TWI714876B - Substrate processing device, substrate processing method, and control method of substrate processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

The substrate processing apparatus 1 of the present invention is a substrate processing device that uses a processing liquid; it has a chamber 10, which can form a closed space for the substrate W, and a processing tank 11, which is arranged in the chamber for storage The treatment liquid; the liquid discharge mechanism 17, which discharges the treatment liquid from the chamber; the pressure reducing mechanism 16, which is provided with a vacuum pump 161 to depressurize the chamber; and the control means 19, which controls the The pressure in the chamber is reduced, and the processing liquid is discharged from the chamber under reduced pressure to control the pressure reducing mechanism and the liquid drain mechanism.

Description

Substrate processing device, substrate processing method, and control method of substrate processing device

The present invention relates to a substrate processing device, a substrate processing method, and a control method of the substrate processing device. The substrate in this specification includes, for example, semiconductor wafers, substrates for liquid crystal displays, substrates for plasma displays, substrates for organic EL (Electroluminescence), substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, and substrates for optical disks. Substrates, photomask substrates, ceramic substrates, substrates for solar cells, etc.

Since the past, the following technology has been known: in the processing step of the substrate, the substrate with the processing liquid (such as pure water) attached to it is placed in an environment of vaporized drying solvent and attached to the substrate. The liquid is replaced with the drying solvent, thereby removing the processing liquid, and drying the processing target substrate (for example, Patent Document 1).

Also, as a method of drying the substrate to which the processing liquid has adhered, a drying method is known that promotes the evaporation of the adhered processing liquid by depressurizing a chamber in a closed state that houses the substrate to be processed. In this method, the vapor pressure of the processing liquid at the temperature at which the chamber becomes a relatively dry time point is further reduced, so that the processing liquid can be quickly evaporated and dried.

In addition, there is also known a technique for efficiently drying the substrate to be processed by replacing the drying solvent with the processing liquid under reduced pressure (for example, Patent Document 2). Furthermore, when the substrate is dried by such a method, it is preferable to discharge the processing liquid from the reduced pressure chamber. The reason is that if the processing liquid remains in the chamber, the humidity in the chamber will increase (that is, the drying ability will be reduced), and the evaporated residual processing liquid will reattach to the substrate.

However, if the treatment liquid is to be discharged from the decompressed chamber toward the outside of the chamber at atmospheric pressure, the treatment liquid will flow backward from the outside of the chamber toward the inside of the chamber due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the chamber. Therefore, it is difficult to discharge the processing liquid from the chamber under reduced pressure.

[Prior Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-351747

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-21420

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a technique for discharging the processing liquid from the closed space while maintaining the reduced pressure of the reduced pressure in a closed space in a substrate processing apparatus that uses a processing liquid for substrate processing. purpose.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention adopts the following constitution.

The substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is a substrate processing device using a processing liquid; it is characterized in that it is provided with: a chamber which can form a closed space for the substrate to be accommodated; a processing tank which is arranged in the chamber, and Storing the processing liquid; a drainage mechanism for discharging the processing liquid from the chamber; a pressure reducing mechanism including a vacuum pump to depressurize the chamber; and a control means for performing The pressure reduction mechanism and the liquid discharge mechanism are controlled by reducing the pressure and discharging the treatment liquid from the chamber under the pressure reduction.

With the device with such a structure, it is possible to maintain the reduced pressure and discharge the processing liquid from the chamber when the substrate with the processing liquid is dried under reduced pressure, so it is possible to prevent the processing liquid from remaining in the chamber from being caused The adverse effects can improve the drying capacity.

In addition, the substrate processing apparatus may further include a dry solvent supply mechanism that supplies vaporized dry solvent into the chamber; and the control means controls the chamber so that the chamber becomes the dry solvent environment. Substrate processing equipment.

With such a configuration, a drying solvent can be used to dry the substrate under reduced pressure in a state where there is no remaining processing liquid, and the substrate can be dried more efficiently. Since the processing liquid attached to the substrate is replaced with a drying solvent to dry the substrate, it can help to improve the drying ability of the fine spaces and the bottom of deep holes where fire is particularly easy to remain, or to suppress the collapse of the circuit pattern.

Furthermore, the liquid discharge mechanism may include a first pipe for discharging the processing liquid from the chamber and a first valve for opening and closing the flow path of the first pipe, and the pressure reducing mechanism may include one end connected to the vacuum pump. The other end is connected to the second piping of the chamber, the second valve that opens and closes the flow path of the second piping, and one end is connected to the first piping downstream of the first valve and the other end is connected to the first piping. The third piping connected to the above-mentioned second piping further downstream of the valve 2 and the third valve that opens and closes the flow path of the third piping.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to discharge gas (ie, decompression) and discharge the processing liquid from the chamber under decompression by one pump, which can contribute to the simplification of the device configuration and space saving.

In addition, the control means may also be in a state in which the vacuum pump is operating: opening the second valve with the first valve and the third valve closed, thereby exhausting the gas in the chamber from the second pipe. The pressure in the chamber is reduced; secondly, the third valve is opened with the first valve closed, and then the second valve is closed after a predetermined time has elapsed, making the third piping and downstream than the first valve The pressure in the first pipe is reduced, and then after a predetermined time has passed, the first valve is opened to cause the processing liquid to flow out toward the first pipe under pressure, thereby removing the pressure from the chamber under pressure. The treatment liquid is discharged.

If there is a sudden pressure change in the chamber or piping, it will cause problems such as vibration or noise of the device, generation of particles, and uneven drying of the substrate. Therefore, the above situation must be avoided. In this regard, if it is configured to set a predetermined time difference for the opening and closing time points of the valves as described above, it is possible to select an appropriate time difference to adjust the pressure difference between the valves without increasing. With this, the processing liquid can be stably discharged from the chamber under reduced pressure without causing sudden pressure fluctuations in the chamber and the pipe, which can contribute to the improvement of substrate processing quality.

Furthermore, the control means may also discharge the treatment liquid from the chamber under reduced pressure: open the second valve with the first valve and the third valve open, and then after a predetermined time has elapsed The first valve is closed, then the third valve is closed after a predetermined time has passed, and the second valve is finally closed, and the decompressed chamber is opened to the atmosphere.

With such a structure, the processing liquid can be discharged from the chamber under reduced pressure, and after the substrate is dried, the pressure in the chamber and piping will not change rapidly and the pressure in the chamber can be returned stably To atmospheric pressure.

In addition, the above-mentioned vacuum pump may also be an aspirator type pump provided with a flow path for circulating a liquid, a propeller for generating water flow from the liquid, and a storage tank contained in the flow path.

According to such a structure, even if the treatment liquid is sucked in, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of a problem in the pump, and since the enclosed liquid is circulated in the pump, the amount of liquid discharged can be reduced.

In addition, the substrate processing method of the present invention is a method of drying the substrate after processing the substrate with a processing liquid in an apparatus having a sealable space; it is characterized in that it includes a pressure reduction step that seals the space And performing a pressure reduction; a solvent supply step, which supplies a vaporized dry solvent into the space under a pressure reduction based on the pressure reduction step; and a liquid drainage step, which is performed by directing the processing liquid toward the pressure reduction The pressure in the above-mentioned space below is sucked in a negative pressure environment equal to or lower than that, and the processing liquid is discharged from the above-mentioned space under the above-mentioned reduced pressure.

According to such a method, the processing liquid can be discharged from the chamber while maintaining the reduced pressure when the substrate to which the processing liquid has adhered is dried under reduced pressure. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the processing liquid from remaining in the chamber from being caused The adverse effects can improve the drying capacity. Furthermore, since strictly speaking, even if the pressure is higher than that of the chamber under reduced pressure, if the weight of the discharged treatment liquid itself is considered, it can also be regarded as being able to discharge the treatment liquid from the chamber The negative pressure environment, so the so-called “equal” mentioned above includes the meaning of such an environment.

In addition, a method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention is provided with: a sealable space for accommodating a substrate processed by a processing liquid; a first pipe that discharges the processing liquid from the space; and The first valve that opens and closes the flow path of the first pipe; the vacuum pump; the second pipe that is connected to the vacuum pump and sucks the gas in the space, and the second valve that opens and closes the flow path of the second pipe; And a third pipe that connects the first pipe and the second pipe downstream of the first valve and the second valve, and a third valve that opens and closes the flow path of the third pipe; of such a substrate processing apparatus The control method is characterized by comprising: a first step of making the space in a sealed state and operating the vacuum pump; and a second step of making the first valve and the third step after the first step When the valve is closed, the second valve is opened, whereby the gas in the enclosed space is discharged from the second piping to reduce the pressure in the enclosed space; the third step is to open after the second step The third valve, and the second valve is closed after a predetermined time has elapsed since the opening, so that the third piping and the first piping downstream of the first valve become equal to or less than the pressure-reduced closed space The negative pressure state; and the fourth step, which opens the first valve after a predetermined time has elapsed from the third step, thereby allowing the processing liquid to flow out of the pressure-reduced state from the space toward the first pipe.

According to such a configuration, the processing liquid can be stably discharged from the decompressed chamber without sudden pressure fluctuations in the chamber and the piping, which can contribute to the improvement of the substrate processing quality.

According to the present invention, it can be provided in a substrate processing apparatus that uses a processing liquid to perform substrate processing, and the processing liquid can be discharged from the closed space while maintaining the decompressed state of the closed space.

1, 2‧‧‧Substrate processing equipment

10‧‧‧Chamber

11‧‧‧Treatment tank

12‧‧‧Lift

13‧‧‧Processing liquid supply system

14‧‧‧Dry solvent supply system

15‧‧‧Gas supply system

16‧‧‧Decompression system (decompression mechanism)

17‧‧‧Draining system (draining mechanism)

18‧‧‧Adjusting valve

19‧‧‧Control Department (Control Means)

26‧‧‧Decompression System

27‧‧‧Draining system

111‧‧‧Treatment tank drain

112‧‧‧Treatment tank drain valve

121‧‧‧Lifting drive source

122‧‧‧Lift arm

123‧‧‧Board Department

124‧‧‧Substrate holding member

131‧‧‧Processing liquid discharge nozzle

132‧‧‧Processing liquid piping

133‧‧‧Treat fluid valve

134‧‧‧Processing liquid supply source

141‧‧‧Dry solvent supply nozzle

142‧‧‧Dry solvent piping

143‧‧‧Dry solvent valve

144‧‧‧Dry solvent supply source

151‧‧‧Gas supply nozzle

152‧‧‧Gas piping

153‧‧‧Gas valve

154‧‧‧Gas supply source

161‧‧‧Vacuum Pump

161a‧‧‧Suction part

161b‧‧‧slot

161c‧‧‧Flow Path

162, 262‧‧‧Exhaust pipe

163、263‧‧‧Exhaust valve

164‧‧‧Connecting pipe

165‧‧‧Connecting pipe valve

171、272‧‧‧Drain pipe

172、273‧‧‧Drain valve

261‧‧‧Exhaust pump

271‧‧‧Drain pump

W‧‧‧Substrate

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1.

2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement relationship of the substrate, the elevator, and the processing tank in the substrate processing apparatus of the first embodiment.

Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the schematic configuration of the vacuum pump of the first embodiment.

4 is a flowchart showing the flow of substrate processing in the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1.

5A is a diagram showing the state of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 during the first operation.

FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the state during the second operation of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1. FIG.

5C is a diagram showing the state of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 during the third operation.

5D is a diagram showing the state of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 during the fourth operation.

5E is a diagram showing the state of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 at the time of the fifth operation.

5F is a diagram showing the state of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 during the sixth operation.

FIG. 5G is a diagram showing the state of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 during the seventh operation.

5H is a diagram showing the state of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 at the time of the eighth operation.

FIG. 6 is a table showing the state of processing progress of the substrate processing apparatus of Example 1 and the relationship between the opening and closing states of the drain valve, the exhaust valve, and the connecting pipe valve.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating the decompression system and the liquid discharge system of the substrate processing apparatus of the second embodiment.

Hereinafter, with reference to the drawings, the mode for implementing the present invention will be exemplarily described in detail based on embodiments. However, as long as there is no special description, the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the constituent parts described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention.

<Example 1> (Construction of substrate processing equipment)

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment. The substrate processing apparatus 1 stores the processing liquid in the processing tank 11 arranged in the chamber 10, and uses the elevator 12 holding the substrate W to immerse the substrate W in the processing tank 11 to perform a so-called batch type cleaning process.的装置。 The device. The plurality of substrates W are carried into and out of the chamber 10 of the substrate processing apparatus 1 by a transfer robot (not shown). Furthermore, the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment is a single-tank type in which after the substrate W is treated with a chemical solution, pure water is used to remove the chemical solution, and then the substrate W is dried using a dry solvent.的装置。 The device.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 has a chamber 10, a processing tank 11, an elevator 12, a processing liquid supply system 13, a dry solvent supply system 14, a gas supply system 15, a decompression system 16, and a drainage system 17, as its main components. Adjustment valve 18, and control unit 19.

The chamber 10 is equipped with an opening and closing mechanism not shown in the upper part, and when the mechanism is in a closed state, a frame that can form a closed space, and is equipped with a processing tank 11, a lifter 12, and the like.

The processing tank 11 is a container for storing various chemical liquids, pure water, etc. as processing liquids. At the bottom of the treatment tank 11, a treatment tank discharge port 111 and a treatment tank discharge valve 112 are provided. If the treatment tank discharge valve 112 is opened while the treatment liquid is stored in the treatment tank 11, the treatment tank 11 The treatment liquid will be discharged to the bottom of the chamber 10. In addition, in the vicinity of the bottom of the processing tank 11, processing liquid discharge nozzles 131 constituting the processing liquid supply system 13 are provided along the inner walls of the side surfaces in the longitudinal direction of the processing tank 11, respectively.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the arrangement relationship of the substrate W, the elevator 12, and the processing tank 11. The elevator 12 is a part for immersing the substrate W in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank 11. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the elevator 12 is provided with an elevator driving source 121, an elevator arm 122, and a device connected to the elevator arm. The plate part 123 and the three substrate holding members 124 which are provided in the plate part 123 in a unilateral cantilever shape, and hold the substrate W in an upright posture.

The elevator arm 122, the plate portion 123, and the substrate holding member 124 can be integrally raised and lowered in the vertical direction by the raising and lowering drive source 121. Thereby, the elevator 12 can allow the plurality of substrates W to be immersed in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank 11 (hereinafter referred to as the immersion position), and above the processing tank 11 where the substrate is dried (hereinafter referred to as The plurality of substrates W are held in parallel by the three substrate holding members 124 arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval by raising and lowering between the drying position) or the position where the substrate is transferred with the transfer robot (hereinafter referred to as the substrate transfer position). Furthermore, the lifting drive source 121 may employ various well-known mechanisms such as a ball screw mechanism, a belt mechanism, and a cylinder.

The processing liquid supply system 13 is equipped with a processing liquid discharge nozzle 131, a processing liquid piping 132, a processing liquid valve 133, and a processing liquid supply source 134, which is used to supply processing liquids such as various chemical liquids and pure water to the processing tank 11 Piping system. When the processing liquid valve 133 is opened, the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply source 134 is discharged into the processing tank 11 through the processing liquid piping 132 and the processing liquid discharge nozzle 131. In addition, although only one processing liquid supply system 13 is shown in the figure, a plurality of processing liquid supply systems 13 may be provided according to the type of processing liquid used.

As an example of the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply system 13, there is a chemical liquid used for so-called substrate cleaning processing or etching processing. Specifically, as the chemical solution, for example, SPM (Sulfuric Peroxide Mixture; a mixture of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide), an ozone hydrogen peroxide mixture (a mixture of ozone and hydrogen peroxide), SC1 (ammonia-hydrogen peroxide mixture; ammonia and hydrogen peroxide mixture), SC2 (hydrochloric acid/hydrogen peroxide mixture; hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide mixture), HF (hydrofluoric acid), H3PO4 (phosphoric acid), FPM (hydrofluoric acid) -hydrogen peroxide mixture; a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and hydrogen peroxide), FOM (a mixture of hydrofluoric acid and ozone hydrogen peroxide), etc. These processing liquids can be appropriately and selectively used according to the type of film formed on the substrate W, the processing steps, and the like. Alternatively, it may be configured to supply a so-called rinsing liquid from the processing liquid supply system 13 to wash off the chemical liquid after treatment with the chemical liquid. As a specific example of this rinse liquid, pure water, ozone water, hydrogen peroxide water, etc. are mentioned, for example.

The dry solvent supply system 14 is equipped with a dry solvent supply nozzle 141, a dry solvent pipe 142, a dry solvent valve 143, and a dry solvent supply source 144, which is used to vaporize the organic solvent (hereinafter also referred to as solvent gas), for example IPA (isopropyl alcohol) is supplied to the piping system in the chamber 10.

If the dry solvent valve 143 is opened, the solvent gas supplied from the dry solvent supply source 144 is supplied into the chamber 10 through the dry solvent pipe 142 and the dry solvent supply nozzle 141. Furthermore, in the figure, on the left and right of the upper part of the chamber 10, although one drying solvent supply nozzle 141 is shown, more nozzles may be provided.

The gas supply system 15 includes a gas supply nozzle 151, a gas piping 152, a gas valve 153, and a gas supply source 154, and is a piping system for supplying an inert gas (for example, nitrogen) into the chamber 10.

When the gas valve 153 is opened, the inert gas supplied from the gas supply source 154 is supplied into the chamber 10 through the gas pipe 152 and the gas supply nozzle 151. Furthermore, in the figure, one gas supply nozzle 151 is shown on the left and right of the upper part of the chamber 10, but more nozzles may be provided.

The decompression system 16 includes a vacuum pump 161 that functions as a decompression pump, an exhaust pipe 162 that connects the vacuum pump 161 and the chamber 10, an exhaust valve 163 that opens and closes the flow path of the exhaust pipe 162, and a connection exhaust The pressure reducing mechanism of the connecting pipe 164 of the pipe 162 and the drain pipe 171 described later, and the connecting pipe valve 165 that closes the flow path of the connecting pipe 164.

When the chamber 10 is in a closed state, the vacuum pump 161 is operated, the connecting pipe valve 165 is closed, and the exhaust valve 163 is opened, so that the ambient gas in the chamber 10 is exhausted and the pressure in the chamber 10 is reduced.

Here, in the conventional substrate processing apparatus, since the main purpose of the vacuum pump is to reduce the air pressure in the chamber, a vacuum pump suitable for gas suction can be used. Such a vacuum pump has become a specification that takes into account the need to remove the gas in the chamber. If the liquid enters the suction port of the vacuum pump, the suction force will drop sharply and intermittently, or the pump itself may malfunction. When the suction force drops sharply, there is a possibility that the air pressure in the chamber will change sharply, or the drainage backflow may occur.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the schematic configuration of the vacuum pump 161 of this embodiment. The vacuum pump 161 is a so-called suction-type decompression pump, which is equipped with a suction portion 161a, a groove 161b, a flow path 161c including the suction portion 161a and the groove 161b, and a sealing liquid (not shown) circulating in the flow path 161c ), and a propeller (not shown) that makes the enclosed liquid flow. By using the water flow of the enclosed liquid generated by the rotation of the propeller, the gas is sucked in from the suction part 161a, thereby depressurizing the object (the chamber 10 in this embodiment). With such a structure of the vacuum pump 161, the operation of the pump can be continued even when the pump sucks in liquid such as processing liquid.

That is, by applying the above-mentioned exhaust-type decompression pump to the substrate processing apparatus with the configuration illustrated in FIG. 3, the pressure-reduced state in the chamber 10 can be maintained without causing sudden air pressure in the chamber 10 The process liquid is removed from the chamber 10 due to the change of

The drain system 17 is a piping system provided with a drain pipe 171, a drain valve 172, and a drain tank not shown. In addition to being connected to the bottom of the chamber 10 and the drain tank, the drain pipe 171 is also connected to the connecting pipe 164 of the pressure reducing system 16 on the downstream side of the drain valve. Therefore, by opening the drain valve 172, the treatment liquid stored at the bottom of the chamber passes through the drain pipe 171 and flows out toward the drain tank or the communicating pipe. This will be described in detail later.

The adjusting valve 18 functions as a breathing valve that adjusts the pressure-reduced state in the chamber 10 within an arbitrary range, and maintains the open state to eliminate the pressure-reduced state in the chamber 10 to open to the atmosphere.

The hardware configuration of the control unit 19 is the same as that of a general computer. That is, it becomes an input unit with a keyboard, etc., an output unit with a monitor, etc., CPU (Central Processing Unit; Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read only memory), RAM (Random access memory; random access memory) Take memory), and large-capacity storage devices. The control unit 19 is connected to the treatment tank drain valve 112, the lift drive source 121 of the elevator 12, the treatment liquid valve 133, the dry solvent valve 143, the gas valve 153, the vacuum pump 161, the exhaust valve 163, the connecting pipe valve 165, and the drain valve 172, and the regulating valve 18 are electrically connected, and the CPU executes a predetermined processing program to control these actions.

(Operation of substrate processing equipment)

Next, the operation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the flow of substrate processing by the substrate processing apparatus 1. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the substrate processing apparatus 1 in each stage of the processing operation. FIG. 5A shows the stage of the cleaning process of the substrate W using pure water. In addition, FIG. 5B shows a stage in which the pressure in the chamber 10 is reduced. Moreover, FIG. 5C shows a stage in which the inside of the chamber 10 becomes a dry solvent environment. In addition, FIG. 5D shows a stage in which the substrate W is raised from the processing tank 11 to a dry solvent environment after the washing process performed with pure water. In addition, FIG. 5E shows a stage in which the treatment liquid is discharged from the treatment tank 11. FIG. 5F shows the stage of discharging the processing liquid from the chamber 10 in the decompressed state. Moreover, FIG. 5G shows a stage in which the inside of the chamber 10 is made into an inert gas environment to dry the substrate W. Moreover, FIG. 5H shows a stage in which the inside of the chamber 10 is opened to the atmosphere. 6 is a table showing the relationship between the state of processing and the opening and closing states of the drain valve 172, the exhaust valve 163, and the communication pipe valve 165.

If the control according to the flow starts, first, the elevator 12 receives a plurality of substrates W from the transfer robot at the substrate transfer position in the upper part of the chamber 10, and then lowers the substrates W while holding the substrates together, and closes the opening and closing mechanism of the chamber 10 (Step S1). At this time, the gas valve 153 is opened, and an inert gas (hereinafter, nitrogen gas will be described as an example) is supplied into the chamber 10 from the gas supply nozzle 151. Thereby, the inside of the chamber 10 becomes a nitrogen atmosphere.

Next, the processing liquid supply valve is opened, and the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply source 134 (hereinafter, pure water will be described as an example) is supplied from the processing liquid discharge nozzle 131 in the processing tank 11. Thereafter, since the processing liquid supply valve is maintained in an open state until the immersion processing of the substrate W is completed, pure water overflows from the processing tank 11 to the bottom of the chamber 10. Furthermore, at this time, the drain valve 172 is opened, and the pure water overflowing to the bottom of the chamber 10 is discharged from the drain pipe 171 toward the drain tank.

If the processing tank 11 is filled with pure water, the elevator 12 moves to the immersion position, and stops at the position where the substrate W is immersed in pure water. Furthermore, after the elevator 12 moves to the immersion position, the supply of the treatment liquid to the treatment tank 11 may be started.

Then, while maintaining the state in which the plurality of substrates W are immersed in pure water stored in the processing tank 11, the processing liquid discharge nozzle 131 continues to supply pure water to the processing tank 11, thereby performing the cleaning process of the substrate W (Step S2, refer to FIG. 5A).

When the cleaning process of the substrate W with pure water is completed, the processing liquid valve 133 is closed to stop the supply of pure water, and the drain valve 172 is closed. Then, the vacuum pump 161 is operated, the exhaust valve 163 is opened, and the inside of the chamber 10 is brought into a reduced pressure state (step S3, refer to FIG. 5B). At this time, the connecting pipe valve 165 is in a closed state.

Next, the gas valve 153 is closed and the dry solvent valve 143 is opened. The vaporized organic solvent (hereinafter, IPA is used as an example for explanation) is supplied into the chamber 10 instead of nitrogen, whereby the inside of the chamber 10 is removed from the nitrogen environment. Replace with IPA vapor environment (step S4, refer to FIG. 5C).

Then, the substrate W is raised to the dry position by the elevator 12 holding the substrate W, and is exposed to the IPA vapor environment. At this time, IPA condenses on the surface of the substrate W raised from the pure water. That is, the pure water droplets attached to the substrate W are replaced with IPA (step S5, refer to FIG. 5D). Furthermore, without raising the elevator 12 to the drying position, the substrate W may be exposed to the IPA vapor environment by draining the processing liquid from the processing tank 11.

Next, the control unit 19 performs a process of discharging pure water from the chamber 10 under a reduced pressure and an IPA environment (step S6). Specifically, first, the treatment tank drain valve 112 is opened, and the pure water in the treatment tank 11 is discharged toward the bottom of the chamber 10 (see FIG. 5E). At this time, the connecting pipe valve 165 is also opened. Thereafter, as shown in the table of Fig. 6, the drain valve 172, the exhaust valve 163, and the connecting pipe valve 165 are opened and closed in the following order to discharge pure water from the chamber 10 under reduced pressure (refer to Figure 5F).

First, after a predetermined time (for example, 3 seconds) has elapsed since the exhaust valve 163 and the communication pipe valve 165 were opened, the exhaust valve 163 is closed. Thereby, the drain pipe 171 in the communication pipe 164 and downstream of the drain valve 172 is brought into a negative pressure state. In addition, if the drain valve 172 is opened after a predetermined time, the pure water stored at the bottom of the chamber 10 is sucked into the drain pipe 171 and the communicating pipe 164 in the negative pressure state and discharged from the chamber 10. Furthermore, although the pure water sucked toward the communication pipe 164 is sucked into the vacuum pump 161, since the vacuum pump 161 is configured as described above, it will not adversely affect the operation of the pump.

As described above, after the pure water is discharged from the chamber 10, first, the closed exhaust valve 163 is opened, then the drain valve 172 is closed after a predetermined time has passed, and then the connecting pipe valve is closed after a predetermined time has passed 165, and only the exhaust valve 163 is open before returning to the drainage treatment. Furthermore, by setting a predetermined time interval before opening and closing each valve as described above, the pressure fluctuation in the device can be alleviated. As a result, it is possible to suppress the disadvantages caused by sudden pressure fluctuations.

Next, the control unit 19 closes the dry solvent valve 143 to stop the supply of IPA vapor, and opens the gas valve 153 to supply nitrogen. Thereby, the inside of the chamber 10 is replaced from an IPA environment to a nitrogen environment, and the IPA condensed on the substrate W evaporates (step S7, refer to FIG. 5G).

In this way, if the drying process of the substrate W is completed, the exhaust valve 163 is closed and the vacuum pump 161 is stopped, so that the pressure in the chamber 10 returns to the atmospheric pressure (step S8, refer to FIG. 5H). Then, the elevator 12 is moved to the substrate delivery position, and the substrate W whose processing has been completed is delivered to the transfer robot (step S9), and a series of operations are completed.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiments, although only the treatment using pure water is described, of course, the rinse treatment using pure water may be performed after the substrate treatment using the chemical liquid. In this case, it is only necessary that after the chemical solution treatment, the substrate W does not rise to the drying position and waits in the immersion position, and the treatment tank drain valve 112 and the drain valve 172 are opened to release the chemical After the liquid is discharged, the treatment tank drain valve 112 is closed, and pure water is supplied from the treatment liquid discharge nozzle 131. In addition, it is also possible to repeatedly perform the treatment with the chemical solution and the rinse treatment and then the drying treatment, and it is also possible to use multiple types of chemical solutions at this time.

With the configuration of the above-mentioned embodiment, in the batch-type substrate processing apparatus 1 that uses a processing liquid for substrate processing, when the substrate W is vapor-dried under reduced pressure, since the reduced pressure can be maintained while being free Since the processing liquid is discharged from the chamber 10, it is possible to efficiently dry the substrate W with high quality without being adversely affected by the remaining processing liquid.

(Modification)

In the above-mentioned embodiment, although the treatment liquid overflowed from the treatment tank 11 flows directly to the bottom of the chamber 10, the treatment tank 11 can also be configured to have an inner tank and an outer tank. The structure is to store the treatment liquid in the inner tank and receive the overflowing treatment liquid in the outer tank. In this case, the drain pipe 171 may be connected to the outer tank.

In addition, in the above embodiment, in order to avoid sudden pressure fluctuations, when opening and closing each valve of the drain valve 172, the exhaust valve 163, and the communication pipe valve 165, although the predetermined time interval is set, the above-mentioned Other methods. For example, it is also possible to install pressure sensors on the upstream and downstream of each valve, and use the threshold of the pressure difference to determine the time point for each valve to open and close.

<Example 2>

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 7. Compared with the above-mentioned embodiment 1, this embodiment has different configurations of the decompression system and the drainage system, and the other configurations are the same, so the same symbols are used for the configurations and the description is omitted. FIG. 7 is a block diagram for explaining the decompression system 26 and the drainage system 27 of the substrate processing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment.

The pressure reducing system 26 includes an exhaust pump 261, an exhaust pipe 262, and an exhaust valve 263, and the exhaust valve 263 is opened by operating the exhaust pump 261 to reduce the pressure in the chamber 10. Furthermore, although the exhaust pump 261 may be a general vacuum pump, it may be mixed with water such as processing liquid and dry solvent in the exhaust, so it is preferable to use one with water resistance.

The drain system 27 is provided with a drain pump 271, a drain pipe 272, a drain valve 273, and a drain tank (not shown). The drain pump 271 is operated to open the drain valve 273, which can be compared Any pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure sucks the processing liquid at the bottom of the chamber 10. In addition, since the drain pump 271 sucks the processing liquid, it is necessary to use a device that does not cause any trouble in operation even if it sucks in water, like the vacuum pump described in the first embodiment.

As described above, the substrate processing apparatus 2 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which the pressure reducing system 26 and the liquid discharge system 27 are provided with pumps, respectively. Therefore, when the pressure in the chamber 10 is in a reduced pressure state, the method of discharging the processing liquid is different from that of the first embodiment.

That is, after opening the treatment tank discharge valve 112 to discharge the treatment liquid from the treatment tank 11 toward the bottom of the chamber 10, the discharge pump 271 is operated, and the pressure of the discharge pipe 272 is set to be lower than that in the chamber 10. , And the drain valve 273 is opened, so that the treatment liquid can be drained from the chamber 10 maintained at a reduced pressure.

With such a configuration of the substrate processing apparatus 2 of the second embodiment, the piping path of the substrate processing apparatus can be prevented from becoming complicated, and the processing liquid can be discharged from the chamber 10 in the decompressed state without performing complicated valve opening and closing control.

<other>

Furthermore, the above-mentioned embodiments are merely illustrative to illustrate the present invention, and the present invention is not limited by the above-mentioned specific aspects. The present invention can be variously modified within the scope of its technical idea. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although the substrate processing apparatus is a so-called single-tank apparatus with one processing tank 11, the present invention can also be applied to the so-called so-called chemical treatment and rinse processing in different processing tanks 11. Multi-slot device.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although nitrogen gas is supplied into the chamber 10 to process the substrate W, it may be changed to use other inert gas such as argon.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, IPA vapor is used as the drying solvent for vapor drying, but in addition, ethanol, methanol, etc. can also be used as the drying solvent. In addition, the present invention can also be applied to a device and a drying method that do not perform vapor drying using a dry solvent but only perform vacuum drying.

1‧‧‧Substrate processing equipment

10‧‧‧Chamber

11‧‧‧Treatment tank

12‧‧‧Lift

13‧‧‧Processing liquid supply system

14‧‧‧Dry solvent supply system

15‧‧‧Gas supply system

16‧‧‧Decompression system (decompression mechanism)

17‧‧‧Draining system (draining mechanism)

18‧‧‧Adjusting valve

19‧‧‧Control Department (Control Means)

111‧‧‧Treatment tank drain

112‧‧‧Treatment tank drain valve

123‧‧‧Board Department

124‧‧‧Substrate holding member

131‧‧‧Processing liquid discharge nozzle

132‧‧‧Processing liquid piping

133‧‧‧Treat fluid valve

134‧‧‧Processing liquid supply source

141‧‧‧Dry solvent supply nozzle

142‧‧‧Dry solvent piping

143‧‧‧Dry solvent valve

144‧‧‧Dry solvent supply source

151‧‧‧Gas supply nozzle

152‧‧‧Gas piping

153‧‧‧Gas valve

154‧‧‧Gas supply source

161‧‧‧Vacuum Pump

162‧‧‧Exhaust pipe

163‧‧‧Exhaust valve

164‧‧‧Connecting pipe

165‧‧‧Connecting pipe valve

171‧‧‧Drain pipe

172‧‧‧Drain valve

W‧‧‧Substrate

Claims (7)

A substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates by processing liquid; characterized in that it is provided with: a chamber, which can form a closed space for accommodating the substrate; and a processing tank, which is arranged in the chamber for storage The treatment liquid; a liquid discharge mechanism for discharging the treatment liquid from the chamber; a pressure reducing mechanism including a vacuum pump to depressurize the chamber; and a control means for reducing the pressure in the chamber To control the pressure reducing mechanism and the liquid discharge mechanism by means of discharging the processing liquid from the chamber under reduced pressure; the liquid discharge mechanism is provided with a first piping for discharging the processing liquid from the chamber and The first valve that opens and closes the flow path of the first piping, the pressure reducing mechanism includes a second piping that connects one end to the vacuum pump and the other end to the chamber, and a first valve that opens and closes the flow path of the second piping. 2 valves, and a third pipe with one end connected to the first pipe downstream of the first valve and the other end connected to the second pipe downstream of the second valve, and the flow path of the third pipe To open and close the third valve, the control means is in the state of the vacuum pump in operation: the second valve is opened while the first valve and the third valve are closed, so as to discharge the inside of the chamber from the second pipe The pressure in the chamber is reduced by the gas; secondly, the third valve is opened with the first valve closed, and then the second valve is closed after a predetermined time has elapsed, so that the third piping and the first valve The pressure in the first piping further downstream is reduced, and then the first valve is opened after a predetermined time has elapsed to cause the processing liquid to flow out toward the first piping, thereby removing the processing liquid from the chamber under reduced pressure To be discharged. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a dry solvent supply mechanism that supplies a vaporized dry solvent to the chamber; the control means is such that the chamber becomes the dry solvent environment , To control the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus. A substrate processing apparatus for processing substrates by processing liquid; characterized in that it is provided with: a chamber, which can form a closed space for accommodating the substrate; and a processing tank, which is arranged in the chamber for storage The treatment liquid; a liquid discharge mechanism for discharging the treatment liquid from the chamber; a pressure reducing mechanism including a vacuum pump to depressurize the chamber; and a control means for reducing the pressure in the chamber Control the pressure reduction mechanism and the liquid discharge mechanism by means of discharging the processing liquid from the chamber under reduced pressure; and further includes: a dry solvent supply mechanism that supplies vaporized solvent to the chamber Dry solvent; The control means controls the substrate processing apparatus in such a way that the chamber becomes the environment of the dry solvent, and the liquid discharge mechanism is provided with a first pipe for discharging the processing liquid from the chamber and the first 1 The first valve that opens and closes the flow path of the piping, the pressure reducing mechanism includes a second piping whose one end is connected to the vacuum pump and the other end is connected to the chamber, and a second valve that opens and closes the flow path of the second piping, And a third pipe with one end connected to the first pipe downstream of the first valve and the other end connected to the second pipe downstream of the second valve, and a third pipe that opens and closes the flow path of the third pipe 3 valves, the above-mentioned control means further discharge the above-mentioned treatment liquid from the above-mentioned chamber under reduced pressure After discharge, with the first valve and the third valve open, open the second valve, then close the first valve after a predetermined time has elapsed, and then close the third valve after the predetermined time has elapsed, and finally The second valve is closed, and the decompressed chamber is opened to the atmosphere. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the control means is in a state in which the vacuum pump is in operation: the second valve is opened in a state where the first valve and the third valve are closed, whereby the second piping is opened The gas in the chamber is discharged to depressurize the chamber; secondly, the third valve is opened with the first valve closed, and then the second valve is closed after a predetermined time has passed, so that the third piping and The pressure in the first piping downstream of the first valve is reduced, and then the first valve is opened after a predetermined time has elapsed to cause the processing liquid to flow out toward the first piping, thereby from the chamber under pressure reduction The above treatment liquid is discharged from the room. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the vacuum pump is provided with a flow path for circulating a liquid, a propeller that generates a water flow from the liquid, and a suction pump included in a storage tank in the flow path . A substrate processing method is a method of drying the substrate after processing the substrate using a processing liquid in a device with a sealed space; the method is characterized in that it has: a pressure reduction step, which seals the space and reduces Pressure; a solvent supply step, which supplies a vaporized dry solvent into the space under a reduced pressure based on the above-mentioned decompression step; and a liquid drain step, which involves directing the treatment liquid toward the above-mentioned under reduced pressure The pressure in the space is inhaled in a negative pressure environment below the same pressure, and the above space under the above decompression will rise The treatment liquid is discharged. A method for controlling a substrate processing apparatus, the substrate processing apparatus is provided with: a sealable space for accommodating a substrate processed by a processing liquid; a first pipe for discharging the processing liquid from the space; and the first The first valve that opens and closes the flow path of the pipe; the vacuum pump; the second pipe that is connected to the vacuum pump and sucks the gas in the space; and the second valve that opens and closes the flow path of the second pipe; and The first valve and the second valve are connected to the third pipe of the first pipe and the second pipe further downstream, and the third valve that opens and closes the flow path of the third pipe; the control method of such a substrate processing apparatus, It is characterized in that it includes: a first step of making the space sealed and operating the vacuum pump; and a second step of closing the first valve and the third valve after the first step The second valve is opened in the state, whereby the gas in the closed space is discharged from the second pipe to reduce the pressure in the closed space; the third step is to open the third after the second step Valve, and close the second valve after a predetermined time has elapsed from the opening, thereby making the third piping and the first piping downstream of the first valve a negative pressure equal to or less than the decompressed enclosed space State; and a fourth step, which opens the first valve after a predetermined time has elapsed from the third step, thereby allowing the processing liquid to flow out of the space in the reduced pressure state toward the first pipe.

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