WO2022270449A1 - Cleansing member treating device, break‐in method, and cleansing member cleaning method - Google Patents

Abstract

This cleansing member treating device is for a cleansing member for cleansing a substrate W. The cleansing member treating device has: a housing 10 for accommodating therein a cleansing liquid; and a pressing mechanism that is provided in the housing 10 and that has pressing parts 20 for pressing the cleansing member, the whole or a part of which is immersed in the cleansing liquid.

Description

Cleaning member processing apparatus, break-in method, and cleaning member cleaning method

The present invention relates to a cleaning member processing apparatus for cleaning members for cleaning substrates, a break-in method, and a cleaning method for cleaning members.

Conventionally, as a method for cleaning a substrate such as a wafer, a roll cleaning member such as a cylindrical sponge is held so that its central axis is parallel to the surface of the substrate, and rotated around the central axis. A roller cleaning member that scrubs the surface of the substrate by rubbing the surface of the substrate with its side surface, or a pencil cleaning member such as a cylindrical sponge is held so that its central axis is perpendicular to the surface of the substrate, and its bottom surface is in contact with the surface of the substrate and the substrate is rotated to scrub clean the surface of the substrate.

When using a new cleaning member such as a roll cleaning member or a pencil cleaning member, break-in processing (leveling) is performed to prevent dust generated from the cleaning member from adhering to substrates such as wafers. There is a need to do. A break-in device for performing such break-in processing is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2019-054177.

The present invention provides a cleaning member processing apparatus having a structure different from the conventional break-in apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2019-054177 and conventionally provided cleaning apparatus for cleaning members. The present invention also provides a break-in method and a cleaning member cleaning method using such a cleaning member processing apparatus.

The cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
A cleaning member processing apparatus for cleaning members for cleaning a substrate, comprising:
a housing for containing a cleaning liquid;
a pressing mechanism provided in the housing and having a pressing portion for pressing a cleaning member partly or wholly immersed in the cleaning liquid;
You may prepare.

In the cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention,
The pressing portion may repeat pressing the cleaning member with a first pressure and pressing the cleaning member or separating from the cleaning member with a second pressure lower than the first pressure.

In the cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention,
The pressing part presses the cleaning member at a first pressure and presses the cleaning member at a second pressure lower than the first pressure or separates from the cleaning member 10 times or more and 500 times or less per minute. can be repeated with

The cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
a supply unit that supplies cleaning liquid into the housing;
a discharge unit for discharging the cleaning liquid from the housing;
may be provided.

The cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention comprises:
A rotating portion may be provided for rotating the cleaning member or rotating the pressing portion around the cleaning member.

In the cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention,
The pressing mechanism may have a plurality of pressing parts.

In the cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention,
A pressing force applied to the cleaning member by the pressing portion may be 1N or more and 20N or less.

In the cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention,
The cleaning member has a plurality of protrusions provided on its surface,
The protrusion may be compressed by 80% or more due to the pressing force of the pressing portion against the cleaning member.

In the cleaning member processing apparatus according to the present invention,
The cleaning liquid may be a chemical solution at 5 to 70° C. or pure water.

A break-in method for a cleaning member for cleaning a substrate according to the present invention comprises:
a step of immersing part or all of the cleaning member in the cleaning liquid in the housing;
a step of pressing the cleaning member at a location immersed in the cleaning liquid by a pressing portion;
may be provided.

A cleaning member cleaning method for cleaning a substrate according to the present invention comprises:
separating the cleaning member that has cleaned the substrate from the substrate;
a step of immersing part or all of the cleaning member in the cleaning liquid in the housing;
a step of pressing the cleaning member at a location immersed in the cleaning liquid by a pressing portion;
may be provided.

In the present invention, when a mode is adopted in which the cleaning member partially or wholly immersed in the cleaning liquid is pressed with the first pressure, dust such as dust generated from the cleaning member can be efficiently removed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view showing the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2A is a front view showing a break-in mode of a roll cleaning member having nodules in a break-in device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a side view showing how the break-in device according to the embodiment of the present invention breaks in a roll cleaning member having no nodules. FIG. 3A is a diagram for explaining how dust in a nodule is peeled off in a cleaning liquid in the break-in device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3B is a diagram for explaining how the break-in device according to the embodiment of the present invention discharges dust together with the cleaning liquid. FIG. 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the break-in process time and the amount of dust generated when the substrate is washed after the break-in, in which the break-in is performed by changing the pressing force. FIG. 5A is a side view showing a pressing portion having a flat tip. FIG. 5B is a side view showing a pressing portion having an arcuate tip. FIG. 5C is a front view showing a pressing portion having an outer peripheral portion, an inner peripheral portion, and a pressing portion. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the outline of the break-in device according to the present embodiment, and is a front view of the roll cleaning member having nodules. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the outline of the break-in device according to the present embodiment, showing a side view of the roll cleaning member having no nodules. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a mode in which an internal cleaning liquid supply section is provided, and is a side view of a roll cleaning member having no nodules. FIG. 9 is a front view showing a mode in which the longitudinal section of the housing is circular. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a mode in which only a portion of the roll cleaning member is immersed in the cleaning liquid. FIG. 11 is a front view showing a mode in which no pressing portion is provided on the lower side of the roll cleaning member and the size of the housing is reduced. FIG. 12 is a front view showing a mode in which the pressing portions are not provided on the upper side and the lower side of the roll cleaning member, and the size of the housing is reduced. FIG. 13 is a side view showing an embodiment in which multiple supply and exhaust pipes are provided; FIG. 14 is a front view showing an example of how the pencil cleaning member is broken in. FIG. FIG. 15 is a front view showing a mode of break-in by pressing the top and side surfaces of the pencil cleaning member while rotating the pencil cleaning member. FIG. 16 is a front view showing a mode in which the pencil cleaning member, whose lateral movement is fixed by the fixing portion, is positioned upward and is pressed by the pressing portion from below to break in. FIG. FIG. 17 is a front view showing a mode in which the pencil cleaning member, whose lateral movement is fixed by the fixing portion, is positioned downward and is pressed from above by the pressing portion to break in. FIG. FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a mode of cleaning a substrate with a roll cleaning member. FIG. 19 is a plan view showing a mode of cleaning a substrate with a pencil cleaning member. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a mode in which a cleaning device for cleaning members is installed in a substrate cleaning device. FIG. 21 is a flow showing an example of a cleaning method for cleaning members. FIG. 22 is a diagram showing a mode in which the break-in device is installed in the substrate cleaning apparatus.

Embodiment < Configuration>
An embodiment of a substrate processing apparatus including a substrate cleaning apparatus and the like will be described. In the following embodiment, an example of application to cleaning processing of a semiconductor wafer (object to be processed), particularly processing using a chemical solution, is shown, but the present invention is limited to application to cleaning processing of wafers. not something.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment has a substantially rectangular housing 310 and a load port 312 on which a substrate cassette stocking a large number of substrates W is mounted. A load port 312 is positioned adjacent to the housing 310 . The load port 312 can be loaded with an open cassette, a SMIF (Standard Mechanical Interface) pod, or a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod). SMIF pods and FOUPs are closed containers that contain substrate cassettes and are covered with partition walls to maintain an environment independent of the external space. The substrate W may be, for example, a semiconductor wafer.

Inside the housing 310, there are a plurality of (four in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1) polishing units 314a to 314d, a first cleaning unit 316 and a second cleaning unit 318 for cleaning the substrate W after polishing, and a cleaning unit 318 for cleaning the substrate W after cleaning. A drying unit 320 for drying the substrate W is accommodated. The polishing units 314a-314d are arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing apparatus, and the cleaning units 316, 318 and the drying unit 320 are also arranged along the longitudinal direction of the substrate processing apparatus. According to the substrate processing apparatus of the present embodiment, semiconductor wafers with a diameter of 300 mm or 450 mm, flat panels, image sensors such as CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and CCD (Charge Coupled Device), MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) Various substrates W can be polished in the manufacturing process of the magnetic film. As another embodiment of the substrate processing apparatus, the substrate W may be cleaned and dried without providing the polishing unit for polishing the substrate W in the housing 310 .

A first transfer robot 322 is arranged in an area surrounded by the load port 312 , the polishing unit 314 a located on the load port 312 side, and the drying unit 320 . In parallel with the polishing units 314a to 314d, the cleaning units 316 and 318, and the drying unit 320, a transfer unit 324 is arranged. The first transport robot 322 receives the substrate W before polishing from the load port 312 and transfers it to the transport unit 324 , or receives the substrate W after drying taken out from the drying unit 320 from the transport unit 324 .

A second transport robot 326 is arranged between the first cleaning unit 316 and the second cleaning unit 318 to transfer the substrate W between the first cleaning unit 316 and the second cleaning unit 318. 318 and the drying unit 320 , a third transfer robot 328 is arranged to transfer the substrate W between the second cleaning unit 318 and the drying unit 320 . Further, inside the housing 310, an overall control unit 350 is arranged to control the movement of each device of the substrate processing apparatus. In this embodiment, an aspect in which overall control unit 350 is arranged inside housing 310 will be described. Alternatively, the overall control unit 350 may be provided at a remote location.

As the first cleaning unit 316, in the presence of the substrate cleaning liquid, a roll cleaning member 101 linearly extending over substantially the entire diameter of the substrate W is brought into contact with the surface of the substrate W while rotating around the central axis parallel to the substrate W. A roll cleaning apparatus that scrubs the may be used (see FIG. 18). As the second cleaning unit 318, in the presence of the substrate cleaning liquid, the contact surface of the cylindrical pencil cleaning member 150 extending in the vertical direction is brought into contact, and the pencil cleaning member 150 is rotated and moved in one direction. , a pencil cleaner may be used to scrub the surface of the substrate W (see FIG. 19). Further, the drying unit 320 dries the substrate W by ejecting IPA vapor from a moving injection nozzle toward the substrate W that is held horizontally and rotating, and then rotates the substrate W at high speed to dry the substrate W by centrifugal force. A spin drying unit to dry the W may be used.

The substrate cleaning liquid of the present embodiment includes a rinse liquid such as pure water (DIW), ammonia hydrogen peroxide (SC1), hydrochloric acid hydrogen peroxide (SC2), sulfuric acid hydrogen peroxide (SPM), sulfuric acid and hydrofluoric acid. Contains chemicals such as Alternatively, a mixed liquid or a diluted liquid containing these as main components may be used. Unless otherwise specified in this embodiment, the substrate cleaning liquid means the rinse liquid, the chemical liquid, or both the rinse liquid and the chemical liquid. In the cleaning of the present embodiment, a cleaning member such as the roll cleaning member 101 or the pen cleaning member 90a is rotated and brought into contact with the substrate W, and the substrate cleaning liquid is supplied to the substrate W to perform scrub cleaning. A mode is included in which only the substrate cleaning liquid is supplied without contacting the W with the member.

The cleaning member assembly 100 may have a cleaning member mount and a cleaning member attached to the cleaning member mount. As an example, when the roll cleaning member 101 is used as the cleaning member, as shown in FIG. 101. The cleaning member is not limited to the roll cleaning member 101. For example, a cleaning member such as a pencil cleaning member 150 (see FIG. 19), a brush, or a mandrel can also be used. As shown in the upper side of FIG. 18, the roll cleaning member 101 may consist of a sponge having a plurality of nodules (protruding members) 101a. The top area of the nodule 101a may be 5 cm ² or less. PVDF or PTFE may be used as the material of the cleaning member mounting portion 105 . As shown in FIG. 19, the pencil cleaning member 150 may be attached to the tip of an arm 410 that can swing in the in-plane direction of the substrate W. As shown in FIG.

The cleaning member mounting portion 105 and the roll cleaning member 101 may be configured integrally, or the roll cleaning member 101 may be formed on the cleaning member mounting portion 105 . Further, the cleaning member mounting portion 105 and the roll cleaning member 101 may be configured as separate members and may be detachable. The roll cleaning member 101 may be made of a resin material such as a PVA (polyvinyl alcohol) sponge material or a PVA-reacted PVFM (polyvinyl formal). This PVA sponge material can be prepared from polyvinyl acetate homopolymer or the like. Materials for the roll cleaning member 101 include other moldings such as nylon, polyurethane, or a combination of polyurethane and PVA, or other copolymers that do not scratch the substrate surface and provide suitable material removal for the process. Any available material can be used.

In one embodiment, the average pore diameter of the roll cleaning member 101 can be 50 μm to 250 μm (where the average pore diameter is the length of a predetermined number of pores randomly sampled from a plurality of pores in the target area). mean value). In one embodiment, the roll cleaning member 101 can have an apparent density of 0.05 g/cm ³ or more and a water retention rate of 500% to 1200%. In one embodiment, the 30% compressive stress in the proper water-containing state of the roll cleaning member 101 can be 3 kPa or more and 200 kPa or less. The proper water content is the weight percentage of the water content relative to the dry state, and refers to the water content state in which the roll cleaning member 101 has an appropriate elastic force when cleaning the substrate W or the like. The 30% compressive stress is a value measured by a digital load measuring device when the roll cleaning member 101 is properly hydrated and then 30% crushed in the longitudinal direction by applying a load from both end faces. Originally, it refers to the load per unit area obtained by dividing the measured value by the area of the end face. Roll cleaning member 101 typically has a length of 300 mm.

As shown in FIG. 18, the substrate cleaning apparatus may have a substrate support 200 that holds the substrate W. The substrate support part 200 may hold the substrate W so as to extend in the horizontal direction, may hold the substrate W so as to extend in the vertical direction, or may hold the substrate W while being inclined from the horizontal direction. good too. The substrate support part 200 may rotate while holding the substrate W by chucking or sucking it, or may support the substrate W while rotating it like a spindle shown in FIG. A chemical solution supply unit 210 that supplies the chemical solution to the substrate W and a rinse solution supply unit 220 that supplies the rinse solution to the substrate W may be provided. In this embodiment, the substrate cleaning liquid supply section that supplies the cleaning liquid to the substrate W is composed of the chemical liquid supply section 210 and the rinse liquid supply section 220 .

Since new cleaning members such as the roll cleaning member 101 and the pencil cleaning member 150 contain dust such as generated dust, it is necessary to remove the dust. In the present application, this process of removing dust is called "break-in". When the cleaning member is made of PVA, poorly bonded PVA flakes off and becomes waste. Ingredients such as starch used in the process of using the cleaning member also become waste. When the dust is analyzed, carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) are often detected as dust.

The break-in device 1 may be incorporated in the substrate cleaning device described above (see FIG. 22). More specifically, the break-in device 1 is incorporated in the substrate cleaning apparatus for cleaning the substrate W, and the cleaning member broken in by the break-in device 1 is automatically attached as the cleaning member used in the substrate cleaning apparatus. You may do so. Unlike this mode, a dedicated break-in device 1 may be used separately from the substrate cleaning device. When the dedicated break-in device 1 is used, the break-in device 1 does not need to use the substrate cleaning device used for cleaning the substrate W. FIG. Therefore, it is possible to lengthen the operation time of the substrate cleaning apparatus, which is advantageous in that the number of processed substrates can be increased (the operating rate of the apparatus can be increased).

The break-in device 1 of the present embodiment includes a housing 10 for containing a break-in cleaning liquid (hereinafter referred to as "cleaning liquid 9"), and a housing 10 provided in the housing 10, in which the cleaning liquid 9 is partly or wholly a pressing mechanism having a pressing portion 20 for pressing the submerged cleaning member with a first pressure. 2A and 2B show a mode in which a roll cleaning member 101, which is an example of a cleaning member, is pressed by a pressing mechanism. In the present embodiment, the break-in device 1 is mainly used as a cleaning member processing device, but it is not limited to this, and can also be used as a cleaning member cleaning device for cleaning used cleaning members. available (see Figures 20 and 21). Reference numeral 190 in FIGS. 20 and 22 denotes a housing of the cleaning chamber.

The housing 10 may be sealed or, for example, open at the top. Examples of a mode in which a part of the cleaning member is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 include, for example, a mode in which 1/3 or more of the cleaning member is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9. A mode in which 1/2 or more is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 can be mentioned (see FIG. 10). Here, 1/2 or more of the cleaning member is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 means that 1/2 or more of the surface area of the cleaning member is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 .

The pressing part 20 repeats pressing of the cleaning member with a first pressure (first process) and pressing of the cleaning member with a second pressure lower than the first pressure or separation from the cleaning member (second process). may This control may be performed by the pressing section 20 upon receiving a command from the device control section 50 (see FIG. 6) of the break-in device 1 . In the present embodiment, the device control unit 50 controls the break-in device 1. However, it is not limited to this, and the overall control unit 350 described above controls the break-in device 1. You may do so.

The first process and the second process may be repeated 10 times or more and 500 times or less per minute. When a plurality of cleaning members are to be continuously broken in, the number of repetitions per unit time may be a constant value, or may be a different value for each cleaning member, that is, may vary. Even within the same processing step when the same cleaning member is subjected to break-in processing, the number of repetitions per unit time may be greater in the first half of the break-in processing than in the latter half, for example, 2 to 10 times. may change. When the first half of the total processing time required for break-in is set as the number of repetitions t1, and the period of the second half of the total processing time required for break-in is set as the number of repetitions t2, t1 >t2, and the ratio of t1/t2 may be set to 2 or more and less than 10. Conversely, in the second half of the break-in process, the number of iterations per unit time may be greater than in the first half, and may vary, for example, from 2 to 10 times.

As shown in FIG. 6, a break-in supply unit (hereinafter referred to as a "supply unit 80") for supplying the cleaning liquid 9 into the housing 10 and a discharge unit 90 for discharging the cleaning liquid 9 from the housing 10 are provided. may The cleaning liquid 9 in the storage section 82 of the supply section 80 may be supplied via a supply pipe 81 attached to the housing 10 or may be supplied via a supply nozzle. The discharge unit 90 may discharge the cleaning liquid 9 through a discharge pipe 91 provided in the housing 10 . The discharge part 90 may have a suction part 92 made up of a pump or the like for sucking the cleaning liquid 9 in the housing 10 . The washing liquid 9 sucked by the suction unit 92 in this manner may be circulated and reused after passing through the filter F or the like, or may be discarded as it is. In order to receive the suction force from the suction portion 92, the discharge pipes 91 may be arranged point-symmetrically in plan view from above. For example, if four discharge pipes 91 are provided, the discharge ports of the discharge pipes 91 may be provided at an angle of 90 degrees in plan view. The supply of the cleaning liquid 9 from the supply unit 80 may be provided in the central region in plan view. By supplying the cleaning liquid 9 from the supply unit 80 to the central region and discharging the cleaning liquid 9 from point-symmetrical positions in this manner, it is advantageous in that an even flow of the cleaning liquid 9 can be generated.

As shown in FIG. 7, the break-in device 1 may have a holding portion 45 that holds the cleaning member mounting portion 105 of the cleaning member assembly 100 and a rotating portion 40 such as a motor that rotates the cleaning member assembly 100. good. In this case, rotation of the cleaning member assembly 100 results in rotation of a cleaning member, such as the roll cleaning member 101 . The cleaning member immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 is pressed by the pressing section 20 while being rotated by the rotating section 40 . Alternatively, the rotating portion 40 may be provided on the pressing portion 20 so that the pressing portion 20 rotates around the cleaning member without rotating the cleaning member assembly 100 . It also has a first rotating portion 41 that rotates the cleaning member assembly 100 and a second rotating portion 42 that rotates the pressing portion 20. The cleaning member assembly 100 is rotated by the first rotating portion 41, and the pressing portion 20 rotates. It may be rotated by the second rotating part 42 . In this case, the direction of rotation of the cleaning member assembly 100 and the direction of rotation of the pressing portion 20 may be opposite. Since the rotation by the rotating parts including the first rotating part and the second rotating part is for pressing evenly, it does not need to be rotating at high speed, and it is at a low speed of about 1 rotation to 50 rotations / minute. It may be in a rotating mode. Further, instead of continuously rotating, intermittent rotation may be employed, such as repeating stopping after rotating for a certain distance.

The pressing mechanism may have a plurality of pressing portions 20 . For example, 3 to 10 pressing portions 20 may be spaced apart on the circumference (see FIG. 6). Pressing by each pressing part 20 may be performed at the same time, or may be performed with a time lag. As an example, four pressing portions 20 may be provided to press the roll cleaning member 101 from four directions. The tip of the pressing part 20 may consist of a flat flat part 20a as shown in FIG. 5A. In the case where the cleaning member is the roll cleaning member 101, as shown in FIG. good. The material of the pressing portion 20 may be Si, SiO ₂ such as quartz, Cu, or the like. The aforementioned flat portion 20a may be made of a quartz plate.

As shown in FIG. 5C, the pressing portion 20 includes an outer peripheral portion 33, an inner peripheral portion 32 provided within the outer peripheral portion 33, and a pressure bag or the like provided between the outer peripheral portion 33 and the inner peripheral portion 32. You may have the pressurization part 31 which consists of. A gas such as air is injected into the pressurizing portion 31 by an injection portion 34, and expansion and compression of the pressurizing portion 31 are repeated. may The material of the inner peripheral portion 32 may be Si, SiO ₂ such as quartz, Cu, or the like. In addition, the inner peripheral portion 32 may be bag-shaped and configured as an inner bag. Further, the outer peripheral portion 33 may also have a bag shape and be configured as an outer bag.

As shown in FIG. 8, an internal cleaning liquid supply unit 70 that supplies the cleaning liquid 9 from the inside to the cleaning member may be provided. The cleaning liquid 9 supplied from the internal cleaning liquid supply section 70 is supplied through the supply pipe 71 into the cleaning member such as the roll cleaning member 101 . When this aspect is employed, it is advantageous in that the removal of dust such as dust generated can be further promoted by supplying the cleaning liquid 9 from the inside in addition to the compression from the outside by the pressing portion 20 .

The rotating section 40 , the injection section 34 and the internal cleaning liquid supply section 70 may also be controlled by receiving commands from the device control section 50 or the overall control section 350 .

The shape of the housing 10 is also arbitrary, and the vertical cross section may be rectangular, or the vertical cross section may be circular as shown in FIG.

In addition, from the viewpoint of reducing the amount of cleaning liquid 9 to be used, the pressing portion 20 is not provided on the entire outer peripheral edge of the roll cleaning member 101, and the size of the housing 10 at the location where the pressing portion 20 is not provided is reduced. may be made smaller. For example, as shown in FIG. 11, the pressing portion 20 may not be provided below the roll cleaning member 101, and as shown in FIG. 20 may not be provided. Also, the pressing portion 20 may be provided only in one direction (for example, upward) of the roll cleaning member 101 . As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12 , when the pressing portion 20 is provided downward, the roll cleaning member 101 can be arranged close to the discharge pipe 91 .

The number of supply pipes 81 and discharge pipes 91 is arbitrary, and a large number of supply pipes 81 and discharge pipes 91 may be provided as shown in FIG. Only one may be provided. When a large number of supply pipes 81 and discharge pipes 91 are provided, it is advantageous in that the flow of the cleaning liquid 9 within the housing 10 can be made more uniform.

The first pressure by the pressing part 20 may be 1N or more and 20N or less. It should be noted that applying a force of 20N compresses the cleaning member considerably. For this reason, there is no reason to apply a force exceeding 20 N, and on the other hand, there is a concern that applying too much force may adversely affect the cleaning member, so 20 N is set as an example of the upper limit.

The cleaning member may have a plurality of protrusions provided on its surface. This protrusion is typically the nodule 101 a of the roll cleaning member 101 . The nodule 101a typically has a height of about 5 mm. In this embodiment, the nodule 101a is crushed by the pressing portion 20 (see FIGS. 3A and 3B). The dust D is liberated in the cleaning liquid 9 that has soaked into the nodule 101a, and the cleaning liquid 9 is discharged from the nodule 101a, whereby the dust D is removed.

By the first pressure, the projections such as the nodules 101a may be compressed by 80% or more, more limitedly by 90% or more, or by 95% or more. This compressibility is determined by the material and size of the cleaning member. Therefore, the identification information of the cleaning member (for example, the manufacturer and model number) and the appropriate first pressure are associated and stored in the device storage unit 60 of the break-in device 1, and the identification information of the cleaning member is input from the input unit 5. As a result, an appropriate first pressure may be read out from the device storage section 60 by the device control section 50, and the pressing section 20 may be controlled such that the projection section is pressed by the first pressure (see FIG. 6). . Note that the present invention is not limited to such a mode, and the general control section 350 may read information stored in the general storage section 360 instead of the device storage section 60 and control the pressing section 20. .

The type, concentration and temperature of the cleaning liquid 9 used may also be stored in the device storage section 60 in association with the identification information of the cleaning member. In this case, when the identification information of the cleaning member is input from the input unit 5, the appropriate cleaning liquid 9 used for the cleaning member may be supplied from the supply unit 80 into the housing 10. . The supply of the cleaning liquid 9 may be performed before placing the cleaning member in the housing 10 or after placing the cleaning member in the housing 10 .

The cleaning liquid 9 may be, for example, a chemical solution at 5 to 70°C or pure water. Typically, ammonia water, ethanol, ether, other alcohols, TMAH (ammonia-based), ultrapure water, or the like is used as the cleaning liquid 9 . If the cleaning member is made of PVA, a PVA remover can be used. PAS-600 Eco (manufactured by Rakuto Kasei Kogyo Co., Ltd.) may be used as the PVA cleaning agent. A particularly preferred temperature range is 40 to 60°C.

As shown in FIG. 6, the break-in device 1 may have a heating/cooling section 95 and a temperature detection section 96 such as a sensor. In this case, the temperature detection unit 96 detects the temperature of the cleaning liquid 9, and the heating/cooling unit 95 heats or cools the cleaning liquid 9 while referring to the detection result, thereby controlling the temperature. As confirmed by the inventors, it is found that it is beneficial to use aqueous ammonia as the cleaning liquid 9 for the roll cleaning member 101 made of PVA. It has been confirmed that the higher the temperature, the higher the effect of removing dust such as dust. However, if the temperature is too high, the cleaning member may be adversely affected. As the cleaning liquid 9, the same one as the substrate cleaning liquid can be used, or a different one can be used. As an example, the cleaning liquid 9 used in the break-in device 1 may be the same as the cleaning liquid used for cleaning the substrate W in the next step. In this case, the cleaning liquid soaked into the cleaning member and the cleaning liquid used for cleaning the substrate W in the next step can be the same, and unexpected problems can be prevented from occurring.

Next, an example of a cleaning method for the roll cleaning member 101 having the nodules 101a will be described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. FIG.

The roll cleaning member 101 is placed inside the housing 10 . After that, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the supply unit 80 , the housing 10 is filled with the cleaning liquid 9 , and the entire roll cleaning member 101 is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 . In addition, the cleaning liquid may be filled in the housing 10 in advance.

When the roll cleaning member 101 is placed inside the housing 10 , the cleaning member assembly 100 is held by the holding portion 45 . Moreover, all of the plurality of pressing portions 20 are positioned at the separated positions, and the roll cleaning member 101 and the pressing portions 20 are not in contact with each other.

Next, the holding part 45 receives the driving force from the rotating part 40 and starts rotating, and as a result, the roll cleaning member 101 starts rotating. While the roll cleaning member 101 is rotating in this way, pressing of the cleaning member with a first pressure (first process) and pressing of the cleaning member with a second pressure smaller than the first pressure or pressure from the cleaning member Separation (second processing) is repeatedly performed. Predetermined recipes for the first and second treatments of the cleaning member may be used. Also, the identification information of the roll cleaning member 101 or the cleaning member assembly 100 and the recipe are stored in association with each other. A recipe for cleaning the roll cleaning member 101 may be read out, and the first treatment and the second treatment for the roll cleaning member 101 may be performed according to the recipe.

The cleaning liquid 9 may continue to be supplied from the supply unit 80 and discharged from the discharge unit 90 while the first process and the second process are repeated. The supplied cleaning liquid 9 and the discharged cleaning liquid 9 may be approximately the same amount. The discharged cleaning liquid 9 may be returned to the supply unit 80 after passing through the filter F or the like, and the cleaning liquid 9 may be circulated. , and may not be circulated as the cleaning liquid 9 .

The type of cleaning liquid 9 to be supplied may vary, and the chemical liquid may be supplied at first, but the rinse liquid may be supplied in the middle. Further, the type of the chemical solution may also be changed. /or different concentrations. The temperature of the cleaning liquid 9 may also be changed, and the temperature of the cleaning liquid 9 used first (first temperature) may be different from the temperature of the cleaning liquid 9 used later (second temperature). Control of the cleaning liquid 9 and temperature may be performed in response to a command from the device control section 50 . Temperature control may be performed by the heating/cooling unit 95 that receives a command from the device control unit 50 , and switching of the cleaning liquid 9 may be performed by the supply unit 80 that receives a command from the device control unit 50 . The supply unit 80 has a switching valve (not shown) for switching the cleaning liquid 9, and the type of cleaning liquid 9 to be supplied is changed by switching the switching valve according to a command from the device control unit 50. may

When the repetition processing of the first process and the second process is completed, all of the plurality of pressing parts 20 are positioned at the separated position, and the roll cleaning member 101 and the pressing part 20 are not in contact with each other. After that, the roll cleaning member 101 is removed from the holding portion 45 . Repeated processing of the first treatment and the second treatment takes, for example, about 30 minutes to about 1 hour.

The break-in process of the roll cleaning member 101 is completed through the above steps.

As the cleaning process for the roll cleaning member 101 that is not new, the same process as the break-in process described above can be performed. As an example, processing as shown in FIG. 21 may be performed.

Specifically, when the roll cleaning member 101 cleans a predetermined number of substrates W, the roll cleaning member 101 is separated from the substrates W, and the roll cleaning member 101 is placed in the housing 10 (S7 in FIG. 21). and S1). After that, the cleaning liquid is supplied from the supply unit 80, the housing 10 is filled with the cleaning liquid 9, and the entire roll cleaning member 101 is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 (see S2 in FIG. 21). As described above, the housing 10 may be filled with the cleaning liquid in advance.

When the roll cleaning member 101 is placed inside the housing 10 , the cleaning member assembly 100 is held by the holding portion 45 . Moreover, all of the plurality of pressing portions 20 are positioned at the separated positions, and the roll cleaning member 101 and the pressing portions 20 are not in contact with each other.

Next, the holding part 45 receives the driving force from the rotating part 40 and starts rotating, and as a result, the roll cleaning member 101 starts rotating. While the roll cleaning member 101 is rotating in this way, pressing of the cleaning member with a first pressure (first process) and pressing of the cleaning member with a second pressure smaller than the first pressure or pressure from the cleaning member Separation (second processing) is repeatedly performed (see S3, S4 and S5 in FIG. 21).

Then, when the repeated operation is performed a predetermined number of times, the cleaning process of the roll cleaning member 101 is completed. After being cleaned in this way, the substrate W is again cleaned by the roll cleaning member 101 (see S5, S6 and S7 in FIG. 21).

After a predetermined number of substrates W have been washed, the above-described cleaning process for the roll cleaning member 101 is performed again (see S7 and S1 in FIG. 21), and thereafter a series of steps are repeated.

As described above, the pen cleaning member 90a may be used as the cleaning member. When the pen cleaning member 90 a is used as the cleaning member in this manner, the pressing portion 20 may press toward the surface of the pencil cleaning member 150 . The pencil cleaning member 150 is also typically made of PVA. In the mode shown in FIG. 14, the vertically extending pencil cleaning member 150 is pressed from above, but the pencil cleaning member 150 may be extended laterally and pressed from the lateral direction.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 15, the top surface and side surfaces of the pencil cleaning member 150 may be pressed while rotating the pencil cleaning member 150 . At this time, the side surface may be evenly pressed by rotating the pencil cleaning member 150 with the rotating portion 46 .

As shown in FIG. 16, the pencil cleaning member 150 may be positioned on the upper side and pressed by the pressing portion 20 from below. Further, a fixing portion 15 for preventing misalignment of the pencil cleaning member 150 may be provided on the side portion of the pencil cleaning member 150 . The fixing parts 15 may be provided continuously so as to surround the periphery of the pencil cleaning member 150, or may be provided intermittently, or three or four fixing parts may be provided at regular intervals (at the same angle from the center). ) may be arranged. If the bottom surface of the pencil cleaning member is provided with a recess, the discharge tube 91 may be positioned within the recess of the pencil cleaning member (see FIG. 17).

"effect"
Next, the effects of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration, which have not yet been described, will be mainly described. Any configuration described in "effect" can be adopted in the present invention even if it is not described in "configuration". Note that the term “effect” will be described using the term “cleaning member” instead of the terms “roll cleaning member” and “pencil cleaning member”, which are examples of the cleaning member.

When a mode is adopted in which the cleaning member partially or wholly immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 is pressed with the first pressure, dust such as dust generated from the cleaning member can be efficiently removed. Since the pressing force is applied while the cleaning member is immersed in the cleaning liquid 9, dust generated from the cleaning member can be efficiently eluted. When the cleaning member is porous, pressing the cleaning member causes the cleaning liquid 9 in the cleaning member to be eluted to the outside. (See FIGS. 3A and 3B).

When adopting a mode in which pressing of the cleaning member with a first pressure (first process) and pressing of the cleaning member with a second pressure lower than the first pressure or separation from the cleaning member (second process) are repeated In this case, the cleaning member can be repeatedly contracted and expanded, and dust such as dust generated from the cleaning member can be efficiently eluted. From the viewpoint of increasing the difference between contraction and expansion of the cleaning member, it is beneficial to employ a mode in which the pressing part 20 is completely separated from the cleaning member in the second process.

According to the inventors' confirmation, when cleaning the cleaning member, for example, about 30 minutes to about 1 hour is sufficient for repeating the first treatment and the second treatment. On the other hand, in the conventional mode of pressing against a dummy substrate and performing break-in, it took two to three hours. It's becoming

By repeating the first process and the second process 10 times or more and 500 times or less per minute, it is possible to efficiently dissolve dust such as dust generated from the cleaning member. It should be noted that when the first treatment and the second treatment are repeated at a frequency exceeding 300 times per minute, the contraction and expansion of the cleaning member are repeated at a considerable speed. It is possible to more efficiently elute dust such as dust generated from.

In the case of adopting a mode in which the cleaning member immersed in the cleaning liquid 9 rotates (see FIGS. 7 and 15), it is possible to evenly and uniformly contract and expand the cleaning member. is advantageous in that it can remove evenly.

The first pressure by the pressing part 20 may be 1N or more and 20N or less. In a conventional mass-production apparatus, in which a break-in is performed by pressing against a dummy substrate, a pressure of less than 1N is generally applied. can be said to be power. In addition, since conventional mass-production equipment generally applies a pressure of less than 1 N, the compressibility of the cleaning member is also small, and the compressibility when using the nodule 101a does not even reach 80%. It was nothing. It was found by the inventors of the present application that when the first pressure applied by the pressing portion 20 is large, the compressibility of the cleaning member can be increased, and the cleaning liquid 9 can be discharged from the cleaning member. This has also been confirmed by experiments (Fig. 4). The nodule 101a having a height of about 10 mm was shrunk by only a few millimeters under the external force B, but the nodule 101a was crushed almost to the height under the external force A.

The description of each embodiment and the disclosure of the drawings described above are only examples for explaining the invention described in the claims, and the description of the embodiments and the disclosure of the drawings described above The invention described in is not limited. In addition, the descriptions of the claims as originally filed are only examples, and the descriptions of the claims can be changed as appropriate based on the descriptions of the specification, drawings, and the like.

1 Break-in device 10 Case 20 Pressing part 40 Rotating part 45 Holding part 80 Supply part 90 Discharging part

Claims (13)

1. A cleaning member processing apparatus for cleaning members for cleaning a substrate, comprising:
   a housing for containing a cleaning liquid;
   a pressing mechanism provided in the housing and having a pressing portion for pressing a cleaning member partly or wholly immersed in the cleaning liquid;
   cleaning member processing apparatus.
2. 2. The cleaning according to claim 1, wherein the pressing part repeats pressing the cleaning member with a first pressure and pressing the cleaning member or separating from the cleaning member with a second pressure lower than the first pressure. Material processing equipment.
3. The pressing part presses the cleaning member at a first pressure and presses the cleaning member at a second pressure lower than the first pressure or separates from the cleaning member 10 times or more and 500 times or less per minute. 3. The cleaning member processing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cleaning member processing apparatus repeats with .
4. a supply unit that supplies cleaning liquid into the housing;
   a discharge unit for discharging the cleaning liquid from the housing;
   The cleaning member processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, comprising:
5. The cleaning member processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising a rotating portion that rotates the cleaning member or rotates the pressing portion around the cleaning member.
6. The cleaning member processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the pressing mechanism has a plurality of pressing parts.
7. The cleaning member processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the pressing force applied to the cleaning member by the pressing portion is 1N or more and 20N or less.
8. The cleaning member has a plurality of protrusions provided on its surface,
   8. The cleaning member processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the projection is compressed by 80% or more due to the pressing force applied to the cleaning member by the pressing portion.
9. The cleaning member processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the cleaning liquid is a chemical solution or pure water at 5 to 70°C.
10. A break-in method for a cleaning member for cleaning a substrate, comprising:
    a step of immersing part or all of the cleaning member in the cleaning liquid in the housing;
    a step of pressing the cleaning member at a location immersed in the cleaning liquid by a pressing portion;
    A break-in method comprising:
11. The step of pressing the cleaning member includes:
    11. The break-in method according to claim 10, comprising at least pressing the cleaning member with a first pressure and pressing the cleaning member with a second pressure different from the first pressure.
12. When the temperature of the cleaning liquid used in the step of pressing the cleaning member with the first pressure is defined as the first temperature, the temperature of the cleaning liquid used in the step of pressing the cleaning member with the second pressure is the first temperature. 12. A break-in method according to claim 11, wherein the cleaning liquid is cooled or warmed to a second temperature different from the one temperature.
13. A method of cleaning a cleaning member for cleaning a substrate, comprising:
    separating the cleaning member that has cleaned the substrate from the substrate;
    a step of immersing part or all of the cleaning member in the cleaning liquid in the housing;
    a step of pressing the cleaning member at a location immersed in the cleaning liquid by a pressing portion;
    A method of cleaning a cleaning member, comprising:
    

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