 has, for example, an acid exhaust pipe 32a for exhausting acid and an alkali exhaust pipe 32b for exhausting alkali.

The chemical liquid supply unit 21h is provided on the side of the loading / unloading station 1 and has a first chemical liquid tank 41 for storing, for example, ammonia and water SC1, and a first recovery tank 42 adjacent thereto.

As shown in FIG. 2, a delivery pipe 43 for delivering the chemical solution and a return pipe 44 for returning the chemical solution are connected to the first chemical liquid tank 41. The discharge pipe 43 is connected to one end of the SC1 pipe 30a of the process liquid pipe group 30 horizontally disposed in the pipe box 21f. The return pipe 44 is connected to the other end side of the SC1 pipe 30a.

A chemical liquid supply pipe 51 is connected to an upper portion of the first chemical liquid tank 41 and a mixer 52 is connected to the chemical liquid supply pipe 51. A pure water pipe 53, an ammonia pipe 54 and a hydrogen peroxide pipe 55 are connected to the mixer 52. In the mixer 52, pure water, ammonia and hydrogen peroxide are mixed and ammonia and water SC1 are mixed with the first chemical liquid And is supplied to the tank 41. The pure water pipe 53 is provided with a liquid flow controller (LFC) 56a and a valve 56b. The ammonia piping 54 is provided with a liquid flow controller (LFC) 57a and a valve 57b. The hydrogen peroxide pipe 55 is provided with a liquid flow controller (LFC) 58a and a valve 58b.

The chemical liquid supply unit 21h is provided with a first recovery tank 42 connected to the recovery piping 31b of the drain piping group 31 for recovering the processed chemical liquid. The first recovery tank 42 and the first chemical liquid tank 41 are connected to the connection pipe 46 so that the recovered chemical liquid can be purified and then sent back to the first chemical liquid tank 41 .

On the other hand, the chemical liquid supply unit 21i is provided on the side of the loading / unloading station 1 and includes a second chemical liquid tank 47 (see FIG. 3) for storing dilute hydrofluoric acid (DHF) and a second recovery tank (Not shown). The DHF of the second chemical liquid tank 47 is also circulated and supplied by the DHF piping 30b and the like in the piping boxes 21f and 21g in the same manner as SC1 from the first chemical liquid tank 41. [ The DHF recovery to the second recovery tank is performed in the same manner as the recovery of SC1 to the first recovery tank 42 via the pipe 48 (see FIG. 2).

Rinsing and drying with pure water are also performed in addition to these chemical liquid cleaning. At that time, pure water is supplied from a pure water supply source (not shown) through the pure water pipe 30c.

A drain pipe 49 is connected to the drain pipe 31a among the drain pipe groups 31 provided in the pipe boxes 21f and 21g. The draining from the drain pipe 31a is drained through the drain pipe 49 to the factory pipe below the bottom.

Next, a substrate processing apparatus which is a liquid processing unit mounted in the liquid processing system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 8. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment. 5 is a perspective view of the rotating cup 71 of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional perspective view of the vicinity of the substrate elevating member 90 of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment. 7 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the top plate 110 of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment as viewed obliquely downward. 8 is an enlarged view of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment in a state where the top plate 110 and the substrate lifting member 90 are lowered and the vicinity of the top plate 110 and the substrate lifting member 90 are enlarged Sectional view.

4, the liquid processing unit 22 includes a rotating plate 60, a surrounding member 70, a rotating cup 71, a rotation driving unit 80, a substrate elevating member 90, The apparatus 100 includes a mechanism 93, a drying gas supply mechanism 95, an exhaust and drain part 100, a top plate 110, an elevating mechanism 120, an inert gas supply mechanism 123, .

The top plate 110 corresponds to the top plate portion in the present invention.

The rotary plate 60 has a base plate 61 and a rotary shaft 62, as shown in Figs. The base plate 61 is installed horizontally and has a circular hole 61a at the center. The rotating shaft 62 is provided so as to extend downward from the base plate 61 and has a cylindrical shape with a hole 62a at the center.

As shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the surrounding member 70 is provided so as to surround the periphery of the wafer W around the entire periphery of the periphery of the wafer W. The surrounding member 70 guides the treatment liquid that has treated the wafer W to the drain cup 101. In addition, the surrounding member 70 has the support pin 72. The support pin 72 protrudes inwardly from the lower end of the surrounding member 70. The support pins 72 support the lower surface of the periphery of the wafer W. 5, a plurality of support pins 72 are provided at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the wafer W. As shown in Fig.

The position at which the wafer W is supported by the support pins 72 is a predetermined processing position for supplying the processing solution to the wafer W and processing the wafer W by the supplied processing solution. Further, the support pin 72 corresponds to the holding member in the present invention.

The rotating cup 71 is provided to the lower surface side of the wafer W so as to prevent the treatment liquid scattered from the rotating wafer W to the outer circumferential side from being returned back to the wafer W. It is also intended to prevent the treatment liquid scattered from the rotating wafer W to the outer periphery from flowing to the upper surface side of the wafer W. [

4, the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70, and the rotating cup 71 are fastened by fitting the fastening member 74 into the hole 73 formed so as to penetrate the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70 and the rotating cup 71 . Thus, the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70, and the rotating cup 71 are integrally rotatably provided.

The rotation drive unit 80 has a pulley 81, a drive belt 82, and a motor 83. The pulley 81 is disposed on the outer side of the peripheral edge on the lower side of the rotating shaft 62. [ The drive belt 82 is wound on a pulley 81. The motor 83 is connected to the drive belt 82 and rotates the rotation shaft 62 through the pulley 81 by transmitting a rotational drive force to the drive belt 82. That is, the rotation drive unit 80 rotates the rotation shaft 62 to rotate the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70, and the rotation cup 71. A bearing 63 is disposed outside the peripheral edge of the rotary shaft 62.

4 to 6, the substrate elevating member 90 is provided so as to be able to move up and down in the hole 61a of the base plate 61 and the hole 62a of the rotating shaft 62, (91) and a lift shaft (92). The lift shaft 92 extends downward from the lift pin plate 91. The lift pin plate 91 has a plurality of, for example, three lift pins 91b projecting from the upper surface 91a at the peripheral edge of the upper surface 91a. A cylinder mechanism 92a is connected to the lower end of the lift shaft 92. The substrate lift member 90 is lifted and lowered by the cylinder mechanism 92a to raise and lower the wafer W to load and unload the wafer W Loading is performed. The lift pin plate 91 and the lift shaft 92 are provided with a treatment liquid supply pipe 94 and a gas supply pipe 96 at the center.

The lift pin 91b corresponds to the arrangement portion in the present invention. Instead of the lift pins 91b, various members in the form of protrusions projected upward from the lift pin plate 91 can be used.

4, when the substrate elevating member 90 and the top plate 110 are lowered together, the lower surface of the top plate 110 is connected to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100, As shown in Fig. 4, the upper end of the substrate elevating member 90 is connected to the exhaust / liquid-distributing portion (cup) 100 (see FIG. 4), with the substrate elevating member 90 and the top plate 110 rising together And is at a transfer position for transferring the wafer W. Therefore, when the elevating operation of the substrate elevating member 90 is not restricted as described later, when the substrate elevating member 90 is raised to the upper position in the state where the top plate 110 is lowered, (90) contacts the top plate (110).

The treatment liquid supply mechanism 93 has a treatment liquid supply pipe 94. As described above, the treatment liquid supply pipe 94 is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction inside the lift pin plate 91 and the lift shaft 92. The treatment liquid supply pipe 94 guides the treatment liquid supplied from each pipe of the treatment liquid pipe group 30 to the lower surface side of the wafer W. The treatment liquid supply pipe 94 communicates with the treatment liquid supply port 94a formed on the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [

The dry gas supply mechanism 95 has a dry gas supply pipe 96. As described above, the dry gas supply pipe 96 is provided so as to extend in the vertical direction inside the lift pin plate 91 and the lift shaft 92. The dry gas supply pipe 96 injects a dry gas such as an inert gas for drying the wafer W from the dry gas supply source 97 onto the lower surface side of the wafer W. The dry gas supply pipe 96 communicates with the dry gas supply port 96a formed on the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [ The dry gas supply port 96a may be a dry gas supply nozzle 96b provided so as to protrude upward from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 as shown in Figs. The drying gas supply nozzle 96b has a circular plate shape and has a discharge port 96c formed on the peripheral side thereof so as to supply dry gas along the circumferential direction of the wafer W supported by the support pin 72 have. The dry gas supply nozzle 96b may be provided at the center of the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [

The evacuation / drainage section (cup) 100 has a drain cup 101, a drain pipe 102, an exhaust cup 103 and an exhaust pipe 104. In addition, an opening 105 is formed in the top surface of the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100. The exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 is for recovering gas and liquid mainly discharged from a space surrounded by the rotating plate 60 and the rotating cup 71.

The drain cup 101 receives the treatment liquid induced by the spin cup 71. The drain pipe 102 is connected to the outermost portion of the bottom portion of the drain cup 101 and discharges the treatment liquid received by the drain cup 101 through one of the drain pipe groups 31. The evacuation cup 103 is provided so as to communicate with the evacuation cup 101 on the outer side or the lower side of the evacuation cup 101. 4 shows an example in which the evacuation cup 103 is provided so as to communicate with the evacuation cup 101 on the inner side and the lower side of the periphery of the evacuation cup 101. [ The exhaust pipe 104 is connected to the outermost portion of the bottom of the exhaust cup 103 and exhausts gas such as nitrogen gas in the exhaust cup 103 through one of the exhaust pipe groups 32.

The top plate 110 is provided so as to cover the opening 105 provided on the upper surface of the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 in a state where the top plate 110 can move up and down. The top plate 110 is provided so as to cover the wafer W held by the support pins 72 from above when the opening 105 provided on the upper surface of the exhaust / . As described above, the position where the wafer W is supported by the support pins 72 is determined by supplying the treatment liquid to the wafer W, Processing position. Therefore, the top plate 110 is provided so that the wafer W covers the wafer W placed at a predetermined processing position from above.

The top plate 110 is disposed in a region 111 opposed to the peripheral edge of the wafer W supported by the support pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 to the lower side Or may have a gap-forming member 113 that is provided so as to protrude therefrom. The gap forming member 113 forms a gap D1 between the periphery of the wafer W and the periphery.

The gap D1 between the periphery of the wafer W supported by the support pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 and the top plate 110 is set to be larger than the gap D1 between the top plate 110 and the top plate 110, , The distance D0 between the central portion of the wafer W and the top plate 110 becomes smaller.

Further, the top plate 110 is provided with a contact prevention portion 130 to be described later.

The lifting mechanism (120) has an arm (121) and a lifting and lowering drive part (122). The lifting and lowering drive portion 122 is provided outside the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100, and can move up and down. The arm 121 is provided so as to connect the top plate 110 and the elevation drive section 122. That is, the lifting mechanism 120 moves the top plate 110 up and down by the lifting and lowering driving unit 122 through the arm 121.

The inert gas supply mechanism 123 has an inert gas supply pipe 124 and an inert gas supply source 125. The inert gas supply mechanism 123 is for supplying an inert gas such as nitrogen gas or argon gas to the upper surface side of the wafer W. The inert gas supply pipe 124 is provided so as to extend inside the top plate 110 and the arm 121. One end of the inert gas supply pipe 124 is connected to an inert gas supply source 125 for supplying an inert gas. The inert gas supply pipe 124 constitutes an inert gas supply port 124a at the center of the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. [

4, the arm 121 may be connected to the upper surface of the top plate 110 at substantially the center thereof. The inert gas can be supplied from the center of the top plate 110 to the lower side and the inert gas can be supplied from the center of the top plate 110 to the bottom of the top plate 110, It is possible to make the flow rate of the inert gas uniformly along the circumferential direction.

Next, the contact preventing portion 130 will be described with reference to Figs. 4, 7, and 8. Fig.

7, the contact preventing portion 130 has the convex portion 131 and the concave portion 132. [ The convex portion 131 and the concave portion 132 are formed on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. That is, the contact preventing portion 130 is provided on the top plate 110.

As described above, in this embodiment, the substrate elevating member 90 is mounted on the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 by a dry gas supply nozzle 92, which is provided so as to protrude from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91, (96b). 8, the convex portion 131 is formed so as to be opposed to the lift pin 91b on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 or in a region other than the region facing the drying gas supply nozzle 96b As shown in Fig. The convex portion 131 is formed so as to protrude downward from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. When the substrate elevating member 90 is in contact with the top plate 110, the convex portion 131 is formed in a portion of the lift pin plate 91 other than the lift pin 91b and the portion of the drift gas supply nozzle 96b And the upper surface 91a.

A drying gas supply nozzle 96b is formed protruding from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [ Therefore, the convex portion 131 may be formed in a region other than the region facing the lift pin 91b while being the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. The concave portion 131b that is recessed upward from the lower surface 131a of the convex portion 131 is formed in the region of the lower surface 131a of the convex portion 131 and opposed to the drying gas supply nozzle 96b, May be formed. The height of the bottom surface 131c of the depression 131b may be set to a height that does not contact the drying gas supply nozzle 96b and the height of the bottom surface 112c of the top plate 110, The height may be different from the height.

Instead of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b, a process liquid supply nozzle for supplying the process liquid may be provided so as to protrude upward from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [ In this case, the convex portion 131 is formed in a region other than the region opposed to the lift pin 91b or facing the treatment liquid supply nozzle while being the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. [ When the substrate lift member 90 is brought into contact with the top plate 110, the convex portion 131 is formed in a portion of the lift pin plate 91 other than the lift pin 91b, And is formed so as to be in contact with the upper surface 91a.

8, the concave portion 132 is formed in a region facing the lift pin 91b while being the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. As shown in Fig. The concave portion 132 is formed so as to be recessed upward from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. The convex portion 131 of the top plate 110 is engaged with the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 when the substrate elevating member 90 contacts the top plate 110, Is formed so as to be in contact with the upper surface (91a) of the lift pin plate (91).

In the example shown in Fig. 8, the height of the lift pin 91b from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 is referred to as HA. The height of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 is HB. However, in order to prevent the wafer W from contacting the drying gas supply nozzle 96b when the wafer W is arranged on the lift pin 91b, the relationship HB <HA is satisfied. The height of the convex portion 131 from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 is H1. The depth of the concave portion 132 from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 is denoted by H2. At this time, H1 and H2 may be determined so that the relation HB <H1 <HA <H1 + H2 is satisfied.

As described above, the convex portion 131 may be formed on the bottom surface 112 of the top plate 110 and in a region other than the region facing the lift pin 91b. Although the depressed portion 131b depressed upward from the lower surface 131a of the convex portion 131 is formed on the lower surface 131a of the convex portion 131 and opposed to the drying gas supply nozzle 96b good. At this time, if the depth of the depression 131b is H3, H3 may be determined so that H3 > HB is satisfied. 8, the position of the bottom surface 131c in the case where the depressed portion 131b is formed is indicated by a dotted line I in FIG.

Further, the liquid processing system 10 has a control unit 200 as shown in Fig. The control unit 200 has a process controller 201 composed of a microprocessor (computer) and each component of the liquid processing system 10 is connected to and controlled by the process controller 201. The process controller 201 visualizes the operation status of each component of the keyboard or the liquid processing system 10 that the process manager performs the input operation of commands and the like to manage each component of the liquid processing system 10 And a user interface 202 made up of a display and the like for displaying information. The process controller 201 is also provided with a control program for realizing various processes to be executed in the liquid processing system 10 under the control of the process controller 201, A storage unit 203 in which a control program for executing a predetermined process, that is, a recipe is stored. The recipe is stored in the central storage medium (recording medium) in the storage unit 203. [ The storage medium (recording medium) may be a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. Further, the recipe may be appropriately transmitted from another apparatus, for example, through a dedicated line.

If necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 203 by an instruction from the user interface 202 and is executed by the process controller 201, so that the liquid processing system 10 The desired processing is performed.

Next, a substrate processing process using the liquid processing unit 22 will be described.

First, one wafer W is taken out from the wafer carrier C arranged in the carrier arrangement unit 11 of the loading / unloading station 1 by the wafer holding arm 15a of the transport mechanism 15, 19 in the arrangement portion of the transfer shelf 20. This operation is performed continuously. The wafers W placed in the arrangement of the transfer shelves 20 are sequentially transferred by the wafer holding arm 24a of the transfer mechanism 24 of the processing station 2, .

When the wafer W is carried into the liquid processing unit 22, the top plate 110 is lifted by the lifting mechanism 120 (the position shown by the dotted line in Fig. 4). The wafer W carried into the liquid processing unit 22 is placed on the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 located at the delivery position (upper position) by the cylinder mechanism 92a 4).

Next, the lift pin plate 91 is moved downward by the cylinder mechanism 92a and is positioned at the wafer processing position. The lower surface of the wafer W is supported by the support pin 72 provided in the surrounding member 70 while the lift pin plate 91 is moved downward.

Next, the rotary shaft 62 is rotationally driven by the rotary drive unit 80, so that the base plate 61 and the rotary cup 71 are rotated. More specifically, the rotary shaft 62 is rotationally driven by imparting a driving force to the pulley 81 from the motor 83 via the drive belt 82. As a result, the wafer W on the support pin 72 provided in the surrounding member 70 rotates.

At this time, the processing liquid is supplied to the lower surface of the wafer W from one of the processing liquid pipe group 30 through the processing liquid supply pipe 94 of the processing liquid supply mechanism 93. The treatment liquid supplied to the lower surface of the wafer W is moved toward the outside of the peripheral edge by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the wafer W as shown in Fig. As the treatment liquid at this time, either one or both of SC1 and DHF is used, for example, as described above.

On the other hand, an inert gas such as nitrogen gas is supplied from the inert gas supply port 124a provided at the center of the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 to the upper surface of the wafer W as shown in Fig. The supplied inert gas passes through the upper surface of the wafer W and then passes through the gap D1 between the wafer W and the gap forming member 113 of the top plate 110 and reaches the upper side of the surrounding member 70 And flows from the exhaust cup 103 of the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 to the exhaust pipe 104. The processing liquid that has reached the periphery of the wafer W is moved from the space between the wafer W and the surrounding member 70 or between the surrounding member 70 and the rotating cup 71 by the air flow of the inert gas, Can be prevented from flowing to the upper surface side of the wafer W.

When the substrate processing process by the process liquid is completed as described above, the processing from the one of the process liquid pipe groups 30 to the wafer W via the process liquid supply pipe 94 of the process liquid supply mechanism 93 The supply of the liquid is stopped. Then, pure water is supplied to the wafer W from the pure water pipe 30c of the treatment liquid pipe group 30 through the treatment liquid supply pipe 94 of the treatment liquid supply mechanism 93 to perform pure water rinsing.

Further, during the substrate processing process, the used processing liquid reaches the drain pipe group 31 from the drain cup 101, part of the acid and alkali is recovered, and the rest is discarded. Further, the gas components generated by the treatment reach the exhaust pipe group 32 from the exhaust cup 103 and are exhausted.

Next, the rotary shaft 62 is rotated at a high speed by the rotary drive unit 80. [ As a result, the wafer W on the support pin 72 is rotated at a high speed. Simultaneously, the dry gas is discharged from the dry gas supply nozzle 96b, and the dry gas is sprayed onto the lower surface of the wafer W. As a result, the wafer W is dried. Thereafter, the motor 83 of the rotation drive section 80 is stopped, and the rotation of the wafer W on the support pin 72 is also stopped.

Next, the top plate 110 is positioned above the delivery position of the wafer W by the lifting mechanism 120 (the position indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 4). Thereafter, the lift pin plate 91 is moved to the upper position by the cylinder mechanism 92a, and the wafer W rises to the delivery position (upper position) (the position indicated by the dotted line in Fig. 4).

Next, the wafer W is carried out from the lift pin plate 91 by the wafer holding arm 24a of the transfer mechanism 24. Thus, the processing of one wafer W is completed.

The wafers W thus carried out are taken out of the liquid processing unit 22 by the wafer holding arm 24a of the carrying mechanism 24 and placed on the transfer shelf 20 of the transfer stage 19, And is sent back to the wafer carrier C by the wafer holding arm 15a of the transfer mechanism 15 from the transfer shelf 20.

Next, referring to Figs. 8 and 9, when the elevation operation of the substrate elevating member 90 is not regulated, even if the substrate elevating member 90 is raised to the upper position in the state where the top plate 110 is lowered And the operation of preventing the lift pin 91b from being damaged will be described. 9 is a sectional view of the top plate 110 and the substrate elevating member 90 when the substrate elevating member 90 is lifted in a state in which the top plate 110 is lowered in the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment. In FIG.

In the above-described normal substrate processing process, since the elevating operation of the substrate elevating member 90 is restricted in a state in which the top plate 110 is lowered by, for example, interlocking, (Not shown).

On the other hand, when the elevating operation of the substrate elevating member 90 is not regulated, for example, when maintenance work of the liquid processing system 10 or the liquid processing unit 22 is performed, the top plate 110 is lowered The operation of raising the substrate elevating member 90 to the upper position may be performed.

In this embodiment, as described above, the relationship HB <H1 <HA <H1 + H2 is satisfied. Therefore, when the substrate elevating member 90 is raised to the transfer position of the wafer W to the transfer mechanism 24 in the state where the top plate 110 is lowered (the substrate elevating member 90 is moved to the top plate 110 9, the projecting portion 131 of the top plate 110 is moved in a direction other than the portion other than the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 and the dry gas supply nozzle 96b The upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 is in contact with the upper surface 91a. However, the upper end of the lift pin 91b and the bottom surface 132a of the concave portion 132 of the top plate 110 are not in contact with each other. Further, the upper end of the drying gas supply nozzle 96b and the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 are not in contact with each other. The upper surface of the lift pin 91b and the bottom surface 132a of the concave portion 132 of the top plate 110 are provided with H1 + H2-HA (> 0). This is because there is a gap of H1-HB (> 0) between the upper end of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b and the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110.

9, even when the depression 131b having the depth H3 is formed as shown in the position of the bottom surface 131c in the dotted line I of FIG. 9, the convex portion 131 of the top plate 110 Of the lift pin plate 91 is in contact with a portion of the lift pin plate 91 other than the dry gas supply nozzle 96b. However, the upper end of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b and the bottom surface 131c of the depression 131b do not contact each other. This is because there is a gap of H3-HB (> 0) between the upper end of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b and the bottom surface 131c of the depression 131b.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, an area other than the area opposite to the lift pin 91b or the drying gas supply nozzle 96b (or the treatment liquid supply nozzle) while being on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 And a concave portion 132 is formed in a region facing the lift pin 91b while being on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110. [ The convex portion 131 of the top plate 110 is brought into contact with the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 even when the substrate lift member 90 is close to the top plate 110, 91b and the top plate 110 can be prevented from being in contact with each other. Therefore, even if the substrate lift member 90 is raised to the upper position in the state where the top plate 110 is lowered when the lift operation of the substrate lift member 90 is not restricted, the lift pins 91b are damaged .

In the present embodiment, an example has been described in which the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is applied to a liquid processing unit that supplies a processing liquid to a wafer W and processes the wafer W by the supplied processing liquid . However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is also applicable to a substrate processing unit for supplying a processing gas such as ozone gas to the wafer W instead of the processing liquid and processing the wafer W by the supplied processing gas It is possible. At this time, instead of the process liquid supply mechanism 93, the substrate processing unit has the same structure as that of the dry gas supply mechanism 95 described with reference to FIG. 4, .

(First Modification of Embodiment)

Next, a liquid processing unit according to a first modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 10 is a view showing a state in which the top plate 110a and the vicinity of the substrate lift member 90 when the substrate lift member 90 is lifted in a state in which the top plate 110a is lowered Fig.

In the following description, the same parts as those described with reference to FIG. 9 in the embodiment are also denoted by the same reference numerals in FIG. 10, and a description thereof is omitted (the same applies to the following modifications).

The liquid processing unit according to the present modified example is different from the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment in that the bottom surface 112 of the top plate 110a is not provided with the concave portion and the contact preventing portion 130a does not include the concave portion 22).

Also in this modification, the liquid processing system 10 according to the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 can be used. The liquid processing unit according to the present modification is also similar to the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 4 except that the bottom surface 112 of the top plate 110a, which will be described later, (22).

On the other hand, in this modification, as shown in Fig. 10, the contact-preventing portion 130a does not have a concave portion but has a convex portion 131. [ The substrate elevating member 90 includes a drying gas supply nozzle 96b provided on the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 so as to protrude from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [ 10, the convex portion 131 is formed on the bottom surface 112 of the top plate 110a so as to be opposed to the lift pin 91b or in a region other than the region facing the drying gas supply nozzle 96b As shown in Fig. The convex portion 131 is formed so as to protrude downward from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a. When the substrate elevating member 90 is brought into contact with the top plate 110a, the convex portion 131 is formed so as to cover the portion other than the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 and the dry gas supply nozzle 96b, Is formed so as to be in contact with the upper surface (91a) of the lift pin plate (91). Instead of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b, the process liquid supply nozzle may be provided so as to protrude upward from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [

In the example shown in Fig. 10, the height of the lift pin 91b from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 is referred to as HA. The height of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 is HB. However, in order to prevent the wafer W from contacting the drying gas supply nozzle 96b when the wafer W is disposed on the lift pin 91b, the relationship HB <HA is satisfied. The height of the convex portion 131 from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a is H1. At this time, H1 may be determined so that the relationship of H1 > HA (> HB) is satisfied.

When the above-described relationship is satisfied, when the substrate lift member 90 is raised to the transfer position of the wafer W to the transfer mechanism 24 in the state where the top plate 110a is lowered (the substrate lift member 90 The convex portion 131 of the top plate 110a is a portion other than the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 and is in contact with the drying gas And contact portions other than the supply nozzle 96b. However, the upper end of the lift pin 91b and the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a are not in contact with each other. Further, the upper end of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b and the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a are not in contact with each other. HA (> 0) is provided between the upper end of the lift pin 91b and the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a when the convex portion 131 contacts the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [ There is a gap. This is because there is a gap of H1-HB (> 0) between the upper end of the dry gas supply nozzle 96b and the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a.

As described above, according to the present modified example, a region other than a region opposed to the lift pin 91b or the drying gas supply nozzle 96b (or the treatment liquid supply nozzle) while being on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a The convex portion 131 is formed. The convex portion 131 of the top plate 110a is brought into contact with the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 even when the substrate lift member 90 approaches the top plate 110a, 91b and the top plate 110a can be prevented from contacting each other. Therefore, even if the substrate lift member 90 is raised to the upper position in the state where the top plate 110a is lowered when the lift operation of the substrate lift member 90 is not restricted, the lift pins 91b are damaged .

In the modification, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is described as an example in which the processing liquid is supplied to the wafer W and applied to a liquid processing unit that processes the wafer W by the supplied processing liquid . However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is also applicable to a substrate processing unit for supplying a processing gas such as ozone gas to the wafer W instead of the processing liquid and processing the wafer W by the supplied processing gas It is possible.

(Second Modification of Embodiment)

Next, a liquid processing unit according to a second modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 11 is a view showing a state in which the top plate 110b and the vicinity of the substrate lift member 90 when the substrate lift member 90 is lifted in a state in which the top plate 110b is lowered Fig.

The liquid processing unit according to the present modified example is different from the liquid processing unit 22 according to the embodiment in that the drying gas supply nozzle is not formed protruding from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [

Also in this modification, the liquid processing system 10 according to the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 can be used. The liquid processing unit according to the present modification is also similar to the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 4 except that the drying gas supply nozzle is not formed protruding from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 Is the same as the liquid processing unit 22 according to the first embodiment.

11, the contact preventing portion 130b has the convex portion 131 and the concave portion 132. In this modification, The substrate lift member 90 does not include a dry gas supply nozzle provided on the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 so as to protrude from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [ 11, the convex portion 131 is formed in a region other than the region facing the lift pin 91b with the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110b. The convex portion 131 is formed so as to protrude downward from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110b. The convex portion 131 is formed on the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 other than the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 when the substrate lift member 90 contacts the top plate 110b. As shown in Fig.

11, the height of the lift pin 91b from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 is referred to as HA. The height of the convex portion 131 from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110b is H1. The depth of the concave portion 132 from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110b is denoted by H2. At this time, H1 and H2 may be determined so that the relation of H1 < HA < H1 + H2 is satisfied.

When the above-described relationship is satisfied, when the substrate lift member 90 is raised to the transfer position of the wafer W to the transfer mechanism 24 in the state where the top plate 110b is lowered (the substrate lift member 90 The convex portion 131 of the top plate 110b is brought into contact with the lift pin plate 91b other than the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 as shown in Fig. 91 of the upper surface 91a. However, the upper end of the lift pin 91b does not contact the bottom surface 132a of the concave portion 132 of the top plate 110b. The upper surface of the lift pin 91b and the bottom surface 132a of the concave portion 132 of the top plate 110b abut against the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91, + H2-HA (> 0).

As described above, according to the present modified example, the convex portion 131 is formed in a region other than the region facing the lift pin 91b with the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110b, and the lower surface of the top plate 110b 112, and a recess 132 is formed in a region facing the lift pin 91b. The convex portion 131 of the top plate 110b comes into contact with the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 even when the substrate lift member 90 approaches the top plate 110b, 91b and the top plate 110b can be prevented from contacting each other. Therefore, even if the substrate lift member 90 is raised to the upper position in the state where the top plate 110b is lowered when the lift operation of the substrate lift member 90 is not restricted, the lift pins 91b are damaged .

In the modification, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is described as an example in which the processing liquid is supplied to the wafer W and applied to a liquid processing unit that processes the wafer W by the supplied processing liquid . However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is also applicable to a substrate processing unit for supplying a processing gas such as ozone gas to the wafer W instead of the processing liquid and processing the wafer W by the supplied processing gas It is possible.

(Third Modification of Embodiment)

Next, a liquid processing unit according to a third modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 12 is a view showing a state in which the top plate 110c and the vicinity of the substrate lift member 90 when the substrate lift member 90 is lifted in a state in which the top plate 110c is lowered Fig.

The liquid processing unit according to the present modification has a structure in which the convex portion is not formed on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c and the contact preventing portion 130c does not include convex portions, (22).

Also in this modification, the liquid processing system 10 according to the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 can be used. The liquid processing unit according to the present modification is also similar to the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment described with reference to Fig. 4 except that a convex portion is not formed on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c (22).

On the other hand, in this modification, as shown in Fig. 12, the contact-preventing portion 130c does not have a convex portion but has a concave portion 132. [ The substrate lift member 90 does not include a dry gas supply nozzle provided on the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 so as to protrude from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91. [ Thus, as shown in Fig. 12, the concave portion 132 is formed in the area facing the lift pin 91b while being the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c. The concave portion 132 is formed so as to be recessed upward from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c. When the substrate lifting member 90 contacts the top plate 110c, the recess 132 is formed in a portion other than the recess 132 in the top plate 110c, that is, the bottom surface of the top plate 110c 112 are formed in contact with the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 other than the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91. [

In the example shown in Fig. 12, the height of the lift pin 91b from the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 is referred to as HA. The depth of the concave portion 132 from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c is denoted by H2. At this time, H2 may be determined so that the relationship of H2> HA is satisfied.

When the above-described relationship is satisfied, when the substrate elevating member 90 is raised to the transfer position of the wafer W to the transfer mechanism 24 in the state where the top plate 110c is lowered (the substrate elevating member 90 The lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c contacts a portion other than the lift pin 91b of the lift pin plate 91 as shown in Fig. However, the upper end of the lift pin 91b does not contact the bottom surface 132a of the concave portion 132 of the top plate 110c. When the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c contacts the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91, the upper end of the lift pin 91b and the bottom surface of the recess 132 of the top plate 110c 132a because there is a gap of H2-HA (> 0).

As described above, according to the present modification, the concave portion 132 is formed in the area opposed to the lift pin 91b while being on the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110c. The portion of the top plate 110c other than the concave portion 132 is brought into contact with the upper surface 91a of the lift pin plate 91 even when the substrate lift member 90 approaches the top plate 110c, It is possible to prevent contact between the lift pin 91b and the top plate 110c. Therefore, even if the substrate lift member 90 is lifted to the upper position in the state where the top plate 110c is lowered when the lift operation of the substrate lift member 90 is not restricted, the lift pins 91b are damaged .

In the modification, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is described as an example in which the processing liquid is supplied to the wafer W and applied to a liquid processing unit that processes the wafer W by the supplied processing liquid . However, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is also applicable to a substrate processing unit for supplying a processing gas such as ozone gas to the wafer W instead of the processing liquid and processing the wafer W by the supplied processing gas It is possible.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, and various modifications and changes may be made within the scope of the present invention described in the claims.

10: Liquid processing system 22: Liquid processing unit
90: substrate elevating member 91b: lift pin (arrangement part)
110: top plate (upper plate portion) 130: contact prevention portion

Claims (5)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate placed at a predetermined processing position,
A substrate elevating member provided so as to be movable up and down between the processing position and a position above the processing position,
A holding member for holding the substrate in the processing position at the time of processing the substrate;
A disposing portion which is provided so as to protrude upward from the substrate elevating member and in which the substrate to be raised and lowered is disposed;
An upper plate portion that is provided on the upper side of the substrate disposed at the processing position so as to be able to move up and down and covers the substrate from above in a descending state,
A lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the upper plate portion,
And a contact preventive portion provided on the upper plate portion to prevent contact between the arrangement portion and the upper plate portion when the substrate lift member contacts the upper plate portion,
Lt; / RTI &gt;
Wherein the substrate elevating member is disposed in a region closer to the center of the substrate than the holding member and is capable of ascending to a position above the processing position independently of the holding member,
Wherein the contact preventing portion is provided in a region opposed to the center side region of the upper plate portion and is located at a position higher than the holding member when the upper plate portion is lowered to cover the substrate from above. Processing device. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the contact preventing portion includes a concave portion formed in a region that is a lower surface of the upper plate portion and opposes the arrangement portion,
Wherein when the substrate lift member is in contact with the upper plate portion, a portion other than the concave portion of the upper plate portion contacts the substrate lift member to prevent the arrangement portion from contacting the upper plate portion. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the contact preventing portion includes a convex portion formed in an area other than a region opposed to the arrangement portion as the lower surface of the upper plate portion,
Wherein when the substrate elevating member contacts the upper plate portion, the convex portion contacts the substrate elevating member to prevent the arrangement portion from contacting the upper plate portion. The substrate lifting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the substrate elevating member is provided on an upper surface of the substrate elevating member and includes a supply nozzle for supplying a process liquid or gas,
Wherein the contact preventing portion includes a convex portion which is formed on an area other than a region that is a lower surface of the upper plate portion and opposes the placement portion or that faces the supply nozzle,
Wherein when the substrate elevating member contacts the upper plate portion, the convex portion contacts the substrate elevating member to prevent the arrangement portion from contacting the upper plate portion. The substrate lifting device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the substrate elevating member is provided on an upper surface of the substrate elevating member and includes a supply nozzle for supplying a process liquid or gas,
Wherein the contact preventing portion includes a convex portion which is formed on an area other than a region that is a lower face of the upper plate portion and faces the arrangement portion,
Wherein the convex portion includes a depressed portion formed in a region of the bottom surface of the convex portion facing the supply nozzle,
Wherein the contact preventing portion prevents a portion of the convex portion other than the depressed portion from contacting the substrate elevating member when the substrate elevating member contacts the upper plate portion to prevent the placing portion from contacting the upper plate portion, Device.

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