WO2024089742A1

WO2024089742A1 - Substrate processing device

Info

Publication number: WO2024089742A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/039534
Authority: WO
Inventors: 祐一高山; 啓之屋敷; 紘太谷川; 晃司大多和
Original assignee: 株式会社Ｓｃｒｅｅｎホールディングス
Priority date: 2022-10-24
Filing date: 2022-10-24
Publication date: 2024-05-02

Abstract

A control unit of the present invention (a substrate processing device which performs processing of removing a coating attached to a substrate) processes a substrate (W) by supplying an ozone gas into a chamber (32) in a state where a first control valve (55) is opened and a second control valve (69) is closed, and then closes the first control valve and opens the second control valve, thereby causing suction by a suction pipe (73) when supplying an inert gas into the chamber. Accordingly, a first filter (59) in which the ozone gas remains and the first control valve in which particles are likely to be generated are subjected to suction by the suction pipe. Therefore, in a first pipe (53), gas flow from a second branch point (63) to the chamber side will not occur. As a result, mixing of ozone gas with the inert gas in the chamber side can be prevented. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce time required for ozone gas replacement and to prevent contamination by particles.

Description

Substrate Processing Equipment

The present invention relates to a substrate processing apparatus that performs predetermined processing on substrates (hereinafter simply referred to as substrates), such as semiconductor wafers, substrates for liquid crystal displays and organic EL (electroluminescence) display devices, glass substrates for photomasks, substrates for optical disks, substrates for magnetic disks, ceramic substrates, and substrates for solar cells.

To form a pattern on a substrate, for example, a photoresist film is applied to the substrate and patterned, and then an etching process is performed using the patterned photoresist film as a mask. The mask is then no longer needed, and the photoresist film is removed. To remove the photoresist film, for example, SPM (Sulfuric Hydrogen Peroxide Mixture), a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide, is used. This SPM has strong oxidizing power, and the photoresist film is peeled off and removed from the surface of the substrate. However, for example, if ions are implanted into the photoresist film, the surface of the photoresist film is hardened. Therefore, processing that involves supplying only SPM increases the amount of SPM consumed. Also, the photoresist film may not be removed well using SPM alone.

Therefore, before the supply of SPM, ozone gas ( _O3 gas) is supplied to the photoresist film, and the photoresist film is treated by its oxidizing power. This makes it possible to oxidize (ash) the surface of the photoresist film hardened by ion implantation, and makes it easier to peel off the photoresist film during the subsequent treatment with SPM. This reduces the consumption of SPM.

As an apparatus for supplying ozone gas to process substrates in this manner, there is one equipped with a supply mechanism that switches between SPM, nitrogen gas, pure water, and ozone gas and supplies them to the processing surface of the substrate (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this apparatus, an ozone gas supply source that generates and supplies ozone gas is connected in communication with the supply mechanism. This apparatus is equipped with a suction mechanism that sucks in various gases, such as ozone gas, from the processing space in which the substrate is placed and exhausts them outside the apparatus.

In such equipment, after processing with ozone gas, the ozone gas in the chamber is replaced with nitrogen gas before the substrate is removed from the chamber to be processed with SPM. For this reason, the supply mechanism is configured as follows:

There is a "first configuration" that includes a first pipe, a second pipe, a first filter, a first control valve, a second control valve, and a second filter. One end of the first pipe is connected to the chamber, and the other end is connected to an ozone gas supply source. One end of the second pipe is connected to a branch point that is a part of the first pipe, and the other end is connected to a nitrogen gas supply source. The first filter is provided in the first pipe on the chamber side of the branch point. The first control valve is provided on the ozone supply source side of the branch point and controls the flow of ozone gas in the first pipe. The second control valve is provided on the branch point side of the second pipe and controls the flow of nitrogen gas. The second filter is provided on the nitrogen gas supply source side of the second control valve in the second pipe.

In addition, in some devices for processing using ozone gas, the chamber that closes the processing space in which the substrate is processed is equipped with a concave lower lid member that supports the lower part of the holding mechanism that holds the substrate, and an upper lid member that is configured to be able to be raised and lowered at the top of the holding mechanism and covers the lower lid member during processing. In devices with such a configuration, it is common to use a suction mechanism to suction the inside of the chamber before ozone gas processing to increase the degree of sealing of the chamber and to maintain suction during ozone gas processing so that harmful ozone gas does not leak into the surrounding area.

JP 2008-66400 A

However, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, according to the first conventional configuration, a branch point is provided upstream of the first filter. Therefore, ozone gas also passes through the first filter of nitrogen gas. Therefore, when nitrogen gas is supplied from the second pipe to replace the ozone gas after the ozone gas is treated, the ozone gas remaining in the first filter is mixed into the nitrogen gas supplied to the chamber. Therefore, there is a problem that the concentration of ozone gas is difficult to decrease, and it takes time to replace the ozone gas with nitrogen gas.

As such, it is conceivable to adopt the following "second configuration."

The second pipe has one end connected to a branch point, which is a portion of the first pipe on the chamber side, and the other end connected to a nitrogen gas supply source. The first control valve and the first filter are provided in that order from the branch point toward the ozone supply source. The second filter and the second control valve are provided in that order from the branch point toward the nitrogen gas supply source.

In this second configuration, there is no first filter between the branch point and the chamber. Therefore, the inconveniences that occur in the first configuration do not occur. However, because the first control valve is provided on the chamber side of the first filter, there is a risk that particles generated in the first control valve will be sucked into the flow of nitrogen gas flowing from the branch point to the chamber side, and may contaminate the substrate in the chamber.

Furthermore, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, in the conventional device, it takes, for example, about two minutes from the time when the generation of ozone gas is started in the ozone gas supply source until the supply of ozone gas of a predetermined concentration required for processing is started. Therefore, since a waiting time occurs before processing with ozone gas starts, it is difficult to shorten the processing time with ozone gas, and there is a problem that the throughput cannot be improved.

Furthermore, the conventional example having such a configuration has the following problems.
That is, since the conventional apparatus has only one suction mechanism, the suction force is set to a predetermined pressure. Therefore, when the ozone gas is supplied to the chamber and the substrate is processed with the ozone gas, a large amount of the ozone gas is also exhausted. Therefore, there is a problem that the consumption of the ozone gas increases.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can replace ozone gas in a short time and prevent contamination by particles.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can shorten the processing time using ozone gas and improve throughput.

The present invention was made in consideration of these circumstances, and aims to provide a substrate processing apparatus that can suppress the consumption of ozone gas while preventing the leakage of ozone gas.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has the following configuration.
That is, the invention described in claim 1 is a substrate processing apparatus for performing processing to remove a coating deposited on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a chamber for accommodating a substrate and forming a sealed processing space; a holding mechanism for holding the substrate in the chamber; an ozone gas supply source for supplying ozone gas at a processing concentration for processing the substrate; a first pipe connecting the chamber and the ozone gas supply source in communication; a first control valve provided in the first pipe for controlling a flow of ozone gas in the first pipe; a first filter provided in the first pipe on the chamber side relative to the first control valve; and a first separator connected to the first pipe on the chamber side relative to the first filter. the second pipe having one end connected to a branch point and an inert gas supplied from the other end; a second control valve provided in the second pipe and controlling the flow of the inert gas in the second pipe; a suction pipe having one end connected to a second branch point connected to the first pipe between the first filter and the first control valve and receiving suction from the other end; and a control unit that causes suction through the suction pipe when ozone gas is supplied into the chamber with the first control valve opened and the second control valve closed to supply the inert gas into the chamber after the substrate is processed by supplying ozone gas into the chamber with the first control valve opened and the second control valve closed.

[Actions and Effects] According to the invention described in claim 1, the control unit opens the first control valve and closes the second control valve to supply ozone gas into the chamber to process the substrate, and then closes the first control valve and opens the second control valve to supply inert gas into the chamber, causing suction through the suction piping. Therefore, the first filter in which ozone gas remains and the first control valve in which particles are likely to be generated are sucked through the suction piping. Therefore, no gas flows from the second branch point to the chamber side in the first piping. As a result, it is possible to prevent ozone gas from mixing with the inert gas on the chamber side, and it is possible to shorten the replacement time of ozone gas and prevent contamination by particles.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the suction by the suction pipe is performed with a suction force that does not interfere with the supply of the inert gas supplied to the chamber from the second pipe (Claim 2).

When supplying inert gas to the chamber, suction is performed from the suction piping at the first branch point of the first pipe. At this time, suction from the suction piping is performed with a suction force that does not interfere with the supply of inert gas supplied from the second pipe to the chamber via the first branch point. Therefore, it is possible to reliably replace ozone gas in the chamber with inert gas.

In the present invention, it is also preferable that the suction pipe is provided at the other end with a vacuum ejector that generates suction force by supplying compressed gas (Claim 3).

Vacuum ejectors are smaller and less expensive than vacuum pumps. This contributes to the miniaturization of equipment and keeps costs down.

In the present invention, it is also preferable that the suction piping is provided with a suction control valve that controls the suction force at the second branch point and is operated by the control unit (Claim 4).

By operating the suction control valve, the effect of suction on the second pipe at the second branch point can be reliably blocked.

In the present invention, it is also preferable that the second pipe is provided with a second filter between the first branch point and the second control valve (Claim 5).

When supplying inert gas, adverse effects caused by particles generated in the second control valve can be prevented.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable to further include a processing liquid chamber that accommodates a substrate and processes it with a processing liquid, and a transport mechanism that transports the substrate, and the substrate that has been treated with ozone gas in the chamber is transported to the processing liquid chamber by the transport mechanism, and the substrate is treated with the processing liquid in the processing liquid chamber (claim 6).

The substrate that has been treated with ozone gas in the chamber is transported by the transport mechanism to the treatment liquid chamber, where the substrate is treated with the treatment liquid. This allows the substrate to be treated successively with gas and liquid. This makes it possible to efficiently perform pretreatment with ozone gas followed by treatment with the treatment liquid.

That is, the invention described in claim 7 is a substrate processing apparatus for performing a process for removing a coating deposited on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a chamber for accommodating a substrate and forming a sealed processing space; a holding mechanism for holding the substrate within the chamber; an ozone gas supply source for constantly generating and supplying ozone gas for processing the substrate; a supply pipe through which the ozone gas supplied from the ozone gas supply source flows; a circulation pipe connecting the supply pipe to the chamber; a control valve provided in the circulation pipe for controlling the flow of ozone gas through the circulation pipe; and an exhaust port for discharging gas and the supply pipe. , an auxiliary pipe that exhausts ozone gas supplied from the ozone gas supply source to the exhaust port, an exhaust valve provided in the auxiliary pipe that adjusts the flow rate of ozone gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe, and a control unit that closes the control valve and opens the exhaust valve during non-processing when ozone gas is not being supplied to the chamber, thereby exhausting ozone gas supplied from the ozone gas supply source to the exhaust port, and that opens the control valve while adjusting the flow rate through the exhaust valve during processing when ozone gas is supplied to the chamber and a substrate held by the holding mechanism is treated with ozone gas.

[Actions and Effects] According to the invention described in claim 7, when processing is not being performed, the control unit closes the control valve and opens the exhaust valve, so that ozone gas generated in the ozone gas supply source is discharged from the auxiliary piping to the exhaust port without being supplied to the chamber. When processing is performed, the control unit opens the control valve while adjusting the flow rate through the exhaust valve, so that ozone gas is supplied to the substrate held by the holding mechanism in the chamber through the circulation piping from the ozone gas supply source, which constantly generates ozone gas. Therefore, there is no waiting time for processing with ozone gas, so the processing time with ozone gas can be shortened and throughput can be improved.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that there are a plurality of the chambers, a plurality of the circulation pipes, each of the circulation pipes branching off from the supply pipe and connected to each of the chambers, the control valve being provided on each of the plurality of circulation pipes, and that during the processing, at least one of the plurality of chambers is in a state in which ozone gas is being supplied (Claim 8).

In a configuration with multiple chambers and multiple flow pipes, the state in which ozone gas is being supplied to at least one of the multiple chambers is the processing state. As a result, during processing, ozone gas at a processing concentration is supplied from the flow pipe to at least one chamber, and processing with ozone gas is performed.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the control unit adjusts the flow rate by the exhaust valve in conjunction with the flow rates by the control valves so that the difference between a first flow rate, which is the flow rate of ozone gas flowing through the supply pipe, and a second flow rate, which is the sum of the flow rates of ozone gas flowing through each of the flow pipes, during the processing falls within a predetermined value (Claim 9).

The flow rate of ozone gas exhausted from the auxiliary pipe is adjusted by the exhaust valve according to the flow rate of ozone gas to each chamber by each control valve so that the difference between the first flow rate and the second flow rate is within a predetermined value. Therefore, a predetermined amount of reserve capacity can be left on the supply side so that the second flow rate does not exceed the first flow rate, so that ozone gas can be supplied stably to each chamber. Furthermore, by adjusting the flow rate by the exhaust valve, the amount of ozone gas supplied to multiple chambers can also be adjusted collectively.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the ozone gas supply source includes a first on-off valve that allows or blocks the flow of ozone gas to the supply pipe, and a first pressure adjustment mechanism that maintains the pressure of the ozone gas in the supply pipe at a first pressure, and the auxiliary pipe includes a second on-off valve that allows or blocks the flow of ozone gas discharged to the exhaust port as the exhaust valve, and a second pressure adjustment mechanism that maintains the pressure of the ozone gas in the auxiliary pipe at a second pressure lower than the first pressure (Claim 10).

The second pressure adjustment mechanism maintains the second pressure of the ozone gas in the auxiliary pipe lower than the first pressure of the ozone gas in the supply pipe adjusted by the first pressure adjustment mechanism. Therefore, the pressure difference between the ozone gas supply source and the auxiliary pipe can be secured, so that the flow rate of the ozone gas supplied to each chamber can be stabilized. In addition, since the concentration of ozone gas in the auxiliary pipe can be prevented, the flow rate of ozone gas required for processing in multiple chambers can be secured. As a result, even in a configuration with multiple chambers, processing with ozone gas can be stably performed.

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable to further include a treatment liquid chamber for accommodating a substrate and treating it with a treatment liquid, and a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate, and the substrate treated with ozone gas in the chamber is transported to the treatment liquid chamber by the transport mechanism, and the substrate is treated with the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid chamber (Claim 11).

The invention described in claim 12 is a substrate processing apparatus for removing a coating deposited on a substrate, the apparatus comprising: a lower cover member supporting at its lower part a holding mechanism for holding the substrate; an upper cover member abutting against the lower cover member from above to form a processing space; a chamber having a lifting mechanism for lowering the upper cover member relative to the lower cover member when processing the substrate and lifting the upper cover member from the lower cover member when the substrate is not being processed; an ozone gas supply source for supplying ozone gas at a processing concentration for processing the substrate; a first pipe connecting the ozone gas supply source to the chamber; a first control valve provided in the first pipe for controlling the flow of ozone gas through the first pipe; an exhaust pipe connected to the chamber for discharging gas in the processing space to an exhaust port outside the apparatus; and a second control valve provided in the exhaust pipe for controlling exhaust in the exhaust pipe. The exhaust mechanism includes a control valve, a first exhaust means provided on the exhaust port side of the second control valve in the exhaust piping and exhausting at a first exhaust flow rate, and a second exhaust means provided on the exhaust port side of the second control valve in the exhaust piping and exhausting at a second exhaust flow rate that is smaller than the first exhaust flow rate, and a control unit that opens the second control valve, operates the first exhaust means, exhausts the inside of the chamber at a first exhaust flow rate, and seals the upper cover member against the lower cover member before supplying ozone gas from the ozone gas supply source to the chamber to perform ozone gas treatment, and stops the first exhaust means and operates the second exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a second exhaust flow rate when operating the first control valve to supply ozone gas from the ozone gas supply source to the chamber.

[Function and Effect] According to the invention described in claim 12, prior to supplying ozone gas to the chamber to perform ozone gas treatment, the control unit opens the second control valve and operates the first exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a first exhaust flow rate and seal the upper lid member to the lower lid member. When operating the first control valve to supply ozone gas from the ozone gas supply source to the chamber, the control unit stops the first exhaust means and operates the second exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a second exhaust flow rate. Therefore, before supplying ozone gas from the ozone gas supply source, the degree of adhesion between the upper lid member and the lower lid member is increased at the first exhaust flow rate, and when ozone gas is supplied, the exhaust flow rate is set to the second exhaust flow rate, which is smaller than the first exhaust flow rate. Therefore, it is possible to suppress consumption of ozone gas while preventing leakage of ozone gas.

In the present invention, the apparatus further includes a second pipe having one end connected to the first branch point of the first pipe and having an inert gas supplied from the other end, a third control valve for controlling the flow of the inert gas in the second pipe, an auxiliary exhaust pipe having one end connected to a second branch point in the exhaust pipe on the chamber side of the second control valve and the other end connected to the exhaust port, and a fourth control valve provided in the auxiliary exhaust pipe for controlling the flow of gas in the auxiliary exhaust pipe, and the control unit preferably operates the third control valve after the ozone gas treatment to supply the inert gas into the chamber, operates the first exhaust means instead of the second exhaust means to exhaust the chamber at a first exhaust flow rate, replaces the ozone gas in the chamber with the inert gas, stops the first exhaust means, closes the second control valve, opens the fourth control valve, and then raises the upper lid member by the lifting mechanism (Claim 13).

After the ozone gas treatment, the control unit supplies inert gas into the chamber and operates the first exhaust means instead of the second exhaust means to exhaust the chamber at a first exhaust flow rate, replacing the ozone gas in the chamber with the inert gas. The control unit then stops the first exhaust means, closes the second control valve, and opens the fourth control valve. As a result, with exhaust by the exhaust mechanism stopped, only purging of the exhaust port with inert gas is performed. Therefore, the processing space becomes positive pressure, and the adhesion between the upper cover member and the lower cover member becomes weak. The upper cover member is then raised by the lifting mechanism, so that the upper cover member can be easily raised by the lifting mechanism.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that after the control unit raises the upper cover member, it closes the fourth control valve, opens the second control valve, and operates the second exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a second exhaust flow rate (Claim 14).

The processing space is evacuated at the second exhaust flow rate until the upper lid member rises to start processing the next substrate. Therefore, the processing space can be maintained in a clean state.

Furthermore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the first exhaust means and the second exhaust means are equipped with a vacuum ejector that exhausts by supplying compressed gas (Claim 15).

In addition, in the present invention, it is preferable to further include a processing liquid chamber for accommodating a substrate and processing it with a processing liquid, and a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate, and the substrate that has been treated with ozone gas in the chamber is transported to the processing liquid chamber by the transport mechanism, and the substrate is processed with the processing liquid in the processing liquid chamber (Claim 16).

According to the invention described in claim 1, the control unit opens the first control valve and closes the second control valve to supply ozone gas into the chamber to process the substrate, and then closes the first control valve and opens the second control valve to supply inert gas into the chamber, causing suction through the suction piping. Therefore, the first filter in which ozone gas remains and the first control valve in which particles are likely to be generated are sucked through the suction piping. Therefore, no gas flows from the second branch point to the chamber side in the first piping. As a result, it is possible to prevent ozone gas from mixing with the inert gas on the chamber side, and it is possible to shorten the time required for ozone gas replacement and prevent contamination by particles.

Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 7, when processing is not being performed, the control unit closes the control valve and opens the exhaust valve, so that ozone gas generated in the ozone gas supply source is discharged from the auxiliary piping to the exhaust port without being supplied to the chamber. During processing, the control unit opens the control valve while adjusting the flow rate through the exhaust valve, so that ozone gas is supplied to the substrate held by the holding mechanism in the chamber through the circulation piping from the ozone gas supply source, which constantly generates ozone gas. Therefore, there is no waiting time for processing with ozone gas, so that the processing time with ozone gas can be shortened and throughput can be improved.

Furthermore, according to the invention described in claim 12, prior to supplying ozone gas to the chamber to perform ozone gas treatment, the control unit opens the second control valve and operates the first exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a first exhaust flow rate and seal the upper lid member to the lower lid member. When the control unit operates the first control valve to supply ozone gas from the ozone gas supply source to the chamber, it stops the first exhaust means and operates the second exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a second exhaust flow rate. Therefore, before supplying ozone gas, the degree of adhesion between the upper lid member and the lower lid member is increased at the first exhaust flow rate, and when supplying ozone gas, the exhaust flow rate is set to the second exhaust flow rate, which is smaller than the first exhaust flow rate. Therefore, it is possible to suppress consumption of ozone gas while preventing leakage of ozone gas.

1 is a perspective view showing an overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment; 1. This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 101-101 in FIG. 1. This is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 103-103 in FIG. FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a substrate processing apparatus. 4 is a graph showing a change in ozone gas concentration in an ozone gas supply unit. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an ozone gas bake unit and a gas supply system and exhaust system. FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the state when no treatment with ozone gas is used. FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining a treatment with ozone gas. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which ozone gas is being supplied. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state in which nitrogen gas is being supplied. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating weak exhaust before processing. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining strong exhaust when the upper lid is closed. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining weak exhaust during ozone gas treatment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining strong evacuation during replacement with nitrogen gas. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining purging when the upper lid is opened. FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining weak exhaust after processing.

Each embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

The following describes Example 1 of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the overall configuration of a substrate processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 101-101 in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 103-103 in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a schematic diagram of the substrate processing apparatus.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 according to the embodiment is, for example, an apparatus that performs a process for removing a photoresist coating on a substrate W on which a photoresist coating has been formed. This is particularly useful when the photoresist coating has hardened. Specifically, this substrate processing apparatus 1 is suitable for carrying out an ozone gas process and an SPM process after an on-gas process, in that order, on a substrate W.

The substrate processing apparatus 1 includes an indexer block 3, a processing block 5, a transport block 7, a processing liquid supply block 9, an ozone gas supply unit 11, and an ozone gas decomposition unit 13.

The indexer block 3 transfers the substrates W to be processed between the transport block 7. The transport block 7 transports the substrates W between the indexer block 3 and the processing block 5 and between the processing blocks 5. The processing block 5 is equipped with a plurality of processing units 15. The processing liquid supply block 9 supplies the processing block 5 with various processing liquids used in the processing block 5. The ozone gas supply unit 11 supplies the ozone gas used in the processing block 5. The ozone gas decomposition unit 13 takes in the ozone gas discharged from the processing block 5, renders it harmless, and discharges it. The gas discharged from the ozone gas decomposition unit 13 is discharged, for example, to an exhaust port provided in a clean room. This exhaust port is connected, for example, to the exhaust equipment of the factory.

As shown in FIG. 1, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is arranged with an indexer block 3, a processing block 5, a transport block 7, and a processing liquid supply block 9 arranged in this order.

In the following description, the direction in which the indexer block 3, the processing block 5, the transport block 7, and the processing liquid supply block 9 are aligned is referred to as the "front-to-back direction X" (horizontal direction). In particular, the direction from the processing block 5 and the transport block 7 toward the indexer block 3 is referred to as the "forward XF", and the opposite direction of the forward XF direction is referred to as the "backward XB". The direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction X and the horizontal direction is referred to as the "width direction Y". Furthermore, when viewed from the front of the indexer block 3, one direction of the width direction Y is appropriately referred to as the "right direction YR", and the other direction opposite the right direction YR is referred to as the "left direction YL". The vertical direction is referred to as the "up-down direction Z" (height direction, vertical direction). Note that when simply referring to "side" or "lateral direction", it is not limited to either the front-to-back direction X or the width direction Y.

The indexer block 3 includes a carrier placement section 17 and an indexer robot IR. The substrate processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment includes, for example, four carrier placement sections 17. Specifically, the four carrier placement sections 17 are arranged in a row in the width direction Y. A carrier C is placed on each carrier placement section 17. A carrier C stores a plurality of substrates W (for example, 25 substrates W) in a stacked manner, and each carrier placement section 17 transfers the carrier C between, for example, an OHT (Overhead Hoist Transport, also known as a ceiling-traveling automated guided vehicle) not shown. The OHT transports the carrier C by using the ceiling of the clean room. An example of a carrier C is a FOUP (Front Opening Unified Pod).

In the indexer block 3, the indexer robot IR is disposed behind the carrier placement section 17, XB. The indexer robot IR transfers substrates W between the carriers C, and also transfers substrates W between the indexer block 3 and the path section 19. The path section 19 is disposed between the indexer block 3 and the transport block 7 in the front-rear direction X. Only one indexer robot IR is disposed in the indexer block 3. This indexer robot IR is attached at a fixed position so that its base does not move in the width direction Y. The indexer robot IR is equipped with, for example, a multi-joint arm that can be raised and lowered in the vertical direction Z. The indexer robot IR is configured to be able to access the four carriers C and the path section 19.

The path section 19 has multiple support pins (e.g., three) on a support table. The path section 19 supports the substrate W by contacting it in a horizontal position. Unprocessed substrates W are placed in the path section 19 by the indexer robot IR, and processed substrates W are removed from the path section 19. Unprocessed substrates W are removed from the path section 19 by the center robot CR of the transport block 7, and processed substrates W are placed in the path section 19. The path section 19 is configured in multiple stages in the vertical direction Z. Thus, multiple substrates W can be placed in the path section 19 at the same time.

The transport block 7, for example, includes one center robot CR. The center robot CR is configured to be movable in the forward/backward direction X, and to be able to move up and down in the vertical direction Z. The center robot CR is also configured to be able to rotate in a horizontal plane around an axis in the vertical direction Z. The center robot CR is configured to be able to transfer substrates W between the processing blocks 5 located to the right YR and left YL in the width direction Y, based on the position of the center robot CR. The center robot CR can transfer substrates W between the indexer robot IR via the path section 19.

The processing blocks 5 are arranged on the right YR and left YL in the width direction Y, sandwiching the transport block 7 between them. Here, of the processing blocks 5, the one arranged in the vertical direction Z at the front XF and left YL in a plan view is referred to as tower TW1. Similarly, the one arranged in the vertical direction Z at the rear XB and left YL is referred to as tower TW2. Furthermore, the one arranged in the vertical direction Z at the front XF and right YR is referred to as tower TW3. Moreover, the one arranged in the vertical direction Z at the rear XB and right YR is referred to as tower TW4.

The towers TW1 and TW3 of the processing block 5 are configured by, for example, stacking four processing units 15 in the vertical direction Z. The towers TW1 and TW3 are equipped with, for example, an ozone gas bake unit 21 (also indicated as O ₃ BAKE in FIG. 2) as the processing unit 15. The ozone gas bake unit 21 processes the substrate W by supplying ozone gas while heating the substrate W at a predetermined temperature. The details of the structure will be described later. The ozone gas bake unit 21 cools the substrate W after the processing with ozone gas is completed. The cooled substrate W is transported to the processing unit 15 of the towers TW2 and TW4 by the center robot CR.

The towers TW2 and TW4 of the processing block 5 are configured, for example, by stacking three processing units 15 in the vertical direction Z. The towers TW2 and TW4 are equipped with, for example, an SPM unit 23 (also referred to as HT SPM in FIG. 3) as the processing unit 15. The SPM unit 23 supplies SPM heated to a predetermined temperature to the substrate W for processing. This SPM is SPM (Sulfuric Hydrogen Peroxide Mixture), a mixed solution of sulfuric acid and hydrogen peroxide. The substrate W processed by the ozone gas bake unit 21 is transported to the SPM unit 23 by the center robot CR. The substrate W processed by the SPM unit 23 has the SPM removed with pure water, and is then transported to the path section 19 by the center robot CR.

The SPM unit 23 corresponds to the "processing liquid chamber" in this invention, and the center robot CR corresponds to the "transport mechanism" in this invention.

As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is equipped with two ozone gas supply units 11 and two ozone gas decomposition units 13. The ozone gas supply unit 11 generates and supplies ozone at a processing concentration used in processing in the ozone gas bake unit 21. For example, when the ozone gas supply unit 11 starts the apparatus from a stopped state in which no ozone gas is generated, with the target concentration set as the processing concentration, the concentration of ozone gas supplied from the ozone gas supply unit changes, for example, as shown in FIG. 5. Note that FIG. 5 is a graph showing the change in ozone gas concentration in the ozone gas supply unit.

As described above, it can be seen that the ozone gas supply unit 11 has the characteristic that the treatment concentration is not reached until nearly two minutes have passed since the device was started up. Ozone gas at the treatment concentration is supplied from one ozone gas supply unit 11 to the four ozone gas bake units 21 of the tower unit TW1 described above. Also, ozone gas at the treatment concentration is supplied from another ozone gas supply unit 11 to the four ozone gas bake units 21 of the tower unit TW3.

The ozone gas decomposition unit 13 takes in the gas containing ozone gas discharged from the ozone gas bake unit 21 and detoxifies the ozone gas. The detoxified gas is exhausted, for example, to an exhaust port provided in a clean room. One of the two ozone gas decomposition units 13 processes exhaust from, for example, the four ozone gas bake units 21 of tower TW1. The remaining ozone gas decomposition unit 13 processes exhaust from, for example, the four ozone gas bake units 21 of tower TW3.

The ozone gas supply unit 11 corresponds to the "ozone gas supply source" in this invention.

Now, reference is made to FIG. 6, which shows the ozone gas bake unit and the gas supply and exhaust systems. In the following explanation, the ozone gas bake unit 21 of tower unit TW1 will be used as an example, but the ozone gas bake unit 21 of tower unit TW3 has a similar configuration.

Each ozone gas bake unit 21 constituting tower unit TW1 has a chamber 32 equipped with a lower lid 25, an upper lid 27, a heat treatment plate 29, and a lifting mechanism 31. The lifting mechanism 31 has a connection part that connects to the upper lid 27 and a motor that moves the connection part. The lower lid 25 is disposed at the bottom in the vertical direction Z. The lower lid 25 is a housing with an opening at the top. The upper lid 27 is a housing with an opening at the bottom. The lower lid 25 has a heat treatment plate 29. The heat treatment plate 29 abuts against and supports the substrate W. The heat treatment plate 29 heats the substrate W to a predetermined temperature. The upper lid 27 descends and abuts against the lower lid 25. The opening of the upper lid 27 and the opening of the lower lid 25 have approximately the same shape, and the upper lid 27 and the lower lid 25 can be attached and detached by a lifting mechanism 31. When the upper lid 27 and the lower lid 25 are joined together, the upper lid 27 and the lower lid 25 form a closed space inside. This closed space including the heat treatment plate 29 becomes the processing space in which the substrate W is processed. The upper lid 27 is raised and lowered relative to the lower lid 25 by the lifting mechanism 31. The lifting mechanism 31 lowers the upper lid 27 onto the lower lid 25 when processing the substrate W. On the other hand, the lifting mechanism 31 transfers the substrate W between the processing space, and raises the upper lid 27 above the lower lid 25 when processing is not being performed.

Tower unit TW1 has one exhaust main pipe 33. The exhaust main pipe 33 is arranged from the bottom to the top of tower unit TW1. The lower part of the exhaust main pipe 33 is connected to the ozone gas decomposition unit 13. Tower unit TW1 has one supply pipe 35. This supply pipe 35 is also arranged from the bottom to the top of tower unit TW1. One end of the supply pipe 35 is connected to the ozone gas supply unit 11. Ozone gas at the treatment concentration is supplied to this supply pipe 35 from the ozone gas supply unit 11.

The heat treatment plate 29 corresponds to the "holding mechanism" in this invention.

Here, we refer to Figure 7. Note that Figure 7 is a diagram used to explain the situation when not using ozone gas for treatment.

The ozone gas supply unit 11 includes a generation pipe 41, a mass flow controller 43, an ozone gas generator 45, a filter 47, an automatic pressure regulator 49, and a control valve 51.

One end of the generation pipe 41 is connected to, for example, an oxygen supply source (not shown), which is one of the utilities provided in a clean room. The other end of the generation pipe 41 is connected to the supply pipe 35. On the generation pipe 41, a mass flow controller 43, an ozone gas generator 45, a filter 47, an automatic pressure regulator 49, and a control valve 51 are attached in that order from the oxygen supply source side to the supply pipe 35 side.

The mass flow controller 43 controls the flow rate of oxygen supplied to the generation pipe 41 to a predetermined flow rate. The ozone gas generator 45 is configured, for example, by arranging four ozone gas generation modules in parallel. Each ozone gas generation module generates ozone gas from oxygen. The ozone gas generated by the ozone gas generator 45 has particles and the like removed by a filter 47. The ozone gas that passes through the filter 47 is adjusted to a predetermined first pressure P1 (for example, 200 kPa) by an automatic pressure regulator 49. The control valve 51 controls the flow of the ozone gas adjusted to the first pressure P1 to the supply pipe 35.

The above-mentioned ozone gas supply unit 11 can supply ozone gas at a flow rate of, for example, a maximum of 100 liters/minute. The above-mentioned automatic pressure regulator 49 has an adjustment pressure set to the first pressure P1, so that the pressure at the most downstream part of the generation pipe 41 (the part communicating with the supply pipe 35) is adjusted to the first pressure P1 (for example, 200 kPa in this embodiment). In addition, the flow rate of ozone gas in the supply pipe 35 is a maximum of the first flow rate F1 (for example, 100 liters/minute) depending on the performance of the ozone gas supply unit 11.

Returning to FIG. 6, the supply pipe 35 connected to the other end of the generation pipe 41 of the ozone gas supply unit 11 branches off to each ozone gas bake unit 21. The ozone gas bake unit 21 is connected to a circulation pipe 53 that branches off from the supply pipe 35 to each chamber 32. Specifically, one end of the circulation pipe 53 is connected to the supply pipe 35, and the other end is connected to each chamber 32. More specifically, the other end of the circulation pipe 53 is attached to the upper lid 25, and connected to the processing space formed in the chamber 32.

The flow pipe 53 has a control valve 55, a mass flow controller 57, and a filter 59 arranged in that order from the supply pipe 35 toward the chamber 32. The control valve 55 controls the flow of ozone gas from the supply pipe 35 to the chamber 32. The mass flow controller 57 adjusts the flow rate of the ozone gas that flows through the flow pipe 53 and is supplied to the chamber 32. The filter 59 removes particles and the like contained in the ozone gas flowing through the flow pipe 53.

For example, the mass flow controller 57 is set to a maximum ozone gas flow rate of 20 liters/minute and a processing flow rate of 10 liters/minute.

The flow pipe 53 is provided with a first branch point 61 and a second branch point 63. The first branch point 61 is provided in the flow pipe 53 between the chamber 32 and the filter 59. In other words, the first branch point 61 is provided in the flow pipe 53 on the chamber 32 side of the filter 59. The second branch point 63 is provided in the flow pipe 53 between the filter 59 and the mass flow controller 57 and the control valve 55.

One end of the inert gas supply pipe 65 is connected to the first branch point 61. The other end of the inert gas supply pipe 65 is connected to, for example, a nitrogen gas supply source, which is one of the utilities of the clean room. The inert gas supply pipe 65 is equipped with a mass flow controller 67, a control valve 69, and a filter 71 in this order from the nitrogen gas supply source side toward the first branch point 61. The mass flow controller 67 adjusts the flow rate of the nitrogen gas supplied to the inert gas supply pipe 65. The control valve 69 controls the flow of the nitrogen gas in the inert gas supply pipe 65. The filter 71 removes particles and the like contained in the nitrogen gas flowing through the inert gas supply pipe 65. It is preferable that the inert gas supply pipe 65 is provided with a check valve, for example, between the control valve 69 and the mass flow controller 67 to prevent ozone gas from flowing in from the flow pipe 53.

The flow pipe 53 corresponds to the "first pipe" in this invention, the control valve 55 corresponds to the "first control valve" in this invention, and the filter 59 corresponds to the "first filter" in this invention. The inert gas supply pipe 65 corresponds to the "second pipe" in this invention, the control valve 69 corresponds to the "second control valve" in this invention, and the filter 71 corresponds to the "second filter" in this invention.

One end of the suction pipe 73 is connected to the second branch point 63. The other end of the suction pipe 73 is connected to the suction port of the vacuum ejector 75. The exhaust port of the vacuum ejector 75 is connected to the main exhaust pipe 33. When compressed air is supplied to the supply port of the vacuum ejector 75, a gas flow is formed from the suction port to the exhaust port. The suction pipe 73 is equipped with a control valve 74 that controls the flow of the gas being sucked in.

The control valve 74 corresponds to the "suction control valve" in this invention.

The suction from the suction pipe 73 is performed, for example, as follows.

After ozone gas is supplied to the chamber 32 from the flow pipe 53, a process of replacing the ozone gas with nitrogen gas is performed. At this time, nitrogen gas is supplied to the first branch point 61 from the inert gas supply pipe 65. At this time, suction is performed by the suction pipe 73. This prevents ozone gas remaining in the filter 59 and mass flow controller 57 from being drawn into the chamber 32 by the flow of nitrogen gas. Therefore, the time required to replace the ozone gas with nitrogen gas can be shortened. In addition, particles that may be generated in the mass flow controller 57 and control valve 55, which include mechanical operations, can be prevented from being drawn into the flow of nitrogen gas and flowing into the chamber 32.

The vacuum ejector 75 is smaller and less expensive than a vacuum pump, etc. This contributes to the miniaturization of the substrate processing apparatus 1 and also helps prevent increases in costs.

One end of an exhaust pipe 77 is connected to the chamber 32. The other end of the exhaust pipe 77 is connected to the suction port of a vacuum ejector 79. The exhaust port of the vacuum ejector 79 is connected to the main exhaust pipe 33. One end of a first supply pipe 81 is connected to a supply port that supplies compressed air to the vacuum ejector 79 to form an exhaust flow from the suction port of the vacuum ejector 79 to the exhaust port. The other end of the first supply pipe 81 is connected to, for example, a compressed air source, which is one of the utilities of a clean room.

The first drive tube 81 is provided with a flow control valve 83 and an on-off valve 85 in that order from the compressed air source toward the vacuum ejector 79 side. The flow control valve 83 adjusts the flow rate of the compressed air so that the compressed air flows through the first drive tube 81 at a first flow rate Fa. The on-off valve 85 controls the flow of the compressed air set to the first flow rate Fa in the first drive tube 81. Both ends of the second drive tube 87 are connected in communication with a portion of the first drive tube 81 upstream of the flow control valve 83 and a portion of the first drive tube 81 between the on-off valve 85 and the vacuum ejector 79. The second drive tube 87 is provided with a flow control valve 89 and an on-off valve 91 in that order from the compressed air source toward the vacuum ejector 79 side. The flow control valve 89 adjusts the flow rate of the compressed air so that the compressed air flows through the second drive tube 87 at a second flow rate Fb. The on-off valve 91 controls the flow of compressed air, which is set to a second flow rate Fb, through the second drive pipe 87. The flow

rate adjustment valves

83 and 89 are set so that the second flow rate Fb is smaller than the first flow rate Fa.

The exhaust pipe 77 is equipped with an on-off valve 93. One end of a purge pipe 94 is connected between the exhaust pipe 77 and the on-off valve 93 and the chamber 32. The other end of the purge pipe 94 is connected to the main exhaust pipe 33. The purge pipe 94 is equipped with an on-off valve 95. The on-off valve 95 controls the flow of gas in the purge pipe 94.

The exhaust through the exhaust pipe 77 described above is carried out as follows.

When only the on-off

valves

93 and 85 of the on-off

valves

85, 89, 93, and 95 are opened, the vacuum ejector 79 is operated by the first flow rate Fa. This causes the gas in the chamber 32 to be strongly sucked out and strongly exhausted through the exhaust pipe 77. When only the on-off

valves

91 and 93 are opened, the vacuum ejector 79 is operated by the second flow rate Fb (<first flow rate Fa). This causes the gas in the chamber 32 to be weakly sucked out and weakly exhausted through the exhaust pipe 77. When nitrogen gas is being supplied to the chamber 32 from the inert gas supply pipe 65, when only the on-off valve 95 is opened, the gas in the chamber 32 is pushed out by only the nitrogen gas through the exhaust pipe 77 and the purge pipe 94.

The supply pipe 35 is provided with an auxiliary pipe 97. One end of the auxiliary pipe 97 is connected to the supply pipe 35. The other end of the auxiliary pipe 97 is connected to the exhaust main pipe 33. The auxiliary pipe 97 is provided with an automatic pressure regulator 99 and a control valve 101 from the supply pipe 35 toward the exhaust main pipe 33. The automatic pressure regulator 99 adjusts the pressure of the ozone gas in the auxiliary pipe 97 branched from the supply pipe 35 to a predetermined second pressure P2 (for example, 100 kPa). Here, the flow rate of the ozone gas in the supply pipe 35 is a first flow rate F1, and the ozone gas flowing on the side of each chamber 32 in the supply pipe 35 from the auxiliary pipe 97 is a second flow rate F2. In this case, if the flow rate difference between the first flow rate F1 and the second flow rate F2 is ΔF, the auxiliary pipe 97 flows with the flow rate of the difference ΔF.

Each ozone gas bake unit 21 is provided with an external exhaust pipe 103 that is outside the chamber 32 and exhausts gas from within the ozone gas bake unit 21. The external exhaust pipe 103 exhausts gas from the chamber 32 and the surrounding areas of the various pipes and valves described above, for example, to an exhaust port provided in a clean room.

As shown in FIG. 4, the substrate processing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 111. The control unit 111 includes a CPU and a memory. The control unit 111 performs overall control of the operation of each unit based on an operator's operation of a control console (not shown). Specifically, the control unit 111 performs transport control of the indexer robot IR in the indexer block 3, transport control of the center robot CR in the transport block 7, process control of each processing unit 15 in the processing block 5, control of the delivery of various processing liquids in the processing liquid supply block 9, and operation control of the ozone gas supply unit 11 and the ozone gas decomposition unit 13.

The control unit 111 operates each unit with respect to the flow rate of ozone gas, for example, as follows. It is assumed that the ozone gas supply unit 11 is already operating and in a state in which it can supply ozone gas at the treatment concentration, and the control valve 51 is open. The above-mentioned control unit 111 adjusts the flow rate of ozone gas by the mass flow controller 99 and the control valve 101 in conjunction with the flow rates by the mass flow controllers 57 and the on-off valves 55 so that the flow rate difference ΔF described below falls within a predetermined value.

As shown in FIG. 7, when no treatment is being performed with ozone gas in the chamber 32, each control valve 55 is closed and the control valve 101 is opened. As a result, ozone gas is not supplied from the supply pipe 35 to each chamber 32. The ozone gas supplied to the supply pipe 35 from the ozone gas supply unit 11 is discharged to the exhaust main pipe 33 via the auxiliary pipe 97. In this state, the pressure of the ozone gas in the generation pipe 41 of the ozone gas supply unit 11 is the first pressure P1 (= 200 kPa), and the pressure of the ozone gas in the auxiliary pipe 97 is the second pressure P2 (= 100 kPa). In addition, regarding the flow rate, for example, the first flow rate F1 in the generation pipe 41 is 100 liters/minute, and the second flow rate F2 in the supply pipe 35 is 0 liters/minute. Therefore, the flow rate difference ΔF, which is the difference between the first flow rate F1 and the second flow rate F2, is 100 liters/minute.

Here, we refer to Figure 8. Note that Figure 8 is a diagram used to explain the process using ozone gas.

When processing with ozone gas is performed in chamber 32, specifically, ozone gas is supplied to at least one of the four chambers 32, and when processing with ozone gas is performed in that chamber 32, the control valve 55 of the chamber 32 performing the processing is opened. At this time, the control valve 101 is open, but the flow rate is adjusted.

For example, when processing with ozone gas is performed in all four chambers 32, ozone gas is supplied at a maximum flow rate of 20 liters/minute according to the required amount of processing in each chamber 32. Therefore, the second flow rate F2 is a maximum of 80 liters/minute. Since the first flow rate F1 is 100 liters/minute, the flow rate difference ΔF is a minimum of 20 liters/minute. In this manner, the mass flow controller 99 and the control valve 101 are controlled so that the flow rate difference ΔF is within a predetermined value. Therefore, a predetermined amount of reserve capacity can be left on the ozone gas supply unit 11 side so that the second flow rate F2 does not exceed the first flow rate F1, so that the supply of ozone gas to each chamber 32 can be stably performed. Conversely, the second flow rate F2 can be increased or decreased by adjusting the flow rate difference ΔF with the mass flow controller 99 and the control valve 101. As a result, the flow rate of ozone gas can be varied collectively for all four chambers 32. This makes it easier to control the flow rate than by operating the mass flow controllers 57 in each chamber 32.

Next, the processing in the above-mentioned substrate processing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 9. FIG. 9 is a flow chart showing an example of the operation. Note that in the following explanation, only the parts related to the ozone gas processing and SPM processing will be explained in detail, and other operations will be simplified or omitted. Also, to make it easier to understand the invention, only the flow of one substrate W will be explained.

Step S1
The operator starts up the substrate processing apparatus 1. In addition, in conjunction with this, the ozone gas supply unit 11 and the ozone gas decomposition unit 13 are also started up. As a result, under the control of the control unit 111, the ozone gas supply unit 11 starts generating ozone gas having a processing concentration. As shown in Fig. 5, it takes about 2 minutes to generate ozone gas having a processing concentration.

Step S2
The control unit 111 monitors whether a predetermined time has elapsed until ozone gas of a treatment concentration is generated by the ozone gas supply unit 11, and proceeds to the next step S3 at the point in time when the predetermined time has elapsed. Note that even before the concentration of ozone gas reaches the treatment concentration, all of the generated ozone gas is exhausted through the auxiliary pipe 97 and the main exhaust pipe 33, as in the case of non-treatment with ozone gas shown in FIG.

Step S3
An operator issues an instruction to start processing from a control console (not shown).

Step S4
The substrate W to be processed accommodated in the carrier C is transported to the path section 19 via the indexer block 3, and is loaded into the ozone gas bake unit 21 by the center robot CR. Before the substrate W is loaded into the chamber 32 for processing in the next step S5, the control section 111 operates the control valve 69 and the mass flow controller 67 to supply nitrogen gas to the chamber 32. Furthermore, the control section 111 operates the vacuum ejector 79 by the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the opening/closing valve 91. As a result, the inside of the chamber 32 is weakly evacuated, and the processing space is kept clean with the inert gas.

Step S5
When the substrate W is accommodated in the chamber 32, the control unit 111 moves the upper lid 27 to the lower lid 25 by the lifting mechanism 31. This seals the chamber 32. At this time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 89 and the on-off valve 91 to stop the operation of the vacuum ejector 79 by the second drive tube 81. Furthermore, the control unit 111 operates the vacuum ejector 79 by the flow rate control valve 83 and the on-off valve 85. Note that the flow rate of the suction port of the vacuum ejector 79 is greater than the flow rate of the nitrogen gas supplied from the inert gas supply pipe 65. This strongly exhausts the inside of the chamber 32, so that the processing space is under negative pressure. Therefore, the upper lid 27 is tightly attached to the lower lid 25, and the chamber 32 is completely sealed from the surroundings.

Then, the control unit 111 waits until the temperature of the substrate W placed on the heat treatment plate 29 rises to a predetermined temperature (e.g., 100 to 300°C). When the temperature of the substrate W reaches the predetermined temperature, the control unit 111 starts treatment with ozone gas.

Specifically, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller 57 and the control valve 55 so that ozone gas at the processing concentration is supplied to the chamber 32 at the required flow rate. This causes ozone gas at the processing concentration to be supplied to the processing space in which the substrate W is placed. The state in which ozone gas is being supplied is as shown by the dashed line with an arrow in FIG. 10.

At this time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 83 and the on-off valve 85 to stop the strong exhaust. Furthermore, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the on-off valve 91 to switch to weak exhaust. This allows ozone gas at the treatment concentration to remain in the treatment space, allowing sufficient treatment with ozone gas to be carried out. When a predetermined ozone gas treatment time has elapsed, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller 57 and the control valve 55 to stop the supply of ozone gas to the chamber 32.

Then, the control unit 111 replaces the ozone gas in the chamber 32 with nitrogen gas. Specifically, the control unit 111 operates the control valve 69 and the mass flow controller 67 to supply nitrogen gas from the inert gas supply pipe 65 in FIG. 6 to the chamber 32. The state in which nitrogen gas is being supplied is as shown by the dashed line with an arrow in FIG. 11.

The control unit 111 also operates the vacuum ejector 75 and opens the control valve 74 to perform suction of the second branch point 63 by the suction pipe 73. The state in which the second branch point 63 is suctioned is as shown by the two-dot chain line with an arrow in FIG. 11. Furthermore, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 89 and the opening/closing valve 91 to stop the weak exhaust. At the same time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 83 and the opening/closing valve 85 to perform strong exhaust. Since the inside of the chamber 32 is strongly exhausted, the ozone gas in the processing space is efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas. Therefore, the time required for replacement can be shortened. At this time, as shown by the two-dot chain line with an arrow in FIG. 11, suction of the second branch point 63 is performed at the same time, so that the ozone remaining in the filter 59 can be prevented from being mixed into the processing space. Therefore, the efficiency of replacement with nitrogen gas can be improved. Furthermore, since the second branch point 63 is provided between the filter 59 and the mass flow meter 57 and the control valve 55, particles that are likely to be generated in the mass flow meter 57 and the control valve 55 can be prevented from flowing into the processing space. Therefore, the substrate W can be processed cleanly.

The suction of the suction pipe 73 is performed with a suction force that does not interfere with the supply of nitrogen gas to the chamber 32 via the first branch point 61. Therefore, the ozone gas in the chamber 32 can be reliably replaced with nitrogen gas.

When the replacement with nitrogen gas is complete, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 83 and the on-off valve 85 to stop the strong exhaust. The control unit 111 opens the on-off valve 95. This allows the inert gas to be exhausted through the purge pipe 94 using only its supply pressure. At this time, the chamber 32 becomes positive pressure, allowing the lifting mechanism 31 to smoothly raise the upper lid 25. After the upper lid 25 has been raised, the control unit 111 closes the on-off valve 95 and operates the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the on-off valve 91 to perform weak exhaust. This keeps the processing space clean with the inert gas. The control unit 111 moves the substrate W to a cooling unit (not shown) to return the substrate W to room temperature.

Step S6
The control unit 111 operates the center robot CR to take out the substrate W from the ozone gas bake unit 21 and transport the substrate W to the SPM unit 23 .

Step S7
The control unit 111 supplies SPM to the surface of the substrate W while keeping the substrate W in a heated state. This causes the photoresist coating on the surface of the substrate W to be removed by the SPM. At this time, since the surface of the photoresist coating has been ashed to some extent by the pretreatment with ozone gas, even if the surface of the photoresist coating is hardened, the photoresist coating can be easily removed with a small amount of SPM. After the treatment of the substrate W with the SPM is completed, the control unit 111 performs a cleaning treatment and a drying treatment with pure water.

Step S8
The control unit 111 operates the center robot CR to transport the substrate W to the path unit 19, and operates the indexer robot IR to unload the substrate W and return it to the carrier C. Through this series of operations, the process of removing the photoresist coating from the substrate W is performed.

In this embodiment, the control unit 111 opens the control valve 55 and closes the control valve 69 to supply ozone gas into the chamber 32 to process the substrate W, and then closes the control valve 55 and opens the control valve 69 to supply nitrogen gas into the chamber 32, causing suction through the suction pipe 73. Therefore, the filter 59, mass flow controller 57, and control valve 55 in which ozone gas remains are sucked through the suction pipe 73. Therefore, no gas flows from the second branch point 63 to the chamber 32 side in the circulation pipe 53. As a result, mixing of ozone gas with nitrogen gas on the chamber 32 side can be prevented, and the ozone gas can be replaced in a short time, and contamination by particles can also be prevented.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as follows:

(1) In the above-described embodiment, a substrate processing apparatus 1 having four chambers 32 and four circulation pipes 53 has been described as an example. However, the present invention does not require a plurality of chambers 32 and a plurality of circulation pipes 53. In other words, the present invention can be applied to a substrate processing apparatus 1 having one chamber 32 and one circulation pipe 53.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, nitrogen gas is used as the inert gas. However, the present invention is not limited to nitrogen gas as the inert gas, and can also be applied to, for example, argon gas.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the suction pipe 73 is configured to be sucked by the vacuum ejector 75. However, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. For example, the suction pipe 73 may be sucked by a suction means such as a vacuum pump.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is equipped with an ozone gas decomposition unit 13, but the present invention does not require the ozone gas decomposition unit 13.

(5) In the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is equipped with an SPM unit 23, but the present invention does not require an SPM unit 23. For example, the substrate W processed in the ozone gas bake unit 21 may be processed in an SPM unit 23 provided in another apparatus.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured to include an indexer block 3, a transport block 7, a carrier placement section 17, a path section 19, etc., and to continuously transport and efficiently process a plurality of substrates W, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. In other words, the present invention can also be applied to substrate processing apparatuses that do not include a transport system, etc., and that are configured to perform processing using ozone gas at a processing concentration.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

The same components as in the first embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals and detailed descriptions are omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the ozone gas supply unit 11 has a characteristic that the target concentration is not reached until nearly two minutes have passed since the device was started. Ozone gas at a predetermined treatment concentration is supplied from the ozone gas supply unit 11 to the supply pipe 35 described above.

The correspondence between the configurations in claims 7 to 11 of the present invention is as follows:

The SPM unit 23 corresponds to the "treatment liquid chamber", and the center robot CR corresponds to the "transport mechanism". The ozone gas supply unit 11 corresponds to the "ozone gas supply source". The heat treatment plate 29 corresponds to the "holding mechanism". The automatic pressure regulator 49 corresponds to the "first pressure adjustment mechanism", the control valve 55 corresponds to the "control valve", and the control valve 51 corresponds to the "first on-off valve". The control valve 101 corresponds to the "exhaust valve", the automatic pressure regulator 99 corresponds to the "second pressure adjustment mechanism", and the control valve 101 corresponds to the "second on-off valve".

Next, the processing in Example 2 will be explained with reference to FIG. 9.

Specifically, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller 57 and the control valve 55 so that ozone gas at the processing concentration is supplied to the chamber 32 at the required flow rate. Furthermore, as a result, ozone gas at the processing concentration is supplied to the processing space in which the substrate W is placed. At this time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 83 and the opening/closing valve 85 to stop strong exhaust. Furthermore, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the opening/closing valve 91 to switch to weak exhaust. As a result, ozone gas at the processing concentration remains in the processing space, so that processing with the ozone gas can be performed sufficiently. When a predetermined processing time for ozone gas has elapsed, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller 57 and the control valve 55 to stop the supply of ozone gas to the chamber 32.

Then, the control unit 111 replaces the ozone gas in the chamber 32 with nitrogen gas. Specifically, the control unit 111 operates the control valve 69 and the mass flow controller 67 to supply nitrogen gas to the chamber 32 from the inert gas supply pipe 65 in FIG. 6. The control unit 111 also operates the vacuum ejector 75 and opens the control valve 74 to perform suction at the second branch point 63 by the suction pipe 73. Furthermore, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 89 and the opening/closing valve 91 to stop weak exhaust. At the same time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 83 and the opening/closing valve 85 to perform strong exhaust. Since the inside of the chamber 32 is strongly exhausted, the ozone gas in the processing space is efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas. Therefore, the time required for replacement can be shortened. At this time, since the second branch point 63 is simultaneously suctioned, it is possible to prevent the ozone remaining in the filter 59 from being mixed into the processing space. Therefore, the efficiency of replacement by nitrogen gas can be improved. Furthermore, since the second branch point 63 is provided between the filter 59 and the mass flow meter 57 and the control valve 55, particles that are likely to be generated in the mass flow meter 57 and the control valve 55 can be prevented from flowing into the processing space. Therefore, the substrate W can be processed cleanly.

In this embodiment, when processing is not performed using ozone gas, the control unit 111 closes the control valve 55 and opens the control valve 101, so that ozone gas at the processing concentration generated by the ozone gas supply unit 11 is exhausted from the auxiliary pipe 97 to the main exhaust pipe 33 without being supplied to the chamber 32. When processing is performed using ozone gas, the control unit 111 opens the control valve 55 while adjusting the flow rate using the control valve 101, so that ozone gas is supplied to the substrate W held on the heat treatment plate 29 in the chamber 32 from the ozone gas supply unit 11, which constantly generates ozone gas at the processing concentration, via the flow pipe 53. Therefore, there is no waiting time for processing using ozone gas, and the processing time using ozone gas can be shortened and throughput can be improved.

(2) In the above embodiment, the flow rate by the control valve 101 is adjusted in conjunction with the flow rates by the control valves 55 and mass flow controllers 57 so that the flow rate difference ΔF between the first flow rate F1 and the second flow rate F2 falls within a predetermined value. However, the present invention does not require that the ozone gas supply unit 11 be provided with a predetermined amount of ozone gas supply capacity in this manner. Therefore, the maximum supply amount of the ozone gas supply unit 11 may be supplied to all of the chambers 32.

(3) In the above-described embodiment, the ozone gas supply unit 11 is equipped with an automatic pressure regulator 49, and the auxiliary pipe 97 is equipped with an automatic pressure regulator 99, but this configuration is not essential to the present invention. In other words, if these configurations are provided, treatment with ozone gas can be stably performed even in a configuration with multiple chambers 32, so if there is only one chamber 32, or if there are a number of chambers 32 that require a supply amount that is significantly smaller in total than the maximum supply amount of the ozone gas supply unit 11, there is no need to provide such a configuration.

(6) In the above-described embodiment, the substrate processing apparatus 1 is configured to include an indexer block 3, a transport block 7, a carrier placement section 17, a path section 19, etc., and to continuously transport and efficiently process a plurality of substrates W, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. In other words, the present invention can also be applied to substrate processing apparatuses that do not include a transport system, etc., and that are configured to perform processing using ozone gas at a predetermined processing concentration.

Next, we will explain the third embodiment of the present invention with reference to the drawings.

The correspondence between the configurations in claims 12 to 16 of the present invention is as follows:

The SPM unit 23 corresponds to the "treatment liquid chamber", and the center robot CR corresponds to the "transport mechanism". The ozone gas supply unit 11 corresponds to the "ozone gas supply source". The heat treatment plate 29 corresponds to the "holding mechanism", the lower lid 25 corresponds to the "upper cover member", and the upper lid 27 corresponds to the "lower cover member". The supply pipe 53 corresponds to the "first pipe", the control valve 55 corresponds to the "first control valve", the inert gas supply pipe 65 corresponds to the "second pipe", and the on-off valve 69 and the mass flow controller 67 correspond to the "third control valve". The suction pipe 73 corresponds to the "auxiliary exhaust pipe", and the control valve 74 corresponds to the "fourth control valve". The exhaust pipe 77 corresponds to the "exhaust pipe" in this invention.

The on-off valve 93 corresponds to the "second control valve", the flow rate adjustment valve 83, the on-off valve 85, and the vacuum ejector 79 correspond to the "first exhaust means", the flow rate adjustment valve 89, the on-off valve 91, and the vacuum ejector 79 correspond to the "second exhaust means", and the flow

rate adjustment valves

83, 89, the on-off

valves

85, 91, and the vacuum ejector 79 correspond to the "exhaust mechanism". The first flow rate Fa corresponds to the "first exhaust flow rate", and the second flow rate Fb corresponds to the "second exhaust flow rate".

Now, the processing in Example 3 will be described with reference to Fig. 9 and Fig. 12 to Fig. 17. Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram used to explain weak exhaust before processing, Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram used to explain strong exhaust with the upper lid closed, Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram used to explain weak exhaust during ozone gas processing, Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram used to explain strong exhaust during replacement with nitrogen gas, Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram used to explain purging with the upper lid open, and Fig. 17 is a schematic diagram used to explain weak exhaust after processing.

Step S4
The substrate W to be processed accommodated in the carrier C is transported to the path section 19 via the indexer block 3, and is loaded into the ozone gas bake unit 21 by the center robot CR. Before the substrate W is loaded into the chamber 32 for processing in the next step S5, the control section 111 operates the control valve 69 and the mass flow controller 67 to supply nitrogen gas to the chamber 32. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 12, the control section 111 operates the vacuum ejector 79 by the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the opening/closing valve 91. As a result, the inside of the chamber 32 is weakly evacuated, and the processing space is kept clean with the inert gas.

Step S5
When the substrate W is accommodated in the chamber 32, the control unit 111 moves the upper lid 27 to the lower lid 25 by the lifting mechanism 31. This seals the chamber 32. At this time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 89 and the on-off valve 91 to stop the operation of the vacuum ejector 79 by the second drive tube 81. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 111 operates the vacuum ejector 79 by the flow rate control valve 83 and the on-off valve 85. Note that the flow rate of the suction port of the vacuum ejector 79 is greater than the flow rate of the nitrogen gas supplied from the inert gas supply pipe 65. This strongly exhausts the inside of the chamber 32, so that the processing space is under negative pressure. Therefore, the upper lid 27 is tightly attached to the lower lid 25, and the chamber 32 is completely sealed from the surroundings.

Specifically, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller 57 and the control valve 55 so that ozone gas of the processing concentration is supplied to the chamber 32 at the required flow rate. Furthermore, as a result, ozone gas of the processing concentration is supplied to the processing space in which the substrate W is placed. At this time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 83 and the opening/closing valve 85 to stop strong exhaust. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the opening/closing valve 91 to switch to weak exhaust. As a result, ozone gas of the processing concentration remains in the processing space, so that processing with the ozone gas can be performed sufficiently. When a predetermined processing time for ozone gas has elapsed, the control unit 111 operates the mass flow controller 57 and the control valve 55 to stop the supply of ozone gas to the chamber 32.

Then, the control unit 111 replaces the ozone gas in the chamber 32 with nitrogen gas. Specifically, the control unit 111 operates the control valve 69 and the mass flow controller 67 to supply nitrogen gas to the chamber 32 from the inert gas supply pipe 65 in FIG. 6. The control unit 111 also operates the vacuum ejector 75 and opens the control valve 74 to perform suction at the second branch point 63 by the suction pipe 73. Furthermore, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 89 and the opening/closing valve 91 to stop weak exhaust. At the same time, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate control valve 83 and the opening/closing valve 85 to perform strong exhaust, as shown in FIG. 15. Since the inside of the chamber 32 is strongly exhausted, the ozone gas in the processing space is efficiently replaced with nitrogen gas. Therefore, the time required for replacement can be shortened. At this time, since the second branch point 63 is simultaneously suctioned, it is possible to prevent the ozone remaining in the filter 59 from being mixed into the processing space. Therefore, the efficiency of replacement by nitrogen gas can be improved. Furthermore, since the second branch point 63 is provided between the filter 59 and the mass flow meter 57 and the control valve 55, particles that are likely to be generated in the mass flow meter 57 and the control valve 55 can be prevented from flowing into the processing space. Therefore, the substrate W can be processed cleanly.

When the replacement with nitrogen gas is completed, the control unit 111 operates the flow rate adjustment valve 83 and the on-off valve 85 to stop the strong exhaust. The control unit 111 opens the on-off valve 95 as shown in FIG. 16. This allows the inert gas to be exhausted through the purge pipe 94 by its supply pressure alone. At this time, the chamber 32 becomes positive pressure, so that the lifting mechanism 31 can smoothly lift the upper lid 25. After the upper lid 25 is lifted, the control unit 111 closes the on-off valve 95 and operates the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the on-off valve 91 as shown in FIG. 17 to perform weak exhaust. This keeps the processing space clean with the inert gas. The control unit 111 moves the substrate W to a cooling unit (not shown) to return the substrate W to room temperature.

In this embodiment, before supplying ozone gas to the chamber 32 to perform ozone gas processing, the control unit 111 opens the on-off valve 93, operates the flow rate adjustment valve 83 and the on-off valve 85 to operate the vacuum ejector 79, and strongly evacuates the chamber 32 to make the upper lid 27 adhere to the lower lid 25. When the control unit 111 operates the control valve 55 to supply ozone gas from the ozone gas supply unit 11 to the chamber 32, it stops the strong exhaust and operates the flow rate adjustment valve 89 and the on-off valve 91 to operate the vacuum ejector 79 to weakly evacuate the chamber 32. Therefore, the degree of adhesion between the upper lid 27 and the lower lid 25 is increased by strong exhaust before the supply of ozone gas, and weak exhaust is performed when ozone gas is supplied. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the consumption of ozone gas while preventing leakage of ozone gas.

(2) In the above-described embodiment, a purge is performed by supplying an inert gas to the chamber 32, and the pressure inside the chamber 32 is made positive before the upper lid 27 is separated from the lower lid 25. However, this configuration is not essential to the present invention. Also, in the above-described embodiment, an inert gas supply pipe 65 for supplying an inert gas and a suction pipe 73 are provided, but these are not essential to the present invention.

(3) In the above embodiment, the exhaust flow rate in the exhaust pipe 77 is switched by switching between the first drive pipe 81 and the second drive pipe 87 that supply compressed air to the vacuum ejector 79. However, this configuration is not essential to the present invention. For example, a configuration may be adopted that includes one drive pipe, an on-off valve, and a mass flow controller, and that adjusts the mass flow controller according to the exhaust flow rate. Also, in the above embodiment, exhaust and suction are performed by the

vacuum ejectors

75 and 79, but this configuration is not essential to the present invention. For example, exhaust and suction may be performed by a vacuum pump.

As described above, the present invention is suitable for substrate processing apparatus that performs a specified process using ozone gas on substrates.

LIST OF SYMBOLS 1 ... SUBSTRATE PROCESSING APPARATUS W ... SUBSTRATE 3 ... INDEXER BLOCK 5 ... PROCESSING BLOCK 7 ... TRANSPORT BLOCK 9 ... PROCESSING LIQUID SUPPLY BLOCK 11 ... OZONE GAS SUPPLY UNIT 13 ... OZONE GAS DECOMPOSITION UNIT 15 ... PROCESSING UNIT 19 ... PATH SECTION TW1 TO TW4 ... TOWER 21 ... OZONE GAS BAKE UNIT 23 ... SPM UNIT 25 ... LOWER LID 27 ... UPPER LID 29 ... HEAT TREATMENT PLATE 31 ... ELEVATION MECHANISM 32 ... CHAMBER 33 ... EXTRACTION MAIN PIPE 35 ... SUPPLY PIPE 41 ...

PRODUCTION PIPE

43, 57, 67 ...

MASS FLOW CONTROLLER

49, 99 ...

AUTOMATIC PRESSURE REGULATOR

51, 55, 69, 74, 101 ... CONTROL VALVE 53 ...

DISTRIBUTION PIPE

59, 71 ...

FILTER

75, 79 ... VACUUM EJECTOR 61 ... FIRST BRANCHING POINT 63 ... Second branch point 65: inert gas supply pipe 73: suction pipe 77: exhaust pipe 81: first drive pipe 83, 89: flow rate control valve 85, 91: on-off valve 87: second drive pipe 94: purge pipe Fa: first flow rate Fb: second flow rate

Claims

2. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a process for removing a coating applied to a substrate, comprising:
a chamber for accommodating a substrate and forming a sealed processing space;
a holding mechanism for holding a substrate within the chamber;
an ozone gas supply source for supplying ozone gas at a treatment concentration for treating the substrate;
a first pipe connecting the chamber and the ozone gas supply source in communication with each other;
a first control valve provided in the first pipe and configured to control a flow of ozone gas through the first pipe;
a first filter provided in the first pipe closer to the chamber than the first control valve;
a second pipe having one end connected to a first branch point of the first pipe that is connected to the chamber side of the first filter, and having an inert gas supplied from the other end of the second pipe;
a second control valve provided in the second pipe and configured to control a flow of the inert gas through the second pipe;
a suction pipe having one end connected to a second branch point of the first pipe between the first filter and the first control valve, and having the other end to receive suction;
a control unit that performs suction through the suction piping when, after supplying ozone gas into the chamber while opening the first control valve and closing the second control valve to process a substrate, closing the first control valve and opening the second control valve to supply an inert gas into the chamber;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
suction by said suction pipe is performed with a suction force that does not interfere with the supply of inert gas to said chamber from said second pipe.
3. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The substrate processing apparatus is characterized in that the suction pipe is provided at the other end with a vacuum ejector that generates a suction force by supplying compressed gas.
4. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the suction pipe includes a suction control valve that controls a suction force at the second branch point and is operated by the control unit.
5. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second pipe includes a second filter between the first branch point and the second control valve.
6. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1,
a processing liquid chamber for accommodating a substrate and performing processing with a processing liquid;
A transport mechanism for transporting the substrate;
Further equipped with
a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate treated with the ozone gas in the chamber to the treatment liquid chamber, and treating the substrate with the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid chamber.
2. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a process for removing a coating applied to a substrate, comprising:
a chamber for accommodating a substrate and forming a sealed processing space;
a holding mechanism for holding a substrate within the chamber;
an ozone gas supply source that constantly generates and supplies ozone gas for processing the substrate;
a supply pipe through which the ozone gas supplied from the ozone gas supply source flows;
a flow pipe that communicates and connects the supply pipe and the chamber;
a control valve provided in the flow pipe for controlling the flow of ozone gas through the flow pipe;
an auxiliary pipe that connects an exhaust port for discharging gas and the supply pipe and discharges the ozone gas supplied from the ozone gas supply source to the exhaust port;
an exhaust valve provided in the auxiliary pipe for adjusting a flow rate of ozone gas flowing through the auxiliary pipe;
a control unit that closes the control valve and opens the exhaust valve during non-processing when ozone gas is not being supplied to the chamber, and exhausts the ozone gas supplied from the ozone gas supply source to the exhaust port, and that opens the control valve while adjusting a flow rate through the exhaust valve during processing when ozone gas is supplied to the chamber and the substrate held by the holding mechanism is treated with ozone gas;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
8. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7,
The chamber is a plurality of chambers,
The flow pipe is a plurality of pipes,
The flow pipes are branched from the supply pipes and connected to the chambers,
The control valve is provided in each of the plurality of flow pipes,
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, during the processing, ozone gas is supplied to at least one of the plurality of chambers.
9. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8,
The control unit adjusts the flow rate by the exhaust valve in conjunction with the flow rates by each of the control valves so that a difference between a first flow rate, which is the flow rate of ozone gas circulating through the supply piping, and a second flow rate, which is the sum of the flow rates of ozone gas circulating through each of the circulation piping, falls within a predetermined value during the processing.
10. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 8,
the ozone gas supply source includes a first on-off valve that allows or blocks the flow of ozone gas to the supply pipe, and a first pressure adjustment mechanism that maintains the pressure of the ozone gas in the supply pipe at a first pressure;
The auxiliary piping is characterized in that it is equipped with a second on-off valve as the exhaust valve for allowing or blocking the flow of ozone gas discharged to the exhaust port, and a second pressure adjustment mechanism for maintaining the pressure of the ozone gas in the auxiliary piping at a second pressure lower than the first pressure.
11. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 7,
a processing liquid chamber for accommodating a substrate and performing processing with a processing liquid;
A transport mechanism for transporting the substrate;
Further equipped with
a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate treated with the ozone gas in the chamber to the treatment liquid chamber, and treating the substrate with the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid chamber.
2. A substrate processing apparatus for performing a process for removing a coating applied to a substrate, comprising:
a chamber including a lower lid member supporting at a lower portion a holding mechanism for holding a substrate, an upper lid member abutting against the lower lid member from above to form a processing space, and a lifting mechanism for lowering the upper lid member relative to the lower lid member when the substrate is being processed and lifting the upper lid member from the lower lid member when the substrate is not being processed;
an ozone gas supply source for supplying ozone gas at a treatment concentration for treating the substrate;
a first pipe connecting the ozone gas supply source and the chamber;
a first control valve provided in the first pipe and configured to control a flow of ozone gas through the first pipe;
an exhaust pipe connected to the chamber and configured to exhaust gas from within the processing space to an exhaust port outside the apparatus;
a second control valve provided in the exhaust pipe for controlling exhaust in the exhaust pipe;
an exhaust mechanism including: a first exhaust means provided on the exhaust piping closer to the exhaust port than the second control valve, and configured to exhaust at a first exhaust flow rate; and a second exhaust means provided on the exhaust piping closer to the exhaust port than the second control valve, and configured to exhaust at a second exhaust flow rate smaller than the first exhaust flow rate;
a control unit which opens the second control valve and operates the first exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a first exhaust flow rate and bring the upper cover member into close contact with the lower cover member, prior to supplying ozone gas from the ozone gas supply source to the chamber to perform ozone gas processing, and which stops the first exhaust means and operates the second exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a second exhaust flow rate when operating the first control valve to supply ozone gas from the ozone gas supply source to the chamber;
A substrate processing apparatus comprising:
13. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 12,
a second pipe having one end connected to the first branch point of the first pipe and having an inert gas supplied from the other end;
a third control valve that controls the flow of the inert gas through the second pipe;
an auxiliary exhaust pipe, one end of which is connected to a second branch point in the exhaust pipe on the chamber side of the second control valve, and the other end of which is connected to the exhaust port;
a fourth control valve provided in the auxiliary exhaust pipe and configured to control a flow of gas in the auxiliary exhaust pipe;
Further equipped with
the control unit, after the ozone gas processing, operates the third control valve to supply an inert gas into the chamber, and operates the first exhaust means instead of the second exhaust means to exhaust the inside of the chamber at a first exhaust flow rate, replaces the ozone gas in the chamber with the inert gas, and then stops the first exhaust means and closes the second control valve, opens the fourth control valve, and then lifts the upper lid member by the lifting mechanism.
14. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 13,
the control unit, after raising the upper lid member, closes the fourth control valve, opens the second control valve, and operates the second exhaust means to evacuate the chamber at a second exhaust flow rate.
15. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 12,
2. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first exhaust means and the second exhaust means each include a vacuum ejector which performs exhaust by supplying compressed gas.
16. The substrate processing apparatus according to claim 12,
a processing liquid chamber for accommodating a substrate and performing processing with a processing liquid;
A transport mechanism for transporting the substrate;
Further equipped with
a transport mechanism for transporting the substrate treated with the ozone gas in the chamber to the treatment liquid chamber, and treating the substrate with the treatment liquid in the treatment liquid chamber.