US20140261557A1 - Substrate processing appartus and standby method for ejection head - Google Patents
Substrate processing appartus and standby method for ejection head Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20140261557A1 US20140261557A1 US14/213,203 US201414213203A US2014261557A1 US 20140261557 A1 US20140261557 A1 US 20140261557A1 US 201414213203 A US201414213203 A US 201414213203A US 2014261557 A1 US2014261557 A1 US 2014261557A1
- Authority
- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- liquid
- reservoir
- substrate
- ejection
- immersion liquid
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Abandoned
Links
Images
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
- H01L21/67017—Apparatus for fluid treatment
-
- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B05—SPRAYING OR ATOMISING IN GENERAL; APPLYING FLUENT MATERIALS TO SURFACES, IN GENERAL
- B05B—SPRAYING APPARATUS; ATOMISING APPARATUS; NOZZLES
- B05B15/00—Details of spraying plant or spraying apparatus not otherwise provided for; Accessories
- B05B15/50—Arrangements for cleaning; Arrangements for preventing deposits, drying-out or blockage; Arrangements for detecting improper discharge caused by the presence of foreign matter
- B05B15/55—Arrangements for cleaning; Arrangements for preventing deposits, drying-out or blockage; Arrangements for detecting improper discharge caused by the presence of foreign matter using cleaning fluids
- B05B15/555—Arrangements for cleaning; Arrangements for preventing deposits, drying-out or blockage; Arrangements for detecting improper discharge caused by the presence of foreign matter using cleaning fluids discharged by cleaning nozzles
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/67—Apparatus specially adapted for handling semiconductor or electric solid state devices during manufacture or treatment thereof; Apparatus specially adapted for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or electric solid state devices or components ; Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67005—Apparatus not specifically provided for elsewhere
- H01L21/67011—Apparatus for manufacture or treatment
- H01L21/67017—Apparatus for fluid treatment
- H01L21/67028—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like
- H01L21/6704—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like for wet cleaning or washing
- H01L21/67051—Apparatus for fluid treatment for cleaning followed by drying, rinsing, stripping, blasting or the like for wet cleaning or washing using mainly spraying means, e.g. nozzles
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01L—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES NOT COVERED BY CLASS H10
- H01L21/00—Processes or apparatus adapted for the manufacture or treatment of semiconductor or solid state devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02—Manufacture or treatment of semiconductor devices or of parts thereof
- H01L21/02041—Cleaning
- H01L21/02043—Cleaning before device manufacture, i.e. Begin-Of-Line process
- H01L21/02052—Wet cleaning only
Definitions
- the present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate and a standby method for an ejection head of the substrate processing apparatus.
- a process of manufacturing semiconductor substrates conventionally involves various types of processing performed by a substrate processing apparatus on a substrate having an insulation film such as an oxide film.
- One example is cleaning processing for removing particles or the like that adhere to the surface of a substrate by supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate surface.
- WO 2007/132609 discloses a substrate cleaning apparatus that is provided with a droplet removing nozzle disposed in the vicinity of a process nozzle located at a standby position outside a substrate, and in which gas is blown from the droplet removing nozzle against the process nozzle in order to prevent unintended liquid dripping from the process nozzle.
- Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-232250 proposes a technique for use in a membrane forming apparatus for forming a membrane on a substrate by ejecting a coating liquid onto the substrate.
- a cleaning liquid is ejected to outlets of a coating liquid ejection nozzle to remove contaminants adhering to the outlets, and then, the cleaning liquid ejected to the outlets is sucked to be discharged from the outlets as well as to dry the outlets.
- Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-43949 proposes a technique for use in a coating device for forming a coating film on a substrate by applying a processing liquid to the substrate.
- the processing liquid in a flow passage of the nozzle is transformed into a solvent of the processing liquid and retained in the form of a solvent.
- Document 3 also proposes to immerse the tip of the nozzle, in which the processing liquid has been transformed to the solvent, into a solvent retained in a casing.
- Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-302934 discloses a technique for use in a liquid treatment apparatus, in which, during standby of a processing liquid supply nozzle, the processing liquid in the nozzle is sucked to form an air layer in the vicinity of an outlet in a flow passage of the nozzle, and the processing liquid is further sucked in a state where the tip of the nozzle is immersed in a solvent of the processing liquid to form a solvent layer on the outer side of the air layer.
- the substrate processing apparatuses there is known to be an apparatus for processing a substrate by ejecting fine droplets of a processing liquid toward the substrate from a plurality of fine outlets provided in an ejection head.
- Such an apparatus may suffer from clogging of the outlets due to, for example, drying of the outlets during standby of the ejection head. It is thus conceivable to apply the processing liquid in the vicinity of the outlets to prevent drying of the outlets.
- the present invention is intended for a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent drying of outlets during standby of an ejection head and to prevent liquid dripping during processing on a substrate.
- the present invention is also intended for a standby method for an ejection head of the substrate processing apparatus.
- the substrate processing apparatus includes a substrate holding part for holding a substrate, a cup part surrounding the substrate holding part, an ejection head disposed inside the cup part and above the substrate holding part and for ejecting a processing liquid toward the substrate from an outlet provided in an ejection surface, a supply part movement mechanism for moving the ejection head from a position above the substrate holding part to a standby position outside the cup part, a reservoir disposed outside the cup part and for retaining an immersion liquid in which the ejection surface of the ejection head located at the standby position is immersed, and a liquid removing part for removing the immersion liquid from the ejection surface.
- the supply part movement mechanism causes relative movement of the ejection head and the reservoir in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become closer to each other to immerse the ejection surface of the ejection head in the immersion liquid retained in the reservoir, the ejection surface is separated from the immersion liquid either by discharging the immersion liquid from the reservoir or by the supply part movement mechanism causing relative movement of the ejection head and the reservoir in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become away from each other, and after the ejection surface is separated from the immersion liquid, the liquid removing part removes the immersion liquid that remains on the ejection surface.
- the processing liquid is continuously or intermittently ejected from the outlet in a state where the ejection surface is immersed in the immersion liquid.
- the ejection of the processing liquid from the outlet is stopped before the ejection surface is separated from the immersion liquid.
- the liquid removing part is a gas emitting part for emitting gas toward the ejection head.
- the liquid removing part emits the gas in a direction away from the substrate holding part. Or, the liquid removing part emits the gas toward the ejection head inside the reservoir. Still more preferably, the reservoir is provided with a lid part for covering a top of the reservoir, the lid part having an insertion opening through which a lower end portion of the ejection head is inserted.
- the immersion liquid is continuously or intermittently supplied and discharged into and from the reservoir in a state where the ejection surface is immersed in the immersion liquid.
- the immersion liquid is supplied from a bottom of the reservoir and discharged from a top of the reservoir.
- the ejection head includes a head body part having an outer surface, part of which is the ejection surface, and for holding the processing liquid therein, and a piezoelectric element attached to the head body part and for vibrating the processing liquid held in the head body part to cause the ejection of the processing liquid from the outlet, and the piezoelectric element is driven to vibrate the immersion liquid retained in the reservoir in a state where the ejection surface is immersed in the immersion liquid.
- the immersion liquid is the same type of liquid as the processing liquid.
- the ejection surface is formed of a lyophilic material having a high affinity for the immersion liquid.
- the substrate is cleaned with the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head toward the substrate.
- a standby method for an ejection head is a method of placing the ejection head of a substrate processing apparatus on standby, the ejection head being disposed inside a cup part and above a substrate holding part surrounded by the cup part and being configured to eject a processing liquid from an outlet provided in an ejection surface toward a substrate held by the substrate holding part.
- the standby method includes a) moving the ejection head from a position inside the cup part to a position outside the cup part, b) causing relative movement of the ejection head and a reservoir in which an immersion liquid is retained, in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become closer to each other to immerse the ejection surface of the ejection head in the immersion liquid, c) separating the ejection surface from the immersion liquid either by discharging the immersion liquid from the reservoir or by causing relative movement of the ejection head and the reservoir in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become away from each other, d) removing the immersion liquid that remains on the ejection surface, and e) moving the ejection head to a position inside the cup part.
- FIG. 1 is a front view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus
- FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an ejection head
- FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the ejection head
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions of a control unit
- FIG. 6 is a plan view of a head standby part
- FIG. 7 illustrates the head standby part and the ejection head
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a standby operation of the ejection head
- FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the head standby part and the ejection head
- FIG. 11 shows the ratio of clogging of outlets
- FIG. 12 illustrates the head standby part and the ejection head
- FIG. 13 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus.
- FIG. 1 is a front view of a substrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus 1 .
- An orientation of the substrate processing apparatus 1 in FIG. 2A is different from that in FIG. 1 .
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 is a single-wafer processing apparatus for processing semiconductor substrates 9 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “substrates 9 ”) one at a time.
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 performs predetermined processing by ejecting a processing liquid toward a substrate 9 .
- cleaning processing for removing particles or the like from a substrate 9 is performed by ejecting droplets of a cleaning liquid, which is the processing liquid, onto the substrate 9 .
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 ejects, for example, a spray of droplets, each having a diameter of approximately 20 ⁇ m (micrometers), toward a substrate 9 .
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a substrate holding part 21 , a cup part 22 , a substrate rotation mechanism 23 , a processing liquid supply part 3 , a supply part movement mechanism 35 , a protection liquid supply part 36 , a head standby part 4 , a chamber 6 , and a control unit, which will be described later.
- the chamber 6 houses constituent elements such as the substrate holding part 21 , the cup part 22 , the substrate rotation mechanism 23 , the processing liquid supply part 3 , the supply part movement mechanism 35 , the protection liquid supply part 36 , and the head standby part 4 , in its internal space 60 .
- the chamber 6 is indicated by a broken line and the interior of the chamber 6 is shown.
- the substrate holding part 21 holds a substrate 9 with one main surface 91 (hereinafter, referred to as an “upper surface 91 ”) of the substrate 9 facing upward inside the chamber 6 .
- a fine pattern such as a circuit pattern.
- the cup part 22 is a substantially cylindrical member that surrounds the substrate 9 and the substrate holding part 21 .
- the substrate rotation mechanism 23 is disposed under the substrate holding part 21 .
- the substrate rotation mechanism 23 is configured to rotate the substrate 9 together with the substrate holding part 21 in a horizontal plane around a rotation axis that passes through the center of the substrate 9 and that is perpendicular to the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 .
- the processing liquid supply part 3 includes an ejection head 31 for ejecting a processing liquid downward, and processing liquid piping 32 connected to the ejection head 31 , and a pump 33 for pumping a processing liquid supplied from a processing liquid supply source disposed outside the substrate processing apparatus 1 , toward the ejection head 31 through the processing liquid piping 32 .
- the processing liquid piping 32 includes processing liquid supply piping 318 (see FIG. 4 ) for supplying the processing liquid to the ejection head 31 , and processing liquid collection piping 319 (see FIG. 4 ) for collecting the processing liquid discharged from the ejection head 31 .
- the ejection head 31 is disposed above the substrate holding part 21 inside the cup part 22 .
- a lower surface of the ejection head 31 is located between an upper opening 220 of the cup part 22 and the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 .
- the ejection head 31 is a device for continuously ejecting fine mutually separated droplets of liquid from a plurality of outlets, which will be described later.
- the ejection head 31 ejects fine droplets of the processing liquid toward the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 .
- the processing liquid include liquids such as pure water (preferably, deionized water (DIW)), carbonated water, and a mixture of aqueous ammonia and a hydrogen peroxide solution.
- DIW deionized water
- a design ejection direction in which the ejection head 31 ejects the processing liquid is substantially parallel to the vertical direction (i.e., the direction of gravity).
- FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing the lower surface 311 of the ejection head 31 .
- a plurality of fine outlets 314 In the lower surface 311 of the ejection head 31 are provided a plurality of fine outlets 314 .
- the lower surface 311 of the ejection head 31 is referred to as an “ejection surface 311 .”
- the outlets 314 form four outlet rows that each extended substantially linearly in the lateral direction in FIG. 3 .
- the outlet rows each have a plurality of outlets 314 arranged at a predetermined arrangement pitch.
- the outlets 314 each have a diameter of approximately 5 to 10
- FIG. 3 shows the outlets 314 larger than their actual size and shows a smaller number of outlets 314 than their actual number.
- the ejection head 31 is moved between a position opposite the substrate 9 and a position opposite the head standby part 4 by the supply part movement mechanism 35 , but regardless of this movement, the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 is maintained in a substantially horizontal position.
- FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the ejection head 31 .
- the ejection head 31 includes a head body part 312 and a piezoelectric element 315 . Inside the head body part 312 is provided a processing liquid holding part 316 that forms a space for holding the processing liquid.
- One end of the processing liquid holding part 316 is connected to the pump 33 and a processing liquid supply source for supplying the processing liquid to the ejection head 31 through the processing liquid supply piping 318 .
- the other end of the processing liquid holding part 316 is connected to a processing liquid collecting part for collecting the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head 31 through the processing liquid collection piping 319 .
- the processing liquid collecting part is disposed outside the substrate processing apparatus 1 .
- the lower surface of the head body part 312 which is part of the outer surface of the head body part 312 , is the aforementioned ejection surface 311 .
- the outlets 314 are each connected to the processing liquid holding part 316 via its processing liquid flow passage 317 .
- the piezoelectric element 315 is attached to the upper surface of the head body part 312 .
- the piezoelectric element 315 vibrates the processing liquid in the head body part 312 via the head body part 312 so as to cause the respective outlets 314 to eject fine droplets of the processing liquid.
- the head body part 312 including the ejection surface 311 , is formed of a lyophilic material having a high affinity for an immersion liquid 49 (see FIG. 7 ), which will be described later.
- the immersion liquid 49 is pure water.
- the head body part 312 including the ejection surface 311 is formed of a hydrophilic material.
- the supply part movement mechanism 35 includes an arm 351 a rotation shaft 352 , a head rotation mechanism 353 , and a head elevating mechanism 354 .
- the arm 351 extends in a horizontal direction from the rotation shaft 352 .
- the arm 351 has the ejection head 31 attached to its tip.
- the head rotation mechanism 353 is configured to rotate the ejection head 31 together with the arm 351 around the rotation shaft 352 in the horizontal direction.
- the head elevating mechanism 354 is configured to move the ejection head 31 together with the arm 351 in the vertical direction.
- the head rotation mechanism 353 includes, for example, an electric motor.
- the head elevating mechanism 354 includes, for example, a ball screw mechanism and an electric motor.
- the protection liquid supply part 36 is directly or indirectly fixed to the ejection head 31 and ejects a protection liquid obliquely downwardly.
- the protection liquid supply part 36 is attached to the arm 351 and indirectly fixed to the ejection head 31 .
- the protection liquid include liquids such as pure water (preferably, deionized water), carbonated water, and a mixture of aqueous ammonia and a hydrogen peroxide solution, similarly to the aforementioned processing liquid.
- the protection liquid may be a liquid of the same type as the processing liquid or may be a liquid of a different type.
- the protection liquid ejected in the form of a liquid column from the protection liquid supply part 36 toward the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 spreads over the substrate 9 under the ejection head 31 and forms a film of the protection liquid (hereinafter, referred to as a “protection liquid film”) having a predetermined thickness directly under the ejection head 31 .
- the protection liquid supply part 36 is moved together with the ejection head 31 by the head rotation mechanism 353 and the head elevating mechanism 354 .
- FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions of the control unit 7 .
- FIG. 5 also shows constituent elements other than the control unit 7 .
- the control unit 7 includes a processing control part 71 and a maintenance control part 76 .
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 performs processing on a substrate 9 , first the substrate 9 is transported into the chamber 6 and held by the substrate holding part 21 . During the transport of the substrate 9 , the ejection head 31 is waiting at a position above the head standby part 4 disposed outside the cup part 22 , as indicated by the dashed double-dotted line in FIG. 2 . When the substrate 9 is held by the substrate holding part 21 , the processing control part 71 drives the substrate rotation mechanism 23 to start the rotation of the substrate 9 .
- the processing control part 71 drives the head rotation mechanism 353 and the head elevating mechanism 354 of the supply part movement mechanism 35 so that the ejection head 31 and the protection liquid supply part 36 are moved up from the position above the head standby part 4 and rotated, then moved to a position above the cup part 22 , and then moved down. Accordingly, the ejection head 31 and the protection liquid supply part 36 are moved through the upper opening 220 of the cup part 22 to the inside of the cup part 22 and to a position above the substrate holding part 21 . Then, the protection liquid supply part 36 starts the supply of the protection liquid to the substrate 9 , forming the protection liquid film that covers a portion of the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 .
- the ejection head 31 starts the ejection of the processing liquid (i.e., a jet of fine droplets) from the outlets 314 (see FIG. 3 ) toward the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 on which the protection liquid film has been formed.
- the protection liquid film covers a plurality of design landing points (i.e., landing points of fine droplets) of the processing liquid ejected from the outlets 314 on the substrate 9 .
- a large number of fine droplets ejected from the ejection head 31 toward the protection liquid film collide with the protection liquid film on the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 and indirectly collide with the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 via the protection liquid film.
- the impact of the collision of fine droplets of the processing liquid causes extraneous materials such as particles that adhere to the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 to be removed from the substrate 9 .
- the fine droplets of the processing liquid indirectly transfer kinetic energy (i.e., indirectly apply kinetic energy) to the substrate 9 via the protection liquid film, and with this kinetic energy, the processing for cleaning the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 is performed.
- Such indirect collision of fine droplets of the processing liquid with the substrate 9 via the protection liquid film prevents or reduces the possibility of damage to a pattern or the like formed on the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 during the processing for cleaning the substrate 9 , as compared with direct collision of fine droplets with the substrate 9 .
- the protection liquid that covers the area where the cleaning processing is performed on the substrate 9 prevents or reduces the possibility that particles or the like once removed from the substrate 9 will again adhere to the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 .
- the head rotation mechanism 353 turns the ejection head 31 and the protection liquid supply part 36 .
- the ejection head 31 and the protection liquid supply part 36 repeat horizontal reciprocating motion between a position above the center portion of the rotating substrate 9 and a position above the outer edge of the substrate 9 . Accordingly, the entire upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 is cleaned.
- the rotation of the substrate 9 causes the protection liquid and the processing liquid that have been supplied to the upper surface 91 of the substrate 9 to be dispersed from the edge of the substrate 9 to the outside.
- the protection liquid and the processing liquid that have been dispersed from the substrate 9 are received by the cup part 22 and either discarded or collected.
- the ejection of the protection liquid and the processing liquid is stopped.
- the ejection head 31 and the protection liquid supply part 36 are moved up to a position above the upper opening 220 of the cup part 22 by the head elevating mechanism 354 and are then moved from a position above the substrate holding part 21 and the substrate 9 to a position above the head standby part 4 by the head rotation mechanism 353 .
- FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of the head standby part 4 .
- the head standby part 4 includes a standby pod 41 and a liquid removing part 47 .
- FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the head standby part 4 , showing the outer wall or the like of the standby pod 41 in cross section.
- the ejection head 31 and other constituent elements located above the head standby part 4 are indicated by dashed double-dotted lines.
- the standby pod 41 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a container disposed outside the cup part 22 (see FIGS. 1 and 2 ) and having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is capable of retaining a liquid therein.
- the liquid 49 hereinafter, referred to as the “immersion liquid 49 ”
- the immersion liquid 49 is retained in a reservoir 44 disposed in an internal space 40 of the standby pod 41 .
- immersion liquid 49 examples include liquids such as pure water (preferably, deionized water (DIW)), carbonated water, and a mixture of aqueous ammonia and a hydrogen peroxide solution.
- the immersion liquid 49 may be a liquid of the same type as the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head 31 , or may be a liquid of a different type.
- the immersion liquid 49 is the same type of liquid as the aforementioned processing liquid.
- the top of the internal space 40 of the standby pod 41 is covered with a lid part 43 .
- the lid part 43 has a first opening 431 and a second opening 432 that correspond respectively to the ejection head 31 and the protection liquid supply part 36 .
- FIG. 7 shows only the ejection head 31 and does not show the protection liquid supply part 36 (the same applies to FIGS. 9 , 10 , and 12 ).
- the reservoir 44 is a container having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is open at the top.
- the top of the reservoir 44 is covered with the aforementioned lid part 43 , and the reservoir 44 is disposed under the first opening 431 of the lid part 43 .
- the bottom of the reservoir 44 is connected to immersion liquid piping 45 .
- the immersion liquid piping 45 leads the immersion liquid 49 , which is supplied from an immersion liquid supply source outside the substrate processing apparatus 1 , to the reservoir 44 provided in the standby pod 41 .
- the immersion liquid 49 supplied from the bottom of the reservoir 44 flows upward in the reservoir 44 , spills from an upper opening 441 of the reservoir 44 , and is discharged from the reservoir 44 .
- the liquid level of the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 is thus substantially the same as the level of the upper opening 441 of the reservoir 44 .
- the immersion liquid 49 discharged from the top of the reservoir 44 flows through an immersion liquid exhaust pipe 46 provided in the bottom of the standby pod 41 and is discharged to the outside of the substrate processing apparatus 1 .
- the immersion liquid piping 45 is connected not only to the immersion liquid supply source but also to a suction mechanism (not shown) for sucking the liquid or the like in the reservoir 44 .
- the liquid removing part 47 is provided on the outer side surface of the standby pod 41 .
- the side surface to which the liquid removing part 47 is fixed is also the side surface of the reservoir 44 .
- the liquid removing part 47 is provided on the outer side surface of the reservoir 44 .
- the liquid removing part 47 is a gas emitting part for emitting gas such as nitrogen gas in a substantially horizontal direction.
- the liquid removing part 47 is located below the upper opening 441 of the reservoir 44 (i.e., below the liquid level of the immersion liquid 49 ) and is thus capable of emitting the aforementioned gas to the interior of the reservoir 44 in a substantially horizontal direction.
- the height of the liquid removing part 47 is set to be substantially the same as the height of the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 that is standing by while being immersed in the immersion liquid 49 .
- FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a standby operation of the ejection head 31 after having completed processing on a substrate 9 .
- the ejection head 31 that has completed processing on a substrate 9 is, as described above, moved from the inside of the cup part 22 to the outside of the cup part 22 and located above the head standby part 4 by the head rotation mechanism 353 and the head elevating mechanism 354 of the supply part movement mechanism 35 (step S 11 ).
- the maintenance control part 76 controls the head elevating mechanism 354 to move the ejection head 31 down toward the standby pod 41 .
- the lower end portion of the ejection head 31 is inserted into the standby pod 41 through the first opening 431 of the lid part 43 and is received in the standby pod 41 .
- the first opening 431 is an insertion opening through which the lower end portion of the ejection head 31 is inserted.
- the position of the ejection head 31 shown in FIG. 9 is referred to as a “standby position.”
- the lower end portion of the ejection head 31 located at the standby position is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 retained in advance in the reservoir 44 .
- the ejection surface 311 and a portion of the side surface of the ejection head 31 up to approximately 5 mm above the ejection surface 311 are immersed in the immersion liquid 49 (step S 12 ).
- the ejection surface 311 is accordingly covered with the immersion liquid 49 and isolated from the atmosphere in the chamber 6 .
- a vertical position of the ejection head 31 located at the standby position i.e., a vertical position of the ejection head 31 in a state where the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 is the same as a vertical position of the ejection head 31 when ejecting the processing liquid toward the substrate 9 (see FIG. 1 ).
- the immersion liquid 49 is stored into the reservoir 44 while, for example, the ejection head 31 is ejecting the processing liquid to the substrate 9 .
- the protection liquid supply part 36 shown in FIG. 6 also moves downward together with the ejection head 31 .
- the protection liquid supply part 36 is inserted in the standby pod 41 through the second opening 432 of the lid part 43 and is received in the standby pod 41 .
- a space in which the lower end portion of the ejection head 31 is received and a space in which the protection liquid supply part 36 is received are isolated from each other by a dividing wall 411 . There is no liquid retained in the space in which the protection liquid supply part 36 is received.
- the ejection head 31 waits at the standby position shown FIG. 9 in a state in which its ejection surface 311 is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 .
- the ejection head 31 on standby continuously ejects the processing liquid from the outlets 314 (see FIG. 3 ) under control of the maintenance control part 76 (step S 13 ).
- the quantity of flow of the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head 31 at the standby position into the immersion liquid 49 is smaller than that ejected from the ejection head 31 during the aforementioned processing on the substrate 9 toward the substrate 9 .
- the ejection head 31 at the standby position causes so-called “slow leakage” of the processing liquid.
- the ejection head 31 on standby does not necessarily have to continuously eject the processing liquid, and may intermittently eject the processing liquid. However, from the viewpoint of further reducing the possibility of clogging of the outlets 314 , it is preferable for the ejection head 31 to continuously eject the processing liquid.
- the immersion liquid 49 is continuously supplied into the reservoir 44 from the immersion liquid piping 45 and is continuously discharged from the upper opening 441 of the reservoir 44 , in a state in which the ejection surface 311 is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 . Accordingly, the flow of the immersion liquid 49 from the bottom to the top is always maintained in the reservoir 44 .
- the ejection head 31 stops ejecting the processing liquid (slow leakage) from the outlets 314 under control of the maintenance control part 76 (step S 14 ).
- the supply of the immersion liquid 49 from the immersion liquid piping 45 is also stopped.
- the aforementioned suction mechanism connected to the immersion liquid piping 45 is driven to discharge the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 through the immersion liquid piping 45 to the outside of the reservoir 44 .
- the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 is separated from the immersion liquid 49 retained in the reservoir 44 (step S 15 ). It is preferable that the slow leakage from the outlets 314 be stopped immediately before the ejection surface 311 is separated from the immersion liquid 49 .
- the maintenance control part 76 controls the liquid removing part 47 to emit gas in a substantially horizontal direction toward the ejection head 31 located at the standby position.
- the liquid removing part 47 emits the gas to the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 and to an area in the vicinity of the ejection surface 311 . Accordingly, the immersion liquid 49 adhering to (i.e., remaining on) the ejection surface 311 and to the area in the vicinity of the ejection surface 311 is blown and removed (step S 16 ).
- the height of the liquid removing part 47 is set to be substantially the same as the height of the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 that is being immersed in the immersion liquid 49 , it is possible, by merely discharging the immersion liquid 49 from the reservoir 44 , to immediately emit the gas from the liquid removing part 47 toward the ejection surface 311 without moving the ejection head 31 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the emission of the gas from the liquid removing part 47 is conducted within the reservoir 44 (i.e., within the standby pod 41 ).
- the ejection head 31 When the immersion liquid 49 has been removed from the ejection surface 311 , the ejection head 31 is moved up from the standby position to the outside of the standby pod 41 by the head elevating mechanism 354 . The ejection head 31 is then turned to a position above the substrate 9 by the head rotation mechanism 353 and is then moved down toward the inside of the cup part 22 by the head elevating mechanism 354 (step S 17 ). After this, as previously described, the ejection head 31 performs processing on the substrate 9 .
- the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 located at the standby position during standby is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 retained in the reservoir 44 .
- FIG. 11 shows a comparison in the ratio of clogging of outlets during standby between the above-described substrate processing apparatus 1 and a substrate processing apparatus in a comparative example (hereinafter referred to as a “comparative substrate processing apparatus”).
- the ejection head is placed on standby in a state in which the lower end portion of an ejection head is inserted in a standby pod, with no immersion liquid being retained in a reservoir, and the ejection of a processing liquid from outlets is stopped.
- the ejection surface of the ejection head is exposed to the atmosphere and is thus gradually drying since the start of the standby state.
- the ejection head 31 is placed on standby in a state in which the ejection surface 311 is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 retained in the reservoir 44 , as described above. It is, however, noted that, for easy understanding of the comparison with the comparative substrate processing apparatus, the aforementioned ejection (slow leakage) of the processing liquid from the ejection head 31 to the immersion liquid 49 is stopped in this comparative test.
- the vertical axis in FIG. 11 indicates the ratio of the number of outlets that caused clogging after one-week standby to the total number of outlets. Numbers (1), (2), and 3) given along the horizontal axis in FIG.
- FIG. 11 indicate three ejection heads having the same structure, which are used in testing each of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and the comparative substrate processing apparatus. As shown in FIG. 11 , about 10% of the outlets in the comparative substrate processing apparatus caused clogging one week after the start of standby, whereas no outlets 314 caused clogging in the substrate processing apparatus 1 .
- the immersion liquid 49 adhering to the ejection surface 311 is removed by the liquid removing part 47 when the ejection head 31 resumes processing on a substrate 9 . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a liquid such as the immersion liquid 49 remaining on the ejection surface 311 from dropping and adhering to the substrate 9 (so-called “liquid dripping”) when, for example, the ejection head 31 moves to a position above the substrate 9 . In this way, the substrate processing apparatus 1 can prevent liquid dripping from the ejection head 31 .
- the structure of the substrate processing apparatus 1 is thus particularly suitable for use in processing for cleaning a substrate 9 , in which it is important to maintain the substrate 9 clean.
- the ejection surface 311 can be easily immersed into the immersion liquid 49 by moving the ejection head 31 down toward the reservoir 44 in which the immersion liquid 49 is retained. Also, the ejection surface 311 can be easily separated from the immersion liquid 49 by discharging the immersion liquid 49 from the reservoir 44 . Moreover, the immersion liquid 49 can be easily removed from the ejection surface 311 by driving the liquid removing part 47 after the ejection surface 311 has been separated from the immersion liquid 49 .
- the head standby part 4 causes the liquid removing part 47 to emit gas toward the ejection head 31 , thereby making it possible to remove the immersion liquid 49 from the ejection surface 311 with a simple configuration. Also, performing the emission of gas to the ejection head 31 within the reservoir 44 reduces the possibility that mist or the like of the immersion liquid 49 removed from (i.e., blown off) the ejection surface 311 will be diffused to the outside of the reservoir 44 . It is thus possible to suppress diffusion of mist or the like of the immersion liquid 49 to the surroundings of the head standby part 4 and consequently to suppress adhesion of mist or the like of the immersion liquid 49 to the substrate 9 .
- the lid part 43 covering the top of the reservoir 44 , it is possible to reduce the possibility that mist or the like of immersion liquid 49 that has been diffused to the outside of the reservoir 44 will be diffused to the outside of the standby pod 41 . This further suppresses diffusion of mist or the like of the immersion liquid 49 to the surroundings of the head standby part 4 . Note that the leakage of mist or the like from the first opening 431 of the lid part 43 is suppressed by the ejection head 31 inserted in the first opening 431 .
- the liquid removing part 47 does not necessarily have to emit gas toward the ejection surface 311 that is located within the reservoir 44 .
- the liquid removing part 47 may emit gas toward such an ejection surface 311 that is located above the reservoir 44 within the standby pod 41 as a result of the ejection head 31 having moved slightly up from the standby position.
- a configuration as shown in FIG. 12 is also possible in which the liquid removing part 47 is disposed above the standby pod 41 and emit gas toward the ejection surface 311 of the ejection head 31 that is moved up from the standby position and located at a position above the standby pod 41 .
- the liquid removing part 47 it is preferable for the liquid removing part 47 to be disposed between the ejection head 31 located at the standby position and the substrate holding part 21 such that the liquid removing part 47 emits gas in a direction away from the substrate holding part 21 , as shown in FIG. 13 .
- the processing liquid is continuously or intermittently ejected from the outlets 314 in a state in which the ejection surface 311 is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 . Accordingly, even if particles or the like are mixed into the immersion liquid 49 retained in the reservoir 44 , it is possible to reduce or prevent the possibility that such particles or the like will adhere to the ejection surface 311 , or will enter the ejection head 31 from the outlets 314 . Moreover, the ejection of the processing liquid from the outlets 314 of the ejection head 31 is stopped before the ejection surface 311 is separated from the immersion liquid 49 .
- the ejection surface 311 is formed of a lyophilic material having a high affinity for the immersion liquid 49 , the immersion liquid 49 in contact with the area in the vicinity of the ejection surface 311 is easy to move to the ejection surface 311 , which is the lower end of the ejection head 31 , when the ejection surface 311 is separated from the immersion liquid 49 . Also, the immersion liquid 49 collected around the ejection surface 311 is collectively separated from the ejection surface 311 . Accordingly, the immersion liquid 49 will hardly remain on the ejection surface 311 , and therefore the liquid removing part 47 can more speedily and more readily remove the immersion liquid 49 from the ejection surface 311 .
- the immersion liquid 49 is continuously supplied and discharged into and from the reservoir 44 in a state in which the ejection surface 311 is immersed in the immersion liquid 49 .
- particles or the like adhering to the surface of the ejection head 31 can be washed away.
- the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 can be maintained always new and clean. In other words, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 will become polluted due to the entry of, for example, particles floating in the atmosphere or particles adhering to the ejection head 31 . Consequently, it is possible to suppress or prevent the entry of particles or the like from the outlets 314 into the ejection head 31 .
- the reservoir 44 is configured such that the immersion liquid 49 is supplied from the bottom of the reservoir 44 and discharged from the top of the reservoir 44 .
- This configuration allows the new and clean immersion liquid 49 to be always supplied to the ejection surface 311 . Consequently, it is possible to further suppress or prevent the possibility that particles or the like will adhere to the ejection surface 311 or will enter the ejection head 31 from the outlets 314 .
- the immersion liquid 49 may be intermittently supplied and discharged into and from the reservoir 44 . However, from the viewpoint of maintaining the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 always new and clean, it is preferable that the immersion liquid 49 be continuously supplied and discharged into and from the reservoir 44 .
- the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 is the same type of liquid as the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head 31 . There is thus no possibility that the mixture of the immersion liquid 49 and the processing liquid will cause adverse effects. Accordingly, there will be no problem if the immersion liquid 49 enters the outlets 314 during standby of the ejection head 31 . This further eliminates the need for an operation such as flushing for discharging the immersion liquid 49 in the outlets 314 when the use of the ejection head 31 is resumed.
- the vertical position of the ejection head 31 located at the standby position is equal to the vertical position of the ejection head 31 located when ejecting the processing liquid toward the substrate 9 . This simplifies the configuration and control of the head elevating mechanism 354 .
- the piezoelectric element 315 of the ejection head 31 may be driven to vibrate the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 via the head body part 312 .
- the piezoelectric element 315 of the ejection head 31 may be driven to vibrate the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 via the head body part 312 .
- separating the ejection surface 311 from the immersion liquid 49 in step S 15 does not always have to be done by discharging the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 .
- the ejection surface 311 may be separated from the immersion liquid 49 by the head elevating mechanism 354 of the supply part movement mechanism 35 moving the ejection head 31 up from the standby position to a position above the reservoir 44 . Even in this case, the ejection surface 311 can be easily separated from the immersion liquid 49 .
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 described above can be modified in various ways.
- the ejection surface 311 may be formed of a material that has a low affinity for the immersion liquid 49 .
- the liquid removing part 47 can easily blow the immersion liquid 49 off the ejection surface 311 .
- the liquid removing part 47 does not necessarily have to emit gas toward the ejection head 31 , and for example, it may suck and remove the immersion liquid 49 on the ejection surface 311 together with the gas around the ejection surface 311 .
- the immersion liquid 49 adhering to the ejection surface 311 may be vaporized and removed by heating, for example.
- the immersion liquid 49 does not necessarily have to be supplied from the bottom of the reservoir 44 into the reservoir 44 , and also, the immersion liquid 49 does not necessarily have to be discharged from the upper opening 411 of the reservoir 44 .
- the positions at which the immersion liquid 49 are supplied and discharged may be appropriately selected from any place on the surface of the reservoir 44 .
- the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head 31 is the same type of liquid as the immersion liquid 49 , the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head 31 may be retained in the reservoir 44 in parallel with or in place of the supply of the immersion liquid 49 from the immersion liquid piping 45 .
- Immersing the ejection surface 311 into the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 does not always have to be done by moving the ejection head 31 downward, and it is sufficient that relative movement of the ejection head 31 and the reservoir 44 is caused in a direction that they become closer to each other.
- the ejection surface 311 may be immersed into the immersion liquid 49 by moving the reservoir 44 , in which the immersion liquid 49 is retained, upward from under the ejection head 31 while the ejection head 31 remains at its position.
- separating the ejection surface 311 from the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 does not always have to be done by discharging the immersion liquid 49 from the reservoir 44 and moving the ejection head 31 upward.
- the ejection surface 311 may be separated from the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 by moving the reservoir 44 down while the ejection head 31 remains at its position.
- the ejection surface 311 is separated from the immersion liquid 49 in the reservoir 44 by relative movement of the ejection head 31 and the reservoir 44 in a direction that they become away from each other.
- the head standby part 4 may use part or the whole of the internal space 40 of the standby pod 41 as the reservoir 44 for retaining the immersion liquid 49 .
- the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head 31 does not necessarily have to be in the form of droplets, and the ejection head 31 may eject a continuous flow of the processing liquid in the form of a liquid column.
- the structure of the substrate processing apparatus 1 may be applied to a substrate processing apparatus provided with an ejection head having only a single outlet.
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 is applicable to various types of processing other than cleaning the substrate 9 .
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 may be used for processing on substrates other than semiconductor substrates, such as glass substrates used in display devices such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, and FEDs (field emission displays).
- the substrate processing apparatus 1 may also be used for processing on other substrates such as optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, photomask substrates, ceramic substrates, and solar cell substrates.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Condensed Matter Physics & Semiconductors (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Computer Hardware Design (AREA)
- Microelectronics & Electronic Packaging (AREA)
- Power Engineering (AREA)
- Cleaning Or Drying Semiconductors (AREA)
- Treatment Of Fiber Materials (AREA)
- Exposure Of Semiconductors, Excluding Electron Or Ion Beam Exposure (AREA)
Abstract
In a substrate processing apparatus, an ejection surface of an ejection head located at a standby position is immersed in an immersion liquid retained in a reservoir during standby of the ejection head. This prevents drying of a plurality of outlets provided in the ejection head and drying of processing liquid flow passages that communicate with the outlets. It is thus possible to suppress or prevent clogging of the fine outlets. When the ejection head resumes processing on a substrate, the immersion liquid in the reservoir is discharged and then a liquid removing part removes the immersion liquid adhering to the ejection surface. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the immersion liquid remaining on the ejection surface from dropping and adhering to the substrate (so-called “liquid dripping”) when, for example, the ejection head is moved to a position above the substrate.
Description
- The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate and a standby method for an ejection head of the substrate processing apparatus.
- A process of manufacturing semiconductor substrates (hereinafter, simply referred to as “substrates”) conventionally involves various types of processing performed by a substrate processing apparatus on a substrate having an insulation film such as an oxide film. One example is cleaning processing for removing particles or the like that adhere to the surface of a substrate by supplying a cleaning liquid to the substrate surface.
- International Publication No. WO 2007/132609 (Document 1) discloses a substrate cleaning apparatus that is provided with a droplet removing nozzle disposed in the vicinity of a process nozzle located at a standby position outside a substrate, and in which gas is blown from the droplet removing nozzle against the process nozzle in order to prevent unintended liquid dripping from the process nozzle.
- Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-232250 (Document 2) proposes a technique for use in a membrane forming apparatus for forming a membrane on a substrate by ejecting a coating liquid onto the substrate. With the technique, a cleaning liquid is ejected to outlets of a coating liquid ejection nozzle to remove contaminants adhering to the outlets, and then, the cleaning liquid ejected to the outlets is sucked to be discharged from the outlets as well as to dry the outlets.
- Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2012-43949 (Document 3) proposes a technique for use in a coating device for forming a coating film on a substrate by applying a processing liquid to the substrate. With the technique, when a nozzle for ejecting a processing liquid from a slit outlet is on standby, the processing liquid in a flow passage of the nozzle is transformed into a solvent of the processing liquid and retained in the form of a solvent.
Document 3 also proposes to immerse the tip of the nozzle, in which the processing liquid has been transformed to the solvent, into a solvent retained in a casing. - Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-302934 (Document 4) discloses a technique for use in a liquid treatment apparatus, in which, during standby of a processing liquid supply nozzle, the processing liquid in the nozzle is sucked to form an air layer in the vicinity of an outlet in a flow passage of the nozzle, and the processing liquid is further sucked in a state where the tip of the nozzle is immersed in a solvent of the processing liquid to form a solvent layer on the outer side of the air layer.
- Incidentally, as one example of the substrate processing apparatuses, there is known to be an apparatus for processing a substrate by ejecting fine droplets of a processing liquid toward the substrate from a plurality of fine outlets provided in an ejection head. Such an apparatus may suffer from clogging of the outlets due to, for example, drying of the outlets during standby of the ejection head. It is thus conceivable to apply the processing liquid in the vicinity of the outlets to prevent drying of the outlets.
- There is, however, the possibility that the processing liquid adhering to the ejection head may drop and adhere to a substrate (so-called “liquid dripping”) when the use of the ejection head is resumed.
- The present invention is intended for a substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, and it is an object of the present invention to prevent drying of outlets during standby of an ejection head and to prevent liquid dripping during processing on a substrate. The present invention is also intended for a standby method for an ejection head of the substrate processing apparatus.
- The substrate processing apparatus according to the present invention includes a substrate holding part for holding a substrate, a cup part surrounding the substrate holding part, an ejection head disposed inside the cup part and above the substrate holding part and for ejecting a processing liquid toward the substrate from an outlet provided in an ejection surface, a supply part movement mechanism for moving the ejection head from a position above the substrate holding part to a standby position outside the cup part, a reservoir disposed outside the cup part and for retaining an immersion liquid in which the ejection surface of the ejection head located at the standby position is immersed, and a liquid removing part for removing the immersion liquid from the ejection surface. With the substrate processing apparatus, it is possible to prevent drying of the outlets during standby of the ejection head and to prevent liquid dripping during processing on the substrate.
- In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the supply part movement mechanism causes relative movement of the ejection head and the reservoir in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become closer to each other to immerse the ejection surface of the ejection head in the immersion liquid retained in the reservoir, the ejection surface is separated from the immersion liquid either by discharging the immersion liquid from the reservoir or by the supply part movement mechanism causing relative movement of the ejection head and the reservoir in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become away from each other, and after the ejection surface is separated from the immersion liquid, the liquid removing part removes the immersion liquid that remains on the ejection surface.
- In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the processing liquid is continuously or intermittently ejected from the outlet in a state where the ejection surface is immersed in the immersion liquid.
- More preferably, the ejection of the processing liquid from the outlet is stopped before the ejection surface is separated from the immersion liquid.
- In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the liquid removing part is a gas emitting part for emitting gas toward the ejection head.
- More preferably, the liquid removing part emits the gas in a direction away from the substrate holding part. Or, the liquid removing part emits the gas toward the ejection head inside the reservoir. Still more preferably, the reservoir is provided with a lid part for covering a top of the reservoir, the lid part having an insertion opening through which a lower end portion of the ejection head is inserted.
- In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the immersion liquid is continuously or intermittently supplied and discharged into and from the reservoir in a state where the ejection surface is immersed in the immersion liquid.
- More preferably, the immersion liquid is supplied from a bottom of the reservoir and discharged from a top of the reservoir.
- In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ejection head includes a head body part having an outer surface, part of which is the ejection surface, and for holding the processing liquid therein, and a piezoelectric element attached to the head body part and for vibrating the processing liquid held in the head body part to cause the ejection of the processing liquid from the outlet, and the piezoelectric element is driven to vibrate the immersion liquid retained in the reservoir in a state where the ejection surface is immersed in the immersion liquid.
- In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the immersion liquid is the same type of liquid as the processing liquid.
- In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ejection surface is formed of a lyophilic material having a high affinity for the immersion liquid.
- In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the substrate is cleaned with the processing liquid ejected from the ejection head toward the substrate.
- A standby method for an ejection head according to the present invention is a method of placing the ejection head of a substrate processing apparatus on standby, the ejection head being disposed inside a cup part and above a substrate holding part surrounded by the cup part and being configured to eject a processing liquid from an outlet provided in an ejection surface toward a substrate held by the substrate holding part. The standby method includes a) moving the ejection head from a position inside the cup part to a position outside the cup part, b) causing relative movement of the ejection head and a reservoir in which an immersion liquid is retained, in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become closer to each other to immerse the ejection surface of the ejection head in the immersion liquid, c) separating the ejection surface from the immersion liquid either by discharging the immersion liquid from the reservoir or by causing relative movement of the ejection head and the reservoir in a direction that the ejection head and the reservoir become away from each other, d) removing the immersion liquid that remains on the ejection surface, and e) moving the ejection head to a position inside the cup part.
- These and other objects, features, aspects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of the present invention when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
-
FIG. 1 is a front view of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; -
FIG. 2 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus; -
FIG. 3 is a bottom view of an ejection head; -
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the ejection head; -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions of a control unit; -
FIG. 6 is a plan view of a head standby part; -
FIG. 7 illustrates the head standby part and the ejection head; -
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a standby operation of the ejection head; -
FIGS. 9 and 10 illustrate the head standby part and the ejection head; -
FIG. 11 shows the ratio of clogging of outlets; -
FIG. 12 illustrates the head standby part and the ejection head; and -
FIG. 13 is a plan view of the substrate processing apparatus. -
FIG. 1 is a front view of asubstrate processing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2 is a plan view of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1. An orientation of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 inFIG. 2A is different from that inFIG. 1 . Thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 is a single-wafer processing apparatus for processing semiconductor substrates 9 (hereinafter, simply referred to as “substrates 9”) one at a time. Thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 performs predetermined processing by ejecting a processing liquid toward asubstrate 9. In the present embodiment, cleaning processing for removing particles or the like from asubstrate 9 is performed by ejecting droplets of a cleaning liquid, which is the processing liquid, onto thesubstrate 9. Thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 ejects, for example, a spray of droplets, each having a diameter of approximately 20 μm (micrometers), toward asubstrate 9. - As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 , thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 includes asubstrate holding part 21, acup part 22, asubstrate rotation mechanism 23, a processingliquid supply part 3, a supplypart movement mechanism 35, a protectionliquid supply part 36, ahead standby part 4, achamber 6, and a control unit, which will be described later. Thechamber 6 houses constituent elements such as thesubstrate holding part 21, thecup part 22, thesubstrate rotation mechanism 23, the processingliquid supply part 3, the supplypart movement mechanism 35, the protectionliquid supply part 36, and thehead standby part 4, in itsinternal space 60. InFIGS. 1 and 2 , thechamber 6 is indicated by a broken line and the interior of thechamber 6 is shown. - The
substrate holding part 21 holds asubstrate 9 with one main surface 91 (hereinafter, referred to as an “upper surface 91”) of thesubstrate 9 facing upward inside thechamber 6. On theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 is formed a fine pattern such as a circuit pattern. Thecup part 22 is a substantially cylindrical member that surrounds thesubstrate 9 and thesubstrate holding part 21. Thesubstrate rotation mechanism 23 is disposed under thesubstrate holding part 21. Thesubstrate rotation mechanism 23 is configured to rotate thesubstrate 9 together with thesubstrate holding part 21 in a horizontal plane around a rotation axis that passes through the center of thesubstrate 9 and that is perpendicular to theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9. - The processing
liquid supply part 3 includes anejection head 31 for ejecting a processing liquid downward, and processingliquid piping 32 connected to theejection head 31, and apump 33 for pumping a processing liquid supplied from a processing liquid supply source disposed outside thesubstrate processing apparatus 1, toward theejection head 31 through theprocessing liquid piping 32. Theprocessing liquid piping 32 includes processing liquid supply piping 318 (seeFIG. 4 ) for supplying the processing liquid to theejection head 31, and processing liquid collection piping 319 (seeFIG. 4 ) for collecting the processing liquid discharged from theejection head 31. Theejection head 31 is disposed above thesubstrate holding part 21 inside thecup part 22. In other words, a lower surface of theejection head 31 is located between anupper opening 220 of thecup part 22 and theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9. Theejection head 31 is a device for continuously ejecting fine mutually separated droplets of liquid from a plurality of outlets, which will be described later. Theejection head 31 ejects fine droplets of the processing liquid toward theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9. Examples of the processing liquid include liquids such as pure water (preferably, deionized water (DIW)), carbonated water, and a mixture of aqueous ammonia and a hydrogen peroxide solution. A design ejection direction in which theejection head 31 ejects the processing liquid is substantially parallel to the vertical direction (i.e., the direction of gravity). -
FIG. 3 is a bottom view showing thelower surface 311 of theejection head 31. In thelower surface 311 of theejection head 31 are provided a plurality offine outlets 314. Hereinafter, thelower surface 311 of theejection head 31 is referred to as an “ejection surface 311.” Theoutlets 314 form four outlet rows that each extended substantially linearly in the lateral direction inFIG. 3 . The outlet rows each have a plurality ofoutlets 314 arranged at a predetermined arrangement pitch. Theoutlets 314 each have a diameter of approximately 5 to 10FIG. 3 shows theoutlets 314 larger than their actual size and shows a smaller number ofoutlets 314 than their actual number. As will be described later, theejection head 31 is moved between a position opposite thesubstrate 9 and a position opposite thehead standby part 4 by the supplypart movement mechanism 35, but regardless of this movement, theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 is maintained in a substantially horizontal position. -
FIG. 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of theejection head 31. Theejection head 31 includes ahead body part 312 and apiezoelectric element 315. Inside thehead body part 312 is provided a processingliquid holding part 316 that forms a space for holding the processing liquid. One end of the processingliquid holding part 316 is connected to thepump 33 and a processing liquid supply source for supplying the processing liquid to theejection head 31 through the processingliquid supply piping 318. The other end of the processingliquid holding part 316 is connected to a processing liquid collecting part for collecting the processing liquid ejected from theejection head 31 through the processing liquid collection piping 319. The processing liquid collecting part is disposed outside thesubstrate processing apparatus 1. The lower surface of thehead body part 312, which is part of the outer surface of thehead body part 312, is theaforementioned ejection surface 311. Theoutlets 314 are each connected to the processingliquid holding part 316 via its processingliquid flow passage 317. Thepiezoelectric element 315 is attached to the upper surface of thehead body part 312. Thepiezoelectric element 315 vibrates the processing liquid in thehead body part 312 via thehead body part 312 so as to cause therespective outlets 314 to eject fine droplets of the processing liquid. - The
head body part 312, including theejection surface 311, is formed of a lyophilic material having a high affinity for an immersion liquid 49 (seeFIG. 7 ), which will be described later. When theimmersion liquid 49 is pure water., thehead body part 312, including theejection surface 311 is formed of a hydrophilic material. - As shown in
FIGS. 1 and 2 , the supplypart movement mechanism 35 includes an arm 351 arotation shaft 352, ahead rotation mechanism 353, and ahead elevating mechanism 354. Thearm 351 extends in a horizontal direction from therotation shaft 352. Thearm 351 has theejection head 31 attached to its tip. Thehead rotation mechanism 353 is configured to rotate theejection head 31 together with thearm 351 around therotation shaft 352 in the horizontal direction. Thehead elevating mechanism 354 is configured to move theejection head 31 together with thearm 351 in the vertical direction. Thehead rotation mechanism 353 includes, for example, an electric motor. Thehead elevating mechanism 354 includes, for example, a ball screw mechanism and an electric motor. - The protection
liquid supply part 36 is directly or indirectly fixed to theejection head 31 and ejects a protection liquid obliquely downwardly. In the example shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 , the protectionliquid supply part 36 is attached to thearm 351 and indirectly fixed to theejection head 31. Examples of the protection liquid include liquids such as pure water (preferably, deionized water), carbonated water, and a mixture of aqueous ammonia and a hydrogen peroxide solution, similarly to the aforementioned processing liquid. The protection liquid may be a liquid of the same type as the processing liquid or may be a liquid of a different type. - With the
substrate processing apparatus 1, the protection liquid ejected in the form of a liquid column from the protectionliquid supply part 36 toward theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 spreads over thesubstrate 9 under theejection head 31 and forms a film of the protection liquid (hereinafter, referred to as a “protection liquid film”) having a predetermined thickness directly under theejection head 31. The protectionliquid supply part 36 is moved together with theejection head 31 by thehead rotation mechanism 353 and thehead elevating mechanism 354. -
FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing functions of thecontrol unit 7.FIG. 5 also shows constituent elements other than thecontrol unit 7. Thecontrol unit 7 includes aprocessing control part 71 and amaintenance control part 76. - When the
substrate processing apparatus 1 shown inFIGS. 1 and 2 performs processing on asubstrate 9, first thesubstrate 9 is transported into thechamber 6 and held by thesubstrate holding part 21. During the transport of thesubstrate 9, theejection head 31 is waiting at a position above thehead standby part 4 disposed outside thecup part 22, as indicated by the dashed double-dotted line inFIG. 2 . When thesubstrate 9 is held by thesubstrate holding part 21, theprocessing control part 71 drives thesubstrate rotation mechanism 23 to start the rotation of thesubstrate 9. - Next, the
processing control part 71 drives thehead rotation mechanism 353 and thehead elevating mechanism 354 of the supplypart movement mechanism 35 so that theejection head 31 and the protectionliquid supply part 36 are moved up from the position above thehead standby part 4 and rotated, then moved to a position above thecup part 22, and then moved down. Accordingly, theejection head 31 and the protectionliquid supply part 36 are moved through theupper opening 220 of thecup part 22 to the inside of thecup part 22 and to a position above thesubstrate holding part 21. Then, the protectionliquid supply part 36 starts the supply of the protection liquid to thesubstrate 9, forming the protection liquid film that covers a portion of theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9. Also, theejection head 31 starts the ejection of the processing liquid (i.e., a jet of fine droplets) from the outlets 314 (seeFIG. 3 ) toward theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 on which the protection liquid film has been formed. The protection liquid film covers a plurality of design landing points (i.e., landing points of fine droplets) of the processing liquid ejected from theoutlets 314 on thesubstrate 9. - A large number of fine droplets ejected from the
ejection head 31 toward the protection liquid film collide with the protection liquid film on theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 and indirectly collide with theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 via the protection liquid film. The impact of the collision of fine droplets of the processing liquid causes extraneous materials such as particles that adhere to theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 to be removed from thesubstrate 9. In other words, the fine droplets of the processing liquid indirectly transfer kinetic energy (i.e., indirectly apply kinetic energy) to thesubstrate 9 via the protection liquid film, and with this kinetic energy, the processing for cleaning theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 is performed. - Such indirect collision of fine droplets of the processing liquid with the
substrate 9 via the protection liquid film prevents or reduces the possibility of damage to a pattern or the like formed on theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 during the processing for cleaning thesubstrate 9, as compared with direct collision of fine droplets with thesubstrate 9. In addition, the protection liquid that covers the area where the cleaning processing is performed on thesubstrate 9 prevents or reduces the possibility that particles or the like once removed from thesubstrate 9 will again adhere to theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9. - In the
substrate processing apparatus 1, in parallel with the ejection of the protection liquid and the processing liquid, thehead rotation mechanism 353 turns theejection head 31 and the protectionliquid supply part 36. Theejection head 31 and the protectionliquid supply part 36 repeat horizontal reciprocating motion between a position above the center portion of therotating substrate 9 and a position above the outer edge of thesubstrate 9. Accordingly, the entireupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 is cleaned. The rotation of thesubstrate 9 causes the protection liquid and the processing liquid that have been supplied to theupper surface 91 of thesubstrate 9 to be dispersed from the edge of thesubstrate 9 to the outside. The protection liquid and the processing liquid that have been dispersed from thesubstrate 9 are received by thecup part 22 and either discarded or collected. - After predetermined processing (i.e., the processing for cleaning the substrate 9) using the processing liquid ejected from the
ejection head 31 has ended, the ejection of the protection liquid and the processing liquid is stopped. Theejection head 31 and the protectionliquid supply part 36 are moved up to a position above theupper opening 220 of thecup part 22 by thehead elevating mechanism 354 and are then moved from a position above thesubstrate holding part 21 and thesubstrate 9 to a position above thehead standby part 4 by thehead rotation mechanism 353. -
FIG. 6 is an enlarged plan view of thehead standby part 4. Thehead standby part 4 includes astandby pod 41 and aliquid removing part 47.FIG. 7 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of thehead standby part 4, showing the outer wall or the like of thestandby pod 41 in cross section. InFIGS. 6 and 7 , theejection head 31 and other constituent elements located above thehead standby part 4 are indicated by dashed double-dotted lines. Thestandby pod 41 shown inFIGS. 6 and 7 is a container disposed outside the cup part 22 (seeFIGS. 1 and 2 ) and having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and is capable of retaining a liquid therein. Specifically, the liquid 49 (hereinafter, referred to as the “immersion liquid 49”) is retained in areservoir 44 disposed in aninternal space 40 of thestandby pod 41. - Examples of the
immersion liquid 49 include liquids such as pure water (preferably, deionized water (DIW)), carbonated water, and a mixture of aqueous ammonia and a hydrogen peroxide solution. Theimmersion liquid 49 may be a liquid of the same type as the processing liquid ejected from theejection head 31, or may be a liquid of a different type. Preferably, theimmersion liquid 49 is the same type of liquid as the aforementioned processing liquid. - The top of the
internal space 40 of thestandby pod 41 is covered with alid part 43. Thelid part 43 has afirst opening 431 and asecond opening 432 that correspond respectively to theejection head 31 and the protectionliquid supply part 36.FIG. 7 shows only theejection head 31 and does not show the protection liquid supply part 36 (the same applies toFIGS. 9 , 10, and 12). - The
reservoir 44 is a container having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is open at the top. The top of thereservoir 44 is covered with theaforementioned lid part 43, and thereservoir 44 is disposed under thefirst opening 431 of thelid part 43. As shown inFIG. 7 , the bottom of thereservoir 44 is connected toimmersion liquid piping 45. Theimmersion liquid piping 45 leads theimmersion liquid 49, which is supplied from an immersion liquid supply source outside thesubstrate processing apparatus 1, to thereservoir 44 provided in thestandby pod 41. Theimmersion liquid 49 supplied from the bottom of thereservoir 44 flows upward in thereservoir 44, spills from anupper opening 441 of thereservoir 44, and is discharged from thereservoir 44. The liquid level of theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 is thus substantially the same as the level of theupper opening 441 of thereservoir 44. Theimmersion liquid 49 discharged from the top of thereservoir 44 flows through an immersionliquid exhaust pipe 46 provided in the bottom of thestandby pod 41 and is discharged to the outside of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1. Note that theimmersion liquid piping 45 is connected not only to the immersion liquid supply source but also to a suction mechanism (not shown) for sucking the liquid or the like in thereservoir 44. - The
liquid removing part 47 is provided on the outer side surface of thestandby pod 41. The side surface to which theliquid removing part 47 is fixed is also the side surface of thereservoir 44. Thus, it can be considered that theliquid removing part 47 is provided on the outer side surface of thereservoir 44. Theliquid removing part 47 is a gas emitting part for emitting gas such as nitrogen gas in a substantially horizontal direction. Theliquid removing part 47 is located below theupper opening 441 of the reservoir 44 (i.e., below the liquid level of the immersion liquid 49) and is thus capable of emitting the aforementioned gas to the interior of thereservoir 44 in a substantially horizontal direction. The height of theliquid removing part 47 is set to be substantially the same as the height of theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 that is standing by while being immersed in theimmersion liquid 49. -
FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a standby operation of theejection head 31 after having completed processing on asubstrate 9. Theejection head 31 that has completed processing on asubstrate 9 is, as described above, moved from the inside of thecup part 22 to the outside of thecup part 22 and located above thehead standby part 4 by thehead rotation mechanism 353 and thehead elevating mechanism 354 of the supply part movement mechanism 35 (step S11). - Subsequently, the
maintenance control part 76 controls thehead elevating mechanism 354 to move theejection head 31 down toward thestandby pod 41. Then, as shown inFIG. 9 , the lower end portion of theejection head 31 is inserted into thestandby pod 41 through thefirst opening 431 of thelid part 43 and is received in thestandby pod 41. Thefirst opening 431 is an insertion opening through which the lower end portion of theejection head 31 is inserted. In the following description, the position of theejection head 31 shown inFIG. 9 is referred to as a “standby position.” - In the
standby pod 41, the lower end portion of theejection head 31 located at the standby position is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49 retained in advance in thereservoir 44. Specifically, theejection surface 311 and a portion of the side surface of theejection head 31 up to approximately 5 mm above theejection surface 311 are immersed in the immersion liquid 49 (step S12). Theejection surface 311 is accordingly covered with theimmersion liquid 49 and isolated from the atmosphere in thechamber 6. A vertical position of theejection head 31 located at the standby position, i.e., a vertical position of theejection head 31 in a state where theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49 is the same as a vertical position of theejection head 31 when ejecting the processing liquid toward the substrate 9 (seeFIG. 1 ). Theimmersion liquid 49 is stored into thereservoir 44 while, for example, theejection head 31 is ejecting the processing liquid to thesubstrate 9. - When the
ejection head 31 moves from the position shown inFIG. 7 (i.e., the position above the standby position) down to the standby position shown inFIG. 9 so that theejection surface 311 is immersed into theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44, the protectionliquid supply part 36 shown inFIG. 6 also moves downward together with theejection head 31. The protectionliquid supply part 36 is inserted in thestandby pod 41 through thesecond opening 432 of thelid part 43 and is received in thestandby pod 41. In thestandby pod 41, a space in which the lower end portion of theejection head 31 is received and a space in which the protectionliquid supply part 36 is received are isolated from each other by a dividingwall 411. There is no liquid retained in the space in which the protectionliquid supply part 36 is received. - Until next use, the
ejection head 31 waits at the standby position shownFIG. 9 in a state in which itsejection surface 311 is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49. Theejection head 31 on standby continuously ejects the processing liquid from the outlets 314 (seeFIG. 3 ) under control of the maintenance control part 76 (step S13). The quantity of flow of the processing liquid ejected from theejection head 31 at the standby position into theimmersion liquid 49 is smaller than that ejected from theejection head 31 during the aforementioned processing on thesubstrate 9 toward thesubstrate 9. In other words, theejection head 31 at the standby position causes so-called “slow leakage” of the processing liquid. Note that theejection head 31 on standby does not necessarily have to continuously eject the processing liquid, and may intermittently eject the processing liquid. However, from the viewpoint of further reducing the possibility of clogging of theoutlets 314, it is preferable for theejection head 31 to continuously eject the processing liquid. - In the
head standby part 4, theimmersion liquid 49 is continuously supplied into thereservoir 44 from theimmersion liquid piping 45 and is continuously discharged from theupper opening 441 of thereservoir 44, in a state in which theejection surface 311 is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49. Accordingly, the flow of theimmersion liquid 49 from the bottom to the top is always maintained in thereservoir 44. - When the
ejection head 31 resumes processing on asubstrate 9, theejection head 31 stops ejecting the processing liquid (slow leakage) from theoutlets 314 under control of the maintenance control part 76 (step S14). The supply of theimmersion liquid 49 from theimmersion liquid piping 45 is also stopped. Subsequently, the aforementioned suction mechanism connected to theimmersion liquid piping 45 is driven to discharge theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 through theimmersion liquid piping 45 to the outside of thereservoir 44. Accordingly, as shown inFIG. 10 , theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 is separated from theimmersion liquid 49 retained in the reservoir 44 (step S15). It is preferable that the slow leakage from theoutlets 314 be stopped immediately before theejection surface 311 is separated from theimmersion liquid 49. - When the
ejection surface 311 is separated from theimmersion liquid 49, theejection surface 311 and theliquid removing part 47 are both exposed to the atmosphere in thereservoir 44. Next, themaintenance control part 76 controls theliquid removing part 47 to emit gas in a substantially horizontal direction toward theejection head 31 located at the standby position. Theliquid removing part 47 emits the gas to theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 and to an area in the vicinity of theejection surface 311. Accordingly, theimmersion liquid 49 adhering to (i.e., remaining on) theejection surface 311 and to the area in the vicinity of theejection surface 311 is blown and removed (step S16). Since, as described previously, the height of theliquid removing part 47 is set to be substantially the same as the height of theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 that is being immersed in theimmersion liquid 49, it is possible, by merely discharging theimmersion liquid 49 from thereservoir 44, to immediately emit the gas from theliquid removing part 47 toward theejection surface 311 without moving theejection head 31 in the vertical direction. Therefore, the emission of the gas from theliquid removing part 47 is conducted within the reservoir 44 (i.e., within the standby pod 41). - When the
immersion liquid 49 has been removed from theejection surface 311, theejection head 31 is moved up from the standby position to the outside of thestandby pod 41 by thehead elevating mechanism 354. Theejection head 31 is then turned to a position above thesubstrate 9 by thehead rotation mechanism 353 and is then moved down toward the inside of thecup part 22 by the head elevating mechanism 354 (step S17). After this, as previously described, theejection head 31 performs processing on thesubstrate 9. - As described above, in the
substrate processing apparatus 1, theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 located at the standby position during standby is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49 retained in thereservoir 44. This prevents drying of theoutlets 314 provided in theejection surface 311 and drying of the processingliquid flow passages 317 that communicate with theoutlets 314. Consequently, it is possible to reduce or prevent the possibility of clogging of thefine outlets 314. It is also possible to prevent mist or the like in thechamber 6 from adhering to theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 during standby. -
FIG. 11 shows a comparison in the ratio of clogging of outlets during standby between the above-describedsubstrate processing apparatus 1 and a substrate processing apparatus in a comparative example (hereinafter referred to as a “comparative substrate processing apparatus”). In the comparative substrate processing apparatus, the ejection head is placed on standby in a state in which the lower end portion of an ejection head is inserted in a standby pod, with no immersion liquid being retained in a reservoir, and the ejection of a processing liquid from outlets is stopped. Specifically, in the comparative substrate processing apparatus, the ejection surface of the ejection head is exposed to the atmosphere and is thus gradually drying since the start of the standby state. - On the other hand, in the
substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment of the present invention, theejection head 31 is placed on standby in a state in which theejection surface 311 is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49 retained in thereservoir 44, as described above. It is, however, noted that, for easy understanding of the comparison with the comparative substrate processing apparatus, the aforementioned ejection (slow leakage) of the processing liquid from theejection head 31 to theimmersion liquid 49 is stopped in this comparative test. The vertical axis inFIG. 11 indicates the ratio of the number of outlets that caused clogging after one-week standby to the total number of outlets. Numbers (1), (2), and 3) given along the horizontal axis inFIG. 11 indicate three ejection heads having the same structure, which are used in testing each of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 and the comparative substrate processing apparatus. As shown inFIG. 11 , about 10% of the outlets in the comparative substrate processing apparatus caused clogging one week after the start of standby, whereas nooutlets 314 caused clogging in thesubstrate processing apparatus 1. - As described above, in the
substrate processing apparatus 1, theimmersion liquid 49 adhering to theejection surface 311 is removed by theliquid removing part 47 when theejection head 31 resumes processing on asubstrate 9. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a liquid such as theimmersion liquid 49 remaining on theejection surface 311 from dropping and adhering to the substrate 9 (so-called “liquid dripping”) when, for example, theejection head 31 moves to a position above thesubstrate 9. In this way, thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 can prevent liquid dripping from theejection head 31. The structure of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 is thus particularly suitable for use in processing for cleaning asubstrate 9, in which it is important to maintain thesubstrate 9 clean. - In the
substrate processing apparatus 1, theejection surface 311 can be easily immersed into theimmersion liquid 49 by moving theejection head 31 down toward thereservoir 44 in which theimmersion liquid 49 is retained. Also, theejection surface 311 can be easily separated from theimmersion liquid 49 by discharging theimmersion liquid 49 from thereservoir 44. Moreover, theimmersion liquid 49 can be easily removed from theejection surface 311 by driving theliquid removing part 47 after theejection surface 311 has been separated from theimmersion liquid 49. - As described above, the
head standby part 4 causes theliquid removing part 47 to emit gas toward theejection head 31, thereby making it possible to remove theimmersion liquid 49 from theejection surface 311 with a simple configuration. Also, performing the emission of gas to theejection head 31 within thereservoir 44 reduces the possibility that mist or the like of theimmersion liquid 49 removed from (i.e., blown off) theejection surface 311 will be diffused to the outside of thereservoir 44. It is thus possible to suppress diffusion of mist or the like of theimmersion liquid 49 to the surroundings of thehead standby part 4 and consequently to suppress adhesion of mist or the like of theimmersion liquid 49 to thesubstrate 9. - By providing the
lid part 43 covering the top of thereservoir 44, it is possible to reduce the possibility that mist or the like ofimmersion liquid 49 that has been diffused to the outside of thereservoir 44 will be diffused to the outside of thestandby pod 41. This further suppresses diffusion of mist or the like of theimmersion liquid 49 to the surroundings of thehead standby part 4. Note that the leakage of mist or the like from thefirst opening 431 of thelid part 43 is suppressed by theejection head 31 inserted in thefirst opening 431. - In the
head standby part 4, theliquid removing part 47 does not necessarily have to emit gas toward theejection surface 311 that is located within thereservoir 44. For example, theliquid removing part 47 may emit gas toward such anejection surface 311 that is located above thereservoir 44 within thestandby pod 41 as a result of theejection head 31 having moved slightly up from the standby position. In this case, it is also possible as described above to suppress diffusion of mist or the like of theimmersion liquid 49 to the surroundings of thehead standby part 4. - A configuration as shown in
FIG. 12 is also possible in which theliquid removing part 47 is disposed above thestandby pod 41 and emit gas toward theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 that is moved up from the standby position and located at a position above thestandby pod 41. In this case, it is preferable for theliquid removing part 47 to be disposed between theejection head 31 located at the standby position and thesubstrate holding part 21 such that theliquid removing part 47 emits gas in a direction away from thesubstrate holding part 21, as shown inFIG. 13 . This reduces the possibility that mist or the like of theimmersion liquid 49 removed from theejection surface 311 will be diffused in a direction toward thesubstrate holding part 21. Consequently, it is possible to suppress adhesion of mist or the like of theimmersion liquid 49 to thesubstrate 9. - As described above, in the
substrate processing apparatus 1, the processing liquid is continuously or intermittently ejected from theoutlets 314 in a state in which theejection surface 311 is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49. Accordingly, even if particles or the like are mixed into theimmersion liquid 49 retained in thereservoir 44, it is possible to reduce or prevent the possibility that such particles or the like will adhere to theejection surface 311, or will enter theejection head 31 from theoutlets 314. Moreover, the ejection of the processing liquid from theoutlets 314 of theejection head 31 is stopped before theejection surface 311 is separated from theimmersion liquid 49. This allows the liquids on theejection surface 311 to more easily drop off when theejection surface 311 is separated from theimmersion liquid 49, thus reducing the amount of theimmersion liquid 49 remaining on theejection surface 311. Consequently, theliquid removing part 47 can speedily and readily remove theimmersion liquid 49 from theejection surface 311. - In addition, since the
ejection surface 311 is formed of a lyophilic material having a high affinity for theimmersion liquid 49, theimmersion liquid 49 in contact with the area in the vicinity of theejection surface 311 is easy to move to theejection surface 311, which is the lower end of theejection head 31, when theejection surface 311 is separated from theimmersion liquid 49. Also, theimmersion liquid 49 collected around theejection surface 311 is collectively separated from theejection surface 311. Accordingly, theimmersion liquid 49 will hardly remain on theejection surface 311, and therefore theliquid removing part 47 can more speedily and more readily remove theimmersion liquid 49 from theejection surface 311. - In the
head standby part 4, theimmersion liquid 49 is continuously supplied and discharged into and from thereservoir 44 in a state in which theejection surface 311 is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49. Thus, particles or the like adhering to the surface of theejection head 31 can be washed away. Also, theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 can be maintained always new and clean. In other words, it is possible to reduce the possibility that theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 will become polluted due to the entry of, for example, particles floating in the atmosphere or particles adhering to theejection head 31. Consequently, it is possible to suppress or prevent the entry of particles or the like from theoutlets 314 into theejection head 31. Moreover, thereservoir 44 is configured such that theimmersion liquid 49 is supplied from the bottom of thereservoir 44 and discharged from the top of thereservoir 44. This configuration allows the new andclean immersion liquid 49 to be always supplied to theejection surface 311. Consequently, it is possible to further suppress or prevent the possibility that particles or the like will adhere to theejection surface 311 or will enter theejection head 31 from theoutlets 314. Note that theimmersion liquid 49 may be intermittently supplied and discharged into and from thereservoir 44. However, from the viewpoint of maintaining theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 always new and clean, it is preferable that theimmersion liquid 49 be continuously supplied and discharged into and from thereservoir 44. - In the
substrate processing apparatus 1, as described above, theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 is the same type of liquid as the processing liquid ejected from theejection head 31. There is thus no possibility that the mixture of theimmersion liquid 49 and the processing liquid will cause adverse effects. Accordingly, there will be no problem if theimmersion liquid 49 enters theoutlets 314 during standby of theejection head 31. This further eliminates the need for an operation such as flushing for discharging theimmersion liquid 49 in theoutlets 314 when the use of theejection head 31 is resumed. - As described above, in the
substrate processing apparatus 1, the vertical position of theejection head 31 located at the standby position is equal to the vertical position of theejection head 31 located when ejecting the processing liquid toward thesubstrate 9. This simplifies the configuration and control of thehead elevating mechanism 354. - In the
substrate processing apparatus 1, in a state where theejection surface 311 of theejection head 31 is immersed in theimmersion liquid 49 retained in thereservoir 44 thepiezoelectric element 315 of theejection head 31 may be driven to vibrate theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 via thehead body part 312. Through this, it is possible to clean the lower end portion of theejection head 31 and to efficiently remove particles or the like adhering to the surface of that lower end portion (i.e., theejection surface 311 and an area of the side surface in the vicinity of the ejection surface 311). - In the
substrate processing apparatus 1, separating theejection surface 311 from theimmersion liquid 49 in step S15 does not always have to be done by discharging theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44. For example, theejection surface 311 may be separated from theimmersion liquid 49 by thehead elevating mechanism 354 of the supplypart movement mechanism 35 moving theejection head 31 up from the standby position to a position above thereservoir 44. Even in this case, theejection surface 311 can be easily separated from theimmersion liquid 49. - The
substrate processing apparatus 1 described above can be modified in various ways. - The
ejection surface 311 may be formed of a material that has a low affinity for theimmersion liquid 49. In this case, theliquid removing part 47 can easily blow theimmersion liquid 49 off theejection surface 311. Theliquid removing part 47 does not necessarily have to emit gas toward theejection head 31, and for example, it may suck and remove theimmersion liquid 49 on theejection surface 311 together with the gas around theejection surface 311. Alternatively, theimmersion liquid 49 adhering to theejection surface 311 may be vaporized and removed by heating, for example. - The
immersion liquid 49 does not necessarily have to be supplied from the bottom of thereservoir 44 into thereservoir 44, and also, theimmersion liquid 49 does not necessarily have to be discharged from theupper opening 411 of thereservoir 44. The positions at which theimmersion liquid 49 are supplied and discharged may be appropriately selected from any place on the surface of thereservoir 44. - If, as described above, the processing liquid ejected from the
ejection head 31 is the same type of liquid as theimmersion liquid 49, the processing liquid ejected from theejection head 31 may be retained in thereservoir 44 in parallel with or in place of the supply of theimmersion liquid 49 from theimmersion liquid piping 45. - Immersing the
ejection surface 311 into theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 does not always have to be done by moving theejection head 31 downward, and it is sufficient that relative movement of theejection head 31 and thereservoir 44 is caused in a direction that they become closer to each other. For example, theejection surface 311 may be immersed into theimmersion liquid 49 by moving thereservoir 44, in which theimmersion liquid 49 is retained, upward from under theejection head 31 while theejection head 31 remains at its position. Also, separating theejection surface 311 from theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 does not always have to be done by discharging theimmersion liquid 49 from thereservoir 44 and moving theejection head 31 upward. For example, theejection surface 311 may be separated from theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 by moving thereservoir 44 down while theejection head 31 remains at its position. In other words, theejection surface 311 is separated from theimmersion liquid 49 in thereservoir 44 by relative movement of theejection head 31 and thereservoir 44 in a direction that they become away from each other. - The
head standby part 4 may use part or the whole of theinternal space 40 of thestandby pod 41 as thereservoir 44 for retaining theimmersion liquid 49. - The processing liquid ejected from the
ejection head 31 does not necessarily have to be in the form of droplets, and theejection head 31 may eject a continuous flow of the processing liquid in the form of a liquid column. The structure of thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 may be applied to a substrate processing apparatus provided with an ejection head having only a single outlet. - The
substrate processing apparatus 1 is applicable to various types of processing other than cleaning thesubstrate 9. Thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 may be used for processing on substrates other than semiconductor substrates, such as glass substrates used in display devices such as liquid crystal displays, plasma displays, and FEDs (field emission displays). Thesubstrate processing apparatus 1 may also be used for processing on other substrates such as optical disk substrates, magnetic disk substrates, magneto-optical disk substrates, photomask substrates, ceramic substrates, and solar cell substrates. - The configurations of the above-described preferred embodiment and variations may be appropriately combined as long as there are no mutual inconsistencies.
- While the invention has been shown and described in detail, the foregoing description is in all aspects illustrative and not restrictive. It is therefore understood that numerous modifications and variations can be devised without departing from the scope of the invention. This application claims priority benefit under 35 U.S.C. Section 119 of Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-052931 filed in the Japan Patent Office on Mar. 15, 2013, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
- 1 Substrate processing apparatus
- 9 Substrate
- 21 Substrate holding part
- 22 Cup part
- 31 Ejection head
- 43 Supply part movement mechanism
- 43 Lid part
- 44 Reservoir
- 47 Liquid removing part
- 49 Immersion liquid
- 311 Ejection surface
- 312 Head body part
- 314 Outlet
- 315 Piezoelectric element
- 431 First opening
- S11 to S17 Step
Claims (19)
1. A substrate processing apparatus for processing a substrate, comprising:
a substrate holding part for holding a substrate;
a cup part surrounding said substrate holding part;
an ejection head disposed inside said cup part and above said substrate holding part and for ejecting a processing liquid toward said substrate from an outlet provided in an ejection surface;
a supply part movement mechanism for moving said ejection head from a position above said substrate holding part to a standby position outside said cup part;
a reservoir disposed outside said cup part and for retaining an immersion liquid in which said ejection surface of said ejection head located at said standby position is immersed; and
a liquid removing part for removing said immersion liquid from said ejection surface.
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said supply part movement mechanism causes relative movement of said ejection head and said reservoir in a direction that said ejection head and said reservoir become closer to each other to immerse said ejection surface of said ejection head in said immersion liquid retained in said reservoir,
said ejection surface is separated from said immersion liquid either by discharging said immersion liquid from said reservoir or by said supply part movement mechanism causing relative movement of said ejection head and said reservoir in a direction that said ejection head and said reservoir become away from each other, and
after said ejection surface is separated from said immersion liquid, said liquid removing part removes said immersion liquid that remains on said ejection surface.
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said processing liquid is continuously or intermittently ejected from said outlet in a state where said ejection surface is immersed in said immersion liquid.
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
said immersion liquid is continuously or intermittently supplied and discharged into and from said reservoir in a state where said ejection surface is immersed in said immersion liquid.
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein
said immersion liquid is supplied from a bottom of said reservoir and discharged from a top of said reservoir.
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein
the ejection of said processing liquid from said outlet is stopped before said ejection surface is separated from said immersion liquid.
7. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
said immersion liquid is continuously or intermittently supplied and discharged into and from said reservoir in a state where said ejection surface is immersed in said immersion liquid.
8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7 , wherein
said immersion liquid is supplied from a bottom of said reservoir and discharged from a top of said reservoir.
9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said liquid removing part is a gas emitting part for emitting gas toward said ejection head.
10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
said liquid removing part emits said gas toward said ejection head inside said reservoir.
11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 10 , wherein
said reservoir is provided with a lid part for covering a top of said reservoir,
said lid part having an insertion opening through which a lower end portion of said ejection head is inserted.
12. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 9 , wherein
said liquid removing part emits said gas in a direction away from said substrate holding part.
13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said immersion liquid is continuously or intermittently supplied and discharged into and from said reservoir in a state where said ejection surface is immersed in said immersion liquid.
14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein
said immersion liquid is supplied from a bottom of said reservoir and discharged from a top of said reservoir.
15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said ejection head includes:
a head body part having an outer surface, part of which is said ejection surface, and for holding said processing liquid therein; and
a piezoelectric element attached to said head body part and for vibrating said processing liquid held in said head body part to cause the ejection of said processing liquid from said outlet, and
said piezoelectric element is driven to vibrate said immersion liquid retained in said reservoir in a state where said ejection surface is immersed in said immersion liquid.
16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said immersion liquid is the same type of liquid as said processing liquid.
17. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said ejection surface is formed of a lyophilic material having a high affinity for said immersion liquid.
18. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
said substrate is cleaned with said processing liquid ejected from said ejection head toward said substrate.
19. A standby method for an ejection head, said standby method being a method of placing said ejection head of a substrate processing apparatus on standby, said ejection head being disposed inside a cup part and above a substrate holding part surrounded by said cup part and being configured to eject a processing liquid from an outlet provided in an ejection surface toward a substrate held by said substrate holding part,
said standby method comprising:
a) moving said ejection head from a position inside said cup part to a position outside said cup part;
b) causing relative movement of said ejection head and a reservoir in which an immersion liquid is retained, in a direction that said ejection head and said reservoir become closer to each other to immerse said ejection surface of said ejection head in said immersion liquid;
c) separating said ejection surface from said immersion liquid either by discharging said immersion liquid from said reservoir or by causing relative movement of said ejection head and said reservoir in a direction that said ejection head and said reservoir become away from each other;
d) removing said immersion liquid that remains on said ejection surface; and
e) moving said ejection head to a position inside said cup part.
Priority Applications (1)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
US16/056,387 US10639665B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2018-08-06 | Substrate processing apparatus and standby method for ejection head |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP2013-052931 | 2013-03-15 | ||
JP2013052931A JP6319941B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2013-03-15 | Substrate processing apparatus and discharge head standby method |
Related Child Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US16/056,387 Division US10639665B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2018-08-06 | Substrate processing apparatus and standby method for ejection head |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US20140261557A1 true US20140261557A1 (en) | 2014-09-18 |
Family
ID=51503979
Family Applications (2)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US14/213,203 Abandoned US20140261557A1 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2014-03-14 | Substrate processing appartus and standby method for ejection head |
US16/056,387 Active US10639665B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2018-08-06 | Substrate processing apparatus and standby method for ejection head |
Family Applications After (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US16/056,387 Active US10639665B2 (en) | 2013-03-15 | 2018-08-06 | Substrate processing apparatus and standby method for ejection head |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (2) | US20140261557A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP6319941B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR101624029B1 (en) |
CN (1) | CN104051301B (en) |
TW (1) | TWI556877B (en) |
Cited By (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20120247506A1 (en) * | 2011-03-28 | 2012-10-04 | Takayoshi Tanaka | Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment method |
US11161136B2 (en) * | 2019-04-26 | 2021-11-02 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Liquid processing apparatus and liquid processing method |
Families Citing this family (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
TWI585842B (en) * | 2014-09-30 | 2017-06-01 | Shibaura Mechatronics Corp | Substrate processing device |
JP7000177B2 (en) * | 2018-01-30 | 2022-01-19 | 株式会社Screenホールディングス | Processing liquid discharge piping and substrate processing equipment |
JP2020134407A (en) * | 2019-02-22 | 2020-08-31 | キオクシア株式会社 | Inspection device and method |
JP7267088B2 (en) * | 2019-05-10 | 2023-05-01 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Tanks, substrate processing equipment, and methods of using tanks |
Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20110031326A1 (en) * | 2008-08-29 | 2011-02-10 | Masanobu Sato | Substrate cleaning method and substrate cleaning apparatus |
US20130020284A1 (en) * | 2011-07-20 | 2013-01-24 | Naoyuki Osada | Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method using processing solution |
Family Cites Families (18)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
JP3223677B2 (en) * | 1993-11-30 | 2001-10-29 | 株式会社スリーボンド | Nozzle hardening prevention device |
JPH10256116A (en) * | 1997-03-10 | 1998-09-25 | Dainippon Screen Mfg Co Ltd | Treatment liquid supplying nozzle for substrate treating device |
JP2001157863A (en) * | 1999-09-21 | 2001-06-12 | Tokyo Electron Ltd | Coater |
US20010003966A1 (en) | 1999-12-16 | 2001-06-21 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Film forming apparatus |
JP4334758B2 (en) | 1999-12-17 | 2009-09-30 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Film forming device |
JP3836305B2 (en) * | 2000-07-24 | 2006-10-25 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Development processing equipment |
JP4191880B2 (en) * | 2000-07-31 | 2008-12-03 | 富士フイルム株式会社 | Liquid ejector |
US6878401B2 (en) * | 2001-09-27 | 2005-04-12 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Substrate processing method |
JP3993496B2 (en) * | 2001-09-27 | 2007-10-17 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Substrate processing method and coating processing apparatus |
JP4526288B2 (en) * | 2004-03-25 | 2010-08-18 | 東京応化工業株式会社 | Adjusting device and adjusting method for slit nozzle tip |
KR20050097380A (en) | 2004-04-02 | 2005-10-07 | 삼성전자주식회사 | Apparatus for cleansing a nozzle |
JP4606234B2 (en) | 2005-04-15 | 2011-01-05 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Liquid processing method and liquid processing apparatus |
KR100945759B1 (en) | 2006-05-15 | 2010-03-08 | 도쿄엘렉트론가부시키가이샤 | Substrate processing method, substrate processing apparatus and recording medium |
JP2008118027A (en) * | 2006-11-07 | 2008-05-22 | Disco Abrasive Syst Ltd | Protective-film coating device |
JP5420336B2 (en) | 2009-07-23 | 2014-02-19 | 大日本スクリーン製造株式会社 | Substrate cleaning apparatus and substrate cleaning method |
JP5226046B2 (en) | 2010-08-18 | 2013-07-03 | 東京エレクトロン株式会社 | Coating device and nozzle maintenance method |
JP2013026381A (en) * | 2011-07-20 | 2013-02-04 | Dainippon Screen Mfg Co Ltd | Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method |
JP2013178965A (en) | 2012-02-28 | 2013-09-09 | Mitsubishi Heavy Ind Ltd | Battery connection member and battery module |
-
2013
- 2013-03-15 JP JP2013052931A patent/JP6319941B2/en active Active
-
2014
- 2014-03-12 KR KR1020140029152A patent/KR101624029B1/en active IP Right Grant
- 2014-03-13 CN CN201410091539.2A patent/CN104051301B/en active Active
- 2014-03-14 TW TW103109414A patent/TWI556877B/en active
- 2014-03-14 US US14/213,203 patent/US20140261557A1/en not_active Abandoned
-
2018
- 2018-08-06 US US16/056,387 patent/US10639665B2/en active Active
Patent Citations (2)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20110031326A1 (en) * | 2008-08-29 | 2011-02-10 | Masanobu Sato | Substrate cleaning method and substrate cleaning apparatus |
US20130020284A1 (en) * | 2011-07-20 | 2013-01-24 | Naoyuki Osada | Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method using processing solution |
Cited By (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US20120247506A1 (en) * | 2011-03-28 | 2012-10-04 | Takayoshi Tanaka | Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment method |
US9355872B2 (en) * | 2011-03-28 | 2016-05-31 | SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd. | Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment method |
US11161136B2 (en) * | 2019-04-26 | 2021-11-02 | Tokyo Electron Limited | Liquid processing apparatus and liquid processing method |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JP2014179494A (en) | 2014-09-25 |
KR20140113430A (en) | 2014-09-24 |
TWI556877B (en) | 2016-11-11 |
US10639665B2 (en) | 2020-05-05 |
US20180350592A1 (en) | 2018-12-06 |
CN104051301B (en) | 2017-04-12 |
CN104051301A (en) | 2014-09-17 |
JP6319941B2 (en) | 2018-05-09 |
TW201446340A (en) | 2014-12-16 |
KR101624029B1 (en) | 2016-05-24 |
Similar Documents
Publication | Publication Date | Title |
---|---|---|
US10639665B2 (en) | Substrate processing apparatus and standby method for ejection head | |
JP4349606B2 (en) | Substrate cleaning method | |
US8056257B2 (en) | Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method | |
CN101425452B (en) | Substrate processing apparatus and a substrate processing method | |
KR101989230B1 (en) | Substrate processing apparatus and nozzle cleaning method | |
WO2006038472A1 (en) | Substrate treatment apparatus and substrate treatment method | |
US9721814B2 (en) | Substrate processing apparatus | |
KR101975143B1 (en) | Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus | |
JP2017188665A (en) | Substrate processing apparatus and substrate processing method | |
JP4442911B2 (en) | Substrate processing equipment | |
KR20180035902A (en) | Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus | |
KR101895409B1 (en) | substrate processing apparatus | |
US20170098538A1 (en) | Substrate processing apparatus | |
CN111199898A (en) | Cleaning device and method | |
JP5173874B2 (en) | Coating apparatus and nozzle standby method | |
KR102346493B1 (en) | Substrate processing method and substrate processing apparatus | |
JP2001068402A (en) | Board treatment equipment | |
JP7242228B2 (en) | SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING METHOD | |
JP4009436B2 (en) | Substrate contact member cleaning mechanism and substrate edge cleaning apparatus having the same | |
JP2023056612A (en) | Processing liquid container, substrate processor, and method for processing substrate | |
JP2024014249A (en) | Substrate processing method and substrate processing device | |
JP2024033258A (en) | Substrate processing device and substrate processing method | |
JP2007266336A (en) | Substrate-treating device, and substrate treatment method |
Legal Events
Date | Code | Title | Description |
---|---|---|---|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: DAINIPPON SCREEN MFG. CO., LTD, JAPAN Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:SOTOKU, KOTA;YASHIKI, HIROYUKI;SATO, MASANOBU;REEL/FRAME:032445/0449 Effective date: 20140226 |
|
AS | Assignment |
Owner name: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD., JAPAN Free format text: CHANGE OF NAME;ASSIGNOR:DAINIPPON SCREEN MFG. CO., LTD.;REEL/FRAME:035132/0773 Effective date: 20141001 |
|
STCB | Information on status: application discontinuation |
Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION |