KR20210053941A - Substrate processing equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that treats a substrate with a processing liquid. In some embodiments, a substrate processing apparatus includes a support having a loading surface for loading a substrate in a horizontal position, a processing tank for supplying a processing liquid to the substrate to process the substrate, and for lowering the substrate into the processing tank and raising the substrate from the processing tank. An elevating part for raising and lowering the support part, a gripping part that grips the outer circumferential part of the substrate supported by the support part and receives the substrate from the support part above the processing tank, and a substrate that injects gas onto the substrate held by the gripping part to dry the substrate. It has a first nozzle.

Description

Substrate processing equipment

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that treats a substrate with a processing liquid.

As a method of forming wirings or bumps on a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, an electrolytic plating method that is relatively inexpensive and has a short processing time is widely used. In the electrolytic plating process, an apparatus is known in which a substrate supplied from an upstream process is set in a substrate holder and transferred to a processing tank to plate the substrate. When the plating process is completed, the substrate holder is taken out from the processing tank, transferred to the substrate attachment/removing position, and the substrate is taken out from the substrate holder. This series of steps is performed by driving a robot arm or a conveyance mechanism.

By the way, it is necessary to clean and dry the substrate taken out from the substrate holder after the plating treatment. In the case where the processing substrate is a circular substrate, rotational cleaning and drying are performed using a Spin Rinse Dryer (SRD). However, the shape of the substrate also changes depending on the application of the product. In recent years, it is also required to perform a plating treatment on a large rectangular substrate. Therefore, an apparatus has been proposed that employs a horizontal transfer mechanism using a roller instead of the SRD, and performs cleaning and drying processes while maintaining the horizontal posture of the substrate in the transfer process (for example, Patent Document 1).

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-6404

However, large and particularly thin substrates are easy to bend and deform. For this reason, in the cleaning and drying treatment before plating or after plating, if a horizontal conveyance mechanism using rollers is employed, there is a concern that the substrate interferes with structures such as rollers during the conveyance process, which hinders normal conveyance. there was. In addition, such a problem is not limited to a rectangular substrate, and may similarly occur when a thin substrate is employed. In addition, it is not limited to cleaning and drying treatment, and may occur in the same manner in an apparatus for treating a thin substrate with a treatment liquid.

The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and one of its objects is to provide a substrate processing apparatus capable of stably processing even a thin substrate.

One aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus. This substrate processing apparatus includes a support having a loading surface for loading the substrate in a horizontal posture, a processing tank for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate, and a supporting portion for lowering the substrate into the processing tank and raising it from the processing tank. A lifting part for lifting and lowering, a gripping part for gripping the outer peripheral part of the substrate supported by the support part and receiving the substrate from the support part above the processing tank, and a first for drying the substrate by spraying gas onto the substrate held by the gripping part. Equipped with a nozzle.

According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, even a thin substrate can be stably processed.

1 is a plan view schematically showing a plating apparatus according to a first embodiment.
2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the cleaning device.
3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cleaning unit.
4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cleaning unit.
5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the configuration of a cleaning device.
6 is a side view showing the configuration and operation of the clamp mechanism.
7 is a plan view showing the configuration of a support mechanism.
8 is a diagram showing the configuration and operation of the clamp mechanism.
9 is a diagram showing the configuration and operation of the clamp mechanism.
Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a state at the time of drying treatment.
11 is a flowchart showing the flow of pre-cleaning processing.
12 is a diagram showing a control method in a pre-cleaning step.
13 is a diagram showing a control method in a pre-cleaning step.
14 is a cross-sectional view showing a clamp structure according to a modified example.
15 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cleaning unit according to a second embodiment.
16 is a perspective view showing an operation of the cleaning unit during cleaning.

An embodiment of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus that treats a substrate with a processing liquid. This processing may be performed by immersing the substrate in a processing liquid. Specifically, it may be a cleaning treatment in which the substrate is immersed in a cleaning liquid. A plating treatment in which the substrate is immersed in a plating solution may be employed. A cooling treatment in which the substrate is immersed in cooling water may be employed. Alternatively, the treatment liquid may be sprayed onto the surface of the substrate. After the treatment with the treatment liquid, the substrate is dried. The substrate processing apparatus includes a processing tank, a processing liquid supply part, a processing liquid discharge part, a support part, a gripping part, an elevating part, and a first nozzle for a series of treatments.

The treatment liquid supply unit supplies the treatment liquid to the treatment tank. In the case of processing by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid, in order to keep the processing liquid clean, an overflow tank for overflowing the processing liquid from the processing tank may be provided. The overflowed treatment liquid may be discarded as it is. Alternatively, a circulation mechanism for purifying the overflowed treatment liquid with a filter or the like and returning it to the treatment tank may be provided. When the treatment is finished, the supply of the treatment liquid is stopped, and the treatment liquid discharge unit discharges the treatment liquid from the treatment tank. In the case of processing by spraying a processing liquid onto a substrate, a processing liquid spraying nozzle is provided for spraying the processing liquid onto the surface of the substrate in the processing tank.

In this embodiment, since it is necessary to hold the substrate in a series of processing steps, transfer of the substrate is performed between the support portion and the grip portion. The support portion supports the substrate during treatment with the processing liquid, and the holding portion supports the substrate during drying treatment. The support part receives the substrate from the upper side of the treatment tank.

The support portion has a loading surface for loading the substrate in a horizontal position. The support portion includes a plurality of clamp portions (first clamp mechanism) for stably maintaining the stacked state of the thin substrate. The first clamp mechanism clamps and supports the periphery of the substrate between the mounting surface. Tension in the peripheral direction (outward direction) may be applied to the substrate by a plurality of first clamping mechanisms. Thereby, even a thin substrate is not bent and can be stably maintained.

When processing the substrate, the support portion on which the substrate is mounted is lowered by the elevating portion. In the case of processing by immersing the substrate in the processing liquid, the processing liquid may be stored in advance in the processing tank, and the substrate may be lowered toward the processing liquid. However, in this case, air bubbles tend to adhere to the lower surface of the substrate. In addition, there is a possibility that liquid splashing occurs and the treatment liquid adheres to other structures, thereby adversely affecting the structure. For this reason, it is preferable to supply the processing liquid after the substrate is lowered. In addition, it is preferable to supply the processing liquid from below the lower surface of the substrate. In this way, air bubbles can be efficiently removed by the flow of the treatment liquid in the process of raising the liquid level. There is also a low possibility of splashing. The substrate may be treated with a plurality of types of processing liquids. In that case, it is sufficient to sequentially perform supply and discharge of each processing liquid while holding the substrate in the processing tank.

When the treatment with the treatment liquid is finished, the support part is raised by the lifting part. Thereafter, the substrate is transferred from the support portion to the grip portion. This is because it is difficult to dry the lower surface of the substrate while the substrate is mounted on the support. The gripping portion grips the outer periphery of the substrate and opens the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate. The gripping portion may include a plurality of clamping portions (second clamping mechanism). Tension in the peripheral direction (outward direction) may be applied to the substrate by a plurality of second clamp mechanisms. The first nozzle injects gas onto the substrate held horizontally by the gripping portion, thereby drying the substrate.

According to this aspect, it is possible to lift and lower the substrate while maintaining the horizontal posture by placing the substrate on the loading surface, and to perform treatment with the processing liquid. The transfer of the substrate during the drying treatment is also performed while the substrate is mounted on the mounting surface, so that it is possible to stably switch from stacking to gripping. For this reason, the substrate does not bend in a series of processing steps and interfere with other structures. That is, even a thin substrate can be stably processed.

The support portion may include a frame body. A plurality of protrusions may be provided on the upper surface of the frame body, and a loading surface may be formed by the upper surfaces of the protrusions. The "frame body" may have a shape having only an outer frame, or may have a lattice shape. In the latter case, the outer frame of the frame body is overlaid-or a plurality of bridges are provided. The presence or absence of crosslinked portions and the number thereof can be appropriately set according to the size of the substrate to be supported. The protrusion may be arranged in accordance with the contactable area of the substrate (a non-mountable area such as a circuit). With such a configuration, most of the lower surface of the substrate can be opened to the processing liquid, and the processing liquid can be widely spread over the entire upper and lower surfaces of the substrate.

The substrate processing apparatus includes a control unit that drives and controls each unit (each mechanism). The control unit lowers the support unit after transferring the substrate from the support unit to the grip unit, and dry the substrate with the first nozzle. In that case, the first nozzle may be driven in a step in which the support portion is lowered to a position where it does not interfere with the holding portion without reaching the lowering setting position. Thereby, the processing efficiency as a whole can be improved.

The treatment liquid may be discharged from the treatment tank before or after the rise of the support portion. Then, after transferring the substrate from the support portion to the holding portion, the support portion may be lowered into the processing tank. Thereby, the support part can be retracted using the empty space of the processing tank. By discharging the used treatment liquid in advance in the treatment tank, the loading surface can also be kept in a clean state when the support part is retracted.

A second nozzle may be provided separately from the first nozzle, and the mounting surface of the support portion may be dried. Then, the drying treatment of the substrate by the first nozzle (first drying treatment) and the drying treatment of the loading surface by the second nozzle (second drying treatment) may be performed in parallel. By performing the two drying treatments in parallel, it is possible to suppress the influence of liquid splash by each drying treatment. For example, it is possible to suppress harmful effects such as liquid splash from the substrate by the first drying treatment wets the loading surface that is the object of the second drying treatment. It is particularly effective in the case of drying by blowing air.

The first drying treatment may be started during the descending of the support part, and the second drying treatment may be started after the completion of the fall of the support part. That is, since drying of the substrate is more important than the mounting surface, the first drying treatment may require a longer treatment time than the second drying treatment. In such a case, by starting the first drying treatment prior to the second drying treatment, the overall treatment time can be shortened, thereby improving the efficiency.

The substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate transfer unit. This substrate transfer section has a support surface that supports the upper surface of the substrate. The substrate transfer unit transfers the substrate to the mounting surface of the support unit while maintaining the substrate in a horizontal position, and further receives the substrate from the mounting surface. The "support surface" may be a "suction surface" capable of sucking the upper surface of the substrate in a non-contact state. Alternatively, it may be a "adsorption surface" capable of being sucked by contacting the upper surface of the substrate. From the viewpoint of strictly maintaining the cleanliness of the substrate, it is preferable that the support surface is of a non-contact type.

The control unit raises the support part after drying treatment, and transfers the substrate from the gripping part to the support part. At this time, the substrate is reloaded on the loading surface to maintain a horizontal posture. Then, the substrate supported on the mounting surface in this way is received by the substrate transfer unit. With such a configuration, it is possible to transfer the substrate without using a transfer roller or the like.

Hereinafter, examples in which the present embodiment is embodied will be described with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the following examples and their modifications, the same reference numerals are assigned to substantially the same constituent elements, and descriptions thereof are omitted as appropriate.

[First embodiment]

1 is a plan view schematically showing a plating apparatus according to a first embodiment.

The plating apparatus 1 includes a substrate attachment/detachment part 2, a plating treatment part 4, and a control part 6. The plating apparatus 1 of this embodiment is a bump plating apparatus for forming a protruding electrode (bump) on a substrate. A substrate transfer table 8 is provided in front of the substrate attachment/detachment unit 2, and a pre-cleaning unit 10 and a post-cleaning unit 12 are provided so as to be adjacent to the substrate transfer unit 8. Further, in front of the plating apparatus 1, a device for transferring the substrate processed in the upstream process to the substrate transfer table 8 is provided, but a description thereof will be omitted.

The substrate transfer table 8 loads a substrate W such as a semiconductor wafer in a horizontal position. In this embodiment, the substrate W is a relatively large thin substrate and is easy to bend. In this embodiment, a rectangular substrate having a thickness of about 500 mm x 500 mm and a thickness of about 1 mm is used as the substrate W, but the size, thickness, and shape are not limited thereto. In the substrate W, a seed layer of copper is provided on the upper surface of the wafer, and a resist pattern is formed thereon. When the substrate W is plated, if air bubbles are present in the openings of the resist, normal plating cannot be performed. In addition, if organic substances or the like adhere to the seed layer, normal plating may not be performed.

The pre-cleaning unit 10 has a cleaning device 14, and performs pre-cleaning to remove organic substances or the like adhering to the surface of the substrate W prior to the plating treatment. The post-cleaning unit 12 has a cleaning device 16 and cleans the substrate W separated from the substrate holder 24 after plating treatment. A holder conveyance mechanism 18 is provided from the substrate attachment/detachment portion 2 to the plating processing portion 4. The control unit 6 controls the operation of each unit.

The substrate attaching/detaching unit 2 includes an attaching/detaching mechanism 20, a substrate transfer robot 22, and a moving mechanism 23. The substrate transfer robot 22 has a robot hand 22a. The substrate transfer robot 22 functions as a “substrate transfer unit”, and transfers the substrate W to the substrate transfer table 8 and transfers the substrate W to each mechanism. The robot hand 22a has a non-contact chuck for holding the substrate W in a horizontal position. In this embodiment, a Bernoulli type is adopted as this non-contact chuck, but a cyclone type may be used. When cleanliness with respect to the substrate W is maintained, a contact type suction pad (vacuum pad) may be used.

The movement mechanism 23 moves the substrate transfer robot 22 according to the transfer position of the substrate W. The substrate transfer robot 22 moves in the vicinity of the charter unit 10 in the pre-cleaning step, and moves to the vicinity of the post-cleaning unit 12 in the post-cleaning step.

A stocker 25 for accommodating the substrate holder 24 is provided below the attachment/detachment mechanism 20. The attachment/detachment mechanism 20 attaches and detaches the substrate W from the substrate holder 24. The holder transfer mechanism 18 includes a gripping mechanism 26 that holds the substrate holder 24 and a transfer mechanism 28 that transfers the substrate holder 24 to each set of the plating processing unit 4. The attachment/detachment mechanism 20 further attaches and detaches the substrate holder 24 from the gripping mechanism 26.

The plating treatment unit 4 is a pre-wet bath 30, a pre-soak bath 32, a rinse bath 34, a blow bath 36, a rinse bath 38 in order from the side of the substrate attaching/detaching part 2, It has an overflow tank 40. A plurality of rows of plating baths 42 are provided inside the overflow bath 40. The pre-wet bath 30 can also fill the inside of the resist opening on the surface of the substrate with degassed water by immersing the substrate W in degassed water. The presoak bath 32 removes the oxide film generated on the surface of the substrate W by etching with a chemical solution.

The rinse baths 34 and 38 clean the surface of the substrate W with deionized water. The rinse bath 34 is washed with water before the plating treatment, and the rinse bath 38 is washed with water after the plating treatment. The blow bath 36 drains the substrate W after cleaning. A plating solution is stored in the plating bath 42. Plating can be performed by immersing the substrate W in the plating bath 42 and circulating the plating solution while overflowing the overflow bath 40. Plating treatment generally takes a longer treatment time compared to cleaning, drying and other treatments. For this reason, a plurality of plating baths 42 are provided so that a plurality of substrates W can be plated simultaneously and in parallel.

The conveyance mechanism 28 is, for example, a linear motor type mechanism, and conveys the substrate holder 24 to each tank of the plating processing unit 4. The conveyance mechanism 28 sequentially conveys the substrate holder 24 using the time lag of processing in each plating bath 42.

The control unit 6 includes a microcomputer, a CPU that executes various arithmetic processing, a ROM that stores a control program, etc., a RAM used as a work area for data storage or program execution, and a fire that retains the stored contents even after the power is turned off. It includes a volatile memory, an input/output interface, and a timer for timing. In addition, in this embodiment, although the control unit 6 is supposed to drive and control each mechanism, a control unit may be provided for each mechanism. In that case, you may be provided with the unified control part which unifies the control part of each mechanism.

With the above configuration, the plating apparatus 1 roughly performs the following operations.

First, the substrate transfer robot 22 takes out the substrate W to be plated from the substrate transfer table 8 and sets it in the cleaning device 14. When the cleaning device 14 receives the substrate W, it performs a pre-cleaning process to remove organic substances and the like. Details of this washing treatment will be described later. When the pre-cleaning is complete, the substrate transfer robot 22 receives the substrate W from the cleaning device 14 and hands it to the attaching/detaching mechanism 20. The attachment/detachment mechanism 20 sets the substrate W to the substrate holder 24 and attaches it to the gripping mechanism 26.

The transfer mechanism 28 lifts up the gripping mechanism 26 to carry the substrate holder 24, and causes the substrate W to be immersed in the prewet tank 30 as the substrate holder 24. Thereby, a pre-wet treatment with degassed water is performed. In addition, in this embodiment, degassed water is stored in the prewet tank 30, but if it can be replaced with air in the resist opening on the surface of the substrate, and the prewet treatment in which the resist opening is also filled with liquid can be performed, this There is no need to limit it.

In addition, as will be described later, as long as the pre-wet treatment in the cleaning device 14 is sufficient, the pre-wet tank 30 may not be provided.

The conveyance mechanism 28 subsequently takes out and conveys the substrate holder 24 from the pre-wet bath 30, and makes it immersed in the pre-soak bath 32. In the presoak tank 32, a chemical solution such as sulfuric acid or hydrochloric acid is stored. When an oxide film is formed in the seed layer (conductive layer) of the substrate W, it is removed by performing a presoak treatment with this chemical solution. Thereby, the clean metal surface of the seed layer can be exposed.

The transfer mechanism 28 subsequently takes out the substrate holder 24 from the presoak tank 32 and transfers it, and makes it immersed in the rinse tank 34. Thereby, the chemical liquid adhering to the substrate W is washed off with deionized water. The transfer mechanism 28 subsequently immerses the substrate W in the empty plating bath 42. Further, in the present embodiment, copper plating is performed in this plating process, but nickel, gold plating, and other plating can also be performed by changing the plating liquid supplied to the plating bath 42.

The substrate W, which has been plated in this way, is cleaned in the rinse bath 38 and then the blow bath 36 removes moisture. After that, it is conveyed to the attachment/detachment mechanism 20. The attachment/detachment mechanism 20 separates the substrate holder 24 from the gripping mechanism 26 and takes out the substrate W from the substrate holder 24. The substrate transfer robot 22 receives the substrate W from the attachment/detachment mechanism 20 and sets it in the cleaning device 16. When the cleaning device 16 receives the substrate W, it performs a post-cleaning process.

Next, the configuration and operation of the cleaning device 14 will be described in detail.

2 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of the cleaning device 14.

The cleaning device 14 includes a flat base 50, a cleaning unit 52 mounted on the base 50, a support mechanism 54 supporting the substrate W above the cleaning unit 52, and A drying mechanism 56 for drying the substrate W above the cleaning unit 52 is provided. The support mechanism 54 is a mechanism that supports the substrate W during the drying process, and functions as a "holding part". The drying mechanism 56 is a mechanism for drying the substrate W.

Posts 58 are erected and installed at the four corners of the base 50, and a pair of guide members 60a and 60b are provided so as to span the left and right posts 58. 60)''). The guide members 60a and 60b extend horizontally, respectively, and are parallel to each other. The support mechanism 54 has a pair of gripping units 62a, 62b for holding the substrate W horizontally during the drying process (collectively referred to as ``the gripping unit 62'' when these are not specifically distinguished) . The gripping unit 62a is suspended and held by the guide member 60a, and the gripping unit 62b is suspended and held by the guide member 60b.

The holding unit 62 has a support base 64 extending in parallel with the guide member 60 and a pair of clamp mechanisms 66 arranged in the extending direction of the support base 64. The board|substrate W can be pinched from the top and the bottom by a total of four clamping mechanisms 66 of the pair of gripping units 62, and can support it horizontally. In addition, details of the clamp mechanism 66 will be described later.

The drying mechanism 56 is supported so as to be movable along a pair of guide members 60. A linear motor 68 that drives the drying mechanism 56 is provided on the upper surface of the guide member 60a. A guide rail 70 for guiding the driving of the drying mechanism 56 is provided on the upper surface of the guide member 60b. The drying mechanism 56 has a support 72 suspended by a pair of guide members 60 and a pair of upper and lower air knives 74a and 74b supported by the support 72 (not specially distinguished between them). When not, it is collectively referred to as "air knife 74"). The air knives 74a and 74b function as "first nozzles" and eject air from the vertical direction against the substrate W held horizontally during the drying process.

3 and 4 are perspective views showing the configuration of the cleaning unit 52. These drawings show the state in which the cleaning unit 52 in FIG. 2 was taken out and the substrate W was removed. 3 shows a state in which the support mechanism of the cleaning unit 52 is raised, and FIG. 4 shows a state in which it is lowered.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning unit 52 supplies a case 80 for accommodating an internal mechanism, a treatment tank 82 disposed in the case 80, and a cleaning liquid to the treatment tank 82. The mechanism 84, the discharge mechanism 86 for discharging the cleaning liquid from the treatment tank 82, the support mechanism 88 capable of supporting the substrate W in a horizontal position, and the lifting mechanism for raising and lowering the support mechanism 88 It has (90). The supply mechanism 84 functions as a "treatment liquid supply unit", and the discharge mechanism 86 functions as a "treatment liquid discharge unit". The support mechanism 88 functions as a "support part", and the lifting mechanism 90 functions as a "elevating part".

The treatment tank 82 includes a cleaning tank 92 to which a cleaning liquid is supplied, and an overflow tank 94 in which the cleaning liquid overflows. A cleaning liquid supply port 96 is provided on a side wall of the cleaning tank 92 on the opposite side to the overflow tank 94. In this embodiment, as the supply port 96, three transversely-shaped ones are provided. These supply ports 96 are positioned to be lower than the lower surface of the substrate W when the support member 104 to be described later descends.

The supply mechanism 84 has a supply pipe 98 communicating with the supply port 96 and a control valve (supply valve and a switching valve) provided on the upstream side of the supply pipe 98 (not shown). The switching valve switches which of a plurality of types of cleaning liquids to be supplied. In this embodiment, three types of degassed water, ozone water and deionized water (DIW) are prepared as cleaning liquids. The processing liquid whose supply path is opened by the switching valve is supplied to the supply pipe 98, and supplied to the washing tank 92 by the opening valve of the supply valve.

A discharge port 100 is provided in the center of the bottom of the cleaning tank 92. The discharge mechanism 86 has a drain pipe communicating with the discharge port 100 and a control valve (discharge valve) provided in the drain pipe (not shown). When the discharge valve is opened, the treatment liquid in the washing tank 92 is discharged.

The elevating mechanism 90 includes an elevating shaft 102 provided at four corners around the processing tank 82 and an air cylinder (not shown) for elevating the elevating shaft 102. The support mechanism 88 includes a rectangular plate-shaped support member 104 and a clamp mechanism 106 disposed at four corners around the support member 104. The support member 104 and the clamp mechanism 106 are raised and lowered integrally by the lifting of the lifting shaft 102. The four clamping mechanisms 106 fix the substrate W to the support member 104 during the cleaning process. The position of the substrate W is prevented from shifting due to the hydraulic pressure of the cleaning liquid supplied to the cleaning tank 92.

The four clamp mechanisms 106 are supported by the four lifting shafts 102, respectively. The support member 104 is supported by four corners on the four lifting shafts 102 and maintains a horizontal posture. Specifically, the L-shaped suspension holding members 105 are each fixed to the top of each lifting shaft 102, and four suspension holding members 105 are connected to the four corners of the support member 104, respectively.

On the upper surface of the support member 104, a plurality of protrusions 108 are provided in accordance with the lattice shape. The substrate W is mounted on these protrusions 108. In addition, details of the support member 104 and the clamp mechanism 106 will be described later.

As shown in FIG. 4, a drying mechanism 110 is provided around the washing tank 92. The drying mechanism 110 is a mechanism for drying the mounting surface (protrusion 108) of the support member 104. Further, in the present embodiment, drying of the substrate W (first drying treatment) and drying treatment of the support member 104 (second drying treatment) are separately performed. By removing the substrate W from the support member 104, the entire upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W are efficiently dried. In addition, in order to reload the support member 104 after drying of the substrate W, the mounting surface (protrusion 108) is dried.

The drying mechanism 110 includes air nozzles 112 arranged in three rows on the front side and the inner side of the washing tank 92, respectively. The air nozzle 112 functions as a "second nozzle". As shown, when the support member 104 is in a descending state, air can be uniformly sprayed from the six air nozzles 112 toward the plurality of protrusions 108 (refer to the double-dotted line), and moisture on the upper surface thereof Can be removed. Thus, the angle of each air nozzle 112 is adjusted.

Further, the support member 104 can also be dried by spraying air from above with an air knife. However, considering that the support member 104 is a frame, and the protrusions 108 interspersed with the frame are to be dried, it is not necessary to blow out the layered air, and it can be said that it is rather inefficient. . For this reason, in the present embodiment, the air nozzle 112 is used for the drying mechanism 110. Details of the drying mechanism 110 will be described later.

5 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the cleaning device 14, and corresponds to the cross-section viewed in the direction of arrow A-A in FIG. 1. 6 is a side view showing the configuration and operation of the clamp mechanism 66. Fig. 6(a) shows an unclamped state, and Fig. 6(b) shows a clamped state.

As shown in FIG. 5, a drain pipe 114 is provided so as to communicate with the discharge port 100 of the cleaning tank 92. The treatment liquid in the cleaning tank 92 is discharged through the drain pipe 114. Further, a discharge port 116 and a drain pipe 118 are also provided at the bottom of the overflow tank 94. The processing liquid overflowed from the washing tank 92 is discharged through the drain pipe 118.

The air knife 74 has a slit-shaped nozzle, and ejects compressed air into a thin layer. The nozzle of the air knife 74a opens in an inclined downward direction, and the nozzle of the air knife 74b opens in an inclined upward direction. The inclination angles of both are substantially the same angle with respect to the horizontal direction.

The clamp mechanism 66 includes a base 120 fixed to the support base 64, a pair of upper and lower gripping parts 122 supported by the base 120, and an air cylinder 124 that drives the gripping part 122. ). The gripping portion 122 includes a T-shaped arm 126 and a fitting support member 128 fixed to the distal end of the arm 126. The base end of the arm 126 is connected to the base 120 so as to be rotatable. The fitting support member 128 is a rod-shaped member. The distal end portion of the arm 126 is formed in a U shape, and a fitting support member 128 is provided so as to span both ends thereof. A plurality of O-rings 130 (seal rings) are provided along the longitudinal direction of the fitting support member 128.

As shown in FIG. 6A, in the non-driving state of the clamp mechanism 66, the rod of the air cylinder 124 advances. For this reason, the upper arm 126a rotates in the clockwise direction in the drawing around the rotation shaft 132a, and the lower arm 126b rotates in the counterclockwise direction in the drawing around the rotation axis 132b. As a result, the clamping mechanism 66 is in an open state (unclamped state).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 6B, in the driving state of the clamp mechanism 66, the rod of the air cylinder 124 retreats. For this reason, the arm 126a rotates counterclockwise in the drawing, and the arm 126b rotates clockwise in the drawing. As a result, it becomes a state (clamp state) in which the board|substrate W can be pinched. In this clamping state, a plurality of pairs of upper and lower O-rings 130 sandwich the outer circumferential portion of the substrate W.

7 is a plan view showing the configuration of the support mechanism 88. FIG. 7A shows a state in which the substrate W is not loaded, and FIG. 7B shows a state in which the substrate W is loaded.

As shown in (a) of FIG. 7, the support member 104 has a rectangular outer frame 140, a bridge portion 142 spanning the outer frame 140 on the left and right, and before and after the outer frame 140. It has two bridge|crosslinking parts 144, and is formed in a lattice shape as a whole. The six empty areas surrounded by the outer frame 140 and the bridge portions 142 and 144 have a relatively large area, and the circulation of the treatment liquid is promoted.

On the upper surface of the support member 104, a plurality of protrusions 108 are scattered. The protrusion 108 may have a prismatic shape or a cylindrical shape, or may have a hemispherical shape. That is, a plurality of protrusions 108a are provided along the periphery of the outer frame 140, and a plurality of protrusions 108b are provided along the longitudinal direction of the bridge portions 142 and 144. The protrusion 108b is slightly smaller than the protrusion 108a.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7B, on the lower surface of the substrate W, a band-like (lattice-shaped) contactable region 148 is set so as to correspond to the arrangement of the plurality of protrusions 108. The contactable region 148 is a region in which contact is allowed for conveyance of a substrate or the like, and is a region in which circuits such as wiring or bumps are not mounted. The substrate W is mounted on the plurality of protrusions 108 in the contactable region 148. In other words, the mounting portion of the substrate W is in a state where it floats from the surface of the support member 104, and the cleaning liquid reliably spreads widely.

Further, in the present embodiment, the upper surface of the substrate W is also provided with a contactable region similar to that of the lower surface. Even if any of both surfaces of the substrate W is mounted on the support member 104, cleaning and drying can be performed similarly.

8 and 9 are diagrams showing the configuration and operation of the clamp mechanism 106. Fig. 8(a) shows an unclamped state, and Fig. 8(b) shows a clamped state. 9A is a cross-sectional view showing the function and operation of the clamp mechanism 106 during washing and drying. FIG. 9(b) is an enlarged view of part B of FIG. 9(a).

As shown in FIG. 8A, the clamp mechanism 106 has an actuator 150 provided on the upper part of the lifting shaft 102 and an arm 152 driven by the actuator 150. The actuator 150 includes an air cylinder, and has a cylinder body 154, a support part 156 provided on the cylinder body 154, and a piston rod 158 extending from the cylinder body 154.

The arm 152 has an L-shaped body 160. The main body 160 is connected to the piston rod 158 via an L-shaped connecting member 162. One end of the connecting member 162 is fixed to the main body 160 and is pivotally supported by the support 156 at the center thereof. A slit 163 is provided at the other end of the connecting member 162, and the tip of the piston rod 158 is inserted and penetrated so as to be slidable.

When the piston rod 158 advances by driving the actuator 150 in one direction, the connecting member 162 rotates clockwise in the drawing. Thereby, the arm 152 operates in the clamping direction. As shown in FIG. 8B, the distal end of the arm 152 approaches the upper surface of the substrate W supported by the support member 104. When the piston rod 158 is retracted by driving of the actuator 150 in the other direction, the connecting member 162 rotates counterclockwise in the drawing. Thereby, as shown in Fig. 8A, the arm 152 operates in the unclamping direction.

As shown in Fig. 9A, a fluid passage 164 that penetrates the main body 160 from its front end to its rear end is formed. A piping joint 166 is provided at the rear end of the main body 160. A pipe (not shown) is connected to the pipe joint 166, and dry air (CDA) or deionized water (DIW) can be supplied to the fluid passage 164.

In addition, in this way, the arm 152 and the substrate W are in a non-contact state, but since the fluid is ejected from the distal end of the main body 160, the arm 152 and the support member It is possible to sandwich the substrate W between 104. In this embodiment, deionized water is supplied to the fluid passage 164 while the support member 104 is lowered into the cleaning tank 92 and the substrate W is immersed in the processing liquid. On the other hand, dry air is supplied to the fluid passage 164 during elevation of the support member 104 or at the elevation position. In other words, except when the clamp mechanism 106 opens the substrate W, any fluid is injected to press the substrate W against the support member 104. Thereby, the substrate W is supported.

As shown in FIG. 9B, an O-ring 168 (seal ring) is provided on the distal end surface of the main body 160. Thereby, even if the rotation of the main body 160 is too strong during the clamp operation, a situation in which the tip end of the main body 160 directly contacts the substrate W and is damaged can be prevented.

Fig. 10 is a diagram showing a state at the time of drying treatment.

When drying the substrate W, the drying mechanism 56 is driven while the substrate W is supported by the clamp mechanism 66. At this time, as shown in the figure, while the drying mechanism 56 moves along the guide rail 70, the air knife 74 jets air toward the substrate W. In this drying process, the substrate W is positioned between the air knife 74a and the air knife 74b. For this reason, the upper and lower surfaces thereof are efficiently dried by both air knives.

In the meantime, the support member 104 is retracted into the drained washing tank 92, and drying is performed by the drying mechanism 110. Water droplets attached to the protrusions 108 are removed by the air injected from the air nozzle 112. In this way, the 1st drying process by the drying mechanism 56 and the 2nd drying process by the drying mechanism 110 are parallel.

Next, the flow of cleaning control will be described.

11 is a flowchart showing the flow of pre-cleaning processing. 12 and 13 are diagrams showing a control method in a pre-cleaning step. (A) to (d) of each figure shows the processing process. For convenience, the supply valve 170, the discharge valve 172, and the switching valve 174 are shown only in Fig. 12A, and descriptions are omitted in other drawings. Hereinafter, based on FIG. 11, it demonstrates, referring FIG. 12 and FIG. 13 appropriately.

At the start of the pre-cleaning process, the control unit 6 drives the lifting mechanism 90 and the substrate transfer robot 22 to load the substrate W into the cleaning device 14 (S10). As shown in Fig. 12A, the lifting mechanism 90 raises the support member 104 to the rod position. The substrate transfer robot 22 takes out the substrate W from the substrate transfer table 8 while maintaining it in a horizontal position, and mounts it on the support member 104. In this embodiment, the robot hand 22a is positioned on the upper surface side of the substrate W to hold the substrate W. At this time, dry air is supplied through the fluid passage 164 as well, and the clamping mechanism 106 clamps the substrate W (S12). At this point, the cleaning tank 92 is empty.

Subsequently, the control unit 6 drives the lifting mechanism 90 while holding the clamped state of the substrate W, and lowers the support member 104 into the cleaning tank 92 (S14). As shown in FIG. 12B, the substrate W is disposed in the cleaning tank 92. Then, as shown in Fig. 12C, the control unit 6 opens the supply valve 170 to supply degassed water to the washing tank 92, and executes the pre-wet processing while overflowing (S16). . At this time, the deionized water is supplied through the fluid passage 164, and the clamp mechanism 106 maintains the clamping state of the substrate W. Thereby, the inside of the resist opening of the substrate W is filled with degassed water, and air bubbles are removed. In this embodiment, the time for this pre-wet process is set to 60 seconds. When the pre-wet treatment is finished, the supply valve 170 is closed and the discharge valve 172 is opened to drain the water (S18).

Subsequently, the control unit 6 operates the switching valve 174 to convert the treatment liquid into ozone water. Further, the discharge valve 172 is closed, the supply valve 170 is opened, ozone water is supplied to the washing tank 92, and the washing process is performed while overflowing (S20). Since the inside of the resist opening of the substrate W is already filled with degassed water, the degassed water is replaced with ozonated water, and organic substances or the like adhering to the surface of the substrate W are removed by the action of the ozone water, thereby increasing hydrophilicity. In this embodiment, the time for this washing treatment is set to 60 seconds. When the cleaning process is finished, the supply valve 170 is closed and the discharge valve 172 is opened to drain (S22).

Subsequently, the control unit 6 operates the switching valve 174 to convert the treatment liquid into deionized water (DIW). Further, the discharge valve 172 is closed, the supply valve 170 is opened, deionized water is supplied to the washing tank 92, and a rinse process is performed while overflowing (S24). At this time, the deionized water is also supplied through the fluid passage 164 of the clamp mechanism 106. In this embodiment, the time for this rinse treatment is set to 30 seconds. When the rinsing process is finished, the supply valve 170 is closed, and the discharge valve 172 is opened to drain (S26). The supply of deionized water through the fluid passage 164 is also stopped, and it is switched to supply of dry air.

As shown in FIG. 12(d), the control part 6 drives the lifting mechanism 90 in parallel with the drainage, and raises the support member 104 to a dry position (S28). Then, the substrate W is transferred from the support mechanism 88 to the support mechanism 54 (S30). At this time, the substrate W is clamped to the clamping mechanism 66 and the clamping of the clamping mechanism 106 is released. The supply of dry air through the fluid passage 164 is stopped. When the transfer of the substrate W is completed, as shown in Fig. 13A, the support member 104 is lowered (S32). In addition, in this embodiment, the height of the support member 104 at this time is matched with the height at the time of washing. In a modified example, the height may be different.

When the support member 104 is retracted into the washing tank 92, the control unit 6 drives the drying mechanism 56 and the drying mechanism 110 at the same time (S34). As shown in FIG. 13B, the air knife 74 dries the substrate W, and the air nozzle 112 dries the support member 104 (protrusion 108). At this time, air is also supplied through the fluid passage 164 of the clamp mechanism 106. In this way, by performing the first and second drying treatments simultaneously and in parallel, it is possible to suppress the influence of the liquid splash occurring in the respective drying treatments from each other. In this example, the time for these drying treatments is set to 30 seconds.

The air knife 74 does not reciprocate with respect to the substrate W, but terminates the drying process in a one-way operation. When the one-way operation is finished, the air blow is stopped and it returns to its original position. When these drying processes are finished, the supply of air through the fluid passage 164 is stopped. As shown in Fig. 13C, the control unit 6 drives the lifting mechanism 90 to raise the support member 104 to the rod position (S36). Then, the substrate W is transferred from the support mechanism 54 to the support mechanism 88 (S38). After the substrate W is loaded on the support member 104 again, the clamping of the clamping mechanism 66 is released.

13D, the control unit 6 drives the substrate transfer robot 22 to unload the substrate W (S40). The substrate transfer robot 22 takes out the substrate W from the support member 104 and transfers it to the attachment/detachment mechanism 20. After that, the plating treatment described above is started.

After completion of the plating process, the substrate W is conveyed to the cleaning device 16, and a post-cleaning process is performed. The configuration and operation of the cleaning device 16 are almost the same as those of the cleaning device 14, but only deionized water (DIW) is used as the treatment liquid supplied to the cleaning tank 92. The post-cleaning treatment removes from the substrate W components and particles of the plating solution that could not be completely removed in the rinse bath 38.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the substrate W is mounted on the support member 104 so as to be lifted and lowered while maintaining the horizontal posture, and the cleaning process can be performed. Since the transfer of the substrate W during the drying process is also performed while the substrate W is mounted on the support member 104, the support mode can be stably switched from stacking to gripping. For this reason, the substrate W is not bent in a series of processing processes, and there is no interference with other structures. That is, even if the substrate W is a large and thin substrate, it can be stably processed.

Further, by providing a plurality of protrusions 108 scattered on the support member 104 and making the protrusions 108 a mounting surface, most of the lower surface of the substrate W can be opened to the cleaning liquid, and the substrate ( The cleaning liquid can be widely spread over the entire upper and lower surfaces of W), and the cleaning effect can be enhanced.

In addition, since the support member 104 is retracted to the cleaning tank 92 during drying of the substrate W, there is no need to provide a separate retreat space for the support member 104. In addition, since the pre-wet treatment with degassed water, the washing treatment with ozone water, and the rinsing treatment with deionized water are performed in the washing tank 92, there is no need to provide a treatment tank for each treatment. With such a configuration, space saving as a whole of the cleaning device 14 can be achieved.

In addition, since drying of the substrate W and drying of the support member 104 (protrusion 108) are simultaneously performed, in particular, liquid splash from the substrate W and wetness of the protrusion 108 are suppressed. can do. Since the support member 104 is dried in the cleaning tank 92, the water droplets blown at that time are allowed to stay in the cleaning tank 92 and can be discharged from the discharge port 100 as it is. There is no contamination of the structure outside the cleaning tank 92.

[Second Example]

15 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a cleaning unit according to a second embodiment.

This embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the cleaning unit is not a type in which the substrate is immersed in a cleaning liquid, but a type in which the cleaning liquid is sprayed onto the surface of the substrate (also referred to as a "shower type"). Hereinafter, the difference from the first embodiment will be mainly described. In this embodiment, the same configuration as in the first embodiment can be applied unless otherwise specified.

In the cleaning unit 252 of this embodiment, the case 80 functions as a "treatment tank 82 (cleaning tank 92)." In the processing tank 82, a supply mechanism 284, an elevating mechanism 90, and a support mechanism 288 are disposed. The supply mechanism 284 includes a first supply mechanism 211 and a second supply mechanism 212. The first supply mechanism 211 is provided with a pair of movable supply pipes 214a and 214b (unless they are specifically distinguished, they are collectively referred to as "supply pipe 214"). The supply pipes 214a and 214b each have a vertical axis of rotation at two corners of the treatment tank 82. These rotation shafts are arranged so as to be spaced apart along one diagonal line of the treatment tank 82.

The supply pipe 214 extends in a horizontal direction from its rotation axis. The supply pipe 214 is located above the treatment tank 82. A plurality of nozzles 218 are provided on the lower surface of the supply pipe 214 along the extending direction thereof. The nozzle 218 functions as a "treatment liquid injection nozzle". The cleaning liquid is supplied downward from the supply pipe 214. The supply pipe 214b is positioned higher than the supply pipe 214a so as not to interfere with each other when both of the supply pipes 214a and 214b rotate.

The second supply mechanism 212 has a plurality of supply pipes 224 arranged at the bottom of the processing tank 82. A plurality of nozzles 228 are provided on the upper surface of the supply pipe 224 along the extending direction. The nozzle 228 functions as a "treatment liquid injection nozzle". The cleaning liquid is supplied upward from the supply pipe 224. A discharge port (not shown) is provided on the bottom of the treatment tank 82. The cleaning liquid supplied from the supply pipes 214 and 224 flows through the bottom surface of the processing tank 82 after cleaning the substrate and is discharged from the discharge port.

The support mechanism 288 includes a rectangular plate-shaped support member 204 and a clamp mechanism 106 disposed at four corners around the support member 204. The support member 204 is formed in a lattice shape having four empty areas. On the upper surface of the support member 204, a plurality of protrusions 208 are provided in accordance with the lattice shape. Rod-shaped reinforcing members 206 over the projections 208 are provided on two sides of the support member 204. A substrate is mounted on these protrusions 208.

16 is a perspective view showing an operation of the cleaning unit 252 during cleaning.

When the cleaning unit 252 is driven while the substrate W is mounted on the mounting surface (protrusion 208) of the support member 204 and clamped to the clamp mechanism 106, the supply pipe 214 rotates and the nozzle The cleaning liquid is jetted from (218). The cleaning liquid is also sprayed from the nozzle 228 of the supply pipe 224 at the same time. Thereby, the cleaning liquid can be sprayed onto the upper and lower surfaces of the substrate W. At this time, the supply pipe 214 rotates about 90 degrees and sprays the cleaning liquid in a manner that scans the upper surface of the substrate W (refer to the double-dashed line arrow in the drawing). Further, the supply pipe 214 may be repeatedly scanned and the cleaning liquid may be sprayed onto the substrate. In that case, in order to discharge the cleaning liquid on the substrate in one direction, it is preferable that the direction in which the supply pipe 214 is scanned is one direction. In addition, in order to improve the discharging property of the cleaning liquid on the surface of the substrate, it is preferable to perform the cleaning treatment while the support member 204 is slightly tilted from the horizontal.

According to the present embodiment, the cleaning method is different, but the posture (horizontal posture) of the substrate W during cleaning, the drying method, and the like are the same as in the first embodiment. For this reason, the same effect as that of the first embodiment can be obtained.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments, and it is needless to say that various modifications are possible within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention.

14 is a cross-sectional view showing a clamp structure according to a modified example. Fig. 14A shows a first modified example, and Fig. 14B shows a second modified example.

In the clamp mechanism of the above embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9B, an O-ring 168 is provided at the distal end of the arm 152 to cope with contact with the substrate W. In the first modified example, the O-ring is not provided, and the diameter-expanding portion 210 is provided at the distal end of the arm 260. As a result, since the area in which the fluid pressure acts on the substrate W can be increased, the gripping force by the arm 260 can be increased. In this case, it is preferable to use at least the material of the tip end of the arm 260 to have a low hardness.

In the second modification, a fluid passage is not formed in the arm 262, and the tip end thereof is made into a spherical shape. In this modification, dry air or deionized water is not supplied by the clamping mechanism. The periphery of the substrate W is sandwiched and supported by the arm 262 and the support member 104. According to this modification, since the contact area is suppressed to be small by making the arm 262 in point contact with the substrate W, the occurrence of scratches on the substrate W can be suppressed, and contamination by contact can be minimized. have. Also in this case, it is preferable that the material of at least the tip portion of the arm 262 is made to have a low hardness.

In the above embodiment, in the plating apparatus 1, the pre-cleaning unit 10 and the plating processing unit 4 are set to different regions. In a modified example, the function of the pre-cleaning unit 10 may be incorporated in the plating treatment unit. For example, in the plating treatment unit 4 shown in Fig. 1, a pre-cleaning tank may be provided between the pre-wet tank 30 and the pre-soak tank 32, and ozone water cleaning and rinsing treatment may be performed.

In the first embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7(a), the support member 104 is divided into six frame regions in a lattice shape (frame shape), but the number of frame regions is reduced to six. It is not limited, and can be appropriately set according to the arrangement of the contactable region 148 set on the substrate W.

Although not described in the above embodiment, a plurality of interchangeable support members may be prepared according to the type of substrate, and may be detachable from the cleaning unit. It is considered that the layout of the mounting area and the non-mounting area are different depending on the type of the substrate. The plurality of types of support members have a size, shape, and layout of protrusions corresponding to a non-mounting area (contactable area) of a certain substrate. With such a configuration, it is possible to cope with substrates of a wide variety of sizes and mounting layouts.

Although not described in the above embodiment, the presence or absence of ozone water cleaning in the pre-cleaning treatment depending on the time from the cleaning of the substrate W in the upstream process to the delivery of the substrate W to the plating apparatus 1 You may decide. Even if the substrate W is cleaned in the upstream step, organic substances may adhere to the seed layer exposed to the resist opening of the substrate W again as time passes. Therefore, specifically, the control unit (management unit) obtains information on the time the substrate W was cleaned in the upstream process for each substrate W, and calculates the elapsed time until it is set on the substrate transfer table 8 do. If the elapsed time is longer than a predetermined time, ozone washing may be performed, and if it is less than a predetermined time, ozone washing may be omitted. That is, the presence or absence of ozone water cleaning may be determined according to the estimated contamination level of the substrate W. Alternatively, the ozone cleaning time may be changed according to the contamination level. Since excessive ozone cleaning may cause damage to the seed layer (conducting layer), it is desirable to set such optimum cleaning conditions.

Although not described in the first embodiment, when supplying the processing liquid to the cleaning tank 92, the substrate W may be slightly tilted until at least the substrate W is immersed. Specifically, in the state shown in Fig. 5, the operation of the four lifting shafts 102 is adjusted, and the support member 104 is tilted at a small angle with respect to the horizontal plane (for example, about 1/1000 to 1/100). . At this time, the overflow tank 94 side (right side) is made to be lowered.

Thereby, it is gradually immersed in the processing liquid from the right side to the left side of the substrate W. This means that the space between the lower surface of the substrate W and the liquid level of the processing liquid is gradually moved to the left, that is, the air is moved to the side opposite to the overflow tank 94. Thereby, it is possible to make it difficult for air bubbles to flow through the overflow tank 94. In other words, it is possible to prevent or suppress the occurrence of bubbles in the overflow tank 94 and lowering the efficiency of the overflow. In that case, after the substrate W is sufficiently immersed in the processing liquid, it is sufficient to return the substrate W horizontally. After the degassed water cleaning is finished, it may be returned horizontally.

According to the substrate processing apparatus provided with such a clamping mechanism, the clamping portion can be processed simultaneously with the processing of the substrate main body, so that the overall efficiency of the substrate processing is increased.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments or modifications, and may be embodied by modifying components within a range not departing from the gist. Various inventions may be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the above embodiments and modifications. Further, some of the constituent elements may be deleted from all constituent elements shown in the above embodiments or modifications.

The present invention can be used in a substrate processing apparatus that treats a substrate with a processing liquid.

1 plating unit, 2 substrate attachment/detachment unit, 4 plating processing unit, 6 control unit, 8 substrate transfer unit, 10 pre-cleaning unit, 12 post-cleaning unit, 14 cleaning unit, 16 cleaning unit, 18 holder transfer mechanism, 20 attachment/detachment mechanism, 22 substrate transfer robot , 23 transfer mechanism, 24 substrate holder, 28 transfer mechanism, 30 pre-wet tank, 32 presoak tank, 34 rinse tank, 36 blow tank, 38 rinse tank, 40 overflow tank, 42 plating tank, 52 cleaning unit, 54 support Mechanism, 56 drying mechanism, 60 guide member, 66 clamp mechanism, 74 air knife, 82 treatment tank, 84 supply mechanism, 86 discharge mechanism, 88 support mechanism, 90 lifting mechanism, 92 washing tank, 94 overflow tank, 96 supply port , 98 supply pipe, 100 outlet, 102 lifting shaft, 104 supporting member, 106 clamp mechanism, 108 protrusion, 110 drying mechanism, 112 air nozzle, 114 drain pipe, 116 outlet, 118 drain pipe, 122 gripping part, 124 air cylinder, 126 Arm, 128 fitting support member, 130 O-ring, 148 contactable area, 150 actuator, 152 arm, 164 fluid passage, 168 O-ring, 170 supply valve, 172 discharge valve, 174 switching valve, 204 support member, 208 protrusion, 210 Expansion part, 211 1st supply mechanism, 212 2nd supply mechanism, 214 supply pipe, 218 nozzle, 224 supply pipe, 228 nozzle, 252 cleaning unit, 260 arm, 262 arm, 284 supply mechanism, 288 support mechanism, W substrate.

Claims (9)

A support having a loading surface for loading the substrate in a horizontal posture;
A processing tank for processing a substrate by supplying a processing liquid to the substrate,
An elevating portion for raising and lowering the support portion in order to lower the substrate into the processing tank and raise it from the processing tank;
A gripping part above the processing tank for gripping an outer peripheral part of the substrate supported by the support part to receive the substrate from the support part,
A first nozzle for drying the substrate by spraying gas on the substrate held by the gripping unit
A substrate processing apparatus comprising a. The method of claim 1, wherein the support,
With the frame body,
A plurality of protrusions protruding from the upper surface of the frame body and constituting the loading surface
Containing, a substrate processing apparatus. The method of claim 2, further comprising a control unit,
The control unit controls the lifting unit to lower the support unit after the holding unit grips the substrate. The processing liquid supply unit according to claim 3, wherein the processing liquid is supplied to the processing tank;
Treatment liquid discharge unit for discharging treatment liquid from the treatment tank
Further comprising,
The control unit controls the processing liquid discharge unit to discharge the processing liquid in the processing tank before or after the raising of the support unit. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, further comprising a second nozzle for drying the mounting surface by spraying gas onto the mounting surface of the support portion. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the second nozzle dries the mounting surface of the support portion that has descended into the processing tank from which the processing liquid is discharged. The substrate transport according to claim 5 or 6, having a support surface that supports an upper surface of the substrate, and transferring the substrate to the loading surface of the support unit while maintaining the substrate in a horizontal position, and receiving from the loading surface. Have wealth,
The control unit,
After drying the loading surface by the second nozzle, the supporting portion is raised, and the lifting portion is controlled to support the substrate gripped by the holding portion on the loading surface of the supporting portion,
The substrate transfer unit receives a substrate supported on the loading surface. The method according to any one of claims 4 to 7, wherein the treatment tank comprises a substrate cleaning tank,
The processing liquid supply unit sequentially supplies a plurality of types of cleaning liquids to the substrate cleaning tank. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a processing liquid spraying nozzle for spraying a processing liquid onto the surface of the substrate supported by the support in the processing tank.

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