KR20090029408A - Apparatus and method for treating substrate - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for treating a substrate are provided to prevent the chemical contamination which is generated from the washing solution by increasing the reuse efficiency of washing solution. An apparatus(100) for treating a substrate comprises a supporting member(120), an injecting member(150), a main recovery member(130), and a secondary recovery member(200). The supporting member rotates the substrate while supporting the substrate(W). The processing liquid is jetted onto the top of the substrate from the injecting member. The main recovery member collects the processing liquid which is dispersed from the substrate. The secondary recovery member collects the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the supporting member.

Description

Substrate processing apparatus and method {APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR TREATING SUBSTRATE}

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for processing a substrate, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for cleaning a semiconductor substrate in a single sheet.

The semiconductor manufacturing process is a process for producing a semiconductor integrated circuit chip by performing a series of unit processes continuously and repeatedly. Among these unit processes, the cleaning process is a process of removing foreign matter remaining on the wafer.

Generally, among the apparatuses for performing the cleaning process, the apparatus for cleaning the substrate by a single sheet has a housing, a support member, an injection member, and a recovery member. The housing provides a space therein in which etching and cleaning processes are performed. The support member supports and rotates the substrate in the housing during the process. Usually a spin chuck is used as the support member. The injection member injects the processing fluid to the processing surface of the rotating wafer. Then, the recovery member recovers the processing liquids scattered from the substrate due to the centrifugal force of the substrate in the process for reuse of the processing liquids.

However, in the general wet treatment apparatus, treatment liquids such as washing liquid and rinse liquid used in the process are not completely recovered to the recovery member. For example, the processing liquid sprayed onto the processing surface of the substrate is scattered from the substrate by the centrifugal force of the rotating substrate and recovered to the recovery member. However, when the spin chuck has a low rotational speed, the processing liquid is not scattered from the substrate to the recovery member, and the surface of the spin chuck is removed. Flow down. Therefore, the treatment liquid is not completely recovered, so the reuse rate of the treatment liquid is low, and the apparatus is contaminated by the treatment liquid remaining in the housing and the fume generated from the treatment liquid.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and method for improving the recovery efficiency of the processing liquid.

The present invention provides a substrate processing apparatus and method for effectively performing a recovery process of a processing liquid flowing along a surface of a support member supporting a substrate during a low speed rotation process.

The present invention prevents the apparatus from being contaminated by the treatment liquid used and the fume generated from the treatment liquid.

The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention for solving the above problems is a support member for supporting and rotating the substrate, the injection member for spraying the processing liquid to the substrate placed on the support member during the process, from the substrate placed on the support member during the process And a main recovery member for recovering the processing liquid to be scattered, and an auxiliary recovery member for recovering the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the support member during the process.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the support member has a support surface on which a substrate is placed, and includes a spin head rotated inside the housing during the process, and the auxiliary recovery member includes the main recovery member and the spin head. It is disposed between, and includes a first recovery container provided in an annular shape along the side of the spin head.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the auxiliary recovery member is installed under the first recovery container, and includes a second recovery container for receiving the treatment liquid recovered into the first recovery container.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the main recovery member includes a plurality of recovery containers which are installed such that the inflow port through which the processing liquid scattered from the substrate placed on the support member flows is stacked up and down, and the substrate processing apparatus includes: And a recovery line for recovering the processing liquid recovered into the recovery container for recovering the processing liquid used in the process in which the support member is rotated at the lowest speed among the recovery containers and the processing liquid recovered in the auxiliary recovery container.

The substrate processing method according to the present invention for solving the above problems is spraying the processing liquid to the processing surface of the substrate is rotated seated on the support member, the injected processing liquid wraps the side of the substrate by the rotational force of the rotating substrate The substrate is processed by scattering the recovery vessels provided in an annular shape so that the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the support member is disposed in an annular manner to surround the side surface of the support member between the recovery vessel and the support member. Recovered by a recovery container.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the recovery of the processing liquid by the recovery container is performed when the rotational speed of the substrate required in the process is low enough that all of the processing liquid scattered from the substrate does not flow into the recovery container.

According to the embodiment of the present invention, the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the support member is not affected by the exhaust pressure applied to the recovery containers by the recovery container.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the treatment liquid recovered into the recovery container is a treatment liquid recovered into a recovery container for recovering the processing liquid used when the process proceeds at the lowest rotational speed among the recovery containers; same.

The present invention prevents the used processing liquid from flowing into the recovery container other than the recovery container to be recovered.

The present invention improves the recovery rate of the used treatment liquid, thereby improving the reuse rate of the treatment liquid.

The present invention prevents the apparatus from being contaminated by the treatment liquid and the fume generated from the treatment liquid.

The present invention effectively separates and recovers each treatment liquid used in the process.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be embodied in other forms. Rather, the embodiments introduced herein are provided to ensure that the disclosed subject matter is thorough and complete, and that the spirit of the present invention to those skilled in the art will fully convey. Portions denoted by like reference numerals denote like elements throughout the specification.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, a description will be given taking an apparatus for cleaning a semiconductor substrate in a single sheet. However, the present invention can be applied to any apparatus for treating a substrate with a predetermined treatment liquid.

(Example)

1 is a configuration diagram of a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, an apparatus for treating substrate 100 according to the present invention includes a housing 110, a support member 120, and a main recovery member ( 130, a driving member 140, an injection member 150, and a subsidize recovery member 200.

The housing 110 provides a space in which a process of processing a semiconductor substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a wafer) W is performed. The treatment step is a cleaning step of removing foreign matter remaining on the surface of the wafer (W). The housing 110 has a cylindrical shape with an open top. The open upper portion of the housing 110 is used as a substrate entrance through which the wafer W enters and exits during the process.

The support member 120 supports the wafer W in the housing 110 during the process. As the support member 120, a spin chuck is used. The support member 120 includes a spin head 122 and a rotation shaft 124. Spin head 122 has a generally plate shape. The spin head 122 is installed to be rotatable inside the housing 110. The axis of rotation 124 is provided for rotation of the spin head 122. The upper end of the rotating shaft 124 is coupled to the lower center of the spin head 122, the lower end is coupled to the drive member 130. The chucking pins 122a are installed on the top of the spin head 122. The chucking pins 122a are disposed along an upper surface edge of the spin head 122. Each chucking pin 122a chucks a portion of the edge of the wafer W during the process to fix the wafer W on the spin head 122.

The main recovery member 130 recovers the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W during the process. The main recovery member 130 is provided with a plurality of recovery bins. In one embodiment, the primary recovery member 130 may include a first recovery canister 132, a second recovery canister 134, and a third recovery canister 136. ) Each of the first to third recovery containers 132, 134, and 136 is provided such that the inlets 132a, 134a, and 136a into which the treatment liquid used in the process flows are stacked up and down. The first recovery container 132 recovers the first cleaning liquid, and the second recovery container 134 recovers the second cleaning liquid. And the 3rd collection container 136 collect | recovers the rinse liquid.

Exhaust pressure is applied to each of the first to third recovery containers 132, 134, and 136. That is, since each of the first to third recovery containers 132, 134, and 136 accommodates the processing liquid scattered from the wafer W, the recovered processing is performed inside the first to third recovery containers 132, 134 and 136. Fume generated from the liquid is generated. Accordingly, the first to third recovery containers 132, 134, and 136 are provided with an exhaust pressure (suction pressure) for forcibly discharging the fume to the outside of the apparatus 100.

First to third recovery lines 132b, 134b, and 136b are connected to each of the first to third recovery containers 132, 134, and 136. The first recovery line 132b recovers the first cleaning liquid recovered by the first recovery container 132 and the auxiliary recovery member 200 to be described later to a treatment liquid regeneration unit (not shown). The second recovery line 134b recovers the second cleaning liquid recovered by the second recovery container 134 to the treatment liquid regeneration unit. Then, the third recovery line 136b recovers the rinse liquid recovered in the third recovery container 136 to the treatment liquid regeneration unit. The treatment liquid regeneration unit is a facility for reusing the treatment liquids used in the process to be reused.

The driving member 140 includes a first driving part 142 and a second driving part 144. The first driver 142 drives the support member 120, and the second driver 144 drives the main recovery member 130. That is, the first driver 142 rotates the rotating shaft 124 during the process to rotate the wafer W placed on the spin head 122 at a predetermined rotation speed. In addition, the second driver 144 raises and lowers the main recovery member 130 so that any one of the first to third recovery cylinders 132, 134, and 136 to be used in the process may be recovered. Return to the collection container.

Here, the second driver 144 has a loading / unloading position (L1 in FIG. 4A), a first cleaning position (L2 in FIG. 4B), a second cleaning position (L3 in FIG. 4C), and a lean switch (in FIG. 4D). L4) The main recovery member 130 is moved to each other. The loading / unloading position L1 is a position of the main recovery member 130 for loading the wafer W into the support member 120 or unloading the wafer W from the support member 120 during the process. The first cleaning position L2 is the position of the main recovery member 130 for recovering the first cleaning liquid used in the process to the first recovery container 132, and the second cleaning position L3 is the first cleaning position used in the process. 2 is a position of the main recovery member 130 for recovering the cleaning liquid to the second recovery container 134. In addition, the lean switch L4 is a position of the main recovery member 130 for recovering the rinse liquid used in the process to the third recovery container 136. In the present embodiment, when the main recovery member 130 is located in the lean switch L4, drying of the wafer W is performed.

The injection member 150 injects the processing fluid to the wafer W during the process. The injection member 150 includes a nozzle 152 and a transfer arm 154. The nozzle 152 injects a processing fluid to the surface of the wafer W placed on the spin head 152 during the process. The processing fluid includes a cleaning liquid for removing foreign matter remaining on the surface of the wafer W, a rinse liquid for removing the cleaning liquid remaining on the surface of the wafer W, and a drying gas for drying the surface of the wafer W. In order to spray the treatment fluids, the nozzle 140 may include a cleaning nozzle for spraying the first and second cleaning liquids, a rinse nozzle for spraying the rinse liquid, and a drying nozzle for spraying dry gas.

The transfer arm 154 adjusts the position of the nozzle 152 during the process. For example, before the cleaning of the wafer W is performed, the transfer arm 154 moves the nozzle 152 waiting outside the housing 110 to be positioned at a position for spraying the processing fluid. In addition, the transfer arm 154 rotates and swings the nozzle 152 when the nozzle 152 injects the processing fluid during the process so that the nozzle 152 evenly distributes the processing fluid over the entire processing surface of the wafer W. FIG. It can be sprayed.

Here, the first and second cleaning liquids are processing liquids for removing foreign matter and unnecessary film remaining on the processing surface of the substrate W, and the rinse liquid is processing liquid for removing the cleaning liquid remaining on the surface of the substrate W. The dry gas is a gas for drying the surface of the substrate (W). For example, the first and second chemicals are at least one selected from the group consisting of hydrofluoric acid (HF), sulfuric acid (H3SO4), nitric acid (HNO3), phosphoric acid (H3PO4), and SC-1 (standard clean-1) solution. In addition, ultrapure water (DIW: Deionized Water) is used as the rinse liquid, and isopropyl alcohol gas (IPA: Isopropyl alcohol gas) is used as the drying gas.

Subsequently, the auxiliary recovery member 200 will be described in detail. The auxiliary recovery member 200 recovers the processing liquid not recovered to the main recovery member 130 during the process. The auxiliary recovery member 200 has a first recovery vessel 210 and a second recovery vessel 220.

The first recovery container 210 is installed in an annular shape to surround the side of the spin head 122. An inlet 212 is formed at one end of the first recovery container 210, and an outlet 214 is formed at the other end. The inlet 212 is provided so that the treatment liquid flowing down the surface of the spin head 122 flows in. In particular, in the process in which the spin head 122 is rotated at a low speed, the used processing liquid is not recovered to the main recovery member 130 and flows down the surface of the spin head 122. Thus, the inlet 212 is provided on the side of the spin head 122 so that the processing liquid flowing through the surface of the spin head 122 is introduced. The outlet 214 is an opening for discharging the treatment liquid recovered by the first recovery container 210 to the second recovery container 214.

The second recovery container 220 accommodates the treatment liquid recovered into the first recovery container 210. The second recovery container 220 is provided in an annular shape to surround the side of the rotating shaft 124. The first recovery line 132b of the first recovery container 132 is connected to the second recovery container 220. Therefore, the treatment liquid recovered to the second recovery container 220 is recovered to the treatment liquid regeneration unit by the first recovery line 132b together with the treatment liquid recovered to the first recovery container 132.

In the above-described exemplary embodiment, the auxiliary recovery member 200 includes a first recovery container 210 and a second recovery container 220 separated from each other, for example, to recover the processing liquid. The method of recovering the treatment liquid may be variously applied. For example, as another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in Figure 2, the auxiliary recovery member 200a, the first recovery container 210 and the second recovery container 220 may be provided integrally.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, a case in which the first recovery container 132 and the auxiliary recovery member 200 in which the inflow port is disposed at the bottom of the recovery containers recovers the first cleaning liquid has been described as an example. Recovery container for recovering the same treatment liquid with the auxiliary recovery member 200 may be variously set. However, the auxiliary recovery member 200 is preferably provided to recover the processing liquid used in the low speed rotation process of the wafer (W).

Hereinafter, the process of the substrate processing apparatus 100 described above with reference to FIG. 3 will be described in detail. 3 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing method according to the present invention. 4A to 4F are diagrams for describing a process of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

When the process is started, the wafer (W) is loaded on the support member 120 (S110). That is, referring to FIG. 4A, the main recovery member 130 is positioned at the loading / unloading position L1, and the robot arm (not shown) seats the wafer W on the spin head 122.

When the wafer W is loaded, the first cleaning of the wafer W is performed (S120). That is, referring to FIG. 4B, the second driver 144 moves the main recovery member 130 from the loading / unloading position L1 to the first cleaning position L2. When the main recovery member 130 is positioned at the first cleaning position L2, the first driver 142 rotates the rotating shaft 124 to rotate the wafer W placed on the spin head 122 at a predetermined rotation speed. Rotate to In the first cleaning of the wafer W, the second cleaning and rinsing of the wafer W and the rotational speed of the wafer W during drying are performed so that the first cleaning liquid injected sufficiently reacts with the surface of the wafer W. It is set to have a lower rotation speed. The nozzle 152 is moved by the transfer member 154 to a position for spraying the first cleaning liquid and then sprays the first cleaning liquid onto the surface of the wafer W that is rotated.

The injected first cleaning liquid is scattered from the wafer W after removing foreign matter remaining on the surface of the wafer W. At this time, some of the processing liquid scattered from the wafer (W) is recovered to the first recovery container 132 of the main recovery member 130, the remainder flows along the surface of the spin head 122, the auxiliary recovery member 200 The first recovery container 210 is recovered. That is, since the rotational speed of the wafer W is low during the first cleaning of the wafer W, some of the first cleaning liquid injected into the wafer W flows down the surface of the spin head 122. Therefore, the first recovery container 210 recovers the first cleaning liquid flowing along the surface of the spin head 122. The first cleaning liquid recovered in the first recovery container 132 and the first recovery container 210 is recovered to the treatment liquid regeneration unit through the first recovery line 132a.

When the primary cleaning of the wafer W is completed, the secondary cleaning of the wafer W is performed (S130). That is, referring to FIG. 4C, the second driver 144 moves the main recovery member 130 from the first cleaning position L2 to the second cleaning position L3. When the main recovery member 130 is positioned at the second cleaning position L3, the first driver 142 increases the rotational speed of the wafer W. FIG. At this time, the rotational speed of the wafer W is set to scatter all toward the second recovery container 134 which is the second cleaning liquid injected into the wafer W. As shown in FIG. The nozzle 152 sprays the second cleaning liquid onto the surface of the wafer W to be rotated. The injected second cleaning liquid is secondarily removed from the surface of the wafer (W) and then scattered from the wafer (W) to be recovered to the second recovery container (134). The second cleaning liquid recovered in the second recovery container 134 is recovered to the treatment liquid regeneration unit through the second recovery line 134b.

When the secondary cleaning of the wafer W is completed, the rinse of the wafer W is performed (S140). That is, referring to FIG. 4D, the second driver 144 moves the main recovery member 130 from the second cleaning position L3 to the lean switch L4. When the main recovery member 130 is positioned at the rinse position L4, the nozzle 152 sprays the rinse liquid onto the surface of the wafer W to be rotated. The injected rinse liquid rinses the first and second cleaning liquids remaining on the surface of the wafer W, is then scattered from the wafer W, and recovered into the third recovery container 136. The rinse liquid recovered in the third recovery container 136 is recovered to the treatment liquid regeneration unit through the third recovery line 136b.

When the rinsing of the wafer W is completed, drying of the wafer W is performed (S150). That is, referring to FIG. 4E, the nozzle 152 sprays dry gas onto the wafer W surface. The injected dry gas dries the surface of the wafer (W).

When the drying of the wafer W is completed, uinloading of the wafer W is performed (S160). That is, referring to FIG. 4F, the transfer member 154 transfers the nozzle 152 to a position which does not interfere with the unloading path for unloading the wafer W, and the second driver 144 moves the rinse position L4. ) Moves the main recovery member 130 to the loading / unloading position (L1). In addition, the robot arm (not shown) unloads the wafer W placed on the spin head 122 and then transports it to a facility where a subsequent process is performed.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus and method according to the present invention are the main recovery member 130 for recovering the processing liquid scattered from the substrate and the spin head 122 is not scattered to the main recovery member 130 in the low-speed rotation process A secondary recovery member 200 for recovering the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the (). Therefore, the present invention improves the recovery efficiency of the used treatment liquid, thereby increasing the reuse rate of the treatment liquid.

In addition, the present invention is a recovery container other than the recovery container (in the present embodiment, the first recovery container 132) to be recovered by the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the spin head 122 without being recovered by the main recovery member 130. To prevent ingress. That is, since the exhaust pressure is applied to each of the recovery containers 132, 134, and 136, the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the spin head 122 is also introduced into the recovery container other than the recovery container to be recovered. Therefore, the auxiliary recovery member 200 recovers the processing liquid such that the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the spin head 122 is not affected by the exhaust pressure applied to the respective recovery containers so as to prevent such a phenomenon. Efficient separation and recovery of the treatment liquids.

The foregoing detailed description illustrates the present invention. In addition, the foregoing description merely shows and describes preferred embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be used in various other combinations, modifications, and environments. That is, changes or modifications may be made within the scope of the concept of the invention disclosed in this specification, the scope equivalent to the disclosed contents, and / or the skill or knowledge in the art. The above-described embodiments are for explaining the best state in carrying out the present invention, the use of other inventions such as the present invention in other state known in the art, and the specific fields of application and uses of the present invention. Various changes are also possible. Accordingly, the detailed description of the invention is not intended to limit the invention to the disclosed embodiments. Also, the appended claims should be construed to include other embodiments.

1 is a view showing a substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

2 illustrates a substrate processing apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a flowchart showing a substrate processing method according to the present invention.

4A to 4F are diagrams for describing a process of the substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: substrate processing apparatus 200: auxiliary recovery member

110 housing 210 first recovery container

120: support member 220: second recovery container

130: main recovery member

140: drive member

150: injection member

Claims (8)

In the apparatus for processing a substrate, A support member for supporting and rotating the substrate, An injection member for spraying the processing liquid onto the substrate placed on the support member during the process; A main recovery member for recovering the processing liquid scattered from the substrate placed on the support member during the process; and And an auxiliary recovery member for recovering the processing liquid flowing along the surface of the support member during the process. The method of claim 1, The support member, It has a support surface on which the substrate is placed, and includes a spin head rotated in the housing during the process, The auxiliary recovery member, And a first recovery container disposed between the main recovery member and the spin head, the first recovery container being annular along the side surface of the spin head. The method of claim 2, The auxiliary recovery member, And a second recovery container disposed below the first recovery container and containing a processing liquid recovered by the first recovery container. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, The main recovery member, It includes a plurality of recovery containers are installed so that the inlet for the processing liquid flowing from the substrate placed on the support member is stacked up and down during the process, The substrate processing apparatus, And a recovery line for recovering the processing liquid recovered into the recovery container for recovering the processing liquid used in the process in which the support member is rotated at the lowest speed among the recovery containers and the processing liquid recovered with the auxiliary recovery container. The substrate processing apparatus made into it. The processing liquid is sprayed onto the processing surface of the substrate which is seated on the support member and is rotated, and the sprayed processing liquid is scattered by recovery vessels provided in an annular shape so as to surround the side of the substrate by the rotational force of the rotating substrate. , The treatment liquid flowing along the surface of the support member during the process, And a recovery container installed in an annular shape to surround a side surface of the support member between the recovery container and the support member. The method of claim 5, wherein Recovery of the treatment liquid by the recovery container, The substrate processing method characterized by the case where the rotational speed of the board | substrate calculated | required by a process is low enough that all the processing liquid scattered from the said board | substrate does not flow into the said collection container. The method of claim 6, The treatment liquid flowing along the surface of the support member, And is not influenced by the exhaust pressure applied to the recovery containers by the recovery container. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 7, The treatment liquid recovered in the recovery container, The substrate processing method according to claim 1, wherein the rotational speed of the substrate is the same as that of the processing liquid recovered to the recovery container for recovering the processing liquid used when the process proceeds at the lowest rotational speed.

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