KR101678229B1 - Liquid processing apparatus, liquid processing method, and recording medium having program for executing the method recorded therein - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a lower surface of a substrate by supplying a gas from the upper surface side of the substrate and processing the lower surface of the substrate by the supplied processing liquid, And to provide a liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method that can be used.
In the liquid processing apparatus 22 for supplying the processing solution from the lower surface side of the substrate W by supplying the gas from the upper surface side of the substrate W and processing the lower surface of the substrate W by the supplied processing liquid, A supporting portion 70 and 72 which are provided in the processing vessel 100 and support the peripheral edge portion WE of the substrate W, A positioning mechanism 110 for positioning the relative position of the upper plate 110 with respect to the processing container 100 at a predetermined position when the upper plate 110 is lowered, (130).

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus, a liquid processing method, and a recording medium on which a program for executing the liquid processing method is recorded. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001]

The present invention relates to a liquid processing apparatus, a liquid processing method, and a recording medium on which a program for executing the liquid processing method is recorded.

BACKGROUND ART In a semiconductor device manufacturing process or a flat panel display (FPD) manufacturing process, a process liquid is supplied to a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate, which is a substrate to be processed (hereinafter referred to as a & The processing process is becoming more common.

As one of such liquid processing processes, there is a liquid processing process in which a process liquid is supplied to the back surface or peripheral edge portion of a substrate, and liquid processing is performed on the back surface or peripheral edge portion 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 peripheral edge of the substrate is preferably removed since it causes warping in the substrate during the subsequent manufacturing process, for example, heat treatment. To this end, there is a case where a liquid treatment process is performed in which the treatment liquid is supplied to the back surface or the peripheral edge portion of the substrate and the back surface or the peripheral edge portion of the substrate is etched by the supplied treatment liquid.

A liquid processing apparatus for performing such a liquid processing process includes a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a gas to an upper surface of a substrate and supplying a processing liquid to a lower surface of the substrate to perform liquid processing on the lower surface and the peripheral edge of the substrate (See, for example, Patent Document 1). In the example shown in Patent Document 1, the liquid processing apparatus has a substrate holding and rotating means (supporting portion), a processing liquid supplying means, and a shielding plate (top plate). The substrate holding and rotating means (supporting portion) rotates while holding (supporting) the substrate substantially horizontally. The treatment liquid supply means supplies the treatment liquid toward the lower surface of the substrate rotated by the substrate holding and rotating means (support portion). The blocking plate (top plate) is disposed on the substrate holding and rotating means so as to face the upper surface of the substrate with a predetermined gap therebetween, and is rotated together with the substrate by the substrate holding and rotating means. An opening for supplying a gas to the upper surface of the substrate is formed substantially at the center of the lower surface of the blocking plate (top plate).

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-110626

However, the liquid processing apparatus and the liquid processing method for processing a substrate using the above-described processing liquid have the following problems.

In the liquid processing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, the position of the top plate with respect to the support portion can not be positioned with high accuracy. That is, the position of the top plate with respect to the substrate held (supported) by the substrate holding and rotating means (supporting portion) can not be positioned with high accuracy. As a result, the distance between the peripheral edge of the substrate and the top plate can not be made uniform along the circumferential direction of the substrate, and a large gap may be formed between the substrate and the top plate at a portion of the peripheral edge. If a large clearance is formed between the substrate and the top plate, there is a risk that the treatment liquid supplied to the lower surface and the peripheral portion of the substrate may be scattered or scattered on the upper surface of the substrate.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid processing apparatus which supplies gas at the upper surface side of a substrate and supplies the processing liquid at a lower surface side of the substrate, A liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method capable of positioning a plate with high precision are provided.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is characterized in that each of the following means is devised.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a lower surface of a substrate by supplying gas from an upper surface side of the substrate and processing the lower surface of the substrate by the supplied processing liquid, A supporting member which is provided in the processing container and supports the peripheral edge portion of the substrate, an upper plate portion which is provided so as to be able to raise and lower and which closes the opening in a lowered state, And a positioning mechanism for positioning the relative position of the upper plate portion with respect to the processing container at a predetermined position.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is also provided a processing apparatus comprising: a processing container having an opening on an upper surface; a support portion provided in the processing container to support a peripheral edge portion of the substrate; A liquid processing apparatus including a top plate for closing the upper surface of the substrate supported by the support and supplying a processing liquid to the lower surface of the substrate by supplying gas and processing the lower surface of the substrate by the supplied processing liquid And a positioning step of positioning the relative position of the upper plate with respect to the processing container at a predetermined position when the upper plate is lowered.

According to the present invention, there is provided a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a processing liquid to a lower surface side of a substrate by supplying gas from an upper surface side of the substrate and processing the lower surface of the substrate by the supplied processing liquid, Can be positioned.

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 the line BB in Fig.
4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of a liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
Fig. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the rotating cup of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
6 is a perspective view of the rotating cup of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
7 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an enlargement of the vicinity of the floating member of the liquid processing unit according to the embodiment.
Fig. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing a configuration of a liquid processing unit according to a first modification of the embodiment. Fig.
10 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a liquid processing unit according to a second 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 liquid processing apparatus for cleaning the back surface of a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter simply referred to as " wafer ").

(Embodiments)

First, with reference to Fig. 1 to Fig. 3, a schematic structure of a liquid processing system on which a liquid processing unit according to the embodiment is mounted will be described.

The liquid processing unit corresponds to the liquid 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 view taken along the side taken.

The liquid processing system 10 includes a carry-in / carry-out station (a substrate carry-in / take-out station) 1 in which a wafer carrier C accommodating a plurality of wafers W is disposed, (Liquid processing unit) 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 installed adjacent to each other.

The loading and unloading station 1 has a carrier arrangement section 11, a carrying section 12, a transfer section 13, and a housing 14. The carrier placement unit 11 has a wafer carrier C that holds a plurality of wafers W in a horizontal state. The carry section 12 carries the wafer W. The transfer section 13 transfers the wafer W. The housing 14 houses the carry section 12 and the transfer section 13.

Four wafer carriers C may be arranged in the carrier arrangement section 11. [ The arranged wafer carrier C is brought into close contact with the vertical wall portion 12a of the housing 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 housing 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 transport 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 And a mechanism for rotating in 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 transfer stage 19 and a plurality of placement units on which the wafers W can be placed. The transfer unit 13 allows the wafer W to be transferred to and from the processing station 2 through the transfer shelf 20.

As shown in Fig. 3, the processing station 2 has a housing 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 housing 21, And two unit rooms 21b and 21c provided on both sides of the casing 21a. A total of twelve liquid processing units 22 are horizontally arranged in six unit chambers 21b and 21c along the transport chamber 21a.

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

A fan filter unit (FFU) 23 is provided above 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 in a horizontal plane. The carrying mechanism 24 transports the wafers W to and from each of the liquid processing units 22.

The transfer stage 19 is installed at a position higher than the carrier arrangement section 11 and the liquid processing unit 22 is installed 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), 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 drainage. The exhaust pipe group 32 has an acid exhaust pipe 32a for exhausting acid, for example, and an alkali exhaust pipe 32b for exhausting alkali.

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

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 side of the SC1 pipe 30a of the process liquid pipe group 30 disposed horizontally in the pipe box 21f. Further, 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. The pure water pipe 53, the ammonia pipe 54 and the 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 tank (Not shown). 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 they can return to the first chemical liquid tank 41 after the recovered chemical liquid is purified.

On the other hand, the chemical liquid supply unit 21i is provided with a second chemical liquid tank 47 (see FIG. 3) for storing, for example, dilute hydrofluoric acid (DHF) provided on the loading / unloading station 1 side and a second recovery tank ). DHF of the second chemical liquid tank 47 can also be 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 through the pipe 48 (see FIG. 2).

Further, in addition to these chemical solution cleaning, pure water is rinsed and dried. In this case, 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 drainage from the drainage pipe 31a is drained through the drainage pipe 49 to the factory pipe below the floor.

Next, a liquid processing apparatus which is a liquid processing unit 22 mounted on the liquid processing system 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 4 to 6. Fig. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment. 5 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the vicinity of the rotating cup 71 of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment. 6 is a perspective view of the rotating cup 71 of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment.

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 mechanism 93, the exhaust and drainage section (cup) 100, the top plate 110, the lifting mechanism 120, the inert gas supply mechanism 123, the positioning mechanism 130, and the floating member 150 .

The exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 corresponds to the processing container of the present invention. 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 rotary 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. 5 and 6, the surrounding member 70 is provided so as to straddle the periphery edge WE of the wafer W over the entire periphery of the periphery of the wafer W. As shown in Fig. As shown in Fig. 5, the surrounding member 70 guides the treatment liquid, which has been treated with the wafer W, to the drain cup 101. As shown in Fig. In addition, the surrounding member 70 has the support pin 72. The support pin 72 is provided so as to protrude from the lower end of the surrounding member 70 to the inside of the peripheral edge. The support pins 72 support the lower surface of the peripheral portion WE of the wafer W. [ 6, a plurality of support pins 72 are provided at substantially equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the wafer W. In addition,

In addition, the surrounding member 70 and the support pin 72 correspond to the support portion in the present invention.

The rotating cup 71 is provided on the underside of the wafer W to prevent the processing liquid scattering from the rotating wafer W to the outer circumferential side and to be returned to the wafer W again. It is also intended that the treatment liquid scattering from the rotating wafer W to the outer periphery does not return to the upper surface side of the wafer W. [

5, the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70, and the rotating cup 71 are fastened by fitting a 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, respectively. As a result, the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70, and the rotating cup 71 are integrally rotatably installed.

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 of the lower side of the rotary 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 driving unit 80 rotates the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70, and the rotating cup 71 by rotating the rotating shaft 62. A bearing 63 is disposed outside the peripheral edge of the rotary shaft 62.

The substrate elevating member 90 is vertically installed in the hole 61a of the base plate 61 and the hole 62a of the rotating shaft 62 and has a lift pin plate 91 and a lift shaft 92. The lift pin plate 91 has a plurality of, for example, three lift pins 91a on the peripheral edge thereof. The lift shaft 92 extends downward from the lift pin plate 91. The lift pin plate 91 and the lift shaft 92 are provided with a treatment liquid supply pipe 94 at the center thereof. A cylinder mechanism (not shown) is connected to the lower end of the lift shaft 92. The substrate lift member 90 is lifted and lowered by the cylinder mechanism so that the wafer W is lifted and lowered to load and unload the wafer W .

The treatment liquid supply mechanism 93 has a treatment liquid supply pipe 94. As described above, the treatment liquid supply pipe 94 is installed so as to extend in the vertical direction within the lift pin plate 91 and the lift shaft 92 (in the hollow space). 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 is in communication with the treatment liquid supply port 94a formed on the upper surface 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 mainly for recovering the gas and liquid discharged from the space occupied 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 so as to discharge the process liquid contained in 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 from the outside or below 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 from the inside and the bottom 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 to exhaust gas such as nitrogen gas in the exhaust cup 103 through one of the exhaust pipe groups 32.

The top plate 110 is movable up and down, and is installed so as to close the opening 105 formed on the upper surface of the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 in a descended state. The top plate 110 is provided so as to cover the wafer W supported by the support pins 72 from above when the opening 105 formed in the upper surface of the exhaust / .

The top plate 110 is fixed to the area 111 opposite to the peripheral edge WE of the wafer W supported on the support pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 by the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 And a gap forming member 113 provided so as to protrude downward from the gap forming member 113. The gap forming member 113 forms the gap D1 between the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W. [

The circumferential edge portion WE of the wafer W supported by the support pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 is separated from the top plate 110 by the gap forming member 113 formed on the top plate 110. [ The gap D1 becomes smaller than the distance D0 between the central portion WC of the wafer W and the top plate 110. [

The lifting mechanism (120) has an arm (121) and a lifting and lowering drive part (122). The lifting and lowering drive part 122 is installed outside the exhaust / drain part (cup) 100 and is movable up and down. The arm 121 is provided so as to connect the top plate 110 and the elevation driving portion 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 installed so as to extend into 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. [

As shown in Fig. 4, the arm 121 may be connected to the center of the upper surface of the top plate 110 substantially at the center thereof. As a result, since the inert gas supply port 124a is formed at the center of the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110, the inert gas can be supplied downward from the center of the top plate 110, The flow rate of the supplied inert gas can be made uniform along the circumferential direction.

4 and 5, when the top plate 110 is lowered, the relative position of the top plate 110 with respect to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 is set at a predetermined position And a positioning mechanism 130 for positioning. Hereinafter, the positioning mechanism 130 will be described with reference to Figs. 5 and 7. Fig. 7 is a schematic plan view showing the configuration of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment.

The positioning mechanism 130 has a first positioning member 131 and a second positioning member 132 as shown in Fig.

The first positioning member 131 is fixed to the top plate 110. The second positioning member 132 is provided corresponding to the first positioning member 131 and is fixed to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100. The first positioning member 131 and the second positioning member 132 are arranged such that when the top plate 110 is lowered one of the first positioning member 131 and the second positioning member 132 By being caught in one, it is positioned.

The first positioning member 131 is provided, for example, at a position outside the periphery of the top plate 110 and at a position overlapping with the upper surface of the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 as viewed in a plan view, And a convex member 133 having a convex shape toward the center. The second positioning member 132 may include, for example, a concave member 134 provided at a position corresponding to the convex member 133 when viewed in plan and having a concave shape upward. At this time, the convex member 133 is positioned by being sandwiched between the concave member 134. Alternatively, the first positioning member 131 may include a concave member, and the second positioning member 132 may include a convex member.

When the first positioning member 131 includes the convex member 133 and the second positioning member 132 includes the concave member 134, as shown in Fig. 5, the convex member 133 Diameter member 135 having a shape larger than the shape of the hole 136 formed in the upper surface of the concave member 134 just above it. The length LT from the lower surface of the large diameter member 135 to the tip of the convex member 133 and the depth LB of the hole 136 of the concave member 134 can be adjusted The criteria are slightly different. When LT > LB, the tip of the convex member 133 is brought into contact with the bottom of the hole 136 of the concave member 134, thereby positioning in the vertical direction. Further, when LT < LB, the lower surface of the large-diameter member 135 comes into contact with the upper surface of the concave member 134, thereby positioning in the vertical direction.

On the other hand, when the top plate 110 is lowered, when the convex member 133 is installed so as to be fitted substantially into the hole 136 of the concave member 134, the convex member 133 is inserted into the concave member 134 134, the positioning is made as viewed in plan view. 5, when the top plate 110 is lowered, the convex member 133 is inserted into the hole 136 of the concave member 134 so that the convex member 133 can be easily inserted into the hole 136 of the concave member 134. [ A taper may be formed on the tip side or on the side of the convex member 133 of the hole 136 of the concave member 134.

7, the positioning mechanism 130 includes a pair of members including the first positioning member 131 and the second positioning member 132, and the pair of members including the first positioning member 131 and the second positioning member 132, In the circumferential direction. In the example shown in Fig. 7, three pairs of members are provided at positions that divide the circumferential edge of the top plate 110 into three equal parts. By providing a plurality of pairs of members, it is possible to position the top plate 110 more accurately in a horizontal plane.

The first positioning member 131 and the second positioning member 132 are arranged such that when the top plate 110 is lowered, either the first positioning member 131 or the second positioning member 132 One may be installed outside the top plate 110 from the outer periphery to the other. Even with the same alignment accuracy, the pair of positioning members 131 and 132 are engaged outwardly from the outer periphery of the top plate 110, so that the alignment accuracy of the top plate 110 is further improved.

Further, the first positioning member 131 fixed to the top plate 110 can be fixedly fixed at a fixed position. For example, the first positioning member 131 is divided into a root side member 137 fixed to the top plate 110 and a front side member 138 fixed to the root side member 137, (138) is adjustable relative to the root-side member (137) by a screw or the like. This makes it possible to adjust the fixing position where the first positioning member 131 is fixed to the top plate 110 so that the vertical position of the top plate 110 relative to the exhaust / The position along the horizontal direction can be more accurately aligned. 5, a distal end side member 138 having a thread groove formed on its side surface is provided on the root member 137, and a threaded hole 139 and a nut 140, In which the relative position along the guide rail is adjustable.

Alternatively, the second positioning member 132 fixed to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 may be divided into a root side member fixed to the exhaust / drainage portion (cup) 100, Side member so that the relative position of the distal end member to the root-side member can be adjusted by screws or the like. This makes it possible to adjust the fixing position fixed to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 of the second positioning member 132.

4 and 7, the top plate 110 and the arm 121 are connected through the floating member 150. In this embodiment, Hereinafter, the floating member 150 will be described with reference to FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an enlargement of the vicinity of the floating member 150 of the liquid processing unit 22 according to the present embodiment.

The floating member 150 has a first engaging member 151, a second engaging member 152, and an elastic member 153. The floating member 150 is disposed on the upper surface of the top portion of the saw top positioned by the positioning mechanism 130 when the top plate 110 is closed and the opening 105 formed in the top surface of the exhaust / So as to absorb the positional deviation between the plate 110 and the arm 121 of the lifting mechanism 120.

Further, the floating member 150 corresponds to the pressing member in the present invention.

The first engaging member 151 is fixed to the top plate 110. Further, the second engaging member 152 is fixed to the arm 121. The first engaging member 151 and the second engaging member 152 are provided so as to be hooked with a slight margin, for example. That is, when the top plate 110 and the arm 121 are engaged by the first engaging member 151 and the second engaging member 152, the relative position of the top plate 110 with respect to the arm 121 is shifted up and down Direction and in a direction within the horizontal plane.

Further, the second engaging member 152 fixed to the arm 121 may be fixed so that the fixing position can be adjusted. 8, a second engaging member 152 formed of a bolt is provided so as to be able to adjust a relative position along the vertical direction by a screw hole 154 and a nut 155 formed on the lower surface of the arm 121 Lt; / RTI &gt; Or the first engaging member 151 fixed to the top plate 110 may be provided so that the fixing position can be adjusted. This makes it possible to adjust the relative position of the top plate 110 with respect to the arm 121 in advance so that the position of the top plate 110 relative to the exhaust / It is possible to align the relative positions more accurately.

The elastic member 153 is moved from the arm 121 to the top plate 110 when the top plate 110 is closed and the opening 105 formed in the top surface of the exhaust / And is elastically deformable along the vertical direction so as to be pressed downward. That is, the floating member 150 is connected to the top plate 110, which covers the opening 105 formed in the top surface of the exhaust / drain part (cup) 100, by the elastic member 153, (100) from above. Thus, when the top plate 110 is lowered, the vertical position of the top plate 110 aligned by the positioning mechanism 130 with respect to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) The position along the horizontal direction can be maintained at a high accuracy by the floating member 150 which is elastically deformable along the vertical direction.

In addition, the inert gas supply pipe 124 has a first supply pipe 126 and a second supply pipe 127. One end of the first supply pipe 126 is opened at the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110 to form an inert gas supply port 124a and the other end is connected to the second supply pipe 127 at the inside of the arm 121 Respectively. Since the inert gas supply pipe 124 is freely installed with respect to the arm 121, even when the top plate 110 is lowered and aligned by the positioning mechanism 130, the inert gas supply pipe 124 is connected to the top plate 110 As shown in FIG.

8, the first supply pipe 126 may have a large diameter portion 128, and the large diameter portion 128 may be engaged with the first latching member 151. The first supply pipe 126 may be airtightly inserted into the top plate 110 by a sealing member 129 such as an O-ring.

The floating member 150 may be provided on the side of the lifting mechanism 120 rather than the top plate 110 and may be provided between the arm 121 and the lifting and lowering driving unit 122, for example.

The liquid processing system 10 also has a control unit 200 as shown in Fig. The control unit 200 has a process controller 201 including a microprocessor (computer), and each component of the liquid processing system 10 is configured to be 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 in which the process manager performs an input operation of a command or the like to manage each component of the liquid processing system 10 A user interface 202 including a display and the like is connected. 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 process specified in the recipe, that is, a recipe is stored. The recipe is stored in a storage medium (recording medium) of the storage unit 203. [ The storage medium (recording medium) may be a hard disk or a semiconductor memory. Also, the recipe may be appropriately transmitted from another apparatus, for example, via a dedicated line.

If necessary, an arbitrary recipe is called from the storage unit 203 by the instruction from the user interface 202, and executed by the process controller 201, under the control of the process controller 201, 0.0 &gt; 10). &Lt; / RTI &gt;

Next, a liquid processing method using the liquid processing unit 22 and its operation will be described.

In this embodiment, the first positioning member 131 or the second positioning member 132 of the positioning mechanism 130 is divided into the root member 137 and the distal end side member 138, Side member 137 is provided so as to be adjustable by a screw hole 139 and a nut 140 formed in the root-side member 137. The nut member 140 is provided with a threaded portion 139, In the present embodiment, the floating member 150 is arranged so that the relative position of the second engaging member 152 with respect to the arm 121 or the relative position of the first engaging member 151 with respect to the top plate 110, And is adjustable by screw holes and nuts formed in the top plate 121 (or the top plate 110). Therefore, the nuts and the like of the positioning mechanism 130 and the floating member 150 are unfastened in advance while the top plate 110 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 120, and the first positioning member 131, The relative positions of the two positioning members 132 are adjusted in advance by fastening the positioning mechanism 130 and the nuts and the like of the floating member 150 in a state in which the positions thereof are aligned with each other.

After the relative positions of the positioning mechanism 130 and the floating member 150 are adjusted in advance in this way, the wafer W is subjected to a liquid processing process.

The liquid treatment process corresponds to the liquid treatment method in the present invention.

First, one wafer W is taken out from the wafer carrier C arranged in the carrier arrangement section 11 of the loading and unloading station 1 by the wafer holding arm 15a of the transport mechanism 15, Is arranged in the arrangement portion of the transfer shelf (20) on the transfer shelf (19). This operation is performed continuously. The wafers W placed at the arrangement portion of the transfer shelves 20 are sequentially conveyed by the wafer holding arm 24a of the conveying mechanism 24 of the processing station 2 and transferred to one of the liquid processing units 22 Are imported.

When the wafer W is carried into the liquid processing unit 22, the top plate 110 is lifted by the lifting mechanism 120. The wafer W carried into the liquid processing unit 22 is placed on the lift pins 91a of the lift pin plates 91 located at the delivery position (upper position) by a cylinder mechanism (not shown).

Next, the lift pin plate 91 is moved downward by the cylinder mechanism (not shown) and positioned at the wafer processing position. The lower surface of the wafer W is supported by the support pins 72 provided on the surrounding member 70 while the lift pin plate 91 moves downward.

Thereafter, the top plate 110 is lowered by the lifting mechanism 120 so as to close the opening 105 formed on the upper surface of the evacuating / draining section (cup) 100. At this time, the positioning process is performed.

In the positioning process, when the top plate 110 is lowered, the relative position of the top plate 110 to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 is positioned at a predetermined position. The relative positions of the first positioning member 131 and the second positioning member 132 are adjusted in advance. Accordingly, when the top plate 110 is lowered, the first positioning member 131 is caught by the second positioning member 132, and thus the position of the top plate 110 relative to the exhaust / The relative position can be determined with high accuracy.

When the top plate 110 is displaced relative to the exhaust / drain part (cup) 100 of the top plate 110 due to a change over time, such as after several wafers W are processed, 110 are displaced relative to the lifting mechanism 120, the floating member 150 can absorb the positional deviation. Therefore, when the top plate 110 is lowered, the relative position of the top plate 110 with respect to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 can be positioned with high accuracy.

Next, the rotation shaft 62 is rotationally driven by the rotation driving unit 80, whereby the base plate 61, the surrounding member 70, and the rotation cup 71 are rotated. 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 on 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. Then, as shown in Fig. 4, the treatment liquid supplied to the lower surface of the wafer W moves toward the outside of the peripheral edge by the centrifugal force generated by the rotation of the wafer W. 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 to the upper surface of the wafer W from the inert gas supply port 124a formed at the center of the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110, as shown in Fig. The supplied inert gas passes through the upper surface of the wafer W and then flows from the upper side of the surrounding member 70 through the gap D1 between the wafer W and the gap forming member 113 of the top plate 110 And flows to the exhaust pipe 104 from the exhaust cup 103 of the exhaust / drain portion 100 (cup). The processing liquid that has reached the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W is separated from 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 It is possible to prevent the liquid droplets from migrating to the upper surface side of the wafer W.

Further, in the present embodiment, the top plate 110 is positioned with high accuracy by the positioning mechanism 130 in the vertical direction. Thus, the exhaust / drainage portion (cup) 100 is formed so that the gap D1 between the gap forming member 113 and the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W becomes constant along the circumferential direction of the wafer W. [ The relative position of the top plate 110 relative to the base plate 110 can be determined at a predetermined position. The flow of the inert gas flowing on the upper surface side of the wafer W can be made uniform along the circumferential direction of the wafer W by making the gap D1 constant along the circumferential direction of the wafer W. [ The processing liquid reaching the lower surface of the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W is transferred to the wafer W from between the wafer W and the surrounding member 70 or between the surrounding member 70 and the rotating cup 71. [ It is possible to more reliably prevent the liquid droplets from returning to the upper surface side of the liquid droplets.

Further, in the present embodiment, the top plate 110 is positioned with high precision even in the horizontal direction by the positioning mechanism 130. 5, the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W has a width L in the radial direction of the wafer W on the outer peripheral portion side relative to the region facing the gap forming member 113 Of the top plate 110 with respect to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 can be positioned at a predetermined position so that the top plate 110 is constant along the circumferential direction of the wafer W. That is, the width L can be uniformed over the entire circumference of the wafer W. The flow of the inert gas flowing on the upper surface side of the wafer W can be made more uniform along the circumferential direction of the wafer W by making the width L uniform throughout the entire circumference of the wafer W. [ The processing liquid reaching the lower surface of the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W is transferred to the upper surface side of the wafer W from between the wafer W and the support pin 72 and the rotary cup 71 It is possible to more reliably prevent the turn-around. As a result, the volume in the vicinity of the unit length, which is a space formed in the region facing the wafer W and the gap forming member 113, can be uniform over the entire circumference of the wafer W. [ Therefore, the flow of the inert gas is reduced at some point along the circumferential direction, and the treatment liquid can be prevented from flowing to the upper surface side of the wafer W from that point.

When the liquid treatment process by the treatment liquid as described above is terminated, the treatment of the wafer W through the treatment liquid supply pipe 94 of the treatment liquid supply mechanism 93 from any one of the treatment liquid pipe group 30 The supply of the liquid is stopped. Next, 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.

In the above-described liquid treatment process, the used processing liquid reaches the drainage pipe group 31 from the drain cup 101, part of the acid and alkali is recovered, and the other is discarded. Further, the gas components generated by the processing are exhausted from the exhaust cup 103 to the exhaust pipe group 32.

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, and 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 at a position higher than the delivery position of the wafer W by the lifting mechanism 120. Thereafter, the lift pin plate 91 is moved to the upper position by the cylinder mechanism (not shown), and the wafer W rises to the delivery position (upper position).

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 terminated.

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

In the present embodiment, an example in which the inert gas supply port 124a is formed at the center of the top plate 110 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, an inert gas supply port 124a may be formed at the periphery of the top plate 110. [

(First Modification of Embodiment)

Next, a liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method according to Modification 1 of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Fig. Fig. 9 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of the liquid processing unit 22a according to the present modification.

The liquid processing unit 22a according to the present modified example is different from the liquid processing unit 22 according to the embodiment in that the top plate 110a does not have a gap forming member.

Also in this modification, the liquid processing system 10 according to the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 can be used. 9, the liquid processing unit 22a mounted on the liquid processing system 10 according to the present modification example includes a rotation plate 60, a surrounding member 70, a rotating cup 71, The substrate lift member 90, the process liquid supply mechanism 93, the exhaust and liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100, the top plate 110a, the lifting mechanism 120, the inert gas supply mechanism 123, A positioning mechanism 130, and a floating member 150. As shown in Fig. The parts other than the top plate 110a are the same as those of the liquid processing unit 22 described with reference to Fig. 4 in the embodiment. In Fig. 9, the same parts as those described with reference to Fig. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, the top plate 110a in this modification has no gap forming member.

The top plate 110a can be raised and lowered, and the top plate 110a is provided so as to close the opening 105 formed on the top surface of the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 in a descended state.

9, the top plate 110a is opposed to the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W supported by the support pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 A gap forming member protruding downward from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110a is not provided. The distance between the top plate 110a and the wafer W supported by the supporting pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 becomes approximately equal across the entire surface of the wafer W and becomes D0. The distance between the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W supported by the support pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 and the top plate 110a is smaller than the distance between the center portion WC of the wafer W and the top plate 110a 110a. &Lt; / RTI &gt;

In this modification, however, the top plate 110a is positioned with high accuracy by the positioning mechanism 130 in the vertical direction. Thus, the relative position of the top plate 110a with respect to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 is determined so that the distance between the top plate 110a and the wafer W becomes constant along the circumferential direction of the wafer W It can be positioned at a predetermined position. As a result, the flow of the inert gas flowing on the upper surface side of the wafer W can be made uniform along the circumferential direction of the wafer W. [ Thus, the flow rate of the inert gas flowing outside the wafer W through the wafer W and the top plate 110a can be made uniform. The process liquid reaching the lower surface of the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W is transferred to the wafer W from between the wafer W and the surrounding member 70 or between the surrounding member 70 and the rotating cup 71, It is possible to more reliably prevent the liquid droplets from returning to the upper surface side of the liquid droplets.

(Second Modification of Embodiment)

Next, a liquid processing apparatus and a liquid processing method according to a second modification of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Fig. 10 is a schematic sectional view showing the configuration of the liquid processing unit 22b according to the present modification.

The liquid processing unit 22b according to the present modified example is different from the liquid processing unit 22 according to the embodiment in that the top plate 110b does not have a floating member.

Also in this modification, the liquid processing system 10 according to the embodiment described with reference to Figs. 1 to 3 can be used. 10, the liquid processing unit 22b mounted on the liquid processing system 10 according to the present modification example includes a rotation plate 60, a surrounding member 70, a rotating cup 71, The substrate lift member 90, the process liquid supply mechanism 93, the exhaust and liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100, the top plate 110b, the lifting mechanism 120b, the inert gas supply mechanism 123b, And the positioning mechanism 130, but does not have a floating member. These parts other than the top plate 110b and the lifting mechanism 120b are the same as those of the liquid processing unit 22 described with reference to Fig. 4 in the embodiment. In Fig. 10, the same parts as those described with reference to Fig. 4 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and a description thereof will be omitted.

The top plate 110b can be raised and lowered, and is provided so as to close the opening 105 formed on the upper surface of the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 in a descended state. A gap projecting downward from the lower surface 112 of the top plate 110b is formed in a region opposed to the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W supported by the support pin 72 of the surrounding member 70 The formation member 113 is provided in the same manner as the embodiment.

On the other hand, in this modification, since the floating member is not provided, the top plate 110b is fixed to the arm 121b as shown in Fig. Therefore, the top plate 110b is fixed to a part of the liquid processing unit 22b through the arm 121b and the lifting and driving unit 122. [

10, the inert gas supply pipe 124b of the inert gas supply mechanism 123b may be integrally formed inside the arm 121b, or may be formed integrally with the arm 121b As shown in FIG.

In this modification, the first positioning member 131 fixed to the top plate 110b or the second positioning member 132 fixed to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 is fixed The position may be adjustably fixed. For example, as described with reference to Fig. 5, the first positioning member 131 or the second positioning member 132 is divided into a root member and a distal-end member, and the relative position of the distal- The position may be adjustably provided by a screw hole and a nut formed in the root member. As a result, the nut of the positioning mechanism 130 is loosened in advance with the top plate 110b being lowered by the lifting mechanism 120b, and the first positioning member 131 and the second positioning member 132 are aligned, the relative positions of the positioning mechanisms 130 can be adjusted in advance by fastening the nuts of the positioning mechanism 130.

As a result, the gap D 1 between the gap forming member 113 and the peripheral edge WE of the wafer W is uniform along the circumferential direction of the wafer W, The relative position of the top plate 110b with respect to the base plate 110a can be determined at a predetermined position. The flow of the inert gas flowing on the upper surface side of the wafer W can be made uniform along the circumferential direction of the wafer W by making the gap D1 constant along the circumferential direction of the wafer W. [ 5, the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W may be a portion of the wafer W in the outer peripheral portion rather than the region facing the gap forming member 113 The relative position of the top plate 110b with respect to the exhaust / liquid-dispensing portion (cup) 100 is positioned at a predetermined position so that the radial width L of the wafer W is constant along the circumferential direction of the wafer W . The processing liquid reaching the lower surface of the peripheral edge portion WE of the wafer W is transferred to the wafer W from between the wafer W and the surrounding member 70 or between the surrounding member 70 and the rotating cup 71, It is possible to more reliably prevent the liquid droplets from returning to the upper surface side of the liquid droplets.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, but 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
70: surrounding member 72: support pin
93: Process liquid supply mechanism 100: Exhaust / liquid dispenser (cup)
105: opening 110: top plate
113: gap forming member 123: inert gas supply mechanism
130: Positioning mechanism

Claims (17)

A liquid processing apparatus for supplying a gas from an upper surface side of a substrate and processing the substrate by a processing liquid,
A processing vessel having an opening on its upper surface,
A support provided in the processing vessel for supporting and rotating the substrate,
An upper plate portion provided so as to be able to move up and down and facing the substrate in a lowered state,
And a positioning mechanism for positioning the relative position of the upper plate to the processing container at a predetermined position when the upper plate is lowered,
Lt; / RTI &gt;
Wherein the positioning mechanism comprises:
A first positioning member fixed to the upper plate portion,
And a second positioning member fixed to the processing container in correspondence with the first positioning member,
Wherein one of the first positioning member and the second positioning member is hooked on the other when the top plate portion descends, thereby positioning the relative position,
Wherein the fixing position where the first positioning member is fixed to the upper plate portion or the fixing position where the second positioning member is fixed to the processing container is adjustable. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first positioning member comprises a root side member fixed to the top plate portion, and a tip side member fixed to the root side member,
And the relative position of the distal end side member to the root side member can be adjusted so that the fixing position where the first positioning member is fixed to the upper plate can be adjusted. 2. The process cartridge according to claim 1, wherein the second positioning member comprises: a root side member fixed to the processing container; and a tip side member fixed to the root side member,
And the relative position of the distal end side member to the root side member can be adjusted so that the second positioning member can be adjusted to a fixed position to be fixed to the processing container. A liquid processing apparatus for supplying a gas from an upper surface side of a substrate and processing the substrate by a processing liquid,
A processing vessel having an opening on its upper surface,
A support provided in the processing vessel for supporting and rotating the substrate,
An upper plate portion provided so as to be able to move up and down and facing the substrate in a lowered state,
And a positioning mechanism for positioning the relative position of the upper plate to the processing container at a predetermined position when the upper plate is lowered,
Lt; / RTI &gt;
A lifting mechanism for lifting and lowering the upper plate portion,
A pressing member which is provided on an elevating mechanism side of the upper plate portion so as to be elastically deformable along a vertical direction and which presses the upper plate portion opposed to the substrate against the processing container,
/ RTI &gt;
Wherein the pressing member includes a first engaging member fixed to the upper plate portion, a second engaging member fixed to the elevating mechanism, and an elastic member provided between the second engaging member and the upper plate portion, Wherein the fixing position where the latching member is fixed to the lifting mechanism can be adjusted. The positioning apparatus according to claim 4,
A first positioning member provided on the upper plate portion,
And a second positioning member provided in the processing container in correspondence with the first positioning member,
Wherein the relative position is determined by one of the first positioning member and the second positioning member being engaged with the other when the top plate portion descends. 6. The method of claim 5,
Wherein the first positioning member is fixed to the upper plate portion,
Wherein the second positioning member is fixed to the processing vessel,
Wherein the first positioning member or the second positioning member is fixed at a fixed position in an adjustable manner. The positioning apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the positioning mechanism is configured to position the relative position such that the distance between the periphery of the substrate and the upper plate is constant along the circumferential direction of the substrate To the liquid processing apparatus. [8] The apparatus of claim 7,
And a gap forming member protruding downward from a lower surface of the upper plate portion in a region facing the peripheral edge portion of the substrate and forming a gap between the peripheral edge portion of the substrate and the peripheral edge portion,
Wherein the positioning mechanism positions the relative position such that the gap is constant along the circumferential direction of the substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the positioning mechanism includes: a peripheral edge portion of the substrate, wherein a width in the radial direction of the substrate at a portion on the outer peripheral side relative to a region facing the gap forming member is constant And the relative position is determined so that the relative position is maintained. A supporting portion which is provided in the processing container and supports and rotates the substrate; and an upper plate portion which is provided so as to be able to move up and down and faces the substrate in a lowered state, and is supported by the supporting portion 1. A liquid processing method in a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a gas from an upper surface side of a substrate,
And a positioning step of positioning the relative position of the upper plate part with respect to the processing container at a predetermined position when the upper plate part is lowered,
Wherein the positioning step includes a step of positioning either one of the first positioning member fixed to the upper plate portion and the second positioning member fixed to the processing container in correspondence with the first positioning member when the upper plate portion descends And the relative position is determined by being engaged with one of the two relative positions,
Wherein the fixing position where the first positioning member is fixed to the upper plate portion or the fixing position where the second positioning member is fixed to the processing container is adjustable. 11. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the first positioning member comprises a root side member fixed to the top plate portion and a distal side member fixed to the root side member,
And the relative position of the distal end side member to the root side member can be adjusted so that the fixing position where the first positioning member is fixed to the upper plate can be adjusted. 11. The process cartridge according to claim 10, wherein the second positioning member comprises: a root side member fixed to the processing container; and a tip side member fixed to the root side member,
And the relative position of the distal end side member to the root side member is adjustable so that the second positioning member can adjust the fixed position to be fixed to the processing vessel. A supporting portion which is provided in the processing container and supports and rotates the substrate; and an upper plate portion which is provided so as to be able to move up and down and faces the substrate in a lowered state, and is supported by the supporting portion 1. A liquid processing method in a liquid processing apparatus for supplying a gas from an upper surface side of a substrate,
And a positioning step of positioning the relative position of the upper plate part with respect to the processing container at a predetermined position when the upper plate part is lowered,
Wherein the liquid processing apparatus includes a lifting mechanism for lifting the upper plate portion,
Wherein the positioning step presses the upper plate portion opposed to the substrate against the processing container by a pressing member provided on the side of the lifting mechanism in the up-down direction more elastically than the upper plate portion,
Wherein the pressing member includes a first engaging member fixed to the upper plate portion, a second engaging member fixed to the elevating mechanism, and an elastic member provided between the second engaging member and the upper plate portion, Wherein the fixing position where the latching member is fixed to the lifting mechanism is adjustable. 14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the positioning step includes positioning the relative position so that the distance between the periphery of the substrate and the upper plate is constant along the circumferential direction of the substrate Wherein the liquid is a liquid. 15. The apparatus according to claim 14,
And a gap forming member protruding downward from a lower surface of the upper plate portion in a region facing the peripheral edge portion of the substrate and forming a gap between the peripheral edge portion of the substrate and the peripheral edge portion,
Wherein the positioning step positions the relative position such that the gap is constant along the circumferential direction of the substrate. 16. The substrate processing method according to claim 15, wherein the positioning step comprises a step of positioning the substrate in a radial direction of the substrate at a peripheral portion of the substrate opposite to the gap forming member, And the relative position is determined so that the relative position is maintained. A computer-readable recording medium storing a program for executing the liquid processing method according to any one of claims 10 to 13.

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