TWI803011B - Substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The object of the present invention is to reduce the size of the air bubbles V in the substrate processing system 1 that immerses the substrate W in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank 821 and supplies the air bubbles to the substrate W in the processing liquid to process the substrate W. Improve the processing quality of the substrate. The present invention is a substrate processing apparatus, which includes: a processing liquid ejection part 830, which forms a liquid flow L of the processing liquid, and the liquid flow L flows upward along the substrate W held in the substrate holding part 810 from below the substrate W; and The bubble supply unit 840 is disposed between the treatment liquid ejection unit 830 and the substrate holding unit 810, and supplies bubbles V into the treatment liquid stored in the treatment tank 821; supply gas; and a bubble ejection port 845, which is provided in the gas supply pipe 842, and ejects bubbles V toward the direction in which the substrates are arranged.

Description

Substrate processing equipment

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus which immerses a substrate in a processing liquid such as chemical solution or pure water stored in a processing tank, and supplies air bubbles to the substrate in the processing liquid to process the substrate. Furthermore, the substrate includes semiconductor wafers, glass substrates for liquid crystal display devices, glass substrates for plasma displays, glass substrates or ceramic substrates for magnetic disks or optical disks, glass substrates for organic EL (electroluminescence, electroluminescence) devices, solar cells, etc. Use a glass substrate or a silicon substrate, etc.

In the field of semiconductor device manufacturing, in order to cope with the increase in density and capacity of semiconductor devices, the technology of forming high-aspect-ratio recesses is highly anticipated. For example, in the manufacturing process of three-dimensional NAND (Not And, reverse and) type non-volatile semiconductor device (hereinafter referred to as "3D-NAND memory"), the following steps are included: the silicon oxide film (SiO ₂ film) and a silicon nitride film (SiN film) are laminated in multiple layers. After forming a recess along the lamination direction, a processing liquid is supplied to the recess and the SiN film is removed by wet etching. In order to perform this step, for example, a method using a substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has been considered.

The substrate processing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes: a processing tank that stores a processing liquid for processing a substrate; a substrate holding unit that holds the substrate in the processing liquid in the processing tank; and a fluid supply unit that supplies fluid to the processing tank; and a control unit, which controls the fluid supply unit; and the control unit changes the fluid supply to the fluid supply unit during the period from the start of supplying the fluid to the treatment tank in which the substrate-immersed treatment liquid is stored until the end of the fluid supply In this way, the fluid supply part is controlled. In this substrate processing apparatus, a first fluid supply pipe and a second fluid supply pipe for supplying gas or liquid parallel to the normal direction of the main surface of the substrate as the fluid supply portion extend at the bottom of the processing tank. In addition, efforts have been made to suppress variations that occur when substrates are processed in a processing tank by switching the periods of supplying gas or liquid from the first fluid supply pipe and the second fluid supply pipe by the control unit.

Here, when the gas is supplied from the fluid supply pipe, the supplied gas floats in the processing liquid in the form of bubbles. It is conceivable that the speed of the upflow of the processing liquid will be accelerated by the buoyancy of the bubbles, and when the bubbles pass through the front of the substrate, they will contact the front of the substrate, thereby stirring the process with a high concentration of silicon present on the front of the substrate. Liquid layer (high concentration layer). In this way, the processing liquid on the front side of the substrate is promoted to be replaced with fresh processing liquid after the air bubbles pass through. As a result, it is conceivable that the concentration of silicon near the upper part of the pattern formed by wet etching using the treatment liquid becomes lower, and the substrate can be processed quickly and uniformly, down to the depth of the narrow and deep groove of the pattern. It is considered here that the smaller the diameter (bubble diameter) of the bubbles passing through the front surface of the substrate, the greater the degree of agitation of the bubbles to the treatment liquid. [Prior Art Literature] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2020-47885

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In Patent Document 1, the diameter of the fluid supply pipe is, for example, about 8.0 mm, the diameter of the outlet is about 0.3 mm, and the diameter of the bubbles ejected from the outlet is in the range of about 2.0 mm to about 3.5 mm. However, it is still desired to further reduce the bubble diameter. After the bubbles are generated from the ejection port, they will immediately contact with the surrounding area of the ejection port. As the ejection time elapses, the contact area will spread radially around the ejection port. Thereafter, the air bubbles are detached from the close contact area and supplied into the treatment liquid. Since there is a limit to the reduction process of the discharge port, it has been difficult to further reduce the diameter of the bubble.

The present invention was obtained in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its object is to reduce the supply to the front surface of the substrate in a substrate processing apparatus that immerses the substrate in the processing liquid stored in the processing tank and supplies air bubbles to the front surface of the substrate to process it. The diameter of the air bubbles can improve the processing quality of the substrate. [Technical means to solve the problem]

A first aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus, which is characterized by comprising: a processing tank storing a processing liquid for immersing and processing a substrate; The above-mentioned substrates are arranged at a distance from each other, and the above-mentioned substrates are held in an upright posture; the processing liquid ejection part forms the liquid flow of the above-mentioned processing liquid, and the liquid flow flows along the above-mentioned substrate from below the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding part. flow upward; and an air bubble supply part, which is arranged between the above-mentioned processing liquid ejection part and the above-mentioned substrate holding part, and supplies air bubbles into the above-mentioned processing liquid stored in the above-mentioned processing tank; and the above-mentioned air bubble supply part has: a gas supply pipe, which supplying gas inside; and a bubble ejection port provided in the gas supply pipe to eject bubbles in the direction in which the substrates are arranged.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the bubble ejection port of the bubble supply part is provided between the processing liquid ejection part and the front surface of the substrate held in the substrate holding part, and ejects the bubbles in the direction in which the substrates are arranged, so that the liquid of the processing liquid can be utilized. The flow causes the air bubbles to escape from the air bubble ejection port. Thereby, instead of detaching the bubbles from the bubble ejection port of the gas supply pipe by the liquid flow of the processing liquid, the bubbles having a smaller diameter can be supplied to the front surface of the substrate. In addition, by supplying air bubbles to the front surface of the substrate by using the rising of the processing liquid, the rising speed of the air bubbles can be increased, so that the processing liquid on the front surface of the substrate can be quickly and continuously replaced with fresh processing liquid.

A second aspect of the present invention is a substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the gas supply pipe is extended along the main surface of the substrate as viewed from above, and has a plurality of gas supply pipes on the side wall. The bubble ejection port is located at a position capable of supplying air bubbles to a gap between the adjacent substrates held in the substrate holding portion.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the bubble discharge port is located below the gap between the substrates, it is possible to supply bubbles with a small diameter to the front surface of the substrate by utilizing the liquid flow of the processing liquid.

A third aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, wherein the processing liquid discharge unit has a plurality of processing liquid supply pipes for supplying the processing liquid inside, and the processing liquid supply pipe The side wall of the pipe has a plurality of treatment liquid ejection ports, and the treatment liquid ejection ports are located below the gap between the adjacent substrates.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the treatment liquid discharge port is located below the gap between the substrates, it is possible to supply bubbles with a small diameter to the gap between the plurality of substrates arranged.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect or the third aspect of the present invention, wherein the bubble supply unit has a plurality of the gas supply pipes, and the gas supply pipes are arranged horizontally. Adjacent to other gas supply pipes, the bubble ejection port is opened substantially horizontally below the gap between the substrates.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to supply air bubbles with a smaller air bubble diameter to the front surfaces of a plurality of arrayed substrates.

A fifth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, wherein the bubble ejection port is located at the front end of a hollow protruding portion protruding from the gas supply pipe.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, air bubbles with a smaller air bubble diameter can be supplied to the front surfaces of the plurality of arrayed substrates.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the protruding portion is columnar or tapered.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to supply air bubbles with smaller air bubble diameters to the front surfaces of the plurality of arrayed substrates.

A seventh aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the fourth to sixth aspects of the present invention, characterized in that the bubble ejection port is circular or elliptical.

According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to supply air bubbles with smaller air bubble diameters to the front surfaces of the plurality of arrayed substrates.

The eighth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the second aspect to the seventh aspect of the present invention, wherein the substrate is held on the substrate in a state where the front faces or the back faces of adjacent substrates face each other. keep part.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the footprint of the substrate processing apparatus can be reduced, and the substrate can be processed efficiently.

A ninth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, characterized in that: the above-mentioned substrate is in a state opposite to the back surface of the adjacent substrate, and between the back surface of the above-mentioned substrate and the back surface of the adjacent substrate There are partitions between.

According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, more air bubbles with a smaller air bubble diameter can be supplied to the front surface of the substrate than when no partition plate is provided.

A tenth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first aspect to the ninth aspect of the present invention, wherein the bubble supply part is made of a resin material, and the resin material is selected from polyether ether ketone ( Consists of at least one material selected from the group consisting of PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA) and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE).

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, air bubbles with a smaller air bubble diameter can be supplied to the front surfaces of the plurality of arrayed substrates.

An eleventh aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the tenth aspect of the present invention, characterized in that the bubble ejection port is hydrophilized.

According to the eleventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to supply air bubbles with smaller air bubble diameters to the front surfaces of the plurality of arrayed substrates.

A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the substrate processing apparatus according to the first to eleventh aspects of the present invention, characterized in that a rectifying plate is provided below the gas supply pipe.

According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, it is possible to supply air bubbles with a smaller air bubble diameter to the front surfaces of the plurality of arrayed substrates. [Effect of Invention]

According to the present invention, since air bubbles with a small air bubble diameter can be supplied to the front surface of the substrate, the silicon concentration can be reduced by replacing the treatment solution with a high silicon concentration near the upper part of the pattern with a new treatment solution. Moreover, even the processing liquid in the depth of the narrow and deep groove of the pattern on the front surface of the substrate can be replaced with fresh processing liquid according to the concentration gradient of the silicon concentration. As a result, the substrate can be processed quickly and uniformly, and the processing quality of the substrate can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The substrate processing system 1 includes a container loading unit 2 , a shutter driving mechanism 3 , a substrate transfer robot 4 , a posture change mechanism 5 , a pusher 6 , a substrate transfer mechanism 7 , a processing unit 8 and a control unit 9 . In order to uniformly mark the directions in the following figures, as shown in Figure 1, the XYZ orthogonal coordinate axes are set. Here, the XY plane represents a horizontal plane. In addition, the Z axis represents a vertical axis, and more specifically, the Z direction is a vertical direction.

The container loading part 2 is for mounting the container in which the substrate W is stored. In this embodiment, as an example of a storage unit, a wafer transport cassette F configured to accommodate a plurality of (for example, 25) substrates W in a horizontal posture stacked in the Z direction is used. The wafer transfer box F is placed on the container loading part 2 in the state of storing the unprocessed substrate W, or is loaded on the container loading part 2 in the empty state, and is used to store the processed substrate W . In this embodiment, the substrate W stored in the wafer cassette F is a semiconductor wafer forming a 3D-NAND memory, and has a high aspect ratio concave portion. In this embodiment, the substrate W is a disk-shaped substrate.

In the processing space adjacent to the container loading unit 2 on the (+Y) direction side, a shutter drive mechanism 3, a substrate transfer robot 4, a posture change mechanism 5, a pusher 6, a substrate transfer mechanism 7, and a processing space are arranged. Unit 8. The container loading portion 2 and the processing space are divided by a partition wall (not shown) between shutters 31 equipped with free switches. The shutter 31 is connected to the shutter driving mechanism 3 . The shutter drive mechanism 3 closes the shutter 31 in response to the closing command from the control unit 9 , and spatially separates the container loading unit 2 from the processing space. In addition, the shutter driving mechanism 3 responds to the opening command from the control unit 9 to open the shutter 31 so that the container loading unit 2 communicates with the processing space. Thereby, the unprocessed substrate W can be carried in from the FOUP F to the processing space, and the processed substrate W can be carried out to the FOUP F.

The loading and unloading process of the above-described substrate W is performed by the substrate transfer robot 4 . The substrate transfer robot 4 is configured to freely rotate in the horizontal plane. The substrate transfer robot 4 transfers a plurality of substrates W between the posture changing mechanism 5 and the wafer pod F with the shutter 31 open. In addition, the posture changing mechanism 5 changes the postures of the plurality of substrates W between the upright posture and the horizontal posture after receiving the substrate W from the wafer pod F via the substrate transfer robot 4 or before delivering the substrate W to the wafer pod F. switch between.

The pusher 6 is disposed on the substrate transfer mechanism 7 side (the +X direction side in FIG. 1 ) of the posture changing mechanism 5 . It transfers the plurality of substrates W in the standing position between the position changing mechanism 5 and the substrate transfer mechanism 7 , and inserts the plurality of substrates W in other standing positions. Adjacent pairs of substrates W can be batched in a state where the fronts or the backs face each other with a fixed distance apart (that is, a face-to-face state or a back-to-back state). In addition, each adjacent pair of substrates W may be batched in a state where the front and back faces face each other (that is, a face-to-back state). In the present embodiment, 50 substrates W are arranged in a face-to-face state in the X direction. The front side of the substrate W is, for example, the main surface on which circuit patterns are formed, and the back side of the substrate W is the side opposite to the front side. Furthermore, circuit patterns can also be formed on the back surface of the substrate W. As shown in FIG.

The substrate transfer mechanism 7 moves from the position facing the pusher 6 as shown in FIG. 1 (hereinafter referred to as “standby position”), along the direction in which the processing units 81 to 85 constituting the processing unit 8 are arranged (the Y direction in FIG. 1 ). , moving in the horizontal direction. The substrate transfer mechanism 7 includes a pair of suspension arms 71 . By swinging the pair of suspension arms 71, it is possible to switch between the one-time holding state and the holding release state for the plurality of substrates W. More specifically, the plurality of substrates W are released by swinging around the horizontal axis in a direction in which the lower edges of the arms 71 are separated from each other, and clamped by swinging in a direction in which the lower edges of the arms 71 approach each other around the horizontal axis. The substrate W is held. In addition, although not shown in FIG. 1 , the substrate transfer mechanism 7 has an arm moving portion and an arm swing portion. Among them, the arm moving part has a function of horizontally moving the pair of hanging arms 71 along the arrangement direction Y of the treatment parts 81-85. Therefore, by this horizontal movement, a pair of suspension arm 71 is positioned at the position (henceforth "processing position") which opposes each of processing part 81-85, and a standby position.

The arm swing unit has the function of executing the arm swing operation described above, and switches between a holding state in which the substrate W is clamped and held, and a release state in which the substrate W is released from clamping. Therefore, by this switching operation, the first lifter 810a functioning as the substrate holding unit of the processing units 81 and 82 or the second lifter 810b functioning as the substrate holding unit of the processing units 83 and 84 moves up and down, The substrate W can be transferred between the first lifter 810 a and the suspension arm 71 , or between the second lifter 810 b and the suspension arm 71 . In addition, at the processing position facing the processing unit 85 , the substrate W can be transferred between the holding unit provided in the processing unit 85 and the suspension arm 71 . Furthermore, at the standby position, the substrate W can be transferred between the posture changing mechanism 5 and the suspension arm 71 via the pusher 6 .

In the processing unit 8, five processing sections 81 to 85 are provided as described above, each serving as a first chemical solution processing section 81, a first rinse processing section 82, a second chemical solution processing section 83, a second rinse processing section 84, and a second chemical solution processing section 84. The drying processing unit 85 functions. Among them, the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and the second chemical solution processing unit 83 respectively store the same or different kinds of chemical solutions in the treatment tank 821, and immerse a plurality of substrates W in the chemical solution at one time to perform chemical treatment on them. liquid handling. The first rinsing unit 82 and the second rinsing unit 84 respectively store a rinsing liquid (for example, pure water) in the processing tank 821 , immerse a plurality of substrates W in the rinsing liquid at once, and perform rinsing processing on the front surfaces thereof. The first chemical solution processing section 81, the first rinse processing section 82, the second chemical solution processing section 83, and the second rinse processing section 84 correspond to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention, although the types of processing solutions are different. , but basically the same composition. In addition, the configuration and operation of the device will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 2 to 7 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and its adjacent first rinse processing unit 82 form a pair, and the second chemical solution processing unit 83 and its adjacent second rinse processing unit 84 form a pair. In addition, the first lifter 810a not only functions as the "substrate holding part" of the present invention in the first chemical solution processing part 81 and the first rinse processing part 82, but also functions as a substrate holding part that has been processed by the first chemical solution processing part. 81 The substrate W that has been processed by the chemical solution is moved to the first rinsing processing unit 82, and the dedicated transport mechanism functions. In addition, the second lifter 810b not only functions as the "substrate holding part" of the present invention in the second chemical solution processing part 83 and the second rinse processing part 84, but also functions as a substrate holding part that has been processed by the second chemical solution processing part. 83 The substrate W that has been processed by the chemical solution is moved to the second rinse processing unit 84, and the dedicated transport mechanism functions.

In the processing unit 8 configured in this way, the three support members 812 of the first lifter 810a receive a plurality of substrates W at one time from the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transfer mechanism 7, and as will be described in detail later, the operation is performed simultaneously. In the overflow step of overflowing the treatment liquid from the treatment tank 821 and the air bubble supply step of supplying air bubbles V into the treatment liquid stored in the treatment tank 821, the process liquid is lowered into the treatment tank of the first chemical liquid treatment unit 81 and dipped in the chemical solution. in the liquid (dipping step). Furthermore, after waiting for a specified chemical solution processing time, the first lifter 810a lifts the supporting member 812 holding the plurality of substrates W from the chemical solution, makes it traverse toward the first rinse processing unit 82, and then holds the supporting member 812 The substrate W that has been processed with the chemical solution descends into the treatment tank 821 of the first rinse processing unit 82 and is immersed in the rinse solution. After waiting for a specific rinse processing time, the first lifter 810a raises the support member 812 holding the substrate W that has been rinsed, and lifts the substrate W out of the rinse solution. Afterwards, the plurality of substrates W are handed over from the supporting member of the first lifter 810 a to the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 at one time.

Similarly, the second lifter 810b receives a plurality of substrates W from a pair of hanging arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 at one time, and lowers the plurality of substrates W into the processing tank 821 of the second chemical solution processing part 83 for processing. Immersed in the liquid medicine. Furthermore, after waiting for a specific chemical solution processing time, the second lifter 810b raises the support member 812, lifts the plurality of substrates W that have been processed by the chemical solution from the chemical solution, and moves the support member 812 toward the second rinse processing unit 84. The processing tank is horizontally run, and then the supporting member 812 is lowered into the processing tank 821 of the second rinse processing unit 84 to be immersed in the rinse liquid. After waiting for a specified rinse processing time, the second lifter 810b lifts the support member 812 to lift the substrate W out of the rinse solution. Afterwards, a plurality of substrates W are delivered from the supporting member of the second lifter 810b to the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transport mechanism 7 at one time. Furthermore, it may also be configured such that the first chemical solution processing unit 81, the first rinse processing unit 82, the second chemical solution processing unit 83, and the second rinse processing unit 84 are respectively provided as the “substrate holding unit” of the present invention. The function of the lifter is to carry the substrate W in and out of the processing units 81 to 84 by using the substrate conveying mechanism 7 or a dedicated conveying mechanism.

The drying processing unit 85 has a substrate holding member (not shown) capable of holding a plurality of (for example, 50) substrates W arranged in an upright position, and supplies an organic solvent to the substrate W in a reduced-pressure atmosphere. (isopropanol, etc.), or use centrifugal force to shake off the liquid components on the front of the substrate W to dry the substrate W. The drying treatment part 85 has a treatment tank 824 deeper than the treatment tank 821 of the treatment part 84, and the top of the treatment tank 824 is provided with a cover that can slide in the (-X) direction, so as to form an airtight state (not shown). . The lower side of the treatment tank 824 has a water layer, so that the upper side can be dried with the steam of the organic solvent. The lifter of the drying processing section 85 is located below the cover that can slide in the (-X) direction, and is configured to transfer the substrate W between the pair of suspension arms 71 of the substrate transfer mechanism 7 . Then, the plurality of substrates W after the rinse process are received from the substrate transfer mechanism 7 at one time, and the plurality of substrates W are dried. In addition, after the drying process, a plurality of substrates W are delivered from the substrate holding member to the substrate transfer mechanism 7 at one time.

Next, the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention will be described. In the substrate processing system 1 shown in FIG. It is a medicine liquid and a flushing liquid, some of which are different, but the device configuration and operation are basically the same. Therefore, the configuration and operation of the first chemical solution processing unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention will be described below. 2. The description of the rinse processing unit 84 is omitted.

Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the main components of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 . Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of Fig. 2 . FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship of a plurality of substrates W held by the lifter, the bubble ejection port 845 , and the treatment liquid ejection port 834 . FIG. 6 is a top view of the main components of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 . FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view showing a portion of the gas supply pipe 842 shown in FIG. 5 viewed from the (-X) direction.

The first chemical solution processing unit 81 is a device for etching and removing the silicon nitride film formed on the front surface of the substrate W using, for example, a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid as a processing solution. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the first chemical solution processing unit 81 includes a processing tank 821 for performing the first chemical solution treatment on the substrate W. As shown in FIG. The processing tank 821 has a box-shaped structure with an upper opening, and the structure is composed of a rectangular bottom wall 821a in plan view and four side walls 821b-821e erected from the periphery of the bottom wall 821a. Therefore, the processing tank 821 can store the processing liquid in the storage space 821f surrounded by the bottom wall 821a and the side walls 821b-821e, and immerse the plurality of substrates W held by the first lifter 810a at one time. Furthermore, the processing tank 821 has an upper opening 821g opened in the (+Z) direction, so that the processing liquid can overflow from the storage space 821f.

An overflow tank 822 is provided around the treatment tank 821, and the overflow tank 822 and the side walls 821b-821e of the treatment tank 821 form a recovery space 822a for recovering the overflowed treatment liquid. In addition, an external container 823 is provided to surround the bottom and sides of the processing tank 821 and the overflow tank 822 .

In a part of the recovery space 822a of the overflow tank 822, more specifically, in the space on the (-X) direction side of the side wall 821d, a fluid delivery piping system 839 is arranged. The inlet of the transport piping system 839 is connected to the processing liquid supply part 832 , and the outlet is connected to the processing liquid supply pipe 831 of the processing liquid discharge part 830 . Therefore, when the processing liquid supply unit 832 operates in response to the processing liquid supply command from the control unit 9 , the processing liquid is simultaneously supplied to the plurality of processing liquid supply pipes 831 through the delivery piping system 839 . As a result, the processing liquid is ejected from the processing liquid supply pipe 831 and stored in the storage space 821f. In addition, the detailed structure etc. of the processing liquid supply pipe 831 will be described later in detail.

Moreover, the processing liquid overflowed from the processing tank 821 is recovered to the overflow tank 822 . A treatment liquid recovery unit 833 is connected to the overflow tank 822 . If the processing liquid recovery part 833 is activated in response to the processing liquid recovery command from the control part 9, the processing liquid recovered in the overflow tank 822 is transported to the processing liquid supply part 832 via the processing liquid recovery part 833 for reuse. In this manner, in the present embodiment, the processing liquid can be stored in the storage space 821f while circulating and supplying the processing liquid to the processing tank 821 .

In order to hold a plurality of substrates W at once and immerse them in the storage space 821f storing the processing liquid, as shown in FIG. 2 , a first lifter 810a is provided. The first lifter 810a is configured to be able to move up and down between the "transfer position" and the storage space 821f. The so-called "delivery position" is a position for transferring a plurality of substrates W between the substrate transfer mechanism 7 (FIG. 1). The first lifter 810 a includes a back plate 811 , three support members 812 , and an extension member 813 . The back plate 811 extends along the side wall 821b of the treatment tank 821 toward the bottom wall 821a. The support member 812 extends from the lower end side of the back plate 811 toward the (−X) direction. In this embodiment, three supporting members 812 are provided. On the upper surface of each supporting member 812, a plurality of V-shaped grooves 812a are arranged along the X direction at a fixed pitch. The groove 812a is a V-shaped groove 812a that is wider than the thickness of the substrate W and is formed by opening in the (+Z) direction, and can lock the substrate W. Therefore, the plurality of substrates W conveyed by the substrate conveyance mechanism 7 can be held at a time at a fixed substrate pitch PT ( FIG. 5 ) by the three support members 812 . In addition, the extension member 813 extends from the back surface of the upper end of the back plate 811 toward the (+X) direction. As shown in FIG. 2 , the first lifter 810a is L-shaped as a whole. Furthermore, the limit lift position of the first lifter 810a is set at a height at which the substrate transfer mechanism 7 can pass above the support member 812 even if the substrate transfer mechanism 7 is holding a plurality of substrates W. The height of connecting several substrates W between them.

On the (+X) direction side of the treatment tank 821, a lifter driving mechanism 814 is provided. The elevator drive mechanism 814 includes an elevator motor 815 , a ball screw 816 , an elevator base 817 , an elevator column 818 , and a motor drive unit 819 . The elevating motor 815 is mounted on the frame (not shown) of the substrate processing system 1 in a state where the rotating shaft is placed vertically. The ball screw 816 is connected to the rotating shaft of the lift motor 815 . One side of the lifting base 817 is screwed to the ball screw 816 . The lower end side of the lifting pillar 818 is installed on the lifting base 817 , and the upper end side is installed on the lower surface of the extension member 813 . If the motor drive unit 819 drives the lifting motor 815 in response to the lifting command from the control unit 9 , the ball screw 816 rotates, and the lifting column 818 lifts the lifting base 817 together. Thereby, the support member 812 is positioned at the transfer position. Moreover, if the motor driving part 819 reversely drives the lifting motor 815 in response to the lowering command from the control part 9, the ball screw 816 reverses, and the lifting pillar 818 brings the lifting base 817 down together. Thereby, the plurality of substrates W held by the supporting member 812 are immersed in the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f at one time.

In the storage space 821f, a processing liquid discharge unit 830 and a bubble supply unit 840 are arranged on the lower side of the plurality of substrates W held by the support member 812, that is, on the side in the (-Z) direction. The processing liquid ejection part 830 ejects the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid supply part 832 through the delivery piping system 839 to the storage space 821f, and the bubble supply part 840 supplies bubbles V of nitrogen gas into the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f (Fig. 5), which are each constituted as described below.

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 , the processing liquid discharge unit 830 has a processing liquid supply pipe 831 extending along the X direction. In this embodiment, the four processing liquid supply pipes 831 are arranged at a distance from each other in the Y direction. The (-X) direction end of each treatment liquid supply pipe 831 is connected to the outlet of the flow piping system 839, and the (+X) direction end is sealed. In addition, a plurality of processing liquid ejection ports 834 (50 in this embodiment) are pierced on the side wall of each processing liquid supply pipe 831 in the (+Z) direction. A plurality of processing liquid ejection ports 834 are arranged at a fixed interval (substrate pitch PT in this embodiment) on the side wall in the X direction and penetrated. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4 , each treatment liquid discharge port 834 is provided facing the (+Z) direction. Therefore, the processing liquid supplied to the processing liquid supply pipe 831 forms the liquid flow L of the processing liquid, and the liquid flow L flows in the direction (+X) inside the pipe, and then flows upward from each processing liquid discharge port 834 to go to the processing liquid. The upper opening 821g above the groove 821 is the overflow surface. In this way, the flow L of the processing liquid flowing in the (+Z) direction is formed on the lower side of the substrate W. As shown in FIG. Furthermore, in order to make the content of the invention easier to understand, among the four processing liquid supply pipes 831, those arranged on the (-Y) direction side are referred to as "processing liquid supply pipes 831a", and they are arranged sequentially toward the (+Y) direction side. These are respectively referred to as "processing liquid supply pipe 831b", "processing liquid supply pipe 831c" and "processing liquid supply pipe 831d". Also, when it is not necessary to distinguish them, they are simply referred to as "processing liquid supply pipe 831" as described above.

The processing liquid supply pipe 831 is made of a corrosion-resistant resin material such as quartz or polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The processing liquid discharge port 834 and the processing liquid supply pipe 831 are integrally formed by performing cutting processing and piercing processing on the surface of the processing liquid supply pipe 831 .

As shown in FIGS. 3 to 6 , the bubble supply part 840 has a bubbler 841 extending along the Y direction. In this embodiment, 25 bubblers 841 are arranged at a distance from each other in the X direction. Each bubbler 841 has: a gas supply pipe 842, which supplies gas to flow through the interior extending along the Y direction in the longitudinal direction; The side wall of the (-X) direction of the supply pipe 842 . One end of each gas supply pipe 842 is connected to a gas introduction pipe 846 connected to a gas supply part 844 (see FIG. 2 ) for supplying nitrogen gas, and the other end is sealed. The gas introduction pipe 846 is provided along the side walls 821c and 821e of the processing tank 821 . The gas supply pipe 842 extends alternately in the (+Y) direction or the (-Y) direction, and is connected to the gas introduction pipe 846 provided along the side wall 821c or 821e. As shown in FIG. 5 , a plurality of bubble ejection ports 845 are arranged on the side wall of the gas supply pipe 842 in the X direction at a pitch 2PT that is twice the fixed substrate pitch PT. Each bubble ejection port 845 is provided in a circular shape as shown in FIG. 7 . The gas supply pipe 842 is composed of a cylindrical member with a circular cross section perpendicular to the flow direction of the gas. The bubble discharge port 845 is formed on the side wall of the gas supply pipe 842 so that the opening center of the bubble discharge port 845 is located on a horizontal line passing through the center of the circle. The gas supply pipe 842 is provided below the substrate W by extending the length of the gas supply pipe 842 along the main surface of the substrate W as viewed from above. The bubble ejection ports 845 of the gas supply pipe 842 are located between the substrates W adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction. Thereby, the bubbles V ejected from the bubble ejection port 845 are supplied to the flow L of the processing liquid rising from between the gas supply pipe 842 and the adjacent gas supply pipe 842 . Furthermore, the diameter of the gas supply pipe 842 is, for example, about 8.0 mm, and the diameter of the bubble ejection port 845 is about 0.3 mm.

The gas supply pipe 842 is made of a corrosion-resistant resin material such as quartz or polyetheretherketone (PEEK), perfluoroalkoxyalkane (PFA), or polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The air bubble ejection port 845 and the gas supply pipe 842 are integrally formed by cutting and piercing the surface of the gas supply pipe 842 .

Regarding the piercing of the bubble ejection port 845, it is described above that it is pierced on the side wall in the (-X) direction, but it can also be pierced in the side wall in the (+X) direction. The bubble outlets 845 of the plurality of bubblers 841 are preferably pierced in a fixed direction, but for example, the bubble outlets 845 of adjacently arranged bubblers 841 may be arranged opposite to each other. Also, it is described above that the bubble outlet 845 of the bubbler 841 is arranged in one direction of the bubbler 841, but for example, the bubble outlet 845 can also be arranged in the (+X) direction of the bubbler 841 and (- The air bubbles V are supplied from both directions of the (+X) direction and the (−X) direction of the bubbler 841 in both directions of the X) direction. In addition, the air bubble ejection port 845 is sufficient as long as it can supply air bubbles V to the front surface of the substrate, and it can also be installed from the (+Z) direction or (-Z) direction toward the (-X) direction or (+X) direction. A substantially horizontal side wall inclined horizontally.

In the bubble supply unit 840 configured in this way, if the gas supply unit 844 supplies nitrogen gas to the bubble supply unit 840 in response to the bubble supply command from the control unit 9, the nitrogen gas flowing through the gas supply pipe 842 will flow from the gas supply pipe 842 provided in the gas supply pipe 842. The bubble ejection ports 845 on the side wall eject toward the liquid flow L of the treatment liquid, and the liquid flow L rises from between two pairs of the plurality of gas supply pipes 842 . Thus, the bubbles V of nitrogen gas are supplied into the processing liquid stored in the storage space 821f along the direction of the overflow surface from the side wall of the gas supply pipe 842 toward the (+Z) direction.

These bubbles V are easily detached from the bubble discharge port 845 in a small state by the liquid flow L of the processing liquid flowing from the processing liquid discharge port 834 to the upper opening 821g, and then rise from the processing liquid. Bubbles V raised by the flow L of the processing liquid promote the replacement of the processing liquid on the front side of the substrate W with fresh processing liquid. In addition, as the gas supply unit 844 , for example, a nitrogen gas can be supplied from a gas storage tank filled with nitrogen gas, or a public facility installed in a factory where the substrate processing system 1 is installed can also be used.

The configuration of the first chemical solution processing unit 81 corresponding to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention has been described with reference to FIGS. Except for this point, it has the same configuration as the first chemical solution processing unit 81 and also corresponds to the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Also, the first rinse processing unit 82 and the second rinse processing unit 84 have the same configuration as the first chemical solution processing unit 81 except that the processing liquid is a rinse liquid such as DIW (deionized water, deionized water), and are also equivalent. In the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention.

To sum up, in the first embodiment of the present invention, the gas supply pipe 842 is inclined from the upper (+Z) direction toward the (-X) direction or the horizontal direction of the (+X) direction, and a plurality of bubble jets are provided. Exit 845. Therefore, the nitrogen gas ejected from each bubble ejection port 845 can detach from the bubble ejection port 845 as the bubble V by the upward flow of the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid ejection port 834, and the size of the bubble V is reduced to flow it into the processing liquid. internal supply. The detailed reason will be described comparing the comparative example shown in FIG. 8 with this embodiment ( FIG. 5 ).

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. In this comparative example, a gas supply pipe 842 is provided above the processing liquid discharge port 834 of the processing liquid supply pipe 831, that is, in the (+Z) direction, and a bubble discharge port 845 is provided on the upper side, that is, in the (+Z) direction. The processing liquid is ejected from the processing liquid outlet 834 in the (+Z) direction, and the nitrogen gas is ejected from the bubble ejection port 845 in the (+Z) direction, thereby supplying the processing liquid and the bubbles V to the storage space 821f of the processing tank 821 . In this case, the processing liquid cannot collide with the gas supply pipe 842 , and directly causes the bubbles V to escape from the bubble ejection port 845 . In addition, the treatment liquid does not collide with the gas supply pipe 842, but directly assists the rise of the bubbles V. FIG. As a result, the bubbles V are in close contact with the surroundings of the bubble ejection port 845 on the surface of the gas supply pipe 842, and do not detach from the surface of the gas supply pipe 842. As time passes, the bubble V becomes larger in a spherical shape around the opening of the air bubble ejection port 845. . Once the buoyancy of the enlarged air bubbles V exceeds the adhesion force and reaches a size sufficient for detachment, they are detached from the air bubble ejection port 845 and the adhesion area and supplied into the treatment liquid. The diameter of the enlarged air bubbles V sometimes becomes larger than the substrate pitch PT, so they cannot enter between the substrates W, and thus cannot sufficiently promote the replacement of the processing liquid on the front surface of the substrate W with fresh processing liquid.

On the other hand, in the first embodiment, the bubbles V ejected from the air bubble ejection port 845 fly away directly from the air bubble ejection port 845 by the ascending treatment liquid immediately after generation. The flying air bubbles V rise together with the processing liquid, and the rising speed is faster by adding the rising speed of the processing liquid in addition to the buoyancy of the air bubbles V. As a result, in the first embodiment, the size of the air bubble V is smaller than that of the comparative example ( FIG. 8 ), and the air bubbles having a smaller air bubble diameter than that of the comparative example can be supplied to the front surface of the substrate between the substrates, thereby enabling rapid and sufficient acceleration. The processing solution on the front side of the substrate is replaced with fresh processing solution.

In particular, the first chemical solution processing unit 81 wet-etches the SiN film through the high-aspect-ratio recesses, so applying the present invention to the first chemical solution processing unit 81 is important for the manufacture of 3D-NAND memory. That is, in order to improve the wet etching performance, it is necessary to perform good replacement of the processing liquid between the inside and outside of the concave portion. In addition, silicon is precipitated in the vicinity of the bottom of the concave portion due to the etching reaction, but the above-mentioned silicon can be discharged from the concave portion by replacing the treatment liquid. If the liquid replacement is to be performed stably and continuously, the concentration difference between the inside and outside of the recess must be increased, that is, the concentration gradient. Furthermore, reducing the diameter of the bubbles is an important technical matter for efficiently supplying the fresh processing liquid to the front surface of the substrate W in order to satisfy the above. In this regard, according to the first chemical solution processing unit 81 capable of reducing the size of the bubbles V, the supply of fresh processing liquid can be promoted by the bubbles V, and wet etching of the SiN film can be favorably performed.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said 1st Embodiment, Unless it deviates from the summary, various changes are possible other than the said embodiment. For example, in the first embodiment, the air bubbles V are supplied using the bubbler 841 provided with the hollow cylindrical air bubble outlet 845 from the gas supply pipe 842, but the structure of the bubbler 841 is not limited to this.

Next, a second embodiment will be described using FIGS. 9 and 10 . In addition, description will be omitted about the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. In FIGS. 9 and 10 , the substrates W are arranged facing each other in the X direction, and a partition plate 851 is provided above the gas supply pipe 842 and between the back surface of the substrate W and the back surface of the adjacent substrate W. The shape of the partition plate 851 is, for example, a quadrangular column. By providing the partition plate 851, it is possible to suppress the flow of the processing liquid that goes up between the back surface of the substrate W and the back surface of the adjacent substrate W, which detours around the gas supply pipe 842, thereby reducing the flow of the processing liquid in the X direction. The air bubbles V ejected from the air bubble ejection port 845 are supplied between the front surface of the substrate W and the front surface of the adjacent substrate W under the influence of the liquid flow. As a result, the air bubbles V can be concentrated on the front surfaces of the facing substrates, the speed of replacement with fresh processing liquid can be increased, and substrate processing can be performed with higher quality. In addition, although the partition plate 851 was described separately from the gas supply pipe 842 above, it may be integrally formed with the gas supply pipe 842 .

Next, a third embodiment will be described using FIG. 11 . Note that descriptions of the same configurations as those of the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be omitted. In the above-mentioned second embodiment, like the first embodiment, 50 processing liquid ejection ports 834 are pierced along the X direction at intervals between the substrate pitches PT, but in the third embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11 , They are arranged on the side wall of the (+Z) direction of the processing liquid supply pipe 831 (25 in this embodiment) at a pitch 2PT that is twice the fixed substrate pitch PT. In this case, even if it is the same flow rate as that of the first embodiment or the second embodiment, the flow rate of the processing liquid supplied from one processing liquid discharge port 834 will be increased, and the gas supply pipe 842 provided in the lower gas supply pipe 842 can be made larger. The air bubbles V ejected from the bubble ejection ports 845 on the upper side and more sidewards, that is, the plurality of air bubble ejection ports 845 penetrating in the (-X) direction, are detached from the gas supply pipe 842 in a smaller state and rise up.

In the first to third embodiments, the gas supply pipe 842 and the plurality of bubble ejection ports 845 are integrally formed by cutting and piercing the surface of the elongated resin pipe made of resin material.

In addition, although the bubble ejection port 845 is circular, the shape is arbitrary and is not limited thereto. For example, the air bubbles V may be supplied using the air bubble ejection port 845 having an elliptical front end surface as shown in FIG. 12 .

In addition, the air bubble ejection port 845 is pierced, but the shape is arbitrary as long as the air bubble ejection port 845 is located between the substrates W adjacent in the horizontal direction, and is not limited thereto. For example, the air bubble ejection port 845 is provided in a hollow cylindrical protruding part 843a which is a columnar shape as shown in FIG. The front end of the protruding portion 843b in the shape of a hollow truncated cone.

The bubble ejection port 845 a or the bubble ejection port 845 b is respectively provided at the front end of the protruding part 843 a or the protruding part 843 b protruding from the gas supply pipe 842 . Therefore, in the bubble supply part 840, the close contact area with the bubble V immediately before the bubble V is released from the bubble discharge port 845a, 845b and supplied to the processing liquid can be limited to the front end surface of the protruding part 843a, 843b, thereby compared with When the side wall of the pipe is provided with the bubble ejection port 845, the narrowness is reduced. As a result, the diameter of the bubbles can be reduced and the processing quality can be improved.

Regarding the protruding parts 843a or 843b, the gas supply pipe 842 is integrally formed with the plurality of protruding parts 843a or 843b by performing cutting and piercing processing on the surface of the gas supply pipe 842 . Here, of course, the gas supply pipe 842 and the plurality of protrusions 843a and 843b may be separately prepared, and the plurality of protrusions 843a and 843b may be attached to the gas supply pipe 842 to be integrated.

Also, the cross section of the gas supply pipe 842 is circular, but the shape is arbitrary as long as the bubble ejection port 845 is located between the substrates W adjacent in the horizontal direction, and is not limited thereto. For example, as shown in FIGS. 15 to 17 , it may be a gas supply pipe 842b of a corner column member such as a quadrangle. For example, in FIG. 15 , the bubble ejection port 845c is pierced through the gas supply pipe 842b. In FIG. 16 , the air bubble ejection port 845d is pierced at the front end of the columnar-shaped hollow cylindrical protruding part 843d. In FIG. 17, the air bubble ejection port 845e is pierced at the front end of the protruding part 843e in the shape of a hollow truncated cone, which is tapered and whose outer dimension becomes smaller as it gets closer to the front end. Like the bubble ejection ports 845a, 845b, 845d, and 845e, when the air bubble ejection port 845 is located at the front end of the hollow cylinder, the upward flow of the processing liquid supplied from the processing liquid ejection port 834 can promote the bubble V from the bubble ejection port. Exit disengaged. As a result, the size of the air bubbles V can be further reduced.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 18 , the gas supply pipes 842 are connected to the gas supply parts 844 via flow regulators 847 . As the flow regulator 847, an on-off valve or a flow adjustment valve can be provided. The flow regulator 847 is connected to the control part 9, and the control part 9 controls the switch and flow of the flow regulator 847, thereby controlling the flow of the gas flowing through the gas supply pipe 842. Thereby, the flow rates of the gases flowing to the plurality of gas supply pipes 842 can be adjusted one by one, so that the amount of the bubbles V ejected from the bubble ejection ports 845 can be adjusted. By having the flow regulator 847 as described above, for example, when there is a difference in the etching amount relative to the target etching amount among a plurality of substrates arranged in the X direction, the air bubble V can be adjusted at each position in the X direction. of supply. As a result, the uniformity of the amount of etching corresponding to each substrate among all the substrates processed at one time in a batch state can be improved. In addition, when the etching amount is changed between substrates, it is desired to increase or decrease the amount of air bubbles V supplied to the front surface of the substrate whose etching amount is desired to be changed, and to adjust appropriately. In addition, by adjusting the flow rate of the gas flowing through the plurality of gas supply pipes 842 one by one, the amount of air bubbles V supplied to the processing tank 821 can be adjusted, and the upflow of the processing liquid can be locally adjusted according to the position in the processing tank 821. speed.

In addition, the inner surface of the bubble ejection port 845 may be subjected to a hydrophilic treatment. The hydrophilization treatment is, for example, plasma treatment. By this plasma treatment, the front end, that is, the inner surface of the bubble ejection port 845, is hydrophilized, and the detachment of the bubbles V is promoted. As a result, the size of the air bubbles V can be further reduced.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 19 , a straightening plate 861 may be provided below the gas supply pipe 842 . As the rectifying plate 861, for example, a rectifying plate having a width larger than the pipe diameter of the gas supply pipe 842 can be used. By adopting such a rectifying plate, the processing liquid ejected from the processing liquid ejection unit 830 can be supplied to the front of the substrate W arranged in the X direction from the space between the rectifying plates narrower than that between the adjacent gas supply pipes 842. Upstream. In this case, the speed of the upward flow of the processing liquid is increased, the detachment of the air bubbles V from the air bubble ejection port 845 can be accelerated, and the detached air bubbles V can be properly supplied to the front surface of the substrate W. Furthermore, like the gas supply pipe 842, the rectifying plate 861 may be extended along the main surface of the substrate when viewed from above. Moreover, the treatment liquid ejection port 834 of the treatment liquid supply pipe 831 opens toward the bottom wall 821a or the side wall 821c of the treatment tank 821, and sprays the treatment liquid. .

Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the processing liquid ejection unit 830 includes four processing liquid supply pipes 831, but the number of processing liquid supply pipes 831 is not limited thereto, but can be adjusted according to the storage space 821f or the size of the substrate W. set up. In addition, the number of bubblers 841 included in the bubble supply unit 840 is 25, but the number of bubblers 841 is not limited thereto, but can be determined according to the direction of the storage space 821f or the front of the substrate W, the substrate W The number of pieces of W and the like are set.

Also, in the above-mentioned embodiment, nitrogen gas is fed into the bubbler 841 to supply nitrogen gas bubbles V into the treatment liquid, but a gas other than nitrogen gas may be used as the "gas" in the present invention.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the present invention is applied to the substrate processing apparatus that ejects the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply pipe 831 toward the upper side of the storage space 821f, but the supply aspect of the processing liquid in the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the processing liquid may be sprayed from the lower side of the substrate W toward the bottom wall 821 a of the processing tank 821 .

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the present invention is applied to a substrate processing apparatus that performs chemical treatment with a chemical solution containing phosphoric acid, or a substrate processing apparatus that performs rinse processing, but the scope of application of the present invention is not limited thereto. The present invention can be applied to the entire substrate processing technology of immersing a substrate in a processing liquid other than the above-mentioned chemical liquid and rinse liquid, and supplying air bubbles V to the above-mentioned substrate in the processing liquid to perform substrate processing. [Industrial availability]

The present invention can be applied to an entire substrate processing apparatus that immerses a substrate in a processing liquid such as a chemical solution or pure water stored in a processing tank, and supplies air bubbles to the substrate in the processing liquid to process the substrate.

1: Substrate processing system 2: Receiver loading part 3: Gate drive mechanism 4: Substrate transfer robot 5: Posture changing mechanism 6: Thruster 7: Substrate transfer mechanism 8: Processing unit 9: Control Department 31: gate 71: Suspension arm 81: The first chemical solution processing part (substrate processing device) 82: 1st Rinse Processing Section (Substrate Processing Equipment) 83: The second chemical solution processing part (substrate processing device) 84: Second Rinse Treatment Unit (Substrate Treatment Unit) 85:Drying processing department 810: lifter (substrate holding part) 810a: 1st lifter (substrate holding part) 810b: 2nd lifter (substrate holding part) 811: Backplane 812: Support components 813: Extension component 814: Lifter drive mechanism 815:Lift motor 816: ball screw 817: Lifting base 818:Lifting pillar 819:Motor drive department 821: processing tank 821a: bottom wall 821b~821e: side wall 821f: storage space 821g: top opening 822: overflow tank 822a:Reclaim space 823: Outer container 824: processing tank 830: Treatment liquid ejection part 831: Treatment liquid supply pipe 831a~831d: Treatment liquid supply pipe 832:Processing liquid supply unit 833: Treatment liquid recovery department 834: Treatment liquid ejection port 839: Transmission piping system 840:Bubble supply unit 841: Bubbler 841a~841d: bubbler 842: Gas supply pipe 842b: Gas supply pipe 843: Wearing parts 843a: Wearing parts 843b: Wearing parts 843d: Wearing parts 843e: Wearing parts 844: gas supply 845:Bubble outlet 845a~845e: Bubble ejection port 846: gas inlet tube 847: Flow Regulator 851: Partition board 861: rectifier board F: Wafer transfer box L: liquid flow PT: Pitch 2PT: Pitch V: Bubble W: Substrate

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a schematic configuration of a substrate processing system including a substrate processing apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the schematic configuration of the first embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the main components of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 . Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view of Fig. 2 . FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship of a plurality of substrates held by the lifter, bubble ejection ports, and treatment liquid ejection ports. FIG. 6 is a top view of the main components of the substrate processing apparatus shown in FIG. 2 . FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged view showing a portion of the gas supply pipe 842 shown in FIG. 5 viewed from the (-X) direction. FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a comparative example of the substrate processing apparatus according to the first embodiment. Fig. 9 is a partial cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus of the present invention. Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship of a plurality of substrates held by the lifter, bubble ejection ports, treatment liquid ejection ports, and partition plates. Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram showing the arrangement relationship of a plurality of substrates held by the lifter, bubble ejection ports, treatment liquid ejection ports, and partition plates. Fig. 12 is a partial enlarged view showing another form of bubble ejection port. Fig. 13 is a partially enlarged view showing another form of gas supply pipe. Fig. 14 is a partially enlarged view showing another form of gas supply pipe. Fig. 15 is a partially enlarged view showing another form of gas supply pipe. Fig. 16 is a partially enlarged view showing another form of gas supply pipe. Fig. 17 is a partially enlarged view showing another form of gas supply pipe. Fig. 18 is a partially enlarged view showing another form of gas supply pipe. Fig. 19 is a partial enlarged view showing another form of gas supply pipe.

831: Treatment liquid supply pipe

834: Treatment liquid ejection port

840:Bubble supply unit

841: Bubbler

842: Gas supply pipe

845:Bubble outlet

L: liquid flow

PT: Pitch

V: Bubble

W: Substrate

Claims (15)

A substrate processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a processing tank storing a processing liquid for immersing and processing a substrate; The above-mentioned substrate is held in an upright posture; a processing liquid ejection part is arranged extending along the arrangement direction of the above-mentioned substrates, and forms a liquid flow of the above-mentioned processing liquid, and the flow of the liquid flows from below the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding part along the The above-mentioned substrate flows upward; and the air bubble supply part, which extends along the main surface of the above-mentioned substrate when viewed from above, is arranged between the above-mentioned processing liquid ejection part and the above-mentioned substrate holding part, and stores the above-mentioned processing liquid in the above-mentioned processing tank Air bubbles are supplied inside; and the air bubble supply unit has: a gas supply pipe for supplying gas to the inside; and a bubble ejection port provided in the air supply pipe for ejecting air bubbles in the direction in which the substrates are arranged. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gas supply pipe has a plurality of bubble ejection ports on the side wall, and the bubble ejection ports are positioned to supply air bubbles to gaps between the adjacent substrates held in the substrate holding portion. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the processing liquid ejection unit has a plurality of processing liquid supply pipes for supplying the processing liquid inside, and has a plurality of processing liquid ejection ports on the side wall of the processing liquid supply pipe, The treatment liquid ejection port is located below the gap between the adjacent substrates. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the bubble supply unit has a plurality of the gas supply pipes, the gas supply pipes are adjacent to other gas supply pipes in the horizontal direction, and the bubble ejection ports are opened in the substantially horizontal direction. Below the gap between the above-mentioned substrates. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the bubble ejection port is located at the front end of a hollow protruding portion protruding from the gas supply pipe. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the above-mentioned protruding part is in the shape of a column or a cone. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the bubble ejection port is circular or elliptical. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the substrate is held by the substrate holding portion in a state where the front surfaces or the back surfaces of adjacent substrates face each other. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the substrate and the back surface of the adjacent substrate face each other, and a spacer plate is provided between the back surface of the substrate and the back surface of the adjacent substrate. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the bubble supply part is made of a tree The resin material is composed of at least one material selected from the group consisting of polyetheretherketone, perfluoroalkoxyalkane and polytetrafluoroethylene. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the above-mentioned bubble ejection ports are subjected to hydrophilization treatment. The substrate processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a rectifying plate is provided below the gas supply pipe. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a processing tank storing a processing liquid for immersing and processing a substrate; The above-mentioned substrate is held in an upright posture; a processing liquid ejection section that forms a liquid flow of the above-mentioned processing liquid that flows upward along the above-mentioned substrate from below the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding section; and an air bubble supply section, It is arranged between the above-mentioned processing liquid ejection part and the above-mentioned substrate holding part, and supplies air bubbles into the above-mentioned processing liquid stored in the above-mentioned processing tank; and the above-mentioned air bubble supply part has: a gas supply pipe, which is viewed from above along the above-mentioned substrate The main surface of the main surface is extended, and the gas is supplied to the inside; and the bubble ejection port is provided with a plurality of the side walls of the gas supply pipe, and the position can eject bubbles to the alignment direction of the above-mentioned substrates, and to the holding Air bubbles are supplied to the gaps between the adjacent substrates in the substrate holding portion. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a processing tank storing a processing liquid for immersing and processing a substrate; The above-mentioned substrate is held in an upright posture; a processing liquid ejection section that forms a liquid flow of the above-mentioned processing liquid that flows upward along the above-mentioned substrate from below the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding section; and an air bubble supply section, It is arranged between the above-mentioned processing liquid ejection part and the above-mentioned substrate holding part, supplies air bubbles into the above-mentioned processing liquid stored in the above-mentioned processing tank, and is made of a resin material, and the above-mentioned resin material is selected from polyether ether ketone, perfluoro Consisting of at least one material selected from the group consisting of alkoxyalkane and polytetrafluoroethylene; and the bubble supply unit includes: a gas supply pipe for supplying gas to the inside; and a bubble ejection port provided in the gas supply pipe , eject air bubbles to the arrangement direction of the above-mentioned substrates. A substrate processing apparatus, characterized by comprising: a processing tank storing a processing liquid for immersing and processing a substrate; The above-mentioned substrate is held in an upright posture; a processing liquid ejection part forms a liquid flow of the above-mentioned processing liquid, and the liquid flow flows upward along the above-mentioned substrate from below the above-mentioned substrate held by the above-mentioned substrate holding part; an air bubble supply part thereof Arranged between the treatment liquid ejection unit and the substrate holding unit to supply air bubbles into the treatment liquid stored in the treatment tank; and a rectifier plate located below the gas supply pipe; and the bubble supply unit has: A supply pipe for supplying gas inside; and a bubble ejection port provided in the gas supply pipe for ejecting air bubbles in the direction in which the substrates are arranged.

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