TWI828986B - Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a technology that can appropriately monitor liquid leakage from a nozzle even after a closing signal is output to a valve. In the first discharge step, an open signal is output to the valve provided in the supply pipe, and the processing liquid is discharged from the front end of the nozzle 30 toward the main surface of the substrate W. In the moving step, the nozzle 30 is moved after the time point when the closing signal is output to the valve. In the photographing step, at least after the time point when the closing signal is output to the valve, the camera sequentially photographs to obtain a plurality of pieces of image data. In the setting step, the position of the nozzle 30 in each of the plurality of image data is detected, the position change of the nozzle 30 is tracked, and the determination area R11 is set lower than the front end of the nozzle 30 . In the liquid leakage monitoring step, the presence or absence of the processing liquid falling from the tip of the nozzle 30 is monitored based on the pixels in the determination area R11 in each of the plurality of image data.

Description

Substrate processing method and substrate processing device

This case relates to a substrate processing method and a substrate processing device.

Conventionally, in the manufacturing steps of semiconductor devices and the like, various processing liquids such as pure water, photoresist liquid, and etching liquid are supplied to the substrate, and various substrate treatments such as cleaning processing, photoresist coating processing, and etching processing are performed. As an apparatus for performing substrate processing using such processing liquids, a substrate processing apparatus that discharges a processing liquid from a nozzle to the surface of the substrate while rotating the substrate in a horizontal position is widely used.

In this substrate processing apparatus, the nozzle is connected to a processing liquid supply source via a pipe, and a valve is provided in the pipe. The valve is controlled by the control unit. The control unit outputs an open signal to open the valve, and outputs a close signal to close the valve. By opening the valve, the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle, and by closing the valve, the processing liquid is stopped from being discharged from the nozzle.

There has been proposed a method of installing imaging means such as a camera in such a substrate processing apparatus to monitor the discharge of the processing liquid from the nozzle (Patent Documents 1 and 2). The photographing means sequentially photographs the photographing area including the front end of the nozzle to obtain image data. The image processing unit receives the image data and determines whether or not the processing liquid is ejected from the nozzle based on the pixel value set in the determination area below the nozzle. [Prior technical literature] [Patent Document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-135679 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2015-173148

(The problem that the invention wants to solve)

By closing the valve, the discharge of the treatment liquid from the nozzle is stopped. When the discharge stops, droplet-shaped processing liquid may fall from the nozzle. The falling of such droplets is also called dripping. In addition, due to abnormality of the valve, etc., there may be cases where fine treatment liquid continues to flow down from the nozzle. This flow of treatment liquid is also called outflow.

In order to detect leakage (including dripping and outflow) of such treatment liquid, it is considered to monitor the nozzle after outputting a closing signal to the valve.

However, there are cases where the nozzle is moved after outputting a closing signal to the valve. When the nozzle moves, the position of the nozzle still changes even within the image data obtained by photography. In the image data, when the position of the nozzle changes, the processing fluid from the nozzle will shift from the determination area in the image data. In this case, discharge abnormalities such as dripping and outflow cannot be monitored based on the pixel values in the judgment area, and liquid leakage cannot be detected.

In addition, the substrate processing apparatus may be provided with a plurality of nozzles. For example, after the discharge of the processing liquid by the first nozzle is completed, there may be a case where the first nozzle is moved and the second nozzle starts to discharge the processing liquid. In this case, when the processing liquid from the second nozzle enters the determination area in the image data, the processing liquid may be mistakenly detected as leakage.

Therefore, this project was completed in view of the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a technology that can appropriately monitor liquid leakage from the nozzle even after outputting a closing signal to the valve. (Technical means to solve problems)

A first aspect of the substrate processing method includes: a holding step for holding the substrate; and a first discharge step for outputting an opening signal to a valve provided in a supply pipe and discharging the substrate from the front end of the first nozzle connected to the supply pipe. The processing liquid is ejected from the main surface of the substrate; the moving step is to move the first nozzle after the time when the closing signal is output to the valve; and the photographing step is to move the first nozzle at least after the time when the closing signal is output to the valve. The camera sequentially takes pictures of the predetermined area including the front end of the first nozzle, and obtains a plurality of image data; the setting step is to detect the position of the first nozzle in each of the plurality of image data, and track the plurality of images. The position of the above-mentioned first nozzle changes between image data, and a judgment area is set lower than the above-mentioned front end of the above-mentioned first nozzle; and a liquid leakage monitoring step is based on the above-mentioned judgment area in each of the above-mentioned plurality of image data. The pixels inside monitor whether there is processing liquid falling from the front end of the first nozzle.

A second aspect of the substrate processing method is the substrate processing method of the first aspect, wherein the first nozzle is raised in the moving step.

A third aspect of the substrate processing method is the substrate processing method of the second aspect, further comprising: a second discharging step of discharging from the second nozzle toward the main body of the substrate in a state where the first nozzle is raised. The treatment liquid is discharged from the surface; in the liquid leakage monitoring step, in the image data obtained by the camera in the second discharge step, the rise of the first nozzle is tracked to set the determination area, thereby avoiding the movement of the first nozzle from the above image data. 2. The front end of the nozzle reaches the processing liquid on the main surface of the substrate to set the determination area.

An aspect of the substrate processing apparatus includes: a substrate holding portion that holds the substrate; and a nozzle that is connected to a supply pipe provided in the valve, and directs the processing liquid supplied through the supply pipe toward the substrate held by the substrate holding portion. The main surface of the above-mentioned substrate is ejected; a moving mechanism that moves the above-mentioned nozzle; a camera that photographs a predetermined area including the front end of the above-mentioned nozzle; and a control unit that outputs an open signal to the above-mentioned valve, moving the front end of the above-mentioned nozzle toward the above-mentioned substrate The processing liquid is discharged from the main surface. After the time point when the closing signal is output to the above-mentioned valve, the above-mentioned moving mechanism moves the above-mentioned nozzle. At least after the time point when the above-mentioned valve is outputted as the closing signal, the images are sequentially acquired by the above-mentioned camera. Detect the position of the nozzle in each of the plurality of image data, track the position change of the nozzle between the plurality of image data, and set a determination area lower than the front end of the nozzle, based on the plurality of images The pixels within the above-mentioned determination area in each piece of data monitor whether there is processing liquid falling from the above-mentioned tip of the above-mentioned nozzle. (Compare the effectiveness of previous technologies)

Depending on the substrate processing method and substrate processing device, liquid leakage can be appropriately detected.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described with reference to the attached drawings. In addition, the drawings are schematically shown, and the structures are appropriately omitted or simplified for convenience of explanation. In addition, the size and positional relationship of the components shown in the drawings are not necessarily accurately described, but may be appropriately changed.

In addition, in the description shown below, the same components are represented by the same symbols, and the names and functions of these components are also assumed to be the same. Therefore, detailed description thereof will be omitted in order to avoid duplication.

In addition, in the description described below, even if there are cases where sequential numbers such as "first" or "second" are used, these terms are used for convenience in order to make it easier to understand the contents of the embodiments, and are not used for convenience. It is limited to the order that can occur through these sequence numbers.

Expressions indicating relative or absolute positional relationships (such as "toward one direction", "along one direction", "parallel", "orthogonal", "center", "concentric", "coaxial", etc.), unless otherwise stated explanation, otherwise, in addition to accurately expressing their positional relationships, these representations also represent the state after relative displacement in angle or distance within the tolerance or within the range where the same degree of function can be obtained. Expressions indicating a state of equality (such as "same", "equal", "homogeneous", etc.). Unless otherwise stated, these expressions, in addition to expressing a state of quantitative and exact equality, also indicate that there is a tolerance or that the same can be obtained. A state of difference in degree of functionality. Expressions that express shapes (such as "rectangular shape" or "cylindrical shape", etc.). Unless otherwise stated, these expressions are not only geometrically accurate representations of the shape, but can achieve the same degree of effect. Within the scope, it also means those having shapes such as concavities and convexes or chamfers. The expressions "having", "having", "having", "including" or "containing" one component are not exclusive expressions that exclude the existence of other components. The so-called expression of "at least one of A, B and C" includes: only A; only B; only C; any two of A, B and C; and all of A, B and C.

＜Overall structure of substrate processing equipment＞ FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view illustrating an example of the internal layout of the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 1 , the substrate processing apparatus 100 is a single-wafer processing apparatus that processes substrates W to be processed one piece at a time.

In the substrate processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment, the substrate W, which is a circular thin-plate silicon substrate, is washed using a rinse solution such as a chemical solution and pure water, and then dried.

As the above-mentioned chemical solution, for example, a mixed solution of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide water (SC1), a mixed aqueous solution of hydrochloric acid and hydrogen peroxide water (SC2), or DHF solution (dilute hydrofluoric acid) can be used.

In the following description, chemical solutions, rinse solutions, organic solvents, etc. are collectively referred to as "processing solutions." In addition, in addition to the chemical liquid used for cleaning treatment, the chemical liquid used for removing unnecessary films, the chemical liquid used for etching, etc. are also included in the "processing liquid".

The substrate processing apparatus 100 includes a plurality of processing units 1, a load port LP, an indexing robot 102, a main transfer robot 103, and a control unit 9.

As a carrier, a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod; front-opening wafer transfer box), a SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface; Standard Mechanical Interface) transfer box that stores the substrate W in a closed space, or the substrate W can be exposed to external gas OC (Open Cassette; open wafer box). Furthermore, the transfer robot transfers the substrate W between the carrier and the main transfer robot 103 .

The processing unit 1 performs liquid processing and drying processing on one substrate W. In the substrate processing apparatus 100 according to this embodiment, 12 processing units 1 having the same configuration are arranged.

Specifically, four towers including three processing units 1 each stacked in the vertical direction are arranged to surround the main transfer robot 103 .

In FIG. 1 , one of the processing units 1 overlapped in three layers is schematically shown. Furthermore, the number of processing units 1 in the substrate processing apparatus 100 is not limited to 12, and can be changed appropriately.

The main transfer robot 103 is installed in the center of the four towers in which the processing units 1 are stacked. The main transfer robot 103 carries the substrate W to be processed received from the indexing robot 102 into each processing unit. Furthermore, the main transfer robot 103 unloads the processed substrate W from each processing unit 1 and delivers it to the indexing robot 102 . The control unit 9 controls the operation of each component of the substrate processing apparatus 100 .

In the following, one of the 12 processing units 1 installed in the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described. However, the other processing units 1 have the same structure except for the arrangement relationship of the nozzles.

<Processing unit> Next, the processing unit 1 will be described. Hereinafter, one of the 12 processing units 1 installed in the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the structure of the processing unit 1 . 3 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing an example of the structure of the processing unit 1.

The processing unit 1 includes a spin chuck 20 as an example of a substrate holding portion, a nozzle 30 , a nozzle 60 , a nozzle 65 , a fixed nozzle 80 , a processing cup 40 , and a camera 70 in the chamber 10 .

The chamber 10 includes side walls 11 along the vertical direction, a top wall 12 that seals the upper side of the space surrounded by the side walls 11, and a bottom wall 13 that seals the lower side. The space surrounded by the side wall 11, the top wall 12 and the bottom wall 13 becomes the processing space. In addition, a portion of the side wall 11 of the chamber 10 is provided with a carry-out port for the main transport robot 103 to carry in and out the substrate W and a shutter for opening and closing the carry-out port (both are not shown in the figure).

A fan filter unit (FFU) 14 is installed on the top wall 12 of the chamber 10 to further purify the air in the clean room where the substrate processing device 100 is installed and supply it to the processing space in the chamber 10 . The fan filter unit 14 is equipped with a fan and a filter (such as a HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filter) for introducing the air in the clean room and sending it out to the chamber 10, and in the chamber The processing space within 10 meters forms a downflow of clean air. In order to evenly disperse the clean air supplied from the fan filter unit 14, a perforated plate may be provided directly below the top wall 12, and the perforated plate may be provided with a plurality of blowing holes.

The spin chuck 20 maintains the substrate W in a horizontal position. The horizontal posture is the posture in which the normal line of the substrate W is along the vertical direction. The spin chuck 20 includes a disk-shaped spin base 21 fixed in a horizontal position at the upper end of a spin shaft 24 extending in the vertical direction. A rotating motor 22 for rotating the rotating shaft 24 is provided below the rotating base 21 . The rotation motor 22 rotates the rotation base 21 in the horizontal plane via the rotation shaft 24 . In addition, the cylindrical outer cover member is provided to surround the rotation motor 22 and the rotation shaft 24 .

The outer diameter of the circular plate-shaped rotating base 21 is slightly larger than the diameter of the circular substrate W held by the rotating chuck 20 . Therefore, the rotation base 21 has an upper surface 21 a facing the entire surface of the lower surface of the substrate W to be held.

A plurality of (four in this embodiment) chuck pins 26 are erected on the peripheral portion of the upper surface 21a of the rotating base 21 . The plurality of chuck pins 26 are arranged at equal intervals (90° intervals in the case of four chuck pins 26 as in this embodiment) along the circumference corresponding to the circumference of the circular substrate W. Each chuck pin 26 is provided drivably between a holding position in contact with the peripheral edge of the substrate W and an open position separated from the peripheral edge of the substrate W. The plurality of chuck pins 26 are driven in conjunction with each other by a link mechanism (not shown) accommodated in the rotating base 21 . The spin chuck 20 can hold the substrate W in a horizontal position close to the upper surface 21a above the spin base 21 by stopping the plurality of chuck pins 26 at their respective contact positions (see FIG. 3 ). Furthermore, the holding of the substrate W can be released by stopping the plurality of chuck pins 26 at their respective open positions.

The outer cover member 23 covering the rotating motor 22 has its lower end fixed to the bottom wall 13 of the chamber 10 and its upper end reaching just below the rotating base 21 . A flange-shaped member 25 is provided at the upper end of the cover member 23 . The flange-shaped member 25 protrudes substantially horizontally outward from the cover member 23 and extends in a curved manner downward. While the spin chuck 20 holds the substrate W by gripping with a plurality of chuck pins 26, the rotation motor 22 rotates the rotation shaft 24, whereby the substrate W can be rotated along a line passing through the center of the substrate W. The vertical axis of rotation CX rotates. Furthermore, the driving of the rotating motor 22 is controlled by the control unit 9 .

The nozzle 30 is configured such that the discharge head 31 is attached to the front end of the nozzle arm 32 . The base end side of the nozzle arm 32 is fixed and connected to the nozzle base 33 . The nozzle base 33 is rotatable around an axis along the vertical direction by a motor (not shown). As shown by arrow AR34 in FIG. 2 , by rotating the nozzle base 33 , the nozzle 30 moves in an arc shape in the space above the rotating chuck 20 . The nozzle arm 32 , the nozzle base 33 and the motor are examples of the moving mechanism 37 that moves the nozzle 30 .

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the moving path of the nozzle 30. As illustrated in FIG. 4 , the discharge head 31 of the nozzle 30 moves along the circumferential direction centered on the nozzle base 33 by the rotation of the nozzle base 33 . The nozzle 30 can be stopped in place. In the example of FIG. 4 , the nozzle 30 can be stopped at each of the central position P31 , the peripheral position P32 and the standby position P33 .

The center position P31 is a position where the discharge head 31 and the center portion of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 face each other in the vertical direction. When the nozzle 30 at the central position P31 spits out the processing liquid to the main surface (upper surface) of the rotating substrate W, the processing liquid falls on the center of the upper surface of the substrate W and is subject to centrifugal force and spreads over the entire upper surface of the substrate W. Expands and scatters from the periphery of the substrate W to the outside. Thereby, the processing liquid can be supplied to the entire upper surface of the substrate W, and the entire upper surface of the substrate W can be treated.

The peripheral position P32 is a position where the discharge head 31 and the peripheral portion of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 face each other in the vertical direction. When the nozzle 30 at the peripheral position P32 discharges the processing liquid onto the upper surface of the rotating substrate W, the processing liquid falls on the peripheral portion of the upper surface of the substrate W, is moved to the peripheral side of the substrate W by centrifugal force, and moves from the edge of the substrate W to the upper surface of the substrate W. The edges scatter to the outside. Thereby, the processing liquid can be supplied only to the peripheral part of the upper surface of the substrate W, and only the peripheral part of the substrate W can be processed (so-called crystal edge processing).

In addition, the nozzle 30 may discharge the processing liquid onto the upper surface of the rotating substrate W while reciprocating between the central position P31 and the peripheral position P32. In this case, the entire upper surface of the substrate W can also be processed.

Furthermore, the nozzle 30 may not discharge the processing liquid at the peripheral position P32. For example, the peripheral position P32 may be a relay position that temporarily waits when the nozzle 30 moves from the central position P31 toward the standby position P33.

The standby position P33 is a position where the discharge head 31 and the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 do not face each other in the vertical direction. The standby position P33 may also be provided with a standby box that accommodates the discharge head 31 of the nozzle 30 .

In addition, the nozzle 30 series can be raised and lowered. For example, the nozzle 30 is raised and lowered by a nozzle raising and lowering mechanism (not shown) built in the nozzle base 63 . The nozzle lifting mechanism system includes, for example, a ball screw structure. For example, the nozzle 30 may stop at the upper center position P36 which is vertically above the center position P31.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the nozzle 30 is connected to the processing liquid supply source 36 via the supply pipe 34 . The supply pipe 34 is provided with a valve 35 . The valve 35 opens and closes the flow path of the supply pipe 34 . When the valve 35 is opened, the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply source 36 is supplied to the nozzle 30 through the supply pipe 34 and is discharged from the front end of the nozzle 30 .

Moreover, as illustrated in FIG. 2 , the processing unit 1 of this embodiment is further provided with a nozzle 60 and a nozzle 65 in addition to the nozzle 30 described above. The nozzle 60 and the nozzle 65 of this embodiment have the same structure as the nozzle 30 mentioned above. That is, the nozzle 60 is configured such that the discharge head 61 is attached to the front end of the nozzle arm 62 . The nozzle 60 is connected to the nozzle base 63 on the base end side of the nozzle arm 62 so as to be positioned in the space above the spin chuck 20 at a central position opposite to the central portion of the substrate W as shown by arrow AR64 and the standby position further outside the substrate W moves in an arc shape.

Similarly, the nozzle 65 is configured such that the discharge head 66 is attached to the front end of the nozzle arm 67 . The nozzle 65 is connected to the nozzle base 68 on the proximal end side of the nozzle arm 67 so as to be positioned in the space above the spin chuck 20 at a central position opposite to the central portion of the substrate W as shown by arrow AR69. The standby positions further outside the substrate W move in an arc shape.

Furthermore, the nozzle 60 and the nozzle 65 may be raised and lowered.

Like the nozzle 30 , each of the nozzle 60 and the nozzle 65 is connected to a processing liquid supply source (not shown) via a supply pipe (not shown). Each supply pipe is provided with a valve (not shown), and the supply/stop of the processing liquid is switched by opening and closing the valve. Furthermore, each of the nozzle 60 and the nozzle 65 may be configured to supply a plurality of processing liquids including at least pure water.

In addition, at least one of the nozzle 30, the nozzle 60, and the nozzle 65 may mix a cleaning liquid such as pure water and a pressurized gas to generate droplets, and apply the mixed fluid of the droplets and the gas to the substrate. W is a two-fluid nozzle for spraying. In addition, the number of nozzles provided in the processing unit 1 is not limited to three, and it may be one or more.

In the examples of FIGS. 2 and 3 , the processing unit 1 is also provided with a fixed nozzle 80 . The fixed nozzle 80 is located above the rotating chuck 20 and radially outside the periphery of the rotating chuck 20 . As a more specific example, the fixed nozzle 80 is provided at a position facing the processing cup 40 described below in the vertical direction. The discharge port of the fixed nozzle 80 faces the substrate W side, and its opening axis is along the horizontal direction, for example. The fixed nozzle 80 also discharges the processing liquid (for example, pure water) onto the upper surface of the substrate W held on the spin chuck 20 . The processing liquid ejected from the fixed nozzle 80 will land on the center of the upper surface of the substrate W, for example.

As illustrated in FIG. 3 , the fixed nozzle 80 is connected to the processing liquid supply source 83 via the supply pipe 81 . The supply pipe 81 is provided with a valve 82 . The valve 82 opens and closes the flow path of the supply pipe 81. When the valve 82 is opened, the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply source 83 is supplied to the fixed nozzle 80 through the supply pipe 81 and is discharged from the front end of the fixed nozzle 80 .

The processing cup 40 surrounding the rotating chuck 20 includes an inner cup 41, a middle cup 42, and an outer cup 43 that can be raised and lowered independently of each other. The inner cup 41 surrounds the spin chuck 20 and has a substantially rotationally symmetrical shape with respect to the rotation axis CX passing through the center of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The inner cup 41 integrally includes: an annular bottom 44 in plan view, a cylindrical inner wall 45 rising upward from the inner circumference of the bottom 44, and a cylindrical inner wall 45 rising upward from the outer circumference of the bottom 44. The cylindrical outer wall portion 46 stands up from between the inner wall portion 45 and the outer wall portion 46, and its upper end moves along a smooth arc toward the center side (close to the rotation axis of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20). CX direction) extends obliquely upward, and a cylindrical middle wall portion 48 rises upward from between the first guide portion 47 and the outer wall portion 46 .

The inner wall portion 45 is formed to a length that is accommodated between the outer cover member 23 and the collar-shaped member 25 while maintaining an appropriate gap when the inner cup 41 is raised to its highest position. The middle wall portion 48 is formed such that when the inner cup 41 and the middle cup 42 are closest to each other, the middle wall portion 48 is accommodated in the middle cup 42 while maintaining an appropriate gap. .

The first guide portion 47 has an upper end portion 47b extending obliquely upward toward the center side (direction close to the rotation axis CX of the substrate W) along a smooth arc. In addition, a waste ditch 49 for collecting and discarding the used treatment liquid is provided between the inner wall portion 45 and the first guide portion 47 . An annular inner recovery groove 50 for collecting and recovering the used processing liquid is provided between the first guide portion 47 and the middle wall portion 48 . In addition, an annular outer recovery groove 51 is provided between the middle wall portion 48 and the outer wall portion 46 for collecting and recovering a different type of processing liquid from the inner recovery channel 50 .

The waste ditch 49 is connected to an exhaust liquid mechanism (not shown) for draining the treatment liquid collected in the waste ditch 49 and forcibly exhausting the inside of the waste ditch 49 . For example, four exhaust liquid mechanisms are provided at equal intervals along the circumferential direction of the waste groove 49 . In addition, a recovery mechanism (not shown) is connected to the inner recovery ditch 50 and the outer recovery ditch 51. The recovery mechanism is used to recover the processing liquid collected in the inner recovery ditch 50 and the outer recovery ditch 51 to the equipment. A recovery tank outside the processing unit 1. Furthermore, the bottoms of the inner recovery groove 50 and the outer recovery groove 51 are tilted at a slight angle relative to the horizontal direction, and a recovery mechanism is connected to the lowest position. Thereby, the processing liquid flowing into the inner recovery groove 50 and the outer recovery groove 51 can be recovered smoothly.

The middle cup 42 surrounds the spin chuck 20 and has a shape that is substantially rotationally symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis CX passing through the center of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The middle cup 42 integrally includes a second guide portion 52 and a cylindrical processing liquid separation wall 53 connected to the second guide portion 52 .

The second guide part 52 has a cylindrical lower end part 52a coaxial with the lower end of the first guide part 47 on the outside of the first guide part 47 of the inner cup 41; The upper end 52b of the smooth arc extends obliquely upward toward the center side (the direction close to the rotation axis CX of the substrate W), and the folded portion 52c is formed by folding the front end of the upper end 52b downward. When the inner cup 41 and the middle cup 42 are closest to each other, the lower end portion 52a is accommodated in the inner recovery groove 50 while maintaining an appropriate gap between the first guide portion 47 and the middle wall portion 48. In addition, the upper end 52b is provided so as to overlap the upper end 47b of the first guide part 47 of the inner cup 41 in the up-down direction, and maintain a very slight distance between the inner cup 41 and the middle cup 42 in a state where they are closest to each other. Close to the upper end 47b of the first guide part 47. In addition, the folded portion 52c formed by folding the front end of the upper end portion 52b downward is set in a state where the inner cup 41 and the middle cup 42 are closest to each other. The length of horizontal overlap of the front ends.

In addition, the upper end portion 52 b of the second guide portion 52 is formed to have a thicker wall thickness toward the lower side, and the processing liquid separation wall 53 has a cylindrical shape extending downward from the lower end outer peripheral edge portion of the upper end portion 52 b. The processing liquid separation wall 53 is accommodated in the outer recovery groove 51 while maintaining an appropriate gap between the middle wall portion 48 and the outer cup 43 when the inner cup 41 and the middle cup 42 are closest to each other.

The outer cup 43 surrounds the spin chuck 20 on the outside of the second guide portion 52 of the middle cup 42 and has a shape that is substantially rotationally symmetrical with respect to the rotation axis CX passing through the center of the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . The outer cup 43 functions as a third guide part. The outer cup 43 has a cylindrical lower end portion 43a that is coaxial with the lower end portion 52a of the second guide portion 52 and rotates along a smooth arc from the upper end of the lower end portion 43a toward the center side (closer to the substrate W). The upper end 43b extends obliquely upward in the direction of the axis CX; and the folded portion 43c is formed by folding the front end of the upper end 43b downward.

The lower end 43a is accommodated in the outer recovery groove 51 while maintaining an appropriate gap between the processing liquid separation wall 53 of the middle cup 42 and the outer wall 46 of the inner cup 41 when the inner cup 41 and the outer cup 43 are closest to each other. . In addition, the upper end portion 43b is provided to overlap the second guide portion 52 of the middle cup 42 in the up-down direction, and when the middle cup 42 and the outer cup 43 are closest to each other, a very small distance is maintained to be close to the second guide portion 52 . The guide part 52 has an upper end part 52b. In addition, the folded portion 43c formed by folding the front end portion of the upper end portion 43b downward is formed so that the folded portion 43c and the folded portion 52c of the second guide portion 52 are in a state where the middle cup 42 and the outer cup 43 are closest to each other. Overlap horizontally.

Furthermore, the inner cup 41, the middle cup 42, and the outer cup 43 are configured to be able to move up and down independently of each other. That is, each of the inner cup 41, the middle cup 42, and the outer cup 43 is individually provided with a cup lifting and lowering mechanism (not shown), thereby being lifted and lowered individually and independently. As such a cup lifting mechanism, various well-known mechanisms such as a ball screw mechanism or an air cylinder can be used.

The partition plate 15 is provided around the processing cup 40 to divide the inner space of the chamber 10 into upper and lower parts. The partition plate 15 may be a single plate-like member surrounding the processing cup 40, or may be a joint of a plurality of plate-like members. In addition, the partition plate 15 may be formed with a through hole or a notch penetrating along the thickness direction. In this embodiment, a through hole for passing a support shaft for supporting the nozzle 30 is formed. The nozzle base 33, the nozzle base 63 of the nozzle 60, and the nozzle base 68 of the nozzle 65 are provided.

The outer peripheral end of the partition plate 15 is connected to the side wall 11 of the chamber 10 . In addition, the end edge portion of the partition plate 15 surrounding the processing cup 40 is formed in a circular shape with a larger diameter than the outer diameter of the outer cup 43 . Therefore, the partition plate 15 does not hinder the lifting and lowering of the outer cup 43 .

In addition, an exhaust pipe 18 is provided in a part of the side wall 11 of the chamber 10 and in the vicinity of the bottom wall 13 . The exhaust pipe 18 is connected to an exhaust mechanism (not shown). Among the clean air supplied from the fan filter unit 14 and flowing downward in the chamber 10 , the air passing between the processing cup 40 and the partition plate 15 is discharged from the exhaust pipe 18 to the outside of the device.

The camera 70 is disposed in the chamber 10 and above the partition plate 15 . The camera 70 includes, for example, a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), which is one of the solid-state imaging elements, and an optical system such as a lens. The camera 70 is installed, for example, to monitor the discharge state of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 . The imaging area of the camera 70 includes the substrate W and the space above the substrate W. This imaging area includes, for example, the tip of the nozzle 30 when it stops at the center position P31, and also includes the tip of the nozzle 30 when it stops at the upper center position P36. The camera 70 captures the photographic area to obtain photographic image data, and sequentially outputs the obtained photographic image data to the control unit 9 .

As shown in FIG. 3 , a lighting portion 71 is provided in the chamber 10 and above the partition plate 15 . When the chamber 10 is a darkroom, the control unit 9 may also control the lighting unit 71 so that the lighting unit 71 irradiates light when the camera 70 is taking pictures.

The hardware configuration of the control unit 9 provided in the substrate processing apparatus 100 is the same as that of a general computer. That is, the control unit 9 is configured as a processing unit including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) that performs various calculation processes, a read-only memory that is a ROM (Read Only Memory) that stores basic programs, and the like. Non-transitory storage such as temporary storage media, RAM (Random Access Memory), which is a freely readable and writable memory that stores various information, and disks that store control software or data in advance media. By the CPU of the control unit 9 executing a predetermined processing program, each operating mechanism of the substrate processing apparatus 100 will be controlled by the control unit 9 to perform processing in the substrate processing apparatus 100 . Furthermore, the functions of the control unit 9 can also be realized by a dedicated hardware circuit that does not require software.

FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram schematically showing an example of the internal structure of the control unit 9 . The control unit 9 includes a monitoring processing unit 91 , a determination area setting unit 92 , and a processing control unit 93 .

The process control unit 93 controls each component in the chamber 10 . Specifically, the process control unit 93 controls the rotation motor 22 , various valves such as the valves 35 and 82 , the motors of the nozzle bases 33 , 63 , and 68 , the nozzle lifting mechanism, the cup lifting mechanism, and the fan filter unit 14 . The processing unit 1 can process the substrate W by controlling these components according to a predetermined program by the processing control unit 93 .

The monitoring processing unit 91 performs monitoring processing based on the photographed image data obtained by photographing the inside of the chamber 10 by the camera 70 . Specifically, for example, the camera 70 takes a picture of a predetermined area including the front end of the nozzle 30 to obtain photographic image data, and the monitoring processing unit 91 monitors the discharge state of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 based on the photographed image data.

The determination area setting unit 92 sets a determination area for determining the discharge state of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 in the photographic image data. The determination area will be described in detail later.

＜Example of substrate processing flow＞ ＜Overall Process＞ FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of a substrate processing flow. First, the main transfer robot 103 carries the unprocessed substrate W into the processing unit 1 (step S1: loading step). Next, the spin chuck 20 holds the substrate W in a horizontal posture (step S2: holding step). Specifically, the plurality of chuck pins 26 hold the substrate W by moving the plurality of chuck pins 26 to their respective contact positions.

Next, the rotation motor 22 starts rotating the substrate W (step S3: rotation step). Specifically, the rotation motor 22 rotates the spin chuck 20 , thereby rotating the substrate W held by the spin chuck 20 . Next, the cup lifting mechanism lifts the processing cup 40 (step S4: cup lifting step). Thereby, the processing cup 40 stops at the upper position.

Next, the processing liquid is sequentially supplied to the substrate W (step S5: processing liquid step). Furthermore, in the processing liquid step (step S5), the cup lifting mechanism appropriately switches the rising cup according to the type of processing liquid supplied to the substrate W. However, this part is essentially different from the present embodiment. The description is omitted below.

In the processing liquid step (step S5), the nozzle 30, the nozzle 60, the nozzle 65, and the fixed nozzle 80 sequentially discharge the processing liquid toward the upper surface of the substrate W as needed. Here, as an example, after the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid, the fixed nozzle 80 discharges the processing liquid. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing a specific example of a part of the liquid treatment step. As a specific example, first, the nozzle base 33 moves the nozzle 30 from the standby position P33 to the center position P31 (step S51: first nozzle movement step). Next, the process control unit 93 outputs an open signal to the valve 35, thereby opening the valve 35 (step S52: first discharge step). Thereby, the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply source 36 is supplied to the nozzle 30 through the supply pipe 34 and is discharged from the front end of the nozzle 30 toward the upper surface of the substrate W. The processing liquid falling on the surface of the substrate W expands due to centrifugal force and scatters from the periphery of the substrate W to the outside. Thereby, the upper surface of the substrate W can be processed corresponding to the processing liquid.

For example, when a predetermined time elapses after the nozzle 30 starts discharging the processing liquid, the processing control unit 93 outputs a closing signal to the valve 35 to close the valve 35 . Thereby, the discharge of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 is stopped.

Next, the nozzle base 33 raises the nozzle 30 from the center position P31 to the upper center position P36 (step S53: second movement step).

Next, the process control unit 93 outputs an open signal to the valve 82, thereby opening the valve 82 (step S54: second discharge step). Thereby, the processing liquid from the processing liquid supply source 83 is supplied to the fixed nozzle 80 through the supply pipe 81 , and is discharged from the fixed nozzle 80 toward the upper surface of the substrate W. The processing liquid discharged from the fixed nozzle 80 is a rinse liquid such as pure water. In this case, the rinsing liquid rinses the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate W, and replaces the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate W with the rinsing liquid.

In the example of FIG. 7 , before the process liquid is discharged from the fixed nozzle 80 (step S54 ), the movement of the nozzle 30 is started (step S53 ). Therefore, the possibility that the processing liquid discharged from the fixed nozzle 80 collides with the nozzle 30 can be reduced.

Then, for example, when a predetermined time has elapsed since the fixed nozzle 80 started discharging the processing liquid, the processing control unit 93 outputs a closing signal to the valve 82 to close the valve 82 . Thereby, the discharge of the processing liquid from the fixed nozzle 80 is stopped.

After step S54, the nozzle 30, the nozzle 60 and the nozzle 65 can also be sequentially moved to a predetermined position as needed and spit out the processing liquid. In addition, the fixed nozzle 80 can appropriately discharge the processing liquid as needed. By ending the discharge of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 , the nozzle 60 , the nozzle 65 and the fixed nozzle 80 , the processing liquid step is completed (step S5 ).

Referring to FIG. 6 again, after the processing liquid step (step S5) is completed, the processing unit 1 dries the substrate W (step S6: drying step). For example, the rotation motor 22 increases the rotation speed of the substrate W to dry the substrate W (so-called spin drying).

Next, the cup lifting mechanism lowers the processing cup 40 (step S7: cup lowering step).

Next, the rotation motor 22 ends the rotation of the spin chuck 20 and the substrate W, and the spin chuck 20 releases the holding of the substrate W (step S8: holding release step). Specifically, the plurality of chuck pins 26 are moved to their respective open positions to release the holding.

Next, the main transfer robot 103 unloads the processed substrate W from the processing unit 1 (step S9: unloading step).

As described above, the substrate W is processed.

＜Monitoring＞ The monitoring processing unit 91 uses the camera 70 to monitor the discharge state of the processing liquid in the processing liquid step (step S5). FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a specific example of monitoring processing. The camera 70 sequentially performs photography in the processing liquid step (step S5), and sequentially obtains photographed image data (step S11: photographing step). For example, the camera 70 acquires dynamic image data at a predetermined frame rate. In this case, the photographic image data is equivalent to 1 frame of the moving image data. 9 to 11 are diagrams schematically showing an example of photographic image data.

FIG. 9 shows an example of photographic image data obtained by the camera 70 when the nozzle 30 stops at the center position P31. In this photographic image data, the nozzle 30 has not yet discharged the processing liquid.

FIG. 10 shows an example of photographic image data obtained by the camera 70 when the nozzle 30 stopped at the center position P31 discharges the processing liquid. The photographic image data includes a liquid column-shaped processing liquid flowing down from the front end of the nozzle 30 .

As can be understood from FIG. 10 , the processing liquid discharged from the nozzle 30 is included in the photographic image data in a region below the front end of the nozzle 30 . Therefore, if the determination area R1 including this area is set, the monitoring processing unit 91 can monitor the discharge state of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 based on the pixel values in the determination area R1. For example, as can be understood from FIGS. 9 and 10 , the pixel values in the determination region R1 are different when the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid and when the nozzle 30 does not discharge the processing liquid. For example, the sum of the pixel values in the determination area R1 when the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid is larger than the sum of the pixel values in the determination area R1 when the nozzle 30 does not discharge the processing liquid.

Here, first, the determination area setting unit 92 sets the above-mentioned determination area R1 (step S12: setting step). Specifically, the determination area setting unit 92 first performs image processing on the photographed image data and detects the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 . For example, the determination area setting unit 92 detects photography by using reference image data RI1 including the nozzle 30 (specifically, the discharge head 31 ) stored in the storage medium in advance and template matching with the photographed image data. The coordinate position of the nozzle 30 in the image data. Furthermore, in the example of FIG. 9 , the reference image data RI1 is displayed by overlapping the photographic image data with a schematic virtual line.

Next, the determination area setting unit 92 sets the determination area R1 according to the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 . Specifically, the determination area setting unit 92 sets the determination area R1 so that the determination area R1 includes an area extending downward from the front end of the nozzle 30 . In the examples of FIGS. 9 and 10 , the determination region R1 has a rectangular shape extending in the longitudinal direction.

The relative position of the determination area R1 with respect to the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 is, for example, preset and stored in the storage medium as setting information. In addition, the shape and size of the determination region R1 are also preset, for example, and stored in the storage medium as setting information. The determination area setting unit 92 sets the determination area R1 based on the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 detected by template matching and the setting information stored in the storage medium.

The monitoring processing unit 91 determines the discharge state of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 based on the pixel value in the determination area R1 (step S13: monitoring step). Specifically, the monitoring processing unit 91 determines whether the sum of pixel values in the determination region R1 is equal to or greater than a predetermined discharge reference value. When the sum is equal to or greater than the discharge reference value, it determines that the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid. When the total is less than the discharge reference value, the monitoring processing unit 91 determines that the nozzle 30 has not discharged the processing liquid.

Furthermore, the determination of whether or not the processing liquid is discharged is not limited to the pixel value in the determination area R1, and various methods may be used. For example, the dispersion of pixel values in the determination region R1 when the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid is greater than the dispersion when the nozzle 30 does not discharge the processing liquid. Therefore, the monitoring processing unit 91 may calculate the dispersion and determine whether or not the processing liquid is discharged based on the magnitude of the dispersion. Alternatively, standard deviation can be used instead of dispersion.

The monitoring processing unit 91 performs the above-mentioned processing on each piece of photographic image data sequentially acquired by the camera 70, thereby detecting the start time point when the nozzle 30 starts discharging the processing liquid, and the end time point when the nozzle 30 stops discharging the processing liquid. Furthermore, the monitoring processing unit 91 can calculate the discharge period of the processing liquid based on the start time point and the end time point, and can monitor whether the discharge period is a predetermined time.

However, in the above example, while the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid, the nozzle 30 stops at the center position P31. In this case, since the position of the nozzle 30 does not change, the position of the determination region R1 does not need to be changed. Here, the determination area setting unit 92 may also set the determination area R1 in common for a plurality of pieces of photographic image data acquired with the nozzle 30 stopped at the center position P31.

Specifically, the determination area setting unit 92 detects the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 as described above based on an initial piece of captured image data when the nozzle 30 stops at the center position P31. Then, the determination area setting unit 92 sets the determination area R1 based on the coordinate position. The determination area setting unit 92 does not perform an operation of detecting the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 in the photographic image data acquired thereafter, but directly uses the already set determination area R1. In this way, if the determination area R1 is set commonly in a plurality of pieces of photographic image data, the detection operation of the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 can be avoided, and the processing load of the determination area setting unit 92 can be reduced.

＜Drip＞ When a predetermined period elapses after the nozzle 30 starts discharging the processing liquid, the processing control unit 93 outputs a closing signal to the valve 35 to stop discharging the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 . When the discharge of the processing liquid stops, droplet-shaped processing liquid may fall from the front end of the nozzle 30 (so-called dripping). When such droplets fall onto the upper surface of the substrate W, problems may occur. FIG. 11 shows an example of photographic image data obtained by the camera 70 when the nozzle 30 stops discharging the processing liquid. The photographic image data includes droplets (drops) of the processing liquid falling from the front end of the nozzle 30 .

As can be understood from a comparison of FIGS. 9 to 11 , when the nozzle 30 does not discharge the processing liquid ( FIG. 9 ), when the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid ( FIG. 10 ), and when dripping occurs ( FIG. 11 ), the determination area R1 The pixel values within are not the same. For example, the sum of the pixel values in the determination area R1 when dripping occurs will be smaller than the sum of the pixel values in the determination area R1 when the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid, and is greater than the sum of the pixel values in the determination area R1 when the nozzle 30 does not discharge the processing liquid. The sum of pixel values.

Therefore, the monitoring processing unit 91 can determine whether dripping occurs based on the pixel value in the determination area R1. As a specific example, the monitoring processing unit 91 determines that the nozzle 30 discharges the processing liquid when the sum of the pixel values in the determination region R1 is greater than or equal to a predetermined first reference value, but when the sum of the pixel values in the determination region R1 is not greater than the predetermined first reference value, When the total of the pixel values in the determination area R1 is less than the second reference value, it is determined that the nozzle 30 has not discharged the processing liquid.

In addition, the determination of the presence or absence of dripping based on the pixel value in the determination area R1 is not limited to this, and various methods can be used. For example, the presence or absence of dripping may be determined based on the dispersion or standard deviation within the determination region R1.

In the above-mentioned processing liquid step (step S5), when the valve 35 is closed to stop the nozzle 30 from discharging the processing liquid, the nozzle base 33 raises the nozzle 30 from the center position P31 to the upper center position P36 (second movement step: Step S53). FIG. 12 shows the photographic image data obtained by the camera 70 when the nozzle 30 stops at the upper center position P36.

The above-mentioned dripping will also occur when the nozzle 30 rises from the central position P31 to the upper central position P36. In addition, dripping may also occur after the nozzle 30 stops at the upper center position P36. Therefore, it is desirable that the monitoring processing unit 91 monitors the presence or absence of the processing liquid falling from the front end of the nozzle 30 (drip) while the nozzle 30 is moving toward the upper center position P36 and while the nozzle 30 is stopped at the upper center position P36.

Hereinafter, the determination area R1 set according to the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 stopped at the center position P31 will be called a determination area R10. In the example of FIG. 12 , the determination area R10 is marked with a two-dot chain line.

The droplets of the treatment liquid fall from the front end of the nozzle 30 . Therefore, even if the nozzle 30 rises to the upper center position P36, the droplet still passes through the determination region R10 located below the front end of the nozzle 30. Therefore, for the determination area R1 (hereinafter referred to as the determination area R11) in which the nozzle 30 is moving toward the upper center position P36 and stopping at the upper center position P36, it may be considered to directly use the determination area R10.

However, there are cases where droplets of the treatment liquid fall obliquely from the front end of the nozzle 30 . FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a droplet falling. When the liquid droplets are transported in the inner wall of the discharge head 31 of the nozzle 30 and move vertically downward, and fall from the front end of the nozzle 30, the liquid droplets will be discharged obliquely downward. When the distance between the front end of the nozzle 30 and the determination area R10 is large, the droplet may fall without passing through the determination area R10. In this case, even if the monitoring processing unit 91 monitors the determination area R10, the liquid droplet cannot be detected. That is, leakage detection regarding dripping occurs.

In addition, in one example of the above-mentioned processing liquid step (step S5), after the processing liquid is discharged from the nozzle 30 (first discharge step: step S52), the fixed nozzle 80 discharges the processing liquid (second discharge step: step S54). FIG. 14 shows an example of photographic image data obtained when the fixed nozzle 80 discharges the processing liquid. In FIG. 14 , the determination area R10 is also marked by a two-dot chain line. In the example of FIG. 14 , part of the processing liquid discharged from the front end of the fixed nozzle 80 is included in the determination region R10 . In this case, the monitoring processing unit 91 may mistakenly detect the processing liquid as liquid droplets (drops) falling from the nozzle 30 .

Here, in the present embodiment, the determination area setting unit 92 tracks the position change of the nozzle 30 between the plurality of photographed image data at least after the time point when the valve 35 outputs the closing signal, and sets the position in each photographed image data. Judgment area R11. That is, the determination area setting unit 92 sets the determination area R11 in such a manner as to track the movement of the nozzle 30 for each of the photographed image data sequentially acquired from just before the second movement step (step S53).

As a specific example, the determination area setting unit 92 performs the detection operation of the nozzle 30 on the photographic image data obtained after a predetermined period has elapsed since the nozzle 30 started discharging the processing liquid. The predetermined time is set shorter than the discharge period of the nozzle 30 to discharge the processing liquid, and is stored in a storage medium or the like. Thereby, the determination area setting part 92 can detect the position of the nozzle 30 just after outputting a closing signal to the valve 35.

The determination area setting unit 92 performs tracking processing among a plurality of temporally continuous pieces of image data as a detection operation, for example. According to the tracking process, the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 can be obtained from each of the plurality of time-continuous photographic image data. Furthermore, as a tracking processing method, for example, a median stream can be used.

In the median flow, a plurality of tracking object points are first generated with a specified density within a specified area of the initial photographic image data. As the initial photographic image data, for example, the first photographic image data when the detection operation is performed can be used. In addition, as the designated area, in the photographed image data, for example, an area that coincides with the reference image data RI1 (that is, an area indicating the nozzle 30 ) can be used. Then, for each tracking object point, a Lucas-Kanade Tracker is used to track each position in the temporal photographic image data. Furthermore, using the Forward-Backward Error (FB error), the tracking target points with larger tracking errors are removed from the above tracking, and the remaining tracking target points are used to obtain the relationship between the tracking target points in the before and after photographic image data. The median (central value) of the position change. Then, based on the central value, the area (that is, the coordinate position) representing the nozzle 30 is estimated (detected) in the next photographed image data.

The determination area setting unit 92 sets the determination area R1 (that is, the determination area R11) in each photographic image data based on the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 detected in each photographic image data. The relative positional relationship, size and shape of the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 and the determination region R11 are as described above, for example, are preset and stored in the storage medium. Thereby, the determination area R11 is set by following the movement of the nozzle 30 in each photographic image data.

In the example of FIG. 14 , the determination area R11 is set according to the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 stopped at the upper center position P36 and is set to avoid the area including the processing liquid discharged by the fixed nozzle 80 . That is, the determination area setting unit 92 sets the determination area R11 following the rise of the nozzle 30 in the second moving step (step S53), thereby avoiding the movement of the nozzle 80 from the fixed nozzle 80 in the second discharging step (step S54). The front end reaches the area of the processing liquid on the upper surface of the substrate W, and the determination area R11 is set. In other words, the determination area R11 is set to the central upper position P36 with respect to the nozzle 30 so as to avoid an area including the processing liquid reaching the upper surface of the substrate W from the front end of the fixed nozzle 80 .

As described above, the determination area setting unit 92 detects the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 for each captured image data and sets the determination area R1 according to the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 at least after outputting the closing signal to the valve 35 .

Then, the monitoring processing unit 91 monitors the presence or absence of the processing liquid falling from the tip of the nozzle 30 based on the pixel value in the determination area R1 of each photographic image data set by the determination area setting unit 92 . Since the determination area R1 is set following the movement of the nozzle 30, the monitoring processing unit 91 can appropriately detect dripping. That is, the possibility of missed detection and false detection can be reduced.

Furthermore, in the above example, the nozzle 30 continues to stop at the upper center position P36 during the stop period from when the nozzle 30 stops at the upper center position P36 until the discharge of the processing liquid from the fixed nozzle 80 ends. In this case, there is no need to change the determination area R11 during the stop period. Here, the determination area setting unit 92 may set the determination area R11 in common for the plurality of photographed image data acquired during the stop period. That is, when the determination area R11 is set based on the photographed image data when the nozzle 30 is stopped at the upper center position P36, the determination area R11 is also applied to other photographed image data acquired during the stop period. According to this, there is no need to perform tracking processing and setting of the determination area R11 during the stop period. Therefore, the processing load of the determination area setting unit 92 can be reduced.

As mentioned above, the substrate processing method and the substrate processing apparatus 100 have been described in detail, but all the aspects described above are only examples, and the substrate processing apparatus is not limited thereto. Numerous modifications that are not illustrated can be interpreted as being inferred without departing from the scope of the disclosure. The configurations described in the above-described embodiments and modifications may be combined as appropriate or may be omitted as long as they do not conflict with each other.

In the above example, the nozzle 30 moves up from the center position P31 to the upper center position P36 after the discharge of the processing liquid stops (second movement step: step S53). However, in this second movement step, the nozzle 30 may be moved from the center position P31 to the peripheral position P32. In this case, the determination area setting unit 92 also detects the coordinate position of the nozzle 30 in each photographic image data at least after outputting the closing signal to the valve 35, and tracks the movement of the nozzle 30 in each photographic image data. Set the judgment area R11 in . Thereby, dripping from the nozzle 30 can be detected with high detection accuracy.

Furthermore, in the above example, dripping was focused, but outflow may also be detected using the above monitoring process. The term "outflow" refers to an abnormality in which, due to an abnormality of the valve 35 or the like, a long and narrow liquid processing liquid flows down from the nozzle 30 despite outputting a closing signal to the valve 35 .

Furthermore, in the above example, the discharge of the processing liquid from the nozzle 30 is monitored, but the discharge of the processing liquid from each of the nozzle 60 and the nozzle 65 may be monitored.

1: Processing unit 9:Control Department 10: Chamber 11:Side wall 12: Top wall 13: Bottom wall 14: Fan filter unit (FFU) 15:Divider board 18:Exhaust pipe 20: Rotating chuck 21: Rotating base 21a: Upper surface 22: Rotary motor 23: Outer cover components 24:Rotation axis 25: E-shaped member 26:Chuck pin 30, 60, 65: 1st nozzle (nozzle) 31, 61, 66: spit out the head 32, 62, 67: Nozzle arm 33, 63, 68: Nozzle abutment 34, 81: Supply pipe 35, 82: valve 36: Treatment fluid supply source 37:Mobile mechanism 40: Processing cup 41:Inner cup 42:Medium cup 43:Outer cup 43a, 52a: lower end 43b, 47b, 52b: upper end 43c, 52c: folding part 44: Bottom 45:Inner wall part 46:Outer wall part 47:First Guidance Department 48: Middle wall 49:Abandoned ditch 50:Inside recovery ditch 51:Outer recovery ditch 52:Second Guidance Department 53: Treatment liquid separation wall 70:Camera 71:Lighting Department 80: 2nd nozzle (fixed nozzle) 83: Treatment fluid supply source 91:Monitoring and Processing Department 92: Judgment area setting part 93: Processing Control Department 100:Substrate processing device 102:Indexing robot 103: Main transfer robot AR34, AR64, AR69: arrow CX: axis of rotation LP: loading port P31: Central location P32: Peripheral position P33: Standby position P36: Upper center position R1, R10, R11: Judgment area RI1: Reference image data W: substrate

FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing an example of the overall structure of a substrate processing apparatus. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the structure of the processing unit. FIG. 3 is a side view schematically showing an example of the structure of the processing unit. FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing an example of the moving path of the nozzle. FIG. 5 is a functional block diagram showing an example of the internal structure of the control unit. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the processing unit. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing an example of specific steps of the liquid treatment step. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a specific example of monitoring processing. FIG. 9 is a diagram schematically showing an example of photographic image data. FIG. 10 is a diagram schematically showing an example of photographic image data. FIG. 11 is a diagram schematically showing an example of photographic image data. FIG. 12 is a diagram schematically showing an example of photographic image data. FIG. 13 is a diagram schematically showing an example of a situation in which droplets of the treatment liquid fall. FIG. 14 is a diagram schematically showing an example of photographic image data.

30:Nozzle

31: Spit out the head

40: Processing cup

80: Fixed nozzle

P36: Upper center position

R1(R11): Judgment area

R1(R10): Judgment area

W: substrate

Claims (4)

A substrate processing method comprising: a holding step for holding a substrate; and a first discharge step for outputting an opening signal to a valve provided in a supply pipe and discharging the substrate from the front end of the first nozzle connected to the supply pipe. Discharging the treatment liquid from the main surface; a moving step of moving the first nozzle after a time when a closing signal is output to the valve to end the first discharging step; and a photographing step of at least the time of outputting a closing signal to the valve. During the movement of the first nozzle in the movement step after the point, the camera sequentially photographs the predetermined area including the front end of the first nozzle to obtain a plurality of image data; the setting step is to detect the closing signal The position of the first nozzle in each of the plurality of image data acquired in the state of being output to the valve and during the movement of the first nozzle causes the determination area to track the first position between the plurality of image data. The position of the nozzle is changed to set the judgment area below the front end of the first nozzle; and a liquid leakage monitoring step is based on a state where a closed signal is output to the valve and between the first nozzle and The pixels in the determination area in each of the plurality of pieces of image data acquired during the movement are monitored for the presence or absence of the processing liquid falling from the front end of the first nozzle. The substrate processing method of claim 1, wherein the first nozzle is raised in the moving step. The substrate processing method of claim 2 further includes: a second discharging step of discharging the processing liquid from the second nozzle toward the main surface of the substrate in a state where the first nozzle is raised; In the above-mentioned liquid leakage monitoring step, in the above-mentioned image data acquired by the above-mentioned camera during the above-mentioned second discharge step, the above-mentioned determination area is set by tracking the rise of the above-mentioned first nozzle, thereby avoiding the above-mentioned front end from the above-mentioned second nozzle. The processing liquid reaching the main surface of the substrate sets the determination area. A substrate processing apparatus, which is provided with: a substrate holding part that holds a substrate; and a nozzle that is connected to a supply pipe provided in a valve, and directs a processing liquid supplied through the supply pipe toward the above-mentioned liquid held by the substrate holding part. The main surface of the substrate is ejected; a moving mechanism that moves the nozzle; a camera that takes pictures of a predetermined area including the front end of the nozzle; and a control unit that outputs an open signal to the valve, from the front end of the nozzle toward the substrate. When the processing liquid is discharged from the main surface, after a closing signal is output to the valve to terminate the discharge of the processing liquid, the moving mechanism moves the nozzle at least after the closing signal is output to the valve. During movement, the position of the nozzle in each of the plurality of image data sequentially acquired by the above-mentioned camera is detected, so that the determination area tracks the change in the position of the nozzle between the plurality of image data, and is compared with the position of the nozzle. The determination area is set further below the front end, and the presence or absence of the processing liquid falling from the front end of the nozzle is monitored based on the pixels in the determination area in each of the plurality of image data.