KR20100066010A - Method and apparatus for cleaning and drying substrates - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and an apparatus are provided to increase the efficiency in drying a substrates by spraying a dry gas on the substrate to dry it while the substrate is rotated. CONSTITUTION: In a method and an apparatus, the substrates is cleaned in a clean room(110) with a washing solution. A drying room(120) is arranged in an upper part of the clean room and the substrates is dried by a dry gas. A substrate boat(130) is mobile between the cleaning room and the drying room and accommodates the substrate. The rotating member rotates the substrate boat.

Description

Substrate cleaning drying apparatus and method {METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING AND DRYING SUBSTRATES}

1 is a view schematically showing a substrate cleaning drying apparatus of the present invention.

2 is a view schematically showing a drying chamber in which a substrate boat is located.

3 is a view schematically illustrating a state in which a substrate boat located in a drying chamber is rotated.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100: process chamber

110: cleaning room

120: drying room

130: transfer member

140: exhaust

150: lifting device

160: rotating device

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning drying apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a cleaning drying method and apparatus for drying a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer or a glass substrate for LCD by immersing it in a cleaning liquid such as a chemical liquid or a rinse liquid and then drying the substrate. will be.

In general, in the manufacturing process of a semiconductor manufacturing apparatus, a target object (hereinafter, referred to as a substrate) such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD glass substrate is sequentially deposited in a processing tank in which a processing liquid such as a chemical liquid or a rinse liquid (cleaning liquid) is stored to perform cleaning. Washing treatment methods are widely employed.

In this cleaning treatment apparatus, the dry gas from the vapor of the organic solvent having a volatility such as, for example, IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is brought into contact with the surface of the cleaned substrate or the like to condense or adsorb the vapor of the dry gas. Background Art Drying apparatuses for removing moisture and drying of substrates and the like are widely known.

Among these cleaning drying apparatuses, Korean Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 1999-7018 and the like are proposed to integrate a cleaning chamber in which a cleaning process is performed and a drying chamber in which a drying process is performed on the upper part of the cleaning chamber so that cleaning and drying are performed in one chamber. It has been.

The cleaning and drying apparatus has a structure in which the cleaning liquid moves from the cleaning chamber to the drying chamber after the chemical liquid or the water washing treatment to proceed with drying. Such a batch type cleaning drying apparatus has a problem in that a drying imbalance occurs in substrates positioned at both ends after a drying process in a drying chamber, and thus yield is also lowered.

The present invention provides a new type of cleaning drying apparatus and method which can improve the drying uniformity between substrates.

The present invention is to provide a novel type of cleaning drying apparatus and method that can improve the drying efficiency in the drying chamber.

The substrate cleaning drying method of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises the steps of cleaning the substrates in the cleaning chamber; Transferring the substrates cleaned in the cleaning chamber to a drying chamber; Supplying a gas for drying the substrate in the drying chamber to dry the substrates; In the drying step, the substrate boat containing the substrates is rotated.

According to an example, in the drying step, the gas is supplied toward the substrates through the spray nozzles disposed above the drying chamber, and the supplied gas is disposed below the substrates so as to face the spray nozzles. Exhausted through the upper inlets of the blocks.

According to one example, the transfer from the cleaning chamber to the drying chamber is lifted by a substrate boat in which the substrates are stored.

The substrate cleaning drying apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object comprises a cleaning chamber for cleaning the substrates with a cleaning liquid; A drying chamber disposed above the cleaning chamber and drying the substrates with a drying gas; A substrate boat containing substrates and movable between said cleaning chamber and said drying chamber; And a rotating member for rotating the substrate boat.

In one example, the rotating member rotates when the substrate boat is moved to the drying chamber.

According to an example, an exhaust unit is disposed between the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber to forcibly exhaust the gas provided into the drying chamber so that the air flow in the drying chamber flows from the top to the bottom.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiment of the present invention may be modified in various forms, the scope of the present invention should not be construed as limited to the embodiments described below. This example is provided to more completely explain the present invention to those skilled in the art. Therefore, the shape of the elements in the drawings are exaggerated for clarity.

In the following example, a case where the cleaning apparatus has a drying chamber and a processing chamber, respectively, and performs a washing and drying process is described as an example. However, the technical idea of the present invention is applicable to all devices having various structures that perform a drying process in a state in which substrates are accommodated in a substrate boat. In particular, the substrate boat is characterized in that it is rotated during the drying process.

1 is a view schematically showing a substrate cleaning drying apparatus of the present invention. 2 is a view schematically showing a drying chamber in which a substrate boat is located. 3 is a view schematically illustrating a state in which a substrate boat located in a drying chamber is rotated.

The substrate cleaning drying apparatus 10 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has a process chamber 100 in which cleaning and drying processes of a semiconductor substrate are performed. The process chamber 100 includes a cleaning chamber 110 in which substrates are cleaned, a drying chamber 120 disposed above the cleaning chamber 110 and drying substrates, and a transfer member for transporting the substrate between the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber. 130 and the exhaust 140.

The cleaning chamber 110 has an inner tank 112 in which a cleaning liquid for cleaning substrates is accommodated, and an outer tank 114 located in an upper side of an outer wall of the inner tank and containing a cleaning liquid that can overflow from the inner tank during the cleaning process. The inner tank 112 has an open top, nozzles 116 are provided at both bottoms of the inner tank, and a discharge port 117 is installed at the bottom center of the inner tank to discharge the cleaning liquid.

Here, as the washing liquid, a mixed liquid of hydrofluoric acid (HF) or hydrofluoric acid / deionized water, a mixed liquid of ammonia / fruit water / deionized water, a mixed liquid of hydrochloric acid / fruit water / deionized water, or a mixture thereof can be used as the washing liquid.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the plurality of substrates W are mounted on the substrate boat 132 of the transfer member 130 and positioned in the inner tank 112 or the drying chamber 120 of the cleaning chamber. The substrate boat 132 is supported with 25 or 50 substrates standing vertically, and the substrate boat 132 is lifted by the lifting device 150 installed outside the process chamber 100, and the rotating device ( 160).

The substrate boat 132 includes a support rod 134 disposed parallel to each other, a support plate 136 for supporting both ends thereof, a connection portion 138 for connecting the support plates 136, and a process chamber in the center of the connection portion 138. It has a vertical rod 139 extending outward. Each supporting rod 134 is formed with slots (not shown) into which a part of the edge of the substrate W is inserted. The substrate boat 132 supports the substrates W so that the pattern surface of the substrate W faces laterally, and the substrates W are arranged side by side in one direction.

The elevator 150 is installed on the vertical rod 139 of the substrate boat 132 outside the process chamber 100. The lifting device 150 may be a driving method using a motor and a lead screw for vertically moving the substrate boat 132. In addition to this method, various linear moving devices such as a hydraulic cylinder driving method may be applied.

The rotating device 160 is installed on the vertical rod 129 of the substrate boat 132 outside the process chamber 100. The rotating device 160 may use a motor driving method for rotating the substrate boat 132. In the present invention, by driving the rotating device 160 in a state where the substrate boat is located in the drying chamber to slowly rotate the substrate boat to minimize the dry imbalance between the substrates (particularly the first substrate and the last substrate located at both ends of the substrate boat) have.

The cleaning liquid provided from the cleaning liquid supply line 102 is supplied to the inner tank 112 through the nozzles 116. The washing liquid overflowed from the inner tank is collected in the outer tank 114 and drained to the outside. On the other hand, the discharge line 119 drains the cleaning liquid in the inner tank quickly or gradually in order to take advantage of the Marangoni effect on the cleaning liquid after the cleaning process from the inner tank 112. Although not shown, the discharge line 119 connected to the outlet 117 of the inner tank 114 may be provided with a fast drain line and a slow drain line.

The drying chamber 120 has a cover 122 that can be opened and closed at the top. The gas supply unit 180 is to provide nitrogen gas and dry gas to the drying chamber 120, and spray nozzles for spraying nitrogen gas and dry gas downward on substrates cleaned and transported in the cleaning chamber 110. 182 and a nitrogen gas supply source 184 and a dry gas supply source 186 connected to the injection nozzles 182. Here, a mixed gas of inert gas and isopropyl alcohol (IPA) vapor may be used as the dry gas.

As shown in FIG. 1, the exhaust unit 140 is disposed at the lower end of the drying chamber 120 (upper part of the cleaning chamber). The exhaust unit 140 is for forcibly evacuating the nitrogen gas and the dry gas so that the air flow in the drying chamber 132 flows uniformly from the top to the bottom. Thus, in the present invention, by forcibly evacuating the gas inside the drying chamber 120, the drying process is carried out at atmospheric pressure or less, and the drying process is processed at atmospheric pressure or lower, so that the straightness of nitrogen gas and dry gas is increased and convection is also smooth and dry. The effect can be increased.

The exhaust unit 140 includes a first exhaust block 142a, a second exhaust block 142b, and a moving member (not shown) for moving them. The first exhaust block 142a and the second exhaust block 142b are installed in a symmetrical manner so as to be separated from each other and to be slidably movable in a horizontal direction. They are formed in a box shape and have a plurality of suction ports 144 formed thereon. And an internal passageway 146 connected therein with these inlets. The inner passage 146 is connected to an external exhaust line (shown in FIG. 1) 148, and the exhaust line 148 is provided with a vacuum pump (not shown) controlled by a controller. The first exhaust block 142a and the second exhaust block 142b may be moved to a position waiting for the substrate movement between the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber. The drying chamber 120 has a waiting portion 149 that provides space for waiting for the first exhaust block 142a and the second exhaust block 142b slid by the moving member on both sides of the lower end.

As such, when the substrate boat is positioned in the drying chamber 120, the substrate cleaning drying apparatus 10 drives the rotating device 160 to inject dry gas in a state in which the substrate boat 130 is rotated to dry the substrates. Since the process proceeds, this can minimize the drying imbalance between the substrates placed on the substrate boat 130 and increase the drying efficiency.

On the other hand, the present invention can be variously modified in a substrate cleaning drying apparatus having the above configuration and may take various forms. It is to be understood, however, that the present invention is not limited to the specific forms referred to in the above description, but rather includes all modifications, equivalents and substitutions within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. It should be understood to do.

Next, a process in which the cleaning drying process is performed will be described. When the substrates W are placed in the substrate guide 130 located in the process chamber 100, the substrate guide is moved to the cleaning chamber 110, and the chemical liquid treatment process and the rinse process are performed in the cleaning chamber 110. do. When the rinsing process is completed, the first exhaust block 142a and the second exhaust block 142b are moved laterally so that the space between the cleaning chamber 110 and the drying chamber 120 passes. The substrate guide 130 is lifted and the substrates W are positioned in the drying chamber 120. The first exhaust block 142a and the second exhaust block 142b are moved to the space between the cleaning chamber 110 and the drying chamber 120, so that the first exhaust block 142a and the second exhaust block 142b are moved. It is located below the drying chamber.

Thereafter, a process of drying the substrates W is performed. First, the rotating apparatus 160 is driven to rotate the substrate boat 130 in the drying chamber 120. In the state in which the substrate boat 130 is rotating, the cleaning liquid attached to the substrate W is removed using a dry gas. The dry gas injected from the injection nozzle 182 flows from the top to the bottom in the drying chamber 120, and is generally uniformly supplied to the entire area of the substrate W. After drying, the rotation of the substrate boat 130 is stopped, the drying chamber 120 is opened, and the substrates are unloaded from the substrate boat 130. In the above example, the case of drying the substrates using the spray drying method has been described as an example. However, the technical idea of the present invention is also applicable to drying substrates using a marangoni drying method.

According to the present invention, it has a special effect of improving the drying uniformity between the substrates. Moreover, according to this invention, it has the special effect which can improve the drying efficiency in a drying chamber.

Claims (6)

In the substrate cleaning drying method: Cleaning the substrates in the cleaning chamber; Transferring the substrates cleaned in the cleaning chamber to a drying chamber; Supplying a gas for drying the substrate in the drying chamber to dry the substrates; And a substrate boat in which the substrates are stored is rotated in the drying step. The method of claim 1, In the drying step The gas is supplied toward the substrates through the spray nozzles disposed above the drying chamber, and the supplied gas is exhausted through the upper inlets of the first and second exhaust blocks disposed below the substrate to face the spray nozzles. A substrate cleaning drying method characterized by the above-mentioned. The method of claim 1, The transfer from the cleaning chamber to the drying chamber is a substrate cleaning drying method, characterized in that by lifting the substrate boat in which the substrates are stored. In the substrate cleaning drying apparatus: A cleaning chamber for cleaning the substrates with the cleaning liquid; A drying chamber disposed above the cleaning chamber and drying the substrates with a drying gas; A substrate boat containing substrates and movable between said cleaning chamber and said drying chamber; And And a rotating member for rotating the substrate boat. The method of claim 4, wherein And the rotating member rotates when the substrate boat is moved to the drying chamber. The method of claim 4, wherein And an exhaust unit disposed between the cleaning chamber and the drying chamber to forcibly exhaust the gas provided into the drying chamber so that the air flow in the drying chamber flows from the top to the bottom.

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